My house stands with an air of confidence that is most noticeable in it’s situational serenity. My house is confident because God is confident. My house, from property line to property line is my Shalom place and even includes our dream space under God’s exclusive domain, even when we sleep.

Where we live should be like a soft face with intelligent cheek bones, a golden ratio nose, trimmed brows, and defined chin, complimented by it’s easy, charming metaphorical smile.

There should be wondrous clean glass, the windows being the eyes of our house, staring out in curiosity as if about to break out in smiles all over at anyone who visits; the yard, groomed, cropping the place we live.

At our house, where i live, the land behind the house and behind the barn spills down between two rolling green hills…. past that, it levels out to a shady, cascading creek which appears like a beautiful idea, serene and quiet, a hidden treasure which you’d have to purposefully look at in order to see it.

Where do you live? Is your house a reflection of you, or is it a reflection of who you wish you were? Maybe it’s a reflection of who you wish you weren’t, or a reflection of someone else? i heard someone say they were praying for dominion over evil spirits once, but i figure it all like Joyce Meyer says, it would be better to start by having dominion over that sink of dirty dishes, the carpet which needs vacuuming, or those dirty clothes which need washing, folding, and hanging up first.

i believe those are very telling details of where you live which are like outward illustrations of your inner life. Where do you live? What does your house reflect about you? Overall, the general shape of our lives can be seen in the place where we live.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast of cool jazz and contemplative conversation from the late evening cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the firefly’s are putting on a spectacular show for us tonight, and every evening is pleasant.

“Where do YOU live,” What are your foundations, walls, and roof made of? It may look like you but does it reflect the real you?

Many years ago, i met a fellow who seemed to really have it all together. You know, one of those people you can’t help but like. From where i was standing, to me, he appeared as a diligent believer. He spoke often of how he fasted and read his Bible, many times he spoke of mighty things in Christ.

Then the more i began to spend time with him, the more i noticed flashes of chaos  ….. i’m not saying i don’t have grace for being human, but this was way over the top of the general chaos of being human. There was an increased chaotic splash here, the mental and emotional bedlam there; there were unsettling and increasing signs of his really being disconnected and disjointed. The more we spent time talking the more i heard a jumble of misperceptions and unresolved thinking. Sadly, it dawned on me that he was someone far different on the inside than who he presented himself to be. His presentation face (which he worked very hard on) and his real face gave away the condition of where he really lived. There was an obvious difference between his, what i call, presentation face, and his real face. One day, i went with him to his work truck, and there to my complete surprise was the most radical mess i had ever seen.

In the moment, the Lord spoke to me saying, “This is his life. This is his house. This is how he thinks and lives. The condition of his truck is a representation of who he really is and how he considers the world around him.” Then the Lord asked me a question, “Where do you live?” The Lord wasn’t opening my eyes to see all about the other guy, He was opening my eyes to know more about myself. My seeing wasn’t about him…but about me! You know, it’s real easy to find out about others, but yet, we have such a hard time being honest about ourselves. And we can be honest and transparent, but without being vulnerable for others whom we trust to speak into our lives, we’re just the same old brick wall everyone else is.

Rather than dwell on who my friend was NOT, i began to think about who i was, who i thought i was, and who i wanted to be. Did i wear a presentation face which was radically different than who i really was? Did my character match my conscience, and would they know each other if they met on the street? How far apart was my presentation face from my real face? Those were questions to myself of which the answers were far beyond any tools i possessed to analyze with. Those were God questions, requiring God answers. i think the Lord poses us questions like that in order to build a vision of possibilities, and when we share with others that knowledge of His vision of possibilities and allow them to particularize themselves to us, it’s called, “Common ground”. It’s where we relate to God, and where we relate to others and them to us. My friend, consider to yourself, how do you relate to God? Now you can say all the standard answers of relating to God through prayer, or His word, but consider it again. Hmmm…yea, it’s a pretty pondersome sort of question. It seems He is far above and we are far below, so how do we reach someone like the Lord, or is the truth more that if He doesn’t connect with us we will not connect with Him?

How is your house? You say you have a roof, but your rafters aren’t all in place, and we all know a roof with no rafters could easily just be called a tent. A roof with no rafters will come down in a storm. Or is your house like a movie set, full of props and poses, though pretty enough, they’re just not real?

Where do you live?

Of course, this is all a bit metaphoric, but still, the following posed questions are good ones, even if for no one else but myself.

But first lets talk a little about the idea of “details”, something most of us are not good at. A detail, according to the way the word is used in Coloss2:18, means “To approach something with a view to examine closely.” The word is the picture of someone approaching an object and doing more than simply identifying what the object is and how it works, but to get closer, so much closer to understand the inside workings and why the object or concept of our inspection functions as it does. The O.T. version of the word means to closely inspect something taking note of it’s interaction with everything else. It’s a picture of someone looking very very closely at cross-stitch or embroidery.

In light of that, how are the details of your house ordered? Are the books neatly set on a shelf of sorts? Are the window sills dusted and chairs arranged in a friendly fashion? Does the living room invite a warm conversation? Is your house, as in the place where you live in your heart and in your mind… does it represent the Lord and you well? What would God think if He were to show up at your house, knocking on the door politely? Would you ask Him in or tell Him to wait a moment, leaving Him to listen at the door while you went scurrying around, frantically picking up, cleaning up, and hiding unmentionables, as if He doesn’t already know the condition of our living spaces which only we see? Or maybe some of us would even speak to Him through the door, asking Him to schedule an appointment next time because today’s visitation was very inconvenient? Would you be willing to miss the day of your visitation simply because you felt your house was not situated well?

There is a great deal to consider when thinking about where you live. The details are always important and always matter. There’s the structure, organization, the food preparation area and sleeping quarters, clothing storage, and the family relationships within your home, both physical, spiritual, and metaphorical too. Those are all things which describe where we live. Is that concept too large for now? If so, just focus on just one space, setting things upright. All this remodeling isn’t to try and get God to be pleased with you, it’s about having faith and believing God is already pleased with you, and you can’t manage your image to make it all simply “look better”.

How you live in your heart before the Lord is evident in how you keep your house. Do you mind people coming to visit, or are you embarrassed for anyone to walk in? Remember, it’s not about creating a seemingly sterile atmosphere, afterall, you live there and, to me, living spaces are supposed to look “lived in”. We’re not building a stage prop, we’re building reality.

For some, i believe if we could walk through the place they live in their hearts, maybe what we would see would be a bare bones existence, just the simple basic human needs of food, shelter, and clothing. Or maybe we would walk through beautiful forests, sit on royal porches with a view, lavishing in all their beautiful greenery and flowers of their radiant God-heart. i had a dream about a stern man i used to know, or maybe a better word other than “stern” would be “stringent”. In the dream he lived in a concrete block house with concrete floors. There was no grass around his house, and the roof was just flat and stark. There were strictly functional flat windows with no adornments, the furniture was sparse, and the doors were hung like vault doors. In the dream he was always sternly staring at me like i was an intruder who had a lot of nerve to be inside his house. Indeed, as time went by, the more i knew him, that’s exactly how he lived. The dream wasn’t only about him, but also about me, and again, the Lord challenged me by asking, “How do you see where you live?”

