Day Off

What if what we really needed to restore our soul was a day off?  Not a day off for our selves, but a day off from ourselves.  A day away from our worries and fears.  A day away from our anxiety, negative judgments and self-condemning inner voices.

If you want to be restored and refreshed – enter into the rest of the Lord (I am not just throwing religious words at you).  Enter into Christ and find a place to rest.  Sure, like any journey there will be some issues that need to be addressed before you arrive. Know that the rest of the Lord is not only possible – it is waiting.

If you are one of those who’s mind has now ran off and is considering how your can get this done, how you can make it happen; you are off on the wrong path.  Entering Christ does not come by human effort but by invitation.  A heart responds to the cry of the Lord.  A heart hears the Lord calling and calls back longing for an indwelling presence.  Then we lovingly wait. When was the last time you disengaged from “self management mode” and enter into “responsive lover mode”.

It is counter cultural to wait on the Lord to feel good.  Even most of the church promotes “doing more” as the way to feel good. (read, pray, missions, evangelism, serve)  But look at those who cast those seeds.  Are they patient, kind, longsuffering, gentle, without boasting, preferring and honoring one another?  This discernment is not to judge others, but to be aware of the true spiritual food you are partaking of.  Someone who never rests and seldom manifests peace in their life probably cannot help you find it.

But possible that is not what you want to become.  Maybe you want to be powerful, impressive, honored, controlling, persuasive and important.  Maybe the real goal of your heart is not to be like Christ, but to use God for your personal success.  Even if that is you, God will not leave you or forsake you.  God is not just there for those with the best of motives.  He is bigger than that.

There is a place in God, a room, where it is easy to loose sight of yourself because we are so aware of Him.  City wide transformation is about getting this inner reality outward, through an awareness of the nearness of the Lord. Thus we probably will not get the city there until the called of God are there.   Every trial, temptation and pain cries out for us to learn how to enter into this room quickly.  Bible study, memorization and meditation all have great value and purpose, but we are transformed by beholding Him.  (for lessons on beholding just give me a call)

Right now, on a scale of 1-10 how much effort do you put out to feel significant in each of these areas.

• How I perform at work
• How much financial security I have
• How many others need or value me (what they think)
• How I do things the right way or not at all
• How I wait and listen to God, having joy in silence and surrender to Him.

Take a day off from yourself and go on a date with God.  Just let Him drive.

Reconciled to Christ Jesus–no really!

If you are a busy person, stop right now and say, “thanks Lord”!  Thank the Lord for your ability to do stuff.  You can work, reason, raise a family or live as a single.  You can eat, cook, do laundry, clean the house and even sleep when you fall into bed exhausted.  WOW, you can do a lot.

Now I am not trying to be tricky – but real.  The amazing thing is that all of you who have been reconciled to Christ Jesus can do this and give an endless supplies of love.  You are more than human.  You are empowered to love in the midst of all the cares and worries of life.  You are simple and amazing at the same time.

Sure I know that most of you hear some voice in your head crying out for “more”.  You can do more, work harder and smarter, give until it hurts, beat yourself into some unworthy life form than is humble because of brokenness, not because of grace.

But you can also embrace the humility of a life lived in loving obedience to God.  Through loving others as your life your life, you will do a great many miracles, signs and wonders.  We do want both God’s face and strength because we do not just want a part of God but all of Him.  To have “the all” focus on abiding in Him and letting His love flow freely out of you.  Do not focus on the results.  The results will follow as fruit come forth from the tree.  Be a healthy tree.

A healthy tree lives well where is it planted.  It may be in the desert, in the rain forest, all alone or surrounded by a thousand others, but it lives will.  No matter what your life situation, live well.  Embrace the love of God for you in your situation and rejoice through excepting God love without thoughts of being better or doing more.  You do a lot.

Now here is a little spiritual exercise.

Write down on a piece of paper all your goals and dreams.  List them out.

Now make a mark by each one that you know God has specifically spoken to you about.  You can say with 100% confidence that God has called you to do these things.

