During a pressing need to sound spiritual among other spiritually knowledgeable people, i’ve used the word “purpose”, as in praying out loud, “Lord, help us that we would be more involved with your purposes.” But, here lately, the Lord has been addressing my little ideas of what i think He means, and what He really means, thereby giving me clarity on how my perception of Him needs a course change. Sometimes, it’s only a course change in small amounts, and other times it requires i shift my weight all together.

Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” That’s according to God’s will, which includes His preferences and standards. And YES, we can know His will. In fact, there are several places where scripture says, “and this is the will of God…”

What was Paul referring to there in Romans 8:28 when he uses the phrase “the called” and then uses the word “purpose”? From God’s perspective, what does He mean?

Those who hold Jesus as Lord and Savior are “the called”. Matt22:14 says many are called, but there is a difference between “many” who are called, as those who have received an invitation and those who are labeled “the called”. Many are called but few are designated and named. Being believers makes us not only Christians but also in the sense of someone who stands in an office, invited and designated. i think of it as…. the day i accepted Christ was naming day, like the time Adam named all the animals. It was naming day, a day they were designated. To accept the call of God is also to be named, and it means we set another purpose other than our own before ourselves. The very word “purpose” literally means to set something before our heart and eyes, like the show bread was set before the tabernacle. Prothesis is the Greek for our word “purpose”, and stems from the Greek root word wherewith we get our word for “thesis”, and a thesis is a statement put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved. i believe i often think of purpose as something resolved, but in this case the word comes as not only something resolved but calls for the addition of an action verb. So not only is a purpose drawn from God’s preferences and standards, but is a conclusion to a matter for us to take-action to accomplish. Did you hear that? A “conclusion and resolution of a dilemma that we take action over.”

We are “the called” because we have a new purpose after we have received the invitation of God to join Him in His works, gladly stepping into our place in the Kingdom. We are named and designated by God and we hold His preferences and standards in front of us to accomplish with all our breathing, and thinking, all our feeling, and strength. All, not just 10% as a minimal tithe, but all. We bide our time, patiently, with full expectation, trusting and knowing the Lord will do all He says. The word “wait” in vs 25 is a “now” word as a statement of fact. Now, now, now, now and never becomes then until the end of all things, which exclusively conclude at His feet. All my days are before the Lord, and all my days will conclude at His feet, regardless of if i like it or not.

Seeing as how we are the ones named and designated by God, the called, who hold His preferences and standards in front of us to govern all we think and do, His purposes, and seeing as how we know all things conclude at His feet no matter how we cut the pie, knowing these things, how will we walk our days out, knowing every moment and every split second of our lives will rest before the great high King of Heaven? Can we really, truly, actually actually, continue to ignore the call of God? Oh sure, most of us have responded, but what of the rest of the call which is a call to action? What will we do with the rest of His calling? Just because we forget to remember the Lord, and just because we ignore until we no longer hear God calling to us doesn’t mean His calling has ceased. How arrogant of me to think just because “i” can’t hear God must mean He isn’t speaking, or just because “i” don’t believe must mean it isn’t true anymore. God did not cease to invite us, we are the ones who simply can’t hear and don’t respond. It’s like the people who say God doesn’t speak anymore. Ha! That’s such narcissistic, arrogant foolishness.

Here’s what we’re going to do. Because the Spirit makes intercession, we will stand in our designated place at the call of God and make intercession. In vs 27, the words “make intercession” is a “now” verb, and it means now, now, now, now, it does not stop being “now”. It is a word which isn’t episodic or an event, it is an action with an on-and-on motion. Because God hears the faintest cry for help, we will not only hear but will respond. Because the Lord opens His mouth and does justice and stands for right morality, we will stand in our designated place, holding His preferences and standards as the governor for all we breath and do, and we will open our mouths for justice, doggedly standing up for right morality. We will stand with Him, proud of our blood bought heritage. As the called of God, STAND! And after you’ve stood all you can stand, stand therefore.

Hey now. i want to talk to you for a minute. We men seem to often have a really tangled idea in our heads about our wives. As if you couldn’t have guessed, this is mostly directed to men, but if anyone else is listening, please continue. If you are married or have a girlfriend, this program is directed at you, and myself, of course.

Instead of seeing yourself as the king, as the “head of your house”, as if you are someone to be served because you are, “the man”, we really need to start seeing ourselves as God sees us, as the husbands we are. Ephesians 5:25, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”.  The Lord is our example, and i feel certain His desire is that we would act as He does. God never shoves or deceives us like some bully, and your wife is no one to push around and manipulate either. Think of yourself as a frame and she’s the picture. The job of a frame is to give definition to the boundaries of the picture, and i don’t mean boundaries in the sense of the ones you set for her, so much so that she can’t even put pictures of your kids on FB, or else you will relentlessly emotionally hold her in contempt. Who do you think you are to think you can control someone like that? In secret, you don’t control yourself like that, yet you’re OK with making the effort to control her like that. And i realize she does this and she does that, but this isn’t about her, it’s about you. Regardless of where she is, the question is, where are you?

