Luke 5:4 “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), “Put out into the deep [water] and lower your nets for a haul.” And Simon answered, “Master, we have toiled all night (exhaustingly) and caught nothing. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again].” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish;” (Amplified Bible)

The only way we ever fulfill our destinies and succeed at being who God has called us to be is to take many, many steps of faith. Stepping out into the unknown and launching out into the deep water with God can be frightening. Friends, if you will be brave and spread your wings, it is highly likely you will fly.

Because of many things, although i believe fear is the foundational reason, a lot of people never step out with God; therefore, they never find out what they are capable of. When i first entered the Navy and went to boot camp, i had no idea of all the possibilities i was capable of. By the time i left boot camp, i marveled, and was proud of how many pushups i could do and how far i could run and not be winded. i learned that if i simply persevered and was persistent, with persistence meaniong keep on keeping on regardless of difficulties, i could even, i could EVEN make myself stand still for long periods of time, which had been a great difficulty all my life. Yes, just simply standing still, and for a guy who is always, day and night, spiritually, mentally, and physically in motion, that was a big deal. If i really tried, i could make myself squeeze out one more push up. i was capable of so much more than what i exhibited in the slack teenager life style i lived before boot camp. Before boot camp, i rarely tried or put much effort into anything because, at my core, i was always afraid, figuring if i never tried, then i never failed, and that’s such a lie. i was sure nobody wanted me, not even God wanted me around because i figured if i was God i wouldn’t want me either. Fear drives us far more than we think, but God is calling us to risk with Him. Even if we’ve performed actions before with no positive results, God bids us to take Him at His word and risk with Him, again, as often as He calls to us to risk.

Each of us needs to obey God when He wants us to risk with Him and step out into something new or challenging. When we live in daily fellowship with Christ and allow Him to remove fear from our lives, we will naturally live in faith and will honor God in our intentions and actions. Let us make a conscious decision, now, today, that we will give it our all to not miss God’s opportunities which He gives us. Do what God asks you to do, respond, even if you are afraid, do it afraid. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Risk with God. If i tried to be safe all the time, i would not have the relationship i have with God that i have today. “Better safe than sorry” does not always work in God’s economy. Nothing else feels better than knowing you are in the middle of God’s best and highest for you, and nothing feels worse than knowing you are not.

i’m not suggesting we all start doing foolish things that are unwise or take action on some wild thought we have, but i know for a fact that not everything God wants us to do makes sense to our natural mind. We must learn to be led by discernment in our spirit and not by our own carnal minds, or what we wish would happen, or what other people suggest to us. Oh, don’t you know, everybody has an idea of what THEY think YOU should do. Popular public opinion can be very powerful and many of us fear being ostracized or minimized by our peers if we are, or even appear to be contrary, thus many are often hard pressed to risk with God. Unbelievably, the “online community” is taken seriously by so, so many people yet it’s completely imaginary. Search far enough and i guarantee you’ll find someone who agrees with you. Sometimes i still here my mother asking me, “What will they think of you?” A better question is “What does God think of you?” Read His word, and find out the facts and the truth. When discovering our identity, it’s no time to ride on a wave of hear-say. And while we’re there, remember Romans 8:1 and stand on it.

When we step out, we should do all we can to be sure we respond in faith and obedience to God’s bidding. Let us be encouraged to be willing to go into deep waters with Jesus. Ask Him to make clear what He wants us to do and then let us run with God!

“Put out into the deep [water] and lower your nets for a haul.” i say it’s time to walk on water friends.

          Christ is copious and plentiful, He is continuously glorious. Jesus is sufficient.

The “Roman Prison Epistles”, which are comprised of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, were written while Paul was awaiting trial in Rome around A.D. 61 or so. Though Paul had never visited the Colossian church, the troubling news he received about them caused him to write and remind them of the truth about Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Paul received word of “heresy” threatening the church at Colosse. It was a mix of Christianity with “legalism”, that is, rigid rules to make people more spiritual (Colossians 2:16-17), Greek philosophy (Colossians 2:8), and mysticism (Colossians 2:18). At the core, this heresy denied that Jesus was fully God and implied He was not sufficient to meet needs.

In Colossians, Paul declares, first thing, straight away, that Christ is Lord over and Sustainer of ALL creation, and He alone deserves to be worshipped. Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Second, there is no reason to fear the demonic realm or become superstitious, because the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus neutralized hell’s power. Colossians 2:15 “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

Third, Jesus Christ alone is the Savior, Life, and Leader of the church, and to Him alone should the preeminence be given. Colossians 1:17-18 “And He is before all things, and in Him, all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” We love to say there is only one Name under Heaven, but if we really believed that we’d stop tagging our name on everything, and we would only celebrate one name.

And ultimately, the salvation and provision bought by Jesus Christ is absolutely sufficient and complete. Jesus alone is sufficient for our forgiveness and adoption. We don’t have to “do more” for it to be good between ourselves and God. God wasn’t kidding around when He said that His grace is sufficient for us. His provision is sufficient for us. His sovereignty is sufficient. Jesus gave Himself once for all and paid our debt, it was sufficient and there is no other work necessary for us to do so that we would be right with God. God only asks of us to believe Him and be obedient, not only do what God says but to yield and let His words change our heart. Not rules to keep but someone to be. Severe self-discipline is worthless in terms of spiritual benefit, other than submitting your body in obedience to God. All is in Him, complete transformation, complete forgiveness, complete victory and you can’t do anything to add to Christ. He is sufficient.

Jesus reigns supreme over all believers, over the church, over the world (Gr. “kosmos”), and over all creation (Gr. “ktisis”).

In a day when one religion is considered as good as another and people promise self-fulfillment and freedom without surrender to Christ, remember the truth found in Colossians, Jesus Christ is THE Way, THE Truth, THE Life, THE All-sufficient One, THE All-Powerful Lord and Savior. Christ’s Lordship is the foundation of true Christianity, and He was, is, and ever will be Lord of everything. Not “A” way, but THE way; not “A” truth, but the personification and embodiment of THE truth; not “A” life, but THE life. Philippians 2:11 “That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In the ever blooming, eternally fragrant long, long fields of grace in the Kingdom of Heaven, there grows a special flower, who’s name i can’t pronounce, but it means “song of the unsung hero”. It blooms day and night, and it’s fragrance stands above many others. It is sort of a thick fragrance that is intoxicating and in the perfume are melodies that play in your ears and mind about the lives of jots and tittles which accented living letters, which comprised the words, that were made into sentences, composed into paragraphs, combined together into the stories of the everlasting love of the Father, the blood of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

People love a hero, but rarely does anyone speak, except for a moment or two, about those who were there to propel others to a position of visibility, those who’s service unto the Lord is typically, unheard, and unknown, and if it weren’t for them, things wouldn’t have gone as well as they did. The Lord does not forget the beauty of obedience, and the self-less push to accomplish His heart, even if no one knows who they are, God remembers.

People may forget the man who drove the truck full of bread through the African bush at night, all night long, delivering bread to outlying tribes… oh, sure… we all remember that no matter how much bread was given away, the truck bed never ran out of bread, an incredible miracle in itself. Yes, we remember how the bandits thought to rob the people on the truck, but how quickly we forget the truck driver, who had lost his bowls out of fear, somehow found extra courage and hands of grace, got out of the driver’s seat and just started handing out bread to the armed bandits, who, with their arms full of bread, just smiled and went away. We remember the leadership of the ministry, they were the face of the service to the public, but no one seems to remember the people or the truck driver who delivered bread till the sun broke the horizon the next day. Oh, and by the way, they never did run out of bread.

Many unsung hero’s are in forgotten vaults, unnamed graves of which any  memories have long faded away, they have only well settled soil and never ceasing wind… we know God alone remembers the sacrifice of those who are now buried in time. They possessed a gallant, daring heart and a righteous mind, they often went without fear and were, out of necessity in the moment often left to die. They are unsung heroes who’s forgotten valor is not noticed by men, like unknown soldiers with no flowers on their final resting places, only shadows grow where the unremembered lie.

Everyday somewhere in the world, another unsung hero is born. Someone who is willing to lay their life on the line. They give their lives for the truth…they are the few who typically don’t want medals, glory or even fame, not that a little recognition wouldn’t hurt…yet they didn’t need a title to do the right thing and be obedient to the call of the Lord. In fact, i think many unsung heroes would walk away afterwards, without anyone ever knowing their name and they’d be good with that. It is extraordinary how things work out when we give someone else the credit, build up someone else’s ministry, or the Lord gives it to us to buy into the vision of another. Leaving our name off the credits reel is a much bigger deal than we think…..God loves it when we promote someone other than ourselves.

Those who’s names weren’t in the credits at the end of the story, they are unsung heroes who’s forgotten valor is not noticed by men, with no flowers on their final resting places, and only shadows grow where the forgotten lie. We may be among the unsung heroes, buried in unknown graves which are covered in grass and shadow, nor marker or headstone with the wind as our orchestra, but God remembers.

`i believe most probably feel that they haven’t done anything special and that their actions are something anyone else would have done. Therefore, to all those unsung heroes, for all the lives that you save every day… i salute you also,  and hope each of our lives minister to the Lord as yours have.

In 2 Chronicles 14 there is a great story which i’ve marveled at for years. Just realizing the size of this battle scene is truly a stretch of my imagination. It was big, i mean really, really big. The scene opens in verse 3, revealing that Asa did right in the eyes of the Lord and the land was at rest, which was a wonderful thing. Verses 5 & 6 show how the king built up the nation and the Lord gave them peace. They had created an army of about 580,000 fighting men to defend their little nation….no small number for sure, but then a guy named Zerah comes out of Ethiopia with a one million man army and wants to fight.

Between the two waring nations, that is 1.5 million people, and that’s just those who were considered “fighting men”, all gathered in one spot to fight to the death. That’s like the entire population of Phoenix, Arizona or all of Philadelphia, Penn., going to war.  These people were serious. Think about it, if you gave each person a 4ft x 4ft area to stand in, lined them up shoulder to shoulder front to back 1040 ft deep, there would literally be a line of people nearly 4 miles long, and they had gathered for the purpose of war.

As the story goes, down in verses 12-15, the Lord defeated the Ethiopian army, and the men of Judah chased them ALL down until none of that million was left alive, at least that’s how i read it…There is no mention of the armor bearers, the cooks, the livestock keepers, the tent erectors, the carpenters and black smiths, the fire starters….the water bringers who served not only the fighting men, the livestock, but all the attendants for the leadership and their staff…. there were the quarter masters who managed the stores, lots and lots of stores. And now, in the end of chapter 14, all those fighting men are killed off and God gave the battle to Judah. Who’s gonna deal with all those dead bodies? If we laid each dead man of Zerah’s army out on the ground, gave them approximately 12 Sqft of space, laying them head to toe one acre wide, there would be a line of dead men approximately one acre wide by nearly 11 miles long!! Do the math. After the big battle, the unsung hero’s that no one mentions cared for the wounded, brought water and food, picked up the miles of trash left behind by an enormous army as they mowed down the country side marching to war. The unsung hero’s which scouted out in front and even took the time to count the numbers in the Ethiopian army, didn’t get not even a meritorious mention….but yet if they each had not functioned in their given capacity, at the necessary time, i seriously doubt things would have gone as well as they did.

Truth be told, that is how things go largely for most of us. We speak the gospel in our words or actions, in our small way, in our little corner of the world, and the Lord is gracious to us and makes provision and appointment where ever we go. Friends, where the appointment is, therein is the provision.

Most of us are so often those who take care of the details, arriving early to tidy up, pray and invest in the hope of the church the Lord gave us to be in, to bear witness to the power and glory of God. Let’s be inspired by these unsung hero’s, ordinary people doing what they know to do, playing a part in history, i believe all to be told in Heaven one day on the great day of the Lord. Phil Keaggy wrote, “And there will be no more crying. He will wipe away every tear From His children’s eyes And put a smile upon their faces. What a happy day when we see Our Lord in Paradise
Crowned as King of Kings. What a day that will be, Oh what a day that will be!

i didn’t want to grab examples of all the typical unsung hero’s. There’s a lot here to talk about, a lot to be said for losing your name and supporting the vision someone else is doing. Like when we go to help in another country, true, we may be more knowledgeable, we may be wiser, we may have more of this or that, but the ministry will go much better with a great deal more success if we’ll go there, support them in what they are doing, and putting their name on the labor. We’ll get to go back to our nice places, but they will be there doing the work. Adding value to their credibility and their work in the Kingdom is doing the right stuff.

Like all the people who helped Israel through their toughest times, for most of them there is no history, no knowledge, no recording whatsoever about who they were. Yet they were instrumental in the deliverance of Israel. Once again, i believe it’s easy to see you don’t have to be a leader, you don’t have to have your name up in lights to be a hero of the faith.

According to I Chronicles 12:32, there is the brief mention of the sons of Issachar…..it says they were, “men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…” These extraordinary men are mentioned as only 200 leaders within little Issachar’s tribe….and considering that they lived right up near Saul’s territory, it was a thing of great courage to side with David. As far as i can reckon, Issachar was only a pretty small part of those who came to support David to be King. As the chapter goes on, it’s mentioned there were other, much larger tribes, who i would have thought would lean more towards supporting Saul’s camp, so it was extraordinary that they pitched their hat in the ring for David to be King. i hold they should be pointed out as unsung hero’s of their faith, with wisdom and courage to “buck the system” in order to see David crowned as King.

Those men who “understood the times” and just “knew what to do”….those 200 leaders seemed to know that David was God’s anointed one. Their move to join with the other tribes to crown David seemed like a really bad idea, but they trusted in God’s power to accomplish His plan and carried out amazing faith to act with what appeared the worst possible choice.

There is another guy worthy of mention, and that’s Gedaliah, who in 2Kings25 has been made governor. After Jerusalem’s capture, the Babylonians appointed Gedaliah governor of the few who remained in Judah. Jeremiah instructed the small remnant to rally around Gedaliah, who gathered the leaders to himself in Mizpah. All things went well for a while but Ishmael, the real culprit who wanted to destroy what was left of the government, tried to make Gedaliah out to be the bad guy, but Gedaliah was willing to risk his life to keep the people in the land as God had instructed them through Jeremiah. He was in a very uncomfortable position, to say the least, and Ishmael killed him for it. Gedaliah had the courage to follow the Lord’s instruction, and it proved a pivotal point in Israel’s history.

The Lord may ask us to put ourselves in very unpopular positions which may even put us at odds with others, but if we know God has appointed us to take that stand, we must follow after the Lord and His purposes.

It is clear, these are the days when God is looking for people like the tribe of Issachar, willing to be audacious in their prayers, buck the dogmatic majority, and extend themselves, possibly in great risk, to accomplish the purposes of the Lord.

God is looking for people who make choices similar to the tribe of Issachar—those who, because they understand the times, will go against the flow of the majority and follow Jesus, even at great risk. Saying we give our lives to Christ and actually acting like it, day after day, is two different things, sort of like having wisdom and doing wisdom are widely different.

One of my favorites among unsung hero’s is found in 2 Samuel 17, when David had gathered his people and left town because his treacherous son Absalom decided to take over and was looking to take David’s life. King David quickly gathered those who were still loyal to the crown and beat feet out of town. When team David had travelled a pretty good distance, still having managed to escape Absalom’s army, there came three guys who showed up with all sorts of good stuff to sustain the King and his house. 2 Samuel 17:27-29, “When David came to Mahanaim (makh-an-ah’-yim), Shobithe son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir (maw-keer) the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim (ro-gel-eem’), brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.” It must have looked like a wagon train carrying all that stuff, and it must have been God who got them there.

Manahaim (makh-an-ah’-yim) was a camping place and then became a city near Jabbok, beyond the Jordan River, it’s where the angels of the Lord met Jacob in the way and he said, “This is God’s camp”, and from then on it was called Manahaim (makh-an-ah’-yim). David and his people found themselves as fugitives, running to escape Absalom who wanted to kill David…..they had stopped to rest and make camp there, when Shobi, Machir(maw-keer), and Barzillai (who was 80 at the time) showed up with provisions. Those three guys were running a huge risk, they had to weave their way, with wagons and supplies, through Absalom’s soldiers going fast enough to get ahead of the soldiers AND catch the fleeing David. i figure they must have been hidden by God and been given Holy Ghost speed to do what they did.

i have wondered, who were those three men who took such an incredible chance? With the exception of Barzillai who is mentioned as having been honored by David in chapt 19, there isn’t anything much said of the three in scripture, but we can possibly draw some conclusions of their character by simply looking at their names.       Shobi’s name means “transporter”, a man who had the means to move things in bulk, probably in wagons….. hidden in his name is rescue and restoration, humility and generosity.

Machir is next and his name means “salesman”, a guy who knew how to get stuff. Hidden in his name is the power to actualize potential, meaning he was the “git ‘er down” type of fellow,also a humble and generous man.

Barzillai from Rogelim, his name means “man of iron” or to say, he had a strong constitution, a thinking guy with valor and hope who also was humble, generous with an open hand. So…based on that, we could say when King David was at the camping place called “God’s camp”, the Lord sent rescue, supplication, and hope to help in their time of need….they were essential and came at a pivotal time which was also right on time. What they brought in the time of need was no small provision…they even brought beds. Somehow they knew what they needed to bring with them.

The transporter, the salesman, and the iron heart took a terrible risk, but the Lord led them through all the traps to make the delivery of provision. It was a tipping point in David’s favor during Absalom’s campaign against his father.

The Lord’s hand was against Absalom and in the Lord’s wisdom He allowed the treacherous son’s hand to play out in order to defend David and his loyal people.

Those three, Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai are unsung hero’s. No one pointed them out that we know of after that, for they are exclusively God’s to lift up at the appropriate time. They were available and the Lord used them, for the Lord is always searching to raise up a people who are ready and are willing to lose their name and be mightily used.

1 Peter 4:9-11, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 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.”

For what it’s worth, i think most people have a pretty big misunderstanding about what it means to serve the Lord, i know i did for years, and my misunderstanding may still lurk somewhere below the surface, but i think i’m certainly getting a better idea as time goes by.

i can not tell you how many times i’ve asked someone what they do in the Kingdom of God and i’m met with an odd, awkward, silence, they shift their eyes nervously from one side to the other–then they shrug their shoulders and say something like, “Oh, I’m only a” this  or, “Well, I just” that…and they say it in a tone of voice which indirectly implies, “I’m nobody in particular… I don’t really do anything important.” i myself have responded that way for years, and even today, i still respond that way occasionally. It seems to me people want us to give them a title of some sort which they can relate to, but the truth is, most of us don’t have a typical, recognizable title, and we are at a loss for how to describe ourselves. Obviously, we don’t understand how important we are to God as individuals.

When i became a Christian, i heard all about amazing people with amazing gifts, gifts of teaching, preaching, prophesying, or healing. Once or twice an incredible musician would come to our church and blow every one away with the talent God gave them….we were all awe-struck. In the meantime, i would sit back and think, “Gosh,

if I had gifts like that, I’d just be crazy serving Jesus too!” Over time, i started feeling that because i had a different calling somehow it meant i had a lesser calling, and that’s simply not true.

God needs people who are midwives, like Shiphrah, and Puah who felt it more  important to obey God than Pharaoh. The Lord needs movers, salesman, and brave people willing to take a chance and follow Jesus. He needs bean counters, business people, home makers, tile layers, livestock tenders, truck drivers, and people who just know what to do at the right time.

Ok, so, listen to me. i want you to get this down in your head: You are valuable, right where you sit, did you know that? i heard someone say that if you want to know what your ministry is, everyday you go out your door, you are in your ministry, and you are playing a key part in reaching the world with the Gospel. Each of us is literally “one of a kind.” There’s not one person that Jesus can’t use if you’re interested in giving yourself to the work….listen now: no one is useless in the Kingdom of God. No matter what you can or can’t do – God has a job for you. A friend of mine says, “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!”

Stop worrying, and be ready….position yourself and do what is in front of you to do. Think about it.

If you sing, then sing like the birds of Heaven; if you farm, farm like you’re growing God’s agriculture; if you paint, sculpt, or whatever art you do, do it as if you were making a present to the king Himself, and never mind if you’ll ever get your money out of it all, God is the great equalizer; if you are in the medical field, your kindness may be all it takes to turn a lonely soul to Jesus.

i used to pine and whine because i wanted my name on the walls in the long halls of who’s who, among the ones who went here and there, said this and that, and the famous people who did such and such. One day, my framed picture was indeed on the walls in those long halls and i realized it was a mistake. So i went and took my own picture down and put the garbage man’s picture on the wall, then i hung a picture of the gardener i met in a far, far away village. i wrote on those walls, in indelible ink, the names of the cooks in the soup kitchens who feed hundreds of street children everyday….i wrote the names of the sweepers, the masons, and the cleaners of toilet bowl basins, and more, i wrote their names on the palms of my hands and held my hands up to the Lord weeping in prayer for them, speaking favor and blessing over them.

We may be among the unsung heroes, buried in unknown graves which are covered in grass and shadow, nor marker or headstone with the wind as our orchestra, but God remembers.

Malachi 3:16, “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who thought often on His name.”

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a late evening, semi-live broadcast from the deck area of a cafe overlooking the cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant.

Support to make all this happen is by Living In His Name Ministries, the 20/20 Mens Group at the Lavender Thrift & Gift Store, Sister’s Coffee Company, Longview Video Works, and Trinity Bakers where there’s always something good in the oven.

We know God alone remembers the sacrifice of those who are now buried in time, those who possessed a strong constitution and a righteous heart, they often went without fear and were often, out of necessity, left behind. They are unsung heroes who’s forgotten valor is not noticed by men, with no flowers on their final resting places, and only shadows grow where the forgotten lie. But God remembers and He does not forget. There is a flower which grows in the long fields of grace called the song of the unsung hero and every petal has a name on it. If you have forgotten me, it’s just another day passing, but God remembers, and that is everything. We say we believe there is more than this life, but do we live like it? i mean really…. step into the work and live like you mean your words of faith.

Be strong and courageous! We’ll meet again soon, i’d certainly love to see your smiling face. Amen!

The Law of Seasons Part I             

We the people have the advantage of being in the position of voluntarysubmission to leadership, but when the transparency of leadership isclouded, and policy is made in the back room with a board of “yes” men,not spoken for all the people to hear as an official statement from thepulpit, it causes confusion concerning what we are being asked to submit to. Policy is made from the pulpit, not in the back room in a secret meeting.1 Corinthians 14:8 “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?”

Much of present day church leadership, in general, typically has the shape of a pyramid, the people sit at the bottom, then the elders sit above, and there is one person in leadership at the top who virtually directs, and in some cases, mandates vision.

i think maybe the leadership structure should be more like an upside down pyramid, and the eldership, which is supposed to be comprised of longstanding, well broken, lots-of-miles-under-their-belt people, not “yes” people who are rubber stamps and simply do what they’re told. The pastor should never be allowed to resemble the dictator of a regime. Maybe the present day leadership model is more a season of the church learning to do better what God has asked of them … a season. Luke 22:23-27, “Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing. Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.”

i have heard somewhere, servants, not paupers or beggars, but true servants make great leaders. Hmmm, i wonder where i got that?

Seasons — an appointed occasion, meaning an event with a reason and a cause. There are seasons of learning leadership and seasons on learning to be a servant. i think the season of being a servant is permanent, and the season of being in leadership shifts as the need arises.

Jesus was transparent about what He was asking the disciples to submit to. It was a “clear sound”, a “sure and specific sound”. It is the time and season for us to make a sure sound.

Each of the following five have a season in itself: Wisdom, character, authority, ministry, and money.

Wisdom is before character, character precedes authority, authority is the forerunner of ministry, and ministry comes before money. Here it is in reverse, a little slower with some explanation, so go with me on this:

Money follows after ministry. Ministry NEVER follows money around. When it was rumored that God was in the house, the house packed out, not because someone built a nice place and hoped God would show up. There are seasons when God allows money to flow into ministry, and other seasons ministry happens with or without money.

If money follows ministry, then ministry follows authority. Ministry craves to be under authority. Godly authority is the horsepower for ministry, and tends to increase what it touches. Ministry is a picture framed by authority, God given, never man-made. Without authority, ministry has no strength. Watchman Nee was a firm believer that there is always more authority than there is ministry.

If money follows ministry, and ministry follows authority, wouldn’t you know, authority follows character. God calls us to personal holiness, character, which is the teeth in authority. In the time of Job the way widows were treated was indicative of moral character. Godly character is the container for authority so we are not overwhelmed for lack of intestinal fortitude, having the ability to stand effectively in authority. Without character we are swallowed up in the ground battles of the work.

Character follows wisdom. Without wisdom, who guides and builds our character, it is just wheel spinning and ignorance. Wisdom accompanied God when eternity was designed and brought into being. Proverbs 3:19 “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth...”; Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing…”

And at the top of the list is wisdom: Proverbs 8:” The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there,   When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight,    Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.”

Everyone has “seasons” where God works in them the work of His Hands, and there is a pattern as sure as summer follows spring, and that pattern is what i’ve started calling, the “Law of Seasons”.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1 God is the One who causes all things to happen in their “seasons” and gives everything a “purpose.” In Ecclesiastes 3 all of lifeis described as “a grand mosaic of times and seasons; there is a time todo everything”. Take note here: There is a difference between time and seasons in that verse, they are two different words, not even spelled similarly.

Although God is timeless, time, as in the measured progression of existence, is one of our boundaries as long as we wear skin and breath air, so God uses time words in order to relate to us. “Season” and “seasons” are time words, not just general time, but an allotted span which contains specific appointments, as in — it is the season to grow a garden, but now is the time to plant and later harvest. A season or occasion for rejoicing, with a specific allotment of time for toasting in that occasion. There is a time for plowing, a season of transition, a time of learning and understanding, a season of storms, and faith is for all seasons and times, for a time and times and half a time.

i’ve found six things, at least, which don’t seem to be affected by seasons. 1. Being a servant at heart,  2. Right judgment, 3. Speaking the word of the Lord, 4, A state of readiness, 5. Doing the right thing, and 6. Living uprightly.

The Hebrew word “yasar” or “yatsar” (Strong’s H3335)  means, among other variations, to squeeze into shape, to mold into a form, to fashion, to devise. The primary meaning of the word is derived from the idea of cutting or framing as used in Psalm74:17, which references framing and shaping seasons. Seasons, in many forms, are directly connected to the development of our character. If we want ministry, it would seem prudent to ask the Lord for greater personal holiness, or character. We want to BE the people, not just LOOK like the people, and it starts with wisdom and character, letting God use His seasons to squeeze us into the necessary shape for our destiny. We’llnever get righteous authority and ministry without righteous wisdom andcharacter as forerunners. It is the season, and there is always a cause and reason for the season.

So here ends part one of the Law of Seasons.

Isaiah 2:9 uses the word “frame” in reference to the potter who shapes the clay. Just like there is the “Rule of First Mention”, “Law of Opposites”, and the “Law of Reaping & Sowing”, there is the “Law of Seasons”.

A little recap from Part I is that the idea of “framing of the seasons”, means God squeezed into shape & formed the seasons which would squeeze into shape and form the things of the earth that were in each season, including us, the people.

The Lord marked the seasons with the moon in Psalm 104. The weather warms, the daylight hours get longer, things begin to grow, thus we call that season Spring. We use the metaphor, “i feel like i’ve been pulled through a key hole”, implying a season with a reason and a cause of testing that was tough, but the good thing about that is we took the shape of the key hole, along with the tumblers and slots … squeezed into shape & form due to the season we’re in. We often feel we are caught in a pinch point, but maybe it’s really the Lord re-shaping and squeezing the clay into someone more representative of His heart. Every season has two paths, and often, we don’t see the results of the season we’re in until later, in another time.

Everyone has had, are in, or will have “seasons of storms”, it is trying and scary, true, but it should also be remembered that the very nature of a storm is transient. Rest assured there will be seasons of camping in the Valley of the Shadow of Death (don’t let it frighten you, it’s a shadow), as well as seasons of being in the desert (don’t let that one bother you either, it’s just as alive as your house, it’s just a different place). As has been said before, not every blue sky is from Heaven, nor is every storm from hell. There are “blue sky seasons” just like there are “stormy weather seasons”. In the end it all builds us into God’s people, who are coming into the likeness of the Son.

Psalms 74:16-17 speaks of the framing of seasons; Genesis 2:7 refers to God’s fashioning man from the ground, He “squeezed” man into a shape & form in that season of forming; Psalms 95:5 is an expression of the things God made, squeezed into shape, form, and function. Like when God made water, He included design parameters. He decided how it would act under numerous circumstances, how far it would go and where, and how it would look and smell to us, the people. He gave it form and resolution, He framed it, like a potter. Similarly, He framed, squeezed into form & function every other thing on the earth and they all have a design, specific to them, to say again, which defines how they act, how far they go, and what they react and don’t react to. To reiterate, because it’s important, God framed them, in His season of design and implementation, as in “…in the beginning“, Genesis 1:1. “Beginning” is the first word of the Bible, used 57 times and, “denotes the point in time or space at which something started, except when it specifies the point when time and space themselves were started”, taken from The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament.             Daniel 7:12, “…yet their lives were prolonged for a season anda time“, or, for occasions with a reason and cause, to be enacted in specific spans as measured with time.

Among many seasons of life, there appears to be a set of four thatare connected — forming a season, seasons themselves, time, and times, and there are five that follow, as mentioned in the previous program, wisdom, Character, Authority, Ministry, and Money, and they have a specific order. All are gifts from God alone, but it requires “a season and “seasons” to bring them to fruition in our hearts.

Godly Character without wisdom is not possible, considering encountering Christ is definitely a character building, all time life changing event. And if Jesus is the very personification of wisdom, then how do we rub shoulders with God and walk away without wisdom?

Another small recap is that authority without Godly character is like grave dirt in your food, and can be degraded by sin and poor choices with the deterioration of ministry soon to follow. Ministry without authority is not empowered to do the work, and assigning ourselves a title does not gain us the authority we wish we had. Authority, real make-a-difference authority is given by God, and contrary to popular belief, we can have no tangible ministry, but still walk in God’s authority.

When the season of learning to wield authority righteously and as holiness does it’s work, even when that season is in process, the Lord will make a way for us to put our hand of authority to ministry. That is, unless we have another idea other than God’s idea, like giving ourselves titles which are not in keeping with our gifting.

Another view of the season of authority and ministry: Authority is to ministry, as a frame is to a picture. Authority frames ministry, but ministry never frames authority.

Authority and influence are like man and wife. A verb needs an object to act on, making the noun the beautiful bride of the verb. For a while, the noun can stand alone but is always more beautiful and complete when the verb describes it, like a frame surrounds and supports a picture. Marriage of a man and a woman are like the marriage of authority and influence. The man is the authority and the woman is the influence. He has a verb in his middle and she has a noun in her middle, the man “cleaves” (a verb, Genesis 2:24)) and the woman “desires” (a noun, Genesis 3:16). Authority frames the beauty of righteous influence. Do you see it? Ministry desires and literally runs after authority, craves authority and loves to be under authority, and is most comfortable when fully yielded and exposed to the right authority. When a man and woman waltz, the man is like a frame, framing the picture, the woman. The woman is like a picture, made beautiful by her frame, the man.

Authority follows character. It seems then, the Season of Character is aconstant, God calls us from cover to cover of the Bible to come up to ahigher standard of righteousness. Like the phrase in Revelation 4:1, the Lord also says to us, “Come up here”, come to a higher place where we can see and hear better. i say, immature character is a poor container for authority.

What part of us is developed when God asks us to practice “personal holiness”? i think character, and a Godly person who has many “seasons” under their belt is said to be “well seasoned”. We can observe the seasons changing by getting up to a high place to see over the tops of the trees. Similarly, from a high place, i can see my life seasons changing me by my dark hair turning gray. As my wisdom and character grow, my body dies a little more, till now my whiskers are white and i’m finally settled enough to enjoy quiet contemplation with my wife in the fall of our lives. Well seasoned indeed.

Without Godly wisdom and character we just look like dull river rock set in tarnished brass. It would appear the Season of Wisdom and Character are always in season, but seasons of ministry and exerting authority seem to come and go, and the season of money definitely seems to fly on the wings of the wind for most of us.

For man, where is the beginning, the place to begin his journey? The fear of God and wisdom is always the beginning place, and all things in God’s creation have a “Season of Beginnings”. There is a “Season of Rest”, and one of Fruitfulness. We have the “Season of First Things”, like Genesis, and a “Season of Last Things”, like Revelation. Of course, there are many other seasons of beginnings and endings for us to ponder, like the phrase, “in good season” as in a timely manner, a man for all seasons, business in the off season, and even seasons or cycles of the heart.           Everyone is invited to partner with God for Him to take us in and out ofHis seasons of our design and destiny, to form us and mold us, squeeze usinto shape and function. What season are you in?

By What Standard Did We Decide What Is Fair?

By what standard did we decide what is fair? A man yelled at me one day saying, “Christianity is not fair, and neither is God”

Cheating, or depriving ourselves or others of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud is especially easy to justify when you frame situations and cast yourself, in your own movie, as the victim of some kind of unfairness. And yes, i believe many people really do frame situations and cast themselves as the unfortunate victims of unfairness. Eve’s actions in the Garden accused God of not being fair for she felt God was holding out on her somehow. After casting ourselves as a victim of unfairness, then it becomes a matter of evening the score; we re-think about how put upon we are and tell ourselves, “i’m not cheating, i’m “restoring fairness”. Restoring fairness? That’s like my joke in reference to myself saying, “i don’t have an obsessive personality, i just do everything A LOT.”

We all have heard the common international story of good people gone wrong. We wag our heads and click our tongues and say to ourselves, “How could this have happened to them? They were good people.” It begins with small infractions or transgressions,  all so subtle, like the idea of “wandering away.” We practice to perfect a polished nonchalance, we get good at masking our deep fear of being found out as a fraud, and maybe for some it’s learning to skim small amounts from the register, or how about lies of omission — and the behavior grows by increments. And what was once a lie of omission, mastering the art of leaving out parts of our story, eventually, becomes willful commission, meaning we consciously decide. It went from a one-time occurrence, to becoming a pattern of behavior. Do you see the “pestilence which creeps by darkness” there?  It’s not the one Oreo cookie which makes us fat, it’s the lifestyle of Oreo’s that’s the problem.

No one ever wakes up one day and decides to be a thief, or a fraud artist. We don’t just wake up one day and think to ourselves, “I think I’ll begin my career as a thieving drug addict today.” It is typically a long slow seduction into chaos and darkness; a “pestilence that walks in darkness” (Psalms 91:6), or a “disastrous affliction which comes and grips our heart in calamitous gloom”.

This story of life on a gradual downhill slide makes it difficult to distinguish the process of moving to the dark side; namely, that people subconsciously seek shortcuts more than they realize. Often, we make deliberate decisions to deceive in earnest. As in game theory, with deception and other misbehavior there’s a battle between short and long-term gains, a tension between the more upright choice and the less principled one – how much sin is too much to live with? When are our choices honest and noble enough? How good is good enough, how bad is too bad? At what point do we have such a lack of peace we are willing to cry out to God for help? Yet, psychologists say, perhaps the most powerful urge to be less than honorable stems from a deep sense of unfairness. As people first begin to compete and compare themselves with others, they also begin to learn of others’ hidden advantages. Private tutors. Family money. Alumni connections. A regular golf game with the boss. Against a competitor with such advantages, taking credit for other people’s work is not only easier, it can seem only fair.

A corner cutter often begins to think everyone else is cutting corners only after they have already started cheating, not before. That’s the same as saying some dreaded disease isn’t so dreaded now that everyone else has it too. Or the daughter who says to her mother, “You just don’t want me to have a life! It’s not fair! All my friends are doing it mom!” Hmmm…are they really?

And many times don’t we use similar language and thinking about God like our teenagers do, in order to get our own way? When we don’t get our way, we say with an aiming finger, “It’s not fair! Why would you do this to me Lord?!” or “You are God! If you’re SO good, how could you let this happen to me?! It’s not fair!!” Fair? Fair!? Actually, the Lord is more than fair, He went beyond fair and gave His life for us. You’re right. Christianity is not fair, truthfully, it’s more than fair.

Everyone slips & slides around some in life, but while we’re making our way along the path towards Home, let us opt for the Fruits of the Spirit and not let our eyes get used to the gloom and dark around us. God really is just and righteous and we need to lean not to our own understanding, letting God be God, which is something He is really, really good at.

Being an adult comes with responsibilities and character we could never have imagined when we first believed.

Hebrews 12:12-14 “Therefore, strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not become worse, but rather be healed”.

Many years ago while living in Charlotte N.C.,  i stood alone in the dark on my back porch, weeping before the Lord asking, “Why, oh why, am i always in the midst of a problem, always seeming to have a hard time, running against the wind, feeling like i’m continually in the middle of some dilemma? Why? My mind and heart are tired!”  As i stood there listening to the wind in the tree tops, quietly sobbing, tears of frustration running off my chin, the Lord gently spoke to me and said, “Most of the time it’s the only time you come to me palms up.”

i wasn’t in sin. i wasn’t aware of any gross error or unbelief.  i even repented of things i’d never thought of in case there was something i missed.  But yet, things remained the same. You know, when you’re in the middle of a miracle, most of the time it doesn’t look like much of a miracle. God was changing my heart but it sure didn’t feel like it.  Looking back i realize i was practicing “self-cannibalization”, blaming myself for everything bad or wrong, calling myself names in the mirror, regret and remorse had come to visit, but now they don’t want to leave. A “root of bitterness” was growing, entwining itself around my feet, fertilized by self-loathing, watered by disappointment and frustration. God’s intent was for me to grow up and believe Him.

Matthew 22:39, “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” How do i love myself; in what fashion?  Let us exactly take note of the words of Jesus, “love your neighbor as you love yourself” not “loathe your neighbor as you loathe yourself”. We all know that’s what He said, but underneath our declarations of understanding, we still maintain the attitude which says, “If i were God, i wouldn’t like me either.” Jesus said, “love”, not “loathe”.  If we’ll loathe ourselves chances are very high we will also loathe our neighbor.  Our glorious God does indeed love us, but the things that were funny when we were 3 years old will get our hide tanned when we are 10. We laugh at jokes, but honestly, if we really think about it, we’re typically laughing at someone else’s misfortune. i wonder if maybe in all things which we find funny at someone else’s expense, don’t have some root of bitterness in own heart. Our God desires we grow up and be mature believers, rightly dividing the word of truth (1 Timothy 2:15), being strong in His Name and in the power of His might (Eph6:10), comforting others in all their suffering, since we ourselves are being comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:4). It is very difficult to be mature when we are busy condemning ourselves in the mirror.

In Hebrews 12:13, the translators used the words “turned out of the way”, but a better picture is more than just on the wrong path, but more in a medical sense, as in someone with a dislocated arm or leg. Our God is growing us into people who are willing to have the necessary honest conversation with ourselves and our friends which, by the very nature of honesty, makes straight paths for our feet and puts back in joint that which has become dislocated. Be in Christ mature believers who in character and life resemble God who brought us out, sharing His attributes with us as children resemble their parents.  Let us walk as mature believers who are governed by the Spirit of God and live at rest in His righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 14:17).

The truth is, i believe many, many people have a poor perspective of themselves.  As our conscience looks back at us from the mirror in our homes, let us bless, not curse, ourselves in that mirror, telling ourselves the truth with kindness and grace but also reminding ourselves to whom we belong for the strengthening of our tired arms and the confirmation of our feeble knees, stirring up love and good works (Hebrews 10:24).  Be strong and courageous! That is a prophetic declaration, one of “has become” and “is becoming”. Be strong and courageous!

1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.…”