Life is often very inconvenient, sometimes for the reason that more than a few things really do take a long time, and others feel inconvenient because, well, we just have a heart full of “don’t want to wait” unless circumstances benefit us exclusively. This evenings topic is about what is suited to our personal comfort and easy to accomplish with as little effort as possible. Convenience seems to always be about saving someone time, effort, resources, or frustration. But here’s the rub: for the worldly at heart, Godliness is inconvenient, holiness is inconvenient, honesty and transparency can result in some very inconvenient circumstances…. and justice, oh don’t we know, real justice is VERY inconvenient. Real justice takes persistence, patience, carefully stepping between the cracks in the path, and constantly, incessantly being present and in the room for conflict resolution. Ohhh, it can be so tedious. Many people live their life as though justice is just too much trouble. They’d rather pay a fine for something they didn’t do as opposed to go to court and protest the matter. It’s just too much trouble. How much of your life is driven by convenience? Let yourself breath, sit back and let it play. i’ll be right back.

John 2:13-16 (NKJV) ^“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Yes sir, the Pharisee’s had a real profitable little business going on there, selling sacrifices and making money on the currency exchange rate. That’s right, making money on the currency exchange rate. They wouldn’t receive Roman currency, they insisted the people pay in Jewish currency, so everyone who only had Roman currency had to change their money at the current temple exchange rates. They literally, were selling people spiritual well being, with people having no choice but to buy into it, considering that the temple leaders were the only game in town. Not only that, but God said they SHALL NOT do business in the temple like that, nor allow livestock in the inner courts.

In scripture, the last time we saw Jesus at the temple was approximately 18 years earlier as seen in Luke 2:42-49. Now i’m going to “fill in the blank” and suggest he and his folks went to passover in Jerusalem every year, and as a result i think it’s safe to assume Jesus had been looking at the stockyard going on IN the temple and the money changers for 18+ years. Every year He witnessed the defiling of His Father’s house by business people and the temple leaders who allowed all the buying and selling. i’m going to “fill in the blank” here again and suggest that more than likely, the temple was getting a cut of all the business done IN the temple. And !right there! is the problem, it was “in the temple”, not business or a stockyard in the parking lot, but IN the temple. It was a convenient service, and a pretty good idea, but it was IN the temple. Think about it, there were a lot of people coming from many miles away for passover and they couldn’t necessarily bring animals 100 miles or so and the sacrifice still remain prime, so a “convenience” was set up….to sell to those who lived in town or came from a distance the necessary sacrifice. Not a bad idea. A VERY convenient and money making idea. BUT, they moved it into the temple area so the stock yard and the sacrificial alter were very conveniently located….that way, no one had to go to much effort, it saved time, and handling of the livestock. It seemed to make life easier for sure….but there was a huge problem: the livestock and money changers (who conveniently were there to convert Roman currency to Hebrew coinage) were IN the temple and it was expressly forbidden by God Himself to either do business or bring livestock IN the temple. But….well, the need for convenience seemed to supersede the word of God…. i’ll just say, the day Jesus went to scattering money and throwing over tables and chairs, it wasn’t a good day for business.

It was inconvenient or too much trouble to do what God asked, it didn’t suit the lazy, indifferent heart of the people! It was all for the people, sacrificers, sanctifiers, and money changers who didn’t want to be inconvenienced with the effort and time to be obedient.

Our lives are largely made up of conveniences. i went to a church meeting once where the pastor opened with a prayer over the congregation rebuking the spirit of poverty and indebtedness, but 30 mins later, while taking up the tithe and offering, the same church leader announced that the church was now able to take people’s tithe and offerings on their credit card, for the sake of convenience. In one breath he rebuked the spirit of poverty and indebtedness which was driving his congregation backwards … and in the next breath he was inviting them into poverty and indebtedness for the sake of convenience. i almost ran out the door… completely shocked. All to make it so giving money was not inconvenient, even if people had to borrow money to give. “Don’t drop your tithe and offering in the box at the back. Keep your seat and we’ll come to you. That way you don’t have to do anything but sit back, be comfortable, make out a check, or dig in your wallet.”

For most, it’s too much trouble to actually BE concerned and take action on behalf of down and out people because it’s messy and inconvenient. Amazingly, people seem to be OK with feeling concerned without actually being concerned – it’s inconvenient. People seem to be OK with feeling honest without actually being honest – it’s inconvenient. The  ramifications of truly being concerned, or being honest, and taking action seem to be far too inviting of inconvenient circumstances, in other words, it doesn’t suit our personal comfort….and yes, it’s true, actually being concerned, taking action and being honest isn’t easy to perform. As i’ve said before, we need to become disillusioned with the devil’s illusion, and don’t you know, you can’t become DIS-illusioned unless you first have an illusion. And that is the honest truth, and yes, it does go against the grain of what is convenient.

Our daily lives are so very built around conveniences. As was previously mentioned, justice is a huge inconvenience….our court systems have made it so easy, so convenient for people to falsely admit guilt and pay the fine rather than do what law makers would call, dragging the courts system down by insisting on the inconvenience of justice.

Our society is all about convenience. We buy what is called “convenience products”, which is a product bought by consumers without much thought to price or comparison. Part of the list of “convenience products” are milk, house thermostat w/heating and air, vegetables and meat at the grocery store, already started flowers & vegetables, automatic dishwashers, clothes dryers, highways, pre-prepared food, teflon cookware, public restrooms, computers, cell phones, and the list goes on and on. Many years ago, people didn’t have these conveniences. Back then if you wanted to be warm in the winter there was wood to chop and split. Not many had indoor toilets, indoor running cold and hot water, or electric lights. Much of gift giving at Christmas is providing people a product in the local mid level income bracket right up front as you walk in the doors. It’s not a poorly or well made item. It’s not priced too high or too low. There’s a lot of trinkets and do-dads, clever items for men, and pretty, baubles, beads, and ornamental knicknacks for women.

Here’s another one…. because voter turn out has declined in recent years, either from depression or lack of interest, now we can do “mail-in” voting, all done in hopes more people will vote because it is more convenient. Granted, it makes voter fraud so much easier, but it’s ok, just sit back, relax in the comfort of your own home, and we’ll come to you. That way no one need be disturbed anymore than necessary. Hey, you don’t even have to spend any money on stamps because the voting ballot comes with a postage paid envelope.

Convenience also changes with time. For example, at one time a car was considered a wonderful convenience, but over time the automobile has come to be regarded as part of everyday life. Having a car, even a bad car, is better than walking to work or school….all that walking, ughhh, what an inconvenience!      It’s all about saving time, saving money, saving effort as reasons to create added convenience; making life easier. But what if God didn’t do all the things He has done for us because it was inconvenient? Where would we be?

Do you realize that nowadays, we can purchase food, household items, and even furniture from virtually any room in our house with just the press of a button, and even have it delivered to the door within the hour many times. We can pay for stuff with just a tap on our watch or phone. At what expense have we pursued convenience? Proverbs12:24, “The hand of the diligent will rule, while the lazy will be put to forced labor.” The more we are unwilling to be inconvenienced, the lazier we get. i knew a man who, after many years of being dedicated to laziness, and had such an aversion to being inconvenienced, if he had a job tasting pies at a pie factory, he wouldn’t show up because it was too much trouble. That’s right out of Prov19:24.

We want rain without clouds, bountiful gardens without plowing, a house without the work of building, riches without risk and investment; we want love without commitment, forgiveness without repentance, receiving without giving, wisdom without suffering, joy without sorrow, offspring without pain, and Heaven without hell. We seem to want miracles from God without actually being in a relationship with God. The relationship takes effort and time and, although seemingly inconvenient, our relationship with God is far more important than the miracles from God. Many want to give testimony but being the testimony is inconvenient. Jesus did not consider man an inconvenience, but often man considers Jesus an inconvenience. It was not convenient for God to give His only Son, but if He had not, we would still be under the bondage of law, sin, and death, and THAT would be a colossal inconvenience.

For those who are inconvenienced by yielding to God, Jude1:12-13 reads,  “These people are spots in your love feasts as you worship and eat together, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

Love is not convenient, but though sin appears easy in the moment, convenient. But in the long run it is an inconvenience of incredible proportions that need not be endured. Ephesians5:4, “Don’t give place to filthiness, foolish talking, nor crude joking, which are not convenient and are improper, not reflecting the nature of Christ within us. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.” Friends, you can be sure that using people, religion or things just for what you can get out of them because it is convenient will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God. Think about it.

        Our love of conveniences, or our open disdain for being inconvenienced, really does drive much of what we do. When encountering problems arising out of our addiction to convenience, we seem to think the solution must also be just as convenient as the problem. Convenience stores are not called convenience stores for nothing, and it’s not that things are convenient that’s the difficulty, but us who no longer do the diligence of participating with the Lord in our own well being because dealing with conflict is inconvenient. When we let real life slide because we don’t want to be inconvenienced, it’s expensive. I think we’re going to need to rethink our love of conveniences. Heavily processed and artificially flavored food takes so little work that we do it in huge amounts. And again, the solution, for many, must also be convenient — they don’t want to cook their own meals or put in hours of exercise. They want fast but healthy meals which are ready, instantly, made in a few minutes. It’s easier to take pills to solve our problems than it is to see a counselor and really get to the root of the conflict, or get surgery that solves our fat problems. It is inconvenient to get too involved with the Lord and other believers, but you know, convenience always comes with hidden costs. The cost is a doctor endorsed societal drug problem, homelessness, lack of a prayer life, all things which affect us all, but hey, that’s Somebody Else’s Problem.

This has been Outposts, a late night semi-live broadcast, from the deck of a rural cafe, overlooking the broad and beautiful Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant.

i’m Social Porter, and this production was brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Mountain Guitars where reality strikes a chord with everyone. Every Tuesday is a special Tuesday at Mountain Guitars, this week is no different, so stop by and see Billy, tell him the rural cafe at the end of Oldfield Road sent you. Additionally let’s give notice to the girls at the Jump Off Rock gift shop, Walt of the only two coin operated launderettes in town, Betty and Elisa at the Opportunity house, and of course, Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

Let your life not be made up of convenience. Let us extend ourselves, let yourself reach past inconvenience and make a difference in the world around you. Time is short, the days are filled with God-opportunities, every day determine in yourself to do something nice for someone.

