i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late evening, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the river’s edge and every evening is pleasant.

Our topic is about getting old and the modern-day challenge of actually living long enough to become gray-headed and wise. Think about it. On one hand, we’re being told people are living longer than ever, but on the other hand, there are so many ways to never make it to old age anymore, it is surely the grace of God that navigates us through life, between the glowing ignorance of dangerous situations, and even the purposeful attempts that could end in catastrophe, not to mention the options of a permanent solution to a temporary problem. i’m reminded of a story about a boy. Yea, chuckle, always a story about a boy at some point, huh?

When the boy was two years old, he seemed to have no respect for boundaries… no thought for reasons why doors were locked, why knives were hung out of his reach, ladders were out of his grasp, or why there were bars on his crib. He had an unquenchable curiosity about all things unseen and hidden, a very real “drive-you-crazy” sort of inquisitiveness… he always had an endless line of questions about how stuff worked, and why people did what they did… even at 2 going on 3. He wondered why his mother told him he shouldn’t go outside to play at three in the morning…playing was playing to him, whether it was day or night….as a result, his parents found him in the backyard sandbox in the wee hours of the early morning more than a few times. So, his dad started locking all the doors and windows in an effort to keep the boy safe. The problem was the boy didn’t understand why it wasn’t safe, after all, he didn’t see what was unsafe about a lot of things… he became an escape artist of sorts. He got good at getting out of his crib… up, over the bars, carefully down the other side, plop to the floor, and he was down the steps and out the back door to his favorite place in the sandbox with his trucks and cars, his buckets and toy building machines. His parents increasingly became more and more concerned for the well-being of the child. In great frustration, the boys’ parents, tied bed sheets across the top of the crib, locked the kitchen door and the screen door. The boy managed to work all night prying the bedsheets across the top of his crib apart, just enough to squeeze through, used the bedsheets to swing down, then down the steps to the kitchen. He got a stool to unlock the back door, a broom to jimmy open the screen door latch, and man… he was f-r-e-e! The neighbors told the parents the boy was a dangerous child and would never live to see the age of seven. All things came to a head when the boys’ father heard a noise in the kitchen early early one morning before daylight. Upon investigation, he found his now 3-year-old son, sitting on the floor with a butcher knife, stabbing the top of a can of apple juice because he wanted some apple juice. The parents were now beginning to truly believe, their darling child was so inquisitive and headstrong, surely it was true, he’d never make seven years old before being killed somehow. It seemed he’d never see middle age much less old age.

Honestly, i’m as surprised as anyone else that i have lived to be 70+ years old, it’s just incredible looking back at the crazy stuff i did and the situations i got myself into out of sheer ignorance and even willful disregard of the consequences. Now that i’m this old, i realize how much the Lord spared me terrible injury or death. i didn’t know much to be honest. Not only did i not have any input from elders, but if i did i certainly didn’t listen. Oh sure, i nodded when a grey head would advise me to not do something, but then, in all my youthful arrogance, i did what i wanted to do anyway. Even in my 20’s and 30’s, i’m sure the old guys in my life looked at me and shook their heads thinking, “He’ll never see 50.”

Not only does the Lord give us the elderly for wisdom and understanding, but God Himself is considered the Ancient of Days, wisest of the wise, smartest of the smart, and understands all our ways better than anyone.

i’ve often thought to myself that the reason wisdom is with the aged is because they’ve tried the way of the rash and young before, and things didn’t work out as a young imagination figured they would. i used to visit retirement homes and occasionally got in great conversations, and one of those was with an old fella named Bob who was in his 90s… one day i posed him a problem i was having with a man at church who, no matter how nice i was, he just seemed to have it out for me. As Bob sat crumpled to one side in his comfortable chair, him with his Velcro strapped shoes and old plaid collared shirt… after i explained my dilemma, he looked at me through aged, cloudy blue eyes, smiled his old smile with crooked teeth and said, “Just let it go son, just let it go. Offense is a waste of time. It doesn’t go anywhere and doesn’t do anything but wound everyone involved, especially yourself. If you can’t make peace with the fellow, then quietly leave him to his life and find something better. The Lord will show you. Believe me, i’ve been where you are and discovered, the hard way, there are better things to do than to wrestle with someone who won’t make peace. Just….let it go.” The smile fell from his face for a moment, then with all sincerity, looked me in the eye and reiterated, “I said to quietly let it go young man.”

Bob knew stuff. i listened for a change and did as he suggested, and life became far less contentious. Imagine that. i remember laying in my bed at night thinking to myself that i didn’t have anyone older than myself in my life and asked the Lord for wisdom and understanding… He suggested i visit the elderly. i’ve realized, the older i get, the fewer old folks i’ve got in my life, and now, i am becoming one of the old folks, which means in all my foolishness, the Lord made a way for me to actually become “old and full of days”. The older i get the fewer old folks there are… i consider it a loss of valuable people.

Leviticus 19:32 “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.”

To be aged and elderly carries with it the idea of those who are nearing the vanishing point. In 1Chron23:1 the elderly are referred to as being “old and full of days”, a nice poetic way of saying someone is getting up in their years. Although the term “old” is typically an adjective, in almost all Hebrew words, the root is a three-letter verb… in this case “old” as a verb, denotes a state or condition rather than an activity or event. The word for “old age”, in the scripture of first mention occurs in Gen 21:2, in reference to Sarah. Into God’s description of “old age” is built time and a crown, honor, and faithfulness. The letters of the word imply, as a man or woman of God in our “old age”, we are approaching our final form, and the truth of God is concealed in our heart, which is why i say that the idea of getting old, literally means one approaching their vanishing point… As we age, our “waters are closed up” so to speak, our joints don’t work like they used to, our eyes and ears aren’t as sharp, we don’t have the endurance to run with the young anymore, nor do we recover as quickly as we used to. Our prospects of marriage and having more children come to a close. But God has given those of us who are elderly a value as wise advisors… which, i believe, is truly an invaluable resource in today’s economy which seems to employ such little wisdom.

In Ezekiel 7:26, the value of the aged advisors was rejected by Rehoboam. In 1 Kings 12:6, the king asked those advisors who were “old and full of days” for their counsel, and they gave him very wise counsel, only to be rejected and the cruel, violent, and rash counsel of young men was taken instead. Rehoboam did evil in the sight of the Lord.

God had Jeremiah prophesy to all the cities of Judah in Jeremiah 26, that if they didn’t give heed to what the Lord was saying, He was going to allow terrible things to occur to them. In a rage, the priests, prophets, and all the people grabbed the prophet with the intention of killing him for not telling them wonderful, sweeping prophecies of blessing and prosperity, but instead, he prophesied against the city. In vs 17, the advice of the elders saved Jeremiah’s life, preventing the offended people, priests, and prophets from putting him to death. i can also testify that the advice to me from those much older than myself has also saved my life, on more than one occasion.

The old ones of the Lord are to be revered and honored. Prov20:29, “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair,” and “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged..”, Prov17:6. Our elderly folks are to be appreciated and honored, but yet in our society not only do 28% of our seniors live alone, but in their isolation their risk of abuse, depression, and an increasing pessimism about the future rises exponentially. Those with grey hair get lonely, just like anyone else, and loneliness is contagious. Remember, someday, you too, Lord willing, will be old….do those statistics sound like a life you’d like to lead?

We live in a society that seems to be totally obsessed with being young. Especially in America. So many games and amusement, retailed goods, political practices, and even our economy is all geared to the younger generation…..why is that? Even the elderly change their hair and get plastic surgery, often doing almost anything possible to keep from looking old. i don’t know about you, but it is settled in my heart that i’m going to simply look like myself, sagging eyelids, turkey neck, dwindled muscle mass, and all.

