What do I do?!!

A friend of mine was sharing the pain and fear he is experiencing as a result of the slow economy.  He is a single parent and told of how he tries to stay strong for his eight-year old son, but cries when he is alone almost daily.  Losing his house is only a couple of months away.  The vehicle has to go.  And it broke his heart to tell his son that they could no longer afford the cable bill. He so wants to be a good dad and faithful provider for his son.

Hurricanes.  Gas shortages. An economy on the brink of collapse.  Fear of terroristic attacks.  It is a very humbling time.  We are a people who are being reminded that we need God.  What are we to do in response to the crises we are facing personally and as a nation?

When Jesus was asked what He believed was the greatest commandment, He responded, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and will all your strength.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."  He then said, "All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments."  I believe he gave us the answer to every, "What do I do?" question.  "What do I do with my life?"  Love God and love others.  "What do I do if I get cancer?"  Love God and love others.  "What do I if it looks like I'm going to lose everything?"  Yes, love God and love others.

It raises the question, "Ok, how do I love God?  What does that look like?"  Think of how you love anyone.  You delight in them.  You give your heart over to them.  You devote yourself to them and their desires become your priority.  It is your joy to serve them and bless them, and you constantly want to let them know their worth in your eyes.

Communicating to God His worth to us is what we do when we worship.  Worship is more than just singing songs to God.  We are "worshiping" whenever we give our hearts and lives to something in hopes of a return of life.  Sadly, we don't always worship God, the source of life.  We erect idols in our hearts that we believe will bring us security, comfort, or pleasure.  Anything we look to for life and for our needs to be met outside of God or that which God provides is an idol.

If we want to love God with all our hearts, we have to take an honest look at our lives and identify the idols we, even as Christians, are worshiping over God.  The present crisis in our nation is exposing our idols in a powerful way.

The prophet Ezekiel brought the word of God to his children, the Israelites, when they had given themselves over to idols, and the result was to be the destruction of their nation, including the temple of God in Jerusalem.  In chapter 14, he gives the reason why. God says to Ezekiel, "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces.  Should I let them inquire of me at all?  Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:  When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry.  I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols. Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent!  Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!" (vs. 3-5)

God, who is always, always, always, motivated by love "answers" his children's idolatry in order to recapture their hearts.  In verse 13, he speaks of his response to a nation's idolatry: "Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men - Noah, Daniel, and Job - were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.

It is a tragic reality that when a nation's unfaithfulness brings God's loving judgment, even the children of the most righteous in the land will not escape its effect.  Would anyone argue that our country has sinned by being unfaithful?  We've legalized the killing of unborn children. We're beginning to legally affirm same-sex marriages that only helps to keep God's children from experiencing the healing and restoration from the Fall that He longs to provide.  Our greed is ranked among the highest in the world and we are the greatest producer of immoral entertainment. And it's quite obvious that we, as a nation, have a trusted plastic cards and the banks they represent, to give us the life we think we need rather than trusting God who is life.  Ultimately though, the problem is not that the nation has been unfaithful.  What is bringing God's judgment is that we, God's children, the Christians, have been unfaithful.  We have stood silent, we have set up idols in our hearts over God, and we taken on lifestyles of sin.  We have done what anyone will do when they do not know, experientially, the love of God demonstrated on the Cross of Christ, that fills every need.

Loving God with all our hearts requires we acknowledge the idols to which we have given our hearts, and that we renounce them and every detestable practice.  "Repent" is a beautiful word as it admonishes us to reorient ourselves to God who always loves us, who is always for us, and who always is ready to give us true, abundant life.  He is perfectly faithful and committed to providing for our needs, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  The present crises is not a time for panic.  It is a time to be grateful to God for doing whatever is necessary to turn our hearts back to Him.  He knows how good He is and He wants us to experience just how good He is.  He wants to show us again what life is all about.

My friend told me how his son responded to the news about the cable bill.  Smiling lovingly, he said, "Dad, don't worry about it.  We don't need that TV.  That just means we'll have more time to play together."  Isn't that beautiful? The desire of his heart was to be a good dad and provide for his son.  In losing the trappings of this world, he hears his son communicate what he really wants and needs from him: Time together. It's the kind of thing God knows will be experienced all over our nation as he reminds His people what life is all about.  Yes, loving God and loving others.

God Loves a "Pest"

Several years ago, some friends of ours gave my sons a trampoline for Christmas.  They loved it, and they loved for their daddy to jump on it with them.  I admit, I enjoyed it too, but it was exhausting, especially with my, then four-year old  sonwho always wanted me to hold him while we jumped.  One weekend, I had already been talked into a trampoline session by my two youngest sons, had spent all my energy and had flopped into a lawn chair to recuperate when my oldest son appeared.  

"Dad, let's go jump on the trampoline."  

"Sorry,  son. Already did that and I'm all worn out.  Sorry you missed it."  

C'mon, Dad.  Please!"  

"Son,  I'm sorry.  You could have jumped with us, but you were inside watching tv."  

"But I didn't know.  Nobody told me." 

"Son, I'm just too tired. You snooze, you lose."  

"Dad, P-L-E-A-S-E!"

Somewhere in the midst of that conversation, it dawned on me: This is really important to him.

 

Because I love my son, I let him help me out of the lawn chair and returned to the trampoline, jumped with him, wrestled with him, and had a great time.  Of course, because I love my son, if he had asked for something that I knew wasn't good for him, he could have asked an infinite number of times, and I wouldn't have budged.  But, either way his persistent pestering would have communicated something to me about him and his heart.

When Jesus teaches on prayer, a consistent theme is persistence.  In Luke 11, He tells a story about a friend who comes at midnight to ask for bread for another friend.  "Don't bother me.  The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything."  Sounds familiar.  Then Jesus adds, "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend,  yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs."

Then again in Luke 18, Jesus told his disciples a parable to "show them that they should always pray and not give up."  He describes a godless judge who didn't care about people, but who was being approached with a plea for justice, over and over again, by a persistent widow. "For some time he refused.  But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" (vs. 4,5)  

Have you ever thought about how much faith it takes to "pester" God, or for a child to beg a parent to do something?  If my son had no hope that I would grant his request to jump on the trampoline, he might ask once for the heck of it, but there's no way he would plead and plead if he didn't really believe his pleading would rouse me to move.   We typically spend our energy on what we believe makes a difference.

What if God is willing to help, to heal, to give guidance, to restore, to bless, but is waiting to see if our hearts are fully engaged, and watching to see if what we are asking is really important to us. What if He's waiting to see if we really believe?  No, waiting to see is what I did with my son.  It took me "realizing" that jumping on the trampoline was important to my son to get me out of the reclined position. God already knows what's important to us .  He knows we won't ask and ask and ask if we don't believe we'll receive.  He knows we won't knock and knock and knock if we don't believe the door will be opened.  He knows we won't seek and seek and seek if we have no hope of finding Him.  We can sometimes fool the people in our lives, or even ourselves, with half-hearted efforts, but we can never fool God. Since He already knows, I guess our persistence in prayer give us an indicator of our faith, because if I really believe and something is truly important to me , I will persist.  I will plead.  I will pester. 

The weird thing is, the more I plead, the more I believe. 

Stinging Questions

    Last week I enjoyed the fruits of a revived hobby of mine.  I had taken a season or two off from beekeeping after a not-so-glorious first attempt several years back.  It wasn't a great year for honey since the summer's first heavy rain came just as the long-awaited sourwood blooms appeared.  However, I was blessed with more honey than some, and I remembered the lessons I had learned the last time I robbed the hives.  Some of you may remember my story about taking the honey and putting it in my garage, not realizing how good bees were at finding what they had worked so hard to produce.  I'll never forget the sight of that swarm and having to walk right into the middle of it to get the bee suit I needed to start the whole process over again.  I didn't make that mistake again, and there were new lessons to be learned this year.  Thanks to Tony and Dana Southern who sold me the hives, I learned how to spot the queen, how check to see how she was laying, even how to raise a new queen and start a new colony.  And, as the summer wore on, I learned what would be a no-brainer to most of us: you don't mess with the hives unless you're wearing your bee-suit, especially when you're young in the hobby and the bees can detect your nerves.  It actually took a couple of times of getting stung during what I thought would be simple, non-disturbing procedures, before I vowed to alway work fully clothed with protection.

     It might not take too many bee stings before making such a vow, but what would it take for us to vow to face each day's challenges of life fully clothed with the armor of God?  Do we wake up each day with the awareness that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" as Paul explains in Ephesians 6?  I mean, really?  Is that our conscious reality?  Do our lives reflect that we have taken Peter's warning seriously when he said, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour"?  Satan's mind is not set on tempting us.  He wants to kill us! To "steal, kill and destroy" is the way Jesus put it in John 10.  Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we may take our stand against the devil's schemes.  I'm pretty sure if we were fully aware of what he is scheming to do we would be much more motivated to suit up.

     Here's my take on the pieces of the armor Paul mentions.  The "belt of truth" that holds the pieces together and on which the weapons hang is remembering the truth of our new identity in Christ.  By faith in Christ's death and resurrection for us, we become, not slaves, but sons and daughters of God and blood-brothers with Jesus Christ.  We are no longer just sinners saved by grace, but now are saints being formed in the image of Christ.  We are no longer slaves to sin, but are free.  We are co-heirs with Christ and we have access to all that He earned on our behalf. He is our life (at least He wants to be) and in him is the abundant life.

     The "breastplate of righteousness" that we put on was earned by Jesus' perfect performance.  Because of it, the enemy has no power to condemn us any more with those foul words, "Look at you!  You're nothing but a ________!  You might as well give up and give in to who you "really are" because you'll never be good enough!"  By putting on the breastplate of Christ's righteousness, we protect our hearts from the attacks on our true identity in Christ that come from Satan and often through the one's in our lives that we love the most.  He was and is "good enough" in our place.  And, when we act in obedience and our lives are consistent with this righteousness, we don't give the devil "a foothold."  If we realized how much power we give the enemy over us when we sin, we would be much more motivated to fight and not give in to temptation.

      The "shoes of the gospel of peace" that we are encouraged to wear each day remind us of our new purpose and calling.  A Christian's life is not his own any more, but he now shares Christ's mission of reconciling people with God through the good news of the peace Jesus made available to us.  By focusing on what we are now about, we are not as vulnerable to the enemy's efforts to distract and derail us into making life about us and our own comfort again.

     The "shield of faith" combats the original lies of Satan:  You can't trust God and you're on your own to make sure your needs are met.  If you think about it, every temptation to sin is just an attempt to entice us to look to something besides God to meet our needs and desires.  In a time of great economic challenges, the world needs to see us putting our faith in God and not allowing Satan to rob us of our peace and our purpose of living to bring God glory.

      The "helmet of Salvation" protects our minds and the control center of our bodies as we remember what Jesus has done and what it cost him.  It took one sin to corrupt the entire human race and to require Jesus' death on the cross.  Would we give in to Satan's lie that sin is no big deal, that it's inevitable, that "it's covered anyway so enjoy it" if we were aware of what our salvation cost Jesus or how our sin breaks the heart of God?  We are saved, and the truth is we have His Spirit in us that is willing and able to resist every effort of the enemy to lead us into life-sucking, glory of God diminishing sin.  And the helmet of salvation reminds us that WE ARE LOVED!

       The "Sword of the Spirit, the word of God" is the weapon in hand that Paul tells us to wield against the enemy.  Satan, the father of lies, flees whenever truth is swung at him.  He knows his power is in his deception.  He constantly throws out, "You're alone and on your own."  "You're not lovable."  "You'll never be good enough." Or, "You could be good enough if you would just try harder."  "You need this or that to feel complete."  The truth is we are not alone and never forsaken.  God has proven how much he loves us, that "while we were still sinners Christ died for us."  We will never be good enough, but Christ is good enough for us.  And we are complete in Christ, and all we need is what He supplies!  You and I need to know scripture so we can "remind" Satan of the the truth and that he has been defeated.

     And last, Paul tells us to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."  If you and I ever want to know that our prayers are powerful and effective, we will need to grasp what Paul is talking about when he says to "pray in the Spirit." (That phrase would be something great to study or even "google"!) When we agree with what the Spirit that lives in us is already praying, and allow our voices to speak it out, something powerful happens in the effort to bring the kingdom of God to earth. Satan's schemes will again be thwarted.

     So may you and I live in reality as God's word describes, with an awareness of what we are facing as we go about each day.  And may we vow to suit up each day so that we take our stand against the devil's schemes.

 (Men, if you would like to grow in understanding the reality of the story you were born into, who you are in Christ, and how to fight against what the enemy is up to as he schemes against you, your wife and your children, you may want to read "Wild at Heart" and "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge and check out a retreat opportunity at the end of October at www.bandofbrothersweekend.org.)

Next Steps

The prophet Elijah, James says, was "a man just like us."   He's no superhero bible character, but simply a man whose life was yielded to God.  "Elijah" means "the Lord is my God," and that summed up his life and mission.  He is most famous for confronting the prophets of Baal and King Ahab, the king of Israel, but who did more to provoke the Lord to anger than did all the kings before him.  He had led the people to worship Baal, who was believed to be the god of fertility and the lord of the rain clouds.  Elijah declared a drought to remind Ahab of the true God.

What I see in 1 Kings 17 is that Elijah walked with God and was accustomed to taking "next steps" with God.  I'd like to define a next step with God as a "revealed direction that makes perfect sense to God, but may not make sense to us. Such a step of obedience requires faith and results in God being experienced and glorified."

Elijah's first step was to declare the drought.  Once he did that, the Lord directed him to take a "next step," to go hide in Kerith Ravine, and God told him that he had ordered the ravens to bring him food morning and evening and that he was to drink from the brook. The Lord had already taken care of his provision before He gave the order.  Provision was in place and Elijah was simply to walk into it.

Later the brook dried up.  If Elijah was a man just like us, he probably had a moment where he said, "Uh-oh. What am I  going to do now?"  But being a "the Lord is my God" guy, I assume he quickly re-oriented his thinking and moved into rest, wondering what the Lord would do next to guide him and provide for him.

Elijah's next step was given.  The Lord instructed him to go to Zarephath in Sidon where He had commanded a widow to give him food.  No, not "go to a wealthy landowner who is generous and is looking for a tax deduction," the kind of step that would make sense to us." Nope, go to a widow who was not even a fellow God follower.  What Elijah found was not only a widow, but a widow who was broke, and who was preparing to die.  Elijah invited her to take a step of faith as well, asking for her to make him some bread first.  Their faith was rewarded as God never let the flour and oil run out until the drought was over.  God was experienced and glorified.

In my walk with God, I want to get used to just taking "next steps" without having to know where the path will take us and how things are going to work out.

A couple of Sundays ago, I shared with our body how God has shown himself faithful to me and how I have grown in trusting him with next steps. I watched God give me a place to live for the three years of seminary after I took the next step of dedicating my life to His service.  We saw the Lord lead us to Ellijay to work with students when we had never been youth ministers.  And when God led us to help start CrossPoint, there was no visible financial support.  We felt completely confident the Lord would provide.  And he did!  We experienced Him and God was glorified. For the two years before God provided with support from CrossPoint, He provided week by week, month by month.

Over the past five years of receiving a salary from our church, Michelle and I have had a desire to return to the days of ministering without receiving a paycheck from the church.  And out of that desire, we have tried to come up with ways to make it work.  I considered doing real estate on the side.  Michelle did real estate for a couple of years.  I thought of starting a business. But each time we felt like taking another full time job would compromise what we were called to do and what our church needed.  However the desire didn't go away.

On Spring Break in March, Michelle and I got away for a night together.  We were enjoying a morning relaxing and reading, and I sensed the Lord, saying, "Tim, it's time."  I turned to Michelle and said out of the blue, "I think God is saying it's time to let CrossPoint know we want to stop taking a paycheck."  She immediately said, "I think so too."  We realized we both felt that God had been asking us to do this, and wanted us to simply step out and trust God and not to figure out how we could accomplish it ourselves. We immediately felt the rush of peace, excitement, and anticipation that comes from taking a step of faith and obedience.  

We have some exposure to and relationships with people who have made similar steps in their journey of faith, and we have heard testimony of these people losing their material possessions in the process of entering into the abundant life of experiencing God.  One day, after reading one such testimony, Michelle prayed, "Lord, PLEASE don't take my home.  I love this house!" She realized that she was trusting God in many areas, but not with our home.  The Lord asked her to rise early to talk to him about it.  The next morning Father asked her to share what she was feeling.  She told him how much she loved what happens in our home, that people feel welcomed, loved and cared for when they are here.  What she heard Father say was, "Michelle, that's not about this house.  That's about you and Me and what we do together.  And we're going to be together wherever you are."  

She surrendered her house.

That was huge.  The joy I feel is incredible, knowing that Father has blessed me with a wife and partner in ministry that is willing to give up what is most precious to her materially.  We know that this road is not going to be easy.  There will be tests requiring more and more surrender each step of the way.  What I truly believe, though, is that on the other side of this painful process is the abundant life we have always sensed was available but have yet to fully experience.  Father is calling us out, and this step is the next one we've been asked to take.

Soooooo, here we go.  Pray for us and watch with us how God brings himself glory!

Jesus, the Cowboy

Did you know Jesus is a "cowboy?"  At least he was today.

My home is wrapped by pastureland, owned by others, and this morning I walked out on the back porch to find my farmer neighbor walking in my back yard.  It's unusual, but such an occurrence typically means a cow has escaped, and he's trying to round her up.  Greeting my neighbor, I got the story.  Sure enough, a two-day old calf had gotten out and was separated from its mother.  He explained that when they get scared, calves will just lay down and remain deathly still, making them hard to find.  I told him I'd get dressed and join him in the search.

After a brief walk through the wooded parts of my property, I remembered how Jesus had helped me find things that I had lost. (I have many such testimonies.)  My typical prayer is, "Jesus, you know where (such and such) is. Please show me!"  Once, I  experienced my eyes immediately shift to an obscure location, finding in a moment what I'd been looking for, on my own, for hours.

So, as I walked, I talked. "Jesus, you know where this calf is. I'd love to find it and help my neighbor.  Where is it?"  I felt my attention shift to another neighbor's  pasture, surrounded by the electric fence  that my children love to toy with.  The pasture is typically populated, but today there were no cows in sight.  All I could see was 20 or so acres of tall, ready to cut hay, wet with dew.  After ignoring the pull for a moment and walking a little more through the woods, I took a dead branch, laid it across the bottom wire and pushed down while I stepped across into the pasture.

Still aware I had invited Jesus into this situation, I began to walk, feeling my jeans and shoes quickly becoming drenched from the dew.  Looking back at my tracks, it may not have been a beeline, but within two minutes I had walked directly to the little black calf, curled up and asleep among the tall grass.

I was a hero!  I had saved the day, not to mention the thousand dollars that the calf will eventually bring my neighbor!  Right? No, Jesus is the hero of this story.  He had become a cowboy, using my body to restore the calf to its mother.  It sure brought me a lot of joy being a part of it, though.

As His disciple I wanted to learn something.  From my heart, came the question, "What are you wanting to teach me, Master?"  In response to my earlier prayer, Jesus had not, in this situation, pointed to the spot in the field, saying, "The calf is here."  No neon lights.  No flashing arrows.  There was just praying and walking, seeking and...finding.  Jesus reminded me, again that He is concerned about the little things that I am concerned about, and that He is delighted to be invited into every situation.  And He showed me that, having invited Him in, what felt like my thoughts ("I should walk this way...I should look here") were actually His directives.  Without knowing where I was going, I arrived at my destination.

Joy.  Life.  Adventure. I love walking with God and expecting to hear His voice...every time I choose to do so. 

"The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." - Jesus, John 10:2-4

Can you hear me now?

Last week, Michelle was talking to my seven-year old son, Jonathan, about hearing God's voice. Jonathan got really honest and said, "I just don't talk to Him that much." 

 

"Well," Michelle said, "Why don't you just ask Him what He thinks about you?"

  

"Okay," Jonathan replied and got quiet for a few moments. "He said I was a good boy." 

 

Michelle affirmed his listening saying, "That sounds like something God would say.  He only speaks what's true and you are a good boy.  I believe He really said that to you."  

Jonathan smiled and went about his business.  Within a minute, Jonathan said, "Hey! Satan just tried to tell me I was stupid!"

Wouldn't it be nice to be that quick to discern the source of the voices we hear throughout the day?  How many times have you and I heard the same message when we've tried to actually have a conversation with God?  "You're just stupid if you think you can hear God's voice.  That's just you making it up."

The assumptions we make are very powerful and have great effect over our life experiences, especially in our relationship with God.  If we assume God has said everything He's going to say and now we have it in black in white, chances are we will not tune in to the "still small voice" speaking to our hearts.  If we assume the people of the bible are exceptions rather than examples of people who have walked with God, we will not expect God to speak to us like he did to them.  But if we assume that Jesus can be trusted and take him at his word, we would begin to believe it is normal to recognize and hear the voice of our Good Shepherd.

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

- Jesus, John 10:1-4

My relationship with Jesus, and hence my life, really began to change when I began to believe He speaks and that I can  -  hear, recognize, discern -  His voice.  It's like learning to skate, awkward at first, but eventually more natural with practice.  I still feel like I'm "holding on to the rail" most of the time, but I'm determined to move into the freedom and joy of natural, effortless conversation.

Here are some things that have helped me so far:

- Giving myself permission to be myself and drop all the religious language.

- Using a pad of paper or journal to record the conversation...what I say, then what He says, back and forth.

- Trying not to edit or ask myself "What would Jesus say?" but rather just writing the first thing that comes to mind (Interestingly enough, many times I'll start hearing the answer to my question before I finish asking it or get it down on paper).

- And last, reading a scenario that helps me to go through a process of laying down the things that are cluttering my mind and weighing me down and to envision sitting next to Jesus.

The other day, I, with my pad of paper and pen in hand, was talking to Jesus about the death of a friend and member of our body who fought liver cancer for a year.  I expressed to him how much pain our people were in and asked him what we were to do with all the questions and confusion over why he wasn't healed.  What I believe I heard Him say, was a gentle, loving response of "Trust that I know the answers, and focus on what you do know."

It took me back to my heart.  I do trust Him.  And to focus on what I do know brings me great comfort.  All that said, I was blessed by the conversation and felt filled with life because of it.

I'd like to include such a scenario that was included in the book "Once Upon a Prayer" by David  Manuel.  Copy it and print it out. Get by yourself with a pad of paper.  Allow yourself to enter into the scenario and follow the instructions about preparing yourself to sit with Jesus.  Then just write down your conversation.  You may not need the scenario after a time or two, but the habit of using a pad or journal has done wonders for helping me focus with an expectation to hear.  

Let me know how it goes!

ONCE UPON A PRAYER  "CONVERSATION STARTER"

You're in Jerusalem, nineteen centuries ago.  You've come for the high holy days, and this year it seems every Jew in Israel has had the same idea.  Every bed, every corner has been taken.

   You let your family talk you into coming. Not that I took much persuading;  you heard the Galilean would be there - the Master everyone's talking about. Judea, Galilee, Samaria, even Gadar wherever He's been, there've been miracles.  Healing miracles of mind, soul, and spirit, as well of the body.

    You could use healing - in all four realms. So you came.  And dared hope that somehow, despite the crowds around Him, you might find a private moment with Him.  That's all it would take.  You've heard about the woman healed by touching the hem of His garment, the blind man whose sight was restored, the servant and the little girl raised from the dead.  And you know in your heart it's true - all of it.  But it's hopeless.  The moment they hear where He is, everyone runs there.

   So this morning you wander the dusty, sun-baked streets, wishing you were home - under the shade tree, with a cup of cool water by your side.

   You enter a square, where the only shade is over there, under that blue awning of that vendor's cart.  He's selling something to drink - water, flavored with a little honey.

    Parched, you go over.  There's only one person ahead of you - a young man, sandy-haired, quick smile under a perpetual frown.  With a water yoke he's brought two jars, which the old vendor is filling for him, ladling from a massive urn.

    Finishing, the old man asks, "Will He - be teaching this evening?"

    "He may be."

    "Don't you know? You're one of the ones with Him."

     The young man smiles.  "We never know where we're going or when.  We're learning it doesn't matter, as long as we're with Him."

     "Living that way - isn't it hard?"

    "It is!" exclaims the young man laughing.  "And I'm the worst at it!  I never think things are going to work out!  And they always  do!"

    As the vendor adjusts the jars under the yoke, the young man pulls out a coin purse. The vendor holds up a hand.  "It's a gift."

    "It's too much! Let me pay."  The older man just smiles and shakes his head.

     The young man looks at him.  "Come to the Temple steps tomorrow morning," he says softly.  "Before dawn.  I can't promise, but the last two mornings He's been there at first light."  And shouldering the yoke, he departs.

    The vendor turns to you, eyebrows raised.  But you shake your head and hurry after the young man - compelled by a thirst no honey-water can quench.

    "Excuse me," you say, when you've caught up with him.  "You're, um, one of His followers?"  He nods.

    "Well---" For once words fail you.

    The young man stops and lowers the jars to the ground, lifting off the yoke and looking at you.  "You want to meet Him?"  You nod.  

    "Alone?"

   You nod emphatically.  He gazes into your eyes.  And smiles.  "You know the old olive grove on top of the mountain across the valley?"

   "I've heard of it.  Above the garden, isn't it?"

   "That's the one.  There's a path up to it. from the big cracked boulder at the south end of the valley.  Start up it at noon."

    You nod, and he sizes you up.  "It's steep in places.  And long- it'll take longer than you think."  No smile now. "Can you do it?"

    "I walked here, didn't I?"  you snap.  "It took us three days!"  Then, more hesitantly, you add, "I think I can."

    The young man's smile returns.  "Use the climb as preparation."

    "What do you mean?"

    "You want to come to Him empty.  Your mind clear, your heart free."

    "How do I do that?"

    "As you climb, ask God to help you set aside your cares and concerns, your feelings and emotions." 

    Straightening under the yoke, he raises the jars off the ground.  You sense he's going there now.  You could go with him!  But as if he know what you're thinking, he smiles and says, "Noon. Come alone."

    At noon you start up the path.  It is steep.  And rocky - he hadn't mentioned that.  You've had to stop twice to get stones out of your sandals.

    After climbing for half an hour or so, you come to an open place and wearily sit down on an old, bent-over cedar.  Your feet are sore. Your back aches. Your lungs are burning.  And he was right about one thing; it is longer than you thought. A lot longer.

    Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.  Maybe you should go back down.  Now.  No need to tell anyone.  A fool's errand, that's all it was.  Go down now, before you're missed.

    A gentle breeze bearing the scent of oregano and rosemary caresses your cheek.  You smile.  This is not such a bad day.  Gazing down at the Kidron Valley far below, stretching away into the hazy distance, you're surprised at how far you've come.

   You remember the water skin slung from your shoulder. Carefully you remove its stopper and drink deeply.  Not too much - you don't know how far it is to the top.

    Then, taking a deep breath, you exhale and get to your feet.  You can do this.  And suddenly you're glad to be on the mountain.  

   Only then do you notice the tree you've been sitting on.  An icestorm must have bent it to that shape ages ago.  It should have died - yet each spring it pushes out fresh green needles at the ends of its gnarled limbs. 

   Smiling, you resume your ascent.  What was it that young man said about  preparation? Ask God to help you set aside your cares and concerns.

    Well, there are plenty of them!  Will there be enough room for all of us tonight?  Are we spending too much money?  And what about everything I have to do when I get home?

    One by one, you add each worry to an imaginary bag - and give it to Him.  All right, God, you can have them - for now.

    What was the other thing?  Oh, yes, I'm supposed to do the same thing with my feelings and emotions.

    I've got plenty of those!  Just the ones on this trip would fill a bundle!

    Reflecting on them - and others - you add them to a second bag. "God, I give them to you, too!"

    You pause.  Is there - anything else?

    The old hurts.  The unforgiveness.

    You know what He's referring to.

    I'm not sure I'm ready to give those to You. Not permanently.  Not yet.  But - maybe till I come down.

    At last the path levels off.  And there's the olive grove, just ahead.  As you follow the path into its welcome shade, you smile.  Your mind is clear, and your heart free.

In the grove, under the ancient olive trees, it's cooler.  And it's still - not even insect sounds.

    After all that sun, your eyes need a moment to adjust to the interplay of shifting shadows.  When they do, you see that you are not alone.  Over there, on the other side of the grove, next to what appears to be the ruins of an olive press, there's a man kneeling - a tall man, long hair, robed, head bowed.

     The Galilean.

     But now that you're here - and He's here - you feel funny about disturbing Him. He's praying.

    Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.  Maybe you should turn around now, and slip away....

    Wait - He's raising His head.  Looking at you.  He smiles - and beckons you to come over.

    Go ahead.  Yet you hesitate.

    He nods, still smiling.  He means it.

    You start towards Him.

    He gets up now, and sits on a low stone ledge.  And pats the wall next to Him.  He wants you to join Him. So... you do.

    You sit down beside Him, and look into His eyes.  And the two of you start to talk.

    Now - without thinking about it or pre-editing it, write down what He says, and what you say.  Do it intuitively, from the heart, not the head.  Whatever comes.

The Lord is my Standard; I shall not measure up...

I don't look at Father God or Jesus as "my standard" anymore.

Recently, I was sharing with some friends my beliefs about what life in Christ and being His body is all about.  I made the statement, "We do not give our lives to a standard or a list of rules. We give our lives to a living God."

What one of my friends heard me say was, "I don't live by a standard."  When I corrected him saying, "No, I said, 'I don't give my life to a standard," he held up his Bible and passionately said, "Well, I do." I know what he's saying, and I know he is sincere in his desire to live according to the Word of God.  I wish everyone did.  However, there is a difference in the way he and I view God and scripture that, in my mind, affects everything.

 

Let me clarify what I mean when I say I don't give my life to a standard.  I believe God is absolute truth and in Him is found life.  I don't see him as a standard but as three persons,  a Holy Trinity. I also believe the bible, when translated and interpreted correctly and perfectly is an accurate reflection of God and absolute truth.  I believe the bible leads us to know, experience, and commune with God who gives us life. It is full of examples, not exceptions of people who walked with God.  And I believe every word of it points to Christ, the word (logos) made flesh.

If I look at the bible as a standard or list of rules, rather than the 'logos' word of God that leads me to Him and through which He speaks to me,  then my focus is going to be on a) the standard, and b) how I am measuring up to that standard (focus on me). That will work against the whole point of the bible as I see it, which is to lift our eyes to God.  It will also affect how I treat other people.  

If I give my life to a standard rather than to a living God, and believe with all my heart that it is the "right way" to live, then I will hold everyone else in my life up to that standard.  My relationships will be affected by whether or not the people with whom I am interacting are living up to that standard.  Michelle and the boys will live with the question, "Am I good enough?  Am I doing everything that I should?"  And the answer that I will give them will always, always, always be 'No.'  That's because I'm looking at a standard no one on earth can live up to, rather than lifting my eyes and the eyes of those around me to the only one who met the standard, God's perfect holiness and righteousness. He is Jesus our Lord, our Saviour, our redeemer, our substitute and representative.  It's all about him.  I give my life to a person and my desire is to lead people into the life of God and fellowship with the Trinity made possible through Christ.