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.

Jesus is coming back, and when the righteous are removed… the world will be left with nothing but the sound of their own breath and what remains of the world around them… how will it all look if there are no God-infused people around?

The clock is ticking… within everyone, everywhere, there is a deep awareness that days are going by, chaos is slowly surrounding the world thicker than ever before. If everyone on earth could listen deep in their hearts, way down deep in their foundations, they would hear the steady tick of God’s countdown clock just clicking the seconds away towards the days of conclusion…

Sit back and watch the people. There is a growing desperation in all their actions… look at the news. For lack of a better word, everyone, everywhere has a sense of an approaching “badness”, and on some level, we’re all aware that somewhere, the MOST important clock is ticking.

The news is horrible every day. The media is so biased about everything, who knows what the real truth is behind anything except the Living God and His Word? Really… think about it. Everything that comes out of the mouth of the governing bodies of every country has a pre-determined spin put on it in order to sound believable, leaving out self-condemning information, and glorifying agenda-promoting information, if any, as if it’s all the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help them God. Only for us to find out later, many times years later, what was handed us as the truth was only a spin on the real circumstances in order to gain public confidence, votes, and of course, as always, more money.

The clock is ticking… can you hear it? Jesus Christ is returning, and there’s the countdown to the Lord drawing this entire mess of a world to a conclusion… His conclusion for His glory.

There is a real conflict of all conflicts at the heart of all unbelievers just as there is also a very real opportunity for wonderful resolve to that conflict. So i’m compelled to ask you a question: Who’s side are you on? It’s a good question… Are you on God’s side of redemption and reconciliation, or the world’s side (or your own side) which only leaves you with the law and condemnation? You say you don’t believe in God? Well, it doesn’t matter if you do or not, it doesn’t stop the Lord from being who He is and it doesn’t stop the clock from ticking.

There is an opportunity to do righteousness in every conflict… an opportunity to portray God’s character of honesty, telling the truth even if it’s to our own hurt, and being strong and courageous every time conflict presents itself. In this world of increasing chaos, darkness, and the multitudes of people with mobile boundaries (meaning what they say they won’t do today they might do tomorrow… and THAT means there is rarely a firm stance on right, wrong, or righteousness), Jesus is coming back… there is a countdown going on and the clock is ticking.

Isaiah 2:20-22, “On that Day men and women will take the sticks and stones They’ve decked out in gold and silver to look like gods and then worshiped, And they will dump them in any ditch or gully, Then run for rock caves and cliff hideouts To hide from the terror of GOD, from his dazzling presence, When he assumes his full stature on earth, towering and terrifying. Quit scraping and fawning over mere humans, so full of themselves, so full of hot air! Can’t you see there’s nothing to them?”

In 2 Samuel 16, there was this guy named Shimei (Shim-ee’) who had been part of the house of Saul and as David and his procession were going by his house, Shimei came out angry and cursing and throwing stones at David and all his servants. In vs 7 scripture says he was all blustering and mad, yelling, “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty, worthless man, you rogue! The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil because you are a bloodthirsty man!”

At that point one of David’s main men, Abishai (Ab-ee-shi’) suggested the King allow him to cut the man’s head off. David was faced with a serious conflict with many roads of possible reactions to be taken, but instead of retaliation, giving the man what he deserved, by law, he chose to take an alternate opportunity and let the guy off the hook. Now, Shimei, by all rights, deserved to be killed because by no means did anyone treat the king like that, but David took the opportunity to exercise righteousness.

The days are counting down, are we choosing a righteous response instead of the alternative of retaliation… which is do bad to me and i’ll definitely do bad to you, or do good to me and i might do good to you? Where are you? How will you be found when Jesus cracks the sky and returns for the saints?

Our lives are conflicted over so many things… whether to turn left to the beer store or right to church, conflicted about unkind circumstances which were impinged upon us and we are conflicted over our response. We are conflicted over turning the computer off or watching a little porn while we foolishly believe no one can see us. If we believe someone has verbally gouged us, we are conflicted as to if we should subtly gouge back, or just smile and let it go. And oh, how often do we gouge back and feel smugly satisfied that we really let them have it, just like they deserved. Who decided you are the judge and executioner of what other people deserve and don’t deserve? Did the Lord give you what you deserve?  That answer is a two-letter word… NO. Romans 14:4, “Who do you think you are to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”

With EVERY conflict comes opportunity, and every opportunity represents a choice that must be made.

2 Tim 4:5 says to “endure afflictions”. Scripture reads, “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” The word “you” there points to us, the believers; the Hebrew word for “endure” quite literally means to get a foothold and keep it, and the Hebrew concept of “persist” is to strengthen yourself and keep on keeping on. Stand fast in the Lord, keep your ground and go forward. Stand up Church! In that verse i see, what i call, the “Conflict of Affliction”… meaning in the conflict there was the opportunity to do things God’s way or my way, and Paul is saying to pick God’s way, take God’s opportunity to reflect righteous conduct, character, and conversation… endure and persist.

Hebrews 9:27-28, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

Jesus IS coming back. If people don’t believe it, Jesus IS coming back. If nobody likes it, Jesus IS coming back, and even if we can’t agree on when and how, even so, Jesus IS coming back. Where will you be? The clock is ticking… Can you hear it? Listen carefully, God’s clock is there… ticking away. Tick-tock baby, the clock is ticking. And where will you be on that day?