Now, when you start to be depressed or feel like a failure, go back to this list.  Review it so that you know what are God’s directives and what are your desires.  Ask God to work His grace in your life so that you are not discouraged by unmet desires.  Unmet desires are not the same as abandoning God, they are not failings, just unmet desires.

You want desires, longing and dreams to be a part of your life.  God made you to long and desire.  You just want these desires to be in the rightful place.  You do not want to live with a broken heart because some desires are not meet.  You want to live in confidence as you seek to do all the things God has asked of you.  Know the difference between desires and calling. 

Some people waist their life because they feel like their unmet desire are the result of a life not rightly reconciled to the Lord.  They look at what has not happened in their life and say, “God must not love me”, or “I am not pleasing to the Lord”.  Take personal responsibility and do not let desires raise to the place of obedience to the will of God.  Do the will of God.  Keep praying and crying out for unmet desires, but don’t let them rule your relationship with God.

Does life suck?

The New Year is in full throttle. For me it is like this year (which I started with the beginning of Advent this year) is one big unexpected savor! My life is a paradox of hopes and dreams of the past failing to materialize and my life being filled with unexpected love, kindness and help. It is like my life is a layered sucker; you know the ones where a new layer of taste is just waiting for you to lick off the one you are presently on. In this case the next layer is not just a surprise, but a shock. This shock is both an extreme of good and not good. It is like my life has become like the world; drought, flood, riches, and devastation. It is like a get a great “bailout” and “calamity” at the same time.

Just prior to my trip to AZ, something I will talk about later, we had an episode with the water heater and the carbon dioxide, the dishwasher went out (the machine not Shirley), our office and home computer failed and Shirley continues to battle a health issue. And at the same time we received blessings of money, food, furniture, friendship and gifts of food, fun and fellowship. WoW!

In AZ I recall laying in bed shaking with a fever at by brothers house on a Sunday night. I was feeling so bad but at the same time the presence of the Lord was so near that I could not stop praying. I recall thinking that “this is crazy”. But it was not crazy, more like wonderful. It was like by body was rotten, no good, miserable but I was keenly aware of the Lord. I felt so loved and so sick at the same time.

What I hope happens from writing this note is that someone will come up to me and say, “hey Rod my life is just like that”. “My life is full of troubles and full of God, it’s beyond sorting out”. I am looking for this confirmation so that misery can love company or so that I can rejoice with those who rejoice. But regardless of my motivation I do truly wonder how many great saints are living faithful lives in dark times.

I never wanted to be a Job, Jeremiah, Isaiah or even Paul during the prison years. I always wanted to be the guy that lived and great life for God on “easy street”. If enduring and going through stuff empowers us to love and serve others, what have I gained authority to say? Maybe the message that I have for the nations (small groups of people who do not know one another) is “keep sucking”. That sounds like a good redneck message.

Keep sucking and allow your deep spirit to love God no matter what taste is in your mouth. Enjoy the sweet but not so much as to distract you from His work yet to be done on the earth. Endure the bitter, but with no malice or self pity. God treats His friends in a rather mature way and going through pain and suffering is nothing more than an opportunity to validate your intimacy with God or enter into a deeper chamber of His love.

It was just after 5 in the morning. I just got out of the emergency room and into my room, waiting for surgery. The doctor came into my room, both a kind and direct man. He wakes me up and said that he did not have an opportunity to review the paperwork until now and that we have a problem. I did not have insurance. Do you know what it feels like to be sick, needing surgery and be told by your surgeon that “I don’t operate on people without insurance”. But then, as if an Angle of grace came into the room this doctor patted me on the leg and said, “but I will take care of you”. “But I will take care of you”, is the sound of a helpless sick man being given hope and healing. It is the sound of one layer of that sucker being licked off into the next. It is like this constant mingling of “worst news” “best news” lifestyle.

My life lesson – keep sucking!

He who endures to the end will be saved.