i remember, when i was very small, waking up one winter morning and looking out the window. It was very early, just in the edge of daylight, and as i looked around at the world outside, from the inside looking out, the snow was heavy on the trees. Everything was white and fresh and new. There rose an excitement which caused me to jump and run around the house looking out all the windows at the spectacular world that had appeared sometime in the night.

Looking back in time, as best i can remember, it was the first time i realized how much i loved the morning. In my little boy world, i decided that from then on i would be the first in my house to see and live in all the newness which had never been lived in before. To this day, i love the mornings more than anything, and i still rise very early with an excitement, walking through the house quietly while everyone is still asleep, peeping out the windows, breathing in the freshness of the morning. There is something amazing about it all, it’s mesmerizing to me and i just can’t help it.

When we talk about the morning, we associate daylight, breakfast, coffee, going off to begin the things we begin every day, but what was God’s idea about it? Did He speak something into the morning that would impact all mankind as long as there is the dawning of a new day, before the end when all things will be revealed?

Lamentations 3:22-23 “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, broadcast live from the deck overlooking the Ockluhwahhah River. i decided to begin the program this early so i could listen to the symphony of the morning as the sun arose. There is such thing as the “song of the morning” you know. Sun rise is just as spectacular as the sun set. Sun rise sings of a new song, a new day dawning, washed fresh from the night, beautiful in its rising grace. Put your ears on and go with me this evening to discover what God has in mind when He uses terms we’ve all but washed the meaning out of. i’ll be right back.

           There is something wonderful about the rising of dawn out of the end of night, that very important time of day when the rising morning light of the new day plows under the end of yesterday. Standing early in the morning, watching the day come to life, i feel … alive, breathing, as if being drawn toward the threshold of Heaven’s gate…So here i stand, poised, watching … waiting … anticipating the morning song…the song of the morning … it’s almost like a symphony that starts as soft as a whisper … so softly, you’re not sure you’ve actually heard anything. The dawn seems to pick up speed towards its arrival, night is driven back, and sure enough, the symphony of the rising light is actually there and growing in volume. If you listen it can be heard, that is for those who have ears to hear. It is real, it is the song of the Heart of The Father for all mankind, every day, to be inspired to “return”. The idea of repentance is partly to change your mind concerning salvation and to believe that Jesus really can deliver and save, but God’s idea of repentance is not just to change your mind concerning the salvation offered through Christ, but more to come home. In order to come home, we must realize we have left home and are not at home in this world.

In the morning … there’s just something very important about “in the morning”. It’s like really important stuff always seems to happen at that time. We set off on a trip in the morning, we pray “first thing” in the morning, we begin another day “in the morning”; our thoughts seem more fresh and crisp in the morning – and yes, i know you night owls out there may debate that, but watch the witness, there is something about the way God designed us to operate that is somehow integrated with the rising dawn called, “in the morning”.

All creation has a part of the chorus, just like the various instruments of an orchestra.  Each has its part to play in the symphony of praise to God. Let all creation sing to God, in the morning.

Psalm 148:1-5 “Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.”

You know in your heart it’s a good idea … so c’mon, come let us return to the Lord.

           Built into the “morning” is the call of God to every person. Within each morning is His intent towards us causing a rise in people’s hearts to return, to come home to Jesus.

Some of the following may seem repetitive, but i believe it’s all worth saying as often as necessary until we get it down in our hearts. Know what i mean?

In the Hebrew word, “rain”, there is the hidden and revealed source of blessing, men may not know where the sprinkling comes from, but when the sprinkling on the earth is revealed, man is inspired to return.

In the “morning”, there is the rising of the light, the plowing under of the evening … the morning is like an emissary of Holiness, top and first of the day … in the newness of the morning, again, man is inspired to return.

When it “rains” in the “morning”, it is a double pull on the hearts of people, and i don’t know about you, but i get a peculiar longing in my heart. The world may not realize it, but every morning, the appeal of the Lord to return is for everyone, everywhere, calling us to come home.

On that note, some may say returning to God is a fluid process, and the returning heart can arrive home by many different ways, but we must ask ourselves a very necessary question: How does the Lord say we come home? God is very specific about this and it is not flexible. Twice in John 10 Jesus said, “I AM the door”. In John14 Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth, and life, and no one comes to the father except through me.” And then the passage through to home becomes more defined when Jesus narrows it down even further by saying, “If you have known me then you’ve known the Father” implying that if someone does not know Jesus then they don’t know the Father and can’t reach the Father without going through the son. Returning home is a nice romantic thing to dream about, but it’s more stringent than simply doing however you want, believing whatever suits you, based on what you think or the rumors you’ve heard. God was very specific about who shall return and how they’ll enter into Heaven. Very specific indeed.

Once God has spoken …. once His words have left His mouth, they continue to be spoken. That is amazing! i’ll say it again, Once the Lord has spoken, His words do not stop being said, they will continue until the end when all things will be revealed.

“Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning that is happening before our very eyes; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain upon the earth.” i’ll say that with slightly different words, Let us be steady and ready to study God. Let us be eager for God-knowledge. As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is his daily arrival. God is here! He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground.

In every pleasant thing God has created, know that not only did the Lord make it for us, but there is a subtle call to us all. And yes, i realize i’m using the phrase “call to come home” and “call to return” repetitively, but it’s so important that we hear and understand what the Lord is saying. So much of everything in the world has diluted God’s intent, that in our present system of words and definitions, we easily lose sight of His love.

We are called upon in Philippians 4:8 to think on whatsoever things are lovely … in the word lovely there is a call of the Lord to let go of the hindrances of this life, focus your attention on Jesus, and return to the God of our fathers. When anyone walks into a garden and it’s just busting with brilliant flowers, doesn’t there rise in your heart an inclination to marvel? The call to return pulls at our hearts even when we look at the night sky and gaze at the moon.

The Lord’s longing for us to be restored can be found in almost every part of creation. Many don’t see or hear, but it is there. Will we respond to His ever-present call? Either we do or we don’t…there is no sort of, pretty much, or for the most part. It’s a persistent call, an unrelenting call to all mankind, generation to generation, every morning, every evening, every flower, every waterfall, every mist, and every drop of rain which falls, the Lord beckons us to come away with Him, and sing the song of a rising new day.

Many seem to not be aware of the universal call of God…. not knowing what the longing in their hearts is about, but the longing is there none the less. Every time we watch it rain, every time we are mesmerized by the moon and the stars, every morning with the rising of the sun and the dew is fresh on the grass, mankind experiences an unidentifiable desire for restoration and recovery … we yearn to return to God.