1 Corinthians 4:12-13, “And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.”

Do you see it? The conflict and the opportunity. There was an internal conflict about labor, and they chose the Godly opportunity … rather than complaining and demanding the church give them a raise in pay and better living arrangements, they considered it an opportunity to demonstrate the righteous action of working with their own hands, not gouging the sheep to give more money, shaving the sheep so closely it makes them bleed. Friends that’s not right; there was conflict over being criticized, i mean, what well-thinking person is not tempted to defend themselves to escape pointed criticism and berating? Instead, they took the opportunity to reflect grace, and so blessed those who scorned and chided them. Instead of running away or drawing swords against their neighbors, they took God’s opportunity to demonstrate the Love of God, they found their foothold in Christ and kept on keeping on. Stand UP Church! Get to your feet. Jesus is coming back and this is no time to be pouting in the back, grumbling about the leadership, or quitting only to go home and sit in the dark wishing you were anywhere but where you are.

James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

If we endure temptation… and there truly is conflict in temptation for every person… if we endure the temptation and take God’s opportunity to endure until it goes away, and it WILL go away, the payoff is that there is a crown of life and the crown of a good name… i want you to know i use the word “payoff” carefully because there are those amongst us who need a reward to endure, they’ve got a “what’s in it for me” attitude.

We can endure the conflict of temptation, true we can capitulate and let it in the door, even so, the opportunity is real, and the conflict within us is real. i choose to

be free and NOT sin as best i know how, and the more i resist the better i get at resisting. i am no longer a slave to fear but i am a child of God and i choose to go with God. By the power of the Holy Ghost, He strengthens me to turn my feet in the way they should go. We all suffer temptation and are conflicted about whether to dream all the wrong things or not… to be honest about myself, my flesh likes it and it likes the dream as well as anyone else.

But, today, as yesterday, as tomorrow, i will choose the opportunity to not participate in satan’s bait and will take God’s opportunity, i choose to NOT participate. In every conflict there is opportunity. And you, where do you stand? What will the Lord of the Star fields find you doing when He returns? i’m sure some of us are tired of hearing that, but man, it’s a good question, and too many are simply not answering it. We are getting down to the wire where “no reply” is an insufficient answer. The clock is ticking… how will we reply to the Lord?

1 Corinthians 10:13-14, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”

i believe temptation draws conflict out of hiding, and fleeing idolatry is taking God’s opportunity to resolve our conflict.

True, i did not get to choose my strengths, but over the years the Lord has grown a suppleness in me which inspires me to take God’s opportunity rather than to try and press into what was not my path and be conflicted. i did not get to choose when my hair would turn grey, but if i am conflicted about my hair color (and i’m not) i also have the opportunity to choose Godly character over not having an internal struggle over the fact that outwardly i am aging.

i fully believe i have the choice to sin or not. Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

i may be conflicted about the “yes/no” of it all, but in the moment of “to sin or not to sin”, in the moment of my internal conflict, God also has provided me a way to escape the bondage and slavery which comes with choosing to wound my conscience and give power to my flesh over my spirit – God has given me an opportunity to choose escape or bondage. Romans 6:18, “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Oh yes, we do have a choice on many things, and so does the world. In everything that is conflict… and sin is direct conflict with God, there is the opportunity to do something different. We may be so dull and dead we can’t see the opportunity; we may be so indifferent and depressed we can’t hear the call of God’s opportunity, but it is there nonetheless. The opportunity MUST be offered lest men die and satan accuse God of not caring or giving all mankind the same opportunity. If God did not offer every man who comes into this world the opportunity to sin, or not, love has not done its work, nor has grace been established in the foundations of God’s heart.

Does any of that come close to hitting a nail somewhere? The clock is ticking. Jesus is coming back, are you sitting in a pew biding your time just cruising, kinda luke warm and you’re ok with that… you know, neither really in nor actually out, always measuring how bad is too bad and how good is good enough, being careful to not get “too Bible literate in case it clutters up your mind”. Yea, one fellow actually told me that was his concern. Where are you? Stand up church!

Matthew 24:30-31 30, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Many of us have a constant challenge in setting priorities, and deciding what are the important things… but, have you noticed too many “important things” water down everything else, and we quickly find ourselves just as over-committed and stretched for time as before. If you are too busy, remember, you are the one who said “yes”. What is truly important to you? Good parking spaces at church?… or being sunk down in the love of pomp and circumstances to the point of being far more involved with formality and grandeur than with Jesus? He is coming back for what is His, will you ask Him to wait a minute while you run up and put on your “I’ll fly away” clothes?

Franklin Graham wrote: “As I read the news, I can’t help but wonder if we are in the last hours before our Lord Jesus Christ returns to rescue His church and the world suffers the results for the rejection of His Son. I don’t know if we have hours, days, months, or years—but as Christians, God calls us to take the truth of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Our job is to warn sinners of the consequences of sin and show them that God is loving and gracious, willing to forgive if we come to Him in repentance and faith. We have to accept God’s provision for our sins—the shedding of Christ’s Blood on the cross.”

