Our view of God is too small.

i think most of us, as a whole, have not really given ourselves to God’s process of transforming our lives as much as we might think. Regardless of what we like to dream or believe, we can’t live without Jesus for there is no other life in the universe, meaning there is no real transformation without God’s intervention.

The closer we get to the Lord the more we understand that our God is so much larger than we have imagined, but how do we get closer unless the Lord draws us? Generally, our closeness to God depends on our pursuit of Him, and also is totally at His discretion. If He does not draw us to Himself, we will not be drawn. Here’s something though which my eyes were opened to, as discovered in a, seemingly, odd question. A fellow who comes to our little Bible study asked, “Does God dream?” In the moment, the question sort of stood the room on its ear. My first thought was, “Why does it matter?” … then, “Who can know such a thing?”… and then there came a multitude of questions into my ears which sounded like me evading the question. Then God kicked into gear and asked me, “Yea, do I dream?” Well, let me tell you, as it turned out it was a very leading question. What do you think? Does God dream?

Ok, so, the Greeks had all sorts of words to describe varying degrees of “seeing” “sight” and “gazing”. To the Hellenistic Greek mind, as best i understand it, visions happened in sleep mode, or during sleep. To the Greek and Hebrew mind, sleep was NOT a “deactivation of their organs of sense”, but, where they differed was that in Greek thinking, to sleep was “to be shut up in your own world” and if you said you’d had a vision yet weren’t asleep, they described the concept as “sleeping with open eyes”. Evidently, from the platform of Hellenistic Greek, sleeping was a pre-requisite to having visions. They felt that if you weren’t sleeping, eyes open or closed, you couldn’t have a vision. No sleeping, no vision. You with me so far?

In Hebrew though, “to sleep” and “to dream” was sharply differentiated from the Greek, in that the Hebrews saw dreams and sleep as … opportunity for revelation, whereas the Greeks saw dreams merely associated, or connected with sleep. So, from the Greek standpoint, the question, “Does God dream” would have to be answered as “No”, considering He never sleeps according to Psalm121:3-4. But from the Hebrew standpoint, “Does God dream?” would be answered “Yes”, in that the Lord has “envisioned us” in order to conceptualize us, for the purpose of bringing us and our redemption into reality. AND … i believe He “dreams of us” as a lover would dream of their beloved.

Like the Hebrews, i consider my place of “dreams and visions” as exclusively belonging to the Lord, it is included as part of my Shalom place, my safe space with God. Is He God or not? If He is, i need to act like it. Our view of God is too small. The enemy may attack, but the Lord is the standard, and the enemy is not allowed in my “Shalom Place” by the blood of Jesus which stands guard over me as i sleep, or by permission from God.

i think Christianity today, typically connects visions and dreaming with sleep due to the overwhelming influence of Greek Hellenism.

The Greek idea in the N.T. is that “i am over here, the Lord is over there. i stand on my side and look at Him over there on His side.” In Job 7:14, and 20:8, the first letter of the word for “Dream” is a letter, which in this case, is a “doorway of life”, meaning that from the Hebrew viewpoint, we don’t stand over “here” and look at God over “there”, we go through the door and join with Him. To “join with Him” means on the same road, going in the same direction, on the same side of the road, so close His face is in my face, together. In the Greek mind, as is in much of Christianity today, there was and always will be a divide between man and God and we have a difficult time thinking of ourselves as “one” with Christ. But the Hebrews saw themselves as able to actually join with the Lord, to not only cross over to where God is, but to actually participate in all the Lord is and does … as one person with Him. In Job’s use of the word “dream”, besides the first letter of the word representing a “door way of life”, the remaining letters represent passion & teaching, all “nailed” or connected to the “support of the Lord upon whom we lean.” Putting it all together then, “dream”, through the “door way of life”, there is passion & teaching, all connected to the “support of the Lord upon whom we lean.” You should also know that this method of coming to a definition doesn’t always work. Like in the phrase “fear of the Lord”, you can’t look up fear + of + the + Lord, add it all together for a definition. The moment you look up the definition of “fear” you’re already off on the wrong foot, entirely. But in this case, adding the definition of the letters up actually does work. From the Hebrew idea the concept of dreaming was a handshake from ourselves- the finite, across to God – who is infinite. Now you may think i’m crazy, and maybe so, but look, don’t be too quick here. Is He God or not? And if He is, then why wouldn’t the Lord make a way to meet with us on many levels other than the ones we’re comfortable with?

Job’s use of the word “vision” also begins with the letter for a doorway of life, followed by a sword, and in this case, a hand to grasp the sword, and the last letter means the previous ideas are contrasted together in the sense of it all operating as one. All together then, vision is … through the doorway of life is our sword to rightly divide light and dark, and for us to operate with God, together, as one. Jesus said, “I am the door”, thus by the blood of Jesus we enter to the Father, thereby making Jesus the answer, the way, the truth, and life and there is not another.

