PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

It’s that time of year, again.  I feel like I say that often.  Maybe because the years roll round, faster and faster, and it’s always – that time of year, again.  Well, this time of year I’m talking about is preserving time.  You know, plant it, grow it, pluck it, preserve it, all in preparation for the winter months to come.  Preserving is not such a thing anymore.  We usually rely on Del Monte, Green Giant, or the store brands of those to plant it, grow it, pluck it and preserve it for us.  Then, they happily sell it and we buy it at a high price.

In the past we have preserved things by freezing them, but this year we tried canning.  Tomatoes first, and recently peaches.  The peaches are fantastic this year and we thought wouldn’t it be great to have that yummy, fresh, goodness to remind us in winter that spring will come?  The canning process is a little time consuming, and a good bit messy, but so worth it.

We first prepared the fruit by dropping the peach in a pot of boiling water for one minute. It’s called blanching.  Pull it out and place it in an ice water bath.  This is done so that you can easily remove the skin.  You need to get past the tough outer peal and the messy fuzz to get to the goodness.  After blanching the skin slides right off and you can see the yellow beautiful flesh of the peach.  After removing the skin, we removed the pit that old timers called the stone. Interestingly enough we found an almond in the pit of our peach. Well, not actually an almond, but a nut that looks exactly like an almond, skin and all.  I was amazed.  After a little research I found that edible almonds really do come from almond trees and that this little nut was not really an almond, it just looked like one.  In fact, this little nut contains a low dose of cyanide.  Yep, the stuff that kills.

Getting rid of the fuzz, the skin, the pit, and the nut of a peach leaves you with the super juicy, yummy fruit of the peach.  Much like us, right?

You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:48 (Amplified Bible)

Well nobody’s perfect except Jesus.  But, isn’t Matthew telling us here that’s what we’re working toward?  We are to be like our Heavenly Father, right?  We know that none of us are perfect, no not one, but that does not mean we’re not to be moving in that direction, the sanctification direction.  Sanctification is just a big word for becoming more holy, more like Jesus.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well.  Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained.

Philippians 3:12-16

Sanctification is a process, just like preserving.  We must blanche, defuzz, toss the pit, and be wary of the poison.  Getting to the good fruit is hard work and sticky. How do we go about it?

Make it your practice, each of you, to review your character – take it in relation to life, to your dear ones, your household, friends, acquaintances, your country, your work.

See where I, in the same relation or circumstances or situation, should act differently.  Plan how best such and such a fault can be eradicated, or such and such sin, mistake, or omission, be avoided.

A weekly review at least you must have.

God Calling, by Two Listeners

You see, it’s always that time of year for preserving.  It’s time consuming and messy, but working toward perfection is our preservation.  After honestly examining our lives, thoughts, motives, actions, it sometimes feels like we’ve been blanched and quartered, doesn’t it?  But, if we are not taking stock of our lives regularly, and we’re just drifting through, Sunday-to-Sunday, we’re not striving for perfection.  If we are not spending daily time with the Lord, seeking his ways and acknowledging Him, our paths will not be clear.  If we’re relying on others to do the preserving for us, we’re going to pay a very high price.

In your quiet time remember that as surely as every snowflake that falls has a perfect design, and no two designs are the same, so within the folds of your being lies a design.  Ask the Father that this divine inner plan of your life may stand forth revealed to you as it should be, unfolding in perfect sequence and perfect order in such a way as to bring the greatest good to the greatest number.

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, Glenn Clark

I’ve talked about this book before.  It just happens to be one of those books that every page turned contains such great wisdom that you want to share that wisdom with those you care so deeply about.

We all learned in science class a little about snowflakes.  Remember, no two flakes are exactly alike?  Every single snowflake is uniquely designed for its journey to the earth’s floor.  Just like us.  The most interesting thing about the snowflake is that it is intricately woven around a tiny speck of dirt, dust or pollen that’s super high in the atmosphere.  Ice crystals wrap around and form around this tiny bit of dirt and it is transformed into this beautifully woven snowflake as it makes its way to earth.  Just like us.

