Luke 10:25-35 is an interesting story of how we view other people and their needs. In the Biblical account, there are 8 characters:  Jesus, who tells the story, an expert in the law, a man who made a trip to Jericho, robbers, a Levite, a Priest, a Samaritan, and an innkeeper.

Which one of these are you? Which one does God see you as?

The Biblical story begins when “an expert in the law” (or a lawyer) asks Jesus a question, v25, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus puts the question back to the “expert” by asking how the man, being an expert, reads the law. The “expert” gave a beautiful answer, but his heart was wrong (v29). We can do the right thing for the wrong reasons, and in this case the “expert” was looking to justify himself rather than actually being interested in a righteous answer. So Jesus tells a story with 6 characters in it, and each person had a different view of the needs of others.

The victim: a man who made a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, could be any one of us. The robbers: they saw the man whom they beat and robbed as someone to exploit and forcibly get gain from.  The Levite and the Priest: they saw the beaten and robbed man as someone who looked like trouble. The Samaritan: he saw the beaten and robbed man as someone to have mercy on and care for.  The Inn Keeper: he saw the Samaritan and the victim as someone to serve for a fee. Yes, the Inn Keeper helped, but he only helped as long as he was getting paid. No money, no help.

Then there was the “expert in the law” and Jesus. The “expert”, when asked who in the story did the right thing, couldn’t bring himself to say “The Samaritan”. The very core of his initial answer to Jesus in v27, Love, was the very thing he himself so distinctly lacked. The “expert” could quote the law forward and backward, he had learned a great deal, but his learning did him no good without carrying out the most basic principles, love.

Each one of the people in this story had a different view of the needs of others.  Some of us are victims, rightly or wrongly, we are.  There are those of us who claim to be believers but we have such a deep-seated prejudice, we hate some people and we can’t see even the simple things. Some of us see others as someone to exploit and get something from, yet others of us see people who have dire needs as people who look like trouble, someone to stay away from, possibly being concerned some of their “bad ju-ju” might get on them, being careful to not touch them but telling them, “I’ll pray for you! Be warm and filled.” Many are willing to serve others in their need, but only if there’s something in it for them. Or maybe we see people in their desperation as someone to care for and have mercy on. And then, some of us, like Jesus, see the needy, compromised multitudes as someone worth dying for.

Who do you see yourself as? An expert, a victim, a robber, a religious person, a Samaritan, or an Inn Keeper? Maybe like Jesus?  How do we relate to the needs of others? A man asked recently, “Why will Christians not do for free, what they will do for money?” We often will help if someone gives us money or a gift. We will be obedient for money to a boss who is abusive, but we despise leaders in the church who treat us well. We’ll sweep the floor for money, but if someone asks us to sweep up at church, suddenly we’ve got an attitude about, “Who do they think they are to tell me anything?!” Wow. Can you see the dilemma?

Let us be honest with ourselves and the Lord, not telling ourselves a fairytale so we look good to ourselves, but to be honest before the Lord. Which one are you?

“Always”, and “Never” are, what i call, ultimate words. There are very few things in this life we live which are “always”, and “never”, but yet in the Bible there are ultimate words used, and i believe the Lord wants us to be involved with His ultimate intent and purpose, thus He uses ultimate words for us to ultimately trust Him and ultimately believe Him. Ultimate – to the utter most.

“Always” – at all times; “Never” – at no time. Another ultimate word is “Every”, meaning all individuals and parts without exception. Do we take these words seriously? We say we do, and we read the scripture and agree enthusiastically, but often we live it out differently. i question myself over how often i say God always has my back, but when things get tough, how often to i flip over backwards wondering where the Lord is in my life? When i use the words “always”, “every” and “never” i may not really mean them to their fullest, But, when God uses those words, He means what He says and He means not just to the edge of the universe, He means beyond the vanishing point, past when time stops, past the edges of understanding, with not even a thin shadow of a chance He will do anything other than what He has promised.

In Matthew 28:20 Jesus said, “I am with you always,”, meaning, for believers, He is always with us and there is never a time He is not. In 2Cor2:14, Paul says God always leads us in triumph in Christ. Always. At all times, and there is not a time in Christ, which God does not lead us in triumph. 1Corinthians 13:8, “Love never fails“, at no time does Love ever fail. Ever. Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Hmmm…. “I will Never leave you,” and “I will always be with you.” Always and Never. Ultimate words. Should we take God seriously? Of course, but do we?

i believe many of us have a Perception of Disconnection. Here of late i have been asking God that i would somehow spend more time with Him, and that i want to talk to Him more often than i do because i’ve realized i don’t talk to Him as often as i think i do. i have a vision of a long, straight line and on it are blips of how often i speak to the Lord. To my disappointment, there are long sections of flat line. So i’ve become acutely aware of how much i talk to God and, in the summary of things, i am pretty dissatisfied with how little i actually do. Additionally, while becoming aware of how little i talk to the Lord, i’ve also become decidedly aware of how thankful i am that Jesus incessantly intercedes for us, Romans 8:34. He is always communicating with me even when i don’t consciously communicate with Him.

We so often have opportunity to interact with God, but yet many times we tend to sit and stare. Why? Why do we so often sit and stare, not talking, not thinking….just staring instead of speaking to the Lord, or worshiping? And in those moments, many of us, more often than not, perceive a disconnection from God when it seems nothing is going on … no events, no conversations, no emails. When we are aware nothing is happening in our head or heart, we  have a perception of disconnection and it is not true. Suddenly, we decide God must not be there.

We are not disconnected. According to the finished work of the cross, for those who believe on Christ, we are always connected, never disconnected. Jesus said so with His ultimate words of “always with you”, and “never forsake you”.

How is it God uses ultimate words like “always” and “never” in reference to His relationship with us, but we selectively hear Him? We read the scriptures, give a big amen, but then we want to get selective about how much is “every thought” which should be taken captive, and how often is “always”, or how seldom is “never”. Measuring, like how wrong is too wrong, and how right is right enough. When the Lord said take “every thought captive”, He meant not just the bad ones, but the good ones too, but we decide to be selective and re-decide the word of the Lord from “every thought” to be “pretty much select thoughts”. God said “I am with you always”, but yet we perceive a disconnection, re-deciding how often is “always”. The Lord said, “I will never leave you”, but yet we re-decide His words, measuring how seldom is never, as if one time out of 1000 is close enough to call it never. i think God meant exactly what He said when He uses the words, “Always”, “Never” and “Every”.

He said those ultimate words because He meant them. He did not approximate, He did not say “for the most part”, or “pretty much rarely”. He did not say “take most thoughts captive” … that’s not what God said. Again, He meant what He said.

We are connected to God through the blood of the Son, whether we perceive it, feel it or not. By faith, my connection with God is as consistent as the Son, and Jesus never fails. Ever. Jesus is with us and will never leave us or forsake us to the ends of the earth, and we can bank on that with our lives. God expects us to believe Him, always.

Have you noticed or experienced how Christmas seems to tap into the soul’s emptiness for many, if not all of us?

We are living in troubled times, world-wide! Something happened to our nation’s thinking facility because, partly, of what happened in Newtown, Connecticut. We all saw and heard encouraging stories of compassion pouring out to the families of children that were slain by a mass murderer. As appreciative as the families were of the support, I know you know that the parents, families and their friends had a profound emptiness that made Christmas seem hollow. I felt that over twenty-seven years ago when my father died. I thought, “Will there ever be a new normal where joy to the world is meaningful again?”

In my counseling work, Christmas is the time of year where those who’ve encountered broken marriages and homes have a hard time making sense of faith and the Christmas story. I don’t mean intellectually, but in an emotional, painful way. Then there are those who have not. They want so bad to be able to give something to loved ones that can say “You are worthy and I’m glad to have you in my life.”  There are more inexpensive products on the shelf for us to buy so we could do that, but then, it seemed like the prices weren’t low enough and a cloud of sadness still prevailed over many.

Religious talk doesn’t get the job done if what we want is to feel full again. You know – to be alive! James said to believers “… it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is not faith at all—it is dead and useless.” James 2:17, “We’re all looking for a connection and a fullness that only Jesus can supply but he wants believers to express their good deeds as evidence,.” Faith generates good works, not good works which generate faith.

Think about it, if we have faith but never do anything with it, what exactly are we doing? God is a person, He is personal, and He deals with us personally. As a result, faith in God must be personal and it must be mobilized, put it into motion. Your parents’ faith isn’t enough when you find yourself in a cave, trapped, like David was in 1 Samuel 22. Your wife’s faith is good for her, but it won’t get you through dark, difficult trials. You must know God personally through personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And you must know personally how to call upon Him when you feel trapped, lonely, and under the weight of seemingly overwhelming trials. Maybe rather than moan and sigh about our circumstances, we can also believe, as Don Moen wrote, “God will make a way, Where there seems to be no way, He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, Hold me closely to His side, With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way.”

Matthew 16:24-25, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Did you get that? He said, “Follow me.” Not follow them who say they follow Jesus, but follow Jesus. Not follow well spoken people on Facebook or YouTube, but follow Jesus Christ and Christ alone.

I’m talking about filling the emptiness in your life, denying yourself the opportunity for whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish of spiritual things. In short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your flesh over your spirit, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself.          

That is the definition of sin, and although it can all be just so, much, fun … it is destructive. Taking up the cross is not only excepting the difficult times of Christianity, it is also receiving every benefit as well. Taking up your cross precedes life.

I applaud anyone out there in our world making a difference for the better. Ann Curry, a CBS News correspondent asked, “What can I do after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre?” She came up with an idea that went viral. Perform 26 acts of kindness in honor of those who died at the school. That is something which embraces emptiness, and inspires the substance of hope and meaningfulness to happen … and it came out of Ann Curry’s heart.

I think that’s the method of operation Jesus is about. He embraces the emptiness in our lives due to sin in this world, to come up with the one act of kindness where anyone can have a relationship with Him. And in our souls, we can still be full, even when we have a hard time with the idea of Christmas due to so much pain. Only Jesus can appropriately fill our hearts through his birth and resurrection from death on a cross. Without that, nothing makes sense or ever will in my view. Hope is kept alive because He is alive!

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

Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Boasting and bragging have their root in pride, and pride has it’s roots embedded in a feeling of being wealthy and having accomplished note worthy things, by which we compare ourselves to others, elevating ourselves above the rest. The two may also be a way of us validating ourselves, just in case no one noticed, and they failed, in our opinion, to pass us the recognition we feel we deserve. Either way, if we persist, the path of boasting and bragging eventually boils down to pride. On the opposite side of the braggart is the sluggard who see themselves, as seen in Proverbs 26:16, as someone who is wiser in their own eyes than all others, able to render more answers than seven wise men. Although they are virtually void of anything anyone would consider worth bragging about, the sluggard has created an imaginary world, like the braggart, built on their own set of standards, thinking to themselves they are self-sufficient, sure they know the answers, yet undeterred by the facts, continuing in their ignorance. The pride and arrogance which drives bragging and boasting, is the same pride and arrogance which drives the sluggard.

Recently, i saw this headline in the news: “Lion Attack Kills Intern, 24, at California Sanctuary”. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding this tragedy considering the young woman was so new to the job, she wasn’t even supposed to be in the lions cage.

There is so much pain in the world surrounding the loss of young people or young adults who’ve left us prematurely. We’ve heard the saying, “No parent wants their child to die before they do.” But I remember thinking when my dad died at age 59, how young he was and how it feels a bit weird that I’m 66 and have outlived him on planet earth. To me, either way we look at this, life is short — especially in view of eternity.

Ken Ruettgers, former Green Bay Packer, is the leading authority on the phenomenon of how professional athletes transition out of their game. He likens the average pro career of 5 years to 5 feet on an 80 foot rope. What a picture to show how short a pro career is!

That’s my point about life. I’ve read that the current life expectancy for the world is about 73.3 years. The current average life expectancy for just the US is 79.1 years.

Life expectancy was an issue in the book of James, not necessarily how long they thought it was, although he said something about that too, but what some believers attitudes were like toward life and God. In James 4:13-17 scripture says, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”

Someone said the Seven Stages of Man are spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills. But James is saying man is not as much in control of the course of his existence as we think. We would be better to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will do this or that.” Take note here, I do believe he’s talking more about attitude than turning that statement into a ritualistic practice.

Some believers in James’ day were boasting and bragging about living life without concern for God or others. They were acting like their pro careers included all of an 80 foot rope instead of only 5 feet … as if they were going to get on a plane and fly to this city or another city and really live large and in charge.

Napoleon Bonaparte lived like that when he was about to invade Russia. Someone trying to persuade him from this act said, “Man proposes but God disposes.” Napoleon replied, “I dispose as well as propose.” Not long after that he found himself exiled as a failure.

I’m wondering what relationships would be like if our method of operation was to approach life without boasting and bragging — acting like we’re bullet proof and invincible. Realizing life is short and that God is in control, minds this gap when we believe He matters most and knows its hazardous. Remember, your life is only 5 feet on an eternal rope.

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where do you live?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name.