One Way

Picture this: I am driving with a friend and my sister. We cross the Canadian boarder into Buffalo. On unfamiliar streets, I am suddenly notified by another driver that we are travelling the wrong way, on a one way. A moment of panic followed by quick recovery and a turn off of the one way street save us from injury and possibly death by collision. For whatever reason, the road we were travelling on was not too busy and as I recall this experience, it is astounding to me that in the blink of an eye, another driver and I connected, long enough for me to be warned that I was misdirected, in danger and had to correct my course or else something catastrophic could happen. Do you have first hand knowledge of a similar near miss Dear Reader? Perhaps you have many a story to retell where what could have happened, didn't? How grateful were you, are you, for this escape with your life feeling? In my story, after the heart accelerating exit off of the one way street, I recall saying there were no signs, that the street was poorly marked, and my passengers agreed. This may or may not be true and yet, there is a niggling feeling inside of me that says regardless of the signage, I was the driver, I was responsible, I was going the wrong way on a one direction only street. Not only this, I had passengers that entrusted me with their safety and all those other drivers on the road, they depended on me and I on them, to follow directions, heed the rules of the road so that we didn't meet by accident, as the joke goes. Here is my point: I was going the wrong way, someone alerted me and I quickly reacted and miraculously, course corrected perhaps just in the nick of time, saving firstly myself and then many more from what could have been dire collision consequences. Grateful? Yes indeed, I was and am grateful because I live to tell this story. It is a metaphor for life, is it not Dear One? Are you travelling the wrong way on a one way? Are there signs that this is true? Have you been warned of imminent danger, the possibility of colliding with dire consequences and impacting your life and many others, if course correction is not made? What does it say on the cross roads signage above you? There is an actual sign that reads: Welcome to Accident...now who would want to live there by choice, can you tell me that?! There is a man, all man, who is God, all God, and He declared this, Dear One: John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus is the way Dear Reader, the way, the truth, the life. Meeting Him is no accident. Let Him help you course correct, keep you from colliding with consequences that may be untenable and ultimately and eternally, impossible to live with. The last sentence is heavy with meaning Dear One. Eternal life is in the balance. We either choose Him or we choose death. His way to truth, eternal life and our Father...Jesus Christ is a One Way Street. 

Mental Habit

I read this line today: "A trait is a mental habit". What do you make of this sentence Dear Reader? I think of habits and the thoughts that precede them and then I think, oh man, it is a characteristic, a personality trait that shows up in the world! Working backward from action (habit) to thought (mentality) to trait (character or personality) is a scary thing, if bad habits exist, that is. The main topic in the sentence is trait, something having to do with you, and I, as a people. There are many examples of traits, such as light or deep thinker, none committal or obligated, trustworthy or sneaky, honest or liar...these are some opposites and thinking about one trait may lead you to thinking about its extreme opposite. In this little exercise we can see that there is range in the expression of who you and I are and how we show up in our lives with family, friends and co-workers. Whether we like it or not, who we are shows so the question is: Do you like who you are? What about those traits of yours, the ones that represent your thinking and establish themselves as your habits? We all have some work to do, don't we Dear Reader? If you read my writing consistently, I am inclined to believe you like work, you like to question yourself, your thinking, your habits. I believe we are a match if this is true for you because status quo is a no go in your life. You and I, we both know that we are being refined, for a purpose, for a reason greater than we perhaps understand. Who we are, the traits we show to the world are the ones that live and breath in our minds and ultimately, in our souls. Pick a habit you have and take a deeper look. What thoughts are behind the habit, calling the shots and driving you into behaviour? Where did your mind go with this request? Did you immediately think of the things that you do that are bad for you, hurtful for your wellbeing or even perhaps those you love? What if the request is this: consider what good habits you have that show your sweetness of mind, your huge hearted ways. What trait does this represent in you? I will tell you a little secret. I start my days listening to the recorded messages of Dr. J. Vernon McGee, a habit I started this summer because my mind needs to be fed and the trait I want to grow is devotion to God. No applause, thank you, because in telling you this, I also tell you that but for my habit, which is quickly becoming seeking God in all things at all times, I am nothing and no one and the habit of none accomplishment reigns supreme in my life with a lackadaisical trait attempting to drive me to rest when God's work for me is lined up and waiting. I like the sentence, "a trait is a mental habit" because we can decide our state of mind;  we can decide our habits with the freedom of will that is our birth right, isn't this true Dear One? I'm glad we had this little chat. We sorted out our thinking, didn't we Dear Reader? In doing this, we got to decide which habits stay, which ones go and which ones we would like to establish based on the traits we want to develop. In any case, might I suggest this? Start your day with God, develop the trait of devotion and your habits, they will be both pleasing to you and more importantly, pleasing to Him. 