We don’t have to be so constantly conflicted. Our lives are made up of conflicts and resolutions, it’s the stuff good stories are made of, and the Lord has many stories to tell of our overcoming conflict in the power of Christ. One day in Heaven, the Lord will tell our stories… our names are written on His hands and He does not forget not one of our struggles and victories. Don’t you know every good story has tension and release and that it’s created through the rise and fall of a good plot, the conflict and the opportunity to resolve it?

Where are you? Whose side are you on? Are you enduring and persisting? Are you just surviving or are you thriving? i think many of us are just surviving when we should be prospering. Take inventory, where do you stand… consider carefully, and if you’re found wanting, make it right with the Lord and persist in Him. Amen.

Like i said, conflict is necessary for a good story. But many Christians assume faithfully following Jesus means their lives will somehow be conflict-free. We expect the church to be a place where everyone gets along peacefully, where nothing is ever troubling, and where no relationships ever get out of sync, then we’re often surprised when conflict hits. Shalom peace doesn’t mean there is a lack of violence, it doesn’t mean there isn’t any conflict. Shalom peace means when the world is spinning around us, when our fingers are searching to find their grip, in our heart of hearts we are at peace. The truth is, if we’re going to be around people, we’re going to deal with conflict. And as believers, we must resist “bailing out” every time conflicts arise.

If we think the best way to resolve conflict is either to avoid it in the first place or run away as soon as things get difficult, we’ll sacrifice forward movement for superficial peace.

The Lord is coming back, the clock is ticking… within everyone, everywhere, there is a deep awareness that days are going by, chaos is surrounding people even thicker than ever before. If everyone on earth could listen deep in their hearts, way down deep in their foundations, they would hear the steady tick of God’s countdown clock just clicking the seconds away towards the days of conclusion… we can stay conflicted or we can receive God’s opportunity to resolve our heart problems. i’ll ask that prickly question again: Who’s side are you on? C’mon, really, it’s a good question… are you on God’s side of redemption and reconciliation (that’s the resolution of the conflict), or on the world’s side (or your own side) which only leaves you with the law and condemnation (that’s the conflict part)? You say you don’t believe in God? Well, it doesn’t matter if you do or not, it doesn’t stop the Lord from being who He is and it doesn’t stop the clock from ticking.

Find some purchase for your feet this week, and tell the Lord all that’s on your mind, He will hear your prayer and answer by and by. Drive carefully and be at peace my family, peace in the name of Jesus. Amen!

In a published article written by J. Blake Brown, he writes, “In 1516 M. Luther was reading Romans 1, and when he got to verse 17he was struck by Paul’s quote from Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous will live by faith.”

Those words launched Luther into what we, today, call the Reformation. He began by tacking up the famous 95 theses which pointed out the errors that existed in the Church at that time, but it quickly snowballed into an all-out reformation

In 1521, just 5 years after it started and church leadership was thoroughly offended that anyone would dare challenge them, Luther was ordered to go before a church council to explain his preaching and writings that were contrary to the church’s teachings. The site of the council was in the German city of Worms (“Varms”). Here Luther defended his writings before the Emperor Charles and all the dignitaries of the Empire. Towards the end of the council, the Emperor and dignitaries had had enough and demanded that Luther recant all that he had preached and written. And it was then that he made his timeless reply:

I cannot submit my faith either to the Pope or to the Councils, because it is clear as day they have frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless therefore, I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture . . . I can and will not retract . . . Here I stand . . . I can do no other. So help me God, Amen!!

This is a great statement of faith in God. One that looked right into the face of the circumstances, and despite their poised menacing attitudes, he chose God.

There was no reason, other than his faith in God, that Luther should have made this statement. His circumstances were looming dark clouds… he was facing excommunication, defrocking, and even death by uttering those words. After the council, Luther was declared an outlaw which meant that he could be killed by anyone without threat of punishment. Yet Luther trusted God and His Word more than the threats of man. He made a decision that cost him everything!”… Friends, now that was no small decision!

i often think it’s quite intriguing to put scripture into more modern-day language. Like Hab 3:17-19: Here’s the original:

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls — Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.”

Now here is the re-visualized version: Though I don’t have the money to buy more than rice and beans at the grocery store, and I can’t pay my electric bill, though the fuel tank in my car is nearly sitting on empty, and I can’t find a job, though there’s very little food left in the cabinet and only oatmeal to set on the table for my kids, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord will provide. He enriches my faith and opens the doors to His provisions. He supplies that job I need so badly and lifts me out of my poverty because I seek first the Kingdom of God.”

Joyce Meyer once said, “If you’re praying to God for the devil to leave you alone, he’s not gonna do it, so you might as well get over it, quit fighting with the devil and lean into Jesus.” The point is how good God is not how bad the devil is. Think about that and let it sink down into your thinking machine.

i have a phrase the Lord gave me, which is, “Not every blue sky is from Heaven and not every storm is from hell”, reminding me that The Lord is my focus, not my circumstances, and just because things are well in my circumstances doesn’t mean i’m in the throe’s of blessing, neither just because i’m surrounded by storms does it mean God is angry with me or i’ve done something wrong. Aiming fingers of blame are like having guns in your hand, and too many of us are spending our time and emotional capital shooting at everything that moves. i say, “Whoa, whoa, whoa there, nice shootin’ Tex, but put your guns away!” All our blaming never did anyone any good. When times are difficult, lean on Jesus, set your eyes on Jesus, and put your hope in Jesus because in Christ alone is our help and hope. In an old Lutheran hymn by Edward Mote, the first verse is “My hope is built on nothing less, Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.”

Chances are good that many, if not most of us, are going through something difficult… it could be the loss of a job, a family member who fell ill, or overwhelming loneliness in the midst of a large church body. In fact, it could be a number of struggles all at one time. Probably, early on, someone told you life as a believer was not easy, but now that things are not easy, you didn’t know it then like you know it now… life may have been difficult on many levels before, but now… oh boy, now they’re maybe even more difficult. After all, Christians are certainly not immune to trials and tribulations.

Honestly, restoration is messy, revival is very, VERY messy, and life can be wildly messy. In spite of all that, i hope we can see the big picture here concerning having faith despite dark clouds.

i know everyone comes first to this O.T. guy when we think about trials and tribulations, but still, he’s a great example, consider Job. Right off the bat, scripture describes him in Job 1:1 as, “a man named Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” Right off the bat, God is setting the precedence about Job, and all that follows after vs 1, we need to remember that God has overshadowed Job’s story with the fact that he was blameless, upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.

i’m sure you know the story, and if you haven’t it would do you well to read the book of Job which is right after Esther and before Psalms. The Lord asked Satan to consider Job who was blameless and upright. The Lord was obviously very pleased with Job. From the way i read the story, one angle was that satan believed the reason Job lived his life for the Lord was because of what Job could get from God… satan believed it was only a “hand level” relationship (or merely “what can be gotten”), and that if God allowed all Job’s stuff and family to be taken away, Job would curse God.

So, the Lord allowed Satan to take away his blessings. Job lost his oxen, donkeys, sheep, servants, camels, sons, daughters, and eventually even his health. Now we’ve gotta see this, so listen: Here’s a man who walked blamelessly before God, and yet the Lord allowed him to suffer. How could this be? Well, Job’s supposed “friends” had all kinds of ideas of why this might be the case, everything from telling him his sins had caused his misfortune, to his wife telling him he should just roll over and die. If you are in a difficult situation, let me encourage you again to read Job’s story, and i don’t mean just glitz over it, but take it in, roll it over in your mind and ponder upon it in order to see the Lord’s real heart.

Here are a couple of points that i found interesting: First off, it is obvious that bad things happen to “good” people. It’s a fact of life. In Luke 13, Jesus is addressing, again, the issue of retributive theology, meaning your well-being is directly dependent on YOUR ability to be obedient and get life right, and that’s just not true. In vs 4, Jesus speaks of some local news as an example. He says, “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?” The Jews, and even many people today, seem to think if they do good they get good, and if they do bad, they get bad, that’s retributive theology. Now i can see where it would be sort of true in that if you hit your hand with a hammer, it will hurt, and if you don’t then it won’t hurt. Or, if you don’t pay your electric bill, the lights will go off, and if you DO pay it, they will stay on. But that’s not what God is talking about here. Many seem to think that if THEY are well and you are not AS well as THEY, then obviously you have more sin in your life than they do… and that’s simply a lie, which Jesus was addressing.

i’m not saying we shouldn’t avoid pain and suffering, of course we should, probably no one woke up one day and thought, “Gosh, i sure hope i suffer today.” However, if it can’t be helped, and the Lord doesn’t change the situation, learn to live well where you are until He does change things… it can be helpful to accept pain and suffering when we have no choice, and that acceptance can help us get through difficult circumstances.

Secondly, notice that Job still honored the Lord despite his horrible circumstances. He didn’t sin by charging God with wrongdoing. He didn’t try to blame himself or everyone else for his circumstances. And while we’re there, let me suggest we quit blaming God. C’mon guys, cut it out. After all, God is God, and He is our standard of what is right – the Lord is the ultimate justice and adjudicator, who do we think we are to judge the Lord? Put your guns away, or quit blaming everyone and everything, and live well where you are until such time as things change.

“When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

Acts 5:17, “Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,”.

Further on in Acts 5:40, we read the apostles were beaten because they were speaking in the name of Jesus. Scripture says, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.” Wow. They did two things after being beaten: they rejoiced because they were counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name of Jesus, and they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

i’m sure, as many others who have read these scriptures, they possibly think, “How can I be strong when I’m going through a difficult time?” i, personally, have never gone through something as terrible as what the apostles endured, but there have been numerous extreme circumstances, which, at the time, i thought things were so very terrible that i was dying. i find it incredible that all through the apostles terrible circumstances, their hearts were in the right place, even when being beaten… and don’t you know, the stripes from the whip didn’t stop right then… the suffering was extreme and went on and on, the sting continued for days, but yet they persisted. i’m sure the Lord strengthened them… and i ask myself, no matter what I’m going through, would i still honor the Lord as well? i hope so and hope i don’t have to find out, but wouldn’t be surprised if i did.

i believe those who endure such difficult circumstances are given the great gift of faith, The Lord intervenes at our most extreme moments, extending us grace to endure, but we also have to be willing to persist and endure in our circumstances.

i wonder to myself, how will i act? What will i say? Will i be like Stephen standing firm to the end, or will i be like Judas who betrayed the Lord and just ran away?

Mark 13:11, “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit.”

i like to think of myself as being a spiritual man, standing on God’s word, faithfully testifying Jesus is who God says He is, standing on His promises and all that… and, in truth, i am that person. But i’ll tell you what, not too long ago my wife became ill and had to go to the hospital for a few days, and in those few days, i was so shaken to my core, i couldn’t seem to find all my super-spiritual stuff, i couldn’t find the courage to bind this or that, or the strength to cast down principalities and powers, and what’s worse, having been that guy who prayed those sorts of things and has seen people healed on the spot, but this time, none of my words seemed to impact anything. i was reduced to a quivering gelatin mass and all i could squeak out, through my tears, was “Help us Jesus, i don’t know what to do.”

Now, some folks may say that is just downright pitiful and faithless, but i believe the prayer, “Help us Jesus!” is one of the most powerful prayers we can pray. Sometimes, in the midst of terrible circumstances, that’s all we’ve got. The Lord began to give me endurance and the courage to persist, even though i had gnawing butterflies in my stomach, in a bad way, 24 hours a day, all week long. i refused to use alcohol or drugs to squash my anxiety because i believed God would sustain me and He did… i am absolutely determined to be present, unhampered and un-anesthetized… in my heart, i knew not only did He hear my prayers, He was, in the present tense, answering and healing … it’s just something i knew in my heart of hearts. There was faith in me despite my dark clouds… those dark clouds which seemed to overshadow everything, the creeping ominous gloom of doom that whispered, “you don’t”, “you can’t”, “you won’t”, “you didn’t”, “you should have”… the whisperings of the enemy, whispering destruction to me through the crack under the door and at the windows of my house…regardless of all that, there was rising faith in me regardless of dark clouds.

In the midst of all that grief, a friend, many, many miles away, over the phone, spoke a Heaven-shifting prayer, declaring light and healing to my wife… within the hour she was resting and asleep, on the road to recovery. Since then i’ve found my spiritual legs again. All that to say, we may see ourselves as hero warriors, but when the poo hits the fan, i marvel at how quickly we can find out the depth of our faith… .we also learn that in the necessary moment, faith will rise and the tide will turn… if it doesn’t then we must trust, in the eyes of the Lord, that God had a better idea and it’s on its way. The idea is to go with God not get what you want, and just because you’re uncomfortable and don’t get what you want, when you want, how you want, and God doesn’t agree with you … .. doesn’t mean He is no longer God. We are to conform to HIS image, not Him conform to ours.

Eugene Peterson wrote, “Jeremiah lived during one of the most troubling periods of Hebrew history. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and he was in the middle of it all, sticking it out… praying and preaching, suffering and striving, writing and believing. He lived through crushing storms of hostility and furies of bitter doubt. Every muscle in his body was stretched to questioning; every feeling in his heart was put through fires of ridicule.”

“What happens when everything you believe in and live by is smashed to bits by circumstances? Sometimes the reversals of what we expect from God come to us as individuals, other times as entire communities. When it happens, does catastrophe work to re-form our lives to conform to who God actually is and not the way we imagined or wished Him to be? Does it lead to an abandonment of God? Or, worse, does it trigger the stubborn grasping to the old collapsed system of belief… holding on for dear life to an illusion?”

When the poo hits the fan, whose side are you on? Let the Lord reveal to you where you really live, and what is your real faith level despite dark clouds. The Lord our God is loving and kind, not cruel and abusive, so we have no reason to be afraid. Let me encourage you, Let God reveal your true heart to you and then take action as He leads you to make some course corrections. Think about it, and amen.

I don’t have all the answers. In fact, in the entire scheme of everything there is to know, i know nothing except what God has given me, and other than that, whatever i think i know, i don’t. But, what I do know is, one day, for those who trust in Jesus the Messiah, God will wipe our tears away and bring us into a glorious communion with Himself, Revelation 7:17.

When man is the builder, the structures are judged by God as either good or bad, and here is the tipping point… the standard of His judgment is according as they conform to his character and purpose. In Genesis 8:20 Noah’s altar was accepted by God because it conformed to the Lord’s character and purpose. And in contrast, the Lord rejected the high places and altars to foreign gods built by Aaron, by Solomon in 1 Kings 11, and Rehoboam in 1 Kings 14.

Not every blue sky is from Heaven nor is every storm from hell. Despite dark clouds, our faith should continue on, regardless of whether we’re surrounded and cornered by thousands. Stand Up Church! i don’t know much about suffering, but what i do know is that suffering reduces everything to its lowest common denominator. Now before you go getting offended, which seems to happen far too easily and too often for many, that doesn’t mean depressed, bottom of the barrel, broken, sick, and sad… it means when all things are boiled down in the life of a believer, Jesus stands tall in the middle. We are coming into the likeness of the Son and when all things of the world are removed from obstructing our view, what our eyes see is Christ, the Son of God.

Psalm 17:15, “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”

Be strong and courageous and let your faith do it’s work despite the dark clouds and, what appears as looming doom. Your faith is there, let it rise and see God shift the Heavens on your behalf, truly all other ground is sinking sand.

Pray for your friends, go see someone who can’t come see you, drive carefully, and i’ll talk to you next time.

i sometimes catch myself wishing others weren’t the way they are. How often we have said to ourselves in a moment of anguish, “Gahh! i wish so-and-so was different! Why do they have to be that way?”

It’s easy to think of all the ways we believe someone else should change and what they should do to make a relationship better… but maybe, just maybe… we should think more along the lines of what we might do to make things better. We seem to always want the other person to change, but above what we think they should do, we should also be open to letting God show us ways in which we might change also.

Romans 12:16, “Live in harmony with one another. Don’t be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”

It’s good to want peace, but we need to go the extra mile and be peacemakers. Don’t just think about everything that is wrong with the person you’re struggling with, also think about their good points too. And yes, i realize there are truly people in this world who may not seem to have any good points. If you go to a maximum security prison and speak to some of those who stay behind locked doors all the time, it’s easy to think some people have no good qualities. i believe, having lived my life as one, God has a special place in His heart for fools. Actually, i’m eternally pleased He has room for me.

Time is changing, the world is still turning, Jesus has not returned yet, so, whether we like it or not we must live … today, and again tomorrow, etc, etc., living every day in the name of Jesus with all our breathing, thinking, feeling, and strength. i’ve never heard of Christian retirement unless it is dying. The world is changing and we must change also…simply put, we can’t continue to be like we are and still expect the spiritual climate of our world to change when we, the climate changers, don’t want to address our internal conflicts and cognitive dissonances.

When you turn off the main highway and go all the way to the end of Old Field Road, there at the end of the road is Outposts, a beautiful cafe inhabited by kindness and joy, where, the moment you step in the door, weariness falls off like grave clothes, and the warm glow of the goodness of God breathes refreshment to tired bones. This is a semi-live broadcast from the deck area of the late evening, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the river’s edge, and every evening is pleasant. i’ll be your host this evening with contemplative conversation, and cool jazz. So glad you stopped in. Pull up a chair, breathe easy, and sit a while with me.

i’m Social Porter and this evening’s topic is change… the pain of it, and the necessity of it. When it hurts too much to stay the same, people will change, but in the meantime when it hurts too much to change, alas, they will stay the same. Friends, change is on the horizon and it simply must happen.

So let’s get to it…pull up a chair, sit back, put your ears on, and enjoy what’s in front of you….

Amos 3:3, “Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?” Or put another way as a statement, “two walking together must agree to go together.”

What is it that makes it so we are reluctant to change, even when it’s for the better? Is it that, even if we’re in a bad situation, it could be nothing more than the longitude and latitude we are familiar with?… at least we think we know where we are and what to expect. Or could the truth be something more subtle?

Our fear can keep us from growing up… it can make us do all sorts of illogical things… like being afraid to end a relationship that may seriously need to end, change careers, move to a better place, begin new friendships, or just generally attempt anything beyond our ordinary habits. So many of us seem to often stay in situations that are no longer working, far longer than we should have, simply because what is familiar feels safer than the unknown. i think any change involves overcoming fear in some capacity or another. We think to ourselves, “What if I’m alone forever?” or maybe, “What if I find out I’m incompetent?”. As the people of God, we often balk at changing our doctrine because it agrees with the views of our peers, and it’s more important for us to be “in the club” than to have a better understanding of God. Our minds manufacture a million little excuses for remaining right where we are, afraid to even question our own epistemology, which is what you believe, how you came to that conclusion, and why you think it’s a good idea.

The Pharisees were so uncomfortable with Jesus… they hated Him and eventually found a way to have Him killed.

In Acts 6 we see Stephen who is stepping out in power, doing great wonders and signs where everyone could see him. For those watching Stephen, even though they couldn’t resist the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, they resented the necessary change Stephen represented. They manipulated some guys to lie against Stephen, saying, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” It upset the local people so much so that they grabbed Stephen and dragged him before the dreaded council, bringing in more people to lie, putting words in their mouths to say, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”

Though no one can actually keep the law, and no man is justified or finds salvation by the law, the only reason i can figure that they objected to Jesus was because leadership was afflicted with the three P’s of mammon…. position, power, and prestige… they had figured out how to make money from the law, to gain a place of importance and a title… and this Jesus, whom Stephen preached about, was just messing up their system.

The idea of change was so uncomfortable they were willing to lie, cheat, and even murder a man in order to keep from changing. Also, i believe it was more important for them to be right in their own eyes than it was to have a relationship with the Lord and understand His heart.

So here’s a question for all of us who are reluctant to change… please be honest with yourself: Do you just want to be right, or do you really want to know what the Lord is saying?

In this day and age with all the crazy stuff going on, i say, for most of us, “the only thing worse than change is no change”. We can’t keep being like we are and expect the world to get any better. From the Message, Joel 2:13, “Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to GOD, your God. And here’s why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, This most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe.”

To change from God’s perspective is to be transformed or converted, and also means to substitute one thing or person for another, like an exchange. Didn’t Jesus empower us to be able to change by exchanging His life for ours? The idea of change has a continuous washing motion to it… it’s not a one-time thing and then everything is just fine. From God’s perspective, change is like a long slow turn, taken in increments, letting His counsel change us, making each life course adjustment a sure and better direction.

In Romans 12:2, Paul urges us all to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. You know, that’s easy to say, but it is a lifelong process that is largely uncomfortable many times. But, in light of that, why don’t we change, even though we may know it is the best thing for us? What is it that prevents you? Why do we have such a hard time letting God be good to us?

i believe there are four agonies: blame, guilt, grief, and anger. People do terrible things to themselves and others when they live under the crushing weights of any combination of the terrible four… they are an agony of the soul that keeps us bound in a continual downward spiral of an unchanging life. You know, hurting people hurt people.

Psalm 31:10, “For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” Jesus is interested in changing our hearts and offers us forgiveness and counseling to set us upright and in our right mind. He will take our burdens from us if we will allow Him to shoulder those weights. “If”… “if” we’ll allow it… yea… those slippery little “if’s”.

Now, as to the four agonies, the binding burdens to bear: When we feel the despair of unfading blame at the end of an aiming finger… the burden of blame is crushing. Within blame, there is an accusatory thrust whose nature is to surround and bind our minds and hearts. Blamed people tend to blame people, and if there is no one to blame, we often blame ourselves, though there are no grounds for it. OH…how well do i know this! When relationships fail, i am often the first person i blame, even though it is possible it had nothing to do with me. Here is the model i grew up with…my mother blamed us, constantly, and we all grew up smugly blaming others for whatever wasn’t right in our lives. With God’s constant help and support, it has taken years to stop being so combative about everything, to stop feeling accused all the time, and stop feeling the need to blame myself and others…it’s hard to stop… especially when you’re so sure you are right!

Let us ask the Lord for wisdom and confidence in our decision-making process. Confidence in God is a wall of safety against blame and guilt.

An amazing number of people walk through each day with the millstone of guilt around their necks. Maybe we have not done the things we should have, or…we’ve done things which should never have been done. We cannot undo the past, and the memory of our hurtful deeds can cause a lifetime of pain. For many, the seemingly harmless sins and offenses of our youth can weigh on our consciences forever… and in the minds of others, those same conflicts of our youth stick like super glue….and don’t you know the enemy uses offense to wound us all.

Grief demands an answer, but sometimes… there just isn’t one… yea, i know, we try to keep on keeping on, sort of keeping up appearances so people may stop asking us how we are….we say we’re, “doing just great” or “no problem, i’m moving on,” and “Oh yea, i’m having a great day,” ….it seems so many expect us to easily be over our grief, even before the grass grows green over a loved one’s grave….yet there is grief, still clinging to your back seeming to be an emptiness of unbearable weight which allows no rest for the one trying to shoulder it.

The last is anger… it is exhausting and corrosive, we wear it even in our micro-communications to others. Anger hangs on us for the world to see like a bad suit… a dark cloud that follows us around… it is one of the most disfiguring and tiring of all burdens to bear. i heard one fellow allude to an angry man being like a dung beetle ….it finds some animal dung, rolls up a little ball of the stuff, and just rolls it around everywhere it goes, spreading it everywhere, feeding off it, even raising their young in it. We do the same thing, and it prevents the change we so desperately need.

Jesus will take the burden of those four agonies from us if we let Him… we must change and allow God to take our burdens from us… yield to God. Open your hands and let it go, and yes, i know, it’s easier said than done, but in Christ it can be done. Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Change is necessary…and in order for us to be world changers, we must be willing for ourselves to change, and change we must.

How will we come to change? More rules? More laws to keep? No one who says they keep the law actually keeps the law, so going back to doing the law holds no relief from the weight of agony and conflict. Does striving to be even more obedient and being a “better rule-keeper” help us to change? Nooo. In our society today, our government is imposing more and more rules, but the general public is getting more and more unruly and less law-abiding. More rules and laws only increase the load, not lighten the load.

i’ve met so, so many people who go to counseling and take mind-bending pharmaceuticals trying to overcome mental and emotional burdens, only years later, when they try to get free of the drugs and counseling, not only has nothing changed, but in fact, they’ve gone backward from where they were. True, for some it helps, but by far and large, i believe for many, the problem is far more spiritual… additionally, there is a cognitive dissonance going on that is not being addressed. We must change and let God change us. The church, as it is today, cannot keep going the way it is and expect to change the world. Through passion, we ardently claim we are world changers, but change starts with us, in our head and heart, in our own house with our own families.

1 Thessalonians 2:2, “But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.”

The word, “conflict” is the Greek word “agon”, where we get our word for “agony”. The Lord calls us to release our earth-bound agonies to Him, and let Him carry those things, let Him resolve the conflicts.

i believe our greatest contentions are within ourselves… i am the biggest rock in the bottom of my own boat. When anger seems about to devour you, when you are caught in the downpour and deluge of grief, when guilt and blame accuse us day and night, we can say to the Lord who lives, “this is too heavy a burden; please carry it for me.” Remember friends, you have the right to call on the name of Jesus. By His blood He made it possible to approach the throne of grace and make your petition known, being persistent in faith that He hears you and will answer… our request for help is not made to an imaginary friend but to the living Jesus. Ask the Lord for help, the simple word “help” is probably the most powerful prayer to God in the universe.

William D. Strayhorn tells a story about a little boy who was helping his father with some yard work. The man asked the boy to clear some rocks from one part of the yard, and the boy eagerly began the task. Soon he came upon a large rock half buried in the ground that was too heavy to move. The boy heaved and tugged with all of his strength, but was unable to budge the rock. “I can’t do it,” he confessed to his father. The man asked the boy, “Did you use all of your strength?” The boy, visibly spent with perspiration running down his face, looked hurt and replied, “yes I did; I used every bit of strength I have.” The man smiled and said, “No you didn’t; you didn’t ask me to help.” Then the two of them walked over and together pulled the rock out of the dirt.

When change needs to happen and we are stuck in the four agonies somewhere, the first thing we do is call on the name of the Lord for help, and we call…and call…and call…..as often as necessary until things change. Trust Him at His word, He will answer. We can not stay the same and expect things to change.

The Hebrew word for conflict literally means to toss, grapple, to fight, and dispute… meaning there is a conscious argument going on and we’re just letting it ride without resolution… within our own heart we may be settled, but in our head, there is an agony which prevents us from really getting a leg up on change. The Hebrew letters in the word “conflict” reveal “in a man’s head, there is a wrestling effort going on, and it affects the whole house.” , including everyone in the sphere of our influence. The enemy of our soul inspires and propagates grief, blame, guilt, and anger… that means that our conflicts are not simply things we have invented… many of us just buy into our internal conflicts, round and round and round… days going by, and yet we are still not seeing much change in ourselves.

Ephesians 3:16-17, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

i have been asking myself, what then, can we do to shed the four agonies from ourselves so that we would more effectively enter into the presence and practice of the Kingdom of God? Honestly, i don’t have anything like “2 simple ways to avoid blame and guilt”, or “four steps to resolving grief”, or how about, “6 easy ways to not be angry anymore”….it’s truly… not that simple. Furthermore, we need to know that all four of the agonies build on shame, and friends…. if we don’t do something about shame, restoration is very, very difficult. All i know is that Jesus is the only one who can resolve our internal conflicts.

i asked a woman who had, for her entire life, been in a difficult relationship with her mother, how she dealt with blame and guilt, having come from a home where blame and guilt was a common mode of operation. She thought a moment, then said, “I don’t.” i asked if she meant she had good boundaries and her mother’s blame/guilt game just rolled off her back? She said “No… i don’t know what to do with it but keep asking the Lord to help me be released from the imposed responsibility my mom tried to put on me.” She said she has learned to slowly sort out what is her responsibility and what is not. It has taken years, but it is the path the Lord took her on to learn how to not take on burdens that were not hers to bear.

We all must deal with conflict and adversity in life, but when our conflicts and adversities impinge themselves upon us with such intensity as to slow our walk in Christ, we must do something with it. And, think about it.

The church must change, therefore, we as individuals in the church must change. Change without transformation is completely unsatisfactory. We must cease carrying our millstones of guilt while wearing the face of being good soldiers; let God give us good boundaries defining what is our responsibility and what is not, that blame would not get its fingers around our throat; i pray that the grace of God would lift the burden of grief, and kindness would be extended to those grieving hearts, helping them find their feet again; and that the fire of anger, born out of intense internal conflict, would stop being part of our every meal and that our children would not be raised in it anymore. Ultimately, the church needs to change that shame would cease to hang on so many like grave clothes, chaining them in darkness, often confining them to chaos. If we don’t do something with shame, it makes the restoration of broken hearts nearly impossible.

God is going in an upward direction and we must follow. Young people who are raised in church are leaving the congregation around the time they get to their early twenties. Don’t believe me, look at the statistics. Oh sure, they believe in god, but the truth is, they don’t have any particular god in mind. In 2014, at least 4 million people got saved across America, but yet church attendance is… down. Don’t believe me, look at the stats again. The stats beg the question then: Where are those plus 4 million people and why is attendance down? There are several reasons, but primarily i believe it’s because the Jesus they met when they got saved, isn’t the same Jesus they found when they went to church. They found people with all the same unresolved internal conflicts as before they were saved, and the church people, just like the world, seemed to be making no big move to do anything about their agony, just putting on a face, going through the moves, but by far and large, not much changed with themselves, so not much changed with the world around them. Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 1 John 5:3 says God’s commands are not burdensome. Let Jesus lighten your load.

i realize all this talk of change is possibly unpleasant, but sometimes we’ve just gotta talk about stuff that’s not glowing and pleasant, you know… everything can’t always be candy canes, moonbeams, and merry-go-rounds… from time to time, we’ve got to go to the barn and shovel some horse apples to make compost with.

The world is changing and we must change also…simply put, we can’t continue to be like we are and still expect the spiritual climate of our world to change when we, the world changers, don’t want to address our internal conflicts and cognitive dissonance. Jesus is the answer, he is always the answer, and there’s never a time He’s not the answer. Allow the Lord to resolve your conflict, and be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might. Let your light shine this week, be strong and courageous, going forward in Jesus’ name, amen!

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 inn keeper.

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?