I’ve been chewing on that word “design.”  Design is defined as “a plan or drawing produced to show the look or functions of a building or, garment, or other object before it is ever built or made.”  Design, a plan envisioned before it is made.  Just like us.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:16

He saw our unformed substance.  This sounds so scientific, doesn’t it – we were an unformed substance?  We’re told daily to follow the science.  So, let’s do just that.  The Hebrew word for “unformed substance” is golem meaning just that, an unformed substance.  However, it specifically means an embryo.  If we keep following the science, we learn that an embryo is the early stage of development of an animal (us) within the uterus of a mother.  In humans, the term embryo is an unborn child until the end of the seventh week of conception.  It is then called a fetus.  That’s the science. Look it up.  Even in our unformed state, each day was formed for us.  We weren’t formed and then a plan was made, He didn’t say what am I going to do with these people.  We were designed for the plan by God!

For You formed my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Marvelous are Your works,

and I know this very well.

My frame was not hidden from You

when I was made in secret,

when I was woven together

in the depths of the earth.

Psalm 139:14-15

God had a plan for each of our lives before we were ever made.  Before we were born every day was recorded in His book.  Read that sentence again, and again, and again.  Just think of the magnitude of that.  That’s how special you are to God, that’s how precious every single unformed substance, every single embryo is to God.  The God of the Universe designed us, our minds, our bodies, our spirits before the world began, and then He memorialized it by a missive, a letter of instruction, a written order straight from The King.  

Ask the Father that this divine inner plan of your life may stand forth revealed to you as it should be, unfolding in perfect sequence and perfect order in such a way as to bring the greatest good to the greatest number.

As children of the Master Designer, we then must do as Mr. Clark suggested.  We know that the Father designed us with a divine inner plan.  We then must seek the revelation of the Designer’s plan.  The one written down in His book.  The one that will unfold in perfect sequence.  The one that will bring the greatest good to the greatest number.  And what is the greatest good?  To spend eternity with the Divine Designer.  And that’s something we need to get out to the greatest number.

ENDNOTE:  My goals in writing today’s blog were to encourage everyone who reads it to remember that in this willy nilly, crazy world we live in, God designed us with a plan in mind.  We were not haphazardly created, we were not a theory that came into existence, that we were loved so much that the Creator created us before creation.  We were designed with a purpose and a plan. 

To share the wisdom of God’s Word and Mr. Clark was the goal.  But as I studied, another point emerged front and center that I could not skirt. Abortion.  It is not a political issue, it is a God issue. The world would have us think different.  For believers, the Bible only gives us one way to believe.  It’s deeper than terminating a life, as if that wasn’t enough.  When we look at it in the context of the Creator, the Divine Designer and look at the characteristics of who He is, if we are honest, it becomes obvious.  He has a plan for every single unformed substance or He would not have designed, planned and created — He wrote it down in His Book.

Abortion is wrong. Not because I say so but because God says so. But, viewing abortion through the characteristics of God also shows that His grace is sufficient. Sufficient for those who have chosen abortion, those who have encouraged abortion, those who have participated in abortion. God’s grace does not cover only certain sins, it covers all sin. Since we believers have received God’s grace and continue to receive God’s grace on a daily basis, we have experienced firsthand the forgiveness, love, compassion, care, support that He gives us. We must show that same grace we have received from God to others. We must forgive, love, have compassion, take care and support those who have made different choices. We must show them the God we know.

We must pray for the revelation of the Designer’s plan that’s written down in the book, for each of our lives and the lives of others. To follow any other plan is man’s way and a willful disregard for our Creator.

Are we readable?  I am.  Whatever is in my mind is all over my face.  I can have a conversation with you without even opening my lips.  Eyebrows up.  Frowns down.  Wide eyed surprise.  Mini eyed suspicion.  Big smile.  Little grin.  Pursed lips.  Red faced.  Pale faced.  Head held high.  Head bowed.  Nose tilted up.  Mouth agape.  Tears flowing.  Stoic stare.  Mischief eyes twinkling. 

I can carry on that conversation with the rest of my body too – kind of like charades.  Rubber neck nation.  Hands on hips.  Arms folded.  Arms flailing.  Finger pointing.  High fiving.  Toe tapping.  Jazz hands.  Anxious panting.  See what I mean? 

What do you say when you say nothing at all?  What are some of your wordless communications?  Hmmm…where do those actions come from?  Our expressions reflect what’s inside.  Our moods, our thoughts, our attitudes flow out of our bodies through our minds.  Oh, I know, some of us are much better at not being readable.  Some of us are more composed.  Pokerfaced.  Not me.  You neither?  For some of us, try as we may, we cannot hide what we’re feeling inside.  Penny for your thoughts kind of people.  We’re not alone.