The beauty of the morning is always striking and the birds announce the arrival of the new day which wraps our world in wonder. Even when things are bad with us, every morning, we start again with the thoughts of possibilities, thinking, maybe this day will be different. Hope rises on the wings of the new day, joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 90:14, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Psalm 30:5, “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote of the morning saying: “I see the spectacle of morning from the hill-top over against my house, from day-break to sun-rise, with thoughts which an angel might share. The long slender bars of cloud float like fishes in the sea of crimson light. From the earth, as a shore, I look out into that silent sea. I seem to partake its rapid transformations: the active enchantment reaches my dust, and I dilate and conspire with the morning wind.”

It was the habit of the hero’s of our faith to rise at the break of day to meet with God. Abraham and Moses rose up early in the morning to stand before the Lord. God sent Moses to stand before Pharaoh in the morning. Joshua, David, Job, Isaiah, Daniel, Jesus, and the Apostles all saw something important about starting the day off by meeting with God in the morning, when the sun begins to crest the eastern sky. They all had a habit of making the Lord the first one they spoke with every morning …. it was a first fruit offering; they gave God the honor of first recognition, first address, and first notice. after all, He is the alpha and omega, and multiple Bible heroes honored Him as the first and the last. And you? Who do you honor with your first and last words of the day? We say Jesus is first in our lives, so in light of that common declaration among believers, who is the first person you speak to every morning?

In the morning the brilliant blue larkspur and orange nasturtium blooms seem to glow in large beds against the sunny side of my house, and the swarms of yellow butterflies in continual motion speak of God’s kiss of affection for those who heed His call of grace. Art cannot rival this grandeur, this God-made pageantry of many colors … at the vision, i’m drawn up in worship of the Lord by the rising light of day. With the morning, every morning there is oneness in the house, God’s holiness rising as an emissary who is first and top of the day – the morning is divine.

Jesus, crucified in the evening, was found to be resurrected in the morning of the third day. As published in 1931 by English author Eleanor Farjeon, her lyrics about the most significant morning in history spoke of the resurrection of Christ: “Morning has broken, Like the first morning, Black bird has spoken, Like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them springing, Fresh from the Word! Sweet the rain’s new fall, Sunlit from heaven, Like the first dewfall, On the first grass. Praise for the sweetness, Of the wet garden, Sprung in completeness, Where His feet pass.”

In John 21, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, maybe the apostles didn’t know what to do next, so, they decided to go fishing. They set up their nets, launched their boats and they worked all … night … long. They knew how to accomplish their trade, but there was no benefit for their work at that point, and fishing like those guys fished was indeed hard work. In the morning, that’s right, in the morning, Jesus met them and directed their work. In the morning God showed up and they were fruitful. And notice, the Lord could have shown up at any time, but He chose the morning, when the light plows under the evening and begins anew. i’m telling you, i don’t know what it is, but there’s just something very important about meeting with God in the morning, it sets the tone for the day, it seems to put things in order and in a righteous array. All i can say is, on the wings of the morning, in the early morning light, the rising day brings the mercy and goodness of God which extends beyond the vanishing point. Think About it!

To recap a bit, indeed, there is something wonderful about the rising of dawn out of the end of night. It is a very important time when the fading darkness transitions into the new day. When the Lord divided the light from the darkness in Genesis 1:5, and there was evening and morning, the first day, but when He named the morning, i believe God’s heart was infused in the event. Morning comes everyday all around the world, and the Lord imparted to the rising light which plows under yesterday, to be like an emissary of His Holiness, top and first of the day, in the newness of the morning, man is inspired to return. Come let us return to the Lord, for He will raise us up to live before Him, and He will send to us the rain in the morning, watering the earth.

Psalm 143:8, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation from the deck overlooking the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge and every evening is pleasant.

Be strong and courageous this week. Try rising early to meet with God. Make Jesus the first and last person you speak to, Honor Him who died and rose from the dead so you can have life, and have it more abundantly.

Pray for your neighbors and friends, take God at His word – cover to cover; breathe easy and hold the line. i’ll talk to you next time, amen.

?What if we talked to God first, and asked Him His advice, His wisdom and counsel before all others, putting the counsel of our friends, neighbors, and paid advisors last?

We declare God as reigning supreme in our lives, and we may even quote Revelation 1:8,   “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” But yet it seems our personal agendas, somehow, more often than not, manage to edge God into last place. ?Are we brave to be honest with ourselves to admit to being personally responsible for not putting God first, giving Him our first and last everything?

So go with me a moment: Let’s suppose we’re going to play the 10% tithe game. ?We’ll give Him 10% of our money maybe, and that’s a BIG maybe, but will we be as careful about giving Him 10% of our time, 10% of our words, 10% of our food, 10% of the mileage on our car, 10% of our thinking, 10% of whatever else our lives are made of? Do we r-e-a-l-l-y want to do the 10% thing? How will we accurately measure out 10% of those? By what standard will we make that measurement? Sounds VERY tedious to me. Funny how selective we get over which part of our lives we give 10%. We are so … very … careful to count out, to the penny, 10% (or less) of our money, and then our underlying attitude is one of “now that i’ve paid God off this week, the rest of everything is mine … mine, mine, mine.” Me, me, me. i think maybe this 10% business is really a very disturbing cover for something much deeper.

Here’s a better way. The following are three points to approach the idea of how to mark a portion as belonging to God. And can you believe it? It starts with our thinking, seeing the Lord as our, here’s the three points: focus, context, and destiny.

First point, God. He is the subject of life, the foundation for living, the beginning of the beginning. If we don’t have a sense of the Lord being primary and first, chances are good we’ll have a hard time keeping our priorities straight. Let us put Him first, giving Him the first fruits of all we do and say. When we do that it puts us in the position for the Lord to give us a vocabulary for speaking accurately and comprehensively about our lives, where we come from and where we are going. We are positioning ourselves to be able to express what we think and do. When we orient our heading towards God it enables us to possess wisdom about the people we live with and how to get along with them. Suddenly we have longitude and latitude knowledge about the troubles we find ourselves in, and understanding for the amazing blessings that keep arriving. Not God in the margins, not God as an option, not God only on weekends, not God as an afterthought, but God at the center and circumference every day.

Second point, God. He is the context in which we live our lives, the connective tissue between our heart, head, and body, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit as our life line to the Father.  If we don’t have a sense of Him as our substance, we will be like a zero on a number line, just place holders with no increasing value. Not God as just the rule maker, not God as just a plumb line of law, not God as just some obscure protoplasm hanging between molecules, but God in the middle, edge to edge, as the medium and context of all our breathing. And that is the word “medium” in the context of the intervening substance and person through which and who impressions, ideas, and our very essence are conveyed. Acts 17:28, “‘In him we live and move and have our being”.

And third point, God. He is the end of the end. All things end at His feet. He reserves the right to designate the beginning of our days, and sets aside for Himself the exclusive right for all things to end at His throne. Our goal is to be restored, walking with Him in the end of the day, in the cool of the garden. If we don’t have a sense of the Lord as our end point, we will never successfully define our destiny. Not God as a vanishing point, not God in obscurity, not God as only one of many possible endings, but God as support and covering, breath and vision, first and last.

What if we gave God all our breathing, all our thinking, all our feeling, and all our strength? How would that look to you? ?What if we trusted Him to tell us how much to give of our everything, believing He was not going to ask us to give till we were destroyed? What if God really, really, actually, actually does love us and cares for us so much that if we trusted Him with our breathing, thinking, and feeling, He would bless us beyond our wildest dreams, so much so we can’t imagine and have never seen the likeness of His outpouring of goodness on us? What if we gave to others because Jesus first gave to us, and we gave as the Lord told us rather than just doing a rule or law of a percentage?

This week, give God your first and last words. Try it for 3 days. Make Him the first person you greet, and the last person you say goodnight to. He is worthy. “And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Oh, and we’ve really got to get rid of our merit/demerit system which says, “If you don’t tithe, God will squeeze it out of you somehow!” Really? i actually heard more than one pastor say that. Do we really believe God is that vindictive and hard? Is that r-e-a-l-l-y His character? If you think so, where did you get that idea ‘cause it’s not true.

Give God your first fruits, give Him your first and last of every day, and the entirety of your thoughts and words in all the in between.

A friend of mine told me this story, he said: “In the morning, every morning, at the moment my eyes open, i try to make God the first person i speak to. i’ve got this idea in my head to give Him more than just an offering of money, but give my first fruits in everything. In light of that, i’ve been making an effort to give Him my first words in the morning and my last words at night, actually making Jesus my first and last of everyday. It’s more than praise with words, it’s attitude, it’s worship born out of the intent of my heart. Sometimes i have to think to speak, but more and more often i see that changing to something more natural and flowing.” Then he continued, “Like this morning, as i opened my eyes, before i even stretched and considered to myself if i had slept well or had any dreams, from my mouth i heard, “Thank you Jesus. You are the Lord, who is beautiful and strong in me.” The work of the Lord in my heart was evident in the moment, i couldn’t help but smile to myself.” When i heard his words, something deep resonated in my heart.

So, i thought i would give it a try. Amazingly, it wasn’t long before … i found myself feeling a deep satisfaction that worship was evident in me, praise and thanks to God was first in my mouth. After many days, i noticed that i didn’t always have to think to make it happen, i didn’t have to remember to speak to God first and last, as if it was an obligation. Speaking first to Him was a pleasure, out of the abundance of my heart, my mouth spoke. To reiterate, for a while, i did have to think to remember to speak to God first, and i did have to think to speak to Him last, but the intent of my heart was a righteous one, and slowly over time, i began to address God without having to labor to make it happen. A thought gradually dawned on me … this was a gift.

How many of us give God our first fruits of anything? The idea of First Fruits was a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In classical Greek, Roman, Hebrew, and Christian religions, the first fruits were offered to the temple or church. It was a kind of tithe, with the word tithe literally meaning a tenth, the concept meaning to … give a tenth part, especially for the support of the church. First Fruits meant to appropriately mark a portion of the produce of the field as belonging to God. For most American Christians, the first fruits offering has been reduced to merely giving part of our money, and i think for many if not most, even that is reluctant.

?Do we appropriately mark a portion of anything we say or do as belonging to God? ?Does it always have to be exactly 10 percent? Some folks seem to always be worrying over 10 percent of their money. Their attitude is “10 percent for God, and NINETY percent for ME!” And somehow, in our minds, giving a portion to God always centers around money. Oh boy, money, money, money. The chains of chaos and the hypnosis over money is amazing isn’t it?

Anyway, what about other parts of our lives? Does it dawn on us to give God a part of everything we do? Jesus said in Mark 12:29-31, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Hmmmm, i don’t see anything in that which speaks to a percentage of just our money. In fact, i don’t see the idea of percentage at all. Jesus said, “all”. All your breathing, all your thinking, all your feeling, and all your momentum. Oh, and love your neighbor as yourself. How you treat yourself is how you’ll treat your neighbor, so how do you love yourself? If we’re brutal to ourselves, chances are good we’ll treat our neighbor similarly, and if we’re kind to ourselves, again, chances are good we’ll be kind to our neighbor also.

It’s peculiar to me how, although we claim to believe the law is finished and accomplished, we use it, when it’s convenient, to define how much we give. Jesus said, not only “Follow me”, meaning “do life my way”, but to give Him our all, and let Him decide how much to give.

?What if we gave God the first fruits of our mouth everyday? ?What if, we who say the Lord is God and we live our lives in Christ to glorify God, what if we gave him our first and last words, everyday? That certainly doesn’t impact anyone’s wallet, so it shouldn’t be a big deal to do, right? Putting God first in the beginning and end of each day, wouldn’t that be a kind of first fruits?

This all may seem small, but try it, put God first and last in your day. Strangely, it’s not easy, but i can’t think of anyone, anywhere that i would rather have first or last in my day. And just exactly why do i think it’s not easy? Well, honestly, i think most of us are far more taken with ourselves than God. i believe that we think of ourselves, for ourselves, about ourselves far more than we think anything of God. i believe that we say with great words, “The Lord reigns supreme in my life,” but the actual details, if they could be seen and charted, tell another story.

Let’s try something: think of other ways we can make God first and last in everything we do. How about if God was the FIRST person we consulted before we called someone to get advice, instead of the last person we look for AFTER we’ve searched out a matter, AFTER the advice of our friends, AFTER we’ve looked it up on the internet, AFTER we’ve struggled and grappled with our circumstances? Maybe even AFTER we’ve completely failed, THEN we get around to asking for God’s counsel. What do you think so far? Here ends part one.

My alarm was gestel vir 6:30 in die oggend. Ek was aan en af wakker deur die nagure, maar teen die tyd wat my alarm afgegaan het, was ek vas aan die slaap, dood aan die wêreld. In plaas van om die outomatiese “klik” van die alarm te hoor inskop, het ek ‘n man se stem hoor praat op die radio. Hy was besig om ‘n storie te vertel. Dit was amper asof die voorleser sy hele storie opgeneem het en teen 6:30 in die oggend ingestel was om te speel. Presies om 6:30 in die oggend het ek die man begin hoor praat, en dit is wat hy gesê het:

“Een dag, lank gelede, was daar ‘n jong meisie en seuntjie wat in ‘n dorp gebly het. En een van die dae het hulle ma na hulle toe gekom en vir hulle gesê dat sy hulle by hulle ouma en oupa op die plaas gaan laat bly vir ‘n paar dae, terwyl sy en haar man (hulle pa) ‘n paar dae vir hulself neem. Die kinders was baie gelukkig en kon nie wag om ‘n avontuur op die plaas te geniet nie.