Many might see the place where they live as a daily downward spiral of beggary, and indigence, a poverty stricken faint smudge on a clean wall. Is that how we think God sees us?  …..but is that really how it is, or is that just the view of your house through the eyes of some old religious dogma?

What are the attributes of your house? Did you know that the very first letter of the Bible is the Hebrew letter beit, which is symbolic of “the house”, and in this case it’s a little oversized, so initially, it is understood that the very important first letter points to the story of God’s house. But what about where you live? Is it situated  with compassion and mercy, which is the over-arching attitude in how you relate to the world around where you live, or does your house ooze a feeling that says, “Someone owes me” because you’re waiting for someone to pay you to have compassion? A description of God’s house can be seen in Psalm 48:1-3 ….. God’s house is set up on top of the mountain of His holiness, and vs 2 says God’s house is situated beautifully, the joy of the whole earth. And you? Is your house a refuge? Do you feel others should exercise their hospitality, but for you, becoming a refuge is just too expensive with not enough emotional capital to be a refuge for those in need of emotional, spiritual, or moral shelter? Being a refuge requires knowing Jesus, knowing yourself, and having good boundaries, and those come with time and trial to make them firm in our hearts.

Is love part of your house, as the foundation and structure? Our attitudes, or heart posture are part of where we live, being like Jesus and having a heart for the poor, and poor doesn’t necessarily mean people who don’t have stuff or food. There is moral and ethical poverty in this world also.

i’ve got in front of me some common excuses for not helping the poor, and these attitudes are part the description of where we live. i’ve drawn them from my own situation, so they’re largely about me, but if you can relate then so be it: We say, “they don’t deserve help. They got themselves into poverty; let them get themselves out.” Well that one certainly lets me out of having to participate, doesn’t it. Some would say God’s call to help the poor applies to another time, just any other time but now, right? How convenient for me. Maybe we’d say “We don’t know any poor people.” or we brush them off saying, “I have my own needs.” You know, i’ve discovered i might do just about anything to keep from soiling my clean hands on the “have nots”. Maybe we have walls built of self-centeredness like, “Any money I give will be wasted, stolen, or spent on other things. The poor will never see it.” i don’t actually know that, and i can’t be responsible for what “they” do with the donation, but i can be responsible to God to do as He asked me to. How about, “I may become a victim myself.” Am i going to live in fear of what “might happen” or trust God for what “will happen”. How about, “I don’t know where to start in order to help the poor, and I don’t have time.” Oh yes, we’re so busy, busy, busy. Forgetting that if we’re all that busy, something is wrong, and we need to remember we are the ones who said “Yes.” Then there’s the martyred thinking, “My little bit won’t make any difference.” Another convenient escape from being involved, but yet still maintaining control so i don’t have to actually give of myself. You may think i’m being mean, but hey, i’m just being honest about my motivations. The real question is: Can you relate to any of that?

Instead of making lame excuses, which certainly colors and defines where we live, let us be wise builders and take the words of Jesus seriously, putting them into action. Matt7:24, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” 1 Cor3:10, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation,” “…But let each one take heed how he builds on it.” Where do you live?

If we stood in front of God’s house, where He lives, what do you think we would see? To you, would it be so immense, so high and so wide that we couldn’t relate to what we see in terms of space and time? Would it be a quaint cottage set at the edge of the woods, or a burned out building in a large, lost city? Maybe none of that, or maybe all of that. How do you see it in your mind if you were to try and imagine?

i believe we would see a house as is illustrated by Jesus, as a symphony of triumph, His house sings and it’s borders are defined by righteousness. The song of His heart, is permeated in the very structure, and as the notes of His song flows up, they sing of rising and would be the rising themselves, the essence and form of upward motion. God’s house is a sound burst of sound compelling us to break out of hiding and be open and transparent. In God’s house is the freedom of release and the tension of purpose. We are given understanding that being in His presence sweeps spaces clean, leaving nothing but the joy of an unobstructed vision of His love, and in all the dimensions of His goodness is a vision and song sung in joyful, laughing astonishment at the revelation of who He is. His house sings the song of an amazing deliverance which drives the enemy backwards into his own gates.

That’s the way i believe our house is supposed to look and feel, and i fully believe through the blood of the Son, it can become and be exactly as He is.

Our house, where we live, should be a special place where right and good memories are made, we are no small influence in the neighborhood. Just the thought of where we live should inspire a vision, the way one woman described her house….of all day swimming, late night cookouts, sleepovers, cars in the driveway, bikes at the ready, sunny mornings filled with giggles, and shady afternoons under a tree with a book…” Our house is what i call our “shalom place”, it is under the peace of God no matter the chaos of the world around us.

God has made me to be beautiful, and i am like where i live. God has made my backyard to have lots of green under old hardwoods and pine trees, with air so good it’s an honor to be allowed to breath. Every day from my house is beautiful and inviting, with beautiful sunsets every night and the upward sound of peace, and a refuge from a raging and chaotic world. Think about it.

 In John 1:38-40, two of the disciples followed Jesus after John had baptized Him. Jesus, knowing they were following Him, turned and asked them, “What do you guys want?” They replied, “Ummmm, well, uhh, where do you live?” Like suddenly, they couldn’t think of anything else to ask, but i believe it was the perfect question. Then Jesus followed their question with an invitation, “Come on… go with me and see”. Basically saying, “come on over to my house and hang out”. i believe God is inviting us to come on over to His house, to take note of how His house is situated and for us to position where we live in similar fashion. The two disciples stayed with Jesus till late. In my imagination, i like to think they went through the house, took notes of how the Son of God had His place arranged. Maybe Jesus offered them some snacks, played football in the backyard, then talked and laughed with God till well after the sun went down. What a day, huh? Yea, that was the day that Tony said, “Where do you live”. That was the day, God said, “Come and see”. That was the day my friend Daniele followed Jesus home, that was the day Jesus said, come on over to my house, come on over and see, come on over to my house and hang around with me. We’ll go through the refrigerator, and thru the cupboards there. We’ll laugh and talk, sing and dance forever ….yea, boy howdy, what a day that will be.

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts,

Where do you live? Does your house represent God and yourself well, or are you embarrassed about it? Jesus has extended us His vision of possibilities, so let’s share in His vision and create some “common ground” between ourselves and God, and that’s something worth considering.

Pray for each other, learn to hear the heart of those around you, and don’t write off those who have wandered too quickly, God just might surprise you. Take care and consider well all your words. I’ll talk to you next time. Amen.