Your wife is someone to guard closely and retain a watch over, someone to hedge around, protect and attend, attend meaning to nurture, like someone growing a garden, not hang her out to dry when you are displeased. Again, she is like a garden. We should cause her to prosper, prune, get the bugs off, and fertilize, causing her to be fruitful. Not “fence in and prevent”, but “cause to prosper and be fruitful.” Oh, i get it. Some of us men think her job is to please us and she should fear us if we are displeased. It’s not all about you. Jesus died for your sins and designated you to be the head of your household for teaching, defining by your right actions, with kind honesty, and tender transparency. Honest, accountable, transparent, and emotionally available. Adam, regardless of any unknown reasons, when God came around calling for them in the garden, what did Adam do? He said, “It was the woman you gave me.” He threw Eve under the bus as the reason for his own actions. “It was Eve’s fault” huh? That’s victim thinking. And i believe many are still throwing Eve under the bus too! We men make rules for them we, ourselves, aren’t willing to keep. That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?

Sure, i realize some women are difficult, just like some men, they’re all just people. But, what if she feels isolated and alone because you don’t talk to her, and because you control and even tell her where she can go and who she can talk to? You KNOW she thrives on communications and dreams of right authority. She’s the one who came to the table with dreams of “the one”, and most men seem to have a dream of “this one” and “that one”. You restrict so much of what’s going on with her, and act more like a jailer than a husband who cultivates a garden. Well, let me ask you, what is it about her that scares you so much? Are you afraid she’ll have an idea before you do, and then you won’t appear as the head of the household? That’s monotoned and thin-thinking. It’s not her fault you’re uncomfortable in your own skin. God said we ARE the head of our house, not should be but are. So in light of that, we’ve got to become better leaders if we’re going to lead.  Why are you so threatened by her? Is it her emotional momentum that throws you off? It’s not her fault you are pressured by her emotions, it’s you who aren’t secure in yourself, and rather than you step up, you demand she step down. Is it possible she isn’t out of control, but you’re the one upset about things when you feel challenged in your masculinity? C’mon my friend, you’re the husband of one wife, a father, or at least a potential father, of children, and a soldier in the army of the Living God who is listening to hear Him breathe. i believe in you. God believes in you. But being a soldier and father shouldn’t oppose each other, in fact, one should help the other be a better leader. Stop using her as an excuse for your behavior.

And from another angle, years ago i was reminded by religious higher-ups in their quoting Ephesians 5:25-26,  “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” That’s the truth for sure, it is part of the husbands responsibility to give his life for his wife as Christ gave His for the church, but the unspoken part is that it’s her job to not take advantage of him, manipulating while he is laying down his life. Yet, again, this isn’t about her, it’s about you. YOU give up YOUR life, you are responsible.

Authority and influence are like man and wife. A verb needs an object to act on, making the noun the beautiful bride of the verb. The noun can stand alone but is always more beautiful and complete when the verb describes it, like a frame borders and supports a picture. Marriage of a man and a woman are like the marriage of authority and influence. The man is the authority and the woman is the influence. He has a verb in his middle and she has a noun in her middle, the man “cleaves”, “cleave” being a action verb in Genesis 2:24, and the woman “desires”, which, in this case, is a noun, Genesis 3:16.

Authority frames the beauty of righteous influence. Don’t you know she desires and literally runs after right authority, craves authority, loves to be under right authority, and is most comfortable when fully yielded and exposed to right authority. When a man and woman waltz, the man is like a frame, framing the picture, the woman. The woman is like a picture, made beautiful by her frame, the man. Rather than put your hands around her neck to control her, why don’t you be the one to stand up and be counted as honest and transparent, and grow her and your family like a man working to prosper them, not control them? Isn’t that fabulous idea?

There comes a time in the lifespan of any believer when there seems to be no wind, no inspiration, no motivation, we don’t know what to pray, and maybe even all purpose for praying is a vacuum of sorts. Oh bother, what to do what to do?

When i was young, more than once i was told i was too much of a dreamer. Even then i can remember thinking, “i’m supposed to not be a dreamer, but how does the future happen without a dream?” Yea, more conflicting words in my head. There was a civil war in my head between dreaming and how to live with conflicting words, like “what will people think of you?”, and, “If things aren’t moving in your life, you must be on the outs with God.” Those words were like ropes binding my feet, and i got stuck at the intersection of condemnation and freedom. It feels like having God open the prison doors but then not being able to move beyond the same open door because of all the negative leaning “what if’s”.