Hey. Come stand outside with me for a minute. Imagine yourself standing on the deck of a rural diner, overlooking a river. It’s seriously overcast and evening seems to have come early. Oh…it’s beginning to rain. First a few drops here and there, then more often. Singles then triplets. Can you see it? Can you see the circular patterns of the rain striking the surface of the river? It’s hitting the roof, dripping into the gutters, splashing across the windows, and starting to drip off the hand rail, leaving a subtle jasmine-and-gingerbread sort of fragrance, warm and fresh, giving the land a certain sweetness like no other. If we were sitting inside the car, we could see the drops formed on the windshield. We would watch one drop, starting at the top, and running down, like it’s on an exploratory adventure. It runs down, gives a little, gets a little, disappears for a moment, then reappears, gathering and giving, until it nears the end of its journey where it finally blends into all the rest of the water at the bottom of the glass. i figure we’re like that. We give a little, get a little and run our course until the end when we join the eternity of our Father’s house.

This is Outposts, an evening of cool jazz and contemplative conversation. It is my pleasure to join you in the vision of rain, the coming of refreshment and revitalization here at the edge of the Ockluhwahhah River. i am honored to stand with you, barefaced, looking up to Heaven waiting for refreshing from the Hand of our God, who will come to us like the rain, watering the earth. In our lives there is the “slip” and “grip” of life. We grip and gather to ourselves light and hope, God’s love and peace…. we also let slip from our grasp the seeds of faith and wisdom, kindness and blessing to be planted in righteousness. It is like the rain on the windshield of your car, we start at the top, run down, get a little, give a little, planting, sharing, receiving, doing our part in weeping joy and singing obedience.

Sometimes i feel like this dance we do with God is like a giant waltz, three feet off the ground and it’s a clear, starry sky’d night….stepping and  spinning with the Lord, His eyes looking courage into us to follow more closely. Our feet step high over the top of fields of wild flowers, we dance over tree tops, spin under clouds, then dip and gradually drop to the rivers edge. There is a warm rain on our faces, the eyes of my Jesus smiling in the ecstasy of dancing with His most beloved, over the hills and far away.

Our lives in Christ are like a painting being put together by a master painter. Sometimes He paints with two hands, other times He’s got the tiniest brush imaginable, painting with colors we’ve never seen, accenting in sounds and smells we have yet to imagine, far beyond our dreams, far beyond the sun of this world. Many feel dry, parched, and i’d like to give you the vision of rain.    Have you ever smelled rain? It’s like the Father’s cologne. i’m reminded of the wife who gave birth to a very premature child. The doctors all said the child wouldn’t live but the parents refused to give up, and they pounded on Heaven’s doors with weeping and tears for the life of their child. To all the doctors amazement, the child lived. Years later, the child was sitting in her mother’s lap on the bleachers of a local ballpark where her brother’s baseball team was practicing. As always, the daughter was chattering non-stop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, she asked, “Do you smell that?” Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, her mom replied, “Yes, it smells like rain.” She closed her eyes and again asked, “Do you smell that?” Once again, her mother replied, “Yes, I think we’re about to get wet, it smells like rain.” Still caught in the moment, the little girl shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced with her eyes shut, “No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest.”

Can you smell God’s cologne?

It’s going to rain for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. There will come rain in our lives from Heaven’s open doors to inspire and grow the coming Kingdom of God. It’s going to rain. Psalm68:8, “…The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;”. The very word for rain in Ps68:9 is a shower as a mercy flashing wisdom on our minds. It causes us to pause and ponder the concealed truth of God that He is faithful even when we can’t see, understand, or hear. In prophecy rain is change, even in our mortal hearts, rain is hidden goodness, like a flame is bound to a coal, even though we can’t see the flame, it is there, which is why i say it is God’s faithfulness, even when we can’t see. You know what i mean? Can you see it?

When God shows up there will be refreshing for the parched hearts, restoration for the beaten down, redemption for those too tired to continue in the heat of battle. We will know the value of shading the eyes of warriors who have nearly fainted in the noon day sun, the Lord will send the rain to re-invigorate those who’s invigoration has ebbed away.

In Leviticus26:4, the Lord says,  “…then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” In those days, the character of the righteous shall bloom and bear much fruit, fruit that shall not fade, fruit born of the goodness and good pleasure of God.  What do you think of when you think of rain? Imagine rain, close your eyes and see it. Can you see it yet? Do you think cold, grey, ugly, irritatingly wet? Inconvenient maybe. It might be a good time to remember that behind the clouds and past the rain there is blue sky and sun. When I think of rain, I think of dancing. Yea, odd, huh? Maybe. i think not really.

i can remember as a boy, we went camping in the deep woods at the edge of a lake. As i sat there looking out over the water with the trees as my backdrop, there began something like a whispering in the air. i didn’t really notice at first, but i remember sensing the air cooling off and it even smelled differently. Somewhere in me i knew things were changing. The day had been beautiful and the sky was like a dome of plasma-blue, and all day the clouds had looked like a platform for angels, drifting under the gleaming disc of sun. Somewhere far away, there came a pattering sound on the leaves of the trees and the lake looked like all it’s shimmering was being interrupted by something else. Then i saw it. Rain. While i wasn’t watching, the clouds had covered over the expanse of blue and were now spitting beads of water which sounded like a lovers whisper in your ears. i could see some geese across the way making happy noises, ducks wiggled and carried on like things couldn’t get any more wonderful. Little birds sat still in the trees all fluffed out. We all moved under the tarp at the folding table, listening to the putting sound as rain struck the canvas…i noticed we all found watching it rain hypnotic. To this day, i’m still hypnotized by rain. Here at the cafe, when it rains, i occasionally find myself hoping the windows will fog and we can write God-thoughts on the glass. John Ruskin wrote that “Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” Some folks argue and mumble to themselves when it rains, but i say… when it begins to rain, probably the best thing to do is let it rain. It’s not like we could complain enough to make the rain do anything other than what God has set it’s course to accomplish.

When God’s presence comes, the rain begins to fall, beginning like a whisper in our ears, getting louder the closer He gets. He has hidden music in the drops upon our hearts, making a sound we’ve never heard before, unless we have ears to hear. In the season of heavy rain, we are not able to stand outside. Friends, come in the house. Who wants to be like the elder son in Luke15, who, when his younger brother came home and the father threw a party, the elder brother resented the younger brothers favor with the father so much, he refused to join the party. He was “of the family” but was “not in the house” and wouldn’t come in the house either. The Lord wants us to come in and not stand outside. When the Lord sends the rain, it will surprise some, others will be pleased, yet there will also those who don’t see it as God’s blessing, but a mere inconvenience.

i read somewhere that if beauty is God’s signature, then rain is His final flourish. It’s time to come home, it’s going to rain and there will be singing and dancing. Come in the house.

Often in movies, when something terrible is about to happen, or there is some depressing or oppressive situation, it is raining. Just seeing wet streets and rain dripping from roof edges and gutters inspires us to bundle up. Just seeing it gray and drizzling outside motivates us to stay indoors, make soup, and watch old movies. But in God’s economy that picture isn’t so. Of course there are times when rain and storms are very destructive, but that isn’t what we’re talking about.

i believe there is a seeing which comes with God’s presence, in fact, the very Greek word for “presence” ties to several words used for seeing, the kind of seeing spoken of in a visionary experience. 1Samuel12:17 “…and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see …” Does that mean, in the presence of Almighty God, altogether like a symphony, there is thunder, perception, rain, and sight? Something deep, prophetic, and intimate happens in the heart of man when it rains.

God gives birth to our spiritual perception and sight, to those who have Him present in their thought, who set him before their mind’s eye. My soul longs for the soaking through of God’s promise of rain, rain …it is a good companion sometimes.

We, as humans, have a commonality with rain – It is often overcast and shadowy when it comes and we are regularly overcast and shadowy; it disturbs life just a little bit and puts things off centre as we are recurrently a little off centre. i remember hearing a fellow complain because it was going to rain, and i thought to myself how silly his complaint was. Without the clouds of moisture which fall to earth in the form of rain there would be no snow, there would be no drinking water. If the earth’s moisture didn’t make the circle from sky to earth, and then back again to the sky, round and round, if it only went to the sky, we would all be back in the days of Noah, when it didn’t rain for about 300 years. That was a very dry place!

When the rain from Heaven is at it’s height, i don’t want to be found sitting under an umbrella of my own making, i want to be thoroughly wet with refreshing from the heart of the Lord, Rain. If ever there was a time people needed refreshing, i believe it is now. It’s going to rain, can you hear it coming? Wow, i can smell it. Can you see it in your mind, those of us who have set Christ as the gate to our vision? i want to be found dancing the wild dance with our wild God, who will sing over us and dance in the rain with the audacity of holiness and redemption. i thought to myself if i could leave you with anything tonight, i would give you the gift of knowing it’s going to rain, and i would encourage you to see…. i’m saying, “See” in the Name of Jesus. With the “look ahead sight” God gives us, there comes provision, preparation, and celebration. See. Let the dancing in His presence begin and see into the distance of God’s purposes. See He is the master painter, painting you into His vision that plays in your life. Come dance with me and share in His vision. Write your words, draw your pictures, sing your songs, dance your dances! It’s time! Let it rain, it’s time! Hear the feet of dancing, hear the singing of rejoicing! Listen carefully, it’s there. C’mon, it’s time to set your feet in motion! C’mon! It’s time! Let’s go!

The drips and drops of Heaven’s rain have already begun, can you hear it, can you see it, can you feel it? Are you just in the family, or are you in the house? Come in the house where the Father is throwing a party for His Son….come in dancing and singing, come into the rain of God’s presence…C’mon, there is a party going on at God’s house….forever.

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, a late night broadcast, broadcast semi-live from the deck of a rural café, overlooking the broad and beautiful Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant.

Put on your dancing shoes, it’s going to rain. Can you smell the nearness of God’s presence? My Jesus is close and my feet are anxious for the dance. Take care this week, and enjoy the goodness of God in front of you, regardless of your circumstances. Be blessed, and amen.

There are things which are worthwhile. A man spends his life walking in faith towards God. He fears God, and walks after His commandments. He makes no notable success according to the world’s rating. He is even spoken of by others with a sort of pity, as a man who never has been successful. Yet all the while he has lived honestly and faithfully. The rest of the world fights for position, scrambling to gain honor in the eyes of their peers, thinking only of themselves. Whereas the man… has been giving out his life in love, serving others, doing good in the sight of the Lord. It doesn’t appear he’s gotten far in the world, and his hands are empty at the last of his life.