The Hellenistic Greek has us always being divided from God in the sense of i’m over here, and He’s over there. In all of the Greek attempts to give facets to the idea of dreams and visions, it is not apparent that anyone can walk across the great divide, through the doorway of life, and become one with God Almighty. The Greek view was that we ourselves are the center of the universe, and the Greek gods ruled it all with revenge, vengeance, spite, condescending hatred, prejudice, arrogance, offense, and persecution. i find much of our modern-day church perspectives to often reflect the influence of the Hellenistic Greek culture in our being taught, “I’m just an old sinner man, and even though i believe in Christ, i’ll never be any more than an old sinner man.” Well, yea, but what else does God say about you? Balance the equation here, unless all that goodness from the Lord is more than you can stand.

Paul and the others worked to convey God’s grace, mercy, standards and perspectives, but it appears there are concepts in Hebrew which really don’t translate into Greek well, much less English without a long paragraph of explanation. The Greek Hellenistic thinking has long ago invaded all we do. Lord deliver us from the governmental influence of the Ptolemies and Hellenistic Greek thinking.

Come upon us again Holy Spirit and awaken us. Lord, sadly, i am snared in the thinking that you are not all you say you are, even when i say i believe you are, the details of my life i often misunderstand by what appears to be a different story. Awaken us Lord, we need more of you and i am tired of my self-imposed limited view. i am desperate to know you more, i cannot live without you. My perception of You is too small.

What do you think?

Thank you for listening. i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name ministries.

One of the first things i was told after i called on the Lord for salvation was that Jesus is coming back. i used to sit outside and watch the sky, wondering if today was the day. The ever present vision of the return of Christ faded a little from my mind for a while, even at that, it was always circling somewhere in the back of my head every day. How could the anticipation of the return of Jesus be so constantly in my mind unless it was driven by the presence of the Lord? i mean, i don’t hardly remember what i ate yesterday, or people’s names from a few weeks, months or years ago, much less to remember to look at the sky in this eager anticipation of the return of Jesus. And i do mean eager too. It’s like i’m always somewhat excited to look at the sky. Maybe today’s the day.

i sat outside this early morning again, watching the sky. It’s been 53 years now and i’m still watching the sky with daily renewed anticipation.

Titus 2:11-13, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Now i’ve gotta add, there’s this great debate not so much about what but more about when, and honestly, it’s exhausting. i’ve set on the porch listening to preacher buddies argue, heard arguments as to pre-trib rapture, mid-trib rapture, post-trib rapture, no trib rapture, partial trib rapture, little tribulation then big tribulation rapture … and man, it’s just crazy. i’ve settled on something though, and it’s the truth, Jesus is coming back and we’re to continue on with God’s plan, being as effective as possible as long as possible until the Return. Yes, Jesus is coming back, but in the mean time, the date is today, the time is w, this is where we are, and forward is the way we’re going. We are to be occupied with our Heavenly Father’s business until that amazing day of the return of the Son of God.

Some people seem to be just sitting around doing much of nothing waiting on the sky to crack and Jesus to ride back on a great white horse. i’ve been in church meetings on Wednesday nights when the back bone of the church showed up, and they’d say, “Oh, when Jesus comes back, i’m gonna slide on streets of gold in my stocking feet.” Then i’ll do this, and then i’ll do that. Everything was sad and downcast, burdened with all the woe’s of this life, and their voices hung with grief and someday they were going to escape the badness on the earth when Jesus came back. i can remember, even then as a young believer, thinking to myself, “What about today? How will you live today in the mean time?” i can’t say i’ll escape all the terribleness of the last days, likely not, but i do know sound doctrine applies to the entire body of Christ and it would be impossible to explain to believers in heavily persecuted places that they will be raptured out before things get really bad. Before things get really bad??? Bad from who’s perspective? Sound doctrine applies to the entire body of Christ. They’d probably be like, “You mean after my kids were killed in front of my eyes, my husband was eviscerated for the name of Christ, my home and town burned, and you’re saying i’m going to be raptured out before it gets worse!??! Oh my gosh, somebody kill me quick!” Nevertheless, no matter where you are or the conditions of your life, Jesus is coming back. Are you ready to go?

It’s not meant that we should be passive observers, but actively in the world around us with all our physical, mental, and spiritual faculties, and our “eyes peeled to the sky”. If ever there was a time to watch and pray it is these days in which we live. And that is “watch” in the sense of being awake, pay attention, don’t let your eyes get used to the dark or go to sleep. The closer we get to the return of Jesus, the more awake, praying and watchful we need to become. An old fellow, many years ago, through his tired blue eyes and heavy lids, looked me in the eye and said completely out of nowhere, “Life is time, and to waste time is to waste life. Don’t be lazy.” There should be watching, waiting, and anticipation in all we do. Let us watch for the Return and not become passive.

In Revelation 16:15, Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”

Friends, we are His people and the Lord promised to come back for us, and God keeps all of His promises, doing beyond all we have imagined. We will sit at God’s table, reveling in His everlasting love, safe at home with Jesus, alive forever.

There’s also two sides to the idea of returning. Not only is Jesus going to return for us, but we will return to Christ when He appears. We will go home with Jesus, returning to the Lord in full, only bigger and better, in a forever relationship with God Almighty, Lord of Lord’s, King of Kings, redeemed and restored as He promised. Matthew 24:27, “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” 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. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Take that seriously, it’s no kidding around. If He is coming back for us who are His, and we will return to be with the Lord, we’ve got to be ready to go.