Everything in life nowadays seem so instant, and when we have to wait, into our heads comes the words of some well-meaning person saying, “Something is wrong. It shouldn’t take God this long to reply. Something is wrong!” Oh, and don’t you know it’s easy to glibly tell someone that the Lord will reply “in the fullness of time.” But before you get all wound up, think. How long did Abraham and Sarah wait for the arrival of their promised heir, Isaac? God first revealed to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations when he called him to leave his country and go to the land God would show him. Abraham was 75 years old. Fifteen years later, when Abraham was 90, God renewed his promise. Ten years later, at age 100, Abraham and Sarah finally had their son. That’s a total of twenty-five years before “the fullness of time.” 25years! Usually, if we have to wait 25 minutes, we start having anxiety about why “nothing” is happening. So, let me ask you my friend, Is nothing actually happening? How do you know what God is doing where you can’t see? In the book The Shack, there’s a scene where Papa is laying in a lawn chair in the sun. Mack comes by and makes a smart remark, something like, “Oh, i see even God has time to lay in the sun,” wherewith Papa squints up at him with one eye and says, “You have no idea what i’m doing.”

When i’ve gone to the Post Office and there’s a long line, it is not unusual to hear someone remark that the clerks are oh, so, slow. The anxiety of waiting triggers people to look around for someone to blame for being inconvenienced because they are having to wait. Occasionally, i have chimed in saying, “I’m in this Post Office every day, enough so, that i’ve done time studies concerning the average time each person spends at the window. i can assure anyone that it’s not the clerk who is slow, but more us who aren’t prepared.” Silence typically follows that. We seem to need to blame someone when we are inconvenienced because it doesn’t appear anything is moving along.

At the end of the book of John, Peter and the guys decided to go fishing, maybe because they couldn’t think of what else to do, so they just went back to work. After all, it appeared nothing was happening.

In Acts, how long did they wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit? Remember, Jesus had said to them, “I send the promise of my Father on you, but stay in Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power from on high.” How long did they wait for this mystery to occur? Fifty long days. Don’t you think there was a lot of debating and questioning, like, “Why do we have to wait like this?” i’d bet they thought all sorts of things. “Did we miss God?” “Did we misunderstand Jesus?” “Maybe that wasn’t really Jesus.” “i’ve got stuff to do, why am i sitting around here, waiting on the wind to blow?” In Acts 1:4 the Lord said, “Do not depart”, in other words, “Don’t depart your mission. Be still.” He knew they could easily get their shorts in knot, lose sight of their mission, and wander off like sheep which see no reason to keep standing around, reasoning within themselves that Jesus went to the Father, and it appeared nothing was happening. “I guess it’s over. Oh well. Might as well go home.”

While we’re waiting on “the fullness of time”, metaphorically feeling like we’re in the middle of the ocean with no tides, and no wind, consider to yourself: In our impatience and need for things to move in order to feel like God is doing stuff, we don’t notice the small things if we’re always in motion. Although we are often unwilling to wait on the Lord, He is wisely giving us time to take care of the “back office stuff” which often goes unresolved because we’re so occupied. We easily miss the beauty of the day, or the little endearing words of our children, a spouse or friend. In our anxiety of waiting, those types of things are SO easily missed. Maybe we should take advantage of God’s opportunities which include waiting, rather than resenting our having to be still. A few minutes, hours, or even days will not make much difference in God’s economy and deliberately slowing down allows us to get into step for what the Lord is doing next.

What do you think?

Jesus said, “The poor will always be with us.” My idea of poor and God’s idea of poor don’t line up well many times. Somehow, i’ve gotten it in my head that to say someone is poor, immediately into my mind springs the vision of someone who lives day to day, has no property or possessions, with their only collateral being the clothes on their back.

Poverty is more than simply not having stuff. God’s use of the word varies, but much of the time it can mean thin and deprived of righteousness, afflicted in our thinking, defenseless against unprofitable decision making, destitute of good ethics, morals, and principles. To say someone is poor also includes being absent of spiritual prosperity, vanished strength, missing courage, and so absent of spiritual gifts that we cry out to God, which is poor, as in not fruitful. And the greatest poverty is “without Christ”. Poor, in the sense of not being near to the Lord. With God is prosperous, without God is poverty. Poverty is definitely having to do with social and economic conditions, but i believe the Lord is additionally speaking to something much more broad than simply not having stuff.

In order to understand prosperity, we also have to look at poverty and i believe the Lord has laid out what His idea of prosperity is in order that we would also understand what it does NOT look like. There is a difference between being humble with few possessions, and being afflicted and deprived, socially defenseless and subject to oppression, victims of infringements. To complicate the issue as to the difference between humble and poor, Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. In English, one idea of poor is to have no possessions, but yet, He said, “blessed are the poor in spirit.” What in the world is He talking about?

In this case it means “to bow down timidly, as in someone who is beggarly and understands they are so destitute, God alone is their only hope and help. That could be someone who has nothing or someone who has everything, both ends of the spectrum can be poor. It’s a picture of being humble in our spirits, so if we put the word “humble” in place of the word “poor,” the meaning becomes clearer. In other words, when we come to God, we must realize our fallen state, along with our spiritual emptiness and poverty. We must not be self-satisfied or proud in our hearts, thinking we don’t really need God. If we do, it certainly restricts any prosperity He would extend us. Can you imagine trying to give someone a gift, but they are busy saying they don’t need it because they can make do with all they have? The Bible says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. The Lord holds up a cautionary flag about being empty and impoverished in our souls and urges us to pursue spiritual wealth instead.

Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When we feel cold and uninspired, when we can’t seem to find our heart, i say go find your treasure, because i guarantee, your heart is laying around there somewhere. Look at what you value and you can get a good idea about what is most important to you.

Another common view of “the poor” is someone who is paralyzed by feeling useless, worthless, and unworthy.

“i’m just a poor old sinner man, just pumping out sin all day long, even in my sleep. i sin when i’m awake, sin when i don’t mean to, and sin when i’m asleep. It’s just hopeless, what’s the point?”

i feel quite strongly that to rise above that is not about building up our self-esteem, recognizing our own excellence. That’s not what God says. The Lord didn’t say to stop putting yourself down because the truth is you’re so well spoken, He said, “Stop looking at your own corruptness and look at me.” If you’re always looking down, all you can see is the ground. The Lord made our mouth and He promises to help us find the words which make a difference. Look at Jesus and live. The answer to thinking too little of ourselves isn’t in thinking too much of ourselves. Being poverty stricken is every bit as poor as lounging in elevated self-esteem, they are both poor.

Consider: There are two types of poverty here: there is the poverty which settles upon someone who won’t work, and the kind which is upon someone like an orphan who has no recourse but to beg. In Mark 12:42, the widow gave one sad little copper coin, which was a beggar’s tithe, possibly being seen by others as pitiful and poor. But from God’s vantage point, the one who judges according to the heart, she was richer than all the rest put together. She was a picture of prosperity from God’s view of things.

In John 12 a woman poured very expensive ointment on the head of Jesus, and rather than appreciate the value of the gift from her heart, Judas Iscariot scolded her, suggesting she “could have” done this, and “should have” done that. He was basically saying her gift was a waste and she was just stupid. God saw differently though. He knew her humility and understood that she did what she did in worship and praise of God from whom all blessings flow. The critic of her actions was actually the one who was poor, and he was also the one who held the money. That’s pretty arrogant for the guy with the most money to complain about someone’s gift to God only because it deprived them of adding to their own money bags.

The poor will always be with us, not just the ones who don’t own anything, but also those who are far from God without right principles, good morals, or excellent ethics.

What do you think?

Recently, a man says to me, “Why do we so often defer to anyone and everyone except God?”

You know, that’s a real good question. Why do we do that? National Geographic has published several articles in the last year which consistently made scientists out as having discovered everything from the origins of the universe, to the source of happiness. The titles, as advertised on the cover, would lead anyone to believe archeologists and scientists have found the true source of everything, yet when you read the article, the writer is careful to use words like, “probably”, “maybe”, “it’s possible”, “we think it might be likely”. The articles almost always exclude God in any fashion, and point the reader to everything NOT God. Through that kind of publishing people are influenced to defer to scientists, archeologists, their family doctor, college professors, or even the pastor of their church, virtually anyone above God. Why?

In the Hebrew word used in Leviticus 19:15, scripture reads, “You shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” For “defer” or “deference” in this case, it doesn’t mean to prolong or procrastinate but to hold another up above others. In the word itself, God has hidden a more specific explanation, meaning that when we defer to another, we are making a conscious choice to open to God for life, or to be closed to Him for our own alienation. The word represents a giant life-determining fork in the road as the beginning of greatness or the beginning of degradation. The path of our lives have many intersections, many circling back to the main road, and some which lead off into only God knows where. Who we choose to defer to isn’t a small fork in the road but a major, galactic intersection. It may seem small that little five letter word “defer”, but the direction we aim our feet determines our heart and mind set, and is easily seen in how we conduct ourselves and the details of our lives. Who or what we defer to influences what we see and hear, and the more we are influenced, the more we steer toward our deference’s. Jesus said in Matthew 13:12, to those who have, more will be given, and to those who have not, even what they have will be taken away. That’s like saying, the more we go towards the influence of our deference’s, the more we’ll be influenced by those we defer to.

In the end, either we defer to God or we defer to the world. i don’t believe for a second that we can defer to God a little and the world a little. In our heart of hearts, many seem to believe there is some sort of middle of the road of faith … i think that’s called being “luke warm”, which is to never really buy into all the Lord has, and never really buy into all the world offers without God. And i can say with confidence, there isn’t anyone smart enough to do life without Jesus. Regardless of what we may think, there really are only two choices, Heaven or hell. Whose side are you on? It’s the same question God asked Adam in the garden when He said, “Where are you?” He wasn’t asking for a geographical location, He was asking, “Who’s side are you on buddy? My side or the devil’s side?” It was a choice Adam and Eve made, consciously choosing to defer to the snake over the word of the Lord.

For what reason do we often defer to anyone but God? Anger? Unbelief? Self-centeredness? Hurt? Indifference? Probably all of those and more if we’re honest.