But, truly, i’m convinced that there is a success which is not measured by the standards of the business and corporate world. There is an invisible sphere in which values are not rated by dollars and cents or possessions, but by their moral character. And yes, i used “sphere” for lack of a more inclusive word, not because i was trying to sound spiritual. i believe a cup of cold water given in the name of Jesus will count for more than the piling high of a fortune for ourselves. In the eyes of God a man who has seemed unsuccessful, but nevertheless has actively held up the Lords preferences and standards, has really gained a success which lifts his name to high honor.

There are things which are worthwhile.

i was inspired to consider at length the idea of things worthwhile after reading R.L. Miller’s little book “Things To Live For”. i meet so many incarcerated people who just seem to believe there isn’t much left to live for. Some may say their kids or a spouse are someone worth living for, but few actually see themselves or life as something worthwhile.

On a parting shot, there is worthless effort in the long run concerning many things, but i’m saying all this because we really need to know, in this life there are also things worthwhile. In this day and age, it seems so much of our time feels as if it’s spent in wheel-spinning, activities which seem to make no impact in the long run. But hear me on this, chances are good we’re making a difference more than we think when we do the small things that are in front of us. Think on that and i’ll be right back.

Some people become discouraged because they don’t seem to get very far in life, at least according to their expectations as to what encompasses success and achievement. i can relate to that. i am totally not who i had imagined, nor have i accomplished what i dreamed 25 years ago. Many of us work hard, but consistently making ends meet just seems such a struggle. It feels like as fast as we earn, we’ve gotta turn right around and spend. A father works through the years, bringing up a family, and dies in the end seemingly no farther than when he started, often leaving no legacy for his children other than to say he worked hard. Upon his last moments on earth, many men take account of their lives and only see the toil and struggle. Other men who began with him as boys succeeded and grew rich. Often in that fathers eyes though, he feels he has failed. But let’s think about what he has really achieved. i believe work itself is one of life’s best blessings. i love the work of my hands. A man’s years of daily work have built up in him many of the best qualities of true character – promptness, accuracy, faithfulness, patience, persistence, obedience. His work, has also given him health and has developed in him a body of strength; there has also been worked in him a spirit of self reliance and independence.

Through his work, that man has furnished education for his children. In his own life he has set them an example of honesty, truthfulness, unselfishness, diligence, and faith. In positioning himself near Jesus, he has taught them the word of God, and has given them books to read which, hopefully, have put into their minds and hearts pure, inspiring, and upright thoughts. One by one his children go out of the house to become influential in building up a home of their own, carrying with them and in them a heritage of character which makes them blessings in the world.

Though this man leaves no money and no monument of himself of material success, his life has been well worthwhile. He has given to the world something better than money. He has shown it an example of a true and faithful life, in conditions that were not always inspiring. It’s called his testimony. He has maintained in it a godly home, and given into the lives of his household the influences, and preferences of The Living God. He has trained his children, and sent them forth as people of good influence, each one as a new power for righteousness. His name may be forgotten among men, but the benediction of his life and work will stay in the world forever. There are things worthwhile.

It is worthwhile to make sacrifices of love in order to do good. i read a story somewhere that went like this: There was a rich man who sent his servant with chests of money to a remote place to build a glorious palace in the rich man’s name. When the servant got there all he saw was desperation, starvation, and dying, so he spent all the money on helping the people. Many days later the rich man came to see the servants work only to find no palace built but only a community living well. He raged at the servant, threw him in chains, and told him “Tomorrow you will die, for you have robbed me!” But that night the rich man had an amazing dream. In the dream There came a man in shining clothing, who said, “ Follow me.” Up they flew from earth till they came to heaven’s gate. They entered, and there stood a palace of pure gold, more brilliant than the sun! “ What palace is this?” asked the rich man. His guide answered, “This is the palace of Merciful Deeds, built for you by your wise servant. Its glory shall endure when all earth’s things have passed away.” Then the rich man understood that his servant had done wisely with his money.

If we are doing true and righteous work, we really don’t need to measure ourselves with visible results, but i think it’s almost more than most of us can stand to not have a need to see how we’re doing. i know it’s is easy to say “we don’t need to measure ourselves with visible results”, but it is the truth that everyone, somewhere in themselves wonders if they’re measuring up. i’ve had trouble with not having visible results. i mean, it can be difficult to continue doing what the Lord asked of you when people simply don’t respond, and reality is, generally, people don’t respond. Often not even to say “thank you”, or “that was right on the money”. You know, sometimes even a negative response lets you know someone is listening. Regardless, the ultimate position is to live without concerning ourselves with visible or audible results. In living a self denying life we should build no palaces on earth, we are building far more beautiful things beyond the skies. The money we give in service and sacrifice may add nothing to our bank account, but Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21,  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Whatever adds in even the smallest way to the brightness, comfort, or encouragement in the world around us is worthwhile. If we plant a flower in a bare place where it was only barren before, it is value added in the long run. Anyone who says an encouraging word to a discouraged neighbor, gives a look of kindness to a lonely person, or speaks a sentence which may become strength, guidance, or comfort, does something worthwhile. We never know how a small thing may become a beautiful thing to another person. i found an interesting little poem by James Allen:

“Only a thought, but the work it wrought
Could never by pen or tongue be taught;
For it ran through a life like a thread of gold,
And the life bore fruit a hundred fold.”

It was worthwhile for David to write the 23^rd Psalm, and then the words went on to be spoken and sung everywhere to the end of time. We wouldn’t have the benefit of the words God gave him if he hadn’t allowed the Holy Spirit to inspire him to write it down. Where would we be today if he’d attached a monetary value to his writing, and upon seeing that he’d probably not make any money on it, he tossed it aside, and opted for something more sensational to the world of men.

It was worthwhile for Mary to break the alabaster box, pouring the nard, the thick paste of anointing on the head and feet of Jesus; don’t you know all the world is sweeter since the perfume of her ointment. If she had handed it over to Judas, as he probably secretly wished, he would have pocketed most of the money and we wouldn’t have the benefit of the event or metaphor.

Every singer who has sung a pure, righteous song has given something to the world around them to make it better. Every artist who has painted a worthy and Godly picture, or sculpted the smallest thing of beauty which will stay in the world, has added something to the enriching of our human life. Life is a summation, not just this event and that action, each independent of the other. No, it’s all important, and it all counts.

Every believer who has ever lived a true, courageous life in the thick of temptations and trials has, potentially, made it a little easier for others to live right. Every one who has prayed and spoken God’s heart into the stream of this world’s life, right words, good words, divine lessons, has put into the current of humanity a handful of spices to sweeten a little the bitter water for those troubled souls around them. It is always worthwhile to live with high character, it’s always worthwhile to struggle to do right, and in doing so we are showing the world even the smallest fragments of divine beauty. And oh how desperately we all are, ravenously hungry to see divine beauty, whether we believe it or not.

It is worthwhile to be a friend. We all may not take it too seriously considering the world has watered down the concept by social media calling people we don’t know and will never meet, friends. Nevertheless, extending ourselves to someone to be a friend is worthwhile. i’ve had a recent hard won realization that we can be a friend to someone even if there is no relationship. Jesus is a friend to us when we are no friend at all, although we’ve not entered into a relationship with Him. We think being a friend implies some sort of two-way street relationship, and that’s not necessarily true.

On being a friend: No other privilege is more a dedicated and sanctified purpose, no other responsibility is greater. John5:13-15 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

It is indeed worthwhile to be a friend. Being a friend comes into people’s lives with holiness and all the influences of holiness, and that influence never leaves them. When we are a friend to someone, something of the Lord Himself is imparted to them whether they know it or not. They are imprinted with something which will never depart from them. If you think you don’t make an impact anywhere, you are wrong.

Being a friend is to stand by others when things are beautiful and also in their hour of tears and need; to guide them when the way is so elusive and the footing is treacherous; to comfort them in their time of sorrow; to share our hearts when life is perplexing; to bring inspiration to them of righteous thinking and upward influences; and then to sit beside them when they are entering the valley of shadows, – no ministry on earth is holier and more devine than being a friend. It is a worthwhile thing.

i read something once by a poet who said that our life is a sheet of white paper on which each of us may write his words – and then comes night. What are we writing on the pages in front of us? i think it should be something that will bless those who read it. It should be something fit to carry into eternity. Think before you, metaphorically write on that page. Is it beautiful, is it peaceful, is it admirable, is it upright? It should be something which we would not be ashamed to hear again. Haven’t we all cringed when someone started their sentence with, “One time you said…”, and you think to yourself, “uh-oh, what did i say this time?” Whatever we write on that sheet of paper will appear in judgment, bearing our words, good or bad. It is well that we consider carefully what we say and do, trying with all our breathing, thinking, and feeling to only write things that are worthwhile, things that are right and true and pure and lovely, things that will last forever.

Is your life a life of things which are worthwhile? Think about it.

Thanks for joining us here at Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late evening banks of the Ockluhwahhah River. i’m Social Porter and this production was brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Sisters Coffee in Sisters, Oregon, Eunice Camp at Camps Flower Shop, Ed Sherman at C&S Super Market, the Mebane Freedom League, and Walt Whitaker, owner of the only two coin operated Launderama’s in town. Let’s not forget the makers of fine confectionaries,  Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

i hope you enjoyed the discussion of Things Which Are Worth While. Let me leave you with a thought from Philippians 4:8, ”Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—think on these things.”

Be strong and of good courage this week. Pray for your family and friends, and let God prosper you with all power. i’ll talk to you next time.

Home: a place of residence or refuge. For believers, home may mean not only the place we live while here on earth, the physical place as in “Home is where you hang your hat”, but Heaven, our end place with Jesus, as in “Home is where the heart is”. The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can be as we are. Friends, where ever Jesus is, there is home. It seems so many are looking for “home” and don’t know it. Some say they have found their home, a heaven of their own making. i say if you think you’ve found heaven and God isn’t there, it must be hell. God is at home, it’s we who have gone out for a long, lonely walk.