Die eerste nag op die plaas het beide kinders baie lekker geslaap en hulle is vroegoggend op met die eerste lig. Die jong meisie het saam met haar ouma gegaan om hulle werkies om die huis te voltooi, en die jong seuntjie is saam met sy oupa om hulle plaaswerk vir die dag te voltooi. Die eerste ding op die oupa se lys was om sy kleinkind te neem om ‘n outydse slingervel te maak. In die oupa se werkswinkel het hulle hout gebruik om die handvatsel in vurkvorm te voltooi, hulle het binnebuisrubber in stroke opgesny met sy sakmes, en hulle het ‘n stukkie ou skoenleer gebruik vir die slinger. Die jong seun was in verwondering toe hy die kettie gesien het wat sy oupa gemaak het, en hy kon nie wag om die kettie uit te toets nie. Die volgende oggend het die jong seuntjie klein klippies gaan soek en heel oggend alles geskiet wat sy oog gevang het, maar ongelukkig het die jong seuntjie niks raakgeskiet nie, en hy het begin wonder oor Koning David en sy vermoë met ‘n kettie.

Toe middagete naderkom, het die oupa sy kleinkinders ingeroep om te gaan eet. En soos die jong seuntjie na die agterdeur toe hardloop, het sy oog sy ouma se gunsteling wit eend gevang. Die eend het net daar gestaan, amper asof hy gewag het vir die jong seuntjie om te kom. Die seuntjie het gereken, aangesien hy sover niks geskiet het nie, sal dit nie ‘n verskil maak as hy die eend probeer skiet nie. Hy het geglo dat hy in elk geval sou mis. Soos wat die jong seuntjie die klippie geskiet het, het hy beleef hoe die klippie direk op die eend afpyl en toe die eend net daar neerval. Die eend het nie eers ‘n klein rukkie gegee nie, nee, hy was net daar op die plek dood. Die jong seuntjie was angsbevange, en in die oomblik het hy die eend gegryp en agter ‘n hoop gekapte hout ingehardloop. In trane het die jong seuntjie die eend se lyk onder die herfsblare bedek. Toe die seun omdraai om te sien of iemand hom gesien het, het hy sy sussie sien staar met ‘n klein bose glimlag op haar gesig. Die seuntjie sê toe vir sy sussie: “Asseblief, moenie vir ouma sê nie, asseblief, ek smeek jou!” Die sussie het agtergekom dat sy ‘n geleentheid het, en in volle selfvertroue het sy saamgestem om niks te sê nie.

Soos wat die kinders ingegaan het vir middagete, het die ouma vir haar kleindogter gevra om die tafel te dek en te help om die middagete te bedien. En die jong dame sê toe: “Ek dink Bennie sal dit eerder wil doen.” Die jong seuntjie, in vrees, het onmiddellik saamgestem en was vinnig op sy voete om te help. Na middagete het die ouma vir die jong meisie gevra of sy sal help om skoontemaak en die tafel af te dek. En die jong meisie het geantwoord: “Ek dink Bennie sal baie graag eerder jou wil help as om buite te speel.” En weereens het die jong seuntjie saamgestem en onmiddellik die ouma begin help. Dit het aangehou deur die dag, tydens aandete en tot en met bedtyd.

In die vroeë oggend het die ouma haar kleinkinders geroep vir ontbyt. Die reuk van koffie en spek in die vroeë oggend het heerlik geruik vir die kleinkinders. Die ouma het weer vir haar kleindogter gevra om te help met ontbyt. En weer het die kleindogter gesê: “Ek is seker Bennie sal ouma baie graag wil help.” Maar teen daardie tyd het die jong seuntjie uiteindelik in trane uitgebars van al die opgeboude skuld oor sy geheim. En met bitter woorde tussen sy snot en trane het hy gesê: “Ouma, ek is so, so jammer. Ek het gister oorals op die plaas gestap en alles probeer skiet met die kettie wat oupa vir my gemaak het, maar ek het niks raakgeskiet nie. En toe julle my vir middagete roep, het ek jou gunsteling wit eend by die buitedeur sien staan, en ek was so seker dat ek nie eers naby sou kom nie, maar hierdie keer toe ek geskiet het, het ek raakgetref en ek het ouma se eend doodgeskiet! Ek is so jammer, ouma! Ek is so jammer dat ek ouma se gunsteling eend doodgeskiet het! Ek het regtig nie bedoel om dit te doen nie!”

Die ouma het baie saggies op haar knieë gaan sit voor die jong seuntjie. Sy het sy klein gesiggie in haar hande vasgehou, met sagte oogies na hom gekyk en in alle wysheid het sy vir hom gesê: “My liefste kleinseun, ek weet. Ek het in die kombuisvenster gestaan toe dit gebeur het. Ek het dit alles gesien en ek het jou onmiddellik vergewe toe dit gebeur het. Ek het net gewonder hoe lank jy jou sussie sou toelaat om jou skuld teen jou te gebruik en jou ‘n slaaf te maak as gevolg van dit.”

God sien ons, Hy sien alles wat ons doen, en daar is niks van my wat God nie weet nie of nog nie gesien het nie. Niks. Daar is niks wat my oë kan sien wat God nie kan sien nie. En daar is geen siekte of donkerte in my hart wat God nie van weet nie, wat ek kan probeer wegsteek nie. Hy sien my in my slegste, mees kwesbare tye. Hy weet wat ek dink en doen in my mees kwesbare en blootgestelde tye agter toe deure. Hy weet alles.

Die Vader het een keer vir my ‘n vraag gevra. Hy het gesê: “Jy weet daardie dinge wat jy doen in die donkerte wanneer jy dink niemand kan sien nie? Doen jy daardie dinge omdat jy glo Ek jou nie kan sien nie? Of doen jy daardie dinge omdat jy nie omgee dat Ek jou kan sien nie?”

In die diepte van jou hart, onder al die fasades en lae, is dit ongeloof of net pure rebellie? Sekerlik altwee saam. Ek is nie mal oor die vraag nie. Dit is ‘n baie moeilike vraag en omdat dit so waar en blootstellend is, is dit hoekom ek nie baie van die vraag hou nie.

Ek wou vir ‘n oomblik Hom net nie antwoord nie, want elke antwoord waarmee ek kon opkom, was net nie goed genoeg nie, of net glad nie goed nie. Hmmmm, ek wonder watse vraag minder ongemaklik is, aangesien albei baie ongemaklike vrae is. Soos voorheen gesê, albei is die waarheid. En soos wat ek rondgesruikel het en probeer het om die antwoord te vermy, het ek in alle waarheid klaar die vraag beantwoord deur die gebrek aan ‘n antwoord. God stel toe nog ‘n vraag aan my: “As Ek jou vergewe het en jou sonde so ver weg van jou af plaas soos die Ooste is van die Weste en Ek jou sondes vergeet, wie is dit wat jou aanhou herinner aan al die dinge wat jy ooit gedoen het? En hoe lank sal jy hom toelaat om jou ‘n slaaf van jou sondes te maak?”