In my efforts to not be hurt by others, the enemy often accuses me of being indifferent, and i’ve struggled with believing i actually was. Here of late, i’ve discovered something though. i know i defer to God with all my heart and i’m peddling my little tricycle just as hard as i can go in the name of Jesus, but yet i struggle with believing i’m indifferent versus caring too much. i’ve realized my apparent nonchalance is not indifference, but trust. i’ve also realized my own tendency to go over the top to maintain favor, or to defer to everyone i encounter, being Mr. Go-Along-To-Get-Along. Often, i find myself among others in ministry who are viciously, while smiling, competing for roles of power, working day and night to build an incredible Christian resume. They seem to operate under the theological assumption that they use their gifts for the greatest opportunities to the fullest capacity, which results in success driven leadership. We defer to them because they often “imply” to us, in the way they treat others and how they present themselves, that we should defer to them … and we even defer to that implication, thinking it is “the way you’re supposed to do this thing”. We need to defer to God instead of deferring to someone who has a knack of turning everything into an emergency where they are the only ones who are skilled firefighters.

i say we should defer to God and God alone. Not what does your pastor or some scientist think, but what does God think? Like when Elijah encountered the dry bones. The Lord asked, “What do you see”, Elijah’s heart was revealed in his deferring to God by his reply of, “You know Lord, You know.”

Ask yourself, how much effort do you spend, making sure you maintain that other person’s favor in order to keep the relationship? If you didn’t defer to them, would they still be onboard with you? In our society, our identity is measured by our contribution, and it’s actually easier than we think to translate our standing with God to a platform of performance. It feels more like a contortion than deferring. Believe me, “they” don’t “know”, but God does and He’s the only one we should defer to, first and last as a habit.

What do you think?

Church – an essay

What is this thing we do?

Not too long ago, someone in a group conversation asked,

“Do I really, truly, have to go to church?”

Continue reading →

Counsel And Exhortation (the doctrine of Instruction)

           Proverbs 12:20, “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.” It seems these days there’s a lot of people who like to offer lots of counsel, whether or not anyone asked them for their counsel! For me, i’m still working on filtering the words I let into my mind and heart, i’m learning, sometimes hourly, how to constantly guard my heart by not allowing poor counsel to stick to me.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation just for you wherever you are. The days in which we live are increasing in darkness and increasing in light as the in-breaking Kingdom of God invades this downward spiraling world. Let us exercise our minds to consider carefully the counsel and exhortation of God. Again, friends, lazy thinkers don’t get far. We desperately need a standard. Let us study the word of the Lord, not so we can strut around because we know some-thing, but so we can go in peace because we know some-one, THE someone who is above all and supersedes the authority of all kings and princes of the earth.

This evening, the doctrine of instruction and is the last of a four part series, the doctrine of influence – or impact and significance; the doctrine of impulse – being inclination and motivation; the doctrine of direction – our set and bearing; and now counsel and exhortation, or the doctrine of instruction.

What is good counsel and right exhortation, and why do you trust the people who give that to you? What’s your epistemology, or what you believe, how you came to that conclusion, and why do you think it’s a good idea? And we can be mad and offended that we would be asked such a pointed question, but in the end, the question still stands, what do you believe, how did you came to that conclusion, and why do you think it’s a good idea?

i must admit, i’ve allowed a lot of words take up way, I mean waaaaay, too much space in my head and heart from people who didn’t have joy or peace in their lives, and honestly, i question if they really possessed the desire to allow the Lord to be the motivation of their words. Maybe the words I chose to let take root in my mind and heart have been there way too long without my questioning the wisdom behind them. Here are two phrases for us to ponder concerning how we hear God: cognitive bias and incognitive bias. Those two addresses the little conscious and unconscious preferences in us which turn the word of the Lord in to something God never intended.

We all have the counsel of other people rattling around in our heads, and the truth is, we can only grasp just so much of it all. i am a finite person with finite thinking abilities and typically only function beyond finite when Jesus, the infinite King, is involved in my life. i think we have to remember that all those words in our heads, they take up space, and it truly is space which belongs to God’s word and His counsel. Friends, in a world which wants to overwhelm us with godless counsel, vision, and exhortation, we should determinedly strive for God’s counsel, vision, and exhortation to flood our mind and heart. I want His words to define my life and my choices. We are either defined by the world, or defined by God, either way, we WILL be defined by someone or something, and i believe God’s defining is the best choice.

Because i am human, much of the time, i must admit, i’ve let other people’s counsel influence my thinking. On a side note of sorts, i have thought that many people often give counsel to others that is really meant to make the advice-giver feel better about a decision they made to make themselves feel important. If advice comes from a self-serving place, it’s end is nowhere i want to be. Pride and entitlement will always put us in the wrong place.

i am always making war on my own religiousness, and as a result i’m getting better at hearing my words before i give my words. i don’t want to join the ranks of those who seem to have the gift of unsolicited counsel and hand out advice in order to sound good or appear important thereby getting credit for themselves. We want to hand out Godly wisdom, Godly counsel, and Godly exhortation at the right time to the right person, for the right reason.