We are waiting for you Lord, with our eyes always on the sky for your return. You are good for your word because you told us you would come back, and if it were not true, you wouldn’t have said as much.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Friend, you can believe what you want, but i’m going to watch, pray, and wait for my Jesus. Be encouraged, never stop doing good, keeping your eyes on the sky. Jesus is coming again.

What do you think?

Thank you for listening. i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name ministries.

i am absolutely convinced beyond all doubt that we are born, all of us, with the knowledge of basic right and wrong embedded in us by God. We are also born with a rebellious nature whose intent is to always say “no” to God and “yes” to everything we want. In fact, our rebellious nature is a natural “no” to everything God. ‘No’ to His preferences, ‘no’ to His standards, ‘no’ to even believing He exists, much less that He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. When it comes to God Almighty, by inclination of our flesh, it is just ‘no’.

When my son was born he seemed so innocent. So small and delicate, so fresh and seemingly unlearned of all the wrong in the world. Yet, given a little time, i also saw, growing in him a consistent motivation to do everything his way, based on what he wanted, and how he wanted to dictate and demand. Sure, i realize a child doesn’t know anything, but there’s also a taught steel wire of resisting any right authority and a gravitational pull towards being self-indulgent, self-righteous, self-satisfying at the expense of others, and a complete disregard for doing the right thing as long as the child prospers itself.

When i knew he needed to eat food that was good for him, one day he just straight out said, “no. i want cheese-its”. When i pressed the issue, he bowed up at me, saying even louder “No.” When i knew we needed to comb his hair, or wash his face, he didn’t want to sit still for that, he wanted to watch cartoons, and again he looked me in the eye and said “no”. i said ‘yes’, and he even began acting out, crying and screaming ‘no’. After a series of many, many such situations, a little light of realization began to grow in me. The naturally occurring thread of rebellion was raising its head, and i knew if i didn’t persuade him different, he would end up a horrible, self-centered, demanding person, and would find no need for God. i also knew his rebellious nature could eventually kill him … this was no longer just teaching right behavior, now i could very well be saving the life of my child.

James4:17, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” When God told Adam and Eve in the garden to not eat of the tree, in their hearts they basically said “no. i don’t believe you, and i’ll do what i want to do regardless of you!” Their rebellion on that day cost us all our lives. All of Israel was called by the Lord into a relationship with Him. When God said, “I will be your God and you will be my people,” they said, “No. We want a man to rule over us.” Wow, they preferred someone with a rebellious nature to rule over their rebellious nature. Just ‘no’ to God and ‘yes’ to themselves.

The N.T. writers, repetitively made it abundantly clear that many of the “normal” ways we’re used to thinking about our lives is arrogant, self-serving, and faithless.

For anyone who does not believe Jesus is the Son of God, was crucified and risen from the dead, their natural “no”, or rejection of the gospel denies them any real life. Oh, it may appear they are doing well, but in the end, without God they are just another lifeless corpse. And for us who are believers, if we have said ‘yes’ to God, resisting our natural ‘no’, it means acting according to what we believe and know to be true. If we keep going on our path of worldliness, self-indulgence, lack of honesty and transparency, giving power to our flesh over our spirit as opposed to trusting God in our everyday work-a-day world choices, that to us is sin. And listen – Sin is anti-relational and the longer we oppose God, the more we diminish and dishonor ourselves and the more our relationship with Jesus just ebbs away, slowly but surely, like the tide going out. It is always the right time to do the right thing. We know what is right and we have no excuse not to do it. When we bow up at God and practice our natural ‘no’, we need to change course, call it what it is, and let the Lord make us all we wish we were.

It’s easy to agree with God and the Bible without actually making any changes. Sincerity is not knowing Jesus. We love to think and dream about big ideas, us with our incessant point and counterpoint debating, weighing and measuring. But if we spend most of our time only thinking about it all, never taking-action and DOING what we should, that to us is sin. It is still the ‘natural no’ we were born with. The Lord called us to not just avoid evil and rebellion, we are called to DO what we know is good.

i’ve realized how little control i have over much of my life, and if i put off doing what is right, well, you know, i may not have another opportunity to plant God’s goodness in a situation like this one or that one. We’ve all missed opportunities to do the right thing, and you “know” in your heart when you haven’t done it. The Lord reminded me the other day when i didn’t call a man in need because i decided there was something more pressing in the moment and then i simply forgot. If the next day i see the man in need and he inquires as to why i didn’t call, i’d probably say, “Oh, i just got busy.” Friend, i think most of the time when people say they were busy, maybe what they really meant was “it just wasn’t that important”. My opportunity passed, my natural ‘no’ took precedence and i knew it. The Lord says to me, “Have you ever heard someone say, “After I get this or that done, then I can serve the Lord, but right now I’m too busy”?” Realization flooded in, and in the moment, i was crushed because i knew that was me.

1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, and I reasoned like a child. But when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” It is always the right time to do the right thing, and learning to deny our “natural no” is part of growing up.

What do you think?

Today’s program was written by Jerry Price.

