2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, the new has come!”

The Mission church in Vacaville, Cal. made the following one of it’s tenants of faith in their publication “Decisions That Define Us” by David Crone. Point number four, “We have decided that having good programs is not enough, that change without transformation is intolerable, and that staying where we are is not an option.”

Many of us have left where we were and are headed to where we will be and that’s a God thing for us who are led by the Spirit. Change is good, very good. But have you been transformed, more than merely changed, not just in mind, but in composition or structure; changed in character or condition? Did we just change habits and direction, or are we allowing God to transform us into the likeness of His Son? That is not only “transformed”, past tense as a one time event or a one night stand, but “transforming”, as in an ongoing process with a future. Don’t conform, be transformed. To change is to be “fixed and complying”, but to be transformed requires a metamorphosis. Change and transformation, though similar, differ in scope and impact. Change is often reactive and incremental, whereas transformation is profound and is a fundamental shift in identity and purpose. i see it like this: change tweeks the surface, but transformation redefines our very core. We don’t get to be a new creation simply by complying with the rules so we can be fixed. To be a “new creation” requires an entire metamorphosis, the old you must die in order that the new you can emerge. Only God can do that.

Philippians 2:14-15, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world …”

Having a mind set that hates sin is good, but more importantly, do we love Jesus? Hating sin is good, loving Jesus is best. Being aware of the plans of hell is good, but being aware of what God is doing is best! There is a difference between “good” and “best”. Many of us are, daily, working to cease from our superficial murmuring and our outward sneering criticism of everyone and everything, along with under-our-breath-complaining and passive-aggressive finger pointing. Those are good things to cease practicing, VERY good in fact. But have we been transformed and are we being transformed due to the fingerprints of God on our body, mind, and heart? Transformed … meaning, not only do we outwardly do the right thing, but inwardly, the world’s teaching no longer grips us nor do they drive us like waves driven by the wind, starting in ripples when we are young but shortly the wisdom of the world like swells with momentum and distance. Who we used to be is dead by the power and blood of Jesus, and He has grown in us a heart for becoming and overcoming. Also, it is grace for us to keep in mind that the process of transformation, as seen in Romans 12:1 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, it takes time. Be kind to yourself in the mean time.

Re-education is not transformation. Reformation is not transformation. Rehabilitation is not transformation. Real, lasting transformation is strictly in the habitation of God alone.

One day i was whining about how few miracles of healing and wonders we see in this country, asking the Lord, in all sincerity, “What are we doing wrong Father, that these things are not happening?” i’d suppose more than a few of us have asked similar questions of God. But, are we actually doing something wrong, or is it more closely, simply not the season, yet? The Lord said to me, “Doing miracles, signs, and wonders is excellent. Ahhhh, but transforming the heart of man, now THAT is a wonder to behold!” A transformed life is an effective testimony to the power of God’s Word. Are you shining brightly, or are you subtly troubled, and clouded by complaints and contention?

Re-education, re-formation, rehabilitation are things of change, but change without transformation is not acceptable. i don’t want us to merely change, my heart is for us to be transformed, having not merely turned over a new leaf as causal as putting on a different shirt, but having begun a new life. It is not just a re-vamped order and method; it is a whole new order of God’s creative energy which we live out in Christ. We are not just re-imagining an old paradigm, but entering into something new that is transformational, not just being saved but living “in and as” the beauty, grace, and electrifying, over-the-top, presence of God.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, “all things” means “all things“, and no part of “all” means anything other than “all“. “New” means not just changed, but transformed. See Romans 12:1-2.

Got transformation? Not just salvation, and by NO means belittling the importance of salvation, don’t mistake me, but not simply salvation and that’s all there is, but beauty, grace, life, and love. It’s not enough to just have “fire insurance” by gaining salvation. God’s intent is that we come into the full likeness of His son, Jesus. Got transformation?

          Even when we live under the pressing need for honesty, even at that, we are often compelled to keep some things secret. Sometimes, there comes a ripping in our soul as there grows the increasing inner conflict of self-disclosure versus keeping a secret in mortal fear we will be discovered. Lies and fear are weights, not wings. Secrets are necessary sometimes, after all, there are somethings which are, indeed, no one’s business but our own. Consider also that God has secrets, but He does promise us, in the end, all things will be revealed. Some secrets are necessary, but when keeping too many, they become a growing burden which eats away at all we are.

The Lord knows all of our lives and sees our tortured selves as we hide, and slide, and make alibis, while the rich, colorful world in our heart slowly, almost, imperceptibly, fades to bleak shades of grey scale, all from the burden of lies we tell ourselves and others.