Many years ago i went early to a very fancy mall. i got there early and had to wait for stores to open. i sat in front of a Tommy Bahama store on a bench, just watching the few people who were there getting ready for the opening of the business day. Shortly i began to smell suntan lotion, then i was hearing in the distance, seagulls and ocean waves crashing… there were sounds of children laughing, and indistinguishable adult conversations like moms talking at the beach while watching the kids. Incredibly, i also smelled salty ocean air. Although, obviously, i was not at the beach, it smelled and sounded like i was at the beach. As i sat there i noticed the huge bathing suit display in the windows of the store…and suddenly i got it. The smells were being sprayed by little DC drive atomizers above my head, and the sounds of the beach were played by small speakers that sat next to the atomizers. The entire idea was to put into the minds of shoppers the memories of being at the beach, laughing, talking, and what a wonderful time was had in order to compel the shopper to come in and buy something. That same day, i spoke with a regional manager of several jewelry stores, relaying my experience in front of Tommy Bahama, and he told me there were three, thick, 3-ring binders outlining the psychological profiling of shoppers and that the entire mall was designed in such a way, by colors, music, and smells, to pull people in the front entrance, push them down the long halls of the mall, and out the other end. i remember thinking that everything was geared toward the young, children, women, and families…

By observation on my part, i expect the world to act like this, but i see the church carrying on in the same way. So much of church life caters to the young – the music, the worship styles, and even the sermons have to be upbeat, contemporary, and relevant to today’s generation.

But from God’s perspective, those who are older are valuable in church leadership, they have wisdom and maturity because they are “older and full of days”. i can testify of my own growth, not because i’m so good, but because when it comes to church leadership and wisdom, i have done it wrong just about every which-a-way you can imagine…as a result of my foolishness, i can say i actually know something about life for a change.

i am disturbed by church leadership who passover the elderly as advisors, picking more modern and relevant young people, not that the younger ones don’t have a role to play in the work, of course, but, as i see it, one over-arching condition of spiritual leadership is wisdom, maturity, experience, and understanding.

1 Timothy 5:1-2, “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

Contrary to the myth about aging, those who are “old and full of days” don’t necessarily lose their intellect, perception, or their decision-making abilities. There are countless elders in history who are brilliant examples of creative, active, and productive people. By example, at 71, Michael Angelo was appointed the chief architect of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome; George Bernhard Shaw, the Irish dramatist and author, wrote Farfetched Fables at 93; Polish-born Arthur Rubinstein gave a stunning performance at Carnegie Hall at the age of 90….and that’s just a very few. There are millions of elderly people who are still productive and active in their own way and want to keep being that way.

In Psalm 92:14-15, the Lord makes a promise to the elderly. He says, “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are forever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

In Exodus 20:12, growing old became a symbol of blessing, wisdom, and righteousness – an honorable practice by which God rewarded those who honored their own parents: “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

The fact that someone has gray hair itself is considered a crown and a sure sign of growing old all throughout history…not just a reason to disregard them. Proverbs 16:31, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”

And then, let’s talk about Moses. He was the son of Amram, whose name in Hebrew is revealed to mean “friend of the most high”. Moses’ name meant “deliverer, and “the divine revelation of God revealed”. As a result we could say that the “Divine revelation of God revealed” was the son of “the friend of God”. Moses was 80 years old when God called him to lead His people to the Promised Land. Although he was very old by the standards of his day, Moses became the historian, leader, and statesman of Israel. When he was around 85 years of age, Joshua was divinely appointed to succeed Moses, and when Moses died at approximately 120 years of age, Deuteronomy 34:7 says, “His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.”

In Luke 2:22-38, Simeon, whose name means “one who hears and obeys” and Anna, whose name means “grace”, are the prophetic voices welcoming Jesus. Both were very old and full of days. Old Simeon, who did the law, fixed his eyes on Jesus, the grace of God revealed, and in vs 28 it says, “he took him up in his arms, blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

When the old, gray, and bearded Simeon, the one who “heard and obeyed” saw that grace had come, he died shortly thereafter, as had been promised by the Holy Spirit that Simeon would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah, the grace of God. Or metaphorically, when the law saw that grace had come, the law knew its job had been fulfilled, and grace would take over from here.

The value of our elderly should never be pushed aside…we are diminishing them, and in my opinion, we are making our society poorer through the lack of employing their wisdom, experience, and maturity.

Let us be diligent and not underestimate God’s continual use of our elders…they are valuable and need to be honored and respected. 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” Amen.

i recently read a book by Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, who lived through incredible horror in Nazi concentration camps… he said that there is no reason to pity old people. Then he adds, “Instead, young people should envy them.” Why? Because seniors have something young people don’t possess. Frankl says that seniors have realities in the past – the potentialities they have actualized, the values they have realized – and nothing and nobody can ever remove these assets from the past.

Without the God-infused elderly in our places of worship, the church wouldn’t be what it is today. They are the very epitome of our story as believers. Of course, it doesn’t make good sense to expect all the elderly to have the “wisdom of their years,” but i don’t believe there can ever be a substitute for some of the old people in our churches who pass on their wisdom to those around them.

Again, without the righteous old folks, we, the church, would not be who we are today. Throughout history, the church, and even the world, up until the last 50 years, has frowned on separating the young from the old through facilitating more and more youth services, and fewer and fewer opportunities for their seniors. Many years ago, i even attended a fellowship where no older people were expected to attend. But according to scripture, old and young belong together. They are all part of the great family of God.

This production was sponsored by Living In His Name Ministries, The Mebane Freedom League, the Candy Cottage in Salmon Idaho, Sisters Coffee Company, and of course, our always beloved friends at Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something oh so good in the oven. We certainly appreciate all their support. We are a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, and all music use is BMI licensed.

It is truly a wonder the boy at beginning of the program even lived to be gray, and bearded… yet getting older and wiser all the time. My questioning and inquisitiveness have never faded, in fact, the older i get, the more i look at faraway hills and wonder what’s on the other side, but at the same time, my tired eyes increasingly look to Heaven’s gate as i near the time of arriving at my own vanishing point. Don’t listen to the “belittlers”, the “old and full of days” are valuable. Do you have anyone older than you in your life? Take time to cultivate relationships with the elderly…. the stories are amazing, the like of which you’ll never hear again. Face it, when those old folks are gone, their stories are gone with them. Think about it.

Drive carefully this week, read your Bible, and pay attention to the whispers in your heart, God is, after all speaking to us. Be strong and courageous, amen!

What is silence? Is it good or bad? Sometimes both, sometimes neither, it depends on why. Is it a something or a nothing?

         So many times we expect an answer from God, our spouse, a child, or whom so ever we are engaging with, but there is just silence or no reply. In that space of no reply many of us tend to fill in the blank with all sorts of stuff, sometimes pretty crazy stuff, and sometimes with ideas that are quite graceful. How do you deal with silence? 

Some people can’t stand silence during a conversation, they think to themselves, “Hmmm…Something is wrong, it’s far too quiet.” But the truth may very well be nothing is wrong, it is just a pregnant pause of sorts. When you’re home alone, do you immediately turn the TV on or maybe some music? Many seem to need the noise in their lives saying it’s just “too quiet”. Many people, if not most, are very uncomfortable if there is silence at church, even for five minutes. Why?

         i have a friend who never has silence. He says he can’t stand it. He has a radio that plays all night and all day …. never goes off. When he gets up in the morning he turns the TV on; when he leaves the house to go to work, as soon as he’s in his vehicle, the radio or music is on. He keeps a radio on at his desk all day, etc, etc, you get the picture i guess. There is never silence in his life, it is never quiet. i wonder….if we never have silence, do you think it could be kind of hard to hear the Lord?

         Silence in scripture is seen as a wide variety of meanings. Like when Samuel told Saul, to “Be silent” in 1 Sam 15:16, as in “quit talking and listen”. Lam3:26, says “…it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD,” meaning to “sit still and be silent”. David writes in Psalm 101:5 that He will put to silence a neighbor who slanders in secret, meaning if they won’t cease their slandering gossip then he intends to shut their mouth for them.  

