When you spend time on a river, you get almost every imaginable condition – heat and rain, high and low, hot and cold.  Any given day can be a challenge, but on average: every day is beautiful! In the evening there is the occasional fisherman launching out for a time of trying his luck, often without success but still satisfied to casually float along – even from here i can see the water swirls of blue and brown around the boat with the fisherman bending over to steer with the rudder, getting clear of the shore line and trees.

          i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation from the deck which is perched above … and overlooking the late evening cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River. There is a warm breeze easing up from the south this evening, i’ve got my coffee, a comfortable chair, a beautiful view and good conversation…. ahhh yea, it doesn’t seem to get any better than this!

          Aside from having Christ as the center of our lives, what are some other attributes which are imperative for us if we are going to live upright, Godly lives before the Lord. All my days are before the Lord and none of them are hidden from God, the one who’s eyes see everything, all potentials and all possibilities, from beginning to end, all at once.

          i have three of God’s imperatives in mind, things we absolutely must have as essentials, they are Wisdom, Hope and Love. Don’t you know you need it, gotta have it, can’t live without it.

          On a side note, as sub-imperatives aiding us to live out God’s three imperatives, the first one is learning the value of letting yourself bend your knees to the Lord, getting yourself some humility, now that’s a good thing, afterall, humility goes before honor, and if you want to have some honor, you’ve gotta get low first. That’s if you want the honor as God would give it to you…otherwise, let’s be honest here and ask the question, is it more important to you to get honor from people and fit in, or get honor from God, regardless of people? Tough question, that’s…if your honest.

           God’s grace is sufficient to see us through life, and it isn’t written as entertainment, it means we need to get low, that we cannot go through things in our own strength. Humbling ourselves before the Lord goes a long way to living well where you are.

          Another sub-imperative is for us to take the time to let God change our perspective. It takes time, just let Him do it. A friend came back from the mission field. At a meeting one evening someone was complaining about their potential problems next year, as they foresaw them….. my missionary friend spoke over the top of the room saying that if we have heat, food for more than a day, shelter, and water, then we are probably ahead of 80% of the rest of the world. It was quite a piercing moment.

          i’ve been told i’m an independent fellow, and what they mean is that i come off as not allowing anyone help me. i don’t know about that, maybe what’s closer to the truth is, it doesn’t actually occur to me that i need help. But i can tell you this, in addition to God’s three imperatives, it should be no skin off our noses to ask for help. i don’t mean cry wolf every time things aren’t easy, or asking for help because we need someone to do something in order to make us ok, that’s co-dependent victim living….but learn to recognize when someone besides yourself knows stuff you don’t. Learn to ask for help. It’s not demeaning, it’s the truth. Learn to ask for help and accept the help when it comes.

          And lastly, learn to trust God that He will bring good out of every crisis. Now that won’t avert conflict and crisis, but we really need to know nothing passes though the nail pierced hands of Jesus without His allowance. Rom8:28 says all things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Here’s the summary of the four things which will go a long way to achieving God’s three imperatives: Get low, get a better perspective, ask for help when you need it, and trust God to bring the best from your circumstances. It’s the truth to say, “God’s got this”, but we’ve got to join Him in His redemptive work. He want us to participate in our own well being you know.

          Come go with me, let’s go forward then. Tap your toe, dream a little, and i’ll be right back.

          There are a few things God refers to as “above all”, meaning first and foremost, greater and higher, before anything else. 2Peter1:20 “Above all, you must understand…” there is no doctrine or prophecy which is of a private interpretation, meaning sound doctrine applies to the entire body of Christ and not just an elite few. Those with understanding are able to extract the meaning out of information. They “see through” the facts to the dynamics of what, how, why, where, and who. Understanding is a lens which brings the facts into crisp focus and produces principles, except, let me add, we can see the crisp focus of the facts in our telescopic vision, but we don’t have much unless God gives us an ability to connect the dots to see through the facts to grasp the dynamics. i know some very smart people who know lots of facts, but they have yet to connect the dots, so there they sit, unredeemed regardless of all they know.

          The phrase “above all” is used 284 times in the N.T. alone. Hmmm…must be important for us to notice i’d say. 1Peter4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply…”; James 5:12 “Above all, my brothers, do not swear–not by heaven or by earth or by anything else”; Col 3:14 “But above all these things put on love….”; Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things”; Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart”.

    What i’m getting at are the things that are “above all”, they are essential to our ability to persist in and accomplish the purposes of God. In light of that, i think 3 of God’s imperatives could easily be wisdom, hope, and love.

Without wisdom we are like a man who will die because he cut the cords of his own tent and knocked down his support poles. Real wisdom doesn’t exist in the simple possession of facts, real wisdom involves honesty, more than the facts… but the truth. God’s intent in His creation of the idea of “knowledge” comes in many forms. True knowledge involves some important adverbs…. how, when, where, what, and how often, making knowledge directly  connected to the word “why”. If we know “what” or “how” but don’t know nor care to know “why”, truly, we really only possess partial understanding and are largely left with a pile of unanalyzed data.           Knowledge means we investigate how something happens, where it happens, how often it happens, when it happens, and why.

Without hope there is only despair, the opposite of hope IS despair. Where ever we find faith, hope was there first, and hope inspires faith, for without faith we can not please the Lord, nor will we do any righteous works. Like in Eph2:12, before we knew Christ, we were foreigners to the covenants of the promise, therefore without hope and without God, we are dead in the water in a dead and inanimate world. As long as people insist on their own qualifications as good enough to stand before God, they are cut off from hope.

Without love, we are just a noise among many other noises in the universe, boy and let me say, the universe isn’t as silent as we might think.

Love was essential and at the core of the heart of God from before the foundations of the earth were laid. Jesus gave himself for us on a horribly beautiful cross because of love, which as has been said, was worked in the Heart of the Father from before there was the height and width and length of light and time.

          Proverbs 4:7 says that “Wisdom is the principal thing; get wisdom: and with all your getting, get understanding.” Did you hear that? It’s a principal thing, meaning in order and rank it is among the first, and chief. To call wisdom the “principal thing” means it is the beginning and the first fruit, and in light of wisdom being a “principal thing” it would seem it should be the first request of God in our prayers. We desperately need wisdom, because with wisdom comes her two brothers, understanding and knowledge. Understand me, i say “her two brothers” because “wisdom” is a feminine noun, understanding and knowledge are masculine nouns, the three go together so closely knit, they are together as one, like the three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit in 1John 5:7.

          i believe the Lord extends everyone some wisdom and repetitive opportunities for understanding. But, at some point, we can safely say, to get more knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, we’re going to have to get involved with God. He is the source and fountain, and if you got it, believer or not, God gave it. How many of us say we “know” God? If you say you know God and you don’t, then you don’t. There is not kind of knowing Him. But you know, Kevin said it seems that “knowing” God to a level of discomfort is just too much for some people. But if that’s what God wants, shouldn’t we also want “to know” Him that well? If we aren’t knowing Him, then who are we knowing, ‘cause, it’s a fact, we are going to be knowing somebody?

          The wisdom of the world is a manipulative wisdom, in other words, because it is “of the world”, it always leverages an outcome in it’s own favor at the expense of others, and that is the way of the world. But God’s wisdom, which is “in the world” but “not of the world”, always comes with value added, that being understanding and knowledge. To reiterate a bit, buried in the word “knowledge” is, what, why, how, when, where, and how often….those are the six subdivisions of knowledge. Just like the Hebrews held there are not four but six directions, north, south, east, west, forward, and backward. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding give us a reason to be where we are, and direction for where we’re going, if we’ll get involved with God.

          Consider Exodus 31:1-5. There was a guy named Bezalel (bets-al-ale’), whose name literally meant “shadow of God”. As seen in the scripture, God had filled him with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. i suppose i could re-phrase that to say, “In the very shadow of God, is wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.” According to Exodus 31:4-5, as it was with “Bets-al-ale’” it can be with us also, that if we have wisdom, understanding and knowledge, then within us is the ability to set jewels in life, to work gold, silver and bronze in our relationships, and to accomplish all manner of workmanship in the world around us. That’s called “doing the Kingdom of God”.

          Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you get …. and whatever else you may get, get understanding.”

          Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are imperative.

The second of God’s imperatives could easily be hope. Hope is an anticipation of becoming and overcoming. Did you get that? Hope is an anticipation of becoming and overcoming.

The idea of the Hebrew word for “hope” is seen in God’s kindness which offers us a rescue rope. The rope represents the possibilities of becoming and overcoming. Imagine the picture of a drowning man and someone throwing him a rope, well, that rope is the idea of the Hebrew word for hope. Rope and Hope….hmmmm, that rhymes. i see …. Kindness threw a dying man the rescue rope of Hope, and Compassion encouraged the man to grip to God’s offer of salvation.

i ask myself, why not faith, or patience, or peace as one of the three imperatives? i figure that faith, patience, peace, self-control , etc, are fruits of the spirit as seen in Gal5:22, they are the results of a Holy Ghost led life, but without hope, without the kindness of God which leads us to repentance, there would not be a place for any good fruit. The kindness of God creates a platform for hope to stand on, belief stands on the shoulders of hope, and faith finds momentum in the grip of belief. Hebrews 11:1 “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

It bears saying again……without hope we could not believe, without believing there would be no faith, and without faith there would be no righteous works nor pleasing our beloved. Hope is essential.

Without love the fruits of the spirit in Gal 5:22, and the gifts of the spirit in 1Cor12:8-11 are just stuff we do. In the Old Testament, at the hem of the priests garment, there were bells and pomegranates. This is brought to light in Exodus28:3-4, and Exodus39:25-26. At first i thought to myself, “What do bells and pomegranates have to do with fruits and gifts?” Like a fog which drifts in upon us in the evening, God’s wisdom slowly found it’s grip in my thinking.

i believe the pomegranates at the hem of the priests garment, which were worn when they served before the Lord, are the O.T. version of the fruits of the spirit. After all, can we have real peace without love at our core? Can we really exercise Godly self-control without love in our middle? Is it possible to be long suffering as Jesus is long suffering without love? i think not. No. Can not. Love is essential.

1Corinthians13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

A resounding gong or a clanging cymbal? That would mean without love we are a just a noise … an obnoxious one at that. A “clanging cymbal” is a bit grating, if you know what i mean. In this case, the word love is “agape”, and within the context of this scripture, it means,  the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity, which we are committed to mutually giving, taking, and practicing towards God and others; it refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term extends to the love of those around us, believers and unbelievers alike. The word “agape” in and of itself is not exactly all that, but the Biblical writers, in this scripture, use the word in a way in which it’s always pointing toward God’s heart for us.