In a song by a well known artist, some of the lyrics are “Traveling at night, The headlights were bright. But soon the sun came through the trees. Around the next bend The flowers will send The sweet scene of home in the breeze”, and “And Home, Sings me of sweet things. Life there has it’s own wings. To fly over the mountains, Though I’m standing still”. Is the idea of “home” one of peace to you? Should be. If home to you is a terrifying thought, i suggest it’s not really your home. For many, we love the IDEA of home, but we’ve realized with hand wringing grief, the place we really live will never be that place.

i suppose a more basic question should be, Are you at peace? Is home a place of refuge and rest, a place where you can be restored and recharged? Your sanctuary? Or is home a place of conflict and contention? Where is home to you? And if you don’t have one, imagine, what would home look like?

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a live broadcast from the late evening, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is beautiful. It’s a dazzling evening and the stars are out in all their splendor.

The words, “almost home” bring vivid memories to mind for me. After being gone on one particular mission trip, for some reason it was the one which really pulled at my heart more than any others….my heart literally ached for home. After 21 days, 18 restaurants, 31 remote villages with untold amounts of prayer and all the wonderful God-stories, after all the taxi’s, the busses, and the miles and miles of walking, i was almost home.

The plane bounced incessantly over the next 24 hours. It seemed the sun was almost where i last saw it when we took off. People slept with the shades pulled low, tired people, restless people, all trying to get comfortable in a very narrow space. The lady next to me read 2 books, slept some more and then read another book. A little hole over my head blew cool air; food and snacks came and went. All i could think was  – “I’m almost home. My heart aches for home. i just want to go home.”

Man, there’s no place like our house, my shalom place, past the barns, past the fields, up on the front porch and in the old door. Ahhhh…wow, i’m home. The couch is softer, the bed is sweeter, the shower runs just the way i like it, the smell is intoxicating, the embraces are more tender….oh, and the loved ones, smiling, hugging, affectionate. i’m so glad to be home. From property line to property line, from fence to fence, that is my Shalom place, the Kingdom of Heaven field office where we live. A place of divine appointment, under the complete protection of God Himself. A place of peace, even in the midst of terrible turmoil around me, this is my refuge. Do you have a Shalom place?

If Heaven is anything like that I can’t wait. If I can feel so welcomed and so wanted in an imperfect world, through an imperfect family, in an imperfect house, what must heaven be like — a perfect kingdom, through a perfect Father, in a perfect dwelling.

John 14:1-4 Jesus was speaking of home, and then in verses 26-27 Jesus made sure to leave them with some encouragement until they got home, He said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Like the disciples, there are some things about our heavenly home you and I really need to know, starting with the truth that our Heavenly Home Is Real.

Hebrews 11:10 speaks of Abraham who, “… was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” i believe that if Abraham was looking forward to it he was certainly imagining and dreaming about it before he was looking forward to his future destination. Imagining was before, and looking forward to something means he held it as the truth. Abraham’s descendents were also thinking about home as seen in Hebrews 11:15-16, “If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they desired, and were longing for a better country–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Going back to where they came from was not even in their thinking, but where they were going to was the object of all their considerations. To “long for” or “desire” in this case means to stretch or reach for. The word itself, desire or long for, brings with it the sense of someone climbing a mountain, and the closer they get to the top, the more hope of attaining a goal lifts their hearts. So in Heb11:16, to say, “they longed for a better country,” is to say that they had a glimpse of where God was taking them, they had a vision enough of the top of the mountain, they were excited about attaining to their goal.

As believers, our eyes are set towards home also according to Hebrews 13:14, “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” and how about 2Peter3:13, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Are you longing for, looking forward to, looking for “home”? i read a quote by a sorta famous fellow who said, “America cannot continue to lead the family of nations around the world if we suffer the collapse of the family here at home.” And that is “home” as in more than just a house, but a place where family lives, where familiar pictures are hung, and the place of our personal things and memories. Home not only includes all that but can also include familiar geography, streets and stores, faces of shop owners and weekly workman and women we grew up knowing. Home.

i was thinking this morning during my prayer time, so much of the American home idealogy is under incredible attack. We say a truth …our nation needs to be on track with God, but it starts in a much smaller and unique environment, our homes. If our homes and families are not on track with God, then hell has done it’s job and disrupted us at our core. Home is truly where our heart is, it’s where our treasure is, and if home is a shambles and God is not there, all i can conclude is, what we call Heaven must be hell. If in our homes we are always at odds with our spouse over power, money, or sex (and it seems it is truly always one or the other or any combination there of), if we’re always at odds, our home, sweet home, comfortable sacred home, our sanctuary is at war with itself…..and we all understand this, that no nation divided against itself can stand. Selah!

Home – Through the Hebrew we get a word picture of home. It is seen through the idea of a dwelling place, a house, but with family attached to it, even including those who are socially bound together under one roof. That says to me a it’s a dwelling place with others of whom we relate to. Home, where we eat and we relax and we can hopefully, be who we are with as few facades as possible.

In light of that, we can easily conclude that at least 50% of homes in America are not a refuge or a sanctuary, in fact it would seem they are chaotic and conflicted. If the divorce rate is at least 50% then the idea of home has been sabotaged at least 50% of the time. Hell is striking at the heart of mankind by breeding destruction in the very center of our sanctuary, our individual homes. At that rate, i’d say there are far, far more people who are homeless in their heart and mind than we can imagine.

Home isn’t the building but who inhabits the building. Having a dwelling place is one thing, but having a home is another. Edward Whiting said “You can no more measure a home by inches, or weigh it by ounces, than you can set up the boundaries of a summer breeze, or calculate the fragrance of a rose. Home is the love which is in it.”

i think Mr. Whiting was on to something there. If home is measured by the love which is in it, then Jesus and Heaven are obviously the highest  choice. The Love of God exceeds and excels beyond our wildest imagination. God Himself and His house are our destination, not just because it is a place to live, but because of who lives there.

If Heaven wasn’t a “place” Jesus wouldn’t have said so in John 14:3. Heaven and our home are not a “spiritual condition” or a “state of being” but a place where Jesus is. God has created us to take pleasure in His companionship, and in each other’s. Home isn’t a solitary existence, there are others in Heaven, or at Home, and we can relate to that great cloud of witnesses. It is a family. All things will be right at home with Jesus – no abortion clinics or mental hospitals, no missing children, no rape, no murder, no drug addictions, no swindlers, no robberies, no worry, depression, illness, failure, or miscommunications. No hidden agendas, no politics or backroom deals, no secret ambitions, plots, hatred, or condescension. Can you imagine sitting and eating with God Almighty, mealtimes full of stories, laughing, singing, such happiness without fear of being judged or measured, no lust or jealousy, no inappropriateness or hurt feelings? Can you imagine that? My heart aches for home, how about you?

One woman wrote, “It’s been easy for me through the years to find fault in the house we’ve lived in for the past eleven years.  Our abode is well over 100 years old. That means it has a lot of “character” right? Yes. If by “character” you mean that the toilets don’t flush well, the basement looks like the Adam’s Family lives there, and the dust from the Dirty Thirties is still stuck in crevices around each of our fifty drafty windows. That’s how I look at my house when I have a self-focused perspective. The world tells me I need new, shiny, perfect, better, best, improved, highest quality, and spotless.

Pinterest tells me I need my home and the contents therein to look as though they climbed out of a magazine – completely unique, yet altogether trendy (how it can be trendy and unique at the same time is beyond me). We must have the right color scheme, a lovely furniture arrangement all set up in a proper pose like movie props, and classy wall decor. Otherwise, we must feel guilty, deprived, and less than. What if we just decided to be thankful instead? i am thankful for where i live, and infinitely grateful to God for where i shall live. We can’t allow ourselves to judge where we will be by where we are, for no man can hold a candle to the things God has prepared for those who love Him.

The Lord is calling us to look above our view of where we live to see a greater vision, one which He has made for us beyond this world of brick and mortar, beyond the have and have not’s to see Jesus.

Jonathan Edwards wrote of Heaven: “No inhabitants of that blessed world will ever be grieved with the thought that they are slighted by those whom they love, or that their love is not fully and fondly returned …. There shall be no such thing as flattery or insincerity in Heaven, but there perfect sincerity shall reign through all in all. Everyone will be just what they seem to be, and they’ll really have all the love that they seem to have. It will not be as in this world, where comparatively few things are what they seem to be, and where professions are often made lightly and without meaning. But there, every expression of love shall come from the bottom of the heart, and all that is professed shall be real and truly felt.”

Once at home in Heaven, the hungry will fill up, those who weep will laugh, and those who suffer tragedy will be compensated the victory.

i realize this is a lot of very positive and wonderful stuff about something that isn’t in the here and now. And i realize most of us might be far more interested in things we can do in the now to help our present circumstances or situations….. BUT, in putting the idea of home on the table and talking about being at home with Jesus, eating and talking with God, family, friends, and all the participants of the entire salvation message from beginning to end, it generates hope, the anticipation of becoming and overcoming….. and hope is in very short supply in our world.

Revelation21:3-5 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””

Those are the words of Jesus and we can take it to the bank. Live everyday in light of them. Let me encourage you to make every choice in light of God’s promises. C.S. Lewis wrote, “A man who has been in another world does not come back unchanged. A man who gives sustained thought to God and his future Home in Heaven, does not remain the same. He smells the banquet being prepared for him and he’ll never be the same, in Jesus Name.

Think about it.

Randy Alcorn wrote in his book titled “Heaven”, “We were all made for a person and a place. Jesus is that person. Heaven is that place. If you know Jesus, i’ll be with you in that resurrected world. With the Lord we love and with the friends we cherish, we’ll embark together on the ultimate adventure, in a spectacular new universe awaiting our exploration and dominion. Jesus will be the center of all things, and joy will be the air we breathe, and right when we think it all couldn’t get any better …. it will!

Thank you for joining me here at Outposts for cool jazz and contemplative conversation! i’m Social Porter and this production has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, 22 Skidoo Boots and Shoes, Kevin, Tommy, and Perry of the Mebane Freedom League, Area 22 Guitars, Sisters Coffee, and Trinity Bakers, the sweet spot on main street where there’s always something good in the oven.

Be strong and courageous, drive carefully, and i’ll see you at home where God makes all things new. Amen.

          1Cor12:7, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Rom12:6-8, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if ministry, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Service and serving are the words used representing ministry, and we often think of it as a deacon and priestly gift. And, like apostle, prophet, pastor, healing, miracles and teaching are Holy Spirit gifts meant to be employed for the common good of all, so those who have the gift of ministry are not less than any other gifts, but are vibrant and necessary for the well being of the house of the Lord.

Ministry…what a broad word we toss around these days. Basically the word means service, to serve, to work, and is also used in reference to serving God. In Rom15:16, Paul refers to himself as a minister of Christ Jesus but the word for “minister” in that verse has a slightly different connotation other than simply service. What Paul meant was that he was literally, in a liturgical sense or what was called wearing a “reversed collar”, he was “doing priest’s work” “that the offering-up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.”

The word “minister” in Rom15:16, carries with it the idea of the “sacrificing priest”. i can’t say i’ve ever been that person that i would claim such a thing… i’m just as guilty as anyone else of misusing the word ministry, largely out of ignorance, but also, in my being as honest as possible, i’ve done it with a faint hope of also gaining some respect for myself, and that’s a poor motivation.

Surprisingly, the same word used in a priestly fashion that we translate as “minister” also means “one who discharges a public office at his own expense, generally, a public servant, a minister “. That’s challenging…. “a servant of the state, assuming public office to be administered at his own expense”. Hmmm….i’d guess that the, “at your own expense” part wouldn’t go over too well with many who are in ministry. The, “at your own expense” part is really a challenge when you know you’re doing a viable service, endorsed by God, but you’ve got $10 in your pocket and the rent is due. It’s easy to say, “just trust God”, but when the rent is due, now we’re down to where the rubber meets the road

When we tell people we are “in ministry”, just what are we looking to convey to the other person or people? Many seem so very focused on making sure others know they are “in ministry”, but making sure others know that about you has a subtle way of spoiling the simplicity of our walk with God…bear in mind that even “ministry” can be an idol, birthed by the spirit of religion.

Bob Deffinbaugh of Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas said, “While watching the television coverage of the visit of Pope John Paul II, I was reminded of the Roman Catholic concept of ministry. If I were to try to distinguish the Catholic view of ministry from that of our local church, I would say that Catholicism still practices an Old Testament ministry. Catholicism continues to perpetuate a clerical priesthood that is almost entirely responsible for what is called “the ministry.”

Mr. Diffinbaugh went on to say, “Probably few Catholics or Protestants would disagree with this analysis. But what most Protestant evangelicals fail to realize is that much of the Roman Catholic conception of ministry is perpetuated in Protestantism with only the labels having changed.”

It would not be difficult to surmise that so much of church leadership truly operates that same way. It is possible that if we aren’t under the thumb of leadership, even the most effective may not be allowed to serve, unless they come to the table with degrees, titles, and seminary experience accompanied by strict obedience to the rules of those recognized as leadership.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, broadcast semi-live from the deck of a rural café which overlooks the broad and beautiful Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge and every evening is pleasant.

Service unto the Lord and those around you is a “get to” not a “have to”, and to have a heart and mind to serve is a Holy Spirit gift.

Come go with me as we explore “ministry”, what do we mean, how do we do it, and the benefits of a sold out heart to God. Sit back in your big arm chair, relax and breath….i’ll be right back.

Joyce Meyer once said she gets tons of mail from people asking her to pray for them that God would reveal what their ministry was. She said, straight out, to quit worrying about it because every morning, when you wake up and go out your door, you are IN your ministry.” If we truly believe God has called us to “go out” and serve others, then why are we waiting around to find out what we should do?

Years ago i read a story about Mother Teresa. She and another nun wanted to go to an unchurched town in India and start a mission with a small aid station. In order to accomplish that, they had to play by the rules of their denomination, so they put in a request with the local priest, who made all the decisions for everyone in the service of the church…. and there they waited. Yep, they waited 5 years for a reply, but for 5 years they prayed and asked the Lord to move the heart of the priest to grant their petition. Sure enough, by-and-by, they got their walking papers. They packed the one pair of extra clothes they had, picked up their walking sticks and left for the remote town. When they got there, they had no idea what the Lord wanted them to do, or what their ministry was. So while they waited to hear from God, they sat under the big tree at the center of town and sent word out to the street children that if anyone wanted to know how to read and write, meet at the big tree at about noon. A lot of kids showed up, all living on the streets, children of all types, all homeless, all hungry and unlearned. Every day the two nuns would pray to God and ask Him what their ministry was, but in the mean time they were teaching the kids to pray, read and write…..all while they were waiting to hear from God. Over the following many months, while they were waiting to find out what their ministry was, a church had sprung up, salvations occurred, and a small hospital of sorts was developed. i don’t reckon they ever did get a “word from God” exactly concerning what their ministry was, but in the mean time, they served the community with all their heart, and God was brilliant among them…..just brilliant.

So what do you mean when you tell people, “i’m in ministry”? What do you think the head guy who comes to your church all dressed in high dollar clothing and is always asking for money, what do you think his or her idea of “being in ministry” is? Does that person say things like, “If you want God to bless you, put some extra in the offering plate?” How do you think it would go if you asked a very dangerous question, which is “What does the ministry do with the money?” They may very well give you the left foot of fellowship real quick, so brace yourself.

We who are in ministry, as servants of the people, are not in that position to get wealthy. We are in the position of servants to comfort, encourage, teach and strengthen those around us, not to sheer the sheep so closely they bleed.

To be a servant we must think like a servant. i heard somewhere that servants make g-r-e-a-t leaders. Hmmm…. i wonder where i got that idea? In Numbers 14 the Lord pardoned Israel after Moses pled their case, but even though God pardoned their rebellion, He said none of the people who had seen His glory and signs in the desert would enter the promised land…..except…..Caleb. Num14:24, “But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”

Wanna live under an open Heaven? You don’t have to give money to make that happen….that’s a lie. Besides, how can you buy an open window in Heaven anyway? i didn’t think God, His callings, or Holy Spirit gifts were for sale that He would open the windows of Heaven if you gave enough money. Now you may think that’s absurd, but there are people in ministry who will tell you that if you give more money you will get more of the Holy Spirit, and it’s simply not true. If you want to live under an open Heaven, be a servant, get low, like Jesus, and God will use you, just watch and see. People are looking for a knight, someone of honor and humility, not a street fighter.

If you’ll live as a servant to others, God will, i repeat, will use you. Philip2:4-5, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” or like the Msg Bible translates, “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.” And how did Jesus see Himself? As the Son of God, yes, but also as a servant and He is the greatest leader in the history of everything. He humbled Himself all the way to the cross. He did the ultimate balancing act between maintaining His position with the Father as Lord, and also stooping to wash the feet of the disciples. He didn’t exalt Himself, He got low and waited on the Father to raise Him up.

How often do we want to get into ministry so, so bad, we run ahead of God, creating a platform of our own making? i can tell you from my own sad experience, it’s easy, real easy. We often think to ourselves we’ve got something to say, that it’s very important others hear it, but no one is letting us say it, so we finagle around to get ourselves in position to be on a platform we think we should have. The Greek word for “dignity” means, with in all honesty, being just as serious about our motivations as possible. The Hebrew word “dignity” reflects the idea of being elevated by respect and worthy of honor, an attribute worthy of those who minister, unless…. we elevate ourselves, then there’s a problem. Titus2:7, “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,” We will be far more effective in our servitude of the Lord if we will step off our self-made dignity, a platform of our own making, and get low. Real servants don’t try to use God for their purposes. They let God use them for His purposes.
Again, the word “ministry”, as used in Rom12 also means “let us wait on”. It always appears in the N.T. in connection with the service of the church and others. Being in “ministry” is a gift of God for us to serve others, with the goal of  lifting them up, leaving ourselves out of the credits at the end of the movie…and that’s not so easy in a world which constantly capitalizes on being seen and recognized, promoting the idea of lifting ourselves up. We are very vulnerable to advertising ourselves when we feel very unseen and unheard. i have a friend who had a word from the Lord while at church one time. He was slightly driven by the urgency to give it. When he asked if he could say it he was told no, not because he was wrong or ever had been wrong, it was just no. His feelings were hurt, of course, but then the Lord spoke to him saying, “Isn’t it enough that i have spoken to you?” So when i’ve felt the urgency to speak or act, i remind myself that God sees and hears me, isn’t it enough for me to know He has spoken to me?

Some limit the idea of “ministry” to that of being a deacon, but yet i wonder why Paul split ministry out as something separate from prophecy, exhortation, and teaching and the other gifts of the Spirit? i don’t know, but there it is in 1Cor12:5 where Paul says, “different kinds of services”, and again it is considered a gift in Rom12:7, saying, “if ministry, then in our serving.”

Frédéric Godet, a Swiss Protestant theologian who wrote some of the most noteworthy commentaries of the time calls ministry, “An activity of a practical nature exerted in action, not in word.”

i made note of a statement by a friend who said, “Ministry is about our focus on others, not ourselves. This is true humility: not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less. Paul said, Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. This is what it means to “lose your life”- forgetting yourself in service to others. When we stop focusing on our needs, we become aware of the needs around us. Jesus “emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant.”

Here’s a good question we should ask ourselves while we’re being venerable and as honest as we can possibly be about our motivations: When was the last time you emptied yourself for someone else’s benefit? It’s tough to be a servant if you’re full of yourself.

What is it which prevents us from getting low and serving others?

To say you have the gift of ministry is very broad, as was previously mentioned. There are many different services which require real Holy Spirit gifting to accomplish. Being of service to others one time may be easy, but to be consistent and repeatable about the calling is another story.

For example in 2Cor5:18 there is mentioned the “ministry of reconciliation”. There is the ministry by the prophets in Hosea12:10, where the Hebrew word there for “ministry” means service with an open hand, like a picture of being generous. Acts6:4 is about being devoted to prayer and ministry of the word.

That part about devoted to the ministry of the word speaks to those who are commissioned for the continual proclamation of the gospel, and tending to the care of the congregation. It’s basically the job description of what we call “a deacon”, which was originally taken from the Jewish concept of someone who continues in prayer, and works to feed, nourish, support and even govern, sort of like a deputized priest. In Rom15:8 Jesus was called the “deacon of the circumcision”. Being a deacon is about serving, not a position above the congregation and below the pastor. Apostles, and bishops qualify to be called deacons because they serve and are called to the ministry or reconciliation.

1Cor16:15 shows us another ministry, “ministry of the saints”,  they devoted themselves to the service of Christians…that is, by showing hospitality; by providing for their needs; by attending and aiding other believers in their journeys, etc. According to 2Cor3:7-9, even death and condemnation have ministries, in this case the reference is to the law which was carved in stone by the finger of God. In the next verse though, the ministry of the Spirit and of righteousness far exceeds the ministry of death and condemnation beyond all imagination, far beyond the vanishing point forever….and that’s a long way.

i love Paul’s visual in 2Cor9:10-13, “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the implementation of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their concrete trustworthiness of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others”.