Intellectual honesty, is when we know the truth and tell the truth, but along with our being honest, everyday, we must deal with the contrary nature of our body, the skin we wear, or what i call, our “skin talk”. Yes, the constant contrary nature of this body we wear is always resisting a little, opposing a little, whispering conflicting things to us, it disagrees with God in general and spares us no pause in order to let us know it opposes God and all things righteous, constantly.

How ambitious are you? That, my friends, THAT is a VERY difficult question for most of us to be honest about. Why? Everyone wants to be vauable, in some fashion, to someone or to their home crowd, or maybe to an entire culture. The question requires an intense internal search, as well as an increasing level of intellectual honesty. Let us not misunderstand God’s intent on this issue. As ambition goes, or even desire for that matter, it isn’t ambition or desire in itself that is the problem, but is, by far and large, more the object of desire or ambition that is the problem. Again, desire isn’t the problem, it is the object of our desire that is the problem.

In Luke 20, the chief priests sent spies to keep an eye on Jesus, but Luke 20:20 says those same spies managed to get close to Jesus by “pretending to be honest”. In John 10:32 Jesus asked the men who came to kill Him “why” they were going to stone Him. It is highly likely He wanted them to realize their real motivations and be honest with themselves on the deepest level about what was really going on with them.

So here’s the question of the week, or month, “Did God speak to me?” For me to be really honest about that, means i’ve got to face and be vocal about my own ambitions, my personal need to be pedestalized, and my love of hearing crowds chant my name. Much of mankind, at some point or another dreams of being enthroned on their own terms, in light of that, the question “Did God speak to you?” requires that if He did not, we must admit we are just people and are not elite, or “above the rest”. God will not allow us to only hear Him at our whim.

Another question that should follow is, “What e-x-a-c-t-l-y did He say?” It is a “killer” question, possibly more extreme than the first. i think i hear God, yea … i think i hear God a lot. My problem isn’t whether i hear God or not, my problem is what i do with what He said and how i spin it up. i’m learning to not practice “circumlocution”, meaning to use a lot of words when only a few would be necessary.

To tell the gut level truth, sometimes i am not responsible with His words and i change things … i might add my tone of voice instead of how i heard the Lord say it, spitting out 36″ of speaking with only 3″ of content, or i spit out 3″ of speaking condensing 36″ of content into something that is so concentrated people choke… yep, honestly, sometimes i even leave things out because it’s just too much detail and obscures the point.

i try and be more responsible but alas, my stinking skin games gets in the way.

The “question of the week”…”Did God speak to you, and what e-x-a-c-t-l-y did He say?” was born from a situation when a woman i know was at a Bible study and a newly arriving participant came in the door pretty stressed because her little sister was moving in with a boyfriend. The little sister was supposed to be a believer, and the big sister was all wound up because she was pretty sure it was a bad move and the little sister was headed for disaster.

All the women at the Bible study were angrily talking about going over there and beating on the girls door, thumping their Bibles at the young woman, and giving her “what for”. Wisely, they decided to pray about it before they took action on what they thought they should do.

Later, when at home, my wife, who was at the study group, asked me what i would do. The following sequence wasn’t just a feeling that i could make the common church disclaimer of “I just really feel”. It actually happened.

In !THAT! EXACT MOMENT that my wife asked me that question, i heard the Lord say to me, not about THEM, but about me, “Did you actually hear me speak to you? What E-X-A-C-T-L-Y did I say? ~!AND!~ if you can’t actually answer those questions humbly and honestly, then why are you talking as if you heard me speak? If I did not tell you to relay my words, then why are you speaking as if I did?”

Suddenly, i found myself with a metaphorical 12-foot spear through my middle. God was right. i was pierced and made low … it was right and very good!

So i reflected what He said to me as it related to her situation, saying, “You need to determine 1) Did God actually speak to you, and 2) What exactly did He say? And if you can’t answer that accurately, humbly and honestly, you should question why is anyone going over there to pound on that young woman’s door?”

We as a people have an internal conflict about our ambitions as it relates to “our need to be seen” and how we fulfill that need. Will we confront our conflicts or conform to our conflicts? If we do not confront our uncomfortable situations we will likely eventually begin to resemble our uncomfortable situations. Like a splinter in our skin, if we DO NOT confront the conflict wisely, not getting the metaphorical splinter out thereby allowing the conflict to persist, our skin will begin to build around it and conform to the shape of the splinter. “Confrontation or Conformation? Which is it?”

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name.

God forgave Israel at their darkest moment, but it did not let them off the hook for their actions. We must find a balance here. Just because we forgive, everything is not suddenly “fine, just fine,” neither is it right to continue to hold someone’s offense over their head. Ahh, yea, easier said than done.

Sometimes i hear someone say they are upset or angry when others do something wrong according to them, saying the wrong thing, or acting in a way we are sure is inappropriate. It’s ever so easy for all of us to become critical, aiming our ever-ready judgmental fingers which, by law, may be technically correct, yet many times we arrive at the wrong conclusions. We should ask ourselves concerning those who offend us, “Who can guess the intent of your neighbors actions?” Can you guess what was really going on in that persons heart? How can you tell your conclusion was correct? Did they share with you or are you simply filling in the blank because the truth is, you don’t actually know anything?

Let’s see the big picture: take a moment before we judge; step back and carefully consider before we react. God asked us to use common sense, dividing right from wrong, not condemn any who don’t fit our model of rightness. Did we actually investigate to gather data, or did we merely read the news, which is often no less than passing rumors, and filling in the blanks according to their agenda? What does God say about the offense of our neighbor, and what does God say about our reaction? We can’t preach love and grace out of one side of our mouth, then spit fire and condemnation out of the other. i think that’s called, “speaking out of both sides of your mouth.”

Often our hasty reactions are wrong reactions. Often we live out the statement, “Mercy for me, justice for you,” holding others hostage by our lack of forgiveness, reminding them of their actions and withholding affection, but yet we, ourselves, expect full forgiveness and even acquittal. Many times, even though the other person admits their guilt and asks forgiveness, we may smile and say we forgive, but in our hearts there still lives woundedness and a grudge.

There is not one person who hasn’t done themselves and others wrong in some fashion or another. All have fallen short of the glory of God. If we hold others hostage for their wrong doing we deny them relational trust, which God has so liberally extended to us as seen in His commitment to our welfare. Did you get that? “Relational Trust”. You need to know there are two kinds of trust: Transactional trust, and relational trust.

Guy Harris wrote that “transactional trust” is trusting another person to do what they said they would do, and “relational trust” is trusting another person to listen to and understand us and our emotional state.

Also, we really need to forgive, not for the other person but for ourselves – as long as we don’t forgive we stay chained to the other person in our circumstance of offense.

