Get a Dog!

I was contemplating weighty things this morning… thinking about what life becomes when this world ends and heavens reign begins.

What will we do all day, every day…for eternity? What if it is boring?

Then I thought about my dog ‘Max’. They say if you want to know who loves you more, ‘your wife or your dog” lock them both in the trunk of a car for two hours and when you open it you will know for sure by which one is happy to see you.  Now, that may be intended to be humorous but it also drives home a point.

If you do not or have not ever had a dog you will have to take the rest of this on faith… and I feel bad for you because until you have owned a dog you have not physically experienced unconditional love. I have never been able to spend so much time with my dog that he didn’t want to be around me any more. In fact it is always my decision to end our time together because there is never a time when my dog does not want to interact with me or just be right beside me sitting enjoying company together. It doesn’t matter to him what we do as long as we do it together. His entire world revolves around me, it is as if it ends when I leave and picks back up again when I return. My son put his iPad on record to watch Max to see what he did while we were gone for the day… can you guess what it was? After we left he ran to the window to see us off, then he became visibly upset… and for the remainder of the time he either slept or moped until we came back. And then of course his whole world brightened when we returned.

I think of my own life and how much brighter it is when I know God is physically involving Him self in my life, how I feel when close to Him, praising Him, loving Him. It really is kind of like a high! He is our creator, and because He made us He also knows exactly what will satisfy us. He made us in such a way that it is only Him that brings complete wholeness and satisfaction to our lives. And just like my dog. When we are together nothing else matters. Not what we do, where we are or where we are going… just that it is together.

Judging from the emotions and joy I feel when I am worshiping, loving or just spending time with God (and we are not really physically together yet)… I got a funny feeling that when we are finally physically with Him, it will not matter what we are doing, where we are or where we are going, as long as we are with Him.

And then, and only then will we be completely and totally satisfied. For eternity!     

Blue or Red Pill?

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

In the movie The Matrix, the main character Neo is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill... You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes... I wish like Neo in the Matrix there was a blue or red pill you could take to make a clear transition, to be able to really see and live in the physical presence of the realm of God. Life would be so much easier to live for Him then. In many ways this verse is the red pill. I personally think it is by far the most important verse in the Bible; it completely summarizes the Bible in its entirety. The "Things" that Jesus is talking about were mentioned in the preceding verses and it is EVERYTHING else that our life on earth consists of. God is telling us plainly and completely that if we pursue Him above the ‘everything else’ in our life He promises to take care of the ‘Everything’ for us. In essence we are offered the chance to live a life personally ‘kept’ and held in the hands of the creator of the universe.

I don’t think there is a better deal you will find any where else in the universe.

Churcheeze or Christianeeze!

Do you know that feeling that crawls up your spine whenever you hear someone rake their finger nails across a chalk board? I know this will sound harsh and I hate that, but I get that same feeling almost every time I hear someone speaking “church talk”! You know what I mean. “Have a blessed day”. “Isn’t God good”, “Praise the Lord” or “Praise Jesus” (usually spoken at highly inappropriate times)… and so many others. It is not the words themselves, and I am not embarrassed by it, heck I would scream; “I love Jesus” in front of the world if it would make a difference. But, it is usually the people delivering it that irk me, and they usually sound phony. On rare occasions I have heard it spoken and felt power in it, and it meant something. But most of the time it is something flowery and superfluous, spoken with no authority, praise/worship or meaning and is usually intended to make the one speaking it seem more pious than actually intending to be beneficial to anyone.

And this is where I struggle.

God has done so many raw and miraculous things in these last few weeks, and so changed everything for me that I want to scream how awesome He is to anyone who will listen. I am like Jeremiah when he said; “But if I say, "I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” (Jeremiah 20:9) But every time I hear my self saying the same crap everyone else says, I cringe inside…

So I am on a quest. A quest to find a way to express to those around us how perfectly awesome our God is. To have them actually hear what you said and want to know what it means or why we are saying it without turning them tuning you out because you just screamed “Praise Jesus” at an entirely awkward or inappropriate moment and they labeled and wrote you off as another pious and religiously filled worthless pew warmer.

Any thoughts, Ideas… what do, or would you say?

I am just thinking out loud and I definitely am not intending to make anyone mad, this is simply my personal hang-up and a search for a resolution.

Cheers

An all consuming Fire!

Hebrews 12:29 (ESV)

...for our God is a consuming fire.

In my devotional this morning one of the ideas presented about God focused on the all consuming side of Him. The writer shared a story of a holy land tour guide he had met who entertained the idea that God was like a giant continual nuclear explosion. That is why we can't see Him face to face and why He can't come here directly because it would destroy us. 

Going there for a moment, (I am not saying he is right or wrong) but if it were in one way or another true... then maybe that is why we have to die to ourselves to become a part of Him. When we finally come to Him we experience the all consuming holiness of Him and our flesh dies in the face of who He is, leaving our spirit free to pass through the all consuming nature of God and into an intimate loving relationship inside of Him.

You are no longer outside looking in but inside looking out, seeing the view He sees you through.

Just a thought!