         Silence and being quiet is a big deal in scripture. Let’s dig into it some to understand the ramifications of silence. 

Silence means being quiet; stillness; reticence; calmness; a state of rest; absence of mention; desistance from bustle and language. 

Silence has to do with intent, and is easily seen in understanding the Hebrew letter aleph, which one of several meanings is “the sound made before the mouth is opened and a sound is made.” Intent. The first thing spoken to us when we are read our Miranda Rights is, “You have the right to remain silent.” A right is a “something”, which is by definition, “a person or thing of consequence”, and if a right is a person or thing of consequence then silence would also qualify as a thing of consequence, understanding that, by law, you have a right to it.

 In Hebrew “nothing” is described as “existence that is not”, or what we would call “nil”. In mathematics, the concept of “nothing” means “nil” or “empty set”. Does God ever ask us to be “nil”? No. Does the enemy desire that we be “nil”? Yes. The opposite of nothing is something, so silence is never nothing. Silence is not nothing, it is not “nil”…. it is never “nil”. 

In the book “The Shack”, when Mac was walking through the house as he came out on the porch, he saw Papa lying in a lawn chair in the sun. Mac said some smart-alecky thing like, ‘I guess even God has time to lay in the sun.” implying Papa was laying there doing “nothing” just because Papa was being silent. Papa opened one eye, looked at Mac, and said, “You have no idea what I’m doing.” Just because there is no obvious movement and no observable, action doesn’t mean “nothing” is going on, and just because it seems God is silent doesn’t mean God is doing nothing. Prov3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

How should we handle silence? When should we be silent, and when should we not? That is something each person must weigh out in themselves and is unique to each individual situation. Consider though, Isaiah 62:6, “You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent”.

i believe silence is a kind of action. We’ve heard it said, “The silence was deafening!” Silence can speak volumes if we are willing to listen.

When we want an answer and feel in dire straits and God seems silent to us, our heartaches, and there grows such a yearning to hear a reply from the Lord, even if it is a rebuke, we think some reply from Him is better than no reply from Him. David cries out in Psalms 83:1, and again in Ps 109:1, Lord don’t be silent. What do we do with “The Silence Of God”? Now that is such a large question i can’t even begin to address it in this context.

Proverbs 31:8 “Open your mouth for the silent, those unable to speak for themselves in the cause (the judgment, dispute, condemnation) such as are sons appointed to destruction. 9 Throw open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy, vindicating as an opponent at law, pleading the case for the humiliated, oppressed, wretched, and abused.” 

When we practice vindication it means to “free from allegation or blame, provide a defense for.” To say you are vindicated means you are from blame. This scripture implores us to not be silent and to plead, aloud, the case of the crushed and condemned.

Sometimes our silence can be harmful to us. When David practiced silence regarding his sin, there were mental and physical consequences – bodily symptoms caused by mental and emotional stress, called “psychosomatic” symptoms. Psalm 32:3-4, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah.”

         Did Jesus practice silence? Matthew 26:62-63, “Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent.”  

People practice silence for all sorts of reasons: sometimes in reverence, sometimes in transgression. As to practicing reverential silence, take Zephaniah 1:7, “Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the Lord is at hand, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.” There is a time for speaking and for being silent, as in Eccl 3:7 “A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” In Luke9:33-35 it would have served Peter well to keep silent, for in vs.38 God spoke from Heaven saying, This is my Son, Listen to him. In other words, quit talking Peter and listen!

Even Heaven practices silence. Rev 8:1 “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Then there is silence that is transgression: We’re sometimes silent because we get caught with our poor attitudes or wrong actions… in 1 Kings18:21 Elijah went to the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing”… they were silent because they were guilty of bad attitudes and being fence riders. i believe the people were waiting to see who would win the epic battle and then they would side with the winner, declaring they knew it all the time. They got caught playing it safe. Can you relate to that? i don’t know about you, but i sure can.

Sometimes, silence is practiced because a trap is laid or there is the intent of ensnaring. The Hebrew “trap” paints us a picture of setting a silent snare by bending wood, like bending a bow and there is energy stored in the limbs of the bow. The word has a negative leaning referring to the laying of a snare to cause trouble or to silence someone. “Laying wait at my neighbors’ door” speaks of being silent while waiting to spring a trap and there is an unrighteous silence in the tension of the scenario. Isaiah 29:21, “…those who, with a word, make a man out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court, and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice.” 

The snares of the devil are like that … silent, slippery, and have the tension of a drawn bow built into them. Silence practiced with the intent to deceive and ensnare others is an evil. When we bring to the courts an issue that is just straight out wrong and demands justice, yet no matter how often we petition the judges, the court is silent, it is an evil in the earth. Sadly, we see that very thing in action in our government and politicians all the time.

Consider silence in action. Doing nothing says something and saying nothing does something. Esther 4:14, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.”

Silence, as in the absence of mention, makes room for everyone who is listening to fill in the blank however they want, as in the phrase, “To be understood by your silence.” This kind of silence can also be expressed as “a lie by omission”, meaning the talebearer purposely excluded the condemning part of the story, so that any “understanding” is according to the listener. Often the prudent is wisely silent, as in Amos 5:13, when corruption was so sweeping, to bring a case of injustice to the judges would have inspired an even greater injustice. In the sense of… if every time i asked someone a question, the next words were a lie, then it would be a mercy for me to cease asking questions so as help them to stop lying.

Sometimes silence is practiced when we are too terrified or astonished to speak, or to even move to run away. In Amos 8:3, historically, the slaughter was so great, that anyone left alive was too frightened to even speak.

In our modern society, often we think we are safe if we’re silent. But, really, is silence a safe haven? Just because we are silent on an issue doesn’t mean we are relieved of any responsibility. To resolve a problem that has come to silence, resolution of the conflict is the responsibility of all parties. Resolve is a two-way street, for a one-way street only runs just so far.  

Silence as a safe haven is not always safe. In Job 38:18 and 42:4, God demanded of Job to “declare” and Job was silent… Job’s lack of an answer appeared as a safe haven, and it was so not safe! 

Job 33:33, Elihu takes Job’s silence as “tacit” approval, meaning approval expressed without words. 

Silence is often taken for consent. Bad things happen when good people say and do nothing, or are silent! Many a person was judged guilty because when they did not disagree and their silence was taken as consent.

The truth is, silence proves and disproves nothing. Silence is both wisdom and can also be cruel intent… like “Giving someone the silent treatment”. Being silent without making a move towards resolve, like giving someone the silent treatment, is a power struggle in pain tolerance… it is a contest to see who can care less the most the longest.

Being silent with the intent to hear correctly is VERY different than silence whose intent is to wound, destroy, or cause to fail. 

Can we silence our conscience? We can be silent to others, and possibly silence our state of mind, but we cannot so easily silence our conscience … the only conscience which is silent is a reprobate conscience. Without a conscience, conviction has no foothold, and condemnation has full run of the field! Paul speaks many times, for a good reason, about the value of owning a conscience that is not silent.

Okay, so here’s the bottom line question: Other than reverential silence, what is the common thread throughout silence, in general? What drives our silence, even to the point of consciously, but passively participating in things we know are wrong? Silence may be golden, but it isn’t always the right choice you know. i believe the common thread many times is… Fear. i believe fear drives us to silence more often than we care to admit.

We are silent when the enemy threatens to expose our past. We are silent for fear of rejection. We are silent in the face of persecution, being marginalized or minimized. We are silent when we think our looks or homes are “unacceptable” to others, imaginary or real. We are silent many times to justify our behavior while citing someone else’s. We are silent when words are about to be spoken and shouldn’t. We are silent because someone might discover our secrets, we are silent for fear of being ostracized because we are different at church. A little too big, too small, too heavy, too loud, too… just too something.

We as a society in America today are largely, hugely driven by fear. The Lord doesn’t merely suggest we not be afraid, He commands it 68 times saying, “Be Not Afraid!” and “Fear Not”. The Lord repeatedly tells us, “Fear not for I AM with you”, “Fear not, peace unto you”, “Fear not for I have heard your prayers”, “Fear not for I AM in this place”, “Fear not, nor be discouraged”, etc, etc. But yet in the face of God’s commands and promises, still, we are so terribly driven by fear. i have 21 pages of exaggerated, illogical, and inexplicable fears that Americans are riddled with, today, right now … they are called phobias. Our top ten fears are, fear of the dark, fear of heights, fear of open spaces, fear of closed spaces, fear of spiders, fear of pointed objects, fear of germs, fear of disease, fear of snakes, and here is the most incredible… 

number 10 is… fear of the number 13… that’s right, fear of the number 13 is so pervasive it has actually influenced an entire modern culture. No 13th floor on high rises, no 13th row on many airplanes, people won’t buy a house which has the number 13 in the address many times, rarely 13th Avenue or 13th street, rarely is there “Road” or Hwy 13. 

Not in the top ten, but certainly in the top 20 are 4 in particular – fear of failure or of being wrong which is absolutely rife in our society; socialphobia, which is a fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations; sedatephobia, fear of silence; and Ymophobia, fear of being contrary or being in opposition. 21 pages of exaggerated, illogical, and inexplicable fears do not speak of people who are strong and courageous.

If we will trust God and cast our cares upon Him, hope will spring fresh in our hearts, and in hope we will step into faith. In the silence of the righteous, as we wait upon the Lord, there is hope!

Hope! Hope & Faith! Faith is the opposite of fear. Hope is the forerunner of faith. When we find faith we can believe hope was there first.

Hope generates a vision of transformation. Hope, the expectation of becoming and overcoming, and every believer in Christ has an expectation, in one fashion or another, of being a “becomer” and an “overcomer”! Hope must have an object to act on, and the object of Hope is Expectation. Hope is a character trait of the righteous, they have an attitude of anticipation with an expectation that something will happen to further fulfill the vision of transformation. Our hope is based on God’s faithfulness, and He is always, eternally faithful. Our hope is a result of trusting God. Our hope is to remember what God has done. Hope lifts our face, and opposingly, despair causes our face to drop. 

My friends, let fear flee away, let us open our mouths and be silent no longer. How long can we not break out in praise? How long will the men of this nation be silent with their praise and worship of the Living God? Open you gates and let glory come forth. Consider these words, or “think about it”.

i’m Social Porter and thank you for joining me here at Outposts. Being silent for the right reasons is righteous, but i believe, by far and large, most of us are often silent for all the wrong reasons. Silence may truly be golden, but it is not always the best choice. Let us believe God, take Him at His word, and put our foot on the neck of fear that drives us to silence so often.

Be strong and courageous this week, lift up your voice, and praise the Lord. Open your mouth unto Him and let it fly. Amen!

Decent, middling, ordinary, second-rate, so-so, undistinguished, uninspired, characterless, colorless, common, conventional, fair to middling, humdrum, intermediate, medium, moderate, no great shakes, passable, run-of-the-mill, standard, tolerable, unexceptional, vanilla…

Many years ago, on a whim, i called a friend one day…  when he answered the phone i asked him, “Hey man! How you doing?” His reply was as he always had replied, but this time, the Lord began to speak to me. His reply was, “Oh, i’m alright, i’m still saved pretty much i guess, for the most part.” Through his words, the Lord began to speak to me about myself…  his words described how i saw myself… not how he saw himself, but how i saw myself.

You know, the Holy Spirit is so close to us that He gives us ideas and we think we thought of them. In the moment of hearing his reply to my question, i had the thought, “How can you be sort of saved, or pretty much in the Kingdom of God?”

Somehow, i get the feeling that most people don’t have an expectation of excellence, so when anything exceeds their concept of average, they ooooo, and ahhh appropriately… even though it could all be so much better if we weren’t lost in the world of a mediocre life.

Interestingly, when someone exceeds the parameters of our average herd perimeter, going to extreme’s to produce art, music, food, or even have exemplary personal behavior, they are called “eccentric” or “over the top”, their surge above the leaning of the herd to be mediocre is unnerving to more than we might think.

A fellow at church was telling me that he was trying to not be angry at his son. i asked him why, and he told me that his son was entirely capable of make exemplary grades at school, but yet he purposely brought home simply average grades, only a little more than just scraping by. Then he said, “I don’t believe we should be only mediocre at anything…  not being the best, not being the worst… just common and mediocre. I would rather be the worst at something that to be just plane jane vanilla milktoast.”

If we look at the church as a whole, many seem to be lost in a mediocre walk with the Lord, like a smoldering camp fire… moderate and passable seems to be satisfactory. Are you satisfied with where you are in your walk with Christ? If there was more, so much more than where you are, would you be interested in that?

This evening’s topic is “Lost in commonality”, or… not hot, not cold, just in the pot nine days old… mediocre. Put your ears on, sit back and take it in.

i saw a poster on a website which said, “Mediocrity: It takes a lot less time and most people won’t notice the difference until it’s too late.”  Another definition is for “mediocre” is, “something that is adequate but not very good.” To be mediocre literally means to be “half way up the mountain.”

i believe, these days, the greatest assault on the church is loss of heart…  after that, it is also my belief, one of the most treacherous and deceitful influences on the body of Christ is not violence, not drugs, or immorality, but our pursuit of the trivial, the mundane, and our tolerance of all which is third rate…  which would be mediocrity, lost in a world of lesser things. We are often more concerned about the curtains in the sanctuary than steadfastness in Christ or our understanding of scripture…  lost in the things of lesser importance.

In my younger years, i simply didn’t think outside the box… i truly didn’t know how. In fact, i wasn’t even aware there was a box to think outside of… i just closed my mouth, consumed whatever the world around me presented, and didn’t really make any effort to think for myself. One day, while i was at work, i had a thought which went like this: In the days before there was mainstream media, people didn’t so easily buckle under so… unknowingly, to a life of middle of the road. At that point, i believe the Lord began to wake me up to the tragedy of simply being satisfied with being fair to middlin’. He asked me plainly, “Is this all you want? Is this enough for you? There is more if you’re interested.”

In Revelation 3, the angel spoke to the church of Laodicea saying, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” They were satisfied to only be half way up the mountain.

Is it enough for you to only be sort of involved with the Lord? Is there a fear that if you get involved more deeply with what God is doing that you’ll have to step outside of your comfortable world where things are too this way, or too that way?

Years ago, a woman got mad at me saying, “Do you always have to do everything a lot?! Why can’t you just do a little sports, a little hunting, a little music, a little church stuff, and a little work?” She was asking me to be mediocre, uninspired, and indistinguishable from the herd. The truth was, i wasn’t trying to be distinguished and above anyone, i just loved the things i did. i loved my woodworking, i loved my hunting and fishing, i loved good conversation… i loved it all and was passionate about it… maybe a little too much probably, but i did passionately love the things my hands found to do. i can remember thinking the lady probably didn’t seem to feel it necessary to enter a foot race and actually win, but that it was more important to run with the majority of the people who finished, more or less, in the middle. i was truly perplexed… wondering why anyone would want to live a life of pretty much, just about, and for the most part.

Is that what God really has in mind for you, to be a person that’s only middle of the road, moderate, and just medium? Have you always been medium, and if not, when did mediocrity become the norm for you? 1 Corinthians 9:24, “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win.”

i believe it is highly probable, at the core of the distrustful and pessimistic attitude behind mediocrity is that we don’t believe God cares too much what we do or how we do it.  The problem revealed in the opening verses of Malachi is that the Israelites didn’t think God cared about them.  “God doesn’t value us much, and probably doesn’t love us.  He allowed our city wall to be destroyed, the holy temple to be leveled, and our families to be torn apart.  He let our enemies conquer us.  He took away our wealth, our land, and our possessions.” i bet there was a big “poor me” at the end of that too. Sounds more like Eeyore from Winnie the Poo doesn’t it? Israel’s words, in short, basically said, “why should we care about God?  He sure hasn’t shown concern for us.”

They did indeed bring sacrifices, but they were nothing special… just ho-hum offerings… they brought the mediocre things and acted in average ways. Their mouths said one thing but their actions reflected a life of approximation… a life built on “more or less”.

In Malachi 1:6-8, the Lord says, “Isn’t it true that a son honors his father and a worker his master? So if I’m your Father, where’s the honor? If I’m your Master, where’s the respect?” i, the Lord your God is calling you on the carpet: “You priests despise me!

          “You say, ‘Not so! How do we despise you?’

          “By your shoddy, sloppy, defiling worship.

          “You ask, ‘What do you mean, “defiling”? What’s defiling about it?’

“When you say, ‘The altar of GOD is not important anymore; worship of GOD is no longer a priority,’ that’s defiling. And when you offer worthless animals for sacrifices in worship, animals that you’re trying to get rid of—blind and sick, crippled and crazy animals—isn’t that defiling? Try a trick like that with your banker or your senator—how far do you think it will get you?” Pay attention here, I, The Lord, am asking you.”

God was pretty well in their face about their mediocre attitude, i’d say.

The lukewarm are those who claim to know God but live as though He isn’t all that important. Sure, they may go to church, but their faith is more constructed of self-righteous complacency. They may claim to be Christians, but their hearts are unchanged, and their hypocrisy makes the Lord’s heart sad.

When i was in grade school, one time when report cards came out, a teacher wrote in the comments section, “This student can do exemplary work when he wants to, but he won’t and seems satisfied to just get by.” Many years later i look back and see myself, for a part of my life, as someone who didn’t think anyone cared or noticed, therefore i never gave anyone my personal best. i gave what was “adequate” or “good enough.

i well remember my turning point from excellence to mediocrity. In the 5th grade, i was very good at all my studies. i was an A+ student and worked hard at school. One day we had a math test… oh man, i was ready. Not only did i know how to get the answers, i understood the operations. i whipped through that test and was the first to turn in my paper. i … KNEW… it was right. Shortly, i got my test back and it had 98 written at the top. i went back up to the teacher and asked why 98 if all the problems were correct? She told me quite sternly that she counted off 2 points because in my haste i spelled my name incorrectly. i was SO mad. i remember thinking to myself, “Well, if it’s more important to spell your name right, and no one cares if you understand the material… then that’s it… i quit. From now on i’m just going to go play ball with the other boys. What difference does being smart make? No one notices, and no one really cares.” From that day on, my life was mediocre by my conscious choice… eventually i barely made it through high school and it would be years before i gave anyone my personal best ever again.

         If a mediocre life is anything, before it is ever evidenced in our actions, somewhere in our hearts it is like a polaroid photograph of how we think God sees us. When we are confident that someone important to us has taken note of our lives, most of us have no problem reaching above our inclination to just be average. But when we think someone is indifferent, wouldn’t you agree that we tend to hold back, justifying our attitude of “good enough” and “pretty much”? How many men and women simply settle for a “good enough” relationship instead of holding out for God’s best?

When we doubt a political candidate, a wise voter will go back to the candidates record of how they voted, what they said, who they know… and from the facts we collected we try to make an educated selection. i wonder why, in the years past, when i’ve doubted the Lord’s care and concern for me, why didn’t i go back and check His track record? Israel totally had a hard time, but it wasn’t because God was being hard nosed, it was their own sin and indifference to the Lord that did them in. The Lord gave them opportunity after opportunity… Israel was up one minute, and doubting Him the next.

In our relationship with God, mediocrity is a serious misjudgment.  Our God is an amazing and vast Lord of all.  He loves us.  The Lamb deserves the reward of His suffering, not our average life… not our generalizations and approximations…  not our measly 10% and the rest is for us… not our blind, twisted thinking type gifts, nor what’s left at the end of the day after we’ve had all we want for ourselves.

Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”           Deut6:5 says we shall love the Lord with everything which holds our house together, all our thinking, vitality and breathing, and with all our emotional intention and physical passions until all our matters are concluded at our end. Friends, there is nothing mediocre about the Lord, and dare i say, our mediocrity cheats God out of what he rightfully deserves.  The world is watching and our “for the most part” mentality dishonors God.  Mediocrity, if allowed a place at our table and a little room to stay in, will eventually influence the character of even the most steadfast believer.

The world seems to always cater to everyone being at middle ground. Our kids play team sports and even though their team wins every game and are the champions, i have actually been witness to trophies being handed out which merely said, “Participant”. i saw this with my own eyes long before it was a car advertisement on TV.  i remember it seemed no one but the director and the teachers were smiling…  no winners, no losers… and you know… none of the kids or parents were smiling. Why would any kid want to play to win if in the end they are only seen as a mere participant? Why would anyone want to be the best at anything, if everyone from the most care-less to the most care-ful got a prize which only said, “Good job!”?

Romans 8:37 says we are MORE than conquerors through Him who loved us… and nobody can be mediocre, just plain vanilla and be more than a conqueror at the same time. Friend, even at your worst, you are, through Christ, you are still the offspring of God… He is never common and neither are you.

Marianne Williamson wrote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, His presence automatically liberates others.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might… ”, …  in other words whatsoever the Lord gives you to do, do it with all your heart, work and live above the common, ordinary, commonplace, characterless, colorless climate.  If you don’t, you become “mediocre”.

One definition the Lord has helped me devise for my own clarity is… Godly character is the will to do what’s right as God defines right, regardless of the cost!

i believe in the days to come, we’ll hear more and more often of the Holy Spirit coming to visit Himself upon places we wouldn’t expect. When those small churches and fellowships come to the crossroads of what to do when the hour of their visitation is upon them, it will be a choice of excellence in Christ or to stay on the path of mediocre religion, business as they’ve always done.

There was a small, rural church in North Carolina that was building strength in the congregation, young people were coming, and middle-aged parents brought their kids… the place was growing. Interestingly, there also grew a contention between the older folks who had become set in their ways and the younger believers who wanted to talk about stuff… they had questions that challenged the average, business as usual crowd who could say “my family has been here for seven generations”. As the young people pursued their interest in something more than ordinary, church-as-usual… the church leadership began to make it a habit to quickly shut them and their non-traditional questions down… even before they could get the questions out of their mouth. One Sunday, they sang some moderate traditional hymns, took up a humdrum offering, and there began the usual unexceptional, colorless message from the pulpit. Suddenly, the wind picked up, and low and behold, the Holy Spirit was instantly thick amongst them. People were on the floor, the hair stood up on people’s arms and necks, the young people took hold of the Holy Wind Of God with both hands and said and did things that probably hadn’t been done there in over 150 years… oh my gosh, they were so out of control… it was all very upsetting to the older generation and all the church leadership who nervously looked for some place to be other than where they were. When there were people weeping, repenting, some singing, and yet others staunchly holding their ground for tradition and moderateness… the pastor, who was pale as a ghost, rounded up his family and left. He just left. On the day of their visitation, the main guy just left… drove away and didn’t even lock up. In the weeks to follow the young people left, the middle-aged parents and their children left, and the only thing remaining was the elderly ones who claimed their family had been there for seven generations… the same ones who had always been there doing mediocre, passable church for traditional, undistinguished reasons… eventually, it was so dry and silent, the crickets, who only sing when it’s dark, were the loudest chorus in the house. Ultimately, even the pastor left his post and just went home. That is not to say that there were no true believers there, only that the church as a whole was spiritually uncommitted to excellence.

What will you do in your day of visitation? How do you want to be found when the Holy Wind Of God which blows from the four corners of the earth, picks up speed where you are? Will you be found settling for average, pretty ok life, claiming the words, “We aint never done it that way before!” You are so much more than just a mediocre believer, you are so much more.

2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Let all that’s been said here sink into your ears. Think about it.

It’s time to get to your feet church, stand… up. The days are upon us to light your lamps in the evening so wayward travelers might find shelter… turn up the burner on the stove to make more food than just for yourselves. The day is far spent as evening plows under the day… oh you lighthouses, set your watch and stand ready by the bright lamp God has given you, let it shine over the turbulent seas ‘round about, warning of danger and pointing the way to safe harbor. Stand up church, get to your feet, for we must change, find your testimony and tell it, hold nothing back…  calling wrongness of character what it is and let the Greatness of God be revealed for deliverance. Get your testimony practiced up… practice a long version, a medium and a short version of how the Lord delivered you from all your troubles and fears. These are the days of excellence in all our works… in business, in relationships, in conflict resolution, in preaching and teaching… there is no place in the Kingdom of God for mediocre prayer time, or just generally fasting. Rise up in faith and excellence…   stand… up church, stand up!

i’m Social Porter with Cletus Iaomi and this has been Outposts, a semi live broadcast from the deck area of a rural cafe overlooking the Ockluhwahha River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every beautiful evening is pleasant. As we all sat on the deck yesterday evening, when the sun was going down and there was a light warm breeze out of the east, everyone sort of broke out into a song we’d never sung before. Much to my surprise, it seemed the crickets under the deck suddenly started tuning up, and all the night creatures sounded like they were joining us. The air smells like we were sitting under a grape arbor with faint wisps of vanilla and myrhh. It is beautiful. Someday, i hope to meet you here, that is, if you’ve got time.

i am very passionate about this that i’m about to say: You are NOT mediocre or common place. If you are in Christ Jesus, there is nothing ho-hum about you… in you is such potential to be extraordinary. You may have settled for moderate or middlin’ things or relationships in the past because of simply being exhausted with trying. Chin up my friend, you are never mediocre when you live life under the banner of the Lion of Judah… God doesn’t think you are a more-or-less person… mediocre living only leaves us in our own disappointment as to where we think we should be in life. Your feet are on the path, your face is toward Heaven’s gate, you are not mediocre. You are an overcomer and more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus the Lord.

We are not called to be just decent, middling, ordinary, or second-rate. The excellence and shout of the King is in us, and we are called forward in the Name of Jesus to be world changers, extraordinary in love, amazing in kindness, courage, and truth. Maybe many of us think we are living a mediocre life, but i bet from the perspective of others, there is nothing mediocre about you, and if there is, get to your feet, take a chance with Jesus, and you will rise from the surging tide of commonality, upwardly mobile from a conventional, fair-to-middling life. It is time to walk on water.

Be strong and courageous my friends. Stand up church, the Lord is near to us, and we all know, the closer He gets to all things, the more all things become like Him.

Pray for your neighbors this week, be a blessing, and live at peace with others as best you can. i hope we’ll meet again next time. Amen!

Some topics are a bit expansive, some are a challenge to get a grip on, yet others speak to attitudes or the intricacies of relationships, yet all have the common thread of always pointing to Jesus, who is the answer, He is always the answer, and there’s never a time He is not the answer.

Many years ago, as i prepared to settle in to sleep on a winter’s night, as was my habit every evening, i loaded the wood stove. i had reserved a large, “all-night log” for just a night as it was, loaded it in the firebox, and stuffed the edges with smaller pieces of wood. Off to bed i went, but sometime during the night i had a dream which went like this: 

“i dreamed i was around a good-sized campfire with some other faceless people, all talking and enjoying the open fire. As i sat looking at the fire, from out of the midst came a large burning log that rolled several feet away. As i watched the burning log, its fire slowly got smaller, went out, and it just lay there by itself, smoldering with a few hot coals glowing in the dark. In a few moments, it was just a single smoking log, no fire, no hot coals, no heat, just a smoking chunk of wood. Alone.” That was the end.

i woke up from the dream noticing it had been several hours since i had closed my eyes, but i also noticed the house was pretty cold. i wondered what happened with my wood heater that it was so cold in the house. i got up, opened the woodstove door, and there was my big fat, all-nighter chunk of wood, smoldering – not burning, but just smoking, not generating any fire or heat. In the moment, the Lord spoke to me and said, “The days of the single log which burns alone are gone. Fire and heat are a team effort. There are, no longer, the stand-alone fire logs.”

This evening’s topic is about the champions behind the champions. Most of what we see is just the person at the microphone, but we can rest assured, that even the speakers who seem the most competent, well-spoken, and organized have a team of people behind them, making it all happen. You know, the truth is that just because someone is the main speaker, doesn’t necessarily mean they know anything. They have the grace to be the public face, but they alone are certainly not the all-in-all many of us make them out to be.

As to the behind-the-scenes workers, yes… you – you are the champions behind the champions. Position yourselves to hear the words that paint the pictures.

i feel honored and privileged to be amongst so many who support others in their ministerial devotions. The world sees the person at the microphone, hears someone they recognize on a CD, at the front giving the sermon, singing the songs, or directing the multitudes. But we can all rest assured, that behind each one of those very visible people is a host of non-visible people who are making it happen. Personally, i’m truly small potatoes, but i can say i have known a few of those well-known Christian personalities we all so admire and every single one that i know would love to take the time to shake the hand, embrace, and encourage all the people who are behind the scenes, the champions behind the champions.

You, who are behind the scenes, you are JUST as important as the name and face of any well-known personality. If you are one of those people who set up, build up, research, and clean up, you need to know you are doing something great for the Kingdom of God. If i could figure out how, i would love to personally honor you.

 In John 13 we see Jesus and the disciples at the last supper. John 13:3-5, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” 

Do you see that? He knew His from and His to, and He knew the Father had given Him all things, yet He, taking off His titles and robes, He stooped down, with a towel on His shoulder and washed the disciples’ feet. i’d like to point out this isn’t about handling someone’s feet. It’s about getting low, losing our self-importance, and about giving of ourselves to others. Cleaning someone’s house who is feeling down and out, that’s washing feet. Helping a neighbor move needing to be large and in charge or wanting a favor in return, that’s washing feet. Washing someone’s dishes because it’s a good thing to do, is washing feet. For everyone who comes into your house, offering them food, drink and a nice chair to rest in, that is washing feet. Do you get it?

i believe it is those who are secure in their own skin and know who they are in Christ, they are the ones who can serve most effectively. i believe those who are proud and arrogant are, underneath it all, insecure and apprehensive people. Jesus, knowing who He was, stooped down. To all of us who support others, often being nameless and faceless, know that you hold high honor in your serving. You are the champions behind the champions – all the secretaries, and maintenance people, those who set up the lights, sweep the sanctuaries and clean the restrooms, all those who visit and keep up the websites, the writers and researchers, the bookkeepers and floor sweepers, managers and counselors. The schedulers, gatekeepers, and caretakers are rarely seen, but they have a profound effect on the lives of those they serve. Some may say we only need leaders and not managers, but someone must do the work of getting everyone on the bus, making sure the hotel is scheduled and everyone gets to their place. Someone must make out the schedule and help everyone else to do their part. Managers are a very important part of the organization when done the way God intended. Most true leaders are not necessarily good managers, and most gifted managers are not necessarily creative, innovative leaders. They each have their place when done righteously. i want to thank you and want you to know, that other people may not notice, but God notices and He is not unrighteous to forget.

Isaiah 41:6-7, “… each helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!” The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil.”

Where would we be without others to help? i knew a man who had the vision to go to another country to do a work. Initially, he was alone but he earnestly sought the Lord for help. Shortly, the Lord sent him another fellow who was given to prayer and they began praying together. In a little while there came others to join them in their prayer time and a quarterly meeting was started to dialogue about what God wanted to do and how to accomplish it. Intercessors began to show up and there soon grew an organized intercessory team to whom God gave words of encouragement and directional vision which bore witness to the others involved. Soon part of the team made the trip to the other country, together, to “spy out the land” as they did in Joshua 2:2. People with money made donations, those with connections in the other country came forward, a man in the other country donated land and a building, many supporters seemingly came out of the woodwork to fix up the property. Soon a school was planted, the local church body incurred an influx of extra support, students came, and teachers offered time and materials. Do you see it? God who helps us, sent others to help. 

The schedulers, gatekeepers, and caretakers are rarely seen, but they have a profound effect on the daily lives of those they serve. They are the champions behind the champions.

And i know, some may have had hopes of a position and a title, there are always those in the mix, but there were also many, many others who were simply being obedient. Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

No one need go their way alone to do the work the Lord has called them to. i believe the work is great upon us, no man, alone, can do it all.

2 Timothy 1:16-18, “The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day–and you know very well how many ways he ministered at Ephesus.”

Onesiphorus evidently had a knack for showing up at the right time, with the right attitude. His name literally means “bringing profit”, and to joyfully bring relief by bearing up the load of another. Notice Onisephorus didn’t just ask around concerning Paul’s whereabouts, and when it got too hard or inconvenient, he went home. It says he ardently hunted Paul down and found him. Paul states that Onesiphorus “often refreshed me” and praises him for his hospitality, kindness, and courage. In that short phrase the idea of “refreshing” is the idea that he gently breathed on behalf of Paul. He worked to relieve Paul’s discomfort as seen through the idea of someone who is exhausted in the heat of the day, and a helper, whom God brought at just the right moment, gives them a drink of water, shades their eyes, and cools them with a fan.

i seriously doubt Onesiphorus was looking for a position or a title, but what i am sure of, is that he had a heart to help and support the work of the gospel with all his heart, and didn’t even have any judgment about Paul’s chains. Orthodox tradition holds that Onesiphorus was martyred for his faith in the city of Parium, not far from Ephesus.

i think this Onesiphorus is someone i’d like to meet and know. 

We should never allow the enemy to tell us we have no worth because we don’t have our name on a book cover, or because we aren’t the main speaker at a conference someplace, streaming our faces and words all over the world.

Paul placed high value and honor on women of character in 1 Tim 5:10 who had “good works”. If she raised children, lodged strangers, washed the saint’s feet, or relieved the afflicted, it was called good works.

In light of that, every time you buy someone some food, give the gift of gasoline, shovel your neighbor’s driveway when it snows, give someone a ride home, or visit those in isolation you are furthering the Kingdom of God. That is stooping down and washing feet. It’s not enough to just be on the field, we must move the ball.

1 Cor16:15-18, “You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia (ach-ah-ee’-ah), and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it.” 

The word there for “devoted” means they addicted themselves, that they appointed and deposed themselves to supporting and serving others. This whole idea of serving others without working to gain a position or a title was such a big deal, Paul points it out time and time again.

Then, in vs 18, Paul addresses the champions behind the champions saying, “For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.” The refreshing and service which was provided, THAT is washing feet, THAT is ministry as seen at its finest.

 Never allow yourself to agree with the devil when he tries to belittle what you do in the name of Jesus. The very word itself, “ministry” literally means attendance to, to serve or service. i believe far too often many want a “ministry” where they become a household name, their name becomes a brand, but let me assure you, behind every well-known speaker is a large group of people who write, discuss, pray, arrange schedules, plan events, decide wardrobe, and even write notes for the messages we all love to hear. Somebody has to arrange the overhead scriptures to come up at the right time; somebody has to keep the sound equipment going; somebody has to arrange the music; somebody has to run out for food during rehearsal, arrange places to sleep, times to arrive and depart; someone has to vacuum the floor, etc, etc. Most folks just love going on a mission trip, but i doubt most understand the staggering amount of work that went on behind the scenes to make it all happen.

In 2 Chron14:9-10 it says, “Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots. So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array…” 

Okay, let’s think about this. It is an army of one million men… soldiers. Someone had to polish the armor, sharpen the weapons, feed the horses, bring water, make food, and tend the quarters of one million men, which means there were probably at least another 200,000 people behind the one million making all that happen. That’s water for one million, food for one million, weapons at the ready for one million, armor for one million. This was no small event! It was like a mobile city! It took a cohesive, coordinated, well-planned bunch of people no small effort just to get one million soldiers on the battlefield at the same time.

A good friend of mine is part of a large Christian music label here in my country. He told me i wouldn’t hardly believe the number of young aspiring Christian musicians who send them CDs of their music accompanied by the questions, 

1-what will it take to sign a record deal? 

2-how much will i make?

3-how soon can we go on the road? 

He said there are at least 100 every month, hundreds every quarter, and several thousand every year asking the same questions. With the three main questions, almost all, universally make the same statement which says, “If you do not produce my music, you are missing God.” Good grief! i just don’t think anyone can be a good chief unless they know how to be a good Indian first.

i believe every believer in Christ has something to say, but my friends, there aren’t enough platforms and microphones for everyone to be famous. Everyone wants to know, “What is my ministry?”, and that’s not a bad question at all. But i heard a well-known speaker say, “… the moment you go out your door in the morning, you are IN your ministry.”

You who support the work, you ARE the champions behind the champions, and i thank the Lord for your effort, time, attentiveness, strength, and courage to continue in your obedience. You are just as important as any name-brand person, and God does not forget your devotion. He is righteous to remember. Think about it.

Philemon 1:6-7, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”

If anyone needs to take a breather, how do we get it? Instead of just hiding yourself away, try Prov11:25, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Friends, think generous and you will indeed prosper. Make time to assist, no matter who they are. Step outside your comfort zone and extend yourself as Christ has extended Himself to us.

i’m Social Porter, thank you for joining me for this edition of Outposts. This production has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, man that guy knows his stuff, Paul at WK Studios, Charles over at Rat Trap Pest Control, the ever enduring Shot And A Waver Fellowship on Main Street, Mrs. Edith LLewellan, and of course, the sweet spot on main street, our beloved friends in Christ, Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

i’ll say it again – for every well-known, recognized personality on TV or the radio, there are at least a half dozen or more other people helping to make it all happen. You, who are behind the scenes, you are JUST as important as the name and face of any well-known person whom we all may recognize. If you are one of those people who set up, build up, clean up, pack up, arrange and facilitate, you need to know you are doing something great for the Kingdom of God. You are the champions behind the champions, God sees and does not forget your righteous devotion. Amen! Be strong and courageous. Drive carefully and pray for your neighbor, it does make a difference and i’ll catch on the flip side. Amen.

When my son was very small we used to play hide & seek. i would hide my eyes and count to ten, very slowly, so he would have time to hide. i would hear him laughing and giggling as he hid himself. It was a game he really loved as a child. Funny, i always knew exactly where he was… i could hear him breathing from across the room. i would call his name out as if i was completely mystified as to where he was, walking around and pretending i couldn’t figure it out. (chuckle) And all along, i could totally see his feet sticking out from behind the couch, or i could see him watching me from the cracked-open closet door.

i think, these days, we are hiding from God, but it’s not a child’s game, and there’s no laughing and giggling to it all anymore.

Gen3:8-10, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Three significant words to take note of there: afraid, naked, and the word for hiding.

Why did they hide, and so i must ask, why do we hide? 