We tell ourselves the truth that we are more than conquerors, but then we stretch it in our imagination to believing some of the wildest things you’ve ever heard. The Lord says He is with us, and all power in Heaven and earth is in Christ who is in our hearts. We figure His power is our power, so we go around rebuking trees, binding shadows, cursing weeds, commanding ourselves to walk on water, all the while our house is a mess, we need a bath, we’ve got bills to pay, our spouse and kids need our attention, and the lies we tell ourselves just bow us to the ground in broken expectations and sweeping disappointment. Eventually, all our self-deception and lying causes us so much pain, it eats up our mental real estate and costs us all our emotional capital until we’re so poor, not only do we struggle to pay our bills but we can’t even pay attention.

i think a lot of folks often feel stuck. We can’t seem to live, and it’s not time to die, i suppose it looks a lot like being constipated. Within ourselves we feel like a frail spirit , and we’re carrying our disappointments around, in backpacks, knowing they will never release us, not for one second. The lies we tell ourselves cry out and plead to be resolved, while binding us up in chains in the mean time. Only Jesus can set us free, but we do have to be willing to let the graveyard of old things give up it’s dead, letting the dead be dead.

i tried my hand at being a pastor for 2 ½ years. i struggled, and tried, crashed and burned every week where no one could see me. Oh man! Honestly, i don’t know what i thought, but i’m pretty sure i had a twisted idea of what it meant to be a pastor. i cried a lot. God transformed me, a lot. Every week i tried again, every week was extraordinary, every week i was glad and was also slammed with disappointment at the same time, and every week, long about Wednesday, i would get emails of complaints about how we didn’t do this, didn’t say that, shoulda’ sung this, prayed too long, not long enough, just murmuring and complaining. Oh man! Late one Sunday afternoon, sitting alone on the porch, i had a revelation, i had been lying to myself telling myself i could be that person, but the truth was, i did NOT have what it took to legitimately wear the title, it was simply not my gifting. That was the day i realized we can out run our sound thinking by assigning ourselves a title for which we have no particular gift. In fact, the weight of the lie that i WAS that person was such a burden, my feet got slower and slower, till i was, metaphorically, dragging my feet, barely able to stand. Interestingly, i watched other people who were also bent over from the weight of their own lies. People who told themselves they were prophets, but there was very little evidence of it. Oh they tried alright, gave it a valiant effort, but their words just fell to the ground to be swept up with the dust. Yet others told themselves they had no real gifts, all the while exhibiting beautiful teaching or serving gifts with extraordinary insight, but outright denying God’s gift in themselves.

We tell ourselves we know the Lord, yet many can’t tell of His attributes. We say we go to church because it’s the right thing to do, but we never question what it is we are so insistently attending? We vehemently tell people not to judge us, yet we have only a faint idea of what it is about ourselves we don’t want them to judge. We tell ourselves with frothing anger that so-and-so owes us an apology, but yet we won’t, ourselves, own our actions. And what’s worse, we may have apologized for our wrong actions but then we point out how the other person did such-n-such too. “You’re just as bad as me!” Our lies will bow us down so bad they’ll make our back crack under the weight of lies.

In the Bible, a lie is a curse, and to be cursed is to have no weight, as in no weight to change not one thing. Glory has weight, curses do not. Light has weight, darkness does not. With that observation, what is it about lies which is said to, “weigh on our conscience” so heavily? i believe the weight of lies is the burden or the violation of our conscience, the shame we bring to ourselves, and the dishonor of not being honest. When we are not honest, we simply are not honest and it wears us down. Like a file scrapes off chunks of wood, lies scrape off chunks of our conscience, until our lies don’t bother us much anymore. They tend to multiply, for it takes an additional lie to cover over the last lie, thus, the weight on our conscience of dishonor, brings more dishonor in our continuation to hide, and the shadows grow longer in our mind and heart. All the while, we grow further and further from the Lord, who loves us and merely bids us to come clean with Him.

We must elect to be honest. It doesn’t hurt much except our pride. Being honest is as healthy as eating good food, and drinking clean water. i believe there is glory which grows in our hearts when we are honest with God and ourselves. And if you do elect to throw off the weight of lies for a life style of being honest, prepare yourself for indirectly making others uncomfortable. They will squirm, often they will stop calling you, maybe avoid you at the store, or not respond to emails or texts. But you and i, we’re going to just keep on being diligent to get out from under the weight of the lies we’ve been told and believed for the sake of convenience, or maybe even because the lies sounded highly probable to our already saddened state of mind.

2 Kings12:15 tells about the workman who were so honest, the people didn’t have to call them to account because they were straight up about all they did. They didn’t lie about where the money went, they didn’t lie about the work they said they did — but didn’t, they didn’t lie using some future promise to make everything balance out, nor did they lie about when the work would be finished. They were honest, and God had it recorded in the Bible. Can you imagine, being so honest, the Lord wrote your name in the Bible for everyone, everywhere, to see forever?

The weight of lies will bow us to the ground, and only God can lift us up. Psalm 3:3 says the Lord is the glory and the lifter of our head, but friends, we’ve gotta be willing to abandon our disillusionments too.

A few years ago, in our home fellowship, a continuing topic of discussion for a while, was about the attributes of God, why we need them, and how they are a life-giving-imperative in the lives of all Christians everywhere, all day, all night, all the time. One man occasionally argued that we needed to spend our time only in intercession and prayer. He eventually just came straight out and asked, “Why are we spending our time talking about this?!”

i suppose he didn’t exactly see the value of knowing God’s qualities nor did he seem to have an interest in understanding the value of the Lord from another facet besides intercession and prayer. Either way, due to his comment, i was motivated to not only discover as many of God’s attributes as i could, but to also make a list of what was under God’s banner of intimacy, and what our King imparts to us if we’ll take the time to be involved with Him. Yes, that’s right, if we’ll take the time. The Lord shares Himself with us so that we can come into the likeness of the Son. According to Romans 8:29, those who believe in Christ, are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ, and being conformed to that image means we take on His attributes. Incidentally, the word “conformed” means to be “pressed and squeezed into shape”, meaning coming into the likeness of the Son of God is not always moonbeams, merry-go-rounds, and candy canes.