And Jacob began to notice a considerable cooling in Laban’s attitude toward him.  (NLT)

At the same time, Jacob noticed that Laban had changed toward him.  He wasn’t treating him the same.  (MSG)

Jacob also noticed Laban was not as friendly as he had been before.  (CEV)

And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.  (KJV)

Genesis 31:2

Remember this story?  Isaac sent Jacob to Laban (his mother’s brother) to find a wife.  Jacob worked for 14 years for the woman he loved, Rachel, because of Laban’s trickery – see the tension building?  Jacob had a slew of children and as he continued to work for Laban, Laban  became a wealthy man.  Jacob says hey man I need to make a way on my own and provide for my children.  Laban says, oh, don’t leave me, I’ll pay you.  What do you want?  Jacob asked for the speckled, spotted and dark-colored sheep and goats.  Laban said ok.  But, Laban again was the trickster.  He went out and removed all those he promised from the herd.  Jacob continued to take care of Laban’s flocks. 

With a little bit of miraculousness involving some shoots and bark, Jacobs flocks increased incredibly and he became a very rich man.  Laban’s sons were not happy with Jacob’s prosperity and accused Jacob of robbery.  Can you just imagine the looks from Laban’s sons?  Daggers.  Hands high in the air.  Finger pointing.  It is at this point that Jacob notices a change in Laban’s countenance, in his mood.  Laban wasn’t quite as friendly as he had been – his attitude, his position, his posture, his expressions, his demeanor, his disposition, had cooled considerably, and it was written all over Laban’s face.  Jacob read Laban’s face like a book.

Are we just as readable as Laban?  Chances are, we are.  When I think about that, I make the yikes – ugh face.  Why?  Because I know what’s in my mind is written on my face and in my actions and I’m not always proud of that.  Here’s the thing – it’s not about changing the look on my face or taking my hands off my hips, it’s about changing what’s inside my head – that crazy mind of mine.  You got one too.  Our brains power our whole bodies.  My brain tells me to smile, frown, cry, laugh, clap, dance, point – my brain tells me how to act, based on what’s inside.  My mind tells me how to express myself.  Does anybody besides me need a good mind renewing – yes, yes you do, I can see it!  I’m glad I’m not alone.

So, how do we go about it?  We can’t just change.  Oh sure, some things we can, but we can’t change our minds without the power of God.

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Here there is no conflict with the law.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.  Galatians 5:22-26

Our minds are changed when we allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives.  Oh sure, it’s a tug of war sometimes.  We want to scowl when we don’t get our way, but we cannot change our body language, our face conversations, our flailing arms, we are powerless to do it alone.  Only by remaining in Jesus can we change what we say, by changing what we think.  What we think dictates our conversations.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:4-5

If we want our conversations to change – verbal and nonverbal, we must remain in Jesus, under the control of the Holy Spirit.  Staying connected to the vine is the only way we can produce the face fruits – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  What’s in our minds is written all over our faces.  What’s your face saying?

The white horse moved along, choosing its own trail, heading down and northward on a slant.  With another appraising glance at the cloud, much nearer now, Hopalong Cassidy drew his six-shooters one after the other and carefully wiped them free of dust.  They were worn silver-plated Colt .45’s, their bone handles networked with tiny cracks, their balance perfect.  It had been weeks since he had drawn a gun for any reason, but he knew the price of safety was unresting vigilance.   The Trail to Seven Pines, by Louis L’Amour

Duh, duh, duh, duhhhhhh!!! Louis L’Amour is one of my favorite authors, mainly for his subject matter, the west.  I love the dirt, the grit, the cows, the mountains, the horses, the history.  You know, how the west was won and all that jazz.  I read westerns to relax.  To me they are mindless reading.  I don’t have to concentrate and overthink (which I tend to do) things.  A really good western author like L’Amour has a way of telling a story so that you can see it in your mind’s eye.  You can picture the views, the sounds, the people, the smells.  when I came across this little paragraph the other night about Hopalong Cassidy, I went from mindlessness to consciousness.  It was my snap to. 

…but he knew the price of safety was unresting vigilance.

Dag…I kept reading that partial sentence over and over.  This crazy profound thought in a book made for entertainment and pleasure.  God speaks in the oddest of places.  So, in order to get context, I backed up.