A life with your Father

Imagine for a minute that you are a young adult again, just starting out on your own in the world. You leave your fathers house and begin your life, but not long into this new life things turn bad for you. It is not as easy as you thought to get a good paying job and you never have enough ever for your basic needs. You are losing your house and you can’t feed your self… the realization sets in that you have no future. You know your father is waiting to take you back. He loves you and told you he would be waiting for you, but you rejected his way of life, that is why you left. You know coming to him requires you to accept him and his life, but if you do you know he will always care for you. Eventually you give in to him and his love and accept his way of life. But now that you are home, neither him nor this way of life is really interesting. So you find yourself locked away in your room when you come home, watching TV or something else useless. You stay at work a little longer hoping to establish a promising career, or go out trying to find something you can enjoy or make you happy. You barely talk when you see your father and certainly do not take the time to spend with him.  But still he is always there waiting, inviting you to go places with him to enjoy the day with him, to let him care for you and show you how much He loves you.

Does this sound familiar, maybe not in the literal sense but how is it with your heavenly father? Have you accepted His offer to live with Him in His house? If you did, you no longer have a worry in the world. He has promised to meet your every need. He waits everyday for you to unlock your bedroom door and spend some time with Him… to spend all your time with Him. To pursue Him with as much enthusiasm as you pursue your own dreams. He has such an adventure in mind for you, one that will you will truly enjoy… one that will make you happy and satisfied, because it is what he created you for.

Or do you find yourself staying at work and pouring your self into YOUR career, so you can pursue YOUR dreams. Or spending your free time and resources doing what YOU enjoy, (or what you think you enjoy)!

You have NO idea what is waiting for you until you release everything you are and want to be to Him. He is the only one that can truly make you feel safe, secure and fill you with real joy!

I will leave you with a short story I heard that applies.

A father gave a string of fake pearls to his daughter a few weeks before her birthday. She loved those pearls and wore them everywhere, everyday. On her birthday he came to her with his hand outstretched and the other behind his back, and asked her to give him back the faux pearls. She resisted and begged and pleaded with her father not to take them; she loved them! But eventually she gave in to her father and gave him back her cherished possession. And when she did from behind his back he produced an exquisite necklace made of real pearls to give her in exchange for the fake ones she loved.

How about you? Are you still chasing YOUR dreams, or the one He created you for?

A Bond Servants Life

Exodus 21:6 King James Version (KJV)

Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

In the earlier days and in some places today servants/slaves exist(ed). In the Old Testament the Jewish law gave guidelines as to ownership of slaves especially Jewish born slaves that were sold into slavery due to debts or for other reasons. Periodically the law required that the Jewish born slaves were to be set free, so that Gods people were not forced into slavery indefinitely. Within that law there was an exception that allowed an individual to willingly and permanently bond himself as a slave to his master for ever. Once the decision was made he would be taken to the masters’ door post and an awl would be driven through his ear into the door post and then he would tear his ear from the awl, permanently disfiguring his ear and marking him a slave for life.

It would seem odd that one would give up their life in the service of another. But if you consider the options of a poor uneducated man emerging into society with no network, money or opportunity, his options are few. And within a very short period of time he and his family would be begging on the streets. If his old master was gentle and kind, the life he had as a slave provided a far safer environment for his family and he would want for nothing as it would relate to his needs.

So it is with us! We are SO over matched in this life! The powers wielded by the unseen forces that wage war around us make us as though mere insects in their eyes. And the consequences of the mistakes we can make on our own without any external influence can destroy us. After a little more than a half century of living I have quit messing around and allowed my ear to be pinned to heavens door post. It was not a decision made from a joyous acceptance as an eternal slave… but one made from desperation. I look behind me at the legacy I am leaving and the vast wasteland that it is. It is empty and devoid of any real meaning or accomplishment when compared to eternity. And I now know just how overmatched I am. My only hope was that God would still allow me to return as His slave and live under His protection and for His purpose. There is nothing of value in this world outside of God. And until you can actually hand your entire life (past, present and future) over, with no agenda but His, you will never know the peace and security that comes from a life spent under His control. Absolutely NOTHING can happen to you that He has not blessed if you are following the plan He has for you. And there is no price you will pay that will compensate Him for the life He is offering. The crazy part is that He does not leave you as a slave. But literally He adopts you as His own; He becomes your true Father and you become heir to all that He is.

It is the most carefree existence imaginable. We all have another choice to make after placing our faith in Jesus for salvation. You can be the one spoken of in the Bible that presents to God a life filled with wood, hay and stubble to be burned up, arriving at heavens gate with your pants on fire… Or you choose to live as His heir, building His kingdom here with the precious metals and jewels that will last into eternity. You can choose to accept his offer of salvation and never even see the wonderful life that he wants to live with you. You can leave this world and step into the next never experiencing the freedom and joy He can give you while you still live here. If you choose to turn over to Him your every hope and dream and live completely for Him… pursuing Him above everything else in your life. Then He will personally take care of the “every things” in life leaving you without a care in the world. That is why Jesus could say; “do not worry about your life!” Because if you’re His then He has got it handled, and you have NOTHING to worry about.

Whatever you hope to build on your own will be destroyed when God rolls up the heavens and starts over again. The only thing you will take with you is that which you build here for Him. And the only true peace you will experience on this earth is only what He can give you.

Safe, sound and secure!

Stranger or Tourist?

In the first two chapters of 1 Peter; He tells us over and over to live as strangers in this world. And not to give in to the temptations of our flesh and its desire to love the things of this world. The Greek word used for 'strangers' translated means to live a temporary existence among foreigners. Jesus tells us that this world is a vapor that disappears like the morning dew.

If this world is temporary and merely a preparation for the next. Why do we live as this is the only existence that matters and the one God has prepared for us doesn't yet? If we believe God, and live as if we believed God... then we would live our lives here as soldiers engaged in the war that rages continuously around us. Instead of tourists on vacation!