John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

And if you’re wondering just exactly what things the Lord has spoken to you, i suggest He has been speaking to you l-o-n-g before you were aware He was speaking to you. Think. Remember when you were a child and you would suddenly have moments of clarity about doing the right thing, possibly feeling the sudden necessity to tell the truth, or a sudden urge to be kind, or maybe, just maybe, you would find yourself with wisdom to not do something dangerous or harmful to others. Where do you think those motivations came from? Do you think the devil would prompt you like that, or maybe it was just the shear excellence of character you possessed?

Maybe, but i’d rather cast my vote for the Lord intervening in your life. He was the one counselling you, even before you believed. If you were interested, you could ask Him to show you the times He intervened and counseled you before you were aware God was even God. You know, these ARE the days that if you ask Him, He will reply. Here’s another idea: for those who are believers, the Holy Spirit is so close to us, He gives us ideas and we think we thought of them.

Good counsel and wisdom is like gold, and many times it’s just hard to get your hands on. When we find a friend who has Godly exhortation brimming in their pockets, we need to hold on to someone like that. The Lord put that person in your path for a reason. Oh and remember, Godly exhortation doesn’t mean just hearing positive, pleasant words which confirm your personal agenda. Listen and think about what was said. No one said we have to receive everything anyone says. Whether or not we allow someone else’s counsel to persuade us is absolutely our responsibility. It is up to us as to the counsel we allow into our hearts, and we should take all words captive, and consider them carefully before we let them roll around in our heads. There are a lot of people who may feel they have a “word from the Lord for us”, but, again, it is our responsibility as to whether we let them stick to us.

Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Here’s an expansion of that verse: Friends, this is good and right counsel, anything or everything that supports and confirms the cross, whatever lets the glory of God in the door or your house bringing freedom, everything that points to the righteousness of the Lord, all that inspires us to be crowned with His goodness and is clean and sound doctrine, everything or anything which is hospitable and pleasant, all right action making you favorably mentioned and well-spoken of, whatever is of substance and inspires you to be willing to righteousness, if there is anything which causes you to open your hand to the poor, to share your bread with the hungry and downtrodden, consider and think on these things which you have seen of me, and practice them all as your life’s action items. If you do this, the God of peace will be with you.

If the words rolling around in the hallways and rooms of our mind don’t meet the criteria of good, lovely, commendable, honorable, upright, clean, and faithful, then we’ve got to show those words their exit, not even being allowed to stay hidden for a secret time in the future. If someone in your life fills your ears with unkind criticism, manipulative or coercive word patterns, and we do have to learn to see the patterns, don’t even stand still to listen. Ask the Lord to show you any truth in them, then give them the boot out of your head to the trash can. If internet videos or TV shows fill your thoughts with ideas that don’t honor the beauty of marriage, kindness, honor, and respect, don’t even stand still to allow it in your eyes or ears, ask the Lord to purge them from your mind and replace them with His perspective.

Whatever counsel fills your mind, may you only give heart-space to that which brings the joy and peace of the Lord. No one is smart enough to run their own lives. We all need the Holy Spirit to guide and help us discern all that is passing in front of us, trusting only that which would draw us nearer to Jesus. Again, as was in a previous program, if it leads us to God, it must have been sent by God, for only the Lord can lead us to Himself.

Why don’t we receive or accept the counsel of the Lord more often? Isn’t that just a perplexing question? Well, it is to me anyway. Often in my life, God has extended me His counsel and exhortation and reasons unknown to me, i was indifferent in my heart, cold and distant to the love of God. i’m supposed to be this long-standing believer of the gospel of Christ, yet i can sometimes feel the dark edges of unbelief crowding out faith and common sense. It isn’t that the Lord doesn’t give us His wisdom, but i think we wash back and forth in the flow and tides, in the time and seasons between interest and disinterest. His hands of wisdom and supply are consistently open to us, but why we don’t take from His hands more often, accepting what He gives to us, i honestly don’t know, unless it is, again, unbelief which works in us somehow. i don’t know what is going on in my heart sometimes, and i do understand the eternal importance of heeding the Lord, but why, oh why do i, sometimes, become seemingly indifferent? If you were honest with yourself, does that ever happen to you? Can you relate?

In the world we live in, living and dying is just part of life. Everything which draws breath finds it’s end, even the things which aren’t born, like inanimate objects, they eventually decline and are reduced to rubble, ceasing to be as they were if given enough time. We celebrate the birth of one, and mourn and grieve at the death of another. No one can outwit death. Yet, living in our hearts is Jesus Christ, who faced down death, hell, and the grave, He didn’t just outwit death as if He might fail at some great game of chance, no, He championed over death from before the beginning, and put His foot on the neck of death at the end. Jesus literally used death to defeat death.