It had been weeks since he had drawn a gun for any reason…

Hopalong drew his gun for protection against robbers, bandits, rustlers, outlaws, wild animals, you know, the evils of his world. How long has it been since we have drawn our “gun” to protect ourselves from the evils of our world?  Are there not storm clouds gathering on a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute basis in our lives and the world around us?  How long has it been since we have drawn on our protection against that which would rob us of our peace, our joy, that which would rustle up feelings of fear, inadequacy, insecurity, or that which would hijack our heart and separate us from God?

Hopalong’s protection was a set of perfectly balanced Colt .45’s.  What’s our weapon of choice against this world?  As followers of Christ, we have been given the most perfectly balanced weapons in the universe.  The Word of God and Words with God.

Now, I know that some of you more gentile readers of this will gasp at the comparison – gun and Bible or gun and Prayer, but there is nevertheless a connection.  If we believers are doing what we’re supposed to be doing, we would be drawing on our perfectly balanced protection not just for the moments when robbers and bandits and rustlers and outlaws and wild animals are near –but we should be dusting off our weapons like Hopalong, regularly, long before danger approaches.  You see, sometimes in those moments of danger, it just may be too late.  We must be vigilant, our eternal safety rests on it.

Put on all God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rue this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 4:11-12

Gunslingers of the west were rarely careless with their weapons but they also understood that not using their weapons to aid them in their battle, for protection, would most certainly mean their death.  Have we ever thought about our weapons in that way? You know, the perfectly balanced weapons of God’s Word and Words with God.  The lack of use of the most precious weapons God has given us will most certainly mean our eternal death?

When was the last time you drew your perfectly balanced weapons for any reason?  Have you been vigilant in preparing for a showdown with the rulers and authorities of the unseen world?  We do not fight this battle alone, but in order to withstand the barrage of bullets hurled in our direction by the evil one, we have got to be ready.  We have got to know where our strength comes from and be able to completely rely upon that Source.

Battle Belongs Phil Wickham

I’m reading this book, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, by Glenn Clark, published in 1937.  It was in a box of books our mom had, I’m not sure where she got it.  In the front is stamped “Springfield Lutheran Church, Pleasant Valley, Penna.”

I just love this book.  It is old.  The pages are super thick, super yellow and the edges rigid as if hand cut.  It is hand tied and the needlework is visible at each turn.  The cover is green cloth, you know that really thin linen-like stuff they used to cover books with.  This book just makes you want to touch it, to hold it, and sometimes I just do.  One would think with the age of the book, nearly 85 years, that the book would be brittle, pages chipping, maybe even a little fragile, but it’s not.  This book and its message were made to last.  The books of new with their precisely cut, glued pages and glossy cardboard covers aren’t made to last and sometimes neither is their message.

And that is why I have written this book, to help you be that man for your home, your community, your neighborhood.  Glenn Clark

In this wonderful book written specifically for men, the spiritual leaders of their homes, I’ve learned enduring lessons about the hind.

The red deer is Europe’s largest deer.  Although the red deer is one of the Scottish Highlands most iconic sights, they originally hail from the Turkey-Persia area and are actually the only deer species to inhabit all of Africa.  The male red deer is called the hart and the female red deer is called the hind. 

The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.  Habakkuk 3:19

So what makes the hind creature so spectacular?  The hart is also a magnificent creature, but there’s something special about the gal – and it’s her feet.  The hind is known to be the most surefooted animal.  Why is that?  Because of the way her feet work together.  When climbing craggy, rugged mountainous areas, the hind’s back feet land exactly where her front feet have just left.  As she moves, her front feet test the dangerous terrain and when she finds safe footing, her back feet then land right in that exact spot.  Her front feet and her back feet line up in perfect correlation in order for her to traverse the terrain and reach the mountaintop safely.  It’s precision tracking.

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27

In order to reach the heights of life, we too must have precision tracking.  Our feet must perfectly correlate.  Our hearts and our minds must line up.  There’s a reason it is called the Greatest Commandment.  When our hearts and our minds are in perfect alignment, nothing is impossible.

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:22-23

Our hearts and our minds must completely align with Him in order to scale the mountains of this world.  All four feet (heart, soul, strength, mind) must be coordinated to safely climb the mountain.  In the mountainous regions where the hinds travel, those back feet not landing exactly in the front feet footsteps, even by a fraction of an inch, can be deadly.  One misstep by our back feet can cause the mountain to crumble starting an avalanche of boulders and we find ourselves laying at the bottom with rocks piled on.  But, each step taken toward the top of the mountain, feet-in-feet, opens a more spectacular view than the last step.  Ascending the mountain Jesus’s way – without doubt in our heart and believing with our minds  — opens up the most panoramic vistas ever imagined!