Stephen and Phillip were appointed to wait tables in the church, they were leaders by being servants.

i believe that is a great picture of having the ministry of giving….some are gifted at making money, then let them give to those who are in need; some are gifted in administration and staff support, then let them do their calling without pointing themselves out; some are gifted in the ministry of teaching, which is a technical service, let them discover the sound doctrinal precepts with all honesty and openness; some have a ministry gifting of being a visionary, they’re very good at conceptualizing and imagining, let leadership allow those people to tell what they see and take it seriously.

Here’s a gift i think needs special notation: some have a deep caring for the sheep and are called to be pastors, although i must admit, calling someone a pastor nowadays is like a catch-all title. If you ask most pastors what they do, if they’re honest, they’ll say they don’t really know except that they counsel, clean toilets, speak the gospel, field complaints, help define sound doctrine, organize events when those talented with organizational skills don’t step up to the plate, and visit the ill and terminal. Even when they themselves are ill and possibly near the end of their vision, their passion to serve the body is extraordinary….which is an earmark of a Holy Spirit gift. And of course, let it be said, not everyone who calls themselves pastor actually has a gift for it. Ministry isn’t something we go get, it’s something God gives, and if He didn’t give it, we would simply be performing and that would be a counterfeit.

Paul said there were many variations of gifts, like the service of discernment, the ministry of clerical needs, the service of prayer. Ahh, now there’s a good one, the service of prayer …it is a powerful yet subtle ministry we are all invited to participate in, but there are some who have an unquenchable fire in them to pray, like the extraordinary life of Rees Howells, a powerful, gifted intercessor. God has distributed to some the ministry to the infirmed, it’s a mercy gift, like some nurses i’ve met….they aren’t just doing medicine, they bring with them the power of the Holy Spirit that makes a difference in everyone’s life who they touch. Or like some doctors, they have a gift for healing and medicine and the power of the gospel just comes in the room with them and they are extraordinary in their practice. The list goes on and on and i wonder if we’ve limited ourselves to seeing the gifts of the Holy Spirit to just the “big 5” in Eph4?

To continue the list a little of different ministry-type giftings a little further, how about missions as a ministry? Having a gift and passion for outreach is huge and takes a real team effort to accomplish, not to mention very specialized leadership with an anointing to accomplish it. Even flying out of the country with 15 or more people to a 3^rd world nation for 2 weeks involves an amazing amount of planning, which often requires a multi-faceted team of people with very diverse gifts. How about the ministry of counseling? i’ve met some very gifted counselors, some of which actually had little education, but with them was the presence of God who gave them insight and wisdom and a real knack of speaking right to the heart of the problem. Here’s a vital ministry….How about the gift of consistently showing at the right time with the right supplies in order that certain needs would be met? That’s a real ministry friends.

i believe the Lord’s concept of ministry is pretty different than much of modern Christianity. The Gr. word for ministry most often used in the N.T. is diakoneo, meaning …service while having an eye on the health of God’s house through the door of grace, which speaks highly of… being a steward not an owner. In Mark10:45, Jesus said, “For _even the Son of Man did not come to be served (diakoneo) but to serve (diakoneo), and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He also taught that being a servant was an integral part of following Him. John12:26, “If anyone wants to serve (diakoneo) me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant (diakonos) will be too. If anyone serves (diakoneo) me, the Father will honor him.” Wanna really live under an open Heaven? Do you really want God to bless and honor you? Then forget giving some big shot your money and be a servant. i believe one way Jesus measured greatness was in terms of service.

From what i understand, and i could be wrong, the Greeks had a disdain for service to others, being a servant was to be insignificant, but the Jews believed it had great dignity. Sadly, and not much different than today, the religious leaders of Israel began to think of ministry in terms of status rather than service, and then came Jesus who absolutely refused to accept such thinking and put all service, or ministry on the same level of importance, when He said in Matt23:8, “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one teacher and you are all brothers”. i’d guess that just added fuel to the fire God had lit under the hyper-religiousness Pharisee’s who stood to lose titles, authority, money, respect, and then to be lowered, how dreadful, lowered to be called merely a brother among other brothers. Yet, that’s exactly where Jesus said we have to go if we’re going to be in viable, powerful, authoritative ministry, which is a humble calling …. To be a servant we’ve gotta think like a servant, they make g-r-e-a-t leaders, and it’s really difficult to be a servant when you’re full of yourself. Again…from God’s perspective, ministry is being a steward, not an owner.

i believe most people in ministry fall into 1 of 2 categories, they’re either empire builders or kingdom builders. Both are gifted, but the empire builders build for themselves, and the kingdom builders are servants of the Lord who work to prosper the gospel. Kingdom builders don’t see others who have the same gifting as competition but as allies and partners….there’s just no place in God’s plan for being envious of other fellowships or servants. Kingdom builders classify themselves as being servants after God’s heart and see ministry, as a “get to” not a “have to”.

i used to play on the worship team a long time ago before it was called “the worship team”, and after several years it became common place to me. It wasn’t long before i groaned inwardly that i had to play again. i ceased seeing it as an honor, a get to, i saw it as an obligation, a “have to”, and it wasn’t long before my passion and zeal was just gone for playing music at church. Another of my shortcomings in the past has been i tended to judge a book by it’s cover, but the truth is you can’t judge the “spirituality” of a ministry by the form it takes as much as by the results it produces.

1Peter4:10-11, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Think about it.

John12:26, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”

Ministry is service, and if we’re going to be servants then it needs saying: real servants think like stewards, not owners. Pause if you need to in order to let that one sink in. If you’re the senior pastor or in leadership of a church that has church running on a nearly unalterable time schedule, got it down to the minute for worship, prayer, and preaching….are you being an owner, or a steward, and if you’re a steward, just what are you stewarding, what are the sheep being served?

We who are in ministry, our first purpose is to bring glory to God by way of our obedience, our confession of Jesus, and our generosity toward others. Our ministries should be an expression of our love of the Lord and thanksgiving.

2 Cor4:15, “For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”

Christian ministry is both at the same time, practical and spiritual. Christians should never be accused of being “so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” Ministry builds up the church, the body of Christ. In the words of Paul, it supplies “the needs of the saints”, and gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Each of us has a unique role to play for which no one else can serve as a substitute. You and your ministry gifting are necessary. Do you hear that?

There is a call on your life, what will the Lord lead you to put your hand to? Keep in mind while you’re waiting to find out what your ministry is, if you’ll live as a servant to others, God will use you.

Drive carefully, pray for your neighbors. The Lord hears your prayers, it’s a fact, so you are never alone. i’ll talk to you next time. Amen.

With And Together….

It’s summer finally, and the days are warm, vivid and green. The vegetable and fruit guy in his make shift hut is going full blast selling fruit, flowers, and berries. Some days it’s just so hot and bright, my aging eyes squint into small slits so much so it almost looks like they’re closed. As the sun wanes …resigned to it’s destination beyond the horizon, the day has cooled and now it’s another beautiful evening.  i know it won’t be long till the air becomes crisp, green leaves turn brown and fall off. But right now, in the evening there is the floral smell of lavender, petunia’s, and grass newly cut. A dog is sporadically barking somewhere in the distance. Ahhh yea….summer Sunday dreams of long ago float across my mind of days gone past with sweet tea in the evening on the back porch, and pastures so green you can smell the color almost. Fondly, i remember grilling burgers long after the sun went down, walking in high green tree tunnels under the canopy of the woods smelling the earthy forest floor yielding it’s fragrance from the heat of the day.

It all inspires me to think of the round and round of the days of our lives. i think so many, although they may gather “together” around local campfires and pubs, they still feel isolated somehow and are a bit clueless on how to be anything else. Each in their own skin, knowing only their own ideas…supposing and speculating about everyone else’s.

i remember when i was in the Navy, i stood in the downtown center of Naples Italy, surrounded by people and was still alone. i didn’t have eyes to see anyone “with” me nor was i “with” them. We were gathered in a group together, but not really “together” as God intended . Don’t get me wrong, i was with some other sailors, and we agreed on many things, but there was no real heart connection which caused us to feel united other than being in the military and being generally disgruntled about life.

i know a fellow who lives in a dark prison cell of his own making. God is with him, but he is not with the Lord and has no eyes to see or ears to hear. The Lord is willing to share His life and blood with the man, but the fellow isn’t willing to share with God, and most of the time it doesn’t occur to him that he could. That’s a picture of a man who lives on a one way street…one he has made. In fact, the Lord is closer to him than the air in his lungs but he just doesn’t know it. i fear his eyes have begun to get used to the dark, and he’s been there so long he thinks that’s just the way life is.

We say we are “with” friends and we are “together”, but by far and large our idea of being “with” someone is not nearly as large as God intends the words “with” and “together”.

Let’s amble around the word of God like friends taking their time on a woodland path, being present and conscious in the moment to notice the small details. The Lord has imparted of Himself into all He made and this is part of learning to know the lover of our souls.

Genesis5:22, “Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.” The use of the word “with” in that verse is different from the other uses of “with” in different places. Why did the Lord pointedly make this time to stand out more significantly than others? All i can think is He wants us to connect the dots concerning degrees of closeness in our relationships.

i knew a guy in high school named Fatty McDermott, his dad had a gas station in town ….  Of course his name wasn’t really Fatty, and honestly, he wasn’t actually heavy at all. Oh, he was big enough all right but not in the sense of overweight, but his nickname was just something that stuck from his childhood, and we never knew the back story. Now that i think of it, i don’t know that i ever actually knew his real name, even his Mom called him Fatty. He was a pretty good fellow, broad shouldered with meaty hands gained from farm work, sky blue eyes and a super hero square jaw. Anyway, there was something about Fatty that always seemed to make him just a little untouchable, meaning we might be in the same place, except you always felt there was unbridgeable distance in the friendship, like someone with some terrible secret that was just untellable, and maybe he really did have a secret, i don’t know. He had his childhood stories of fishing and hunting, and we all laughed together, cutup and even fought together, but somehow he was always a little removed. It reminded me of something like if Fatty and i were riding in one of those big long station wagons from the 60’s, i would be driving but he would be in the very backseat, and i mean all the way at the rear window. In the same car, going in the same direction, but there was always an unexplained distance. Fatty tried dating but none of the girls stayed around for more than a few months at best. Later in life i met one of his old girl friends and asked her why she didn’t continue to see him. She said that no matter how she tried, she just couldn’t connect. i told her my “riding in a station wagon” analogy, and she agreed. If she was driving, he was all the way at the back, every conversation was a loud back and forth dialogue with plenty of misinterpretations and poorly understood words, and there was always a feeling of not quite connecting.

i don’t think Fatty McDermott ever married. In light of that, i’ve remembered my young self, and i don’t think i was much different than my friend. i was so bound up in my head and heart, i had so many thoughts in my mind my mouth was a bottleneck, so i just never talked, and when i did it was just surface stuff, nothing of any magnitude. When anyone hung out with me, it was as if i was all the way back at the rear window of a long station wagon…in the same car, going in the same direction, at the same speed, just not on the same seat close enough to really be involved. It was difficult to have a relationship with Fatty or myself. Like Fatty, i never knew how to position myself so i could be part of anything. i didn’t know how to be a team player. Other boys seemed to just be natural team players, but i totally didn’t get it. i could be ON the team, but i didn’t know how to be PART of the team.

Sort of like the older brother of Luke15, i was of the family, but not “in the house.

i think we spend an unaccountable and inordinate amount of time believing we are connected to others, but for some reason the close connections seem to still leave us wanting for something closer yet unattainable of ourselves. We relate to others by way of our disgruntledness with the government, and complain about work or make snide jokes about life. Yea, we may be laughing, but we’re not really laughing, and we may feel like our group is together but it’s not really together in the sense God intends.

Most of the time we use the word, idea, or concept of “togetherness” and the word “with” to mean we are in a general proximity, pretty much doing a similar thing, maybe even for similar enough reasons. Like, “i was with my mom….”, “My dad and i went together…”, and i’m sure you can imagine endless scenario’s and examples. We use the idea of “getting with” people, or going to a “get together” to say several people are gathering as in a meeting or a social event, or someone is “together”. According to Webster’s “with” and “together are called “function words”, as in someone who is a participant to an action, or being in agreement.

We all have a very subjective perspective of what it means to be “with” someone. If you ask 10 different people to describe how it looks to be “together”, you’re likely to get 10 answers which are similar to widely varying. Like i said, our view of “with” and “together” is very subjective.

As is my habit of loving to gather data and do interviews, several months ago i started asking people what their idea of being “together” meant, and what they thought was the meaning of being “with” someone. One lady said, “Being together with someone, from my point of view, means that you are with that other person and you don’t hook up or see anyone else.” She didn’t really say what her idea of “with” and “together” was, she only offered one of the attributes. Her first thought was in terms of a lover-type relationship. She paused, furrowed her brow in pensive thought, then added, “Its complicated because there’s so many different views people have on being together but I’m just not sure of what it can really mean.” Notice she qualified her thoughts by saying, “from my point of view”, meaning to me that she, like myself, knew it was subjective.

Genesis5:22, “Enoch walked with God…” We go to church together, sit with each other, them in their seat and you in yours. We sing with other people, them in their space singing their song, and you in yours singing the same song, but their song is not your song, and your place is not their place. What God has in mind in Gen5:22 is much, much closer than that, and His desire is for Himself and each of us to be closer than merely sitting in the same row of seats, you in yours and Him in His. Closer. So much closer. He means for us to be closer to Him and Him to us than the space between your thumb and first finger if you were to rub them together. Closer than a brother. Closer than the breath in our lungs.

Normally, with is used to describe a relationship between two things or people. But in Genesis5:22, the Lord means for us to grasp a concept beyond simply being accompanied, but closer, in the idea that God calls his people to fellowship with himself, more than just being near, but to actually be in unity from beginning to end with God.

1John5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

In Gen5:22, “With” is spelled with the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, “aleph-tav”. When i say we “aleph-ta­v” someone, it is a simplistic view of “with”. Simplisticall­y, to “aleph-tav” so­meone is to position ourselves to go tog­ether, “with“, in an intimate fashion wh­ich allows confident and free discourse, participation in an adventure of very close partnership, and sha­ring of attributes back and forth. When Moses was speaking “with” the Lord in Exodus32:9-14, the Lord said, (my pa­raphrase) “Stand back Moses i’m gonna ki­ll’em all!” (and yes, the Eng­lish translation really is poor), according to the Hebrew, the Lord was speaking WITH Mos­es and was more accu­rately saying what He said as a presenta­tion of an idea and was >>>inviting Moses to of­fer a counterpoint argument<<<. It was God “ale­ph-tav’ing” Moses and inviting Moses to “aleph-tav” Him. It was an invitation for Moses to position himself SO SO closel­y, like a branch is intimately integrated in the tree, that He could freely share all he was with God who was willing to similarly and intimately share wi­th Moses. “With” – aleph-tav in the simp­lest form. Sure, i know it isn’t ALWAYS like that in the use of the word “with” maybe, but i’m shoot­ing at the idea that most of us really really, actually actu­ally, do NOT see our­selves as walking wi­th God in the sense the Lord intends us to walk WITH Him. The Lord is willing, but we are so wrapped up in unbelief and self-condemnation we really have a hard time seeing ourselves that closely with God.

You and your spouse go “wi­th” each other. You share all your breathing, all your thinking, all your feeling like our hand shares all it’s benefits with the arm….we “aleph-tav” each oth­er all the time. Do you get it? Matthew19:6, “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” You­’all walk closely to­gether on the same side of the road, where the “two have become one”, is a type of “with” in the sense the Lord intends.

Exodus26:17 and in 36:22 it mentions two tenons being “fitted toget­her”, and how the two tenons “fitted together” gave definition and strength to the entire frame. From God’s perspective, what “fits together” is a picture of union, like close friends or a brother/sister unity. Not merely associates, not just partners, but in God’s idea of a friend. It’s a picture of “with“, they are “aleph-tav’d”, part­icipating in very cl­ose communion, acting as one bracing the other.

Judges19:5-6, “And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go.” So the two of them sat and ate and drank together.” Notice how this went where it says to “strengthen yourself WITH a mors­el of bread”, then “… the two of them sat and ate and drank together.” The bread became intimately integrated with the one and the one beca­me intimately integr­ated with the bread. Jesus is the bread of life, and taking communion also speaks to us of becoming intimately integrated with the bread, Christ Himself. Then they sat “together”, “with” each other, as a single unit in unity, eating together, and drink­ing together. TOGETH­ER, is a type of “wi­th” where we “aleph-­tav” back and forth. There is unity and intimacy in God’s id­ea of “together”, with the fi­rst two letters painting a picture of a palms up hand reaching through a door of life. Palms up is openness and an invi­tation for the other to participate, and the second letter is a doorw­ay to life. It is the picture of a hands­hake to “aleph-tav” one another, first and last each other, to beginning and end each other…it’s a two way street of not just an action but INTERAC­TION.

On the road to Emmaus in Luke24, they we­re walking and talki­ng, talking and disc­ussing. It is a pict­ure of “with” in the the sense of “toget­her“. Then it says “While they were talk­ing and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.” “Together” and “with” in the same sentence. Ahhh! Th­is is significant! The word “with”, even in Greek, implies a joining in unity, an intimate handshak­e, Jesus “aleph-tav’­d” them as they were “aleph-tav’ing” each other, like branch­es from the same tree sharing in all the resources, back and forth.

i believe we, as people, generally don’t see ourselves and the Lord like that. Somehow we’ve got this divide in our heads that we aren’t worthy of walking that closely with God, or that it’s not possible because we’re just an old sinner, barely saved by Grace. Well, what about the rest of who the Lord says we are? What will we do with that? …. because God’s view of the redeemed is important to deal with and own. Don’t just get your just dues for sin, get your gifts from God for His redemptive work in your heart too. Don’t just break even, actually prosper.

Enoch walked “with God. “With”  meaning on the same road, going in the same direction, on the same side of the road, His face in face, His voice in our voice, as one in unity. I think a lot of people see themselves with God in the sense of on the same road, going in the same direction, but on opposite sides of the road, and that’s not the heart of the Lord.

How do i walk in the close unity like Enoch…. “wit­h” God, “together” with God?? Obviously, i am powerless to do it myself. But the blood of Jesus has bridged the gap! He is the bridge across the finite, us…and infinity, God. He bridged the unbridgeable making it so we could be “with” God in the sense the Lord intended from the beginning. By the blood of Jesus You CAN walk with God, on the same road, going in the same directions, at the same speed, on the same side of the road together.

That is “with” and “together” in their simplistic forms. The Lord says, “Come up here” in Revelation, like saying position yourself for a better view of God and “think about it”.

In Gen7:1, there is a most interesting concept presented by God. He says, “I have seen that you”…it doesn’t mean He merely noticed the physical person, like in Gen12 where Abram is saying Sarai is so beautiful that “when the Egyptians see you they’ll go wild”, no, Gen7:1 means “i see you” in the sense that “i see within you”, “i see into your heart.” From God’s perspective, when He says, “i see you”, “i have seen you” or “i will see you”, He means that He sees and knows your attributes, what makes you tick, even your leanings and intentions and where all those leanings and intentions will carry you depending on every scenario and situation. The Lord wants us to know Him the same way. The closer all things get to the Lord the more all things become like Him, and there again it needs to be pointed out, our greatest strength against darkness and this world is by our coming into the likeness of the Son. God’s heart is that we fully share in Him and He shares in us, like a branch shares in the root of the tree.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is good for all of eternity. Instead of many sacrifices, His is once and for all. Jesus is sufficient and necessary and His heart is for each of us to walk together so closely with God, He can hear us sweat and we can hear His heart without using words…to share in all He is, again, like a branch shares with the root of a tree. He is willing, are we?

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation broadcast semi-live from the deck area overcoming the beautiful Ockluhwahhah River where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and evey evening is pleasant.. This programming is meant to inspire us all to a deeper walk with God, below the surface of our presentation face where we’re always being so safe. Safe in our music, safe in our decisions, safe in our faith, safe in our opinions…it’s time to walk on water, take a chance with God.

The Lord says, “behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every person what is theirs according to what they’ve done.”

He is sufficient and necessary. Always. Drive carefully this week, be a responsible person and think, think before you act or speak. Pray for your neighbors, you truly do make a difference. Until we meet again, laters baby, and amen.

i remember, when i was very small, waking up one winter morning and looking out the window. It was very early, just in the edge of daylight, and as i looked around at the world outside, from the inside looking out, the snow was heavy on the trees. Everything was white and fresh and new. There rose an excitement which caused me to jump and run around the house looking out all the windows at the spectacular world that had appeared sometime in the night.

Looking back in time, as best i can remember, it was the first time i realized how much i loved the morning. In my little boy world, i decided that from then on i would be the first in my house to see and live in all the newness which had never been lived in before. To this day, i love the mornings more than anything, and i still rise very early with an excitement, walking through the house quietly while everyone is still asleep, peeping out the windows, breathing in the freshness of the morning. There is something amazing about it all, it’s mesmerizing to me and i just can’t help it.

When we talk about the morning, we associate daylight, breakfast, coffee, going off to begin the things we begin everyday, but what was God’s idea about it? Did He speak something into the morning that would impact all mankind as long as there is the dawning of a new day, before the end when all things will be revealed?

Lamentations 3:22-23 “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

There is such thing as the “song of the morning” you know. Sun rise is just as spectacular as the sun set. Sun rise sings of a new song, a new day dawning, washed fresh from the night, beautiful in its rising grace.

There is something wonderful about the rising of dawn out of the end of night, that very important time of day when the rising morning light of the new day plows under the end of yesterday. Standing early in the morning, watching the day come to life, i feel…alive, breathing, as if being drawn toward the threshold of Heaven’s gate…So here i stand, poised, watching…waiting…anticipating the morning song…the song of the morning…..it’s almost like a symphony that starts as soft as a whisper … so softly, you’re not sure you’ve actually heard anything. The dawn seems to pick up speed towards its arrival, night is driven back, and sure enough, the symphony of the rising light is actually there and growing in volume. If you listen it can be heard, that is for those who have ears to hear. It is real, it is the song of the Heart of The Father for all man kind, everyday, to be inspired to “return”. The idea of repentance is partly to change your mind concerning salvation and to believe that Jesus really can deliver and save, but God’s idea of repentance is not just to change your mind concerning the salvation offered through Christ, but more to come home. In order to come home, we must realize we have left home and are not at home in this world.

In the morning….there’s just something very important about “in the morning”. It’s like really important stuff always seems to happen at that time. We set off on a trip in the morning, we pray “first thing” in the morning, we begin another day “in the morning”; our thoughts seem more fresh and crisp in the morning – and yes, i know you night owls out there may debate that, but watch the witness, there is something about the way God designed us to operate that is somehow integrated with the rising dawn called, “in the morning”.

All creation has a part of the chorus, just like the various instruments of an orchestra.  Each has its part to play in the symphony of praise to God. Let all creation sing to God, in the morning.

Psalm 148:1-5 “Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. 2 Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.”

You know in your heart it’s a good idea… so c’mon….come let us return to the Lord.

Built into the “morning” is the call of God to every person. Within each morning is His intent towards us causing a rise in people’s hearts to return, to come home to Jesus.

Some of the following may seem repetitive, but i believe it’s all worth saying as often as necessary until we get it down in our hearts. Know what i mean?

In the Hebrew word, “rain”, there is the hidden and revealed source of blessing, men may not know where the sprinkling comes from, but when the sprinkling on the earth is revealed, man is inspired to return.

In the “morning”, there is the rising of the light, the plowing under of the evening…. the morning is like an emissary of Holiness, top and first of the day… in the newness of the morning, again, man is inspired to return.

When it “rains” in the “morning”, it is a double pull on the hearts of people, and i don’t know about you, but i get a peculiar longing in my heart. The world may not realize it, but every morning, the appeal of the Lord to return is for everyone, everywhere, calling us to come home.

On that note, some may say returning to God is a fluid process, and the returning heart can arrive home by many different ways, but we must ask ourselves a very necessary question: How does the Lord say we come home? God is very specific about this and it is not flexible. Twice in John 10 Jesus said, “I AM the door”. In John14 Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth, and life, and no one comes to the father except through me.” And then the passage through to home becomes more defined when Jesus narrows it down even further by saying, “If you have known me then you’ve known the Father” implying that if someone does not know Jesus then they don’t know the Father and can’t reach the Father without going through the son. Returning home is a nice romantic thing to dream about, but it’s more stringent than simply doing however you want, believing whatever suits you, based on what you think or the rumors you’ve heard. God was very specific about who shall return and how they’ll enter into Heaven. Very specific indeed.

Once God has spoken …. once His words have left His mouth, they continue to be spoken. That is amazing! i’ll say it again, Once the Lord has spoken, His words do not stop being said, they will continue until the end when all things will be revealed.

“Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning that is happening before our very eyes; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain upon the earth.” i’ll say that with slightly different words, Let us be steady and ready to study God. Let us be eager for God-knowledge. As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is his daily arrival. God is here! He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground.

In every pleasant thing God has created, know that not only did the Lord make it for us, but there is a subtle call to us all. And yes, i realize i’m using the phrase “call to come home” and “call to return” repetitively, but it’s so important that we hear and understand what the Lord is saying. So much of everything in the world has diluted God’s intent, that in our present system of words and definitions, we easily lose sight of His love.

We are called upon in Philippians4:8 to think on whatsoever things are lovely …. in the word lovely there is a call of the Lord to let go of the hindrances of this life, focus your attention on Jesus, and return to the God of our fathers. When anyone walks into a garden and it’s just busting with brilliant flowers, doesn’t there rise in your heart an inclination to marvel? The call to return pulls at our hearts even when we look at the night sky and gaze at the moon.

The Lord’s longing for us to be restored can be found in almost every part of creation. Many don’t see or hear, but it is there. Will we respond to His ever present call? Either we do or we don’t…there is no sort of, pretty much, or for the most part. It’s a persistent call, an unrelenting call to all mankind, generation to generation, every morning, every evening, every flower, every waterfall, every mist, and every drop of rain which falls, the Lord beckons us to come away with Him, and sing the song of a rising new day.

Many seem to not be aware of the universal call of God…. not knowing what the longing in their hearts is about, but the longing is there none the less. Every time we watch it rain, every time we are mesmerized by the moon and the stars, every morning with the rising of the sun and the dew is fresh on the grass, mankind experiences an unidentifiable desire for restoration and recovery … we yearn to return to God.

The beauty of the morning is always striking and the birds announce the arrival of the new day which wraps our world in wonder. Even when things are bad with us, every morning, we start again with the thoughts of possibilities, thinking, maybe this day will be different. Hope rises on the wings of the new day, joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 90:14, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Psalm 30:5, “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote of the morning saying: “I see the spectacle of morning from the hill-top over against my house, from day-break to sun-rise, with thoughts which an angel might share. The long slender bars of cloud float like fishes in the sea of crimson light. From the earth, as a shore, I look out into that silent sea. I seem to partake its rapid transformations: the active enchantment reaches my dust, and I dilate and conspire with the morning wind.”

It was the habit of the hero’s of our faith to rise at the break of day to meet with God. Abraham and Moses rose up early in the morning to stand before the Lord. God sent Moses to stand before Pharaoh in the morning. Joshua, David, Job, Isaiah, Daniel, Jesus, and the Apostles all saw something important about starting the day off by meeting with God in the morning, when the sun begins to crest the eastern sky. They all had a habit of making the Lord the first one they spoke with every morning …. it was a first fruit offering; they gave God the honor of first recognition, first address, and first notice. after all, He is the alpha and omega, and multiple Bible heroes’s honored Him as the first and the last. And you? Who do you honor with your first and last words of the day? We say Jesus is first in our lives, so in light of that common declaration among believers, who is the first person you speak to every morning?

In the morning the brilliant blue larkspur and orange nasturtium blooms seem to glow in large beds against the sunny side of my house, and the swarms of yellow butterflies in continual motion speak of God’s kiss of affection for those who heed His call of grace. Art cannot rival this grandeur, this God-made pageantry of many colors … at the vision, i’m drawn up in worship of the Lord by the rising light of day. With the morning, every morning there is oneness in the house, God’s holiness rising as an emissary who is first and top of the day – the morning is divine.

Jesus, crucified in the evening, was found to be resurrected in the morning of the third day. As published in 1931 by English author Eleanor Farjeon, her lyrics about the most significant morning in history speak of the resurrection of Christ: “Morning has broken, Like the first morning, Black bird has spoken, Like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them springing, Fresh from the Word! Sweet the rain’s new fall, Sunlit from heaven, Like the first dewfall, On the first grass. Praise for the sweetness, Of the wet garden, Sprung in completeness,
Where His feet pass.”

In John 21, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, maybe the apostles didn’t know what to do next, so, they decided to go fishing. They set up their nets, launched their boats and they worked all…night….long. They knew how to accomplish their trade, but there was no benefit for their work at that point … and fishing like those guys fished was indeed hard work. In the morning, that’s right….in the morning, Jesus met them and directed their work. In the morning God showed up and they were fruitful. And notice, the Lord could have shown up at any time, but He chose the morning, when the light plows under the evening and begins anew. i’m telling you, i don’t know what it is, but there’s just something very important about meeting with God in the morning. …it sets the tone for the day, it seems to put things in order and in a righteous array. All i can say is, on the wings of the morning, in the early morning light, the rising day brings the mercy and goodness of God which extends beyond the vanishing point. Think About it!

To recap a bit, indeed, there is something wonderful about the rising of dawn out of the end of night. It is a very important time when the fading darkness transitions into the new day. When the Lord divided the light from the darkness in Gen 1:5, and there was evening and morning, the first day, but when He named the morning, i believe God’s heart was infused in the event. Morning comes everyday all around the world, and the Lord imparted to the rising light which plows under yesterday, to be like an emissary of His Holiness, top and first of the day… in the newness of the morning, man is inspired to return. Come let us return to the Lord, for He will raise us up to live before Him, and He will send to us the rain in the morning, watering the earth.

Psalm143:8, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation from the deck overlooking the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge and every evening is pleasant.

Be strong and courageous this week. Try rising early to meet with God. Make Jesus the first and last person you speak to, Honor Him who died and rose from the dead so you can have life, and have it more abundantly.

Pray for your neighbors and friends, take God at His word – cover to cover; breathe easy and hold the line. i’ll talk to you next time, amen.