Here’s another interesting view of the bells and pomegranates, or the gifts and the fruits – a dove has 9 main feathers on each wing, if any one of those feathers falls out or doesn’t function correctly, flying becomes very difficult. But if the heart of the dove is broken and the dove dies, the greatness of the nine feathers on each wing, or the fruit and the gifts, are worthless without the foundation of the life of the dove. Love is like that. If the fruit is not rooted in love, it is rotten fruit. If the gifts aren’t motivated by love, they are just an obnoxious noise. Fruit without the gifts, or gifts without fruits is like flying with only one wing. But fruit and gifts without love are just dead works, in fact i seriously question if we can even have Godly fruit or practice righteous gifts without love. i sorta’ doubt it.

Knowledge without love is the worlds’ way, not God’s way. The Lord says love should overlay everything about us. 1Corinthians8:1 “….We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” Are you puffed up, or built up? The end result is an up position, but how we got there is the crux of the matter. In the last 13 years, i have become aware of many imperatives in scripture, so i’ve been making a list. It is essential that our love is genuine, and that we hold fast to what is good. It is essential that we serve the Lord, rejoice in hope, and be patient in tribulation.

If we’re not serving the Lord then who are we serving? If we’re not rejoicing in hope then we are slowly sinking in despair. If we are thrashing around in the midst of tribulation,itdidn’t change the crisis…it just means we’re swinging our hands around,banging and crashing into stuff, and being panicked in a little room somewhere. It is essential we are not wise in our own eyes, and equally essential for us to learn to weep with those who weep, bless those who persecute us, and practice hospitality.

1 John 4:19 doesn’t say “We like, because He first liked us.” It says “We love, because He first loved us.” Scripture says to “love your neighbor as you love yourself”. Love is essential for all the God-functions in us to work properly. It’s like the grease in the gears.

For friendship to work there are essential elements of the relationship which need to function. It’s essential there is a two way street of grace, a willingness to communicate, and being transparent and authentic…. it does not flow in only one direction. For friendship to work it’s essential there are boundaries for no good relationship survives without good boundaries which define where loyalty and responsibility start and stop. Honesty is essential for friendship or else nobody is actually connecting with anybody, it’s all a meeting of perpetually smiling faces, and that’s not friendship.

A couple other essential things are ….the necessity of hearing God, and doing what He says. The Lord may approve your motive but may delay taking action….not “no” just “not now”, and we must hear Him and do what He says. Can you think of essential things we all must put into action in our lives?

Three essentials sit over the top of all the other imperatives: Wisdom, Hope, and Love. The world around us has many counterfeits of those three, but the truth is, only God can supply those things in us, according to His riches in glory. It’s a God thing.

i met a lady at the jail who told me, besides Jesus and God, death was holy too. i figure it must be a cultural thing because if death is so holy that someone made a saint out of death, why does God throw death in the lake of fire in Rev 20:14? Death is a result of sin, therefore nothing righteous comes from death in any form. Santa la Muerte has a play date with the lake of fire and woe to them who worship a false god. It is imperative we worship only the Lord lest we, subtly, over time, become continually unfaithful to Him.

Let me encourage each of us to ask the Lord for wisdom….and rest assured that as He gives us wisdom, Godly understanding and knowledge will come with it. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge travel as a team and they’re just waiting for you to tell them to “play ball!” Give away hope like it’s candy in your pockets, love those around you and intercede for transgressors… Jesus did, and we should too! Think about it.

i’m Social Porter, and thank you for joining us this evening here at Outposts. This program is brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, and Area 22 Guitars, the home of brilliant creativity and dynamic forward thinking. Support has also come from Ray Prater of Terminal Taxi service in Mills River, Rev. Tommy Proctor of Shaw’s Creek Baptist Church, Allen Freeman of Quality Tire on North Church St. and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

          Colossians 3:14 “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

Love is the grease in our gears, the glue which keeps electrons and neutrons from flying off in other directions; love is the grip of God on our hearts; it is the blood of the Son, and motive of His resurrection that we would have life and have it more abundantly. Love is the strength of hope, the melody of God’s heart, and the aroma and bouquet of His peace. Let us get wisdom, have hope, and exercise our love, living in the shadow of God to set gem stones, creating beautiful things of gold, silver, and bronze, allowing the wisdom of God be like a chisel in our hands directed and compelled by the inspiration of Hope and Love.

    Be strong and courageous, and i’ll talk to you next time.

After four years of a man pursuing the Lord for a vision of what He, the Lord wanted to do, it finally happened and God gave him a vision and multiple confirmation as to the new direction. So the man gets rid of all his stuff, packs up his little remaining possessions, and moves across the country. Suddenly, the man finds himself in a place he does not know, with people he does not recognize, to do something he has no idea about. He wonders about employment and how to pay the bills; the culture is very different than where he came from, they talk different, use different words to reference similar things, even food products are different…it’s still food, but very little of it is anything he’s familiar with; the air is different, dust is different, the water is different, food is different, the bacteria is different, the land and soil are different, tax structure is different. But yet he is sure that this is what God has asked him to do. Uprooted and obscure, a seemingly inconsequential outsider, this fellow is so very uncomfortable. And now that he is at the destination the Lord has given him, he finds himself with one huge, over-arching, ever present question: Now what? And all is silent.

Do you find yourself in similar discomfort? The circumstances may be different, but the discomfort is the same.

It would seem our nation is a country of uncomfortable people…frustrated and disquieted in our hearts. Some for good reasons, some for not.

Maybe God is gently getting our attention and we, as a nation, are simply, and quite probably, hard of hearing. What do you think? …. and i’ll be right back.

In all the Bible, one of the most uncomfortable people, in my opinion, was Naomi, who’s story is revealed in the book of Ruth. Sure, Job was uncomfortable, but it was for a short while, whereas Naomi had a life of being uncomfortable. It seemed for the longest time nothing was working out. When situation after situation arose, i’d bet, at some point, she stared off into the distance, sighed, and thought, “Great! What’s next? Locusts?”

She, her husband and two sons lived in Bethlehem, Judah during a famine, times were tough. They decided to move to Moab, evidently things seemed better there. During the next 10 years in Moab, her husband died; her two sons marry two Moabite girls, then the sons die. She is left with no means of getting by, and everything about the big plans to prosper in Moab have just fallen flat. Her husband and two sons have died and she is left with only herself and two daughters in law. Now what?

They heard God was giving food to her home people in Judah, so she and the two daughters in law set out for home. On the way back to Judah, evidently things were so difficult, and she was so uncomfortable, she told the two daughters-in-law to go home. Life was very bitter. They were all so very uncomfortable. One daughter-in-law agreed and went home, but the other, Ahhh….Ruth was the other, and she said, “Where you go I go, your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” Ruth 1:20-21, Naomi’s heart was, “….Don’t call me Naomi; call me Bitter or Mara. The Strong One has dealt me a bitter blow. I left here full of life, and GOD has brought me back with nothing but the clothes on my back.” Can you relate in some way to this? Maybe you left a home or job, full of life, convinced you were following God’s lead off on a great adventure, and came back with nothing,  just nothing but the ashes of your dreams and the continued discomfort of your circumstances. Yea, i did that. i moved us all to a far away place, and came back 9 months later with my tail between my legs.

What do we do when we’re in the long night of our discomfort? It feels like our ship is sinking, the wind and ocean are howling and raging, and God is silent silent silent. Tough question…honestly, i don’t even like to think about it….it’s just a very uncomfortable question.

Jonah is another person who had a time in his life of being extremely uncomfortable. i think Jonah was a real grouch, never the less, God gave Jonah a job, go preach to Ninevah. Now you may think this is a great thing, and it was, but it was also something which terrified Jews of the time. Ninevah was well known for it’s hatred and abuse of Jews, even torturing them just for entertainment, and i think Jonah wanted God to simply kill them all, without giving them of any sort of hope. i mean, what if Ninevah repented and God saved that horrible nation of horrible people? So, Jonah ran away from God. Yea right, like anyone can actually escape God.

Jonah found a ship going far away. He was so uncomfortable with God’s request and his personal circumstances that he left everything behind, got on a ship and headed out to anywhere but where God was, or so he thought.

Well, everything about Jonah’s life got worse and even more uncomfortable. The more uncomfortable he became, the more uncomfortable things got. A storm of storms blew up, the ship and it’s crew were in danger of dying at sea, and i guess in an effort to escape God all together, Jonah resigned himself to die. He told the sailors it was all his fault. In Jonah 1:15 “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.”

It seems Jonah figured dying was better than being as uncomfortable as he was….a sort of suicide in a way, only he was getting the sailors to do it for him. It was a permanent fix to a temporary problem, when quite probably, all Jonah had to do was STOP his running and face God.

When we are uncomfortable, so often, i think we attribute that discomfort to our doing something wrong, or God is pressuring us to repent or something like that. On the other hand, it is entirely possible our discomfort has nothing to do with doing something wrong and everything to do with simply being in the Lord’s transition. Regardless, if you can’t out run the difficulty you’re in, stop running, turn and embrace it. We’re going to live with it until we deal with it, and pretending an unfortunate situation isn’t really there, doesn’t solve anything. Actually, if anything, that pretending thing we do only increases our discomfort.

Is that, as a nation, what’s going on with us? We need to stop, STOP what we’re doing and face God. You know, i heard a man say once that God will get our attention, one way or another. He’ll work to get our attention in our spirit, and if that doesn’t work, he’ll work to get our attention in our minds, and if that doesn’t work, he’ll get our attention in our flesh even to the shedding of blood, but one way or another, He WILL get our attention.

So many people are looking for work, and these days there’s a lot of work available, so they can no longer say they aren’t working because there isn’t any, but now must be honest to tell the truth, which is “i want to get what i want and i don’t want to work for it.” A very uncomfortable place to be i’d say.