Did you watch any of the Republican or Democratic National Convention stuff a while back? I’m not going to weigh in on which political party is right or wrong, but my observation centers on how these political conventions run and what the media does. After all, I’ve lived through several U.S. Presidents and have been witnessing these “Last Word Games” over and over, till the national stomach turns!

i saw convention delegates cheering keynote speakers, followed by comments from news people. Then, at times, we’d see a shift into Last Word Games. The agendas flew, depending on the media person or the guest they invited to comment on the speakers. It’s almost like watching the Green Bay Packers play the Dallas Cowboys. It is a type of last word game as the clock ticks down.

Sometimes I see this game played when counseling marriages. “No I didn’t say that!” “Yes you did and…”, then the one upping each other starts. Wish I could say I haven’t played the last word game but I can’t. Or how about a man and wife arguing about something ‘er other, and right at the crescendo, one of them turns away, spits out some pointed, caustic stream of words thrown over their shoulder, then goes through a door and slams it before the other person can reply.

Grade school kids play it when they argue with other kids about who is number one. Then insults fly and we might hear something like “Your mother wears combat boots!” Wish I was making this up but I actually remember hearing that when I was a kid. Those were fighting words!

The rule for Last Word games is “I’ll get control. I’ll run the show and if you don’t let me, I’ll hurt you.” Getting the last word means “I win and you lose!”, like firing a parting shot over your shoulder as you leave the room, leaving the other person no recourse but to lose the argument. Getting the last word serves as a clinching argument that will make up for any deficiencies in your logic. Getting the last word in the moment, also brings the advantage that you possibly may point to your success in the debate as the ultimate concluding argument for future debates. However, if you did not win the last debate, last word game players will often still incessantly and loudly claim that they did have the parting, winning shot.

i’d suppose many people figure, if you can just come up with that one, amazing, phenomenal statement of the “truth,” you can set your partner straight, and you’ll be right and they’ll see the ultimate error of their ways. Unfortunately, strategizing like that during a dispute is highly likely to only erode feelings of trust and good faith. You may be “technically correct”, but in truth, you’ve only caused your partner to feel that you care less about the relationship and more about winning.

These games always spring from what i call “avoidance strategies” where fearful thinking threatens the last word game player. Then “Boom!” the individual starts acting like a big shot, a tough, or sneaky person – it’s not what they’re saying as much as what they’re not saying that controls you. How manipulative is that thinking!

i believe there is another perspective which should persuade us when we are engaged in a tug of war over who gets the last word. God gets the first word in our lives, and the truth is, He also gets the last word. None of us had the advantage of saying to whom we were born, what color our hair would be, or what language we would speak. The first word in our lives is in the providence of God. On the end of things, the Lord has the last word too. We don’t get to decide when we die, how we will die, or where the end will happen. Again, that is in the providence of the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 18 Ahab was told by the prophet that if he went to war he was going to die. Arrogant Ahab thought he’d get the last word by saying, “I’ll deal with you when i get back!”, then drove off to war, overconfident, and hard hearted. Ahab thought he’d have the last word on the battle, proving to everyone that he was the King and nobody could tell him what to do! As it turns out, God’s man heard the Lord correctly and Ahab died, killed by a no-name soldier. We may play last word games, but truthfully, God is the one who always gets the last word … on everything.

Here’s something I do to mind this gap. On the spot, I call it out in a matter of fact manner. Then, I’ll encourage the hard work of letting others think for themselves, which is what Jesus did with Pilate in John 18:34 by asking “Is this your own question, or did someone tell you about me?” i believe the Lord respects those who own their own choices and conclusions. God always has the last word in our life.

Thanks for listening, i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name.

i think so many people want to find a place where God can not see so they can sin in peace, but no such place exists, there is no shelter from such a storm. Truly, there is no such place where God cannot see, nor any scenario where mankind can sin in peace. Without Christ, mankind is dead and doesn’t know it. Maybe not homeless as in without shelter, but homeless at heart with no safe haven to call their shalom place. We may breathe and appear well in the mirror to our eyes, but we are dead without Christ, killed under the weight of obligations we cannot muster to, strangled at the hands of grief, constipated and bloated on undealt with transgressions. Often we are the ghosts which haunt our own houses, living inside our own wounds and grief so long, we are defined by them. So many can’t let go of regret, can’t accept that someone in their life left or died, took their money, or refused to acknowledge their work. Like someone who was mountain climbing, fell into a crack and became wedged there in such a way that their hands and feet could find no grip to get out. Stuck in a crack and never coming back. The enemy tells us we have been robbed of God but that is a lie. Jesus over came the world so we could live in the power of the Holy Spirit like shining lights on a hill. In John 16:33, Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will face seemingly insurmountable problems and contrary winds. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” No one ever said that before, or did did what He did and never will. Jesus is the only one. There is not another who can deliver us from a life of emotional knots, dark binding contracts passively agreed to by the pen and ink of hopeless resignation. Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” We were all born slaves to sin until Jesus came with His blood bought chisel which breaks us free, snapping the chains of darkness, liberating us to life and light in Himself. They came for him with ropes and chains, they sought to kill Him again and again. They came to Him female and male, to take His life with hammer and nail.