Secret Scandal

Secret sin on earth, open scandal in heaven

"It may be a secret sin on earth, but it is open scandal in heaven", Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952). 

Dear reader, how do you feel reading the line above? Does your heart skip a beat? Does your mind immediately go to your secret sin? Where have you placed it, hidden it away, dear one? How have you kept it from prying eyes and ears thus far? Does anyone know? Have you been exposed yet? Is it just a matter of time before the secret is out? 

Sin is the accumulation of boards nailed to the door of your heart

You know what sin is, don't you? It is the something that causes anxiety, fear, doubt, self recrimination. It is the thing that gets between you and the people you profess to love and more horrendous than all of this, it is the very thing that gets between you and God. It is the accumulation of boards, nailed to the door of your heart, keeping your sin in and God Almighty out.  Make no mistake dear one, you have been unsuccessful, a failure, a reprovable loser in your efforts to hide in the dark what light will search for and find.

"Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. How uncomfortable are you in the knowing that your "secret sin on earth" (l Psalm 90:8). 

Sin is "open scandal in heaven"? You cannot hide, I cannot hide. There is no place for us to sow our secret sin seeds without him knowing. Fear of God is reverence, it is an acknowledgement that God is sovereign, ruler of the universe. 

This message may not be for you

You could take this message like a child, chastised and punished, timed out in the corner, sullen and sulking. Fearful of a mean God and worried about punishment, that is a child's point of view and you could very well be, a child with childish ways. If this is true of you, then this message is not for you, move along now. If, on the other hand, you have a feeling, a knowing that what you are doing on this earth is not approved of in heaven, that it hurts your heavenly Father and all of the saints that went before you, then you are accountable, dear one. You acknowledge that you are seen and heard and your sins are a scandal because they all, those wonderful ones in heaven, they all want the very best for you and they expect more because you belong to him. 

Go into the dark room of your soul, turn on The Light. Confess your sin, ask forgiveness for it and sin no more. One day, you will be in The Great Company, looking and watching from above with your brethren, Gods people. 

Stained

A stain in material can be permanent, a reminder of a spill, an unlucky mishap that was not looked at or taken care of immediately. Get to the spill soon enough and chances are good that with the right cleaning agent and a little bit of elbow grease, the stain will lift off of the material. Notice the stain after it has had a chance to soak in and it becomes a part of the fabric forever-no amount of scrubbing, no amount of cleaner will get that stain out. Have you experienced this Dear Reader? Have you spilled food or drink on your favourite top, pants or even table clothe? Were you anxious to get the offending spillage out of your clothes, to protect what you like and prevent a stain? How frustrated were you when it didn't come out? Were you relieved, the time that it did? There is a sense of haphazardness with stains, a lack of confidence goes with not knowing what the outcome will be. The material is either salvaged and useable still or it is ruined, ready for the garbage heap or car cleaning as a rag. This is what sin looks like, Dear One. Sin can soak the soul, stain the spirit and when it does, nothing can seemingly remove the offending mark it leaves. Try as you might, you can scrub and clean, use that elbow grease you have at your ready and yet, you can't come clean, you cannot wash it away with all of your efforts. Look at it, that rag of a soul you hold in your hands. Nothing you can do will make it clean again, Dear Reader. In fact the more you scrub, the more the stain spreads. Looking at the stain means you see it there, you know how it got there. It is a moment of reckoning and you are alone with the truth that it is your spill, you are responsible for the stain. 1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Jesus, the Son, cleanses us of our stain, our sin: Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, " says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Take your sin soaked stained soul Dear One and go to Jesus, be washed clean by His sacrificial blood, shed once and for all for you, for me. Come clean now, it is time. 