If, living in our hearts is someone so great as Jesus Christ, what is our problem with receiving and practicing His instruction? Lack of clarity? Is it really God who is not clear or is it us in our misunderstanding, our incognitive biases, or being indifferent?  Is it our own unbelief that we simply can’t hardly believe God could be so good to us, or is it that we claim God doesn’t make sense so, without in-depth investigation, we just go our way in our own little world, flipping our hand up, saying over our shoulder, “What ever!”? Is it shear rebellion and we don’t really care sometimes? Maybe we’ve spent so much time chasing answers that make no difference and can’t be found that we are exhausted somewhere deep in our souls, using that as a reason to not hear God’s counsel and exhortation? Tom Skinner wrote, “I spent a long time trying to come to grips with my doubts, when suddenly I realized I had better come to grips with what I believe. I have since moved from the agony of questions I cannot answer, to the reality of answers that I cannot escape . . .”

Psalm 16:7, “I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.” i thank God for His counsel. Yep, i’m saying this again: Nobody, nobody is smart enough to run their own life. i find that statement to always be before me lately, and it doesn’t mean i need some man or woman to tell what to do, it means i need God’s wisdom, counsel, and exhortation in order to do life. That phrase is the counsel of the Lord, it’s an exhortation to seek Him out and ask His opinion about everything, above anyone else’s counsel. Jesus said, to come to Him as little children, He didn’t say come to Him and be childish, but come as little children, meaning wide eyed with wonder, willing to sit with Him and listen to what He has to say. Again, i am not smart enough, and do not have what it takes to run my own life, so after having failed time and time again because i ignored God, finally, only in the last few years do i feel like i’m listening to God’s counsel more than ever before. And you know, things have started going really well. Storms have come and gone, but inside me, things are well with my soul.

We need to depend, exclusively on God’s direction, His counsel and exhortation. No one else knows what He knows, sees what He sees, nor loves and cares for us like our God. Jeremiah 10:23, “I know, O Lord, that the way of a man is not his: neither is it in a man to walk, and to direct his steps.” i think, even from hundreds of years ago, even then the wise and insightful knew, they knew, nobody is able to run their own lives. We need help, we need God’s counsel and exhortation. There is truly no other help beside the Lord, and fortunately for us, He is also the best help there can be.

i believe most people probably ask for the Lord’s guidance and exhortation, and they’ve got a list of wants and self-determined needs they fully believe are of the utmost importance, in fact their list becomes the primary focus. i’m not saying they aren’t concerned about others, or the things on their list are unimportant because they are, nor am i saying most people aren’t concerned about situations beyond their own door step. What i am saying is their own personal list, typically, is a priority above everything else. God’s counsel becomes something people want for their own happiness and fulfillment so life will just flow along smoothly like riding on a long straight stretch of smooth highway. And who wouldn’t want that? i doubt anyone prays for dark storms and a dangerous path with any sincerity. And if they do, i don’t think that prayer will be prayed more than once. Life is difficult enough without asking the Lord to purposely make our way dangerous and heavy with trials.

This may seem a little abrupt to some, but, if we’ll look at the subject of most passages of scripture where the Lord gives us His direction and His will, well, you’ll see that our own happiness and all those details we are so often occupied with are secondary. Our pre-occupation, selfie-focused-leaning typifies the shallow thinking of a society that is truly out of touch with the purposes of the living God and how He works. Some believers may think i’m being negative, but look up, beyond where your own feet are. Look and think. What do you see of the world around us, including church? We are a consumer-oriented society bent on our own convenience, comfort and pleasure, and God has much greater goals in mind. Actually, convenience and comfort have become and idol to us.

What do we get in God’s counsel and exhortation? i suppose first it is important to say something about what it is. It is more than mere words formed by our lips and air. They are words infused with the very person of Christ, meaning His counsel is alive and active. His counsel and exhortation is something we must take action to grasp and hold to our heart, something from the Lord we consume in order to redeem and elevate our fallen state. His counsel and exhortation is offered to us to not only lift us above a fallen world and to achieve the purposes of His heart, but also for us to offer to those who don’t know Jesus yet, it is wisdom for, what some would call, the “fallen sparks”. To “consume” counsel means we take it into ourselves and digest it. God’s counsel may not go far on our behalf unless we accept and do something with it. We may not like His wise counsel, but it is always the best option, every time.

The way the Hebrew word for counsel is spelled points, once again, to prudence, seeing life with both eyes, employing practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is the likely outcome. Wise counsel is not necessarily built on a lot of words, wise counsel is like “the little which holds much”, it is a ray of light to separate some things and other times God’s counsel serves to connect others. The Hebrew word for counsel points to three nouns, thought, speech, and action, where thought sets the scene and how we relate to the world around us, speech expresses our thought and inner feelings, and action means we put the counsel in motion. Another angle on counsel is concerning us passing out counsel to others. Consider this, and if you hear nothing else, hear this: our lips are a natural boundary, and it is an act of leadership on our part to regulate what comes out of our mouth. Do you hear me? James 3:5, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” That scripture is no fooling around.