Many are uncomfortable at church, and uncomfortable even in their best chair. They are uncomfortable in their beds, in their kitchens, sitting outside, with friends, without friends…it’s almost as if all of life feels like wading through mud. We plant 100 and reap 10, we extend ourselves to 10,000, and only 50 respond. We leave a difficult situation and shortly find ourselves, in yet another difficult situation. We get into a conflict with a friend or at work, and we don’t resolve the conflict, we just leave it to stand hoping it will simply go away, and of course, it doesn’t really go away. It just changes shape to morph into yet another conflict, which we’ll have to live with until we deal with. Many sail from storm to storm, so often, the storms seem to be normal operating conditions.

Imagine each life situation as a brick. One brick of one unresolved situation maybe inconsequential, but when it is many bricks of many unresolved situations, what was once just a brick is now a wall, walling the world out, but also walling ourselves in. There are two sides to every wall. God calls to us and we’re not listening…. The phone is ringing but we pretend to not hear.

We have become a nation of uncomfortable people who tend to want to move away from or avoid what we don’t understand…. many times rather than ask an uncomfortable question, we simply smile, keep quiet, and move away. In our avoiding the Lord we have become increasingly uncomfortable. We eat but we’re not satisfied; we store up and conserve but in the end nothing is saved; it’s almost like we plant but don’t get to harvest; we do the work of crushing grapes but don’t get to drink the wine. We invent machines and tools to help us save time in order to have extra time, but in the end we still seem to have no time. We are frustrated and very uncomfortable.

What do you think is up with that? And what are we going to do about it?

James 3:17 “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” It would be simply brilliant if we stopped what we were doing and turned to face the Lord. It just seems wise to find out what He’s got to say. Not so we can shut Him up, but because all our own efforts are getting us no where…. like Jonah, we need to stop running away and meet with Him. i really believe the discomfort will continue until we turn ourselves to meet with God Almighty.

Mind you, i don’t believe God has sent work into our hearts, that we would labor mindlessly as some sort of vindictive punishment, that is not His character. i fully believe if there is laboring and work in our hearts it is because we have put ourselves there. Listen though, that doesn’t take into account that in the middle of transition, it is highly likely there’s going to be struggles and expasperations, ‘cause there are. i’m talking about our evading issues, running from God and metaphorically plugging our ears singing “La-la-la-la” to drown out the call of God.  It is more that He has simply allowed us to have our determined self-focus, self-determination, and self-declaring which all is an effort to leave Him out of our lives.

An old horseman had a very difficult horse once. i asked him what he was going to do to persuade the horse to yield and do things the man’s way. He said, “I’m going to simply give him his head, and let him run square into the law.” He did exactly that the next time the horse wouldn’t yield, and ended up deep in the most awful briar patch you ever saw, cut, poked, and frustrated. After a couple times like that, the horse and the man got along just fine. Funny how that works.

God has given this nation it’s head and will let us go as we insist until all our efforts completely come to a grinding, radically uncomfortable halt. Do we r-e-a-l-l-y think we can ignore the Lord? Do we really think He’s just going to take a passive-submissive posture towards the very creation He created? C’mon, who are we kidding?

Is it possible, we in America are so uncomfortable with life that we just don’t notice the world around us?

Let me complete the story which i began all this with…the man in the first part of this conversation stopped his own actions, prayed morning, noon, and night…sought the Lord with all he had, and for all he was worth….in his looking for the Lord, God has given him a vision of what’s next. Life is largely still a puzzle, but things are moving, not so fast he’s lost his way, but bit at a time as the Lord grows his character to fit the next appointment. Inch by inch, life is a cinch. Yard by yard it’s very hard. We need a vision of where we’re going so we’ll know how to be where we are. Think about it!

Our time is up and we’re at the end of the road for this production of Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late night cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River. i’m Social Porter sitting on the deck with Tony, Paul and a late evening cup of coffee, talking and laughing, cutting up and watching the river flow by. Tonight, as usual, has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, Miss Jackson at the DeLuxe Beauty Shop, Frank Edney at the Hot Spot, Bruce and Mildred Harrell, White Knuckle Studios, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

Music was by the Pete Minger Quartet, The Brecker Bothers, Dissection, Bill Bruford, and Jazz for a Rainy Day.

Isaiah 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;” Acts 17:27-28 “…so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for in Him we live and move and have our being…”.

The Lord is our direction, He alone is our comfort, and in Christ alone will we ever in this life gain the peace we need. Let us cease from our own works and seek Him. Just stop from our own doings and stubborn way…. turn and face God. It’s time to inquire of the Lord, don’t you agree?

Time slips away everyday for all of us. As we sit under the stars on the deck of a wonderful cafe at the end of Old Field Road, time is ticking, the sun rises and sets, the days come and go, moments and occasions click past us regardless of how much we all wish it would just stand still for a minute or three.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late evening, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River. i’m excited because …. this is the fourth friday of the month, which means it is ACOUSTIC night, acoustic jazz as performed by some extraordinary artists accompanying some contemplative conversation, words to carry with you as you walk around in your work-a-day world. As we proceed in life as we do, it’s always nice to have something to chew on in the mean time.

What do we do with our time? How do we “spend” our moments? We all have time and moments to spend as we determine, they are valuable and whatever we choose to spend them on is a one time purchese, whether precious or frivolous, if you know what i mean. So, as i was asking, how do you spend your time and moments? Chasing our kids, making meals, praying, arguing, deciding, thinking or maybe trying not to think about things, wondering, wishing….hoping. Maybe you spend the bulk of your time wishing you were doing something other than what you’re doing. Time is ticking by us and i’ve wondered how many of us seem to be unfocused and flat-lining in the middle of life. In desperation we come to the surface for air just long enough to convulsively gasp for breath, wishing someone would throw us a life preserver or pull us into a rescue boat.

Are we investing only in ourselves or have some of us realized that if we invest our time in others we, indeed, HAVE invested in ourselves.

The idea here is not to present a huge list of ponderous questions…. truly, i think maybe most of us have a list of questions which completely out weigh our list of answers if we put some thought into it. i heard someone say the other day, is your problem actually your problem, or is your attitude ABOUT your problem really the problem? Consequently, is our list of answers r-e-a-l-l-y all that sufficient, or are they answers God has extended us except they are simply not the ones we want to hear?

Maybe we have more answers than we appreciate, but they just don’t fit our agenda. Time is ticking, the days are moving past us, and at some point we’re going to have to move out with God regardless of whether we have answers or not, taking Him to BE the answer, not just Him giving us answers which fit our agenda. Know what i mean?

Enjoy the rhythms, let yourself relax a bit and i’ll be right back.

What do we do when we seem to have no answers? Please take note that i used the word, “seem” there. It’s all well and good to say, “the just shall live by faith” from Romans 1:17, or 2Corinthians 5:7 “we live by faith and not by sight”, but when the poo really hits the fan and we’ve actually gotta DO those scriptures, it might be a very different story for many. Having wisdom and DOING wisdom are very different you know.

In 1987 a close friend of mine lost his job. He and his wife prayed, a lot, confessing they were people of faith and were standing firm. A short while later, they lost one car. They continued to pray and tell their friends they were people of faith and were standing firm. Then his wife lost her job, money was thin and getting oh so much thinner all the time, but they were standing firm, standing on the word of God, and rightly so … they were people of faith and were confident God would deliver them. “The just shall live by faith” they told themselves every day, knowing it to be true, so they clung to Jesus even more tightly.

Then the creme de la creme came, the house payments were so far behind, it appeared they would be losing their house. They prayed constantly for help from the Lord, they knew they were speaking to the one and only person who could help. They began to feel like they were in the “trials of Job”, worry nipped at their heels, gnawed at any surety, and doubt left them messages on their phone….and of course let’s not leave out the well meaning church folks who asked them if there was some unconfessed sin in their lives. Yea, that’s irritating isn’t it? Funny how church people think there’s likely something wrong with you before considering maybe the Lord was at the helm and it was simply a trial of faith.

It is hard to not be frustrated when there seems to be no answers.

One evening, the youngest son went to a youth rally and gave his life to the Lord. The boy began to pray for his family, a job for his dad, for his mother to sleep and be at peace, and for his older sibling to come home because they were hanging with a troubling crowd. Wouldn’t you know it, things started to turn around. His dad got a job, the mortgage company miraculously extended them forbearance, his mom stopped looking like worry was hanging on her shoulders like a weight, and in a couple months, the older brother decided the fast crowd he was hanging with just wasn’t a good idea. It all worked out well, but they knew something after the trial which they didn’t know before: it is the truth, the just really do live by faith, and when unfortunate circumstances hit the fan in our lives, we can really and truly trust God….even when we don’t have any answers. Most especially when we don’t have any answers.

Gosh do we need answers, and the world around us does indeed give us some answers, but in the end they aren’t the answers we really need. Here’s the problem with all the answers we are being given: If you don’t know or understand the questions, the answers don’t make any sense. If i were to look at you and say, “42”. You might ponder a moment, then hopefully ask, “42 what?” Ah-ha! Exactly. i just gave you an answer but seeing as how you had no context because you didn’t know the question, my answer didn’t make any sense. Now, not only do we need to know the question so we understand the answer, we also need to know HOW to apply the answer. Just because we know the question and possess the answer, doesn’t mean we know what to do with it. We need wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and there is only one source for the three. God. You may say, “My doctor has answers and i didn’t have to go to God.” True, but where did those medical professionals get the ideas to pose the questions which then led to their conclusions? No one is smart enough to do life by themselves, and we need God to spark our dormant flame for the “right” answers.

He really has given us many answers to our looming questions, but i think many folks see God’s answers as insufficient somehow. We DO have answers, but often the answers just don’t seem to fit our agenda as far as we can see. Here’s a better question then: Are His answers insufficient, or is it more that we simply don’t understand, and rather than be honest and say we don’t understand, we say His answer was insufficient? Oh it wasn’t me who didn’t understand, it was God who wouldn’t tell me, and that’s not true, at, all. That’s what i call the theory of shifting responsibility. i say it’s horrible weather. Is it horrible, or is it that i don’t prefer it. Weather is weather, and no one decided it was horrible but me. Actually, i’ve decided there isn’t any such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

Sometimes, when the conflicts in life are so thick, all the paint on our picture seems to have been blasted away and we’re down to bare canvas, it does qualify as suffering. When we put our foot on the brake pedal and there’s the hideous sound of metal-on-metal, life isn’t simple. i don’t know much about suffering except these few things. One, suffering reduces everything to it’s lowest common denominator. Two, it adds meaning and dimension to even the smallest things. Three, suffering reduces culture to a classless society, it levels the playing field, meaning, when the country is out of food, everyone is suffering from hungry, rich, poor, big and small. And four, suffering teaches us to see the suffering around us, it is literally an eye opener to see beyond ourselves. The things we thought were important somehow lose their priority, the value of our social standing looses ground, priorities change quickly and suddenly God becomes VERY important…. faith is what you do when you have no answers.

Hebrews 11:6 “… without faith it is impossible to please God”.

Faith is not having conclusions. Faith is not being qualified. In our western version of Christianity we are basically fed a line of thinking which says “If you have faith, you will have answers and conclusions.” Ummm….no, that doesn’t hold water, if you know what i mean. Some think if you have faith you will prosper and never suffer, and if you are poor and are suffering, obviously you don’t possess the faith to rise above it all, as if you could run down to Walmart and by a couple cans of “Instant faith – just add water”. Some even say, ‘if you are sick or poor, it is your own miserable lack of faith which keeps you there.’ Friends, that is cruel and untrue.

Suffering is as much a part of Christian living as not suffering and we are always measuring each other as to who is more sinful, more blessed, closer to God (or not) than we are. Always measuring according to who has the most answers. “So-and-so must be more sinful than i am because they have way more problem’s than i ever thought of having. i don’t see what could be wrong with them, but look at them, things aren’t well with them, and things are well with me, therefore, i must have more faith and favor with God and less sin in my life than my neighbors.”    Astoundingly, many believe that……and it isn’t true …. at …. all.

The Jews of Luke 13 seemed to feel that bad things happened to bad

people of poor faith, and good things happen to good people who have lots of faith. This is called retributive theology, which says “If i am good to God He will be good to me, and if things don’t go well for me then surely i must have done something wrong.” Jesus said that is absolutely not true. Job was a righteous man according to God in Job 1:8 and there was not another man on earth like him, yet he suffered many things. Jesus was and is the most righteous man there ever has been, or ever will be, and He suffered many things. Was it that those people were sinful or due to their lack of faith there was suffering? Did Abraham leave not knowing where he was going or in what direction because he didn’t have his faith all worked up in order to get the level of answers and conclusions he thought he needed? Or was God just being ambivalent with him, jerking Abraham around? It wasn’t like that at all.

Faith is not having answers and just because you know stuff doesn’t mean you are someone of faith.

In Hebrews 11, did Sarah have to wait for 10 years after it was prophesied to her that she would have a child because she didn’t have any faith or because she was sinful? Was Watchman Nee poor and desperate because he didn’t have any faith? Did the early heroes of the faith become martyred because they didn’t have the faith to escape persecution and they somehow deserved to die because they were faithless and sinful? Do we not have answers to important questions because we don’t have faith? Maybe we do have answers, we just don’t like them. Or are we not able to come to some of life’s necessary conclusions or know what to do many times because we don’t have any faith? Many times we don’t know what God is doing, but we are required to trust Him until His purpose and direction comes clear.

Many times we don’t know the rules and are asked to trust God until the boundaries are made clear, and they will be made distinct. i don’t understand how God is right many times, but i’m willing to wait because i believe God is right in what so ever He does.

Faith is not having answers. Being willing to wait in the interim space of having no answer is faith, and in that space of waiting with no answers and no conclusions, God creates faith. Catch the vision here: sometimes, waiting is like exhaling and waiting too long to inhale, and there is a growing ache and urgency which begins in our body. Yes, i know this ache well, but the Lord will give us breath for the conclusions we need to resolve our dilemma.

The instruction of much of church-ianity tells us that if we have

faith we will have our certitudes if we use the standard religious

formulas. Faith is not a paint-by-number set. There are so many books which outline prosperity in a step-by-step, “How to live by faith” manual. It all maybe a great read, but when you’re the one on the boat with Jesus, there’s water coming over the sides, the wind is howling, the Master seems no where to be found, and in your most authoritative voice telling your neighbor to “just have faith” is almost cruel and cliché.

Jobs counselors were NOT willing to live in the space of no answers

and no conclusions, and as of today, many many people equate “having

answers” with “having faith”.

Jobs friends or counselors told Job in Job 8:20 that if he would “just

admit he was a corrupt and rotten guy that in no time God would give

him blessing on blessing and he’d be singing and smiling again.” But

Job refused to violate his integrity by admitting to something that

wasn’t true just so he wouldn’t have to suffer, just so he wouldn’t

have to keep trusting God even though he didn’t have any answers. We

will not gain faith or joy by compromising our integrity. i myself have, before the Lord, admitted to things i never did in hopes of stopping the storm i was in, yet the storm raged on.   and a fix based on my timetable, i wanted things to change, and i was more willing to focus on how horrible the situation was rather than focusing on the goodness of God. Even in the storm, set your eyes on Jesus, not the storm, because as long as you stare at the storm, the storm is all you’ll see, and the more you see it, the more it sweeps you out to sea. Even at that, God has not left you.

Having faith doesn’t mean having answers, but more being

willing to trust God and live in that space of time without answers

and without conclusions. It’s easy to glibbly say, “just have faith” until you’re the one in the hot seat.

In that space of waiting, between an exhale and an inhale, in the

space of no answers and no conclusions, it is always so very uncomfortable, and many times it feels like dying. But trust me, the sky will clear. Storms are only here for a short while and then they move on, the skies will clear and stars will come out again. You’ll see.

Let us trust God who is completely trustworthy. He is faithful and

righteous, and even when we don’t know the answers, God is still with

us who believe on Christ, and we can be assured that our answers will

come at the right time, the best time, in God-time, and it will be

enough. Think about it

Actually, we do have an answer: Jesus. He is THE answer….i wonder what it will take for the rest of our nation to confess He is Lord? Truly, i’m trying not to think about that….i suspect it will be a very unpleasant time in history before they bow their knees.

Thank you for listening in this evening. i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool acoustic jazz and contemplative conversation, brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, the always amazing Andrea at Viva coffee house in Tucson Arizona, Area 22 Guitars, [paul powers of WK Studios], the ever so talented Jerry at Werner Graphics, and Trinity Bakers where there’s always something good in the oven.

Be still in the time of waiting, take advantage of that time rather than resenting having to wait. Jesus really is the answer, everyday, from the beginning to the end, even when we’re down to brass tacks and bare metal, Jesus is the answer.

It is God’s timing that we are between an exhale and an inhale, trust him, He is building extraordinary faith in you! Step out in faith this week. Ask the Lord how to get closer to Him and to know Him better. Drive carefully, pray for your friends and neighbors, have faith and trust God. Meet me next time and we’ll pickup at the feet of Jesus where we left off. Amen.

Proverbs 4:5 “Get wisdom! Get understanding!”, and again in 7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”

The Lord calls us in the beginning and in the end to get from Him understanding. In all our amazing technological advances in medicine and science, i would suggest we, as general mankind, actually understand very little of the Everlasting, Glorious Who behind the what. i also think we are headed for a giant, incredible series of  “Ahh-HAH!” moments as the world gets darker and God becomes brighter, and more present in our understanding. Just like the disciples did in John 12, they had a huge, “Ahh-hah!” moment. John 12:16 “His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and understood they had done these things to Him.” When Jesus was glorified, they remembered and said, “Ahh hah”, they understood.

This is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late night, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant. It’s a wonderful cafe at the end of Old Field Road where every Friday for 30 or more minutes is cool jazz and contemplative conversation. Actually, actually, this Friday is a very special Friday, this being Acoustic jazz night. i hope you’ll continue to lend us your ears; let’s go together and better understand what it is God is saying to us. Catch you on the bounce after the following brief interlude.

i went to the Firecracker 400 at the Daytona Speedway one year. All the people and all the cars all jammed together for a day of racing….there were SO many people. Great day in the morning! Part of that race event was something called “qualifying”, which is where each race team puts their car on the track and makes the fastest lap possible, with the race officials measuring the time it takes to go around the track in one complete lap. Qualifying places the drivers, from fastest to slowest, in the starting lineup…of course the faster the better, of course being at the front is better than being at the back.

How many of us are qualifying amongst our brethren in hopes of a better position as it relates to those around us? God never, ever asked us to qualify for His love or grace. It is not “if” we do such and such He will love us, nor is it “when” we do such and such He will love us more and extend us grace. Many believers have strayed a pretty good ways away from the basic gospel message that Jesus loves us….period….and we need understanding that we don’t have to qualify. We were born and breath, therefore we are qualified for the Love of God. Without understanding we are just part of the blind multitudes whose minds still wear the veil of “not understanding”, and not until we meet Jesus is that veil pulled away for a huge “Ahh-hah!” moment.

i’ll say it again, we don’t have to qualify for God’s love or favor, Jesus qualified us all at Calvary when He was crucified for our redemption and was raised from the dead that we would have life, and have it more abundantly. Let us understand and grasp this fully: we don’t have to qualify for God’s love, He does love you and is relentless in His pursuit of you, whether you hold your mouth right, say the right things, or make good decisions. It’s not God loves you “when” or God loves you “if”, it is simply………….God loves you. Got understanding?

Many years ago i needed to know what God wanted to do; i was at the end of the road in the place i was living. i had no understanding what to do next. i prayed, fasted, read my Bible, inquired from my well traveled friends as to the Word of the Lord … technically, i was doing everything right; still nothing, just silence as far as what God wanted to do. i would ask Him, “What do You want to do?” He would reply to me, “What do YOU want to do?” We went round and round, honestly, it was a bit maddening. i had no clue what i wanted to do but believed if i persisted and pursued Jesus, He would show me. i was determined, for possibly the first time in my life, i was determined, doggedly determined to not make a move until the Lord gave me clear direction. For four years i listened, wrote down my dreams, took notes, listened carefully to those i respected, listening for any Holy Spirit Resonance in their words. Also, i studied like a man crazy obsessed to understand. Metaphorically, i had my long distance field glasses out all day and night, watching the horizon for any sign of God’s word to me. Still there was silence. Don’t get me wrong, i did indeed have significant dreams and there were many times scripture came alive to me, but i knew i couldn’t make my dreams fit my agenda, nor make my agenda to fit my dreams and visions. i’ve done that before and it just doesn’t end well. i had to wait. i remember crying out to the Lord saying “Lord, please, we’re on the same team here! You and i talk all the time. i feel like sometimes the enemy knows more about what’s going on than i do. Why is that? i don’t understand!” In all the words i received, all the dreams and visions the Lord gave me, the truth was i didn’t understand what He was getting at. It was as if there was a veil across my spiritual eyes and my knowing and understanding had met a brick wall, not operating together like two people shaking hands in agreement. In complete desperation it seemed a tipping point came one morning when i truly fell apart before the Lord, “Why don’t You tell me what i want to do, then i can ask You for that and You can then give me understanding as to what to do?” i think that prayer was two things, it was the prayer of a righteous and desperate man, and it was from a heart which was abandoning all things in order to understand God’s direction. From then on, the Lord slowly began to unfold His plan, but even at that, most of the time i didn’t understand what i was hearing and seeing. But it did get better. Over time, i became interested in looking at property in a different part of America, west and north of the Mississippi. i didn’t know why i was interested, i just knew i was interested. Into my mind came the idea to get rid of my stuff, so much stuff. i had a dream of an airplane which couldn’t fly because there was too much ballast. In the dream the Lord said, “You weigh too much and you’re flying too low.” So i divested myself of all my stuff, reducing myself and my possessions down to next to nothing. Ahhh….i began to understand…the Lord gave it to me to put together the dots so to speak, exercising my mind. Then one day, i understood, (TING!)…i was going to move and i even knew where. Now i began to understand, to comprehend. i gave away my extra car, tools, and most everything else. One morning, as i was speaking with a friend, she pointed to the sky and said, “Look!”….there, in the sky, an airplane was sky-writing … it read, “Time to go”. Then i had a very vivid dream where i was standing on a large dock looking at an old sailing ship. As plainly as can be, i heard God say, “The wind and tide are with you, weigh anchor, set your sails, drop the tiller, get up and get gone.” (TING!) i understood. So i packed up all my stuff and drove 2700 miles to my new home. i didn’t understand what i was going to do there, but i understood what to do for the time.

If we ask the Lord, He will show us. God always confirms His word to us. Hold! Hold! Wait for it ….and position yourself. Get ready. Remember, there may be a lengthy character building exercise He does in order to prepare us for what’s next, so don’t get in a hurry if you can help it. If we ask God for understanding and are willing to pursue Him and wait, He will give us what we’re looking for. Do you get me?

Ephesians 1:17-18 ^“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”.

Understanding – it’s one of the benefits of knowing Jesus. Understanding is one of God’s attributes which He shares with me, and for me, i don’t know about you, but for me, i’m ever so glad God shares this quality of Himself with me. According to Ephesians 1:17 & 18, if God didn’t give us understanding we wouldn’t have it. Some of us may avoid that truth, but it is still the truth none-the-less. When we believe in Christ, confessing Him with our mouths and believing on Him in our hearts, there comes an unveiling. Unless the Lord unveils our hearts we will be like the people of 2 Corinthians 4: 4, “ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” But because we have believed on the only begotten Son of God, our eyes are opened and we are made alive. 2Cor4:6, “For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:7, “Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.” In this case, the word understanding means a “mental putting together”, and in Hebrews 11:3, the idea of understanding means to exercise the mind, observe, connect the dots, and comprehend.

In John 8:27, when it says, “They didn’t understand that he spoke to them of the Father.” “Didn’t understand” in that verse is used in the sense of perception not linked to grasping what was said so we get the picture that to perceive, or know, is not always linked to understanding. There are many many things i know of but i have no clue as to understanding the application. In Luke 18:34, when scripture says they understood none of these things, it means they had not put together the dots mentally and comprehended what Jesus was saying. When we possess knowledge and God discloses the inside scoop to us, we call that “insight”. Luke18:34 reveals what Jesus was saying was hidden from them, hidden being the word “krypto”, and not until Jesus unveiled their eyes did they have any understanding. i can only conclude if God doesn’t give it, we don’t get it, and it is a kindness He extends mankind wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Consider Matt5:45 where Jesus says, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. But it is the spirit in man, meaning the breath and inspiration of the Almighty which makes him understand, according to Job32. Let us stand in faith that the Lord is faithful to give us comprehension in the time we need it, to possess a “mental putting together” in all things. The Lord is faithful, and it is the desire of His heart for us to understand.

i read somewhere that those with understanding are able to abstract the meaning out of information, meaning they “see through” the facts to the dynamics of what, how, and why. On a side note, there is truly a difference between the facts and the truth. Understanding is a lens which brings the facts into crisp focus. Understanding produces “rules of thumb” or principles. i have witnessed miracles in my life, but really didn’t know what i was observing until the Lord walked me through the reasoning which became knowledge. i’ve heard it said Knowledge is the facts and knowing the truth. Understanding is the ability to lift the meaning out of the facts, and Wisdom is knowing what to do next. i think that maybe a little narrow, but it’s pretty good. Knowledge is recognizing what we see, and understanding is connecting the dots to become an Ah-Ha moment.

Proverbs 23:23 “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” i’m confident most of us want the wisdom and understanding but don’t want to sit through being instructed, yet the truth is, we’ll have to be willing to let the Lord instruct us. Think… if you’re not willing to sit with Him and let Him teach you, what makes you think you’re going to come to understanding without Him? We desperately need to seek the Lord for Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. The truth is, the world is completely lost without the Love of God, for without God’s redemption, there are no alternatives except to be lost. There is no other door to Heaven than through Jesus Christ. The god of this world demands we prepare a table before him, but God in His generosity and kindness prepares a table before us. i am no one important with titles and accolades, but i can say this….i am a foot soldier in the army of the Living God, desperately trying to hear and understand what He’s saying.

Got understanding? Think about it.

There are things of God which are beyond our ability to understand, like His peace – Philippians 4: 7 “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” God is the perfect poet and He will never get tired of dreaming and imagining us. The Love of God is beyond me, i don’t understand, but yet there He is, guarding our hearts in His endless pursuit of us the object of His affections, regardless of ourselves.

Look to the Lord for your understanding. Go in peace this week, be strong and courageous.

It’s acoustic jazz night, it being the fourth Friday of the month. Sit back, relax, let the smoky mood and soft rhythm settle into your ears. ?Can you see the vision as it’s cast in your mind? Trust God to open the eyes of your heart and soul to see what He sees. Just…..let His vision in you play.

Turn off the main highway at Old Field Road and go all the way to the end. I’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late evening, cascading banks of the Okluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant. And yes, the Okluhwahhah is a real place in a real town, no kidding.

So glad you are here this evening, we always enjoy spending some time with you in contemplative conversation. Speaking of contemplating, i’m still learning to sip life, taking time to taste, rather than gulp and swill. A few years ago i watched my son eat a hamburger…he totally inhaled it in about 4 bites, it was astounding. i don’t think he actually tasted it much. Internally, i asked the Lord where my son learned to eat that way, i heard Him say, “From you.” Oh. From that point on i determined i’d take the time to sip and taste life rather than gulp and swill.

Are we strong and courageous? How did we get that way? Were we born like that, or is real strength and courage as God has granted grace to men?

Let’s let the music play a moment, coffee refills are free after 7 here at Outposts, so as we say, tap your toe, dream a little, and i’ll be back in a moment.

Alright, moving along. i’m going to use a previous conversation between a boy and his father which goes like this: A little boy said to his dad: “Dad, how am I going to be brave if I’m always afraid?” The father replied: “Son, it’s the only time you can be brave.”  Is it possible to really know the value of a good thing unless you’ve had something which totally didn’t work? i may say “i’ve got the best hammer in the world.” But my wise friend might ask me, “How can you tell? Have you ever had a bad hammer?” If i’ve only had one hammer and never used any other nail driving device, truthfully, i have no concept of the contrast of good and not good.

i find God to be the Lord of contrasts. i believe it’s true, He’s constantly speaking in many ways, but among all that He’s always speaking to us in contrasts, like day and night, good and evil, hope and despair, honesty and dishonesty, plus and minus, up and down. And this evening it is the contrast of strength and courage vs. weak and afraid. i have held off speaking of the concept and value of being strong and courageous because i’ve realized that i can’t effectively know how to talk about “being strong and courageous” unless i understand the contrast of “being weak and fearful”. To be honest, i’ve realized the idea of “weak and fearful” has been far more prevalent in my life than “strong and courageous”. The Hebrew perspective of the word “weak” is one of wings too limp to catch enough air to lift off or the inability of a mist to move even the simplest things. And i’ll just say this about fear: Faith and fear are complete opposites, they cannot reign in the same heart. While fear cowers, faith stands. While fear frets, faith prays. While fear looks within, faith looks to Jesus. Fear despairs, faith hopes.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul says: “…And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” That word “weakness” means literally, without strength. In other words, God’s amazing favor and His dynamic explosive power are made perfect in the midst of our native feebleness and moral frailty.

Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” And Winston Churchill adds to that “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

Are you a courageous person? i think most of us have probably spent a lot of our lives being scared rather than courageous, and we’ve fixated on the outcome and opinions of others rather than sticking to our faith.

Courage seems elusive sometimes, especially with people who need to find courage to just leave the house or go to the grocery store. i say if God asks you to step out and you’re afraid, do it afraid, that is courage under fire. We all do things which require courage on a daily basis, and what is a conscious effort to be brave to some is merely second nature to others. i have been told i am very brave, but if the truth be known, at the time, i was more clueless as to the consequences of my actions, so it wasn’t conscious bravery, but more sheer ignorance which caused my appearance of courage. One time a buddy and i were throwing rocks at a hornets nest that was big as a watermelon. Another fellow nearby said we were brave. That wasn’t brave, that was colossal ignorance as to the potential consequences. Stupidity can masquerade as bravery, but the truth is, it’s just stupidity.

Ignorance and stupidity aside, sometimes it takes the third – or fourth – or fifth – or hundredth time of practicing courage before the intensity of fear dissipates, the idea is to persist until we overcome. Now there are two good words for the week, “persist and overcome”. The deep breath which precedes a jump into the ocean is the same as that which precedes a step into an unknown situation or a different space. How do we find that courage and strength we so desperately need? Most times courage isn’t shouting, being loud and defiant, but is seen in just saying at the end of the day, “I’ll try again tomorrow.” One of the greatest afflictions upon the Body of Christ today, is a loss of courage and being overwhelmed in our own systemic lack of strength.

Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Oh, and i know well how easy it is to say “Just trust in God”, and it often irritates me when some well meaning person says, “If you’d just…” then they tell you a scripture to quote to yourself. “If you’d just…” is easy to advise others of, but when it’s only you looking in the frightened eyes of yourself in the mirror, “If you’d just…” doesn’t hold much water. We don’t find courage and strength by turning scripture into a mantra, but we do find courage and strength when we grip to Christ in faith. And for some, maybe even that seems sort of lame to say, but it is the truth. Somewhere there, we must find courage and strength to persist and overcome even if all circumstances say we should just quit as many others have done. The courage and strength we are looking for is in Christ and Christ alone, really and for reals.

i have searched high and low for another source of strength and courage and there is none other than Christ. i’ve tried to have strength and courage in and of myself, and that was worse than a dead end road for it was no road at all, it was just a big “no where”.

Admitting to God that we are weak and fearful is a good thing. James 5:16 “Make this your common practice: Confess your faults to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed.”

The sincere prayer of confession by anyone who is living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Courage is a thing of intention and leadership. It is like powerful waves washing upon the shore over and over, and is intrinsic of God who is the faithful one, and because He has courage, we have courage. In our leading a life of being strong there is exemplified grace of the crowned believer who carries the sword of the spirit, and in our transforming practice of strength comes a constant invitation for more transformation. Like saying the more i practice my strength in Christ, the more i am strong in the power of the Holy Spirit. The more we are courageous, the more we are courageous, and the more we are strong, the more we are strong. To those who have will be given, and those who have not will be taken away. On a side note…i believe honesty and transparency is systemic to courage and strength.   .

i must say though, it seems that admitting our faults, in the eyes of some people, appears to them as weakness, and it inspires their hyper-religiousness to kick in, motivating them to counseling rather than relating. To many, admitting to ANY difficulty or fault just looks like weakness, when really, it is strong and courageous to be honest and real, while employing tact and diplomacy. E.E. Cummings said, “It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are.”

Many people feel that to admit there are times when they are weak and fearful gives other people power over them. But regardless of the possible down side of admitting i am sometimes weak and fearful, in my confession, i am strong in Christ. Here’s another personal admission, in hopes others will relate rather than put on their religious suit of counsel: i’ll be honest – i don’t have what it takes. i don’t have it and that’s the truth. But Jesus does, and He lives in my heart, and in Christ i am strong and courageous, AND i am prosperous and highly favored! Not merely surviving, but prosperous and that so doesn’t mean having money and stuff either.

Personally, i’d like to NOT be SO acquainted with “weak and fearful”, but the facts are, there are times when I AM…. 2 Corinthians 12:10, “….. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” And Hebrews 11:34, “….out of weakness they were made strong, became valiant in battle, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Coming to resolve about what exactly God is talking about in those scriptures has very little to do with lifting weights, boxing championships, or being tough. Admitting my own lack of courage and that i’m weak doesn’t mean i’m stupid, a failure, worthless, or a whining, spineless, sniveling, pasty, potbellied old man. Practicing spiritual, emotional, and intellectual honesty in today’s environment is truly an act of courage and bravery. And that’s not being honest on behalf of someone you think is not being honest. We can’t be honest for them according to our perception of what they aren’t being honest about. God never asked us to take a fearless moral inventory of our neighbor you know. That’s not our job. i’m speaking of honesty about ourselves, from God’s point of view, not capitalizing on all our badness, nor living out a fairytale of only seeing and hearing our sparkling moments with no responsibility for our secret actions.

i’ll be the first to say, most of us will never know how strong and courageous we are until it’s the only option left.

In 2Kings 18 when the King of Assyria came against little Judah, Hezekiah was the King at the time. The Assyrian generals called for surrender, speaking fear and defeat to the Jews, telling them all sorts of terrible things. In 2Kings 19 we see Hezekiah, in what i believe is a terrible and stressful situation, going before the Lord on his hands and knees, laying out the Assyrian letters of challenge, saying to God (my paraphrase here), “Can you see this? This is terrible! This is a black day, a terrible day—doomsday! Babies poised to be born, but no strength to birth them. What do You want to do?”

Hezekiah was desperate for courage and strength because he knew if God didn’t step in, they were goners, done for! Not only did Hezekiah step out in faith towards God, but i believe the Lord gave him courage to face down the Assyrians and not surrender. That night, the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army, leaving the invading army dispirited, slump shouldered, useless as weeds, fragile as grass, insubstantial as wind-blown chaff. Judah was saved. They were truly weak and fearful, and they knew it, but in the Lord their God, Yahweh, they found strength and courage to persist and overcome.

Jesus creates hope in the middle of discouragement and gives us endurance in the midst of trouble. Jesus inspires the depressed and motivates those who are feeling down and out. Jesus is the foundation for being courageous and the fuel for the engine of persistence. Friends, let’s put the pedal to the metal for courage and persistence and not be moved from our position of faith. Tell the truth even if your voice shakes.

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” Joel 3:10 “…. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”  Say this with me. No, i’m serious, say this with me, “I am strong in Christ!” And again, “I am strong in Christ!” Tell that to yourself in the mirror every morning and night. Tell yourself that as often as necessary until you get it, and get it down in your heart of hearts! Let your ears hear what your mouth is saying…  say out loud, “I am strong in Christ!” Write it on the mirror in every bathroom in the house, so every time you look at yourself, the words go in your eyes to remind you.

Let us take the word of the Lord to heart, and stand on it, believing God more than men or the devil, being strong and courageous, persisting and overcoming through Christ our Lord! Think about it.

i’m not a fearful man, but i have been told that it’s not that i’m so courageous but more i’m not smart enough to know when to run away. Either way, in my heart of hearts, i see myself as a strong and courageous man, yet honest and vulnerable. How about you? How do you see yourself, the unvarnished truth?

This has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, a fine establishment in the crook of the river, at the end of Old Field Road. i’m Social Porter and this program has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Harley Stepp, Ed Zangerle at Zangerle’s Farrier service, Rev. Ralph Banning, Charlie and Jenny McDonald – 2 of the finest people i’ve ever known, old dancing fingers himself – Eddie over at Area 22 Guitars, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

Music was by the Hadouk Trio, Antoine Dufour, Darol Anger, Billy McLaughlin, and Didier Malherbe. All music use is licensed by BMI.

As we go our way this week, present to the world God’s character in you, it’s the fruit of rubbing shoulders with God, not the performance identity of a job, or the presentation identity that we display to others. Every day with Jesus is a day of defining, moments which bring us solid, consistent definition in a very fluid, mobile, and inconsistent world.

Everyone in the world, and….i suppose every living thing in the world, is always choosing, as was mentioned in a previous program. But our ability to choose is based on our ability to discern the differences between our choices. That discerned difference is based on some standard in us which we got from somewhere and someone.

i heard a talk given at a conference a while back in which the speaker was saying they did a study of the ability of women to tell the difference between nail polish colors. They picked 3 different colors of pink, that difference was based on the manufacturers labeling, they removed the labels, and asked a panel of women if there was a difference. All the women said there was no difference in the three samples. When the experimenters placed the labels on the appropriate bottles, suddenly, the women re-decided, saying, “Oh yes, i can really see the difference now.” Clearly, the ability to choose depends on our ability to discern differences, and they didn’t see the difference until someone told them there was a difference.

By what standard do we base our discernment on? And my standard is not necessarily your standard. In Judges 17:6, the idea is that everyone did according to their own standards of what they consider right and wrong, good and bad. It says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

It’s a beautiful evening, so enjoy the cool jazz and ponder our contemplative conversation concerning “Standards: Where do you get yours?”, and we shall return after a moment of repose.

Mankind has decided on so many variations of standards. It’s becoming increasingly more evident the top thinkers of this world system want everyone and everything to become stable, predictable and measurable, but according to what standard of stability, predictability, and measureability? Hmmm…top thinkers according to who and by what standard are they “top thinkers”? Doctors tell us that the “standard of care” for cancer or some other affliction is the accepted and approved way of dealing with our issues. But more often than not, the side effects far out way the benefits, but yet the “standard of care” is still pushed as the accepted and approved medical procedure…..which speaks to me that the purported standard is not the real standard. i believe when we’re told, “Oh this is the standard of care”, it really means, “This is what we always do, whether it works or not.”

In our society we have devices which give us standards and as example, thermometers, tape measures, volt meters, clocks, and even some baby bottles which measure in Imperial, U.S. customary, and metric, all on the same bottle. There are economic standards, measuring standards, surveying standards, weight standards like  Avoirdupois based on 16 ounces in a pound, Troy based on 12 ounces in a pound, standards of grammar, and on and on, ad naseum.

There are measuring systems or standards in the world of all sorts… but the truth is, here it is: units of measurement are essentially arbitrary; in other words, people make them up and then agree to use them. There is almost, and note the use of the word “almost”, almost nothing inherent in the universe which dictates that an inch has to be a certain length, or that a mile is a better measure of distance than a kilometre. Over the course of human history, however, first for convenience and then for necessity, standards have evolved so that communities would have certain common benchmarks.

In our striving for standards to live by we’ve even come up with government run institutions which are responsible for being the bottom line for standards, like the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

A musical group tunes to the same standard, if they didn’t, everything would be chaos. A lot of folks really resent rules and standards, but if there were no particular standards, we would still be in the stone age. But in a way, our society has become so inundated with standards about standards with standards about how to keep the standards, a lot of folks have simply begun doing what Israel did…..and every person went into their own house and did what they felt was right in their own eyes. Some have actually declared there is no real truth except for what they want it to be. Honestly, that sounds more like an attempt to justify any crime or cruel thing someone may want to do.

If i took a fearless moral inventory of my neighbor, i would be passing and failing them according to my idea of what is right and wrong. They may not appreciate my standards at all. Besides, it’s not my job to make sure other people get it right, it’s their job to take their own inventory and take action to be straight with the Lord. Romans 14:4-5, “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”

And then…. there are our personal standards, and boy howdy, now the idea of standards gets very hazy, totally subjective, and extremely difficult to see.

What are your standards? Where did you get them? We’ll be right back.

        All the standards in this world are indeed dizzying. Everyone trying to find a means of agreement, but yet it seems we all so consistently disagree, in general. We’re so easily offended, which drives us to being naturally defensive, making the entire human race roughly a bunch of very contrary people. In the words of a well known author, It would seem the stupid ones are overly confident in their own mind, and the brilliant seem so full of doubts.

i believe we all want harmony but can’t seem to agree on our means of unity. Oh my, what will we do, what will we do? Maybe the question, What CAN we do? could be a good place to start.

Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard….”

i’m confident in today’s world we need a better standard of how to live and act, other than the standards and definitions according to the whim of men, bureaucrats, and twisted thinkers. Today’s world certainly has very fluid standards and mobile boundaries, so we absolutely shouldn’t be willing to define right and wrong by such worldly subjective standards –We need a more sure standard who does not change, is reliable, consistent and repeatable, does not lie, and loves us enough to not only help us, but He IS our help, hope and redemption.

Contrary to confused objectors, the media, and the voice of a self-defining, self-declaring world, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and King Jesus himself ARE the standard. Rest assured Jesus is the RIGHT standard, the standard of all standards by which the universe is measured. Isaiah 11:10 (NKJV) “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a standard and a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

For many the media has become the great discipler, and the news service is often taken as the truth, and truly sometimes it is, ?but how can we tell what is true and what is not, when so much of the same media service is NOT true too? We need something, someone more believable. We say it is God, but is it really? If we really really believe the Lord is truly who He says He is, it should be a radical game changer. Is God your bottom line? Think about it and be honest, brutally, the unvarnished truth please. We can’t keep lying to ourselves and be surprised when we eventually don’t know which way is up anymore. If we can’t be honest with God and ourselves above all else, how do we expect to be honest with the rest of the world?

Jesus Christ is the standard and example, the pinnacle of all things a human should be. He is the standard – not in size, not in age – but in moral, ethical and principle character. Many preachers, and multitudes of professing people, are engaged in a relentless pursuit to find out just how many imperfections and infidelities, and how much inward wrongness is allowable with a quote/unquote “safe state” in Christianity…how bad can it be before they’re not ok anymore…..oh but how few, very few, are bringing out the fair Gospel standard.

“Our Standard is Christ” because Christ is the only standard …and listen now, this is not a marketing slogan— it is a commitment. Jesus set the standard for how we are to live with others, how we deal with ideas and concepts, understand the world, love and forgive, set personal goals and boundaries, and focus on what matters in life. Any other standard would be secondary to this high calling for every believer. Philippians 3:14 “ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” In attempting this discussion about what standards are important to us, i think we should also be willing to explore another question: what other standards could there be?  Any other standard we might consider is insignificant in comparison to “Our Standard is Christ.”

As believers in Christ and those who live in His Name, we hold the Bible to be the truth; we believe Jesus is who He says He is; we believe God and the Bible are the bottom line for our morals, principles, ethics, conduct, and character, cover-to-cover, from beginning to end. We have met the Lord and by our profession, we accept Jesus Christ as our standard.

Everything Jesus did with others reflected the nature of God – from the work He did alongside Joseph as a carpenter’s apprentice – to preaching the Sermon on the Mount.  From conversation over a meal, to struggling with fatigue from the business of the day, to the way He developed relationships – it was all about showing and living the nature and love of God.

Every outward action in the life of Jesus grew from an inward spiritual strength, and so, for Him and for us, we can’t focus on the outcome without linking it to the indwelling of God in our heart, soul, and mind.

Psalm 118:8-9 “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”

Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”

With Christ, not wise men or this world, but Jesus as our standard, and our allowing God to direct our path, rest assured He will bring us to our best … and then propel us beyond what we think is achievable or possible. J.C. Ryle said, “The standard of the world, and the standard of the Lord Jesus, are indeed widely different. They are more than different. They are flatly contradictory one to the other.”

And dear family, nobody cheats and succeeds by trying to possess worldly standards and God Standards both. You cannot play both sides. You cannot love, like Jesus said in Luke 16:13, both God and the world.

Jesus Himself is our standard, the bread and butter of our faith. i think i’m encouraging everyone to consider carefully by what standards you live, not to breed a war, for that’s not the attitude of a soldier in the army of the Living God, but to encourage us all to take God seriously in all accounts and by all means. i suppose for those who would ask, “What exactly is your point”, i would ask the question, “Is He God or not? And if He is, then act like it!” That’s pretty pointed, but at the same time it’s a very relative question for the days we live in where we’re overwhelmed with choices and most of us can’t hardly tell the differences between one option and the other. Christ is a distinct and obvious standard, and the gospel is really simple. Is He God or not? And if He is, let’s act like it.

Think about it!

Thank you for listening! i hope you’ve enjoyed the contemplative conversation and cool jazz in the middle of a chaotic world.

This has been Outposts, a fine establishment in the crook of the river, at the end of Old Field Road. i’m Social Porter and this program has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Hill Top Garage, Ed Zangerle at Zangerle’s Farrier service, Rev. Mark Fox in Mars Hill, Kevin, Perry and Tommy of the Mebane Freedom League, Williams Painting, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

Music was by the Pete Minger Quartet, Michael Blake, Paul McCandless, Didier Malherbe, and Terence Blanchard. All music use is licensed by BMI.

By what standard do we base our discernment on? M y standard is not necessarily your standard. Let us have our harmony within the Body of Christ by choosing Christ as our standard of unity. Give God all the Glory,
“You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

And at that, i’ll say good night and be blessed, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

If i’m not mistaken the last topic was about Peacemakers, those who do more than just keep the peace, but actually step into the fray and make peace with themselves and others. There is a difference, you know, between keeping the peace and making peace.

At this juncture, let me add, among a few other things i figure there are two subtle but significant constants in life…. waiting and conflict. We spend the majority of our lives waiting, and there is always a never ending opportunity for conflict, in one form or another. Seeing as how having to wait and dealing with conflict are such a constant in all of our lives, you’d think we’d be better at it. Amazingly though, we are not.

Tonight’s topic is conflict, do we submit and resent, rebel and persecute, or choose to step into the fray and resolve things, if at all possible? There’s just too many stones being left unturned and as a result conflict persists in our lives. Even if left to ourselves, we are conflicted by opposing ideologies banging around in our heads. To me, it seems …odd…that many churches want to advance the gospel, but typically don’t offer much on how to deal with conflict.         Friends, any time people gather in groups, there will come conflict….eventually, somebody is going to have a conflict about something with someone else. Should we do what we usually do, just say nothing and let it ride, hoping the issues will just magically go away? Probably not the best approach i’d say. The clash among people doesn’t actually just go away, it simply morph’s into something else, only to rear it’s ugly head later on. i believe we spend a lot of time teaching nice principles and only uplifting doctrines from scripture, cycling through our “go to” Bible verses looking for one to make us feel better about …um, something ‘er other, but we spend almost no time learning to resolve conflict, in a setting where struggle, strife, and rivalry is so at the forefront of issues which need to be dealt with. We’ll continue in a moment, tap your toe, dream a little, and i’ll be right back.

Let’s think about 1 Sam22:1-2. “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.”

i see the entire cave of Adullam experience as a defining moment for several issues. Historically, Jewish history has it the cave of Adullam, near the city of Adullam, wasn’t far from where David defeated Goliath, it is near where Moses saw the glory of God, and historically it is the same cave where God spoke to Elijah, so it was a pretty important place.

Because of Saul’s desire to put a spear into David, the songbird of Israel took off and hid in a cave. David was conflicted, and Saul was very conflicted. i think something else that was interesting is that David seemed to have a knack of drawing to himself others who were distraught, discouraged, and dissatisfied (that is the three d’s there, did you catch that? Distraught, discouraged, and dissatisfied).. and they were all the three d’s in some fashion or another…..they were all conflicted, with no apparent means of resolve. They were all on the run, they were all in hiding, and they were doing their best to out distance the conflict which pursued them. Whatever the problems were with each of those in the cave of Adullam, their difficulties were great enough they were driven out of where they were. How is it they all seemed to end up in the same place about the same time? Was it God’s doing, directing their paths whether they knew Him or not?

Psa35:11-12 says “Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. They repay me evil for good and leave my soul forlorn.” This scripture is the crux of our modern society political system. Conflict is on our door step and we can’t out run it.

When people embellish the truth and make sure others hear of it, it is ruthlessness seeking to set a bias for a hidden agenda, personal conflict then becomes the focus, and they discredit anyone who might oppose them. I am amazed at the people who don’t like the way you talk and they just feel it is of the utmost importance to make sure you know THEY don’t approve. I think that’s bizarre. They leave their bitter words at our feet, and then abandon us to deal with the damage in their wake, isolated and cast off. Leviticus19:16 says we should never go around being a slanderer of others…. that word slanderer there means a scandal-monger, as in someone who loves the chaos of conflict, and causes others to be seen as unbelievable. Being a tyrannical and terrorizing witness, interrogating others in such a way so as to make them admit to things they, in truth, know nothing about, casting shadows on justice and upon doing the right thing, God says it is wrong. He likens it to standing up against the life of your neighbor, and it happens all the time in our justice system, and actually, i think this behavior is generally promoted in our country these days.

Have you ever felt that way? If anyone says ‘no’, i certainly would challenge the honesty of the reply. Conflict is all around us, and avoiding it is impossible. I don’t believe we are so naïve that we somehow believe that avoiding conflict is possible, so let us, the Body of Christ, embrace conflict and begin learning to resolve our differences instead of pretending a smile, making a face, and breaking off our relationships. Going away is not an answer unless it’s under extreme circumstances with no other option.

As in 1Sam22, David’s conflict had become a crisis, but unlike David, our conflicts don’t have to become a deadlocked dilemma. Many serious issues can be prevented by simple early attention. i believe managing a potential conflict long before it’s a crisis is a great investment of time and energy – do you know what i mean? But many times we just let things fester until they are gale force winds of conflict, then we fly into action with a knee jerk reaction and none of it have to be that way had we dealt with things before they got wound up tight as a clock spring.

Maybe… instead of seeing conflict as a good reason to go somewhere else, we should be brave and have those challenging conversations as an opportunity for a deeper association with others. Before you run off make sure you’ve done all you can do to stay connected. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with everyone.  And yes i’m speaking to all the “church surfers” out there, and those who desperately want deep relationships, but find it too scary to disclose enough of themselves to actually make it happen. Is that you? Maybe it’s me. But surely it is us.

In light of the conflicted David, his “mighty men of valor” and their crisis with Saul, what did they do about it?…. ‘cause you know, enduring looong running conflict without resolve….well, that sort of pressure tends to warp your head around over time. They couldn’t run fast enough to get away; they couldn’t find a cave deep enough, a ditch long enough, or a country far enough. David needed a different outcome, so, by God’s guidance and power, David did something other than run, he turned and embraced the conflict; he began to turn his problems into possibilities, and to me, he came up with some creative responses. Like in 1 Sam24:2-3, when Saul was chasing David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself, little did he know that David and his gang of desperate men were pressed far back in the cave.
David’s rough crew wanted to kill Saul right there when the King was so very vulnerable. They figured if they got rid of Saul, then their conflict and crisis would end. Isn’t that what we do? “Let’s get rid of so-and-so, then our problems will be over.” “Let’s get rid of this-n-that, then, yes THEN our problems will be over.” But shortly, we are conflicted and in a crisis all over again. The problem isn’t outside us but inside us. In David’s case though, he knew better and said, in so many words, “No way guys, we’re not doing that! We’ll do this God’s way or no way at all!” David needed a different outcome, so he employed a different approach. 1 Sam24:7-8 ^“ ….And Saul left the cave and went his way. Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.” i bet Saul was quite embarrassed and humiliated to find out a whole gang of people were watching him relieve his bowels, and even though they had the chance to kill him they practiced self control. After that, David took the opportunity to plead his case to Saul in an effort to resolve the conflict as best he could. He played down his judgment and criticism, restraining his inclination to cast shadows on Saul.

How many of us, sitting out there listening to this, need a different outcome from the one we usually get when things get a bit testy in our relationships?

i think quite a few people prefer a large body of believers, not just because there is a greater opportunity for fellowship, but also because it is easier to control how close we get to others and how much of ourselves we reveal. In a small body of believers, there grows a much more profitable relationship…it’s closer, but it requires persistent diligence, humility, and grace. In large bodies we don’t have to be particularly responsible or accountable, and if anyone challenges us and our behavior, well, this is America, we just move on to the next place. More than a few pastors have expressed deep concerns over the fact that most of their congregation is comprised of sheep from another pasture.

Friends, when we run from the problem, we run from God’s promises, and when we run from God’s process, we run from the blessings. There are people who have encountered conflict, and rather than deal with it, they set themselves above and apart, maintain they are right so as to make the other person wrong, and then, they just move to another pasture. My friends, we are conflicted and we need to begin to learn to deal with our conflicts and resolve our differences.

Are you thinking about how things ought to be, instead of how things are? In the mind of many people, it’s usually the “other person” with the problem and we are somehow innocent and above it all. Rather than aiming our finger at the other party, let’s think about what our part is in the situation. Are we honest about ourselves? Do we strongly hold to our idea of “how things should be”? How people should behave? What ought to happen? Are you constantly judging if someone is being polite or rude, what is correct vs. what is wrong? We can get totally lost in our focus on everything wrong with anything and never get anywhere. Do you realize how many people there are who seem obsessed with what’s wrong with the church and rarely get around to being devoted to what is right with God? Conflicted i tell ya’, conflicted!

Do we hold ourselves to an impossible standard saying, “I’ve got to get this right, because if I can’t, I’d better not even try.” If we do that we’ll just turn into Eeyore and go stand in the rain some place.

Jesus said in Matt11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

i’d like to point out we all need rest, and faith in Christ brings us much needed rest, but it does not absolve us of dealing with our conflicts with others… and running off to another pasture doesn’t remove the conflict, it only delays our dealing with it all. Some important words in that last scripture are “take my yoke upon you and learn from me”. i’d like to share this basic wisdom which God has planted in my heart…….resolving my conflicts starts with me, not with them, but with me. If i want others to be different, then i must be different, if i want a different outcome i must begin with a different approach, being consistent and repeatable, and do it and do it and do it until the conflict in my sphere of influence begins to turn around.

Everyone has dreams and they imagine the way life might be. Of course we do, and we’d be foolish to not admit it. We were born to dream and imagine, so it’s not a fault we need to fix. But, does the movie in our head actually match the real-life situation? There are two lives going on with us….there’s the life inside our head and the life outside our head and we’ve got to make adjustments in order for the two to get along. When the life inside doesn’t get along with the life outside, we are conflicted and need some resolution in order to live at peace with ourselves and others.

Jesus did not run from the conflicts around Him, oh boy, and He was seriously surrounded by conflict. Not only did He not allow Himself to get swallowed up by the world around Him, He chose to embrace the conflict, and respond with the appropriate assertiveness. i said “appropriate assertiveness”.

Listen you who are so easily offended: Jesus didn’t practice a defense because He didn’t carry an offense. What’s with all the defensiveness these days? i say there’s multiple offenses underneath driving the need to be defensive. And oh, how easily we all get offended, wow.

If we want to reduce some of our conflicts, lets open doors not close them, let’s learn to ask ourselves some really relative questions like: How can i move this forward? Do we dwell on how unfair someone was, playing the situation over and over in our minds? Ask yourself, can i improve the situation without demeaning myself? <<<SAY THAT AGAIN —Is the issue about what i imagine, do i have the facts, have i listened and understood the other person? What is this r-e-a-l-l-y about? How else could i see this? Now, i’ve got to say though, asking those questions and getting some answers is a real discipline, so it may take practice in order to entertain such self-inquisition. Be strong and courageous.

Friends, if we withdraw and then go silent, giving someone the “silent treatment”, is anything resolved? The silent treatment is an exercise in pain about who can care less, the most, the longest?. <<<SAY IT AGAIN— It should be no skin off anyone’s nose to listen and understand the other person. No one said we have to agree, but we can certainly listen, right? i believe Jesus was an active listener and he participated in the conversations with the disciples. He asked them questions as they asked him questions, He invited them into the conversation rather than just telling them answers. Jesus is our example of how we should live, act, and have our being; He is our example of how to live out our conduct, character, and conversation.

Conflict….ahhh, what a difficult topic. Re-thinking pain and how we deal with it can be trying, to say the least, especially when we’re the ones in pain, and ignoring it all doesn’t make it go away, in fact, if we ignore our pain, check it out, this is important…if we ignore our pain, it simply becomes triggers. Here is a sticky statement: undealt with pain today, becomes tomorrows trigger points.

i think the following is a good question, What do you do when the other person is screaming at you? Maybe just emotionally screaming, you know, some people are very emotionally loud but yet speak softly. You might feel shame that someone would dare speak to you like that, or maybe anger at yourself for feeling stupid and even being there, but never the less, there you are, getting slammed, and it seems like nobody cares. In fact, the look on their faces, sometimes, is as if other people seem to think you deserve getting yelled at. How do you act? Do you retaliate, or scream back? Gosh, that really solved things, huh? Do you remain calm and choose to engage rather than be driven by the volume of the conflict? Maybe we just smile, back away slowly, and say to ourselves “I’ll never go there again”. Yea, we’ve all done that one.

How many times in our lives have we decided, “I’ll never go there again”? Did … not going, where ever “there” is, actually resolve anything, or did the conflict follow us around, staring at us, begging to be resolved? …. and if we think unresolved conflict won’t follow us, uh-huh, just give it time. Hear me on this: God WILL get our attention. It’s sort of like taking a job, the boss brings up some places you need to improve. You get offended and quit. If you’ve had three or four jobs in a short time span, maybe it’s not the job, ya’ know, maybe it’s you and the Lord is talking to you about you. He does that you know. It’s nice and makes us appear all composed when we quote the Bible and be all spiritual, but if we really, really want to know the Lord and want more from our walk, we’re going to have to quit hiding and resolve our internal conflicts.

How many of us peg the meter between worry and indifference? We think to ourselves… we’re supposed to be trusting God but yet we find ourselves worrying. To escape the weight and burden of worry, and worry does have crushing weight, we flop over to being indifferent. “Fine! i don’t care!” we say to ourselves. But before long we’re feeling guilty about being indifferent because we know God is never indifferent, we’re supposed to be a light on a hill to the world, but yet here we are being indifferent. To escape the guilt of feeling indifferent we try to press forward, quote some scripture, and tell ourselves we’re trusting God again. But…it’s not long before that worry starts c-r-e-e-p-i-n-g back in, and shortly we’re pegging the meter under the weight of worry again. Back and forth, slamming back and forth. What’s really going on there? What i’ve illuminated is a conflict that is common among people in general, and i believe the Lord is the only one who can leads us to resolving the conflict.

And now for Jesus. He is the highest peacemaker in history. From the Garden of Eden, there came a conflict between God and man. God knowing the end from the beginning resolved, from the beginning within Himself, to give to us the ultimate gift to resolve our conflicted souls if we’ll simply embrace Him. This is the truth… Jesus is our example about how to deal with conflict.

Criticizing, casting shadows on others, name-calling, self-elevating arrogant declarations, and passing out ultimatums are poor options which block resolve >>> and feed conflict. We often re-write our story in our minds to make it something other than what it is so we don’t have to deal with life. If we want a different outcome, we’ve got to initiate a different approach.

We are the Body of Christ and i believe God wants us to be experts in dealing with conflict. He gave to us Jesus, who bled and died for us, in order that we would be free and no longer need to be slaves to sin. Let us open doors, not close them, and quit all that running away. Behold the Lord stands at our door and knocks, and anyone who opens to Him, He will come in to us and eat with us, bringing with Him Love, Grace, Peace, and the power to change, and change we must for we can not continue as we were. God has changed direction and we must change with Him. Oh and saying, “That’s just the way i am”, man, that’s a terrible answer. Think about it.

i want to be a warrior with an open heart. i want to be an influencer like Samuel and ultimately Jesus….an influencer not a manipulator. i need a different outcome so i’ve got to let God teach me a different approach. Here’s another sticky statement: A manipulator works for the outcome to favor themselves at the expense of others; an influencer works for the outcome to favor the other party as well as the influencer, as in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that who so ever would believe on Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 is a win/win solution to our conflict; it’s good for God and it’s good for us! That is ultimate peacemaking.

i’m Social Porter…thanks for joining me this evening here at Outposts, an engaging and cheerful cafe at the end of Old Field Road, which overlooks the late evening cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River.

All music was by The Hadouk Trio, Mommy & Me, Frank Gambale, Chick Corea, and Lyle Mays. All music use is licensed by BMI. If you’re so inclined, please go to Living In His Name.org, go down to the bottom and drop a nickel in the bucket. All donations are greatly appreciated.

This evenings topic has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, The Whistle Stop Cafe on McCrackin St., Ruth Orginals out Chimney Rock Highway, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

As you go your way this week, choose to step into the conflict in front of you, ask God for wisdom to go forward, be honest, get low, be transparent and authentic, opening doors not shutting them. Until we meet again, be strong and courageous, amen!