One of the things God gives to us of Himself is, what i would call, modeling. God models for us how to act, when and how to have grace, what is His idea of kindness, courtesy, obedience, sacrifice, timing, integrity and privilege to name a few. Also, in the Bible is a host of other characters who model how we should NOT act, what we should NOT do, attitudes we should NOT have, and even some subtle discussions of detrimental intent which opposes righteousness.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the broad, gracious deck overlooking the late night cascading Ockluhwahhah River where the trees gently lean over the river’s edge, and every evening is pleasant.

God’s view of things is radically different than ours and that is gross understatement! Yes, He is that much better than us. Instead of using Christ as our model, i believe a large part of our country listens more to the bland and shallow “beautiful people”, or social media where the court of public opinion often decides life and death for people. We are taught what to love and hate based on someone else’s opinion, not our own. Can you believe there is a job position called, “Influencer”? The Oxford Dictionary calls an “influencer”, A person who has the ability to affect the purchasing decisions or behaviors of others due to their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience. i would never have believed that that would be a paying job position. More often than taking advice from God Himself and His written word, many seem to listen more to any and every celebrity who might appear on a television or radio talk show, with the word “listen” meaning more than simply to hear but to give themselves to and be persuaded by. Ahhh yea, the media seems to have become, what i call, the great discipler.

But, if we’ll listen to and follow after the Lord, being diligent to know Jesus and study the Bible, God has, indeed, extended us all sorts of models: roll models for example. The Lord gave Paul as a roll model. Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” Paul urges us to take note of those whose lives imitate Christ as is pointed out in Hebrews 6:12 “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Above that though, Jesus is the ultimate role model. He modeled how to surrender to being obedient to every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. He is THE model whom we should ultimately fashion ourselves and lives after: He is the self-emptying, humble, and obedient Christ of God. Jesus modeled right relationship with God all the way to the cross.

Most of us have parents whom our lives have been modeled after to one degree or another. How many of us have said, myself included, “i’ll never be like …” her or him. Regardless of our declaring who we won’t be like, whoever raised us has imprinted us with their life habits, thinking patterns, goodness and badness, for better or for worse, whether in soaring prosperity or grinding poverty. i think to not have any of our parents attributes is probably inescapable, short of God doing a mighty work in us.

Let me also add, that in following Jesus, getting to know Jesus, listening and being obedient to Jesus, using the life of Christ as our pattern for living, we slowly come into the likeness of the Son. And let me certify, The change that comes with following after the Lord can be radical. On a side note, there is a sequence of special note, repent, believe, and follow, with believe being an imperative verb, meaning “do it now”, not later, not with passivity, more than just telling about it. Do it, take action.. In Mark 1:15, Jesus said repent and believe, and then in Mark 1:16 He said follow.

Speaking for myself, i’ve even had people ask me if i am actually related to my brother or sister because they say i am nothing like them at all. At that, all i can say is God has made me different and my likeness is more of my Savior, and not after my biological family … and for me, i don’t know about you but i do know about me … i consider that miraculous and a wonderful thing.

In the entire New Testament, Jesus modeled unity for the Body of Christ. i heard a man say once, “Unity in Christ was the absolutely necessary evidence of the gospel at work. Redemption that does not redeem, that does not cause a Philemon to accept the runaway slave Onesimus back as a brother in Christ, is merely soft, ugly mush. Redemption that does not actively practice forgiveness, that does not crush “complaining against” and “arguing with” one another in the Christian community, mocks the word of the Lord.” Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without complaining and disputing, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”

God extends to us a model of how we should behave ourselves. Jesus modeled the importance of forgiveness by forgiving us who believe; then He takes it further by saying in Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” The Bible also extends to us models of how we should not act, like in Luke 20:20, there were those whom are shown to be of disrepute, where it says “they who pretended to be honest.” The exact word “disrepute” is used twice, Acts 19:27 and again in 1 Corinthians 4:10. Friends, i’ll tell you what, i am absolutely worn out on pretended honesty and the facade, or the deceptive, false appearance of genuine sincerity, where there is no genuineness to it. It’s called “two faced” or double mindedness as in James 1:8 and James 4:8, where our outward behavior doesn’t reflect our true self. Jesus modeled honesty and it wasn’t for nothing. If we want to live in a culture of honor, it would seem honesty is absolutely a main ingredient. Not only did Jesus model grace and honesty for us, He also was the perfect example of good boundaries. Good boundaries make for solid relationships, in fact a distinct lack of boundaries is usually what destroys friendships, and inspires criminal thinking. Hear this! God invented boundaries, they were His idea! He has boundaries as in He will do this and He won’t do that and He expects us to follow His lead.

In Luke 10, Jesus tells a story with six different character types. All are examples of people today as well as at that time in history.

Be honest. Which one are you, the victim in the ditch, the exploiting thieves, the priest and Levite who were concerned some of the victim’s bad ju-ju would get on them, the Samaritan who extended himself to help the victim, or the inn keeper who would help the man, but only for a fee? Which one are you? Can you be honest about that? Which one have you modeled your life after? In the overview of the entire parable, Jesus was also one of the characters, doing more than just helping, but literally giving His life for us. Be honest now … which one of those characters do you think your life is modeled after? After all, the entire idea is to come into the likeness of the Son considering that in the entire universe, Jesus is our only ally, and there’s not another.

One of the most significant models God has given us is the model of marriage. The story of God’s house is one of covenant, family, and God’s house from the beginning. This model starts at Genesis “in the beginning” and concludes in Revelation with “The grace of Christ be upon all God’s people, AMEN.”

God gave us the model of His being personal and relational in how we are to conduct ourselves with Him and each other. There is no indifference about Him. He gave us the 10 sayings, or the 10 commandments, not so much as rules, which we’ve turned them into, but more as to how we are to live in community. For those who get married or are thinking of marriage, Jesus layed out a theme in Mark10:6-12. He gave us a model of what not to do once we ARE married as shown in the decline of Solomon in 1Kings11:1-13. Jesus modeled loyalty, commitment, love, and devotion. And there is a difference between commitment and loyalty, one is an action, the other is a character trait. Think about this: commitment is an act of choosing to dedicate yourself to something, like a goal or relationship, while loyalty is a character trait with the earmarks of dedication and faithfulness to something or someone. God’s love and commitment are most amazingly revealed in the four gospels, in the stars, in all the earth, and from cover to cover in the Bible. God knows the end from the beginning and the character of the cross was worked in the heart of the Son from before the foundations of the world was laid, so from the beginning to the end God models for us marriage as seen in His actions towards us whom He loves.

The Lord gave men a model to draw from on how to treat their wives in Ephesians 5:25, in fact all of Ephesians 5:25-30 IS the model. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, and friends, that’s no small thing. Now, let me add the unspoken rest of the story. The wife ought not to take advantage and manipulate her husband while he’s busy laying down his life.

1 Timothy 3:2-3 gives men the model on how they should conduct themselves within the marriage and outside the household. Proverbs 12:4 models for women a vision of God’s intent on who she should be to her husband and where it all goes if she is a disgrace. And, of course, we can’t leave out the model woman of Proverbs 31. The story of Ruth is a wonderful story of how women should model themselves, in fact, the same word Boaz used of Ruth’s character, calling her “worthy” or “noble” in Ruth 3:11 is the same used in reference to the Proverbs 31:10 woman, naming her character as someone of great virtue, strength, and courage. Not rules to practice but someone to be. Take action. Be the person God has called you to be, and if you’re not sure what that is, be honest, honorable, and uphold the standards of God while you wait for Him to reveal to you the “what’s next” of your life.

James 1:27 gives us a model of how to act towards widows and orphans, and that we should help the helpless, the orphans and widows. The Lord is generous and we should be as He is, instead we often model ourselves after other people instead of the Lord who modeled a standard for us that we should act like Him. Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” Jesus revealed to us how children should treat their parents in Luke 2:51-52, we see it outlined again in Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” A poetic model of how to treat our parents is also seen in Proverbs 1:8-9, “My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair, like rings on your fingers.”

Oh my, do you see it all? And that’s just a few of the obvious ones. There are larger concepts of modeling if we also study the themes and narratives of Scripture. God has so amazingly laid out for us the models of how we should conduct ourselves in business, in marriage, in righteousness and holiness. The Lord God Almighty did not commission the book called the Bible to be written just so we could ignore His models for our conduct, character, and conversation.

Above the models of modesty spoken of in 1 Corinthians, or of wisdom in Proverbs and in Matthew, above Paul’s model of stewardship in Colossians, and above multitudes of scriptural models of persistence, diligence, righteous justice, mercy, creativity, faith, and fairness; above all those and hundreds of others which God has given us so we would know what to do and how to act, above all that, the Lord has called us to be models ourselves; models after Jesus. We are to be image AND reflection, meaning not only how we look, but also in how we act. Not that anyone can become Jesus, but we can certainly “set our eyes” on being like Him. Right here, let’s define the idea of “set your eyes upon Jesus”. It means to intentionally focus your attention and affection on Him alone, prioritizing your relationship with Him above all else. It involves trusting Him, aligning your priorities with His standards, and maintaining a Kingdom-minded perspective, especially during trials and temptations. Oh yes, most especially during trials and temptations when we are most vulnerable.  He calls us to become roll models for the world. Yes, you and me.

Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Letting your light shine before men doesn’t mean we go around slamming people with the gospel, it means, and hear this: it means to live a life which has a constant upward pointing to the sovereignty of God, it means possessing peace continually propagated by grace. God grace?

N.T. Wright wrote that, “the path to  God himself is seen in Jesus Christ! That of giving yourself away, of generous love which constantly refuses to take center stage.” You’d be surprised how far your work in the Kingdom will go if you’ll stop putting your name all over it.

God has also revealed to us other models, models of those we should NOT act like, like Balaam, Ahab, Jeroboam who made Israel to sin, or Korah, or Cain. It is very important that we know who NOT to model after, but i believe more importantly, we need to know who we SHOULD model after.

God gave to us His only Son, who was, in the flesh, the reflection of the Father in Heaven. Jesus said in John 14:9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” and John 8:19, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”  In other words, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen Him, and if you know me, you know Him.

Here’s a great question someone asked me once. Who are your heroes? i’ll tell you, i had to really ponder that one. Who have you modeled your life after? Do most of us even know? If we don’t, what can we do to help ourselves become all of what God has called us to be? An’ right there is a big Amen. Think about it.

John 13:14-15, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” Washing feet is more than a towel, pan of water, and scooping the water across someone’s feet. That’s too small and falls far short of what the Lord intended. Go over and mow their lawn, bring your wife coffee in the morning, do the dishes, go clean someone’s house or weed their garden, be consistently kind and graceful to your parents. That kind of stuff is washing feet, that is modeling the character of the Lord. Tell others about the goodness of God instead of the badness of men. Condemnation never liberated anyone from immorality or depression.

The evening has come to a close. Thank you for taking a few moments in time and space to consider with me the possibilities of God’s infinity living in us.

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, encouraging us all to look above the platform, over the top of the pulpit, beyond all men, way over beyond the blue and see God, who has modeled life as it should be to a lost and dying world.

This has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Lawnes and Hattie Gash, Kevin, Tommy, and Perry of the Mebane Freedom League, Azalee Dunbar, Ruben Kandja, Carlota Antonio Cossa in Mozambique, Kyle Walker, Area 22 Guitars, and Trinity Bakers, the sweet spot on main street where there’s always something good in the oven.

Jesus is our model and frame, the singing light who lived and died on our behalf. He gave Himself for us and asks us to give ourselves to Him, to model His heart and life, accomplishing the Heart of the Father that all those who believe in Christ, would come into the likeness of His dear Son, Jesus.

Be strong and courageous, pray for your neighbors, drive carefully, and step into the model of righteousness God has given you the power and authority to do. Be blessed my friends, be blessed.

Over many years of trying to think of “Who am i in the Kingdom of God and what do i do,” after personally interviewing many, many people, i’ve come to the conclusion that most of us really don’t know how to describe ourselves, nor do we know much about what we do.

It was mentioned in the last program that because most of us can’t quite place ourselves in a “church recognized and religiously sanctioned” function, somehow we think we are less, do you know what i mean? It bears saying again, just because you have a different calling doesn’t mean you have a lesser calling.

One day about 8 years ago, i was sitting with a friend, both being between appointments, eating our lunch and revelating a bit. He asked me, “Who do you think you are in the Kingdom of God?” Instantly, through my mind went a string of rebukes, commands to “don’t even go there!, “stop thinking these things!”, and a strong sense that if i answered in a positive manner i would be proud and arrogant, and you know, “pride goes before a fall“, watch out! Be careful! Just – Don’t! My heart was filled with such conflict i couldn’t hardly answer. He noticed my sputtering and halting so he encouraged me again, “Ok, all possibilities of pride and arrogance aside, ‘cause i know your heart, just put it out there come hell or high water. Who do you think you are in the Kingdom and what do you do?” Ugh! Man this was hard. i continued to sputter and pop and really avoid any sort of coherent reply. He asked, “Well, do you think you’re an apostle?” i nearly hissed at him that he would even suggest such an elevated position! i said in a beggarly voice while staring at the floor, “The Lord has used me to plant more than a few things which are still going, but no, i don’t think i’m that person.” In my head were visions of overly large heroes of the faith with a little bitty stick figure of myself standing next to them. Nope, i didn’t measure up. He asked, “Do you think you’re a prophet?” i sputtered and popped, terrified to answer, now turning my head completely away from him to stare out the window, but, again in a low, beggarly voice i said, “The Lord has given me a prophetic gift that works when i wish it wouldn’t and doesn’t work when i wish it would, but i, but … well, ‘er, ummm, you know…”, and my voice trailed off into silence. In my mind loomed other large heroes of the faith and an even smaller, itty bitty, three fingered, googley eyed stick figure of myself next to them. Nope, didn’t measure up again. This went on and on, we were obviously not getting anywhere because i didn’t see myself fitting any of the “church sanctioned” commonly accepted titles or recognized “Kingdom models” of identity. In my vision i only saw myself as an itty bitty, three fingered, googley eyed stick figure stick figure.

Then he said, mercifully, “Let’s turn it around then, who do you think you’re NOT?” Immediately, i had my hands on stacks of data i had gathered, and out of my mouth i heard myself say, “Oh, that’s easy, i know a lot about who i’m not.” BAM! In the brilliant NOW of the moment i said those words, the Lord posed me a very piercing question, He said, “How is it you know so much about what you don’t, and can’t, and won’t, and so little about what you do, and can, and will. How is it you know so little about who I say you are?”

i was so afraid of believing who God said i was. My worth was so desperately tied up in the approval and opinions of others, i was paralyzed and breathless that others might not agree with what i saw of myself and publicly embarrass me. i was afraid of failing to actually live up to someone’s expectation of who i presented myself to be. Get it? Not God’s expectations but other people’s expectations. i was afraid of appearing arrogant, and don’t you know there’s always going to be someone who feels it’s their calling to make sure you know how small you are. i was afraid that what i saw of myself was actually just a lie i’d told myself because i needed to be “somebody” really bad. i was afraid i didn’t fit the church-sanctioned role of what a spiritual gift was, making who i saw myself as, invalid, again. i was afraid i wouldn’t be squeaky clean enough, therefore i wouldn’t be seen as truly sanctified by the “powers of authority” in my church family. Afraid is the common word in all of that, therefore i did nothing and saw myself as nothing, doing nothing, and going nowhere, which was the safest place it seemed, yet somehow i still had a burning desire to be used of the Lord and to know Jesus. Can you say “cognitive dissonance”?

Prior to this was the program “God of the pits”, well, this as the addendum, which is an item of additional material.

God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies grey and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, run our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to Your honor and glory. With every step and breath we honor Your great Name.

Augustine said, If we had never known discomfort, we would have never known comfort. If we had never known fear we would have never known faith. If we had never known sadness we would have never known joy. We know good times because we have had bad, sorrow exposes joy.  Where there is pain, there is healing. Where there is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom.

God does not suffer from DI-VISION, split vision, or a multiplicity of divided perception. He has singleness of eye and singleness of focus and He’s looking at us. The Lord has “vision”, not “di-vision”.  In the eyes of God, His vision is never separated. He does not tell us things just so we can know, thus God does not comfort us solely to make us comfortable, but that we would learn to be comforters of others.

The word Comforter is applied to the Holy Spirit four times, John 14:16 and again in vs. 26, John 15:26, and again in John 16:7. Jesus promised His followers that The Strengthener would be with them forever. This promise is not a child’s song that gently lulls us to sleep, nor is it for those who lack fortitude … it is a blood transfusion for courageous living, and not just today, but more far reaching than we can imagine. If it is tomorrow which fills men with dread, God is there already. All the tomorrows of our life have to pass Him before they can get to us.

Jesus makes a promise of comfort and consolation to us in Matthew 11:28 saying, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

In Psalm 9:9, the LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

He does not “coddle” us, but comforts us. Consider then, coddling is different than comforting. To “coddle” means to “treat in an indulgent, excessive, or overprotective way,” and “comfort” means “to give strength and hope to, to ease grief or trouble.” It would seem that to “coddle” someone is  enabling, enabling them to continue their bad behavior, whereas to “comfort” might actually involve friction by being direct with our friend. Giving strength and hope is not always a gentle, soft spoken thing.

— C.S. Lewis wrote, “God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger – according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way.”

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.      Therefore, we will not fear, though we are rejected and cast down, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

When contrary winds blow, and nothing seems to work, the Lord is there, never abandoning us whom He loves.

2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

The Hebrew word for “comfort” is used 100 times in the O.T. alone, and “consolation” 15 times.  In the spelling of the word for comfort and consolation, in it’s very root is the idea of God’s support toward those who breath strongly for sorrow …. weeping in grief. He is compassionate and kind to sad and weeping hearts and is the master of consolation.

It would seem to me, from God’s perspective, “comfort” and “consolation” are important to Him for us to possess and understand, especially now, when the world is in a downward spiral, the church, much at its’ own hand, is viewed as swindlers, liars, adulterers and thieves, and life in general seems visionless, dark, and down cast.  Many of us are like 2 Corinthians 7:5 in that we feel as though our bodies have no rest, there is trouble on every side, outside are conflicts, and inside are fears.

Jesus Christ is the “God of all comfort.”  Jesus is with us when we are in the “pits” of life: no matter how down we may be, He is with us. Did you catch that? For those who believe, no matter how down we may be, God is with us. Jesus said always with you and never leave you, and if He said it we can bank on it. And for those who are still pre-believers, God is never far and is always ready to act if we’ll simply call.  63 times, the Lord repetitively tells us, “Fear not”, not counting the variations on the theme “fear not”.  Deut 13:6 says God will never leave us or forsake us, and God doesn’t kid around.  The Holy Spirit will come to us and strengthen us through life’s trials and difficulties if we ask Him to. Ask Him and then let Him do it! He is waiting for you.  When we have learned firsthand what it means to be comforted by the Holy Spirit, then we can truly serve comfort to others. God comes to us before He goes through us, which suggests that before pouring out to others in service, the Lord builds character in us and we need to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He knew that even the kindest words are not consolation enough when we are pressed by death and loss … as a result, He went the next mile and sent his Son to save us, and sends his Spirit to bring us to Him. Jesus IS our consolation.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:6 “Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast …”. “Downcast” is the Greek word “tapeinos” (tah-peen-‘oahs), literally meaning “low to the ground, brought low with grief, depressed.”  Metaphorically, the word signifies “low estate,” “lowly in position and power,” “humble.”  God comforts those who are low to the ground, and He is on the side of people who have been put down by life.  God is right there for His people when they are sad, lonely, and confused.  When His people are in the “pits” of life, He is there to lift them out and to put their feet on higher ground.  Listen, life throws “curve balls” to everyone not just you, no matter how “spiritual” we may be.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”  The sun rises and sets on us all, good, bad, righteous and unrighteous.  You are not alone in your trouble for Jesus still remembers when the world forgets. In 1816, in “Come, Ye Disconsolate,” a hymn written by Thomas Moore in 1816 one line is “earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal”. Jesus is the answer, always.

God is a loving, kind, and caring Father who is always there to offer comfort and consolation to us. David mentions three times the key to overcoming being cast down, grieved, and low to the ground saying, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God …”.  Hope, the expectation of becoming and overcoming. Let us hope in God.

So let us know, Let us press on to know the Lord, “As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is his daily arrival. He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground.” Hosea 6:3.

Hosea 6:3 is our promise of comfort and consolation, and God NEVER breaks His promises, even if we think He has, does, or will, let us be assured, God keeps ALL His promises and is completely faithful. Hypocrisy is the Achilles heel of all mankind for God is the only one who always does all, and exactly what He says. The Lord will come to us like the rain.  Let us comfort others with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God, and if we have an abundance of comfort and consolation, pay it forward.

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

1 John 5:7, KJV, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”

There is a noteworthy distinction between being as one, together, and merely agreeing; simply because people agree doesn’t mean they are united as one. Considering the divorce rate in America today, it would appear many men and women who have gotten married don’t really see themselves as having become one, still seeing themselves as two individuals who have a contractual agreement, yet somehow they’re together, agreeing, but basically independent of each other. Yea, i’d guess that doesn’t work too well.

When we are one, it is “us” and “we”, but when we only agree, it is just “you” and “me”.

The Lord said in Matthew 19:4-5 “… Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’” (That’s two), “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (that’s two again) and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”

Two becoming one, and that’s more than agreeing, that is becoming unified as of the same mind and purpose. His face in her face, her face in his face, unified with singularity of vision, which is God’s idea of marriage.

One, two, and three … simple numbers which everyone uses, one way or another, everyday. To some people, numbers are a problem, and i suppose that is easily seen in U.S. math skills as compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. ranking 24^th out of 29 countries. Maybe it’s not actually a problem with numbers but more about not understanding the importance of math skills, or not believing we have the skills. Just not smart enough, or something like that.

But, tonight’s topic isn’t about numbers as something to add or subtract like in a summation, but more in the sense of how it relates to the Lord and ourselves.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late evening, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean down, and every evening is pleasant.

Go with me a little ways and let the words sink into your ears, and i’ll be right back.

Shemah! Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”

The Lord our God is One, perfectly united, of one mind and purpose in the same space, He is all together and endures no division. James 1:17, “… with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

All His parts are in unity. The word for “one” in that verse is the word “ehad”, meaning, “one”, “one and the same,” “as one person”. By Himself He is sufficient and plenty with no lack or distraction. By Himself in the universe, before and after time and for all eternity, beyond all horizons, God is One. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do more than just agree, we’re talking perfect unity here. As The Father sees, the Son sees, and the Holy Spirit sees as the Father with no after thoughts or variance or hidden agendas. His sight is singular, He speaks with one mouth, what one hears all hear as with one ear. There is no independence one from the other, He is all together, acting together in harmony and unity. Our Lord is One and there is only one.

God, who is One, is also one in the sense of priority – He is to be first —the highest priority—in our hearts and minds. In Deut 6:4 the Lord was speaking something to Israel about Himself which was vital for them to know. Israel had just come out of Egypt well steeped in the Egyptian gods for 400 years and the people of the land had deified many gods, small “g”; additionally, Israel was poised to enter a land whose inhabitants were steeped in worship of many supposed gods and goddesses, and it was vital they know that the Lord, and that God was One in unity, was the only One and there was not another.

Another scripture which is foundational in the One-ness of The Lord of the Starfields is Isaiah 44:8 “Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” This says the Lord is One, as in unity, and, again, there is not another. He is saying in Isaiah 44:8, my paraphrase here, “I AM the only God, and seeing as how I AM God, if there were any other God’s, I would know them, and I don’t know of any.”

In our land, today’s people seem to have many gods, small “g”, and we’re also especially encouraged to include ourselves as gods. Idolatry is truly thick amongst us. Some may call themselves gods, but that doesn’t make anyone God, it just makes us ignorant, arrogant, blind, and dead. On a side note: Personally, i’m very pleased i am NOT God … i wouldn’t know what to do if i was and i’d be saying “i don’t know” a lot. Also, i’m very very pleased the Lord is God, He has all the answer i need, even to questions i have not asked … yet. Jesus calls to us to believe in Him and join Him. Jesus, by way of the cross and resurrection, created a path for us to be included with Him. God, who is One, has now included us with Himself, and God plus us makes the number TWO!

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or more are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Two is a number of balance, diversity, partnership, and marriage among other meanings.

When Frances Havergal, author of the hymn, “Take My Life and Let It Be,” was a teenager, her parents moved to Dusseldorf, Germany, where she was placed in a German school. She was the only Christian among 110 pupils. The others made fun of her, teased her, even persecuted her. Her response? “It was very bracing,” she wrote. “I felt I must try to walk worthy of my calling, for Christ’s sake. It was a sort of nailing my colors to the mast.”

In light of that, are your colors plain to the world around you? Are your colors run up the flagpole of your life, or are they fuzzy and unclear in order to get along and not “offend” anyone, just going along to get along? Standing your ground as a Christian means holding firm to your faith and God’s standards regardless opposition. It’s about courageously defending truth, trusting God’s strength, and long suffering with a Godly heart posture even in the face of conflict. Prayer is your habit and wisdom is your friend. You can do this and can be steadfast, reflecting the high shine of unwavering resolve while fostering peace and understanding.

In 1King18:21-40 Elijah went up against the 450 prophets of Baal. But it wasn’t JUST Elijah, it was one plus God which was the majority. It was truly a dark day, but Elijah passionately nailed his colors, so to speak, to the mast for all to see. The Lord includes us and shines bright in us, even when we are weak and fearful, He is alive in us and includes us in His plans. When the Lord is with you, remember that even the most feeble light is best seen in the thickest darkness. Don’t be afraid to nail your colors to the mast. Two is a wonderful number, God plus you makes two and you plus God is the majority. Afterall, Romans 8:31 really is the truth, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Listen and think, The number two holds profound value: it symbolizes duality, balance, and partnership. It is no mere number. It’s the foundation of binary systems which drivs technology. Two represents connection—think of pairs, or twins. It is also the smallest prime number. One author wrote about the number two as, “it embodies simplicity and strength, it shapes math, philosophy, and human relationships with harmony and contrast.” That’s a little over my head but i’m sure you get the drift.

Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead that i would have life, and have it more abundantly. The Christ of God included me with Himself, God plus me makes two, and if i’m included with the Almighty, i’m part of the One. THAT is an amazing heritage. The One Himself is also Three, we call Him the Trinity. He is One and He is three, and the three are in perfect unity in mind and purpose. Three includes One and two.

John 2:19 “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

Three really is an interesting number!

Pythagoras calls three the perfect number, expressive of “beginning, middle, and end,” therefore he calls it a symbol of Deity. Man is threefold, or having three parts incorporated together (body, soul, and spirit as spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 5:23). The world is three-fold as in earth, sea, and air. The enemies of man are three-fold, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our Christian graces are threefold, or having three parts incorporated together, Faith, Hope, and love in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Anything labeled as “cardinal” means something of foremost importance, or paramount. The cardinal colors for TV and computer screens are three in number, red, green, and blue and are electronically mixed together to make different colors. The number three holds some truly profound philosophical significance, some think it symbolizes balance, harmony, and completeness. There are triadic structures in nature, as in birth, life, death, to concepts like past, present, future, human ear parts, clover leaves and parts of an atom.

There are three witnesses in John 5:8 “the Spirit, the water, and the blood”, and of course, above all, is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is One, and Three.

Milking stools always have only three legs, because the ground surface the stool would often be set on was uneven and a four legged stool would always be rocking, the fourth point always looking for it’s resting place. Three points are always balanced. Triangles are made of three points, anything less than three points is just a straight line between two points, and a fourth point added to the three points is always looking for it’s own plane.

Bridge supports, roof systems, floor truss systems, to name a few are built out of any series of triangles which are geometric shapes made of three points. I’d say when God invented the number and concept of the number three it was absolutely brilliant.

The number three includes the numbers one and two. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the triune God, three persons in one, and the three more than agree, they are One. Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

The Father is God, and He is One with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:17 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,”

Jesus is God, and He is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 1:8 “But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.”

The Holy Spirit is God, and He is One with the Father and the Son. In Acts 5:4 Ananias was told He lied to the Holy Spirit, that he lied to God.

That’s three. God is One, God in us, that’s two, God who is all in all – three in one, the One is three.

One is God,

for He is the First and the Last,

Alone, He is all encompassing,

self-sufficient,

self-existent,

and self-revelational,

He alone, just by Himself, is enough and plenty.

The One can stand alone.

The Lord is God and He is One.

Now,

One plus God is the majority, that’s two.

thus One plus one is two because Jesus included us in His death and resurrection.

We qualify under the theme of the book of John, we are the “whom so ever”.

Considering Three…

three is superior

and each point accompanies the other two points.

Three is One, and Three includes One and two;

In the case of God, One is Three,

Three is superior to anything more than Three because God is superior and He is the first, the middle, and last, the beginning and the end.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

He as One

the One is Three

and the Three are One

three always includes One and two, which includes me and you.

Always.

i don’t know about you, but i can’t help but to marvel at the mysterious oneness of the Father, Son, and Spirit, who is One, especially as was manifested by the Lord Jesus in His brief life here as the son of man. Yet the Lord prayed before His crucifixion, “That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me”. Think about it.

Romans 8:32, “He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all—how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” We who believe are organically one with Christ. We are identified with Christ, who lives in us. It is this identification which makes coming into the likeness of the Son possible, as the greater includes the lesser. Colossians 3:3 “… your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Jesus prayed John 17:20-21, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” This prayer clearly conveys God’s desire that man share and enter into the oneness of the Divine Trinity. Like God, it is personal and relational, always. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Three In One God now dwells in His believers according to Ephesians. 4:6 to live in oneness with Him and with one another. If you’d like, check out John 14:20 also. Ultimately, God desires that all His people be built up into the one Body of Christ as the house of God to express the oneness of our Great King.

Friends, let us take action and do Colossians 3:2 which says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” and be at peace as you go your way. Amen.

i”m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries.