Would Anyone Care?

My heart pounds inside my chest, sending extra blood to my furious legs, racing through unfamiliar streets of dirt and grime.  I think my body must be redirecting its blood flow to give speed to my escape because my head is so light with fear as cold sweat continues to dampen the back of my neck.  They’re going to kill me, and I don’t want to die!  Fear and despair combine their dark forces in my soul as I seek to wipe the blur of endless tears from my line of vision.  Yet, I have no idea where I’m running.

“Please, God, just let it be away from those who tortured me and burned me.”

I’m fooling myself.  There is no escape.  I only succeeded in enraging them more by tearing off into the night.  Just as plainly as I ran out, so did hope.  I’m alone, hated without a cause, despised, spit upon, slapped, punched, kicked, raped, burned, and yet kept barely alive for them to continue another day.  Oh, how I wish for eternity that another day would never come!  Oh, how foolish I am to wish anything!

I’m tired.  I’ve been running as if the devil himself was grasping at my heels every step of the way.  And I’m drained.  The breaths of my sobs have left my lungs almost as desperate as I am.  Water for my tears has gone arid.  Fresh wounds trickle warm blood down my face and thighs.

“What’s the use?” I whisper to myself, “If they’re going to kill me, would it just be better to take my own life?”

I’ve never thought a thought like that before.  Would anyone care?  Would anyone notice?  Would anyone even…

Just then, I noticed I’m not alone.  Someone had seen me running, or rather, falling forward, sobbing.  I give up.  If this is God’s will for me, so be it.  I’m too tired to fight.  I just hope I lose consciousness, quickly, so as not to cringe in pain.  I grow faint, collapsing among the gravel stones, then do faint.

As it happened, that “someone,” who had seen me running, was like my guardian angel; a ministry worker who already saw more cruelty and death up close than the average civilian on the edge of a war zone; a ministry worker overflowing with the love of Christ, endangering her own life, because she sought the welfare of another, me;  one who, with joy, uttered loud thanks to God because this child escaped alive.

Hours later, I awaken to odd sensations; I am clean, I am warm, and I am on something soft.  My wounds are freshly bandaged.  I am wrapped in warm softness.  I slowly draw a full breath of clean air, and sigh.  My ‘guardian angel’ smiles at me signaling the rest of my life’s journey will be different.  Someone cares.

Want to help make the most impact in a situation like this?  If, for whatever reason, you cannot be the guardian angel, please find it in your heart to support those who help our neighbors in all lands to be loved, just as we ourselves are loved by Christ.

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Would anyone care?  Wellspring International does.

The Longest Thread of Blog Comments I've Ever Seen... And Contributed To!

I can hardly believe I contributed to many of the 146 comments in this post. But what a discussion it was! It is well worth the read if you have the time. It's from a post called The Call to Worship, but the discussion itself gets into the foundations of the gospel. Special thanks to Alan Knox for the use of his blog during this discussion.

Absolutely Scared to Absolutely Surrender

As a kid I watched Bugs Bunny cartoons... a lot!  It was my first repetitious exposure to classical music. For example, I love the Barber of Seville skit with Bugs Bunny giving Elmer Fudd all sorts of hair and scalp treatment. Now I have trouble blurring that from memory when I hear the music. However, that wasn't the value I exacted at the time.

It was the witty kiddy humor.

In one episode, there was an Evil Scientist (complete with flashing neon sign above the castle drawbridge declaring thus) who needed a rabbit to complete his experiment.  So, he sought to lure Bugs by his basic, animal desires using a voluptuous, albeit, mechanical female rabbit. After Bugs defeats the purpose of the evil scientist throughout the skit in clever ways (and re- re-disposes of the monster), this lure enters the final scene: it's your basic stiff, lipsticked robot female bunny.  Watching 'her' walk by, Bugs smugly notes and thumbs at it saying, "Ah. Mechanical."  He will not be fooled. But, the electric hare about faces, approaches Bugs, and lands a pucker on his cheek. At this point, his whole demeanor lights up with his new-found and enthusiastic purpose for living and declares, "So, she's mechanical!" and mimics her strut away from the camera. So ends the cartoon.

So enters the lesson for life.

Likewise, I've discovered a mechanical love and make a similar declaration.  I'm just not strutting.  Why would I do such a thing as fall in love with something obviously man-made? Well, for one, the lure slowly entered the scene.  I didn't know where it was leading!  You might say, "Oh, sure! Didn't see it coming? Ha! That's a good one!" Yet, I plead my innocence.  In fact, I invite you to partake in the reason for my amore.

Plain and simple, the "lure" for me is neither female nor robotic. It's an AudioBook app for my iPhone.  What makes it so special as to win my heart, or rather, my ears?  It's full of free, public domain recordings of classic literature. Whether the beginning subject of this blog post (Bugs) can be designated as a classic is debatable.

That's not the point.

The primary work I have in mind as I write this is that of Andrew Murray called Absolute Surrender. It uses a few OT verses (beginning in 1 Kings 20) to highlight how a conquering king asked another king that he was to defeat to surrender everything. The second king, in sincere humility, replied, and I paraphrase, "Everything I have is yours, Lord. I am yours."

Mr. Murray used the verses to illustrate the simple -yet profound- fact that God asks nothing less from us. He does not threaten us, nor are we compelled to comply. But, oh, how we resist!  How I resisted!  The thought of surrendering absolutely everything I have and everything that I am scares me, and it tests the reality of my supposed trust in Him like a sharp, two-edged sword. I want to surrender things that are mysterious to me, hard for me, or bothering me.

That's almost a no-brainer (and a no-hearter).

But, what about the things that are comfortable, familiar, and close to me?  Or, what about the parts of me that I'm even ashamed to admit to myself?  What about the lusts of the world that I welcome as relaxing distractions to help me unwind from focused work? What about the part of me that doesn't want to consider the prospect of my own temporary, mortal nature? Yes, I want to grow in Christ.  Yes, I want more than just for the Holy Spirit to indwell me.  I want Him to fill me. 

But, absolutely surrender all of me?

For those things to happen, for me to walk in the Spirit and be filled with the Spirit, I need fellowship with Christ. I need to confess my sins for He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). I really do need to surrender all.

It makes perfect sense.

But, I'm scared.

I desire to say, basically, is, "what is known to You, God, and unknown to me, that I am willing to do. Just ask. Just tell. And what I try to hide from you, Lord, let make me known to You. Let me confess my sins and thus restore my fellowship with You."  Jesus really is my all-in-all, says my mind and mouth.

Let my heart learn to count it all joy when I am tested.

The Spirit is always trying to teach (Just a thought...)

My friend and pastor writes a weekly email to encourage others he's met over the years. I think they are always great.  This one I thought was especially nice.

It doesn’t matter what stage we are in, unbeliever, new born believer, adolescent, or spiritual adulthood, God the Holy Spirit is relentless.  We have to respect this ministry.  If you haven’t given much attention to Him, take a moment to think about His job.  The Spirit finds us in spiritual death, totally cold and ignorant of the spiritual realities before us.  We have no idea about salvation or the way to get there.  He labors with us, is patient with us, He loves us enough to keep at it until we finally understand the true issues of the gospel.  A good illustration of this is in the Apostle Paul’s life.  He screamed out in desperation and helplessness – “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24).  The Spirit labored with Paul to get him to this point.   It was then, the Holy Spirit opened Paul’s eyes to see the Savior of the world.  I trust you can see the Savior as the only hope, the only way to life.  Then, the Holy Spirit takes up the battle of training us and introducing us to this new spiritual life.  His job is to battle with the thoughts and motivations from the sin nature (Gal 5:17).  He fights to establish the divine reality (truth) and influences us to walk in it.  He uses the word of God to rebuke us, correct us and give instruction in righteousness (2Tim 3:16).  He continues to work in us to will and to do God’s will (Phil 2:13).  He resides inside of us, making our bodies a habitation for all the divine persons of the Godhead.  Then, he reveals the deep thoughts of God to us and opens our understanding to things which no eye or ear has ever witnessed.  I thank God for such a ministry!  With such comprehensive love and care, there is no doubt if you are willing, “he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). 

Doug

Doug Presley, Pastor, 

Word-is-Truth Christian Church (www.wordistruth.com)

My Facebook post today is VERY different than her's were

Probably the saddest thing I've read in a while. Sad, too, is the fact that this is lumped into 'bullying' in this news story. It didn't start with bullying, and it didn't stop there either. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/12/world/americas/canada-teen-bullying/index.html

Seek, and You Shall Find

The gaps between posts on this blog are like canyons in my mind.  I set out years ago to express the lessons I had learned and was learning in this life.  But, in looking back at this blog objectively, I would have figured the author is pretty ignorant because it's taking months to 'get' anything.  In addition, he doesn't know the focus of his lessons.

Ah, but that is not really what's happening.  To me, scattering thoughts is okay.  The fact of the matter is I have so many things to say I don't know where to start.  Yeah, you've heard that one before, right?  ("No! Really!" I plead.)  What I should be doing is writing to this blog several times a day!  (But who's got that kind of time!)  Much of the reason for not writing is lack of time.  However, I admit that some is hesitation from fear.

Part of my hesitation to write is fearing that once it's written, it's a firm lesson.  I can't make mistakes.  I may have to defend my thoughts years down the road.  I can't contradict my thoughts unless I delete a previous blog post first.

The other part of my hesitation is two-fold: is it important, and is it private?  Those are tough questions for me.  I often wind up writing a paper-journal entry and forgetting this blog because I sometimes start by complaining about a situation at home or at work.  I can't complain about my wife and kids in this blog, can I?  Gee!  Even revealing that I journal about such things feels icky!

But, there is a very, very important lesson that I have learned and am learning that I want to share.  I've been through a lot.  I want to connect to people who might be suffering as I did.  I'm changing.  I want to share my growth with readers as a way to inspire in a similar way that I've been inspired.  Most of all, I'm seeking.  I long to know my heart's desire(s) and go after it (them). 

I'm awfully distracted by the necessary things of this world --I have responsibilities-- yet I'm discovering my real desire is to delight in Him, God, my Father.  To me, Psalm 37:4 is circular:

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4 ESV)

At the same time, chasing and even grasping things of this world is becoming more and more meaningless.  I want real joy, and real peace, and real contentment in all things.  I have found words that promise this very thing in Scripture, the Holy Bible, but not as commonly taught in most denominations.  I know there is so much more to the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8) than what is taught in most churches. 

Many things, such as the 'prosperity gospel' (think and grow rich, the 'Secret', the 'law of attraction' view of the universe as your genie, positive thinking, etc.) are so cliche to me that they fall into the 'Christian World View' bucket with a plop.  I'm sorry, but I'm convinced that there's so much more to life than just getting by, getting ahead, family traditions, celebrations, work, career, routine, entertainment, the arts, self-actualization, being an upright moral citizen, and even Haute Living.  This world is a big let-down for me, and now I'm understanding why.

I've been through a lot spiritually.  I've tasted different denominations, read commentaries, even studied a bit of theology on my own.  I am amazed at how little of this plethora of so-called 'Christian' resources actually seeks to discover what only the Spirit of God can reveal, that is, the 'deep things of God' (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).  Yet, that's where I'm discovering the very promises of Scripture are being fulfilled in me.

Am I some kind of nut?  Depends who's asking!  Sometimes I think I'm nuts, and sometimes I have to respectfully ignore those who think I'm nuts.  It's the latter times I find that I'm growing, maturing.  In addition, I seek to connect with those who also desire to know the deep things of God.  Sometimes, I'm just doing what I have to do, like now: I have to go to a meeting for work.

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:1-2)

God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

To Obey is Okay, To Honor is...

A friend sent me this in his daily verse: Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (Psalm 51:12 NLT).

I don't particularly like the NLT translation and prefer the ESV, and occasionally reference the KJV or NIV and a few others.  The ESV translation of the latter part of that verse is "uphold me with a willing spirit" instead of "make me willing to obey you." I think it goes much deeper than mere obedience. You can obey someone without ever having a relationship with someone.  I think it's more about having a spirit that joins together with the Spirit of God in His purposes. I was motivated to write back...

For family devotion one night, I decided to start with a question. What does the word 'honor' mean to you? The first answer I got was 'respect' from my son, and 'appreciation' (big word!) from my daughter, and my wife added 'revere'.  Then, I suggested that to 'obey' just means to do what you're told and they nodded in agreement. We could clearly see that 'honor' was not the same as 'obey'.

Next, I read Ephesians 6:1-2* and pointed out that while Ephesians 6:1 says for children to 'obey' parents, Ephesians 6:2 says to 'honor your father and mother'.  Obviously, the two adjacent verses were not merely emphasizing the same point, as if to say, "obey and I mean it."  Rather, it means to at least obey (v1), but the real goal is to honor (v2).

I think about our Father that way.  There is a goal and it is not merely to obey.  He wants to have a relationship with us.  He loves us, absolutely adores us, and He wants us to choose to love Him in return. As a child, simple obedience is required for their protection and training.  As we mature, let us move beyond that into honor, and eventually delight, just as He delights in us.  (Remember, as Christians, He is 'in us' by His Spirit, not just 'in our midst' like He was in the OT, from which this verse is taken.)

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

* The verse I reference above is: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother", (Ephesians 6:1-2a)

Good grief! What if he's right?

I like to stay in touch with what unbelievers are thinking.  An excellent source and, I feel, a very well written one at that, is a magazine called "The Sun".  Personally, I can relate to many of the stories, letters, and essays, and, because of them, I'm inspired to be genuine myself.

It is one thing to know that we are loved, whatever, whenever, and wherever we are, as Alan Knox stated so thoroughly in his blog.  But I believe it's quite another to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge in our hearts so well that others unmistakeably see Christ in us.

From the May 2012 issue of The Sun, the author is largely expressing the confusing disparity, resulting in an internal struggle, between tolerating and taking care of her terminally ill mother. Some of what's tolerated is the apparent hypocrisy of a church-goer, her mother, when she's not at church.

Speaking of a possibly convicting sermon, where the reaction is one of, "Good grief! What if he's right?" The author supposes that negative things carried for family generations can come to an end via a little applied compassion --

    "or,  if you know full well you're not up to the job [of forgiving people, and forgiving yourself], get down on your knees and let Jesus do it for you.  That is the arrangement that's on offer, if I've got the story right.

    All of a sudden church is over. These people! They grab you by the throat and wave God in your face, they preach damnation and everlasting glory, then they dismiss you just like that. That's it. We're done here. Go have lunch.

    At the door the preacher shakes our hands like we've made a deal, like we've each gotten rid of something we were glad to see the back of."

Dear Lord, let me be sure that is not the impression I leave as I encounter those who are struggling with real life issues, and are seeking a genuine answer, an answer only You can provide.

Beyond Salvation

Alan Knox said in his blog, The Assembling of the Church, that his church was soon going to study the book of Ephesians. In that regard, did anyone have any favorite verses to share?  Well, I had more than a verse is mind.  This is the comment I left...

I love this book! How do I pick a favorite verse or even a phrase? It's the whole thought and intent I love: the mystery of the gospel made known to Paul by special revelation, not known to other generations, and now revealed to us.

What is this 'mystery of the gospel', or 'the mystery of His will'? Isn't salvation the greatest gift there is to know? No! Neither was salvation a mystery not revealed to other generations. Is it that by grace we have been saved and not of works? No! Far from it! Rather, it is what is now available to those who are saved in this church age.

Through salvation, we already have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. It can't be that. Through salvation, we are already seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It can't be that. Through salvation, we already have redemption in His blood, forgiveness of our trespasses. It can't be those either.

Then what?! What could possibly be more than salvation by grace while we're still on earth and awaiting our heavenly bodies and inheritance?! Is it merely that we love each other and worship God? What a privilege, but no, it is not those either.

This is what... and it is far MORE abundantly than ALL we could possibly ask, think, or imagine!  It is the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and fullness of God! It is to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge! It is that Christ will dwell in our hearts through faith, and we will be filled with His indwelling Spirit. It is that He will manifest Himself in us!

Perhaps all these things are summed up in this verse: "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32 ESV)"  It is through this profound mystery that we grow up in Christ, that we mature and move beyond the milk of the word and sink our spiritual teeth into the meat of the word.  If it were just salvation, it wouldn't be profound unless we artificially inflated it.

Don't take the verses out of context. Don't read the verses in this book quickly and say, "I know that already." Instead, let us humble ourselves and be as nothing, so that He may exalt us at the right time. It's ALL about Him! Let Christ and His Father come and make their home in our hearts! Amen!

Fast Food Faith Fighters

[Edited 3/21/2017 because it sorely needed it.]

Grab a cause, any cause! Whatever you do, don't just sit there and enjoy your food.

Here's my dilemma. Apparently, I'm pro-gay marriage/anti-Christian if I eat Ben & Jerry's Half-Baked ice cream. But, I'm anti-gay marriage/pro-Christian if I eat at Chick-fil-A. Well, I hate to disappoint your club membership drives, but I'm just trying to enjoy a treat.

What am I supposed to do? Blog, of course!

oh... seems others beat me to it.  Oh well.

Yeah, it was a popular topic for a while. I'd left a comment on one blog. A friend on Facebook 'Liked' the blog, so I just had to read it. But after I read it, I didn't like the triviality of judging others and dividing left and right. At first, when I heard about all these restaurant sit-ins, it sounded fun! Only it wasn't meant to be fun. These people were serious!

To me, there's something way more important than these issues, your soul. Our souls. Maybe if you just read my comment you'll get what I mean... 

My Blog Comment: As Christians, we have a singular responsibility, and it does not have to with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Chick-fil-A, sexual preference, or even someone’s personal sin-of-choice. That singular responsibility is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who need to hear it, with all gentleness and reason. 

Who needs to hear the Gospel? Anyone who doesn’t know it, whether straight, gay, lesbian, single, thief, slanderer, liar, sexually immoral, baptist, reformed, Unitarian, Catholic, those living their best life now, etc. If they don't know it, they need it, and just because they go to church or call themselves ‘spiritual, but not religious’ doesn’t automatically mean that they know it. 

The Gospel is not even about personal sin; we sin because we have a sin nature. We have a sin nature because God condemned us in Adam.  When the Bible lists the symptoms of those who won’t enter Heaven, it includes everyone except those who have been saved by believing in Christ. Excellent article! Excellent reference to John 3:17!  Read John 3:16 again, but also include John 3:18 and discover why those who were condemned in Adam remain so. 

(PS – In addition to this responsibility, our primary goal, the race set before us, is to mature as Christians, so that Christ can manifest Himself in us. John 14.)

I don't know when, but my blog comment was either not accepted or it was removed. Shame. The blog was http://jrlee.tv/2012/08/01/ben-jerrys-chick-fil-a-political-correctness/. I had never heard of Freedom Church and really have know no idea what they teach or believe beyond this article.

My point is this: I don't care about what you eat. I care about what's in your heart.