When we’re hiding, we’ll do almost anything to keep from being honest. i’ve often thought fear and dread were the close friends of hiding, especially when we’re on the outs with God, family, or friends. i think it would be fair to say, most of the things we hide about are actually pretty small most of the time, but for whatever our reasons are, rightly so or not, we feel the need to wear a mask, making ourselves to appear as someone other than who we are, as if being ourselves isn’t ok.

Adam and Eve were the first to be afraid and the first to hide from God, and we the people, have been being afraid and hiding ever since. They heard God, were afraid, recognized their condition, and took action on it by hiding. i wonder how things would have been different for us all if Adam and Eve had simply confessed their wrong to God, on the spot? Truthfully, always hiding your thoughts and motives is a LOT of mental gymnastics, but the longer you do it, the more the habit of hiding gets easier until one-day hiding comes easy to you and it is actually the standard, rather than being honest.

Isn’t it amazing how simply being honest and turning away from our wrong is – compared to all the work we put into deflecting, defending, justifying, or arguing about who’s right? It seems to me being honest, transparent, and accountable is much easier, that is, unless we feel we’ve got something to lose, and the risk of honesty is too great somehow. We are afraid, more often than not, and on some level, we recognize our condition… we hide, swearing to everyone nothing is as it appears, … “it’s all just a misunderstanding”, “Nothing is like you think”, “It’s not really that way”, or playing our victim card… putting it all back on everyone else, “Oh, you’re so mean and judgmental, besides who are you to tell me anything?”  

We say we’re being honest and transparent, maybe even swearing an oath that what we say is the truth. You know, when anyone starts swearing an oath as to their honesty and accountability, i find myself automatically being suspicious. It is a truth though, “An oath is only as good as the person behind it.”

Most of us love to tell others we live in a culture of honor, i’ve said it myself. But between myself and God, i’ve realized my lack of honesty doesn’t support a culture of honor. Proverbs 15:33 says “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility.” Maybe poor self-esteem and the challenge of being humble prevents us from the honesty we so desperately need in order to truly live in a culture of honor.

Understanding humility and putting it into action tends to chip away at shame; it also allows honesty to come to the surface. When we’re honest with the Lord, suddenly we find ourselves in a place of freedom, not hiding any longer. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, until we do something about shame, restoration is very difficult.

i’d like to put this in the melting pot of thought: One view of humility means not needing to be more than you are.

Successful people are simply who they are and they don’t try to be more than that. Think of people you’ve worked with who have come into the company with a know-it-all attitude, pretending to be more than they were. Are they still there? Often not. Were they liked? Probably not.

Even though we may be enormously successful, we must accept our failures and mistakes, and even see them as simply part of the process of becoming successful. We should not be surprised by mistakes we or others make.

Within our society there are two very common fears which have gripped people so deeply, that they are often paralyzed to the point of not even expressing themselves, hiding themselves away, never speaking out or standing up to be counted. One is the fear of failure or of being wrong, the other is the fear of being contrary, being in opposition, or more easily expressed as a fear of conflict. We really must accept ourselves as wearing flesh and bone, and that we are human; we must learn to forgive ourselves and go on, not being bound to this earth, but bound to Jesus, seeing ourselves as advancing in faith.

i’d like to stop my hiding ways. God is not hidden, we are the ones who are hidden. i think we’ve hidden ourselves so well we can’t even find ourselves anymore. Isaiah 49:9 has a phrase that jumps out at me, it is “show yourselves”. Come out, come out, wherever you are! That is “show yourselves” as in being honest and transparent.

Like little children who are ashamed of our actions and intentions, we hide from God, who is no longer angry with us but wants us to return to His embrace, to reconcile with Him. God doesn’t want us to just simply change our minds and keep doing what we’re doing, whatever it is that we’re so occupied with, but to drop our preoccupation with ourselves and the world, receiving the restitution and restoration worked by the Blood of Jesus, who loves us with an everlasting love.

If any of us are ashamed of our history, or even our present, God is not angry with us. It was prophesied by Isaiah, that at the sacrifice of God’s son, Jesus, on Calvary, all God’s wrath will be poured out on Jesus, and God is not angry with us any longer. Isaiah 54:8-10 “With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you…”

 Hell will do everything in its power to keep those of us with “stuff to hide” continuing to hide. If the Lord has forgiven you your past, and if it is the truth in Psalm 103:12, where it says, “… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”, then who is it which continues to remind us of all the things we ever did wrong? If it’s not God, and it’s not you, then who does that leave? The Lord didn’t ask us to hang our dirty laundry out for everyone to gawk at, but He did say “Come unto me you who are burdened and heavy laden”, meaning to quit hiding and lay your burden down.

God is not hidden from us, He is not carrying a big whip looking to teach us a cruel lesson, that just seems to be a common church misperception of the Heart of the Father. When we speak of discipline, the Lord loves us and the discipline has nothing to do with hot irons, being put on the rack and tortured for days. In Mark 5 and Luke 8 the demons who possessed the man of Gadara insinuated that Jesus was cruel and was going to torture them. That is not the heart of the Lord. Jesus was there to deliver the possessed man, not to mess around arguing with unclean spirits. i have marveled at people who feel they must dialog with unclean spirits, asking their names and how many there are before casting them out. Jesus did not ask the unclean spirit its name, nor did He ask how many were present, He asked the man the question. i’ve watched some of the most bizarre rituals some Christians go through dealing with someone possessed, and if you think there’s no such thing as possessed people around, spend some time among the real down-and-out homeless or go to prison… it will become quite evident. Remember, the heart of the Lord is love. When we come to Him and cease our hiding, being honest and open with God, He will never disgracefully uncover us, He will never rat us out by whispering our secrets to other people. There are those amongst us who seem to feel it is their job to expose sin in the church. That is NOT what the Lord called us to. Either way, hiding inspires secrets, and secrets make fences, and the more we hide, the more we hide, but it’s not like God is not able to see through our defenses. It’s not that the Lord doesn’t see our hidden things, but more, by His love, He influences us to expose our own dark secrets. He wants our honesty and transparency to be our idea.

Like any Father, the Lord carries real concerns for our welfare, but He does not come at us with a hurricane, storm-cloud posture of tooth-gritting rage, and ground-shaking judgment. Where do you think we have gotten the idea God is just waiting to strike us down, laughing as we are wounded, thrilling to watch us run on a hamster’s wheel. His heart is for us to stop hiding, humble ourselves, be honest, and reconcile with Him.

He is more than willing to balance our books, in fact, He’s already done the work, it is finished, we just have to believe on the name of Jesus, and allow Him to perfect in each of us what He started. Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Come out, come out, wherever you are. It’s not like God, whose eye nothing escapes from, does not see us. You know those things you do in the dark when you think no one sees? Well… let’s not kid ourselves…God sees…we might as well be honest with Him. You know one day, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. At that point, it won’t be a request, it will be a requirement.

God is not hidden. We are. We were hiding in the Garden of Eden, and we are still hiding today. The Lord is bidding us to come out of hiding, to humble ourselves and be honest, to throw open the doors of our heart and tear down our fences. Christ is visible and willing to forgive us all our darkest secrets. We’ve simply got to be willing to come out of our hiding places. Come out, come out, wherever you are. You may say, “One day i’ll do just that!” How about today being your “One day”? God is good for His promises, come out from hiding. 

In 1868 Frances Crosby wrote, “Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on His gentle breast; There by His love o’ershaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest. Hark! ’tis the voice of angels Borne in a song to me, Over the fields of glory, Over the jasper sea. Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on His gentle breast; There by His love o’ershaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest.”

If you’ll surrender your hiding ways, you will be safe in Jesus, i promise you it is true.

As you go your way to find a little rest for your soul this evening, let hiding be a thing of the past. Our days of hiding are over. The Love of God bids us to come out and be honest and transparent. God knows right where you are, and He’s not angry any more, so give up. Drive safely, and let God’s wisdom guide you home.