Ready and Awake

On Monday, I used a scripture from Peter’s first letter (1Peter 1:13). I cited it while writing about the business of last week, how we are getting the most out of Summer, preparing for school to resume. It was my boy that mentioned cramming lots of stuff into the short remaining days. I told him that come next Monday he’d have to put on his thinking cap, get his pen fingers ready, and sharpen his eyes, for his primary mission resumes: his studies. He’ll need to put out of his head the activities of summer. I need him to get ready for school, so that he can concentrate on his school work.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Peter 1:13

“Gird up your loins. . .” Funny statement in Western society, isn’t it? Some years ago, in Sri Lanka, I had one of those moments when I understood what it meant. A few men readied themselves as laborers on a road repair job. The wraps that surround their legs would be in the way, so they gather them beneath their loins, add a knot, and they are ready to move about the site without the long material obstructing their legs. They girded up their loins. They made themselves ready.

My son needs to gird up his loins, too. He’s already bought his books, and has a book bag ready to go. There will be a few more things to do, but he’s nearly ready. And we need to gird up our loins, too. Winter comes upon us quickly now. There’s the physical aspect that means we’ll prepare the garden to last the winter months. When I lived up in the mountains between Arizona and New Mexico, I would be gathering dead and down wood in the forest, getting ready to heat the house during the cold winters.

What about our spiritual loins? Ready our minds for action. Continually turn over the soil of our hearts so that we are fresh to receive from our Lord. We cultivate our relationship through our mindfulness of Him. In the morning when we arise, the cares of the day present themselves, and our task, our duty, isn’t necessarily to push those thoughts away, but to find Y’shuaJesus’s Word and Way, allowing Him to be in the forefront. It is our obligation as Children of the Most High G-d. It isn’t just about a life of prayer; it’s about a life in Messiah. We bring Messiah into all things. We involve Him in all things, even the mundane tasks that we dread. We include Messiah Y’shuaJesus. We abide in Him and He abides in us. Thank You, Lord!

And then there’s Distractions.

Yesterday, while driving up to the lake with my son to do some work on a sailboat, my son noticed several drivers using cell phones and appeared to not pay enough attention to the road ahead. Occasionally one would cross the line or slow down as he or she looked down, as if to be looking at some paperwork or something. My son said, simply, “Distracted Driver.”

Last night a news article on the television reported on people walking along city streets reading and sending text messages. The report showed a clip from YouTube with a woman holding a cell phone to her face tripping and falling into a fountain pond. The news anchor, said there has been a sharp increase in accidents related to cell phone usage over the past several years requiring medical attention. I inferred from things he said later that some cities may be considering laws about using cell phones in public. Already some States’ traffic ordinances prohibit such usage.

Wake Up!

“Be sober. . .” What’s being sober mean to you? Is it really about not drinking too many alcoholic beverages? I think not. I think it is about more than just one thing, but includes the idea of being awake. There was a cartoon floating around not long ago that said the zombie apocalypse has already happened. It had a row of city folks walking with heads down looking at their cell phones. (Zombies again! Moan. . .) Being awake is being aware of what we are doing, being focused with a single vision while also mindful of what’s in our peripheral vision. Nothing will sneak up on us if we are aware of our surroundings!

Being awake or sober is being alert. We are called by Y’shuaJesus to watch out.

Watch out and keep praying that you can escape all that is going to happen and that the Son of Man will be pleased with you.

Luke 21:36

The woman on the YouTube video that fell into the fountain pond while texting from her phone didn’t escape getting wet.

Y’shuaJesus spoke about seeing what’s ahead of us, what’s coming.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.

Matthew 24:32

Yes, He was speaking of the “End Times.” He was speaking of reading the signs. Americans are largely city folk these days. Not too many cities have fig trees. The illustration, modernized, might use traffic signs on a freeway, e.g., Lane Closed Ahead. From readiness to alertness. Driving at freeway speeds, readiness means knowing if there are cars near you, in the lanes to the left and right, behind and ahead. If you know that a car is to your left, nearby, you can avoid an obstacle in the highway by moving to the right. If you don’t know, you may move left into the path of the other vehicle.

Peter spoke of being reading, girding up your loins. It is preparedness. He said to be sober. We are called to be awake, alert. But it’s not all just about us, either. It isn’t just about not falling into a fountain pool. We are ready and alert so that we “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Matthew Henry put it this way, “address ourselves vigorously to the work we have to do, encouraging ourselves from the grace of Jesus Christ.” This work is a benefit to us, and to those to whom we’ve been called. It is a work that builds our character and utilizes our gifts.

As we get ready for winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, we face longer, colder nights. Perhaps it is a time to dust off unused talents. I think of the parable of the talents. I could be the guy that buried my talent because I was afraid to use it and perhaps lose it. My message to me, today, is to figure out what I buried, to unearth it, and make it ready. Then be alert to how it may be used to the Glory of G-d, in the Name of The Lord Y’shuaJesus, Messiah, King.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Several days last week I spent on Lake Lanier with my daughter and two of her friends. They tubed, knee boarded, and wake boarded behind our boat. We anchored near a rock to which they swam, climbed, and jumped the fifteen or so feet back into the lake. At night the girls hung out at our house watching movies until the early hours of the morning. My son “chilled” with his friends, though he was invited to go with us to the lake. This week he’ll go on a trip with one of his friends to a mountain cabin in Tennessee. Kids around here are all feeling anxious, wanting to get the most out of the remaining days of summer left to them: school starts next Monday for the two I have at home.

Over the weekend, my wife and I put many hours into the garden, continuing to plant despite the heat. We’ve had some rain here, but continue to irrigate. It’s not only the lack of substantial rains, it’s the dry heat. While damp hot air is uncomfortable, the ground doesn’t dry out like it does with hot and dry days. And then there is the unrelenting sun. While a number of our perennial medicinal plants are “full sun,” in Georgia that means sun from two o’clock until five o’clock; they start to wilt after a few days of constant sun, especially if they are newly planted.

We began a “water garden” that we said we would do in the Fall. Perhaps it will be filled and operating before then. It’s not too big, but should hold about seven thousand gallons of fresh water. Not as good as a deep cistern, but better than what has become an occasional creek behind us, which no longer can be considered a water source. We’ll plant around the edges of the pond, on a shelf about a foot deep. The inner part will me much deeper. My daughter wants to be able to swim in it. I told her if she was willing to dig it deep. She may try digging, but I think Georgia’s red clay will win the battle, and remain at the four foot level that I’ll dig it.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:13

As summer wanes, we push hard at finishing the things we want to get done, we want to accomplish. The lists my family members each have in our minds are endless. The scripture in First Peter is a reminder that we must also prepare our minds for action and remain with calmness in our spirit, shedding anxiety, worry. We are to fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought us at the revelation of Y’shuaJesus. We must juggle that feeling we just need to accomplish certain things today, to do things now, with the promise of the Lord’s grace. I hope it means that whatever we don’t get done is covered by G-d’s grace, and that He has mercy upon us during the long winter that may come.

I pray we are not so focused on the physical things that we miss the spiritual revelations the Lord offers. Let us abide it the Lord always. Let us rejoice in the Lord always. Amen and Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Practice: Undisturbed and Unobserved

Practice makes perfect (credit: tom_1984)

In a recent post, I shared from an article about learning to handle a boat. The author’s mentor suggested that he go out in on a quite day to a place undisturbed and unobserved in which he could practice. I got sidetracked from writing, as I said on Monday, but still thought more about this sort of practicing as it relates to our Bible Walk. I recalled an interesting young man that appeared on the television show American Idol a few years ago. He wore a western-style (cowboy) hat and boots, and successfully auditioned for the show, and went on to Hollywood to compete with others. I don’t recall his name, and couldn’t find him in an internet search. His voice was good, though I believe he was eliminated before the final ten contestants. What made him remarkable, to me, is that he’d never sung to an audience until his audition with American Idol; he’d sung only to the ranch animals for whom he’d tended as he grew up. He didn’t even sing to his parents.

Another man comes to my mind that did a lot of practicing where he was undisturbed and unobserved: King David. Here’s part of the story that illustrates the success he had after long practice.

. . .David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him[Goliath]. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, and David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!” Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.

1Samuel 17:32-39

David fought lions and other predators that would have killed the sheep in his charge. During this time, David also spent time with G-d. Long evenings singing to G-d lead to other songs that we enjoy—Psalms. David learned in the years tending sheep to trust G-d. David learned warfare, too. David put it all together, especially the trust of G-d, to fight the battle against Goliath, and win in the Name of the LORD, through His might.

And then there was another gentleman. Saul, who became Paul. Saul was well trained in the Jewish Law and its traditions. Quite the fellow. As Saul, he persecuted the Jews who’d come to believe in Y’shuaJesus as Messiah. Saul had an epiphany; while on the road to Damascus to harass, even slaughter, more Jews, he met Y’shuaJesus. From this time forward, he was one of those Believers he’d persecuted. We read in Acts 9 that Paul “was with the disciples in Damascus for some days. Immediately he began proclaiming Y’shua in the synagogues.” He ruffled a lot of Jewish feathers, and a conspiracy began; the Jews would have Saul killed. With the help of disciples, Paul got out of Dodge. It seems likely at this point, prior to arriving in Jerusalem, he went into the desert (see Galatians 1:17), where he was with the Lord and relearned the Bible from a Messianic perspective, and learned that G-d extended Himself to all people, not just the Jewish nation.

While their stories contrast on some points, both David and Paul spent time in preparation. Practice. I’ve heard it said that we Americans want things instantly. Instant gratification. Instant knowledge. Instant success. We are thrilled to read the success stories that seem to show no amount of preliminary work, preparation, with instant results. It doesn’t really happen. One of the key ingredients in preparation Is not only the physical practice that builds muscle memory, but it is the time spent in mental and emotional preparation. For Christians, that’s utter devotion to the Lord. It is about being with the Lord, then we know what and how to practice the parts we’ll be called to play.

In thinking more on this topic of practice that is undisturbed and unobserved, I am reminded of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (see Luke 24:13-35). Like Paul, they knew the scriptures but came to know them in a different way as they walked with Y’shuaJesus. For it was while with the Lord that the scripture became alive to them.

So we don’t necessarily need to run off to the desert to practice our Bible Walk. But we do need to escape the daily grind to be with the Lord. It doesn’t have to be planned, and doesn’t need to be for weeks or years at a time. Moments during our ordinary day are fine. STOP what we currently are doing, let the Spirit of G-d into those moments to transform our inner persons so that our outer person walks the Bible Walk, not just talks it. This, then, becomes our practice.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

The Old Cross and The New

It’s been an interesting week. Do you believe in spiritual attacks? Or when things go really wrong, is it just stuff happening? It felt, to me, more, well, spiritual than simply physical. It felt like something drove the physical events. At any rate, I’m okay–we’re okay. I hope you’re okay, too. It’s a crazy world in which we stay–strangers in a strange land, and all.

I ran across this message by A.W. Tozer that I really enjoyed. I hope you do also. Lord Bless, Keep, Shine.

The Old Cross and The New
By A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

Unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique — a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure….

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist… preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level…

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect…. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death…. The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death…. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God’s stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die. …the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

Except it be Given from Heaven

There are moments in which I wonder, “If only I had. . .maybe then I would. . .” Usually I’m feeling a bit low and thinking about various choices I’ve made in the past—thinking regretfully. One of my favorites is “If I’d gone running to that alter call back in eighth grade. . .”

It was during my first year in military academy. Two of my teachers were Christians and took a bunch of us up to a weekend retreat. I remember that I volunteered to help out, and was assigned the task of cleaning the bathrooms. I don’t recall too much of the weekend, except how hard cleaning toilets is, and the Sunday morning Church service. I’d never been to one quite like it. I’d been in Church regularly since birth, but Episcopal, not Baptist. I know that I liked this service. I know that at the end, when everyone was told to bow their heads and close their eyes and raise their hands if they wanted to accept Jesus into their hearts, I responded—I’m sure I did, at least I think I did, I want to think I did. But when the pastor asked for all those who raised their hands to come forward to the alter, I hesitated. Then it was over and everyone was leaving and I just exited along with them, having not been able to make it to the alter. I felt guilty about that moment of indecision, of cowardice, of fear.

I still do—at times. I wonder how my life might have been different. It’s as if I think the physical act of approaching an alter would have made a difference in my life—making it somehow better, me better, or at least a bit easier. Perhaps I’d have become somebody famous, or rich, or powerful. Perhaps I’d have had the drive to finish college after high school, rather than wait twenty years. Perhaps I’d have accepted the position that I was offered as a management apprentice, rather than wanting to drive truck. Perhaps. . .I’d have been wise. I think that’s what I would have wanted if I’d known to ask. Wisdom. Like Solomon asked for from the LORD.

Or perhaps I’d just have avoided some mistakes, not have wandered around as much. Perhaps I’d have been more focused in ministry. I know, intellectually, that one can’t change the past. I know that my “better choice” thinking isn’t necessarily a particular best choice. In my heart I know that who I am, I am as a result of G-d’s desire to take all that I am and have ever been, the real person I am, and make it work for the good in the overall scheme of things. If I were to right one perceived mistake, it might upset something else that came later. At least I can rationalize it that way.

I really admire John the Baptist. He made it big, getting to baptize Lord Y’shuaJesus with water. And he made an important choice as “his” ministry slipped away, he let it go. He understood an important principle (John 3:27):

John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Matthew Henry commented that “different employments are according to the direction of divine providence, different endowments according to the distribution of the divine grace. No man can take true honor to himself, Hebrews 5:4. We have as necessary and constant a dependence upon the grace of G-d in all the motions and actions of the spiritual life as we have upon the providence of G-d in all the motions and actions of the natural life.”

Perhaps success that eludes does so to spare us magnifying our own selves. “Had I just. . .’ is simply another way of taking responsibility for my own success. “If I had,” then I’d have had to fail in other ways unless I was well fortified, and able to pass on all credit to the Lord. Success is not easy. Staying humble while in the limelight of applause and flattery is daunting. I do not envy Christian musicians who, after struggling for success, gain it, only to grasp hold of the honor to themselves. Then things happen, like falling flat. Or pastors who begin to think themselves above sin, and into the depths they plummet.

Then there is the thought that things might have been easier, perhaps, for me had I just run, not walked, to the alter that weekend. Perhaps I’d have somehow been a better person, and made less mistakes. Maybe I’d have not had some of the really tough moments I’ve experienced. And yet it is during those hard time of my life that I can, now, I look back upon and see the Lord at work in me, watching over me, caring for me. Hard times are. . . just plain hard. But perhaps they are the furrowing of our spiritual garden that allow great things to grow—spiritual growth as well as physical.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Legacy

Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity. There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:20-24

Once upon a time, either on the radio or sitting in a pew, I heard a preacher talk about Solomon and his depression. It seemed to that preacher, that was the only explanation for Solomon to write such things. It seems that many others think this is the case, too. We work hard to build a life for ourselves, to make a difference in the world. We spend our lives to build a legacy. We need others to believe this is the correct approach to life. We need everyone to be on board with this idea to ensure that the economy grows. If too many believe they don’t have to buy materials to better adorn their homes and offices and places of work, the economy won’t grow and we’ll slide into a recession and then a depression. People will be out of work.

If Solomon were around writing his thoughts today, he’d certainly be singled out for psychiatric therapy, a regular dosage of anti-depressant medication, and no doubt someone would convince him to attend some “joy” seminar somewhere. Solomon would be called a “doom-sayer” and labeled a nut. I suppose that most would believer Solomon would be getting rich on spreading his depressive thoughts about the internet.

Therefore I [the LORD] will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Isaiah 13:13

Y’shuaJesus spoke about seeking the Kingdom of G-d. He didn’t say we were to try and build that kingdom here on Earth. That’s the Lord’s work; that isn’t ours. So what is our legacy to be, then?

This morning returning from dropping my son at school, Watching You by Rodney Atkins played on the radio. It’s about a boy who is watching his father, who wants to be like his father IN EVERY WAY. The boy says a naughty word, and his father asks where he learned that word. The boys says he’s been watching. In another verse the boy is praying to our Heavenly Father as though he were a friend. The father asks where the boy learned to pray that way. The boy replies, “I’ve been watching you.”

It’s not the riches we have to leave as an inheritance, not the great buildings we’ve built to house ourselves and our families, not the products we create or repair or construct for others, but the character we allow the Lord to create in us and pass on to others that is our legacy. Our character is built through our relationship with Y’shuaJesus. We forsake the earthly kingdom, seek the Heavenly Kingdom. We allow G-d to be the center of our lives, creating in us, as the psalmist wrote, “a clean heart.”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Daily Living or Living Daily

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

There is a way in which we must daily live. The fundamentals of such living are summarized in the Ten Commandments, taught by Y’shuaJesus as given in the Gospels, taught by the Apostles, and taught in churches throughout the world. These are rules that we apply to our daily lives. I have observed that a pastor may speak to the congregation about tithing, and use the “Old Testament” references to augment a call to add greatly to the collection plate. On the other hand, I’ve not heard a pastor preach about a baby’s circumcision being performed on the eighth day after birth, though. It seems to me, there is an arbitrary nature to which scriptures to apply. It seems we are able to pick and choose which rules to follow. Now, as far as circumcision is concerned, Paul brought that before a council of Jewish Believers in Y’shuaJesus while on a trip to Jerusalem. The result: Gentile Believers became exempt to circumcision. They don’t have to follow the Law, as given by Moses, and the Jewish traditions are not theirs. In other words, there is a certain amount of pick and choose going on here.

Now for the observant Jew there are the 613 Divine commandments inscribed in the holy Torah. These are Mitzvoth. Daily living could appear as somewhat mechanical, basic, fundamental. Just understand all the commandments, and follow each one with heart’s intent. Actually, following the Mitzvoth is not so mechanical after all. It has been ruled “that unless one performs a Torah-ordained mitzvah with conscious intent, he has not fulfilled his duty and must perform it a second time with the proper intent.” So daily living must be intentional, performing Divine commands, or not performing negative commands, or restrictions. You have to do this and this, not do that or that, and if you miss doing one, you need atonement. And even if you did a particular Mitzvah, but without the proper intent, then do it again. Get Atonement! Over and Over and Over.

For both Gentile and Jewish Believers, Y’shuaJesus fulfilled the Law by becoming a one-time-is-all-that-is-needed ATONEMENT. We are now one Chosen People, Gentiles, once wild, now grafted into G-d’s cultivated olive tree along with those Jews who are now complete in Y’shuaJesus.

Now, all Believers, have a requirement, an obligation, that is perhaps more strict, more difficult to adhere to than moral codes and traditions. We are called to live daily. This is living deeper. It is more intense. There is a call to both Jewish and Gentile Believers living out daily the faith. It’s not about picking and choosing rules to follow or things to stay away from each day. It’s not about whether or not we’ve followed with intent 613 Divine ordinances. It is living each day in that particular day, with intent. It is life daily with the Spirit of G-d as our compass, directing us in our walk with Y’shuaJesus.

The Apostle Paul talked about putting on the armor of G-d. We put on this armor daily. Each day is today. Yesterday is remembered, but not dwelt upon. We put aside the “I could have. . .” and the “I should have. . .” We offer tomorrow to G-d in our prayer each day, and focus on today. We live in this one lone day, living our faith. It is living daily in the power of G-d, our Creator, our Savior.

Living Daily is being aware each and every moment of Today, as long as it is Today. Aware of G-d’s presence in the world, in our hearts, in the activities in which we partake. Which is the greatest commandment, Y’shuaJesus was asked. With intent, we live daily loving G-d and loving our neighbors in the manner we love ourselves. We are like the disciples walking the road to Amaoz. We may not recognize Y’shuaJesus as He walks alongside, but we do feel our hearts burn. We talk to Y’shuaJesus as we walk. We pray, as the Apostle Paul spoke of, in the Spirit more than anyone else. We are aware in the Spirit when a brother or sister needs prayer. We are conscientious, thoughtful, focused, yet aware always of what is around us and before us. And the Word of G-d is a lamp to show us where we stand, and a light to illuminate the path ahead. We know when to go right, when to go left. We know!

Lord, enable us to live daily with You. Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .