Ahhh, yea … it’s another of those hypnotic evenings with the sun having settled down to a rosey glow at the horizon and the clouds are parceled out across the sky, looking like the porches at the entrance to Heaven’s gate … This evening the lilacs from down the road a piece are so fragrant, i can smell them all the way over here at the deck, overlooking the Ockluhwahhah River.

The view from here reminds me of part of a poem by Francis Duggan that goes: “A beautiful evening the birds chirp and sing, The wonders of Nature is a magical thing. The sun going down red in the western sky, And the roost bound starlings wheel and turn as they fly.”

The idea of our dialogue here is to speak to our issues about three inches beneath the surface of where we really live, waking up reality and perseverance, encouraging us to stop being compelled by panic and fear, to trust God – to stop and think … think before you act as best you know how. i mean, take a moment and play the entire movie out before you jump off that high place.

i knew a man, many years ago, who, when he was very young and wild (meaning he didn’t think much), was out carousing with some other young buddies late one evening. They stopped at a high bridge and decided to do some bungy jumping … but they didn’t have any bungy cords. Off to the side of the bridge they found an old rope, and being young and foolish they really didn’t realize there is absolutely no bounce or give in a large diameter rope. Without considering the outcome of his actions, the unthinking young man tied the rope to his ankle and jumped … yea, you guessed it, he lost his foot that evening. If he and his pals had simply thought about it, taking a moment to think ahead just a little bit, he would still have his foot today. That certainly was a humiliating and permanent lesson of “look before you leap”, or “play the whole movie” before taking action.

Luke 14:28-30, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.‘”

A few weeks ago our program topic was “Foresight, Insight, Hindsight”, and tonight’s topic is sort of about those three elements of understanding, but more from another angle maybe. i think most people think of “foresight” in the context of a prophetic gift, by the Power of the Holy Spirit predicting a future outcome, or confirming the Word of the Lord that is already operating in someone’s heart …  but tonight’s focus is more on the practicality and employment of foresight, insight, and hindsight. When we have understanding, putting into motion the wisdom of “look before you leap”, that means we are taking a circumspect view of things to gain insight when the Lord gives it to us.

Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a book in 2004, “Nine Things You simply Must Do” in which he probes the mystery of why some lives really work and others don’t. One of the chapters is labeled, “Play The Movie”. A moment ago, i gave a quote of Luke14:28-30. In the idea presented in that scripture, “… sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it”, that means to “play the movie”, pencil things out to see where they go, find the hidden costs if any, see and perceive, asking ourselves the question, “Is this really what i imagined? Does it look like what i believe the Lord showed me?”

How often do you make a “knee jerk reaction” about something without considering the consequences? i mean, c’mon, we’ve all done crazy stuff in life at some point or another without considering the consequences of our actions; bought a car, spoken rashly, voted without weighing reality, drinking and driving, running with a crowd we know better than to hang with, etc.

A friend of mine and i were at coffee this morning and we were recounting past decisions that we made in a moment of haste without any thought as to the possible outcome … we also remembered the miracles in that we weren’t killed and how the Lord, in His everlasting mercy, protected us from ourselves. The Lord brought to my remembrance the time i needed to load a bull in a trailer, a really big bull, but he didn’t want to get in, of course. i had him corralled in a very small space and he just wouldn’t get in. In my frustration and anger, i grabbed a big stick and just jumped in the pen with the bull and whacked him round and round the little space until he got in the trailer. Only afterwards, only !afterwards! did it dawn on me the complete and utter foolishness of my actions. i didn’t play the movie, i didn’t look before i leapt … it never occurred to me that i was in close quarters with an aggressive animal weighing in excess of 2000Lbs who, at any moment, could have effortlessly crushed me. i think the Lord delivers us from ourselves more often than we comprehend. Ha! Ya’ think? Thank you, Jesus, for your mercy and kindness. Amen?

           Luke 14:31-32, “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.”

Within that scripture are the ear marks of someone who is looking ahead some, using a sharp pencil to find out the actual cost of performing their idea, has understood the potential outcome, and even made an alternate plan.

The word “circumspect” is an interesting word for us to get a good solid grasp on when employing the idea of “look before you leap”. Webster’s Dictionary simply says, basically, to take all things into account, but the word used for “circumspect” in Exodus 23:13, means so much more than that. The word says, “And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect.” The Lord means for us to not only take all things into account, but to look at the noted details narrowly, scrutinize the information, and above all, do what the Lord says. We weren’t born being circumspect, so, let me add that if we know Jesus, God !will! teach us to be circumspect.

God’s idea of being circumspect comes into play in other scenarios. How about “think before you speak”. How many times have you spoken quickly, and, OH, didn’t you wish you could just get those words back? It’s sort of like sending someone an unkind remark by email … once you hit “Send”, it is gone baby, gone, and you can’t unring that bell. There is no “unsend” for email, nor is there an “unsay” for words that have hastily come out of our mouths.

The concept of being “circumspectful” is what is meant when i say “play the whole movie”.

Take Judas as an example, who acted so dishonorably by betraying Jesus. i believe he wished so bad he could take back his words and actions. But, in arrogance and blindness, he acted rashly and spoke unwisely. Look at his words, and actions in Matthew 27:3-4, “When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied in a sneering tone looking down their long judgmental noses at him. “That’s your responsibility.” They got what they wanted, and their attitude towards Judas was like saying, “Too bad, too sad for you buddy!”

i’m not sure, but it appears to me Judas … possibly … thought if he gave the money back and confessed his wrong to the Pharisee’s, that maybe he could somehow undo what he had done. A paraphrase of Psalm32 is that confession is good for the soul, unless, it is confession to the wrong person or group. Judas not only didn’t play the whole movie concerning his actions but he also confessed his error to the wrong people. Need it be said, Judas did not take into account the life and miracles of Jesus, he did not carefully consider the details of what he had witnessed for the years he walked as one of the disciples … Judas was not a very circumspect man, he failed to play the movie beyond the part where he saw himself as having saved the day. There was no “unsend” button, nor was there any “unsay”, or “undo” option. And if anything, the Pharisee’s used his confession against him, were delighted at his brutal mistake, and i believe they were pleased he took his own life. i believe the Pharisee’s found it delicious to close the trap and watch him squirm. He couldn’t un-ring that bell.

How often have we made, on the spur of the moment, spiritually impacting decisions without considering the outcome? A man and his wife bought a car on the premise that if the loan was approved, it must be God. Well, of course the loan was approved. A bankrupt felon could have gotten approval. Six months later they went bust and wondered why God would do this to them. Was it really God who did this to them? Had they played the movie, and scrutinized the details, they would have never suffered the catastrophic outcome.

i knew a man who had a dream that went like this: in his dream he went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He only saw the nose and mouth of someone who sort of looked like him, but it wasn’t him. He woke up the next morning sure God gave had given him a vision of his future wife. He went about his day as usual, and that evening he went to a Bible study. There at the Bible study was an attractive young woman whose lower half of her face appeared exactly like the face he saw in the dream in the mirror. Immediately he had the idea he was supposed to marry that woman. Afterall, he was in the market for a wife, she was pretty, and she seemed to like him. He set himself on marrying her. He told her his dream and his intentions of marrying her, she bought into it, and two weeks later they were married. It turned out, after years of misery and struggle, he had done a knee jerk reaction, failing to play the rest of the movie, failing miserably at being circumspect.

When we take what we see in our foresight and give ourselves time to consider the details of what we have observed, getting insight, we’re typically not so quick to readily jump on popular trends and don’t tend to accept common advice as necessarily God’s wisdom. Proverbs 19:21, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless it is the LORD’S counsel–that will stand.”

This is not about being cautious but about being wise – and understanding the ramifications of a proposed course of action. While others are ready to quickly decide an issue, looking before we leap often causes us to wait for a period of time, evaluating all sides of the issue, being neither proponents or opponents but simply keeping an open mind so that when a decision is made it is a wise decision. Playing the movie allows us to evaluate with objectivity rather than taking a position. i have a three day rule for buying a car, and what that means is that i figure Jesus rose from the dead in three days, and so in three days i can make a decision to buy or not. So far, it has worked out well. In those following three days, there is time to consider carefully and get a circumspect view.

How about the man and woman who were friends and went to a conference? While at the conference the speaker called them out of the crowd and prophesied that they should be married. They didn’t take into account the myriad of details that should have been carefully weighed before marriage, they didn’t count the cost … they failed to play the movie. They didn’t use a sharp pencil, scrutinizing the details, instead they took the conference speaker at his word, and got married straight away. It was a disaster which grew to super-volcano proportions quickly. How much different was that type of irresponsible behavior than the unthinking young man who went bungee jumping from a bridge with an unyielding rope tied to his foot?

          In a foreign country a priest, a lawyer and an engineer were about to be guillotined. The priest puts his head on the block, they pull the rope and nothing happens. He declared that he’d been saved by divine intervention, so they let him go. The lawyer was put on the block, and again the rope didn’t release the blade. He claimed he couldn’t be executed twice for the same crime and he was set free also. They grabbed the engineer and shoved his head into the guillotine. He looked up at the release mechanism and said, “Wait a minute, I see your problem … ”

Oh, gosh, he just had to open his mouth. Obviously, the engineer didn’t weigh and consider carefully before he spoke, and once his words were out there, he couldn’t unring that bell.

My mother used to tell me that it was better for me to be quiet and only be thought foolish, than it was for me to open my mouth and be known foolish. For much of my life … i didn’t listen.

Ephesians 5:14-17 “Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Mark 4:23-24 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Consider carefully what you hear.” God’s meaning of “consider carefully” means to take in all the details, scrutinize them, leaving nothing out. And as to the use of the word “consider” in Greek … it means to “ponder to conclusion”, play the whole movie, or “look before you leap”, and we should do it carefully. To summarize that scripture it reads, “after you have taken in the details and, so to speak, penciled it out and perceived, after you’ve been to the Lord about what is in your mind, come to a conclusion and take action.” That is considering your hindsight, getting insight from the Lord, taking note of your foresight, draw it all into a conclusion, and then setting out to accomplish your task.

That method is the way the Lord does things. He is our example of “play the movie”, or being circumspect.

Isaiah 46:9-10 9 “I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning.” Our God is circumspect. He knows the end from the beginning, and takes all facts and intents of the heart into account.

Imitating the Lord, we are called to be wise and to take into account the ramifications of our possible actions ! before ! we jump and run. i’ll ask again, How often do you make a “knee jerk reaction” about something without considering the consequences? Think about that, and after you’ve thought, then think about it all some more.

When we take God seriously and practice the conclusion of our foresight and insight, life gets radically better. We may not be too good at it now, but the more we practice “looking before we leap”, counting the cost before we go to war, the better we get at it. To “play the movie” is one of the things alcoholics learn to do in order to succeed. Like Dr. Henry Cloud said, “Going to the movies can save your life by preventing bad things from happening, and it also enables us to see the good things that can happen also.”

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, a beautiful evening on the deck overlooking the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over and every evening is pleasant.

Pick up your cross this week, afterall, no one can bear it but you. Look before you leap, see your options before hand and be circumspect about what you perceive. As you go your way, take the time to pray for someone with words that make a difference. Be strong and courageous, and i’ll talk to you next time.

Even if it seems like the whole world is against us, even when our eyes see nothing but dark clouds all around, as believers, God is on our side, and we have the strength to come out winners. As believers, we have the King of the Universe in us, with us, and for us, we have the Holy Spirit before us like a radiant cloud and behind us like a pillar of fire, we have the written Word of God, we have fellowship with Jesus and the saints. In consideration of those glorious truths, i find no good reason why we should ever enter a battle and lose.

We are more than conquerors, more than just them who gain mastery over or win by overcoming obstacles or opposition. More. Not just conquerors, more than that. Jesus was more than a conqueror, thus we, His people, are more because He is more. Because He is, we are. Because He did, we can.

Rom 8:37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  In that verse, “more than conquerors” is the Greek word “hypernikao”, “hyper” meaning “over and above”, and “nikao” meaning “to conquer”. God has made us to be the people who are over and above gaining a surpassing victory. More!

What sort of people do you think God thinks we are? In the Smithsonian museum, there’s an apron with a dirty brown mark on it. It looks like a chocolate stain and the apron isn’t worth much. When they were carrying the great emancipator, Lincoln, out of that theater, as they passed a little girl, his blood fell on her apron and immediately somebody said, “that is sacred for America, get hold of it.” There’s nothing which can buy that thing which is stamped with blood! And i want to tell you, in the face of the world, the flesh, and the devil and all hell that if the blood of Jesus Christ is on you, you’re worth more than all the wealth in Fort Knox or anything else in the world. You’re precious to Him. MORE!

Let’s look at the contrast of Romans 7 vs. Romans 8:

The 7th chapter is a chapter of gloom, the 8th chapter is a chapter of glory. The 7th chapter is a chapter of condemnation, the 8th chapter is a chapter of emancipation. The 7th chapter is a funeral march, the 8th chapter is a wedding march. The 7th chapter is on the tomb, the 8^th chapter is a chapter on triumph. The 7^th chapter is of paradise lost, the 8th chapter is a chapter of deliverance and delight. Chapter 7 is a chapter of misery and condemnation, the 8th chapter is a liberated soul. Chapter 7 is a chapter on a self-centered person, the 8th chapter is a chapter about the Christ-centered person.

Not just conquerors, but “More than conquerors”, and that phrase should become part of the identity and self-image of every Christian. We are not defeated people, failures, anxious, confused, dismayed, or under the dominion of darkness. In verse 37 it says, “In all these things…”, there is no area in your life where, as a Christian, you are expected to be defeated. All means all, and no part of all means anything other than all – the whole quantity or extent.  True, we do and will face challenges and difficulties, but in (v37) “all these things”, we are more than overcomers and victorious. More! We, God’s people, are people who have been literally energized by God’s explosive, dynamic power and who face life with a courageous heart, a people whose pitch and yaw reflect the Son of God “…with all your breathing, with all your thinking, and with all your feeling” (Matt 22:37). Light bearers! More!

We are the people who are not only conquerors, not only having overcome and are overcoming the bondages of sin, addiction, fear, and bad habits, but we also walk in the power and authority to bring God’s “dunamis” (where we get our word for dynamite) power to others, that they too would be free of the authority which binds mankind to chaos and death. We live our lives in “more”, not just being satisfied to get in the gate of Heaven, but to actually live the life as sons and daughters of God and to prosper in Christ through tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. Super-conquerors. More! We are not adorned with dullness, mere grays and browns or grayed out off-colors … the muted colors of the world … through Jesus we are arrayed with MORE, the brilliant blues, glowing golds, dazzling reds, royal purples, and effervescent greens, adornment made of the Light of God. More! Through Christ He has given us eyes which see over the horizon, ears which hear into tomorrow and mouths which can speak God’s heart across continents and time to change the world.

In Jesus we are more than just widows, orphans, and beggars who barely scrape through life. We live a resurrected and empowered life through the faith of the Son of God, who died and gave Himself for us. We are more than conquerors!

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

          What do all the following words have in common? Crossroad, intersection, cloverleaf, crosswalk, crossway, exchange, grade crossing, gridiron, interchange, junction, traversal, underpass.  They are all places where paths or roads meet and a decision must be made. True, we can sit at that intersection and watch the train go by, seemingly till the cows come home, but rest assured, one way or another, at some point, we must choose.  Maybe some of us had something in mind before we got to the crossroads, a plan of action before we got there. Even at that, most of the time there’s at least a couple ways to get to most places, and so there’s still a decision to be made.

i’ve asked this before, what or who is at the foundation of your decision-making machine? What or who governs how you come to the conclusions in life, like when at an intersection in your heart? Many of us say Jesus is the deciding factor, but if we inspected our lives closely, is that the truth, how can you tell, and are you brave enough to call a spade a spade and do something about it?

We live in a world of crossroads and intersections, places where decisions must be made and life can change at the turn of our foot. Whether to have coffee or tea, to wear the blue or the green, to get up now or later, to speak to this person and not that one, those are all typical intersections, the crossroads of decision everyone, everyday must make. It may seem subtle, it all may be taken for granted, but the Lord designed the life we lead to be a constant decision-making process.

Jeremiah 6:16 “This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

When you stand at the intersection of the road near where you live, what do you see? Just watch and observe. Some people have a pattern they follow everyday and hardly notice the intersection, yet other people consistently find intersections difficult because a decisive decision may not come so easy to them.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts. At the crossroads of life, often there’s just so much traffic, we can’t seem to get across. A sense of urgency begins to rise up in us; horns blare, the air grows with tension, we feel as if we’ve got to do something … just do something. Sometimes even if it’s not the direction we wanted to go, we took action … it may not be the right direction, but still…we’re not sitting at the intersection where we appeared to be paralyzed with indecision. Sometimes i think my mouth is a bottle neck, just too much traffic in my head, all headed to my mouth, all that thinking seems to hit all at once and i end up saying nothing out of sheer overload. Yea man, too much traffic in my head sometimes. You ever have that happen? Indecision at the crossroads can be a paralyzing event. Bide your time, relax and breathe, i’ll be right back.

In Genesis 13:9-11, Abram is having a conversation with Lot. Evidently there had risen a contention between Abram and Lot and the story continues along about how Abram was working to make peace, so, he offers to Lot an option. i believe Abrahm had thought about, and had consulted with the Lord concerning what he would say and do at the crossroad between he and Lot which they were fast approaching.

Abram was asking Lot to decide which way he wanted to go, and he even gave Lot the option to choose first. Abram says, “If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”  Then it says, “The two men parted company.”

In our American, English speaking culture we think of a crossroads where two roads cross paths, the physical roads are primary and what to do there is secondary. With the Hebrew words used to describe a crossroads, the decision that must be made is primary, and the physical intersection itself is secondary. That says to me that how we come to our conclusions, how we decide our everyday actions is more primary to God than what we actually do.

Of course what we do is important to the Lord, but i believe He’s more interested in our decision making machine and what fuels it.

A young man asked me why was i being so scrutinizing of letters and words? Well… many years ago, the idea to understand the Bible in greater depth entered my mind, and as a result, i bought my first English-Greek Bible. i was astounded to learn many of our English words were truly insufficient translations many times for what God had in mind.

My goal was to know what Jesus said more than what men say. At that, i want to encourage everyone listening to never ever take someone else’s word for what the Bible says or what God means … you look it up, you find out for yourself, it is your responsibility to know for yourself. Look beyond the pastor, look beyond the pulpit in your church, and look far and above to hear the Lord above all. No man ever set you free. No man ever healed you. No man understands you like Jesus. He has the words of life, He is the origin and source of all you need, not some person who has set themselves up or has allowed themselves to be set up as a standard. And if that preacher is worth his or her salt, they will tell you the same thing.

In English we use the single word “love” for a multitude of things, but the Lord speaks of several different types of love – geographical love, friend love, intimate love, self-sacrificial love, etc, etc. Another good example is in English, we use the word “see”, that’s “s” “e” “e” for everything under the sun, like do you see, as in understand, do you see – as in a casual observance, do you see – as in a purposeful looking at, or do you see – as in looking at something amazing with eyes wide open. There are different words in Hebrew and Greek for all those variations, but in English we just say “do you see”.

This evening though, the important word of this conversation is the word, “crossroad”, or the phrase, “where two ways meet”. God is interested in which way you go, of course, but He’s more interested in how you came to that conclusion, and why you thought it was a good idea. It also may be possible it is very true that most of us don’t ever think about how we arrived at our present position until a-f-t-e-r the poo hits the fan, and it’s even more of a remote possibility that most of us rarely, if ever, consider why we thought the path we’re on was a good idea to begin with.

i find any place in the Bible where there are crossroads mentioned, they were places of the miraculous. Mark 11:4 “And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside in a place where two ways met; and they loosed him.” Jesus told them where to go and what to do, and exactly as the Lord had said, miraculously, it all happened as Jesus had said.

In our lives, at every crossroad, at every intersection where we must choose either the Lord or the world, the potential for divine intervention is astounding. As an example, in the Hebrew word for “purity” the letters themselves carry the idea of choosing, meaning purity is more about how you came to your decision to not wound your conscience, rather than just doing the right thing. Purity isn’t gained by doing the rules, as the Pharisee’s thought. They felt that if they, in all condescension, could prevent people who were impure or generally unclean from touching them, then they themselves would remain pure. i find it amazing they first considered themselves pure in order to strive to remain pure. But then, along came Jesus who told them, “You bunch of hopeless frauds you scribes and Pharisees, scoundrels and hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” Purity comes from within and is never gained by excluding everyone you consider to be beneath your dignity.

Every time our lives intersect the lives of others, providing we’re interested in intersecting the world around us, there is the opportunity, at that crossroad, for the life of Christ in us to touch others.

The intersection of the Lord with ourselves is a powerful place of destiny and decision. Going with God is more important than getting what we want … it maybe, and likely is a path less traveled than others.

           There are many, many stories and characters in the Bible at crossroads, places of decision. Joel 3:14 speaks of the sea of mankind who are in a difficult place, desperately in need of a decision, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” When God came to speak with Adam in Genesis3:9 calling out, “Adam where are you?”, it wasn’t a request for his geographical location, it was a request for Adam to consider whose side he was on, the side of God or the side of the devil. We don’t have to be alone in coming to resolve over any issue. The Lord assures us that if we will prefer Him, if we will let Jesus teach us how to live, honesty and truth will be our preference. The Lord wants us to grow up and make godly decisions based on our living relationship with Christ, not “Jesus at a distance”, but “Jesus up close and personal”. We don’t have to be alone at the crossroads.

In Acts 16, Paul and his team were troubled by a slave girl who was possessed. Acts 16:17-18 reads, “This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.”

There, in verse 18, do you see it? The crossroads. It says, “She kept this up for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed (or “so troubled”), turned and said…” That word “annoyed” or “troubled” in the Greek literally means “to toil through”, implying irritation in addition to enduring while concluding a conflict. Paul was finally at a place where he had to make a decision as to whether to address the situation or do something else, he was at a crossroads as to what to do. After many days, he made a decision, and when the time came he took action.  Scripture is silent about this point, but i’m also quite certain Paul conferred with the Lord about the course of action, Jesus was part of Paul’s process.

Don’t you know Jesus is also Lord of the crossroads too? He sits patiently at all your crossroads, waiting for you. Yes, that’s right, He’s already at your future place where two roads meet, poised to assist you in wise counsel.

Without the Lord sitting in the command position in the decision-making machine within us, we are subject to every whim and wind of this chaotic world, easily swept to sea on a rip tide of chance. Friends, i have ridden that rip tide of chance more often than i care to admit, but i’ve learned this, it rarely, rarely turns out as well as we hoped, and God’s counsel is always, always superior to the game of chance every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

           In 2Chron18 and 19 there is a story of when Hezekiah was king of Judah, and “san-khay-reeb’” King of Assyria came and laid siege to the cities. The Israelites were boxed in, obviously, it was a very bad time. Hezekiah had to come to a decision, he was at a terrible crossroads and desperately needed to know what the Lord had to say. At one point in 2Chron19, Hezekiah spreads the threatening letter from the king of Assyria out on the floor before the Lord, and to paraphrase, he says, “Can you see this? Please answer me. What are we going to do? This is terrible!” The right move would have gained Israel the favor of God leaving Israel intact, the wrong move would have cost them everything. i’d wager it was a very stressful time. Indeed, the Lord did answer, and in 2 Kings 19:35, it says, “That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning–there were all the dead bodies!”

When the king of Judah was at the crossroads, he consulted the Lord and the Lord delivered them.

When Paul was at a crossroads in Acts 16:6-10, the Lord gave him wisdom about what to do. Notice how Paul and company tested the waters though, in search of the Holy Spirit’s direction. They were very sensitive to the leading of the Spirit in that they were seriously prevented from speaking the word in Asia, and they didn’t force their way forward. So they continued on to the next town but the Lord did not allow them there either. They didn’t just sit somewhere doing nothing, they were in motion, diligently searching as they went. They were “playing by ear” which is an old saying meaning they listened to the Holy Spirit to hear what God was saying. Do you notice their movements in their searching for the word of the Lord? Finally, God gave them a vision, and BAM! they were off in the direction the Lord gave them.  Verse 10 uses the word “immediately”, more exactly meaning they didn’t stop by the grocery store on the way or swing through and visit friends first. It means they went straight there, they broke camp and as quickly as they could get themselves together, they made a straight line to Macedonia. Notice also that they considered the vision a calling by God. Ah! This was no small event.

Psalm 50:15 says, “… and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” That is a promise.

At the cross, Jesus had a choice, it was the crossroads of all intersections. He was God and also man and He breathed air and lived just like you and me, He had a choice. He didn’t have to be condemned to die, He could have stayed home and capitulated. All He had to do was be a good little doggy, nod and smile doing whatever the religious authorities told Him to do. All He had to do was lie to the Pharisee’s telling them everything they wanted to hear so He wouldn’t have to suffer for the sins of the world. He could have moved away rather than suffer the humiliation of the cross. But God, that’s right … but God, chose to give Himself for us that we would be rescued from the grip of hell, breaking the chains of chaos which bound us in darkness. Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”   Let’s bring it down closer to home … God could easily choose to ignore our prayers, He could easily just go off and do something else more convenient. But instead he chooses to work with us and pursue us. Because of love the Lord rose from the dead that we would have life and have it more abundantly. Righteousness was in the middle of the decision-making process of Jesus. Hope and peace, honesty and kindness are His foundation.

Jesus chose us over the entire universe. For God so loved the world He gave, he chose and “gave” His only Son, that who so ever would believe in Him would be saved. My friend, as God chooses, let us choose.

Who is at the root of your decision-making process? What is important to you, the drugs or your peace with God? When at the crossroads of “making a decision” to go drinking and living a life of violence or to keep your peace with Jesus, which will it be? These are the days that if you will ask God, He will answer. You may have to be patient and wait, but He WILL answer. i can assure you, the Lord stands ready at all our crossroads to help and bring us to where we need to be. An’ that’s a big think about it.

In Matt14 Peter was at a crossroads or a place where two ways met as to whether to try and walk on the water or not. In Acts 19 Paul decided to pay attention to a vision he had, and as a result, while at the crossroads of whether to press on the way they were going or to go the way the Lord had called him, he decided to go with God to Macedonia. In Colossians4 Demas is revealed as having made a decision to go with God, but in 2Tim it is revealed Demas re-decided his decision which and went his way back to the world. i’m going to conclude, Demas spent an inordinate amount of time at the crossroads of decision as to whom he wanted more, Jesus or the world.

Who is at the controls of your decision-making machine? To spend money or not; to be kind or not; to declare the name of Jesus or to be silent? Where are we, as the church, on this issue?

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts.

Let Jesus into your decision-making process, He stands ready to assist with the very best counsel when we are at the place where two roads meet, the crossroads, needing to make a decision for life.

Be strong and courageous, be brave and risk with God. It’s the best idea you’ll ever have. Amen.

        What are you doing for no other reason than because you love Jesus? AND, what have you ceased doing for no other reason than His love for you?

Jack Miller asked that question of his congregation when he served as pastor at New Life Presbyterian Church, and of his students when he taught practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Jack used to say, “Cheer up; you’re a lot worse off than you think you are, but in Jesus you’re far more loved than you could have ever imagined.”

i liked Jack’s question and then the statement … they inspire good conversation. Understanding grace a little better means understanding God a little better, and i think we all could definitely do with a closer comprehension of what our King is all about. Like i’ve said before, i think most of us have a head full of Bible, but somehow, we’ve missed the heart of the Father.

Knowing about God and actually knowing Him is the difference between studying the theology of grace and actually sitting down and having a face-to-face, transforming conversation with the Lord, who is the personification of grace … a conversation where you’re not in a hurry, taking the time to make eye contact and letting the conversational interaction weave it’s way into your heart. It’s the difference between understanding concepts and actually being known by a person; it’s the difference between knowing theological vocabulary versus being truly involved with the full-time job of knowing Jesus.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts. Our goal is to encourage us all to see a little more, to think a little deeper, to imagine a bit farther than we did before, all for the purpose of knowing Jesus more personally, to understand His great heart towards us, to experience, beyond the shadow of a doubt, His desire for our well being, our health and healing, every minute, every hour, every day, without fail, till we are standing in His presence forever as it was meant to be from the beginning.

If we’ll lift our head from being occupied with our phones, or maybe take the headphones off and listen to the world around us, it is amazing how much people talk about feelings, and what they felt when so-and-so did or said such-and-such. It seems we spend a lot of time talking to everyone else, BUT God.

Telling people about Jesus is called “witnessing”, but i believe we drop the ball by only telling answers rather than learning the skill of also asking questions and being involved with the lives of others. Encouraging others to learn how to have conversations is as much witnessing as telling people the facts, and there is a difference between “witnessing” and “visiting”. Eugene Peterson said we need to learn the art of small talk, because if we don’t we’ll never see the green shoots of grace growing in people’s back yards.

Conversations encourage exploration of the contexts, decisions, and behaviors of relationships. It is as much an employment of our faith to tell others about Jesus as it is to also be facilitators of conversation, allowing others to see in our lives concerning who God has made us to be … in hopes they will see the green shoots of grace in our own backyards … that’s called getting eye level with the world.

We need to learn to set the emotional parameters for a space that enables this sort of exploration: spaces that are safe, supportive and able to endure the pressure of challenge.

The value of conversation is the topic this evening, so put your feet up, catch your breath, tap your toe and dream a little.

           So, a couple years ago i had the idea to take a conflict resolution course because i felt like the world around me was in such turmoil and i had no concept on how to even think about it much less help resolve anything. i was so terribly surprised by the first chapter’s direction, which was to address the conflict within myself. At first i scoffed, arrogantly, thinking, i don’t have any big issues, but whatever, i’ll go through this part to get to the rest of the course. Yea, uhh huh … well, as it turns out, i DID have a bunch of conflicts within myself that needed a conclusion, and in fact, i realized i can’t help anyone with their conflicts if i didn’t begin to face my own. Luke 6:41, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” You probably knew that verse was coming, but i thought it appropriate.

If we don’t face our own conflicts first it’s back to the idea that we can’t solve problems with the same mindset which created the problems. Only telling people about Jesus and never hanging around to be involved with them helps us to feel successful about ourselves without having to actually reveal anything of ourselves. We get to look pious and glorious while no one sees the dead grass in our own back yard…our self-attained piousness only works as long as we keep everyone at a distance, never letting anyone into our lives. i think maybe many of us love to make disciples but we don’t like raising them.

In light of that, a conversation is an informal exchange of views, observations, opinions, feelings, or ideas according to Webster’s …  and there’s all kinds … quiet conversations, loud ones, personal or private conversations, and others which are the open forum type for anyone who would participate. They typically go in directions which aren’t predictable either, after all if it were scripted it wouldn’t be a conversation, it would be called a play. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t share anything of themselves? It doesn’t go far without some degree of vulnerability, and without vulnerability it usually feels more like someone is gleaning information from you than actually wanting to be involved with you. A good conversation is a risk because it requires transparency. To conversate we must go with the flow, and truly, there are people who don’t flow easily, so there again, conversation is not easily found with them.

A good conversation is more valuable than we imagine. It is us allowing others into our lives and others allowing us into theirs.

i’m going to say this several times in this program: If we don’t learn the art of conversation and even small talk, we’ll never see the green shoots of grace in people’s backyards. What that means is when we allow ourselves to access and be accessed, we, metaphorically, are allowed to walk around in the places of people’s lives which aren’t seen merely by walking by the front of their house. The front of their house is the presentation face, but their backyard is where they really live … conversation and small talk get them in our backyard and us in theirs. It requires some trust, which means we can’t just use our theological vocabulary, we’ve got to actually BE people of grace and kindness to facilitate a safe place for others. So what is a conversation? From what i can gather, a good conversation contains asking questions, giving information, proposing different perceptions, stating something that is true and reflecting understanding. How about listening and then testing ideas? All that is done gently with kindness of course.

In Luke11:9, when Jesus said ask, seek, knock, do you think that was just Him telling us how to get what we want, or was it more an invitation into a conversation with God?

In Genesis 2 & 3 there is the account of what God said, what the serpent said, what Eve said, and what Adam said. Of the eight recorded statements the Lord made, four were questions. Why do you think He asked Adam and Eve questions, but only gave statements to the serpent? i venture this: God wanted a conversation with Adam and Eve, but was not interested in a conversation with serpent. Friends, there is nothing hell has to say which we need to hear, i have no questions for hell, and they have no answers i need to hear. None. Nada. Never. And none.

Learning to ask good questions is as much an art as navigating good dialogue. i think, and this is just what i think, people who only tell answers aren’t too interested in friends, only subordinates. In my opinion women are far more relationship oriented than men so they ask questions. Questions, without being interrogators, are an invitation into a relationship, they are conversation encouragers.

Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

Luke 13:21, “It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

If the Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven which is hid in the dough and doesn’t stop until the entire lump is leavened, how is that any different than us being more transparent and involved in people’s lives so Jesus is more easily revealed. We’ve got to go there … we can’t keep standing at a distance from a dying world, yelling the gospel across a divide between us and them but never actually being involved with the lost. We should not just be a distant light in the darkness in people’s lives, we should be the soft light of grace up close and personal. And if we’re going to let our lights shine up close and personal like, let us allow the Holy Spirit to resolve our worldly hearts of sourness, bad language which reflects our heart, fault finding, ignorance, and a downcast countenance. If we will let Him, God will fill us with aspects of courtesy, insight, grace, and salt. We are not monotony on two legs you know, we posses the very life and light of the universe in our hearts.

Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Learning to have conversations with people is being involved in their lives…let us look to understand, and rather than working to constantly persuade them, which makes us look like hammers and everyone else is a nail, learn to listen … listen to the quieter ones, it seems they often see things but rarely express themselves. i’ve learned to use the word “and” which opens up further conversation and means “in addition to”. When we use “but” though, it shuts people down and means “with exception”, or maybe “I know something you don’t know”. i’m fairly certain, years ago, i was a chief in the “yea but” tribe … yea but, yea but, yea but … it made conversations difficult to have.

i’ve heard myself witnessing instead of visiting, and out of my own mouth was far more often the word “but” … it is argumentative and is a subtle way of drawing swords with people. i’ve been such a silly man …  rarely, if ever, did anyone ever come to the Lord as the result of a metaphorical sword fight. When i learned to ask questions and allow myself to conversate without the need to win, allowing myself to be involved in the lives of others, i began to see results, bearing of much fruit.

           On redeeming our internal narrative, which is where our conflict resolution begins, actually is a process. Within everyone there is a conversation going on, we may not be aware of it, we may not want to admit it or admit to the contents of that internal narrative, but it is there.

Psalm 37:14, “The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;”.

Right there, where the translators used the words “way is upright”, a more exact translation would be “whose conversation is upright”, meaning not only outwardly, but their internal narrative is upright. The same Hebrew word, which in this case is our word for conversation, draws a picture of a well worn path, or a path which is worn from constantly being walked on, and when in groups, it draws a picture of marching together … or … a conversation.

Conversations, when in a group setting, are like people marching together, on their way somewhere.

In Prov31:3, “your ways” doesn’t necessarily mean the way you do things, but more speaks of your internal narrative, in other words, don’t give your internal conversation over to those things which destroy … or don’t allow yourself a downward spiraling internal conversation so often you begin to believe your own rhetoric … i must also add, that escaping our own dark thoughts isn’t always easy by any means, so we must get help.  In fact, the very last letter of the Hebrew word for “conversation” has, among other meanings, a meaning of “your”, implying the conversation you have with yourself, your internal narrative. Allowing ourselves honest conversations with the Lord tends to redeem our internal narrative, it brings rectification and clarity…which is why, if we need counseling, it is profitable.

Among the words used for heal and “make whole” in the N.T., is the word “therapeuo”, used 44 times, and it’s where we get our English word for therapy, meaning a system of treatments intended to heal and restore. Within this word not only is there a meaning of being made well, but also the idea of having to wait in the course of conversation, and waiting is a time element … meaning we talk it out … .. of course, there are all sorts of therapies, antibiotic therapy, shock therapy, oxygen therapy, heat therapy, and in our case considering the topic is a good conversation, talk therapy. Without Godly conversations, we are often left only to our internal narrative, and if we have a propensity to negativity, remember, people are going to catch what you’ve really got, not what you think you’ve got. It is a human tendency to gravitate towards what we want to fix and forget to celebrate what we have.

In 1Kings18:27, Elijah was mocking the prophets of Baal when, regardless of all their crying out and self-mutilation, their god (little “g”) didn’t show up … Elijah mockingly said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Could be he is lost in thought, or in the toilet, or maybe he is on a journey, or perhaps he’s asleep and must be awakened.” Where he said, “on a journey”, it’s the same word for “conversation”, so we could read it another way to say, “maybe he is stuck in a conversation someplace or has gone somewhere and can’t be gotten a hold of …” i do believe the false prophets of Baal were probably sufficiently antagonized, driving them into a frenzy.

In all this, let me draw a conclusion that there are many conversations which happen in scripture, from ones which last across several chapters to simple ones like in Luke 6:11 when the people were filled with rage and were having a heated conversation concerning what to do with Jesus. They were conflicted. How does your internal narrative sound? Is it an upward spiral or a downward spiral? So … if it’s a downward spiral more often than not, what are you gonna do about that? Let’s not hide it but resolve it so there is no reason for hiding and secrets any longer.