Listen, Come Here

While talking on the phone with a friend who lives in Ireland, he got my attention by saying in a commanding and endearing way, come here. He wanted to share something with me and he wanted me to listen, to hear what he was excited for me to know. I am relaxing into sharing this with you, Dear Reader. I have a pleasant sense of calm mixed with excitement in the knowing that friendship is one of the greatest gifts of shared intimacy available to each of us, especially when it is treasured. I may or may not know you and yet, there is the feeling of intimacy and sharing each time I write, each time we somehow inexplicably and wonderfully connect. Connection can be magic(al), defined as: a quality of being beautiful and delightful in a way that seems remote from daily life. I am a practical kinda gal, earthy with action as elementary features to my personality and yet, it is the divine, the mysterious that breathes life into my existence, my being. Listen, come here, can be a whisper, a request to follow another and trust that we are going somewhere together. This soft beckoning is irresistible in its pull and all we need do is cup our ear, hear the call and resolutely go. Where are you called Dear One? Can you hear, "listen, come here", spoken from The One to His lovie, to you? You are His, His love for you is a beacon that beckons and nothing and no one can stand between you and Him, unless of course, you choose to ignore the call. In the acknowledging and acceptance of come here, we arrive at a moment, create a memory and quickly on its heels, a reminder. The mysterious, the magical, they are our reminders, our God letting us know that there is more to life than what we can simply touch. Listening for His call to "come here", to be in His presence, is the sweetest most endearing intimacy that we can experience while living our earthy existence. Life is grand, as my friend would say, and we get to feel and know all parts of it when we listen, then hear and ultimately heed the voice when commanded "come here". Can you hear Him Dear Reader, asking you to "come here"? For every step you take toward Him, He will take ten thousand steps toward you. Cup your ear, hear and go.

Motivated

What is your motivation? Consider this: "Motivated by love of the Saviour, Christians want to obey Christ", Dr. J. Vernon McGee. What are we to obey, you ask? Jesus is very clear when he tells us what our work is: John 6:29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." I must say that this poignantly level statement flattens me out. There are no ifs, ands, buts in the statement, the command for believers. God's work for us is to believe in the one He sent, to believe in the Son. John 14:7 "If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." I am flattened again, almost dumbstruck with these bold statements. Putting these two sentences and their meanings together, Gods work for us, is to believe in Jesus as God because to know one is to know them both. God the Father, God the Son. I am sitting satisfied at this moment, savouring the striking simplicity and advantage offered when we believe what Jesus says about Gods accessibility and His clarity about our purpose. Lets get personal. I'm not always motivated, in fact, at times I'm a lump of uninspired lays about flesh. This is embarrassing to admit but I must because in the truth telling, I am confessing and in the confessing, I am recognizing that my work is waiting, that it will not get done if I don't do it and that my time, it was bought and paid for long ago with my first profession of faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour. Consider this: "He that falls into sin is a man; He that grieves at sin is a saint; He that boasts of sin is the devil." As a saint, I grieve my sin because I am accountable to God for the work His has assigned to me. This work, it is to believe and to live the rest of the story, the one that Christ followers know and hold near and dear to their hearts. To live like Christ did, our perfect example. That's the hard part, isn't it, Dear One? Our daily challenge? I have borrowed many a quote today in this piece of writing, here is one more: "Believing leads to behaving." Each day, do you give yourself over to your Master, your Teacher, your God? Do you believe that to know Jesus is to know His Father and ultimately, your Father? How motivated are you to live your life as though it is in the most Powerful Awesome Hands in the world? Look at the life of Jesus, how He lived. How motivated are YOU to be just ...  like ... Him?

The Expert

Committing to being humble student

Who is the expert in your life? Every time we take a course, attend a workshop or a program, there is subjection. We are subjecting ourselves willingly to the guidance of another, the prowess and expertise of the leader or teacher. Big dollar tickets may be attached to the attendance of said courses, workshops/programs and when we willingly pay the admittance price, we have committed to being student, a humbling of self in order to learn from the course provider. While you and I invest in the learning, the leader makes a living, a profit from the exchange. Sometimes we attend a learning event to capture what the teacher has seemingly captured, the ability to fill a room full of people who will pay us for our expertise. And the cycle of life continues.

Instant inspired connection

I am fondly envisioning Jesus on a beach and some men toiling with cumbersome fishing nets, his verbal invitation being shared in Matthew 4:19:

"And He said to them, "Follow Me (as my disciples, accepting me as your master and teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk), and I will make you fishers of men." Leaving nets and fishy fishing behind, men did indeed, follow this mysteriously engaging and charismatic leader. I picture jaws dropped and some quiet in the head confusion for those who left what they knew behind to follow a fellow who seemed strangely (strange defined as: unusual or surprising; difficult to understand or explain) different without him feeling like a stranger. It would appear that there was instant inspired connection between Jesus and the men he commanded to "Follow Me".

Fast forward many believing years later

I am grinning now as I write because I have a question for you dear one. If he, Jesus, came to you and said "leave your desk, your office, your house, your country, your___________ and follow me", would you? This was a fear of mine, that as a Christian I might be asked by God to become a missionary and this did not nor does it now, appeal to me. Fast forward many believing years later and he does ask me to follow him from where I am.

Follow the leader can be a dangerous game

Follow them to who knows where

What about you dear reader, what is he asking of you? There are many leaders/experts in this world, pied pipers make up the majority of them. Follow them to who knows where? Have you followed someone who has expertly led you astray, dear one? Look about and see how lost so many are. Are you one of the lost?

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans" (Psalm 118:8). An all knowing, all seeing, all loving God never leads his flock astray. He knows where you have been, where you are and where you are going. Allow him to be The Expert in your life and you will feel the confidence only faith in God can bring. 

Allow Me to Clarify

How often have you found yourself befuddled? Befuddled is an old fashioned word meaning: "cause to become unable to think clearly." I had some intense time in befuddlement this week and it gave way to clarity. Before I tell you about the clarity, I must share the messy pick my way through the broken glass pathway I had to take to get there. I am studying Graphoanalysis and while reading the Level 1 text book, I learned that with my personality, energy and liking of variety, it is easy for me to move from interest to interest, especially if one of my interests becomes conflicted or challenging. This gave me great pause. In this acknowledgement of my inclination, I had to grasp hold of a truth and a correctable character flaw. The old adage when the going gets tough, the tough get going came to me and I had to stop and listen, to a voice that said, "Finish the work I started in you." Like a butterfly landing lightly and ever so swiftly flitting away in search of something else to barely land upon, I have been flitting and flying solo from one pretty leaf and flower to another. In the butterfly metaphor, there is appreciation for new experiences and delights. In human terms, this means I enjoy different personalities, scenes and stimulation of the senses-I am clearly not a butterfly and yet I can appreciate the flirtatiousness of the flitting. One of my friends often quotes "Strength in excess becomes weakness" and I have had to pause and ponder, knowing there is a lesson in there for me. Here is what I have learned and perhaps you can relate? Learning is great but there is a time to throw the learning down and start to build upon it, make use of the knowledge and have it be of service to the world or at least, the circle of influence we each have in our own spheres. It is a from me to we theme that serving hearts are called to. There is no point in learning if none of it is shared, in fact it is in the sharing that we learn more about ourselves, other and the Godly purpose we are called to. Allow me to clarify at this point: James 2:18 "Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds." Learning and words without action are nothing Dear Reader. God has asked each of us to freely accept His tasks for us, His challenges, His calling on our hearts and sometimes we get befuddled, distracted by ourselves! Funny that, how we can get self absorbed for a time, until we wander solo, cutting our feet on the shattered glass of weak or undeveloped character. In befuddlement, we can pause and ask for clarity. God is always clear and will help sweep away whatever impedes the path. Feeling befuddled Dear One? Ask for The Great Definer to redefine you, it works every time.  

Slander & Libel

Slander is defined as: a false and malicious spoken statement. Libel is defined as: a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation. I remember law class in high school. The concepts of slander and libel were introduced and I was fascinated with the laws that protect us all from both. At the root, we are not permitted to lie about another by verbalizing or writing falsehoods pertaining to them. It is against the law, a violation of another's rights to be who they are without someone coming along and slinging mud at them in an attempt to ruin their reputation. I argue, we can do this all by ourselves, isn't that right Dear Reader? We can ruin our own reputations by what we say, by what we write, all on our own. My heart and mind are leading me back in time, to another place, a world not so different from our own..."Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there." What did Jesus write? More importantly, how did he know what to write? If it had been libellous, those who questioned him would have objected, understandably. No one wants to hear lies spoken of them, written about them. What did they read in that sand that made them self conscious? What did they hear echoed in their hearts about their own sin, loudly and clearly enough that they "began to go away one at a time, the older ones first", walking away from their "right" by law to stone a sinner? Jesus revealed without words, without public exposure, what these accusers knew to be true in their hearts. He wrote something so powerful in the sand that they retreated from the scene. Now turn your gaze inward. What would he write about you, Dear One? It is easy to point a finger at another, to metaphorically stone them, but you, and I, are we too, condemnable, worthing of stoning? "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." 1 John 1:8-10 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." I don't know about you Dear One, but I will not call my Saviour a liar. I am a sinner. He is the only One who can condemn me and thankfully, since I turn from sin and toward Him, I am free from the punishment that I deserve. Won't you turn to Him today if you have not already? He is standing close by and already knows your answer-choose Him and live in newness this very day. 

Permissiveness Pervades

When was the last time you were hungry? Look down at your mid section, you know, that extra part of you that somehow seems alien, like it doesn't belong to you but goes everywhere you do. Difficult to accept, is it not? Our food consumption leaves us never hungry but always wanting as we abuse our eating privileges. Are your clothes getting tight Dear One, from excess? Is the skin you are in getting uncomfortable as you read this, wanting the topic to go away, leave you alone because after all, you already feel badly enough and don't need one more reminder of what you have become. You read that last line correctly Dear Reader. Look at yourself. You have become whatever it is you do to your body. Your soul has gone along for the ride, dragged while kicking and screaming, "no, don't take me into the darkness of unconscious, unaccountable, depraved over-indulgence land." You do know that if you are currently over weight, unfit, and out of shape (meaning your proportions have taken on unbecoming and unnatural dimensions) that this will continue with your consent if unchecked? You will get larger and with every inch you add to your body, you will lose a part of yourself in the form of self esteem, self respect, self appreciation and love. Weight gain is insidious and so is its sidekick, self loathing. What comes along for this ride is what the heck, it's too late, and I might as well plus who cares anyway? Who cares anyway? I do for one, about you, but this is a moot point because the only person who matters in this exchange is YOU. You need to care for you. That soul of yours was designed to be clothed in brilliant white, not dragged through the filth and mud, dirtied by the careless occupant of the body it resides in. I appreciate the word BEWARE, be aware is the message. Take heed, notice, pay attention-are you paying attention to who and what you are becoming Dear One, are you? Proverbs 23:21"...for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags." So maybe you over drink, over eat and are not poor Dear One, but are you drowsy, is your spirit asleep? Have you taken your soul and thrown it into the pigs pen of privation? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body." This is a hard hitting piece of writing and it came from my acknowledgment of my own sin, my own permissiveness to indulgences of appetite that have been prevailing. We are all subject to sin and our bodies cravings for immediate satisfaction but who cares? So what? WE get to choose! WE decide when what where and how if we have been so blessed. This means you and I can choose to honour God with all of ourselves, from this moment forward-how very exciting is this truth Dear One? Fret not, you are wonderfully made, wide awake and ready to live fully by taking control like never before. Confess your sin, ask for forgiveness, guidance and strength and God will do the rest. AMEN and have fun as your spirit is set free and soaring, lighter than ever before.