When we ardently remember the wrong of our neighbor we deny them re-entry into right relationship with us. If all our wrong doings were suddenly the topic of tomorrows newspaper, there may not be enough pages in the daily news, so who are we to exploit our neighbor? Do we need to be validated so bad we allow ourselves to be compelled to put our foot on our neighbors’ neck in order to feel important? Isn’t it enough God has spoken to us?

What will it cost us to allow people room and time to rethink their actions or words? Now listen up, that may take a while so we’ll also have to practice some patience and grace if and when they come to a better conclusion. If we are the Christians we say we are, pray for your neighbor instead of accuse your neighbor. Face it, many people aren’t going to apologize like we want them to. Many people truly don’t know the words, they’ve never crafted a good apology, not necessarily because they are mean and resentful, but because they don’t have words yet, and may not even be aware of their actions. Sure, they may have an idea, but it is truly unusual to find someone who actually knows the value of saying or even how to say, “I was wrong,” and then tell the details of it all. Lend the world your ear, not your critical, aiming finger, after all, most of the time they are acting like us. Let us be swept away with the goodness of God rather than the badness of our neighbor.

What if we actually gave people time to come to us, while we refused to carry the hurt or offense of the situation? We may have to actually engage them and be willing for the conversation before they address the issues themselves. Again, it is possible, you know, that the other person may not be aware of an offense they’ve caused?

Peter asked Jesus, “How often can my brother do me wrong and i must forgive him? Seven times?” And Jesus told him, “What? Seven?! Hardly! Try seventy times seven”. (Matthew 18:21) Real forgiveness does not keep track of offenses. The rabbis taught that people should forgive those who offend them—but only three times. Peter, trying to be especially generous, asked Jesus if seven (the “perfect” number) was enough times to forgive someone. But, as we know, Jesus answered, “Seventy-seven times,” meaning that we shouldn’t even keep track of how many times we forgive someone. We should forgive others, no matter how many times they ask. Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t practice good boundaries, but it does mean we absolutely may not leverage fellowship and affection against their admission of wrong doing, like, “i’ll love you if you’ll repent, but otherwise, i’ll treat you like the scum you are.” Gosh, that’s ugly, isn’t it? That’s not right.

Everyone needs hope, especially today. A flicker is an inconsistent fluctuating light. A glimmer is to shine faintly, but is more consistent than a flicker. God’s light in us is more than a flicker or a glimmer, it’s a glow.

Learn to see that flicker or glimmer in others, but don’t let offense create a blind spot in your own eyes when the opportunity is in front of you for a Godly response. People are condemned enough in their own mirror and don’t need our judgment and finger pointing, they need encouragement and hope. We’ve got it, so let’s give it!

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name.

Good evening! Here we are again, on the cusp of the close of the day, pondering what the occurrences or non-occurrences of things in our life, and looking forward to the developments of tomorrow.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the deck of a rural cafe’ which overlooks the banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, wide, cool, and deep, always on its way to further destinations somewhere south of here. i believe a lot of folks are at a crossroads between what God says, and what they think and then they tag, “God said…” on the end of their thinking, putting words in God’s mouth to justify their own unscriptural stance.

A bank teller handles lots of money every day. How do we think they learn how to tell a counterfeit from the real thing? Is it by handling a lot of fake bills? Actually, no, they learn to recognize the counterfeit bills by handling the real thing, and the more they handle the real thing, the more obvious the counterfeit is. Are we any different when it comes to the Word of God and hearing His voice? We learn to know His voice and understand scripture, not by looking at the lies, but by looking at the truth, and the more we handle the truth, the more obvious the lies get. In the same vein, we don’t recognize spirit-killing-religiousness, or super religious churches of that type, by immersing ourselves in all that’s dead, but by being part of what’s alive where the presence of God is, and the farther we get from religiousness, the more obvious and unattractive it is.

Here are two things to ponder: Secular Drift – how the world has invaded the church and we’ve allowed it , and The Weight of Secrets. There is a relief which comes when we stop participating in lies, stop propagating wrongness of character and hiding it in front of our peers so we appear righteous but, honestly the weight of our secrets keeps us bowed to the ground.

What do i mean by secular drift? In your mind, what do you imagine by that term? Take a moment and imagine with me … see yourself standing by a calm lake in the early morning before the sun comes up. It’s just getting light. There is a stillness over everything that is intoxicating. From the lake begins to rise an ever so faint mist and the air starts to move ever so slowly from the lake to the shore. As you’re standing there, drawn in by the serene beauty of the landscape, you don’t really give attention to the mist which has gotten thicker around you. Suddenly, you notice the landscape has become obscured and now all you can see is a few yards in any direction because the once faint mist has gotten more dense, you are in the midst of it, and by now it is thick enough that your skin even feels damp. Before you know it, the mist has drifted in and you’re in the thick of it.

The world and its godless ideas have invaded the church in a similar fashion. We are often swept away by lesser problems, a mere crumb tossed to us by the enemy of our souls in order that we don’t address our own permissiveness, we don’t read God’s word but prefer to read a book about the book, with the book being the Bible which is God’s exclusive counsel and revelation of righteous life, hope, and salvation. We don’t notice the heart postures and lose thinking we have adopted in order to just “get along” in society, there by slowly relaxing our grip on what is right and wrong and where our real focus should be. Secular drift has clouded our reasoning and thinking, and many no longer see a clear path to Christ like they used to.

In light of the topic, “Secular Drift”, for many of us, it should first prompt a question of “what is it?”, which is always a great place to start. It’s pretty difficult to deal with something which we have no internal definition for, and if we don’t call it what it is, how can we possibly deal with it effectively? According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word secular means, “denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.”

And to explain it a little better, secularism says that the world, especially past and current human existence, is without any objective meaning, purpose, or essential value. To have secular thinking annunciates that all we do goes nowhere and does nothing. Yea, isn’t that ugly? What has invaded the church is this subtly invasive idea, almost running parallel to the gospel, that there is no reasonable proof of the existence of a higher ruler or creator, no need of God or “right morality”, therefore, life has no truth, and no one action is known to be preferable to any other.

All too often, especially in the younger generation, when you can get a straight answer, on one hand comes this socially acceptable church-ianity answer, filled with all the right Christian-eze, just sticky sweet and all about Jesus. But if you continue the conversation, asking some potentially pokey questions, suddenly there starts appearing a very opposing viewpoint from the same people which says “You can believe what you want and it’s correct for you, and if you really believe eating tuna every day is what gets you into Heaven, then, for you, it probably will get you into the presence of God forever more, eating tuna and being happy.”

James 3:11, “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?” Think about it. A while back in a couple programs, i asked the question, “Who’s side are you on? God or the devil?” i didn’t ask that question for nothing. It was asked for us to carefully consider and come to a conclusion. Are you going left or right? One way leads to Christ and the other leads to hell. How do you choose? … and choose you must.