Jesus overcame the world for you and me, completely for the reason of our redemption, that all mankind could have the opportunity of a restored relationship with God. Not only was His sacrifice sufficient to deliver us, but He went above and beyond by providing an eternal home with Himself as the never-ending light of a different order which never dims and is unceasing.  No other person on earth ever has or ever will do what Jesus did. No famous or infamous person will do that for you and me. One way Jesus is the truth. Guilt be gone, grief be gone in the Name of Jesus. You are alive in Christ and there is no good reason you can not be an overcomer. More than a conqueror, an overcomer. Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” More than conquerors, but overcomers in Christ because He has overcome the world.

Because of the work and gift of God, the Holy Spirit sings in us redemption songs, restored lives of incredible needle work at the hand of the Lord, creating an eternal living tapestry on God’s long wall of testimony.    Through Jesus we can live as overcomers, alive again from the ashes of a life which looks like a burned out forest. From the blood of Jesus to the breath of the Holy Ghost, He gives us words and melodies, which weave life in patterns of swirling paisley, bright basket weaves and brocade on the thick fabric of God’s presence, especially deep jewel tones of ruby, emerald, and jade. To some it may not seem like much, but to me, what has been overcome in my own life is absolutely miraculous and must surely look like bright raised silk embroidery to the eyes of the Lord.

[Psalm 30:11-12]  Lord, You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever! [Psalm 66:1-12] Friends, i say, Sing songs to the tune of His glory; shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! We’ve never seen anything like You. So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you like scolded dogs. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Come and see what God has done, take a look at His breath taking wonders: he is awesome in his deeds toward mankind. Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, He has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. i called to Him with my mouth, my tongue shaped the sounds of music. My eyes had become accustomed to the dark, complacent to be caught in a trap, resigned to forever being a slave to corruption. But you Lord, You have brought us out to a place of abundance for you have overcome the world.

He left His place in Heaven and came to us as a man, lived every example of how we should live life and be continually victorious. He gave to us all of Himself, our kinsman redeemer who purchased our freedom with His blood. Jesus was crucified on a cruel cross for our transgressions, rose from the dead and descended to sit at the right hand of the Father Almighty. Jesus has overcome the world.

What do you think?

Thank you for listening. i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name ministries.

It’s a beautiful evening and i thought i’d go outside on the deck which overlooks the beautiful river below. i’m Social Porter and you’re listening to Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, broadcast semi-live from the deck of a rural cafe which overlooks the virtual cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the river’s edge, and every evening is oh so pleasant.

You know, just looking up at the night sky just makes me smile. Every evening leads into the next day, so pause for a moment, don’t stay inside if you don’t have to, breath in the clean evening air, and if the weather allows and you’ve got the time, it’s your chance to plan another brand-new day.

There is just something profound about looking into the depth of the night sky. God is absolutely beyond brilliant. More than good, but capitalize the “G” remove an “o” and you get God. Again, He’s more than good He is God, and all He’s done and will do is the very epitome and personification of “goodness”.

Do you realize just how many people are carrying around an offense; walking around in churches and fellowships all across America carrying with them some burdensome thing which hinders their forward progress? A true offense may not seem like it weighs much in the moment, but just give it time, it’ll get ridiculously heavy. The potential for offense seems available everywhere, all the time. What is it which hinders you and … where are “the peacemakers”?

Face it, every turn in life offers some new opportunity to be offended and conflicted. Sometimes it seems justified, other times, maybe most of the time, the offense is just pride and arrogance. Please note i used the term “seems justified” because truly, there is NO good reason to carry around an offense, weighing you down, bending your mind and feelings around like a hair pin. And the longer we carry that offense, the more it twists our decision-making mechanism into something God never intended, influencing everything else in our lives. Haven’t you met someone who was just bitter about almost everything? i can just about guarantee you it started somewhere with an offense and unbending unforgiveness.

Jesus and the Bible are our example of conduct, character, morals, principles, and ethics, so it’s important to note, Jesus NEVER carried an offense around. And because He didn’t carry an offense, He never needed a defense.

Anytime i meet someone who is defensive, they usually have pockets of offenses stored away and rotting. What will you do about your offenses, because eventually, we’ve all got to deal with our baggage?

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” Come out of hiding you peacemakers. It’s time to get to work.

The Bible contains all of the promises and principles needed for true peacemaking. One of the earliest Biblical records of arbitration and making peace was Moses.

Exodus 18:13, “And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.”

When Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, saw what was going on he asked Moses what he was doing. Moses replied in vs 16, “When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.” Moses was evidently acting as an arbitrator and using the statutes of God and His laws as his standard. That’s a good place to start, but Moses was taking it upon himself to be the decision maker without encouraging the people to be involved with God’s standards and statutes for themselves.

If we read on we see Jethro passing wisdom on to Moses by saying Moses should teach the people right and wrong so the people would know for themselves, and to delegate authority to Godly men to help with the job of making peace. i like that, teaching people right and wrong so they would know for themselves, not needing some agency standing over them, dictating their every move even thereby becoming the thought police. We all need to know right from wrong and God as our standard, not our neighbor or the government.

