Freedom Song

"The next day, he [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said: 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"—John 1:29

Grateful for the Land of the Free, warts and all, and also remembering that freedom, at its highest and best level, outshouts the best that William "Mel" Wallace could ever offer:

"I AM!"

The highest freedom has the simplest yet most powerful formula ever known to mankind:

Jesus = Yeshua = God saves.

The highest freedom never compartmentalizes things like Christmas and Easter themes, and makes a wide berth for faith-building seasons of wilderness, and doubt, and questioning. (Even this same John the Baptist, who while sitting unjustly in a prison cell later in the Story, sent messengers to ask, "so, are You really the One You say You are, or should I and we be looking for someone else?") 

The highest freedom even imagines being among those along the Jordan that day earlier in John's life, and trying to pass along his shocking freedom message, word-of-mouth no less, to friends and loved ones:

"Everyone! Behold—look! LOOK!—This One, this Name alone, this Lamb (lamb?!), this Jesus...this is amazing Love! No, I can't explain it. I can't even begin to wrap my brain around it. But this King of Kings is among us and He's never moving out. Because He owns this place. And He loves this place. And especially, all of us who are in it....And who can possibly keep quiet about such a thing? Or, about this?"....

For a Child has been born—for us!

The gift of a Son—for us!

He'll take over the running of the world

His Names will be:

Amazing Counselor

Strong God

Eternal Father

Prince of Wholeness

His ruling authority will grow

And there'll be no limits to the wholeness He brings

He'll rule from the historic David throne

Over that promised Kingdom

He'll put that Kingdom on a firm footing

And keep it going

With fair dealing and right living

Beginning now and lasting always

The zeal of the God-of-the-angel-armies

Will do all this.

(Isaiah 9:6-7, Message)

You Have No Idea

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.”—1 Thessalonians 5:23

Aspirations. Goals. Hopes. Pursuits. No matter how far along the journey, we all have them, because we were all built for seeing the tape at a finish line and breaking through it triumphantly.  In work, family, athletics, favorite hobbies, and especially this Great Adventure, finish line visions are entirely healthy. Because, at their root, triumphant aspirations are a God-breathed thing.  In one place in the Word, we’re exhorted to run in such a way as to get the prize. In another, to forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal. And no one in history modeled finish line mentality more completely and triumphantly than Jesus with His final three words on the cross.

In another place, the same writer who talked about running and pressing on also said things like the importance of not running aimlessly, or boxing wildly at the wind. Because aspirations, goals, hopes, and pursuits require not only imagining busting through the finish line, but laying out and following a strategy to get there. Which is probably why we are drawn like magnets to any one of the dozens of the great prayers of the Bible. They do all that. And many of them are so inspiring, and conjure up such spectacular images of what its particular finish line might look like, it sends a quiver through the stomach, right down to the toes. Like this one:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. “(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

We see these electrifying words. Our eyes may light up. And we want to swallow them all whole and expect great things. Right away. Until you get to the end of that very same day, and you feel like everything about swallowing that prayer turned out to be just the opposite—a full-volume awareness of attitudes that refused to crawl out of their rut, negative self-talk, whining under pressure, snapping at people (yes, you can do that really well even in your mind) who irritated you by something that, in the end, was really silly to get irritated about.

We think “epic fail.” God says, “Re-read the last sentence of that prayer you prayed this morning.”

Sanctify is a big word that basically comes down to Christ in me—a given for all who Believe—but then through me, and flowing out of me. Try as we might, there is no right away in those last two, which is why it's good to know that what we think was an epic fail moment even after the first day is not fail at all, but rather God’s "through and through" at work, touching and redeeming all the blind spots of our lives (sometimes, over and over and over again).

We picture busting through triumphantly at the finish line, and God says, "You have no idea how I desire to trump your wildest imagination. Trust Me, one more time, trust Me on this, because here's an even more amazing promise to swallow whole:

'No eye has ever seen or no ear has ever heard or no mind has ever thought of the wonderful things God has made ready for those who love Him.'”

 

Perfectly Enough

How great is Your goodness which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You.—Psalm 31:19

The world’s finest, biggest, most technologically advanced, best inventoried, and fastest-shipping warehouse is bound to be a blessing to thousands if not millions in their time of need.

But there is one even better than that.

One that has no corporate office, no zip code, no national or international address.

In fact, you can’t get there from here without knowing the security code.

It is as old as the hills, but always ahead of the curve.

Its foundation has never been more solid.

Millions upon millions have given it high praise.

It never runs low on anything.

It never runs out of anything.

Ever.

There is no expiration date on any of its contents.

Things never get returned because they don’t fit or work correctly.

Nothing ever breaks, rips, tears, or spills.

Mainly because most of its contents are not things you can put your arms around.

Goodness things like mercy, grace, love, forgiveness, strength, hope, joy, perseverance, healing.

Things whose arms are meant to be wrapped around you.

All delivered with no shipping fees.

In fact, best and most amazing of all, no cash, check, credit card or good deed are ever required.

Everything has already been paid for by Someone else, once and for all.

“Trust God. Love God. Believe God. Follow God. Ask God. Thank God.”

This is the simple security pass that will grant anyone access to the only storehouse in all of Creation that has no ceiling (and even if it had one, no one would be able to see that far up anyway), whose length and width is measureless, and where delivery of the perfect supply always arrives on time.

Perfect, even when it’s not exactly what we requested.

“’Stop asking so much! My grace reservoir is running dry.' Heaven knows no such words."—Max Lucado

Staying Power

 

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”—Luke 24:27-32

In recent years, studies have shown that for many hard-working families and individuals, Sunday afternoons can be the biggest letdown of the week: Not quite ready to relinquish the weekend, and yet feeling there’s not enough time to enjoy anything of substance because of the nagging mental list of dealing with traffic on the way back from just about anywhere, or the kids’ homework still to be done, or paying bills or doing laundry or any other obligatory task that had been set aside for weekend relaxation.

For entirely different reasons, Christ-ones who regularly go to a building to be Church with other people on Sundays can also relate to that afternoon letdown that sometimes creeps in. You had your heart strangely warmed within by someone’s story of a powerful thing that God has done for them (could He for me, too?), or from a passing word of encouragement, or from a line in a worship song or hymn, or from a scripture verse that seemed to leap off the page so demonstratively that you felt like you were the only person in the room.

And afterwards, a shared meal, another cup of coffee, and another conversation. Or, even a pause in the action to step back and savor the scene of like-minded believers who probably wouldn’t normally hang out with one another mingling, laughing, praying…

…and then, just like that, it ends. Everyone goes their own way and heads for their cars or trucks or motorcycles, and you get in your car to head home—which sounds really appealing, until you turn into your driveway and walk through the door and, as great as it is to be home, you notice that your heart strangely burns once more for what and who and Who is missed, and what is perfect in life's imperfectness.

The enemy can be quick to turn that healthy, eternal longing into several hours of life with Eeyore, where like the people in the Sunday afternoon blahs studies, everything is painted with a gloomy cloud that follows you everywhere.  It's good to know, however, that there is something fantastic to be learned from the Emmaus Road guys. As they turned into their own “driveway,” instead of sighing, they uttered one simple three-word prayer: “Stay with us!”

The Psalmist puts it another way:

“Within Your temple [in Your presence], O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.”—Psalm 48:9

In this case, meditate means to linger. It’s a conscious reminder to not be quick to get back into the routine of life and leave the taste of Eternity behind, but to carry it with us into your Sunday afternoon and every other morning/afternoon routine, and let it linger a bit—even something as simple as hitting replay on the song through which God is speaking to you at that moment instead of just going on to “next.”

It’s good, and normal, to have a burning heart that is not easily satisfied with life as usual, on Sunday afternoons or any other time of the week, because the foretaste of the promise that is yet to come is in every King's kid's DNA.

What’s even better is to know that whenever we pray “stay with us!," the invitation will never be refused.

“Lord we pray, for the afternoon, that it may not be wasted, but that it might be used in some good positive way: to know thee better; to cultivate spiritual things; to do good unto all men; to witness your saving grace to a world that’s dying. And now may grace and mercy and peace from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost be with us.” — AW Tozer

Full Time All the Time

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." — Colossians 3:17

Yes but, "What do You want me to do exactly, Lord?"

It doesn't matter if you're 18 or 80, that purpose-in-life question is always there, lurking. But while waiting for a voice from Above (that may or may not come), it's easy to brush off the menial tasks of everyday life as something to get through until that really important assignment comes along.

And maybe it already has.

Because God has much more to say about our purpose in life than we realize. Big picture things like putting down roots in the good soil of Father/child relationship and bearing fruit that will last. Totally mind-boggling things like cultivating counter-cultural heart and mind attitudes so that we become imitators of the One who created us as we go about our days. Bravehearted things like being chosen to declare freedom and light and joy in places of fear, confusion, and hopelessness.

While it's good to know that God is into big dreams and visions and high aspirations, and into our desire to pursue them, it's also good to remember that "this is the day that the Lord has made," and to not "despise the day of small things," and especially that "whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..." In even the smallest, seemingly insignificant, routine daily stuff of going to the recycling center, sitting through a meeting, or multitasking on top of multitasking, God is always ready to stir up some big picture, mind-boggling, bravehearted things that are high on His life-purpose priority list:

• Like having the right attitude when it's easier to join the crowd and complain.

• Or, being quick to listen and slow to speak when someone out of the blue says, "Hey, have you got a second?"

• Or simply, just learning (slowly) the sometimes difficult calling of being a faithful servant even to those to whom you'd rather serve up something else.

When Jesus told His disciples to "wake up and look around! The fields are already ripe for harvest" (John 4:35), He wasn't just talking to those in or looking for a full time ministry. It's a call for all of us each time we ask that purpose-of-life question to stop waiting around until tomorrow for something big or better to happen, and to instead remember to seek to live full-on and full time in the now, even to joyfully look for His purpose in every single seemingly ho-hum day.

"No man ever served God by doing things tomorrow. If we honor Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do today. Whatever you do for Christ, throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little slurred labor, done as a matter of course now and then. But then when you do serve Him, do it with heart,soul, and strength."(Charles Spurgeon)

A No-brainer Revisited

"And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to Him and begged Him to come and heal his son, who was close to death...." (John 4:46-53)

We aren't told much about this royal leader. Perhaps he is nameless for a reason--that a strong, believing faith isn't just for super-spiritual people but for any and all of us who will, with each passing day, grow to take Jesus at His word, against all "what-ifs?" that might be swimming around in our head, and merely take one step forward:

"The man took Jesus at His word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living."

This guy's story is a reminder that a believing faith also doesn't have to see immediate results for it to be believing faith. Neither is it a destination to shoot for or an easy button to push, but instead a lifelong adventure filled with peaks of miraculous answers and valleys of waiting, waiting, waiting--but along the way, always lots of ropes of Hope on which to grab.

And joy. Deep, satisfying, contented joy that, with each step of faith forward, surpasses all understanding, common sense, outer circumstances and worldly turmoil. Because a believing faith is simply and always in the person of who Christ is for every season of life. 

Some of the biggest no-brainers of this journey are the ones we need to revisit every six hours or so. Believing faith is one of them, and it always starts (or starts over) with putting one foot in front of the other...especially when there seems to be no answer in sight.

Tasting and Seeing for Ourselves

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."--Ephesians 4:15


Of the many risks facing a Christ-one in our day, the greatest may be being deceived to believe something that sounds right but is really way off. Take this familiar passage, for example. How often have we heard well-meaning believers say "speak the truth in love" to imply "I'm gonna tell it like it is, baby, whether you like or not."

Not only "sounds right but is really way off," but not even close.

Eugene Peterson, writer of The Message, has a great heads up for all of us before we start lifting phrases out of a story just to make our point (frankly, because we can't help ourselves):

“No text can be understood out of its entire context. The most entire context is Jesus. Every biblical text must be read in the living presence of Jesus. Every word of the scriptural text is a window or door leading us out of the tarpaper shacks of self into this great outdoors of God's revelation.” 

And when we step back and see that the context of this so-called "tell it like it is" passage is, indeed, Jesus, and the Church He built, it changes everything. In fact, Ephesians 4 reminds us He has put fellow believers in our lives with various gifts to build us up, to rub off the rough edges, to help us keep going even when we stumble, to encourage us to drink in and live the Gospel, to continually taste and see for ourselves that the Lord is good, to equip us to know the voice of the Shepherd so well that we can more easily discern and refute those "sounds right but is really way off" voices that will try to set us, our loved ones, and friends adrift--or worse.

Not only that, it's good to know that when we do truly "speak the truth in love" in the face of daily (and often very enticing) deceptions, both subtle and blunt, we also speak volumes about the Jesus context through our attitudes, our affections, and our actions. So, Lord, this day, thank You for the people You've put in our lives over the years to help us taste and see the Truth of You for ourselves, and then help us to erase all false definitions of this passage and instead...

"Let our lives lovingly express truth in all things--speaking truly, dealing truly, loving truly. Enfolded in Love, let us grow up into Him in every way and in all things into Him who is the head--even Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One."--Ephesians 4:15, Amplified