I have come to the conclusion that there are believers in the church who say they are Christians, while, at the same time, upholding and even defending value systems that are secular. Friends, there is no such thing as “secular Christianity”, it is totally contradictory. It is like saying “righteously evil”, or “positively negative”, and both are a total contradiction, similarly, “secular Christian” is completely contradictory. To be a “secular Christian” is to be sugar-coated with spirituality and outward peace but have foundations that reflect we don’t need God and we are sufficient in ourselves.

The secular view says we are our own beginning and end, our own mother’s and father’s. This thing called “secular drift” has invaded the mind and heart of the church, and is slow moving like a morning fog, just drifting along, appearing innocuous, inspiring people to become passive sheep being led to the slaughter, all the while loving that they’re getting along, being nice and agreeable ad naseum, or till the stomach turns. The church suffers from “false-consensus” which is derived from our desire to conform and be liked by others, and within our own church group, because no one disputes our perception, we tend to think everybody thinks the same way. We’re watered down, clouds with no rain, we’ve become real milk toast about God, deceived about the enemy of our souls. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Jude 1:12-13, “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Does that sound like someone you want to be? Who in their right mind actually wants to be “twice dead” with no fruit, pulled up by the roots? Nobody, not even the worst of us! Let us turn back to the word of God and take Him at His word. There is nothing God says which is an idle word which just fills space while He thinks of something else to say.

           “Secular drift” turns our “God said” into something which isn’t all that important; it turns our “God did” into “maybe not”; our “never leave you” into merely “probably never leave you” and our “always with you” into just “mostly with you”. It turns God’s “I will give you rest” into “I might give you some relief”, and our promise of tomorrow into only a wisp of possibility.

In our “selfie” obsessed culture, appearance, status, and popularity with friends is often pursued more than understanding the heart and fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom.  Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

When we care more about what people think of us than respecting the ways of God, then we have become mired up in secularism. Often we harbor perceptual errors that lead to biased interpretations of the Bible, allowing public opinion to validate us, causing us to cease trusting our internal, Holy Spirit inspired moral compass. Once we start down that path, devaluing ourselves quickly becomes our constant default position, and then we over-value ourselves to compensate. We play “wish-craft” games, assuming we are more powerful than we are. Oh, and heaven forbid anyone should disagree with “secular Christianity”, oh man, then the claws come out and the vicious comments just roll, many seeming to automatically assume that if someone disagree’s with them, they, yes, they must be defective somehow. i think more than a few church folks suffer from two phobias: Atychiphobia, which is a fear of failure or of being wrong, which is absolutely pervasive in our society, and socialphobia, fear of being closely watched, judged, and criticized by others. Those two invasive fears are instant gateways for the “secular drift” to just ease on in and find room and board in your ever so available mind. This ought not to be.

Only when the love of God breaks over the horizon of the hearts of people do we begin to escape a world which says “I don’t need God.” His word, blood, counsel, and salvation break off the thorns on rose stems. We don’t war against our neighbor but against the one of old who has come to steal kill and destroy. Our society has invited darkness in our homes and we have allowed it. In all our internet stuff there seems to always be the thread of secularism which invites us to “Have it your way”, subtly repetitively telling us, “you rule”, and God, if He is real, is merely someone in the distance somewhere.

Nevertheless my friends, as long as birds still fly gracefully over war torn nations, as long as the sun still rises to a new day, as long as babies laugh and the sound of children playing echoes in our ears and heart, so long as the trees still grow, and the stars still shine in darkness, let us stand our ground in Christ, hold our place with the determination to not be moved, and cling to the gospel of Christ with all our heart until we breath our last and go home to be with Jesus.

The word of the Lord isn’t up for grabs, so to speak, it isn’t something we can “opt out of” if we find parts of it difficult, non-compliant with our agenda, or against public opinion. His heart is from cover to cover and no part is to be excluded, ever, at the expense of another. i’ve mentioned before about the woman i met at church who had blacked out parts of the bible she didn’t like. Yes, she was reading a redacted Bible. What she didn’t seem to understand was just because she had blacked out certain parts of the word of God, didn’t change anything. The word of the Lord is the word of the Lord, and once He has spoken, it doesn’t cease being said, even if we don’t want to hear it, His word still stands … forever. Psalm 119:89, “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”

He does not change His mind about His precedents, statutes, or judgments. Let us stand firm on the word of God and chase the “secular drift” from our places of worship and out of our minds, pushing the enemy of God backwards into his own gates. Stand up church! Let us stand, with all power, on the word of God, and even if the enemy calls for a blitz all night long, don’t you give, not one more inch. Hold the line friends, hold your ground.

           The second part of this evening’s program concerns the “Weight of Secrets”. i believe secret keeping in relationships and marriage is absolutely devastating, disabling, and emotionally debilitating, regardless of your reasons. Let me say this straight out: If you are in a relationship, and it’s a secret, something is wrong, very wrong.

There are all sorts of secrets, some good, some not so much, and there are a lot of reasons for keeping a secret, some good, some not so much. i’m not talking about the kind of secrets parents keep when wanting to surprise their kids with something for their birthday, nor am i talking about the kind of secret a husband and wife keep from the rest of the world, those kinds of intimate secrets are no one’s business but their own. The Lord reserves the right to veil some of His purposes, and He has purposely hidden some of His reasons, only to be found out after we are home to Jesus. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things…”

What i am talking about are the kind of secrets which are a violation of trust,  traitorous, contemptuous secrets which destroy the covenant and loyalty of pledges of friendship, and marriage vows, the sort which destroy our integrity, diminishing and dishonoring us if anyone found out. Secret sin will eat …us…. up, and every secret of this nature becomes a burden which eventually breaks the back of the secret holder. Those are the kinds of secrets which are often hidden with a storm, like dark clouds and rain conceal the mountains. The opposite of secret, or to conceal, is to reveal and make known.

Over the years i’ve been gathering a list of truths about secrets. i asked the Lord to reveal insight about them, and over time, He’s done what i asked, except, i had to live each one out in order to find the value. Friends, secrets consisting of irresponsible behavior and criminal actions have a way of not staying secret, they inspire lies, and often, begat more secrets. The more we hide, the more we have to hide what is hidden. They tend to rise to the surface eventually whether we like it or not. Even among criminals with the most terrible past, only the most determined criminal keeps their secrets all the way till they die. It weighs on them, they break down physically, mentally, and emotionally when carrying the weight of darkness like that. You can literally see it in their face and eyes. We could easily conclude from that observation that secrets are very costly. i don’t believe secrets get better with time, nor are they easier to bear, and if nothing else, they tend to isolate us, sometimes to the point of instability, loneliness, burdensome sadness, and even for some, a failure to persist. If you’re living with things hidden in your heart, whatever they might be, if you are alone, just you and your secrets, you are not in good company. If you’re suffering in isolation about something, reach out, get help. When all your secrets weigh you down, you’ve got a choice, you can reveal them to someone trustworthy, and between the Lord and that person, begin to unravel your secret life. Or you can just bury the hatchet, so to speak, and keep digging in the same hole until no one can find you anymore, and maybe you can’t even find yourself. Friends, do something about it.

Proverbs 28:13, “Whoever conceals (keeps secret) his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Those of us who harbor destructive secrets in our hearts must, simply must find some closure on those things. We were not designed by God to continually be non-disclosing about our dark deeds, we can’t keep skipping over our wrongness in hopes it will go away. Our secrets will persist until we deal with them. They are like keeping a rotting, dead body hidden under the carpet in the living room, and every time we pass by, it calls to us saying, “Deal with me and be done with it.” The longer we let it lay there, the more it begins to infuse itself in our foundations, persuading our faith, influencing our speech and thinking. Destructive secrets are contagious.

           i’m going to say this again in hopes any of us who have destructive secrets going on will take it to heart: If you’re in a relationship and it’s a secret, something is wrong. If public opinion is what validates you to such a degree, you hide yourself away in your heart, the “Weight of Secrets” will cut you in two. Consider Job 31:33-34, “…if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart, because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors — ”

Here is a repeat of what was previously mentioned, just condensed:
Secrets build fences, confession builds bridges.
Secrets give the enemy leverage against us, secrets are power and leverage.
Secrets begat secrets.
Secrets have a way of not staying secret.
Secrets are very costly and a challenge to our wellbeing.
Secrets weigh more than we can bear.
Secrets tend to isolate the secret keeper.
This list took me several years of observing myself and other criminals, some incarcerated, most others at church. Yes that’s right, at church with the very people who speak in spiritual terms yet harbor many unresolved problems. The Lord had me live each one in order to gain real workable wisdom and understanding.

We need bridges not bigger and better fences. Bridges of peace in Christ between ourselves, our spouses, our children, family and friends. Be a bridge builder! If fear of failure or of being wrong is so invasive within us, if we persist to “make a face”, or keep a facade, none of that will resolve anything, it just makes the fear grow to be more ingrained, giving that fear more power than we ever intended or imagined. By allowing ourselves a facade of “everything is just fine” when beneath the street we are in real trouble, the longer we allow the facade to persist, and the longer we wear the face, the more we become the face. This is why most undercover operatives are required to come in for a period of “re-centering”. Even the world knows the longer they wear the fake persona, the more they become the fake persona, until eventually, even the operative can’t tell who’s who.

James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

Keeping destructive secrets hidden in our heart is a contagion in the body of Christ. Let’s understand contagion a little. In the dark ages, when a cruel lord of the land caught a criminal on their property, and the decree of punishment was death, it was not totally unheard of that the cruel lord of the land would elect to dig up a recently dead body and tie it to the living person, making them to wear the dead thing day and night, until the dead flesh in full contact with live flesh began to eat the trespasser up, eventually dying of the terrible diseases resulting from dead flesh against living.

Contagion is disease spread by close contact of one diseased person to another. Similarly, it is the spreading of harmful ideas or practices by remaining in close contact with godless doctrine and evil, like the contagion of disgrace. i believe disgrace and dishonor can be as contagious as secular drift enters the mind and heart of a believer or a church body. Slowly the disease of disgrace and dishonor become less offensive until, finally, we become accepting, numb to the pain, thinking “things aren’t so bad”, and we capitulate to the creeping mist of secularism, keeping a terrible secret in our hearts of sadness, disappointment, isolation, and grief. Slowly, we begin to learn to operate in the chaos, telling ourselves if we just try a little harder, believe a little better it’ll all go away.

The weight of secrets is crushing, we must DO something about the hidden sin in our hearts, and no, i’m not going to make a list, it’s not for me to point out, it’s for you to discover.

It takes real courage to uncover ourselves, but there is great relief, GREAT relief in disclosing the destructive secrets of our heart. David cried out in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way, everlasting!” Ask the Lord to help you find the courage to get out from under the weight of secrets, no longer being passive about the contagiousness of disgrace and dishonor. When we let disgrace and dishonor keep taking up space in our head and heart, we diminish ourselves to becoming no better than mere dust. Think about it.

Secular drift and the weight of secrets go hand in hand, one seems to thrive on the other. Now listen, i’m not saying to go and dig up a bunch of imaginary sin because you want to be sure nothing is unturned or hidden. Haven’t we all, at some point or another, felt compelled to not only confess to the Lord the stuff we knew about, but just in case we missed something, we start naming off things we’ve never done or even thought about. God is faithful to bring to our remembrance what needs resolution when it’s time to do the work. He is faithful to get us where we need to be when it’s time to be there. Trust God.

i knew a man who said when he first met the Lord, he made a list of 10 things about himself which he felt God really needed to address. He said that nearly 50 years later, the Lord had only addressed two of the 10. What the Lord felt was important was different than what he thought was important.

Ask the Lord to help you clean house, taking the world’s influence in your head, church and community out to the trash and leave it there. And don’t go digging up that dead thing once it’s been reckoned dead. Dead is dead so leave it in the ground.

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, contemplative conversation, just for you in these probable last days. It’s good stuff to think about. Let the Lord open your eyes to scripture and Himself. Seeing the counterfeits amongst us is noticed by handling the truth first and foremost. The more you know scripture the more obvious the counterfeits become.

This evening support was by a generous donation from Lance Lumber Co. on Pine St., Living In His Name Ministries, Dot and Elisa at the Opportunity House, Alan, Kevin, and Tommy of the Mebane Freedom League, and Jeff and Karen of Trinity Bakers where there’s always something good in the oven.

Let us route out the secular drift which permeates our minds, and learn to not only get rid of our secrets but stop creating secrets which keep us bound in chains in the dark. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead so we would have life more abundantly, no longer to be slaves to sin, being held prisoner by ignorance and shame any longer.

Come go with me, let your heart sing to the Lord, buy someone a meal this week, open your hand to the poor and don’t worry about how they came to be that way….by and by, the Lord will change their heart, for if He doesn’t transform their heart, it simply won’t be done.

Be strong and courageous this week, drive carefully and know, we’re almost home. Amen? Amen!

Now this is serious, no satire or funny stuff. Way too commonly, i meet believers who “put on a face” just to get along, but underneath, it’s simply not what’s really going on. By saying “put on a face” i mean they offer us one face of smiling, sweet words, saying all the right Christian sounding words, but underneath, they are wrestling within themselves with struggling with seemingly unshakeable bad attitudes, grumbling, wrong judgement, woundedness, and feelings of pointlessness and being unworthy … unheard, unseen, and unimportant. Often, what’s going on with others is typically not at all what we think. As a result, listen. This is important. i want to hear the victory stories from the “Real life of a True Believer”. Are you that overcomer?

Find your courage my family, you, as Byron would say, the people who keep company with God, find your courage. i’d like you to practice restraint, of course, but also be willing to stand on what you believe and what is true, not just the facts, but what is true according to God. Be willing to sort out what is going on with you to see Jesus. Find your courage to gently but firmly, say what’s on your heart. You don’t have to yell, or scream, and it can be said with an unscowling face. Often, it’s not “what” we say but “how” we say it. You’ll be surprised what comes out of your mouth, sometimes right, sometimes not, either way, you found your courage to talk about what’s really on in your heart. What you’ve got to say concerning what’s going on with you may not make others happy, they may even slight or minimize you in some way from here on out, but we’ve got to stop pretending everything is just wonderful, and everyone is just “so amazing”, when really we don’t think that at all. i realize some of what we’ve got to say isn’t nice nor is it necessary to be said, that’s where discernment and restraint comes into play. But if we’re always “making a face”, which is the definition of being an actor and a poser, we are destined to become our facade, which would be “making a face” on top of “making a face”. Remember, the longer we wear our facade, the greater our chances are of becoming our facade. Oh, and don’t i know well what it’s like digging out from under my many acquired false faces.

Ask the Lord to give you discernment and make that call, talk to the person there’s conflict with. We don’t have to be mean and pointed about it, instead of blasting them, why not start, kindly and gently, with a heart to resolve the conflict rather than inflame the conflict. Ask them if they wouldn’t mind a couple questions. If they agree, let the scowl leave your face, using your best “let’s figure this out” voice, ask them what they meant when they said “such n such” or did “thus n so”. Give them a chance to answer. First: listen. Second: listen intentionally. Third: really listen. If you need to pause, breath, think, and find your composure. Take a moment to find your balance. Even if you’re trembling inside when it comes to being honest and about as transparent as you can stand, find your courage to state yourself. Think about what you’re going to say before you get there. Think about what outcome you want before you get there.

Realize, you might be wrong. You may not know it until the words escape your lips and your ears hear what your heart is saying. But if we keep all our thinking, all our feeling, and all our breathing to ourselves, telling ourselves we’ll only tell it to the Lord, but never really get around to telling Him our heart in a detailed conversation, it is as good as being severely constipated.

When we are spiritually and emotionally constipated, we end up with some spiritual problems which are highly likely to manifest themselves in our physical person. Our skin becomes so thin we are put-upon and wounded by anything others say, maybe even just the way they look at us hurts our feelings, and we’re steadfastly sure it is a slight aimed at us. Either that or we become so callous we become very uncompassionate to a dying world. Someone with too many secrets, unspoken doubts, and unresolved conflicts carries a very heavy burden which will bow them to the ground, weaken their knees, and float them away on a wave of suspicion while operating under clouded thinking. They easily become swayed by confusion or “contrary winds”, which is a Hebrew idiom meaning a wind which pops the ships sails back and forth, whipping forward and backward. It’s truly is literally a picture of confusion. We become so thin skinned, everything hurts, like a broken tooth with the root hanging out. Eventually, everything hurts.

Find your courage. In my distant past, i had unspoken doubts that our system of Christianity actually worked. From the pulpit, from the stage at conferences, all the “easy 5 steps to freedom” books, and especially on TV. All of those people seemed so sure of everything. They said, “believe this and you’ll be filled with peace, hope, love and purpose.” “Trust God and it’ll all just be OK.” “If you’d just tithe more God would bless you.” The pastor at the front was so believable until he went tooth gritting, raging angry at his kids and wife in the hallway of the church. Add to that my having gotten slammed around at home, not measuring up at school, and generally falling short in life. i had so much stuff hidden in my heart and head. Unspoken, unresolved, not daring to speak it to anyone lest i look different than my peers, it all began to morph into indifference to God’s preferences and standards. My careless alienation was soon to give way to anything which gave power to my flesh over my spirit, and that was not good.

One day, when i was down in the ring, caught in a headlock by sin, i thought i was done, down for the count, then Jesus tagged in. He got the devil in a headlock, then picked him up over His head in a spin, slammed him to the mat, and took him down for the pin.

Jesus said, “…come unto to me all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and i will give you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Neighbors, find your courage. There are things we, the church, simply must begin to talk about, and speaking sweetly and “making a face” while the truth is we’re just churning inside isn’t helping. Let’s talk about what you do after you believe.

What do you think?

When i was a boy, more than a few times, in frustration, i would hear my dad say, “Boy, i tell you what, when i get to Heaven, i’ve got some questions for God. My entire life all i’ve heard is what He could have but wouldn’t, might have but didn’t… and He never explains anything.” Although my father never went to church, never read his Bible, never went to any meetings having to do with the Lord at all, nor did he read any books about him, he seemed continually disappointed and bitter towards all things God. i grew up with no knowledge of the Kingdom of God other than messing with the King of Kings was a waste of time unless you wanted to be frustratingly mystified and always disappointed. There was always the implication of “just don’t look to God to help you out. You’ll only be disappointed.” Churches looked to me like rules on top of rules which no one could keep, nor would they want to, in hopes of relating to someone impossible to know or understand. Rule keeping doesn’t gain us a relationship with God who is the very person we need to know above everyone and anything in the universe.

You know, i’ve met Jesus, personally, up close, eye to eye, and all that i learned about God as a boy totally isn’t true. At all. i suppose for my dad’s entire life, the sum total of what he’d been told was how “God is going to get you”, “watch out boy, God will strike you down”, and “you’re just a sinner, boy, and you’ll never be anything more than a poor old nobody, barely scraping into Heaven.”

Well, i have been reading my Bible, and i do go to church, and i avidly read books about the Great I AM. i’m astounded at all the promises of hope, health, healing, connection, and relational redemption the Lord makes. i have not found a world of won’t, don’t, can’t, and shall not’s like many rule keepers keep at their fingertips. Jesus, the Son of God, came to us, in the flesh, and got eye to eye with mankind for the first time ever, and in John 16 all by itself, He gave us a list of “I will”, “I have”, and then explanations of “because”. So much for the idea that God never explains anything, because He does. Anytime Jesus said, “I will”, “I have”, and “that you might have”, it strikes a mood of possibility and potential for us to be involved with the Lord and possess all God promises. The key words are “be involved”, not just keep rules. Remember, it’s not rules to keep but more someone to be. When Jesus said, “because” He was explaining intentions and actions. God is interested in the conversation and He wants us to understand, and because we may NOT understand doesn’t mean His explanation isn’t real. Keep it simple. i really believe we totally over think much of what God said and says, often trying to make it say more than it says. Jesus said “might have” four significant times. That you might have life, that you might have life more abundantly, that you might have peace, and that you might have joy. If we could not possess it, the Lord would not have struck a mood of possibility and potential for us to know we can own and walk in all He says.