Are you a peacemaker, or an offense-taker? And i did say peacemaker. There is a difference between peacekeepers and peacemakers. In order to be a peacemaker, we must be active participants of peace, and that is being active participants, more than passive observers who never get involved enough to make peace. Peacekeepers simply keep the chaos down to a tolerable roar. A peacekeeper serves to diffuse violence or the physical lead up to violence, whereas the peacemaker works to create a lasting nonviolent and creative community. One is a Band-Aid, the other is a lasting fix.

We can’t make peace by demanding the exercise of the law. Actually, law keepers never win. Some think that by making the law louder with more severe penalties we can make peace in our communities, but truthfully, condemnation never delivered anyone from immorality or criminality. The law may have scared them into remission, but without Jesus, no one ever became reconciled and transformed.

The 1873 Colt Peacemaker was originally made by Colt Firearms, chambered for .45 Long colt cartridges. It has been called the “gun which won the west”. Law men enforced the law and used the Colt Peacemaker to keep chaos under wraps among warring parties. Enforcing the law does not make peace, it just keeps the law. People stopped fighting only because they might get shot, not because their internal conflict was resolved. The gun helped keep the peace in a way, but certainly didn’t serve to create any long-term unity. Maybe Colt Firearms should have named it a peacekeeper instead of a peacemaker.

So right off the bat, it seems to me that for any of us to be peacemakers, we would have to start by first knowing Jesus, and  knowing something about peace for ourselves within ourselves…. wouldn’t you think?

i make notes to myself and i jotted this interesting factoid out in my little book. i have no idea who wrote it but here it is: “It is estimated that in all the history of humanity less than eight percent of recorded history can be described as times of peace. In the last 32 centuries there have been fewer than 300 years of peace. Historians tell us that within the last 300 years there have been 286 wars in Europe alone.” God has given it to us who are empowered by the death and resurrection of Christ to be more than peacekeepers who control, but peacemakers who impart lasting peace, real peace to whom so ever would have it.

Galatians 5:22 says one of the fruits of the Spirit is peace, and Mark 9:50 says, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” i like that, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” Let us “be worth our salt” and season the world around us, being peacemakers not offense-takers. On a side note, a really interesting explanation of the idiom of “being worth your salt”, is that the Roman soldier’s wages were often paid in salt. As a result, the person’s worth was the weight of salt paid for wages earned. Of course, then, the higher in rank and better soldier you were, the more salt you were given.

According to Matthew 5:13, we, who believe in Christ, are the salt of the earth. We should be able to have an effect on the earth and those in it. Salt was and still is very valuable and i think the Lord is saying to us to “have value in yourselves and practice to be at peace with each other”. We are to be exercising our gifting which the Father has given us, never allowing a conflict to continue if we can help it. Oh and don’t you know there is opportunity for offense to ride on every side. Unresolved conflict is like having the devil around – if you let the devil ride, the next thing you know he’ll want to drive.

As people who are reconciled to God, we are called to respond to conflict in a way that is remarkably different from the way the world deals with conflict. The world returns anger for anger, and judgment for judgment. Romans 12:18-19 says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends…”

Our society seems to be obsessed with revenge and making sure other people get what “they deserve”. But i think a good question is, how do we measure out “what they deserve”, according to who, by what standard? If it is what we deserve according to the world, then the only right the world extends to us is the right to suffer, but if it’s what we get according to Jesus, ahhhh, now we’re talking reconciliation! We get what we do not deserve, grace, because Jesus got what He did not deserve, judgment, suffering, and crucifixion. If He had not died and been resurrected from the dead, we would not get grace but condemnation.

When Jesus was crucified, Pontius Pilate asked the people what they wanted to do with Jesus, and with one offended voice they cried out “Take Him away! Crucify Him!” The unfounded judgment and prejudice was incredible. Jesus came to give mankind the opportunity to make peace with God, He was being a peacemaker between man and God, but yet all the people could say was “Crucify Him!” The wounded conscience and biased mind of the people was so offended, many missed the visitation of God.

Instead of setting our eyes on our own desires or spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about what others may do, or not do, should have done, or could have done but didn’t, let’s take delight in the Lord and give evidence to His love by demonstrating forgiveness, wisdom, and exemplary character.

Offense is easy. hell makes sure ample opportunity abounds for offense. If the devil can get people motivated against people, prying their unity apart at the seams, then the people will become distanced from God, who is the very source of their peace, and maybe he can even influence them to learn to live with an ever-deepening wounded conscience, learning to live in the chaos, saying to themselves, “Oh, this is just the way things are.” To most people, peace is simply “the absence of strife.” But God’s view of peace is much deeper and much bigger than simply an “absence of conflict”. The Lord says true peace comes when we are re-established between God and ourselves.

What will it take for you to be a peacemaker instead of an offense-taker? Are we willing to undertake the task of being peacemakers? After all, Matthew 5:9 says being a peacemaker is one of our ear marks.

Of the five points of the Peacemakers Pledge, point 2 says, “Get The Log Our Of Your Own Eye: Instead of blaming others for a conflict or resisting correction, let us trust in God’s mercy and take responsibility for our own contribution to conflicts.”

If we get offended and think if we just go and tell the other person the problem, they’ll just own it. Well, chances are very good the other person doesn’t even know they’ve offended anyone, so we can’t expect the other person to make everything alright for us. It is our responsibility to be reconciled to God; no one can accept the peace offering of the Blood of Jesus for us, neither can we receive this gift of God on behalf of someone else.

Another quote from the Peacekeepers Pledge, point 3 says, “Gently Restore: Instead of pretending that conflict doesn’t exist or talking about others behind their backs, we will overlook minor offenses or we will talk personally and graciously with those whose offenses seem too serious to overlook, seeking to restore rather than condemn. When a conflict cannot be resolved in private, we will ask others in the body of Christ to help us settle the matter in a biblical manner.

Matthew 18:15 from the Message, “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend.” That is called being a peacemaker. Did you get that? If THEY hurt YOU, !YOU! go to them and practice your conflict resolution. And if they don’t then knock the dust from your feet and wait on God to resolve the dilemma.

How many of us get offended and just quit on the relationship and go home, saying, “I’ll never speak to her again!” or “That’s the last time I give him any of my time!” OR, and i think this is often the action most take, we smile, speak our spiritual talk only if necessary, generally keeping silent while maintaining our facade of wellbeing … and just move away, maybe even to another church body, allowing the offense to stand and fester, thinking if we just don’t say anything, maybe it will go away. My friend, No, it does not just “go away”, there are no words which come out of your mouth which do nothing and will just “go away”, and believe me, you can’t out run it all either. Do you know just how many offended people there are in churches today? There are so so many sheep from another pasture out there church surfing because somewhere they got offended and just moved to another body until they got offended and then moved again, and then moved again, until it became a lifestyle of not dealing with conflict and simply moving on. It is truly a scandal!!

In John 6, when Jesus said “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him,” His disciples had a hard time with this. So Jesus asked them the question, “Does this offend you?” “Offend” is the Greek word, skandalizo, where we get our word for scandal. What Jesus was asking was “do you think my words cause you to stumble, becoming entrapped?” Offense is a trap, it immobilizes and neutralizes the offended person.

Offense is a stumbling block, but by the grace of God we can turn it from a stumbling down to a stepping up.

Conflict resolution has got to be one of the most under-developed skills in the Body of Christ. Honestly, i think true “peacemakers” are hard to find today, but i also think that in the days ahead, God will raise us up to be just that, peacemakers.

How about this? Instead of accepting premature compromise or allowing relationships to wither and fade, how about we actively pursue genuine peace and reconciliation—forgiving others like Jesus has forgiven us? How about if we take the time to look for and find … just and mutually beneficial solutions to our differences?

i tell you this too, just because we’ve forgiven an offense and gone to the other person and found an amicable solution, by no means signifies we must allow that other person back in our lives. There truly are some people in this world who are not good for us.

My job as a peacemaker is to reconcile men to God, with other human beings and with their own selves. When Jesus walked the earth as a man, the world was divided. One race hated other races, one nation hated other nations, and people of one religion hated other religions. An example of this is the feelings between Jews and Gentiles. The Jewish man thanked God for not being a Gentile, a slave or a woman. He despised the half-breed Samaritans, even to the point of walking many miles out of his way to avoid contact. He was saying to himself, “Oh my gosh, i’m so glad i’m not you because you’re so wrong and i’m so right.”

Peacemaking starts at home. The starting point of being a peacemaker for others is that we, ourselves, first must make peace with God. If we can be at peace and comfortable within our own skin, i believe that is a huge hurdle we’ve jumped by the grace of God which easily impacts the world around us.

What’d’ya think? Peacemaker or offense-taker? What’s it gonna be? Learning conflict resolution or just being mobile sheep? Are we going to try and find win/win solutions, being honest and trusting God, OR  leading a life of being offended and always moving on to another pasture? We all must decide for ourselves. Think about it.

Hear this and hear well, as one fellow wrote: “Jesus embraced the worst sinner, touched the vilest leper, purified the most despicable prostitute, took all types of people and joined them together into one beautiful family of God. He paid a high price but saw his mission as a peacemaker as a priority in his life.”

The solution for family feuds, racial strife and civil conflict is Jesus. Peace does not come by political party, economic system, national flag or the United Nations. Jesus is the One who brings peace.

Thank you for listening, i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries and this has been Outposts. This has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, the always amazing Andrea at Viva coffee house in Tucson Arizona, Area 22 Guitars, Kyle Walker alias Joe, Miss Gertrude Allen, Eugene Fowler at Fowlers Amoco Service, Myrtle Long, and Trinity Bakers where there’s always something good in the oven.

Do you spend your time pasting band aids on situations, just keeping the chaos and turmoil to a low boil until the next offense and explosion of drama in your life, or are you willing to do the work of learning to be a peacemaker, practicing God’s idea of conflict resolution, learning how to foster a long term, creative solution that is a win/win for everyone?

Matthew 5:44-45”… Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

Make peace with God, yourself, and your neighbor, BE the example of how the Lord asks us to conduct ourselves. Peace my friends, real peace in the name of Jesus. Amen.

This was written by Jerry Price.

Today we’re talking about how you can’t take God and the Bible out of the schools and expect that humanity without God has a better way.

In December of 2012 the headlines read, “Such horror once again witnessed! Children and guardians at Sandy Hook Elementary School shot dead.”

The news media is trying to figure this out. Some are calling for gun control. Some are talking about how important it is to identify a troubled person early on. Other authorities are saying 98% of mentally challenged people are non violent. Some are trying to define this as a mass killing and not a school shooting. Why? It is promoted with reassurance that schools are still some of the safest places in the USA for children to attend. Others are trying to say the shooter came from a broken home and his mother was rigid as if that’s the cause for this crime. Like it was “her” fault the young man made the choices which brought such grief to others.

I understand our world is confused and shocked about this. If you listen closely at attempts to explain this tragedy, psychologists are saying they’re very frustrated we couldn’t stop something like this before it happened. They say prevention has to be, and here’s that phrase again, “early on.” How “early on” is “early on” enough?

They talk about how protecting the children with a system of entry to schools can be done better. Some are saying we can’t turn our public places, like schools, into fortresses. A remaining few people are saying let children question parents instead of forcing the conversation about the murders on them. Oh, the onslaught of public opinion is like the pounding waves of the sea.

Some psychologists add that we can’t provide a silver bullet to guarantee something like this won’t happen again. Everyone is trying to cope.

Friends, we live in a fallen world!

Instead of seeing this as a mental health problem and how to catch that “early on”, as if that will prevent another mass killing in this country, I think it would be good to direct the question in a different way.

I’m not sure why the authorities aren’t addressing how important it is to detect twisted thinking “early on”, whether a person has mental health issues or not, for mental illness is not twisted thinking. How do we identify twisted thinking and can that be okay to do, even if we see it in children? What happens in any persons mind is the place to start. Here’s an illustration.

There are elementary schools which address the behavior or misbehavior of kids with a color card system. Blue and green cards are good and show exemplary behavior, yellow, orange and red cards are not good. Progressively those colors show behavior becoming more irresponsible. i’ll ask a question then: in who’s opinion and by what standard are teachers to decide who should receive blue, green, yellow, orange, or red cards? Will politics or social standing effect the teachers decisions of what color which child should receive?

My 7-year-old grandson is in a school like that. A while back he came home two days in a row with the yellow card. His mother did a great job engaging with the teacher about this. I asked if i, as his grandfather, could have a talk with the teacher. I thanked the teacher for being involved with him and being willing to follow-up with a call to his mother.

Then I said, “As his grandfather, this is where I’m going with my grandson. You’re addressing his behavior and that’s good. I’m addressing the thinking behind his behavior because if that doesn’t change, color cards alone won’t help. I’m talking to my grandson about where his thinking is going, and when he gets a yellow card, I treat it as if he’s headed to red. So a yellow card is serious to us in this home. Now, we’re not talking about a mental disorder or if the boy has ADD, or any other label indicating mental health issues. We’re talking about any twisted way of thinking that results in irresponsible decision-making.” We paused a moment, then i continued, “So I want to support you as his teacher on the home front so my grandson understands he can’t be two different people in two different places. He’s one person in two different places and if he acts out in class, it’s as if he acted out in this home. If he wants to be stubborn in school or act like he doesn’t hear or won’t obey you, it’s as if he’s done that to me, his grandmother, and his mother. We will continue to address the way he thinks and train him to be consistent in his thinking wherever he goes.”

After the phone call, my daughter said the teacher stated that in all the years of teaching – over 25 – she had never had a grandfather say, or do something like that. She was appreciative and felt support. She was given the authority to be a part of our family system.

How does this relate to Newtown, Connecticut? Here it is. The early on thing that psychologists are talking about starts … with me! I mean, I must be aware of my own twisted thinking and see how it puts me in a direction where, if not pulled to a halt and changed, will find its way to hurting others, even if it’s a yellow card. None of us can escape that fact.

As adults, parents and authorities in the lives of our children, we must be aware of how they are thinking and making decisions, not just what they are thinking. The how and the why are every bit as important as the what of their thinking. If we don’t get that, whatever changes we think the color card system will bring – won’t last. Once we understand where they are going in their thinking and how they get there, we can begin preventive measures to offset the potential of being habitually irresponsible – “early on”.

We can’t do this alone, which is why we need good school teachers, like the one my grandson has; good Sunday school teachers; good community organizations for children with adults who understand this concept, and solid loving families where kids have structure.

Let me say, this is not about thinking of our children as criminals, but as children who are bound up with foolishness and have to learn how to be responsible adults. Kids still need to be kids but I think we often sell them short about their ability to think responsibly.

One more thing: As was said in the opening, you can’t take God and the Bible out of the schools and expect that humanity, without God, has a better way. I believe that is the truth.

Let’s mourn with those who mourn. Let’s do what we can to shore up how we can protect children, though let us not forget it starts with the way we, ourselves, the parents or guardians think and where we’re going with that thinking. Let’s renew our minds on this matter about addressing twisted thinking with our children, and invite God to be a part of the process.

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