Having a good conversation, one that is profitable and builds us up though, ahhh … that may not be as easy to come by as we might hope. What a conversation is and how we do it is one thing, but where does our best conversation begin and why?

From the beginning, the Lord has been soliciting conversation with all of mankind. He wants to be involved with us and want us to desire His words and thoughts above all others. As was previously mentioned, in Genesis 2 & 3, of the first eight recorded statements the Lord made, four were questions, which was the Lord’s invitation for us to conversate with Him. i believe God even goes so far sometimes to, sort of, pick a fight with us to get us to be involved with Him. i could be completely incorrect, but in Genesis 32 it sure looks like the Lord didn’t mind grappling with Jacob. If that’s where God needs to go to get our attention, our Father is not above a little wrestling to get us to be involved with Him, why? … because the Lord knows our interaction and conversation with Him is life giving, healing, and makes opportunity for Him to share wisdom and hope with us.

In the Hebrew word for conversation, it breaks down as meaning a door for clarification and an opportunity to venture below the surface of our presentation face, conversation is a call to allow our thinking’s and musings to be elevated above the horizon, in other words to lift them above street level to be discovered and to not allow our thoughts to remain buried like secrets concerning hidden things.

In Luke 20, when the chief priests, scribes, and elders put a question to Jesus, He didn’t shrink back from the rough water ahead. In fact, my paraphrase here, He leaned into them and fired back, “Oh yea, I hear your question, so now i’m gonna ask you a question too!” He was not afraid of the conversation … in fact, He leaned into their space and took them up on their challenge. God is the master of conversation, and was willing to walk with them if they were willing to tread the path with Him.

In Luke 24:13 there is what i call the “Seven Mile Conversation”. Luke 24:13-27 tells the story about two disciples on the way to Emmaus, about a 7-mile walk taking approx. 3.5hrs or a little more. They were walking and talking …  discussing, or reasoning together about the things which had been going on. While on “the way” Jesus joined them in their conversation, but their eyes were restrained and they didn’t know it was Jesus. Jesus asked them a question (which was an invitation to join the conversation) in vs 17 …  He asked, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” or, “What are you guys talking about?” Scripture says, “And they stood still, looking sad.” Cleopas replied, “Man, haven’t you heard of all the things going on? Where have you been?” Then Jesus asked a second question in vs 19, “What things?”, meaning, “Tell me about it.” As they walked on, the two told him all the account of Jesus of Nazareth, and how Jesus did this, and the Pharisee’s did that, and how the Lord had been crucified, they said they were hoping Israel was going to be redeemed, but it just didn’t appear that’s how things turned out … they told Him how this was the third day, and the women couldn’t find the body, then met some angels at the tomb who said Jesus was alive, but in light of all these things, they weren’t quite sure what to think. Then Jesus poured the testimony on them. He laid it out beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

When they reached the village where they were going, the Lord made like He was going to leave their company, but they insisted He stay on with them (inviting Jesus into their inner circle). Finally, when they sat down to eat, Jesus broke bread and their eyes were opened. i bet they were blown away, and even more so when Jesus suddenly disappeared. Oh man, they really had things to talk about now. They were so excited, they got up and walked all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the others … which would have made another 7-mile conversation … It was a very good day, a very good walk, and a very, very good conversation. Think about it.

In the movie “The Last Samurai”, Katsumoto, who is a samurai Lord, has taken Capt. Nathan Algren captive and hauled him back to their village for the winter. As the movie progresses, i noticed that Algren, at first, only tells answers and Katsumoto keeps asking questions. Katsumoto’s questions were an invitation into a relationship which Algren does not want. At one-point Capt. Algren roars at Katsumoto, “What do you want from me?” At that point Katsumoto, calmly says, “I want a gooood conversation.” As far as Katsumoto was concerned, just because his enemy was in the camp didn’t mean they couldn’t walk the roads of the village and have conversations. A good conversation was as valuable to the samurai Lord as was good food, well honed weapons, and beautifully executed art … a good conversation was highly prized and was probably considered art in itself.

Conversation is how people get to know what we’re about, it’s how people get to look at aspects of us which aren’t so readily seen. In our vulnerability during the back and forth talk of conversation, we get to see the green shoots of grace growing in other people’s back yards, and if we don’t master small talk, we’ll never see those things.

Conversation is where we connect and are connected with, and learning to ask questions is as much an art as letting God make us beautiful for the world to behold. In our conversations with God, He will redeem our internal narrative making it easier for us to march together on a path worn by constant walking. Do you have conversations with God, or do you just hand Him your shopping list? We want Him to be vulnerable with us yet we are scared to pieces to be vulnerable with Him. Jesus is waiting with delightful anticipation for you to come and sit a while with Him, and have good conversation …  eventually one which will never end.

Good conversation is not scripted, although we may have some objectives, still it is not scripted. We must go with the flow and listen … some may feel they are putting themselves at risk because they must be vulnerable and transparent, but we really need to get over the fear of someone seeing us as we are … the Lord has been inviting us into a continuous conversation with Him since the garden as even today it is still God’s standing invitation to conversate with Him … don’t you know, when we get home to Jesus it will be an eternal conversation, a glorious conversation filled with music and companionship with God, and He will be our light and sun for ever.

Drive carefully, pray for your neighbors, take the time to get to know who lives near you, let them know you by letting them into your life and allowing them to see Jesus who lives in you. Be strong and courageous! Amen!