The counsel and exhortation of the world, even when it looks positive and encouraging, due to its unrelenting vacuum and void of God, eventually leads us down to the pit. With the counsel and exhortation of the Lord we gain a hand up, a grip and firm path to set our feet on, for all the promises of God in Him are yes and in Him, amen, all His counsel and exhortation work to the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. Without His counsel and exhortation there is no hand up, nothing to grip to nor any firm path for our feet.

In the O.T., under the law, the exhortation of the Lord was typically a warning, words filled with the idea of “watch out, be careful, and don’t”. In the N.T., under grace, exhortation is comforting, consoling, encouraging, and usually refers to the pursuit of Christian ethics in day–to-day living. It is letting God’s counsel, the heavenly perception that is most precious, be connected to our heart. Friends, let the Lord’s counsel and exhortation in the door of your house, yield and allow His words to persuade you.

As believers we are to live godly lives here and now, and there is supposed to be a noticeable difference between our former behavior and our present existence.

The Lord counsels us to recognize we were sometimes darkness, but now we are light in the Lord, meaning now that we are children of the Light, then walk like children of the Light.

So, is the Lord, God or not? Say? Yea, i’m asking you. Say? Is the Lord, God or not? If He is, then act like it.

Friends, God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness, and if we disregard God’s counsel we will soon come to growing shadows in our lives. We are counseled and exhorted to love the Lord with all our breathing, all our thinking, all our feeling and all our forward momentum, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, which means we have to learn to forgive ourselves that we would also forgive our neighbor. For the glory of God, just like Jesus welcomes us, we should welcome one another, walking in wisdom toward those outside the House of God, and make good use of our time, practicing our prudence. Learn to be the kind of leaders who are always gracious, well acquainted with the values of the Lord so we’ll know how to answer those around us.

The counsel and exhortation of the Lord is to treat your employees, friends and family well, be kind and generous to them. God is generous and we should be generous also. Open your hand in prosperity to those whom you serve and who you are served by. God’s counsel to us is – if we know anyone in missions or serving in the field in another country or even in your own town, watch the vision of the Spirit, be watchful in your prayers for them, be consistent and repeatable to speak to the Lord on their behalf that He would open doors for them to speak the gospel, declaring the mystery of Christ, that they would be clear, and speak as they ought to speak.

This is God’s counsel and exhortation: pay attention to your own salvation, and do it with dedication, reverence and sensitivity to God’s leading. And when you’re in your work-a-day world, do it all without whining, grumbling, and complaining, dreaming of being somewhere else, wishing God would do something other than what He’s doing. Friends, be morally whole with solid integrity, righteous and just in the eyes of God and the world, as children of God, spotless in the middle of a crooked and twisted people. If we’ll do that we’ll shine like the sun. Above all, the ultimate counsel and exhortation of the Lord is from John 13:34-35, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Think about it friends, roll all this around in your head and think about it.

The entire Bible comprises God’s counsel and exhortation to us, it is a written version of our “doctrine of instruction”. Think about it, what an incredible book. Don’t get me wrong here, i still have plenty of unanswered questions about it, but those questions are true “feather-weights” compared to the “heavy-weight” truth about this supernatural book. Consider this:

Its is 66 different books which were written by at least 39 different authors, separated by as much as 1600 years or more, in different cultures and in three different languages. It is the bestselling book on the planet, ever. We have more evidence that the Bible we have today is what was written originally than any other historical document of its age or older. The Bible we have today actually has far fewer translational errors than other works which aren’t as old.

Science continues to prove (rather than disprove) its historical accuracy. And its central theme remains clear: The heart of God wants to know and be known. He loves mankind and wants to redeem men and women to Himself. It tells us how to live, how to separate out real from unreal. It gives us everyday life directions on how to best succeed, find joy and fulfillment, and live with power and healing. It gives us hope in the face of death, peace in times of trouble, and leads us to Jesus who died and rose from the dead that we would be free and have life more abundantly. Friends, it contains the best set of blueprints for building a home, a marriage and family that I’ve ever seen. Cover to cover, it is God’s written counsel and exhortation for us to live by.

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

Support for the program came from Winfield at Miller’s Laundry, Valley Hill Barber Shop, Longview Video Works, The Mebane Freedom League with Allan, Kevin, and Tommy, Little Laurel at Jump Off Rock Gift Shop, and the fine folks at Tempo Music. Let’s not forget our dear friends, Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

God’s counsel and exhortation is extended to us because the Lord our God wants us to succeed, Jesus gave His life so we could live, becoming shining lights in a dark place. Yahweh is on your side, every day, all the time.

Be strong and courageous this week. Stand your ground and hold tight to the Word of God. In the light of the face of Jesus, there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain. Drive carefully, practice your prudence with diligence and i’ll talk to you next time. Amen.