We need to know that the Lord works within the amazing boundaries of righteousness, considering He, Himself, is the standard and personification of righteousness, and will not violate Himself to give us evil desires. Jesus said straight away in John 16:1, “I have spoken these things”, then He explains saying “because” or “for the reason of”. He’s saying “i have spoken these things” in the sense of “take note” “pay attention”, and “hear this and don’t miss it.” He admits in vs25 that it’s true, in the past He had spoken in perplexing parables and metaphors, but then He promises, saying, “From here on out, i’m going to be plain with you.” In other words, He really wants us to get what He’s saying, but He also wants us to be interested enough to pursue Him for the understanding of it all, not being lazy children who wait on the parent to just tell them everything, with the children putting no personal investment into their own knowledge and well being. When i was young, occasionally i would ask my mother the meaning of a word. She would tell me “Look it up.” i thought she was being mean, but in her wisdom she was inspiring me to take action and pursue the answer for myself rather than depend on someone else to inform me because i was too lazy.

In John 16 Jesus said “i will”, “i have”, “he will”, and “because”. He leaves us with His personal promise by saying “I will”, and He’s letting us know what is already set in motion with “I have”. He promises us the Holy Spirit who will teach us, and He said, not “IF” He comes, but “when” He comes the Holy Spirit will do this and that. AND….Jesus says why, using “because”, again, meaning, “for the reason of”.

God is not required to explain Himself to anyone at anytime, but He does so as a courtesy, for the reason that He is interested in a dialogical exchange with us and He wants us to grasp what He’s saying. He does, indeed, talk to men, and He truely does regularly offer explanations. Are we interested to listen? There are more far reaching promises of “yes and amen” than the rule keeper’s mindset of “do not”, yet so many people see God as the God of “watch out, be careful, and don’t”, and that’s not His heart at all. Of course, God has boundaries and warns us of potential problems, but we, ourselves, are the ones who often look like the law on two legs to the world around us because we’re always talking about what we don’t, won’t, and all that we’re against. Well, friends, what are you in favor of within the bounds of righteousness, right morality, and Godly ethics? After you have believed Jesus is the Lord, then what are you gonna do? It’s more than fire insurance, and God has an entire world of amazing possibilities and potentials for us, but we do have to be interested in Him enough to pursue His goodness towards us.

What do you think?

i realize this is a story previously spoken of, but the Lord has illuminated to me the value of it again. A little definition is necessary to set the stage here. A moral is “concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character.” And ethics are “that which governs a person’s behavior.” So, in light of that, we’re supposed to be modeling to the world the character of Christ. Jesus was honest and transparent and calls to us to be as He is. We can’t be how ever we want to be, tag God’s name on the end, and honestly call it “being like Jesus”. Our greatest strength against darkness is to come into the likeness of the Son.

i was at jail, church to be exact. Tony and i were in charge of the meeting that Thursday evening, in a room of 8-15 inmates who were taking a break from their exciting evening of doing nothing in order to attend. We prayed to open as we always do, then i got “the nod” to begin. Somewhere in the story of myself as the “True Life of a Real Believer”, there arose the idea of living with a loose belt of truth, a poorly cinched breastplate of righteousness, and a propped up helmet of salvation, all of it pretty much just hung in place, making sure it all didn’t fit too snugly, thereby making room for my own personal agenda to arise under the guise of being a Christian.

i love taking little surveys, simply because it is a nice cross-sectional view of where people are, that is if you ask the right questions and they are honest. Yea, asking a good question and getting an honest response is absolutely key as to the value of any survey. i asked the inmates a question: If there was a nickel on the table, would you put it in your pocket, knowing no one saw? The inmates almost unanimously answered, sure. Second question: If there was a $10 bill on the table, would you put it in your pocket, knowing no one saw? Some hesitated but most said, “No, what do you think? i may be a drug addict with poor morals, but do you think i’m a liar and a thief?” Laughter and silence followed but i knew they weren’t just making a joke. The room paused as the silence hung, and i said, “Yes. We’ve already established there is a morals and ethics issue concerning stealing the nickel, we’re just finding your boundaries, and where your line is pertaining to how far is too far and how much is too much.” Oh.

i went on to say, “Regardless of if it’s a nickel or a 10 spot, the problem is mankind has issues at the basic platform of faith, at the heart level, our ground zero place. At first we tell ourselves it’s ok to steal the nickel. It’s highly likely that shortly the boundary will expand to be a dime. Then we graduate it up to a dollar and beyond, rethinking each time how far is too far and how much is too much. Being in jail is almost always indicative of undealt with conflict and poor choosing. It’s not that God isn’t working in our lives, but more we’re choosing other things to be more important, and the more we ebb away from the Lord, the harder it is to hear Him when He calls. By the time you get rolled up and hauled off to jail or prison, you’ve long had a morals and ethics issue which started with being willing to steal a nickel.”

About that time, one fellow said loudly, in all seriousness with the straight face of revelation, he said, “Well, i’ll tell you, i’ve got pockets full of nickels.” We all laughed, but it was nervous laughter, as in, “Oh my gosh! i’ve got pockets full of nickels too!”

Friends, think about this. The difficulty isn’t the nickel or the 10 spot, but the fact that we’re willing to allow our own belt of truth to be a little lose. i hold that if we confess our sins, as in lip service, without the conviction of sin from the Holy Spirit, we’re just going through the motions to be part of a club. We press people who have offended us to be honest and transparent, and when they are honest and transparent we use it against them to punish them. When someone is humble, honest, and transparent about their transgression, it isn’t an opportunity to beat them up and make them bleed, it’s an opportunity for us to be honest and transparent also and stop the bleeding. It isn’t an opportunity to cut them deeper so we can feel smugly justified in our moral superiority, but put a tourniquet on the wound and stop the bleeding.

Take heed here, i didn’t say anything about not dealing with the moral and ethical issues because deal with them we must, but i am encouraging us all to be responsible for ourselves and our own actions. Get the log out of your own eye before you take it upon yourself to start digging around in someone else’s eye looking for a splinter. Whoa to the man who tries to control someone else when he cannot control himself. i have left craters man, craters in other people’s lives because i thought i saw a speck in their personality, then went and got serious excavating equipment to extract the flaw in them. i was stealing a nickel, manipulating on how i could get the owner to give me the $10 bill so i wouldn’t have to own my personal moral and ethical issues. If i could get them to give me the $10, then i couldn’t be, exactly, accused of stealing. Hear what i’m saying here, those who have ears to hear.

Approximately 5 times in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Follow me”, which means do as i do, say as i say, and be as i am. His use of the phrase “Follow me” literally means “accompany I AM.” The closer the Lord gets to all things, the more all things become like Him.

Neighbor, how many nickels do you have in your pockets? Undealt with issues which drive you rather than lead you?

What do you think?