Op hierdie dag, in hierdie oomblik, vra ek vir jou dieselfde vraag: “As God al jou sondes vergewe het op die kruis waar Jesus gesterf het, wie is dit wat jou die hele tyd aan al jou sondes herinner? Wie is dit wat jou herinner aan die slegte dinge wat jy gedoen het? En hoe lank gaan jy jouself toelaat om ‘n slaaf van jou eie sonde te wees?”

Dankie aan diegene wat geluister het, ek is “Social Porter” met “Living in His Name Ministries”.

C’mon friends, let’s get to the bottom of what it is which holds you back. The Lord has indeed called you, so why are you so tethered to this earth, like someone with no connections to eternity? Maybe you don’t know precisely what the Lord is calling you to, but you can position yourself in the mean time. The idea is not get to your destiny, but build your relationship with the Lord, who is God of your destiny.

i’m speaking of constraint in a negative sense, because Paul does write about being constrained by Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:14 in a good way, but what i mean is more in the sense of something which binds us in place and doesn’t allow us to advance, closes us in, enclosing us in a compressing embrace which doesn’t permit us to breath well.

What are the spiritual restrictions or limitations, the things which impose a narrowed view of the Lord? i remember a line from Peter Pan where he said, “If you have faith, you have wings,” yet so many believers operate more like a bird who’s wings have been clipped so it can’t fly properly.

Sure, it’s easy to say “If they would only recognize my value, i would find my true north.” Ok, let’s suppose they don’t give you the recognition you think you deserve. Is recognition by leadership really what binds you up and won’t allow you to enter into God’s plan more fully? Are they really so powerful they can keep you from the Lord? No. If you’re waiting on leadership to make a way for you, my guess is you’ll be waiting a very, very long line. Ply back the layers to find out what constrains you. i’ve been told i’m a little too direct, too honest, but truthfully, i don’t know how to approach getting closer to Jesus without a most definite amount of directness and honesty. i reckon being told we’re too direct or too honest actually, actually really means we didn’t schmooze and romance enough to make the other person feel comfortable in their own skin. i’ll tell ya, i love my brothers and sisters in Christ, but if they want to get more involved with Jesus, they’ll have to pick up the pace.

Jesus said “Follow me”, not, “Follow an important person who follows me.” If you’re leading a lifestyle where you are constantly having to divide out if what you’re doing is right or wrong, it’s probably wrong. Think. If you have to wonder, it’s highly likely God is posing you the question as an inspiration that you’ll begin to possibly address your permissiveness, or step up with increased honesty and transparency. Friends, step up or step off.

Ask yourself concerning what you’re pondering to do … does it bring me under the power of a situation which the Lord says is wrong? Do you find yourself reasoning around the obvious? If your actions cause you to lose your relish of righteous things, sadly i can say from personal experience, it’s not a good idea and life will increasingly feel like the brakes are on.

What keeps you back from just going all in for Jesus? Other people? Nope, they don’t have that kind of power. Your schedule? Nope, you made your schedule, so it’s not your schedule. i can assure you God will wipe out your entire schedule to get your attention if He needs to. What prevents you? Is it fear? Fear is powerful and can be subtle so we’ve got to dig under the surface to deal with those things, maybe even get professional help. Maybe it’s a lack of money. Nope, if more money would get you into your destiny with God, many would have long ago entered Heavens gates. Could it be your family? Nope, public and familial opinions should never surpass the call of God. We are choosing friends. And i know we can’t, in and of ourselves, bust down the gates of Heaven, but we certainly can position ourselves, and start steady rowing the boat in God’s direction. i guarantee you if you’ll look for Him, He will find you.

Kelly Balarie wrote: “When I look at my life, I see a whole lot of blessings, but I also see a whole lot of comfort. Comfort that wraps me warm and snuggly. So warm, that sometimes I don’t want to look beyond my TV – or even the walls of my house. Comfort that second-guesses spending time with others. Comfort that makes it difficult to give and to let go. Comfort that doesn’t allow me to see all that God has for me. Comfort that keeps me stuck in convenience…and we in western Christianity have gotten oh so comfortable, even to becoming complacent.”

Is it possible your constraints are simply a huge fear of risk? For many it is too risky to believe God speaks directly to them and can orchestrate their steps. It is too risky to not have the approval of someone in leadership. You are a child of faith, and God is on your side, always. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Cut the cord baby, and get moving.

Sure, what if you step out and get it wrong? Well, then i reckon you’ll just back up and try again. God is not sitting w-a-y up high as you struggle w-a-y down below, and when you mess up, He smirks and little smirky smile and says to Himself, “Yea, i didn’t think so.” No. Never.

Jesus said, “Follow me”, so let’s get out there and risk with God again. Did you hear that? Take a chance with God again. He has not failed us in the past, nor will He in the future. The Lord has helped us, and will help us. He has guided us and will guide us. He always shows up, although we may not be aware, He is there. We need God’s endorsement, not the endorsement of leadership. Hebrews12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” What is it which constrains you? Cut the cord baby, and get moving!

What do you think?

When you spend time on a river, you get almost every imaginable condition – heat and rain, high and low, hot and cold.  Any given day can be a challenge, but on average: every day is beautiful! In the evening there is the occasional fisherman launching out for a time of trying his luck, often without success but still satisfied to casually float along – even from here i can see the water swirls of blue and brown around the boat with the fisherman bending over to steer with the rudder, getting clear of the shore line and trees.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts. i’ve got my coffee, a comfortable chair, a beautiful view and good conversation … ahhh yea, it doesn’t seem to get any better than this!

Aside from having Christ as the center of our lives, what are some other attributes which are imperative for us if we are going to live upright, Godly lives before the Lord. All my days are before the Lord and none of them are hidden from God, the one who’s eyes see everything, all potentials and all possibilities, from beginning to end, all at once.

i have three of God’s imperatives in mind, things we absolutely must have as essentials, they are Wisdom, Hope and Love. Don’t you know you need it, gotta have it, can’t live without it.

On a side note, as sub-imperatives aiding us to live out God’s three imperatives, the first one is learning the value of letting yourself bend your knees to the Lord, getting yourself some humility, now that’s a good thing, after all, humility goes before honor, and if you want to have some honor, you’ve gotta get low first. That’s if you want the honor as God would give it to you, otherwise, let’s be honest here and ask the question, is it more important to you to get honor from people and fit in, or get honor from God, regardless of people? Tough question, that’s if your honest.

God’s grace is sufficient to see us through life, and it isn’t written as entertainment, it means we need to get low, that we cannot go through things in our own strength. Humbling ourselves before the Lord goes a long way to living well where you are. Mind you, God’s grace is NOT white out meaning we’re still responsible for our behavior.

Another sub-imperative is for us to take the time to let God change our perspective. It takes time, just let Him do it. A friend came back from the mission field. At a meeting one evening someone was complaining about their potential problems next year, as they foresaw them. My missionary friend spoke over the top of the room saying that if we have heat, food for more than a day, shelter, and water, then we are probably ahead of 80% or more of the rest of the world. It was quite a piercing moment.

i’ve been told i’m an independent fellow, and what they mean is that i come off as not allowing anyone help me. i don’t know about that, maybe what’s closer to the truth is, it doesn’t actually occur to me that i need help. But i can tell you this, in addition to God’s three imperatives, it should be no skin off our noses to ask for help. i don’t mean cry wolf every time things aren’t easy, or asking for help because we need someone to do something in order to make us ok, that’s co-dependent victim living. But learn to recognize when someone besides yourself knows stuff you don’t. Learn to ask for help. It’s not demeaning, it’s the truth. Learn to ask for help and accept the help when it comes.

And lastly, learn to trust God that He will bring good out of every crisis. Now that won’t avert conflict and crisis, but we really need to know nothing passes though the nail pierced hands of Jesus without His allowance. Romans 8:28 says, “… all things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Here’s the summary of the four things which will go a long way to achieving God’s three imperatives: Get low, get a better perspective, ask for help when you need it, and trust God to bring the best from your circumstances. It’s the truth to say, “God’s got this”, but we’ve got to join Him in His redemptive work. He want us to participate in our own well being you know.

There are a few things God refers to as “above all”, meaning first and foremost, greater and higher, before anything else. 2 Peter 1:20, “Above all, you must understand…” there is no doctrine or prophecy which is of a private interpretation, meaning sound doctrine applies to the entire body of Christ and not just an elite few. Those with understanding are able to extract the meaning out of information at the revelation of the Holy Spirit. They “see through” the facts to the dynamics of what, how, why, where, and who. Understanding is a lens which brings the facts into crisp focus and produces principles, except, let me add, we can see the crisp focus of the facts in our telescopic vision, but we don’t have much unless God gives us an ability to connect the dots to see through the facts to grasp the dynamics. i know some very smart people who know lots of facts, but they have yet to connect the dots, so there they sit, unredeemed regardless of all they know. Sincerity is not following.

The phrase “above all” is used, on the average depending on the translation, 15-22 times in the N.T. alone. Hmmm, must be important for us to notice i’d say. 1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply…”; James 5:12, “Above all, my brothers, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else”; Colossians  3:14, “But above all these things put on love….”; Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things”; Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart”.

What i’m getting at are the things that are “above all”, they are essential to our ability to persist in and accomplish the purposes of God. In light of that, i think 3 of God’s imperatives could easily be wisdom, hope, and love.

Without wisdom we are like a man who will die because he cut the cords of his own tent and knocked down his support poles. Real wisdom doesn’t exist in the simple possession of facts. Real wisdom involves honesty, more than the facts, but the truth. Truth: God and the Bible define the church. Lie: God, the church, and tradition define the Bible. Do you see the difference? God’s intent in His creation of the idea of “knowledge” comes in many forms. True knowledge involves seven important interrogating adverbs, what, where, when, how, which, who, and why, making knowledge directly connected to the word “why”. If we know “what” or “how” but don’t know nor care to know “why”, truly, we really only possess partial understanding and are largely left with a pile of unanalyzed data. Knowledge means we investigate how something happens, where it happens, how often it happens, when it happens, and why.

Without hope there is only despair, the opposite of hope IS despair. Where ever we find faith, hope was there first, and hope inspires faith, for without faith we cannot please the Lord, nor will we do any righteous works. Like in Ephesians 2:12, before we knew Christ, we were foreigners to the covenants of the promise, therefore without hope and without God, we are dead in the water in a dead and inanimate world. As long as people insist on their own qualifications as good enough to stand before God, they are cut off from hope.

Without love, we are just a noise among many other noises in the universe, boy and let me say, the universe isn’t as silent as we might think.

Love was, is, and ever will be essential and at the core of the heart of God, even from before the foundations of the earth were laid. Jesus gave himself for us on a horribly beautiful cross because of love, which as has been said, was worked in the Heart of the Father from before there was the height and width and length of light and time.

Proverbs 4:7 says that “Wisdom is the principal thing; get wisdom: and with all your getting, get understanding.” Did you hear that? It’s a principal thing, meaning in order and rank it is among the first, and chief. To call wisdom the “principal thing” means it is the beginning and the first fruit, and in light of wisdom being a “principal thing” it would seem it should be the first request of God in our prayers. We desperately need wisdom, because with wisdom comes her two brothers, understanding and knowledge. Understand me, i say “her two brothers” because “wisdom” is a feminine noun, understanding and knowledge are masculine nouns, the three go together so closely knit, they are together as one, like the three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit in 1 John 5:7.

i believe the Lord extends everyone some wisdom and repetitive opportunities for understanding. But, at some point, we can safely say, to get more knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, we’re going to have to get involved with God. He is the source and fountain, and if you got it, believer or not, God gave it. How many of us say we “know” God? If you say you know God and you don’t, then you don’t. There is not “kind of knowing” Him. But you know, Kevin said it seems that “knowing” God to a level of discomfort is just too much for some people. But if that’s what God wants, shouldn’t we also want “to know” Him that well? If we aren’t knowing Him, then who are we knowing, ‘cause, it’s a fact, we are going to be knowing somebody?

The wisdom of the world is a manipulative wisdom, in other words, because it is “of the world”, it always leverages an outcome in it’s own favor at the expense of others, and that is the way of the world. But God’s wisdom, which is “in the world” but “not of the world”, always comes with value added, that being understanding and knowledge. To reiterate a bit, buried in the word “knowledge” is, what, where, when, how, which, who, and why, those are the seven subdivisions of knowledge. Just like the Hebrews held there are not four but six directions, north, south, east, west, forward, and backward. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding give us a reason to be where we are, and direction for where we’re going, if we’ll get involved with God.

Consider Exodus 31:1-5. There was a guy named Bezalel (bets-al-ale’), whose name literally meant “shadow of God”. As seen in the scripture, God had filled him with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. i suppose i could re-phrase that to say, “In the very shadow of God, is wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.” According to Exodus 31:4-5, as it was with “Bets-al-ale’” it can be with us also, that if we have wisdom, understanding and knowledge, then within us is the ability to set jewels in life, to work gold, silver and bronze in our relationships, and to accomplish all manner of workmanship in the world around us. That’s called “doing the Kingdom of God”.

Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you get …. and whatever else you may get, get understanding.”

Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are imperative.

The second of God’s imperatives could easily be hope. Hope is an anticipation of becoming and overcoming. Did you get that? Hope is an anticipation of becoming and overcoming.

The idea of the Hebrew word for “hope” is seen in God’s kindness which offers us a rescue rope. The rope represents the possibilities of becoming and overcoming. Imagine the picture of a drowning man and someone throwing him a rope, well, that rope is the idea of the Hebrew word for hope. Rope and Hope….hmmmm, that rhymes. i see …. Kindness threw a dying man the rescue rope of Hope, and Compassion encouraged the man to grip to God’s offer of salvation.

i ask myself, why not faith, or patience, or peace as one of the three imperatives? i figure that faith, patience, peace, self-control , etc, are fruits of the spirit as seen in Galatians 5:22, they are the results of a Holy Spirit led life, but without hope, without the kindness of God which leads us to repentance, there would not be a place for any good fruit. The kindness of God creates a platform for hope to stand on, belief stands on the shoulders of hope, and faith finds momentum in the grip of belief. Hebrews 11:1 “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Where ever we find faith, we can rest assured hope was there first. It bears saying again, i say that without hope we would not have faith, and without faith there would not be a platform for the action verb derivative of faith which is belief. Without faith there would be no believing, and without belief there would be no righteous works nor pleasing our beloved. Hope is essential.

Without love as principal of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, the gifts of the spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 would be just stuff we do. In the Old Testament, at the hem of the priest’s garment, there were bells and pomegranates. This is brought to light in Exodus 28:3-4, and Exodus 39:25-26. At first i thought to myself, “What do bells and pomegranates have to do with fruits and gifts?” Like a fog which drifts in upon us in the evening, God’s wisdom slowly found it’s grip in my thinking.

i believe the pomegranates at the hem of the priest’s garment, which were worn when they served before the Lord, are the O.T. version of the fruits of the spirit. After all, can we have real peace without love at our core? Can we really exercise Godly self-control without love in our middle? Is it possible to be long suffering as Jesus is long suffering without love? i think not. No. Can-not. Love is essential.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

A resounding gong or a clanging cymbal? That would mean without love we are a just a noise, an obnoxious one at that. A “clanging cymbal” is a bit grating, if you know what i mean. In this case, the word love is “agape”, and within the context of this scripture, it means, the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity, which we are committed to, mutually giving, taking, and practicing towards God and others; it refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term extends to the love of those around us, believers and unbelievers alike. The word “agape” in and of itself is not exactly all that, but the Biblical writers, in this scripture, use the word in a way in which it’s always pointing toward God’s heart for us.

Here’s another interesting view of the bells and pomegranates, or the gifts and the fruits – a dove has 9 main feathers on each wing, if any one of those feathers falls out or doesn’t function correctly, flying becomes very difficult. But if the heart of the dove is broken and the dove dies, the greatness of the nine feathers on each wing, or the fruits and the gifts, are worthless without the foundation of the life of the dove. Love is like that. If the fruit is not rooted in love, it is rotten fruit. If the gifts aren’t motivated by love, they are just an obnoxious noise. Fruit without the gifts, or gifts without fruits is like flying with only one wing. But fruit and gifts without love are just dead works, in fact i seriously question if we can even have Godly fruit or practice righteous gifts without love. i sorta’ doubt it.

Knowledge without love is the worlds’ way, not God’s way. The Lord says love should overlay everything about us. 1Corinthians8:1 “… We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge in and of itself puffs up, but love builds up.” Are you puffed up, or built up? The end result is an up position, but how we got there is the crux of the matter. In the last 24 years, i have become aware of many imperatives in scripture, so i’ve been making a list. It is essential that our love is genuine, and that we hold fast to what is good. It is essential that we serve the Lord, rejoice in hope, and be patient in tribulation.

If we are not serving the Lord then who are we serving? If we’re not rejoicing in hope then we are slowly sinking in despair. If we are thrashing around in the midst of tribulation, it didn’t change the crisis, it just means we’re swinging our hands around, banging and crashing into stuff, being panicked in a little room somewhere. It is essential we are not wise in our own eyes, and equally essential for us to learn to weep with those who weep, bless those who persecute us, and practice hospitality.

1 John 4:19 doesn’t say “We like, because He first liked us.” It says “We love, because He first loved us.” Scripture says to “love your neighbor as you love yourself”. Love is essential for all the God-functions in us to work properly. Love is not a one-night stand, it is consistent, persistent, and never treats others as something disposable. Love is like the grease in our gears.

For friendship to work there are essential elements of the relationship which need to function. It’s essential there is a two-way street of grace, a willingness to communicate, and being transparent and authentic. It does not flow in only one direction. For friendship to work it’s essential there are boundaries for no good relationship survives without good boundaries which define where loyalty and responsibility start and stop. Honesty is essential for friendship or else nobody is actually connecting with anybody, it’s all a meeting of perpetually smiling faces, and that’s not friendship.

A couple other essential things are … the necessity of hearing God, and doing what He says. The Lord may approve your motive but may delay taking action, not “no” just “not now”, and we must hear Him and do what He says, and it is more than subservience or merely blindly following, it is more “yield, and let His words persuade your heart”. More than something to get, but someone to be. Can you think of essential things we all must put into action in our lives?

Three essentials sit over the top of all the other imperatives: Wisdom, Hope, and Love. The world around us has many counterfeits of those three, but the truth is, only God can supply those things in us, according to His riches in glory. It’s a God thing.

i met a lady at the jail who told me, besides Jesus and God, death was holy too. i figure it must be a cultural thing because if death is so holy that someone made a saint out of death, why does God throw death in the lake of fire in Revelation 20:14? Death is a result of sin, therefore nothing righteous comes from death in any form except dying to ourselves. Santa la Muerte has a play date with the lake of fire and woe to them who worship a false god. It is imperative we worship only the Lord lest we, subtly, over time, becoming repetitively unfaithful to Him.

Let me encourage each of us to ask the Lord for wisdom, and rest assured that as He gives us wisdom, Godly understanding and knowledge will come with it. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge travel as a team and they’re just waiting for you to tell them to “play ball!” Give away hope like it’s candy in your pockets, love those around you and intercede for transgressors. Jesus did, and we should too! Think about it.

i’m Social Porter, and this has been Outposts. This program is brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, the home of brilliant creativity and dynamic forward thinking. Support has also come from Ray Prater of Terminal Taxi service in Mills River, Rev. Tommy Proctor of Shaw’s Creek Baptist Church, Allen Freeman of Quality Tire on North Church St. and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

Colossians 3:14 “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

Love is the grease in our gears, the glue which keeps electrons and neutrons from flying off in other directions; love is the grip of God on our hearts; it is the blood of the Son, and motive of His resurrection that we would have life and have it more abundantly. Love is the strength of hope, the melody of God’s heart, and the aroma and bouquet of His peace. Let us get wisdom, have hope, and exercise our love, living in the shadow of God to set gem stones, creating beautiful things of gold, silver, and bronze, allowing the wisdom of God be like a chisel in our hands directed and compelled by the inspiration of Hope and Love.

Be strong and courageous!

What has the Lord got in His cubbards? One of His commodities is: mercy, a blessing that is an act of divine favor and compassion, and includes the compassionate treatment of those in distress, and forbearance. i like the meaning of forbearance, the Greek paraphrased meaning is, “allowing us to live a little longer that we might repent”. The Lord is heavy in mercy, and gracious to give it.

i believe mercy from other people is in very short supply these days, it is thinly given, and greedily received, but yet the truth is mercy is a most important and necessary commodity. It’s one of God’s most essential attributes.

Throughout the Bible, the Lord is considered “Merciful and Gracious” and is praised for it, as seen in Psalms 103:8.

Mercy is such a big deal, the artist Caravaggio was commissioned in 1606 to paint the famous altar piece titled The Seven Works of Mercy, which is feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, visiting prisoners, and burying the dead.

Jesus describes fatherly mercy as “a gratuitous, generous gift”. In Ephesians 2:4 Paul refers to the mercy of God in terms of salvation: “God, being rich in mercy, even when we were dead, God made us alive together with Christ“.

i think more than finding all the places in the Bible where mercy is spoken of, i’m more interested in mercy within our own lives, up close and personal, like, are we merciful to ourselves? Meaning do we hold a grudge and remembrance of sin over our own heads long, long after God has forgiven and forgotten our wrongs? i believe many people only see the eyes of Judas looking back at them from the mirror.

Are we too merciful to ourselves, with a tendency to let our behavior off the hook, thinking, “well, it’s just the way i am.” And then there is mercy as God extends it to us, in the sense that when mankind lost his ability to relate to God, God had extreme mercy and gave His Son, Jesus, to bridge the gap between Himself and men.

Do we extend other people mercy as God extends it to us? Letting them live like they live, die like they die, decide what they decide without us feeling like we have to control them? Mercy should be practiced in wisdom and understanding, in full realization that people are just people, and if everyone got what they “deserved” and what was “fair”, there would be no one left alive.

A man called me on the phone once, complaining about the way someone treated him in a dispute of some sort. He said loudly with passion, “I just want what’s fair! I just want what is coming to me, what is mine!” As kindly as possible i heard my mouth saying, “If you want what’s fair and what’s coming to you, then you’ll get a sharp stick in the eye and have hell to look forward to. So, let’s talk about what you really mean, are you up for it?”

Are your pockets brimming with mercy, or is the law and justice your preference, preferring “line upon line, and precept upon precept? Isaiah 28:13 was not speaking of blessing you know. i call people who have law and justice as their preference, chanting “line upon line, and precept upon precept” as a weight, not wings, i call them “Nail drivers”. They think it’s their job to make sure everyone is properly pounded in place.

An Ethics expert, Jacob Appel, has observed a decline of mercy, and an increase in retribution, in American public life. Appel wrote:

“One of the glaring — yet too often overlooked — failings of contemporary America is that we have become a nation obsessed with our own idea of justice and retribution. We claim to be The Land of the Free, yet many have lost sight of what it means to be imprisoned, denied liberty, and subjected to isolation and violence. We have come to believe, in the most highly injurious or destructive way, that people should get what they deserve. What a change it would be in our public exchange of ideas and conversation and our civic life, if we focused instead upon mercy and forgiveness. A merciful and forgiving culture typically finds itself with less anger, less social disruption, and even less crime.”

Let’s not skew the subject of mercy here. We’re not speaking of irresponsibility and being passive about poor or wrong behavior. God and the Bible are our reference as to what is right and wrong. And we’re not saying there is not real right and wrong, because there surely is. God is the standard, not men or their behavior, not the church, not our traditions which have no scriptural authority, yet we give so much weight to. i’m asking that, within our sphere of influence, do we have mercy for others, including ourselves, when they struggle?

Having a heart of kindness seeing ourselves and others with compassion, are we willing to extend ourselves to come along side others when people have lost the way home? Are we compassionate when people feel frazzled and ripped, wounded and beaten, plundered and defeated by the constant breaking and entering of vicious circumstances? Or are we good with whatever happens just as long as it doesn’t happen to us?

Let’s look at a parable. Luke 10:25-35 is an interesting story of how we view other people, our own mercy values, and the needs of others. Jesus tells a story with 8 characters in it, and each person had a different level of mercy, and a different view of the needs of others.

Here’s the list of characters: The victim: a man who made a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, he could be any one of us. The robbers: they saw the victim, whom they beat and robbed, as someone to exploit and forcibly get gain from. The Levite and the Priest: they saw the beaten and robbed man as someone who looked like trouble. Is that you and me in our religiousness? The Samaritan: he saw the beaten and robbed man as someone to have mercy on and care for.  The Inn Keeper: he saw the Samaritan and the victim as someone to help as long as he was getting paid. Also there was Jesus, who was telling the story, and the lawyer who was listening.

Each one of the people in this story had a different view of the needs of others.  Some of us are victims, rightly or wrongly, we are.  There are those of us who claim to be believers but we have such a deep-seated prejudice, we hate some people yet can’t see even the simple things. Some of us see others as someone to exploit and get gain from, yet others of us see people who have dire needs as nothing but trouble, someone who might taint our reputation, concerned some of their “bad ju-ju” might get on us, careful to not touch them but telling them, “I’ll pray for you! Be warm and filled.” Many are willing to serve others in their need, but only if there’s something in it for them, or maybe we see people in their desperation as someone to care for and have mercy on. And then, some of us, like Jesus, see the needy, compromised multitudes as someone worth dying for. Or maybe we are like the lawyer, who seemed to be looking for a legal reason, based on his knowledge of the law, to exercise or not exercise compassion, as long as it was legal, or to find a failing in others he could exploit.

Has God had mercy on you? If He has had mercy on you, you can have the gift of mercy also. If He has done it IN you, He has also given it TO you.   Who do you see yourself as? Is your mercy level real, God given mercy, or is it just indifference? Mercy, peace, and indifference can often look the same. Who do we see ourselves as: a victim, a robber, a religious person, a Samaritan, an Inn Keeper? The lawyer? Like Jesus?  How do we relate to the needs of others? Is it through the eyes of mercy and compassion? A man asked recently, “Why will Christians not do for free, what they will do for money?” We often will help if someone gives us money or a gift. We will be obedient for money to a boss who is abusive, we’ll sweep the floor for money, but if someone asks us to sweep up at church, suddenly we’ve got an attitude like, “Who do they think they are to tell me anything?!” Wow.

Let’s be honest with ourselves and the Lord, not telling ourselves a fairytale so we look good in the mirror, but honest before the Lord. Which one are you? If God has given mercy to you, then give it away to others. Ask the Lord to help you to know how to do that.

Let mercy, your compassion for the miserable run free. Remember Jesus is open for the exercise of mercy toward men and women, in harmony with the demands of truth and righteousness. In Christ mercy and truth meet together and are married, both are in our hands to give away as a grace. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name Ministries.