True vision can only be found when we convert our feet to hind’s feet.  It is a life long process.  Sometimes we do misstep.  Sometimes we are off by a fraction of an inch and we suffer devastating consequences.  But as we work at having hind’s feet, aligning our back feet to our front feet, our hearts with our minds, the Lord will encourage us along the way and we will safely reach new heights which open to glimpses of Heaven.  Praise the Lord of the Mountain!

Rubus phoenicolasius.  Wineberries.  These sweet babies grow wild, mainly in the Appalachian Region, ripening for the pick around mid-July, depending on the elements.  This has been a good rain year and the wineberries are a popping.  Wineberries are sometimes mistaken for wild raspberries and are actually in the rose family.  They can be used just like other wild berries for eating, freezing, and jamming.

Wineberries are not native to the United States they arrived from the west as an ornamental plant.  And like most things that are not native, they tend to go wild and sometimes become invasive, like stink bugs!  Just like those pesky stink bugs, the wineberry bushes pop up from nowhere and take over.  We’ve got quite a berry patch.  The bushes grow very densely, right on top of each other, sometimes making it hard to harvest the fruit because of their prickly branches.  Sometimes the fruit is right out in the open, and sometimes you have to move thorny branches to get to the berries, but it’s definitely worth the scratches to harvest those sweet berries.  If you’ve ever picked berries, you know it can be ouchy.

Tony and I were out berry-picking on the east side Saturday morning.  As we’re yumming and ouching,  we hear the peep, peep, peep of my chick-chicks.  Turning around there are two of my gals heading our way.  As they’re making their way to us, they’re eating the low lying berries.  They kind of work like we do – eat and walk, eat and walk.  Once the low lying were cleared out, we offered them some of our pickings which they obligingly gobbled up.

A couple of pints in and we’ve worked our way to the west side.  Once again we hear the peep, peep, peep of my chick-chicks.  We’ve become the Wineberry Pipers.  We toss them a berry here and there and then each step we take, they are on our heels.  We offer them the sweet fruit and they follow us.  They want more and more and they would follow us down any path to get the fruit.

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.  Psalm 16:11

My chicks made me think, are we willing to follow Jesus down any path for the sweet rewards that come with following Him?  The sweet joy of His presence?  The sweet joy of eternal life with Him?  Kind of like our berry patch, the world is invasive.  It is quite subtle, a plant pops up here then a runner underground pops up another little berry patch, then that one pops up another little berry patch, and it just goes on and on, all happening underground, until the prickly vines sometimes obscure the sweet rewards.

Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow.  Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Psalm 25:4-5

But, we know the path, don’t we?  The path to the joys of Jesus.  Sure enough, those briars and thistles in the world will threaten to take over and will need to be held back or cut off to get to the fruit.  Those thorny branches in life will need to be anticipated and avoided. But, if we are following close behind Him, He will help us with the brambles and the thistles and the thorns, and we won’t have to navigate those prickly parts by ourselves to get to the sweet reward.

Do you ever feel like all you ever do is cleanup?  Me too!  Look at that overgrown, weedy, poison-laden, dead-tree patch.  That’s what I’m talking about.  It needs cleaned up, but it didn’t always.

When we moved to our property about nine years ago, most of our yard looked like the above.  The property had been vacant for a period of time and had not been tended to.  We all know what happens when we don’t tend or take care, things become overgrown and out of control, just like in this shot.  Now I like a natural look but I also like it to look half-way neat and cared for.  We’ve worked super hard in our yard to reduce the overgrowth.  We’ve pulled, hacked, drug trees, burned, mowed, rock carried, etc., to try to create a little order out of a lot of chaos.  It’s been a new challenge for us having moved from a postage stamp sized lot in town to one out yonder that takes quite a few more than  7.5 minutes from pull to push to keep up.  But, we just love it.

The part that is a little frustrating to me is that we are in constant cleanup mode.  We finally get rid of the burn pile (after years, no kidding) and then there’s more.  More branches break, more limbs are cut, more brush to burn.  It’s constant.  We try to work in patches and get one patch completely cleaned up to be able to be maintained and then move to a new patch.  The maintenance is the easy part, the cleanup is the hard part, well…not really.  We cleanup a patch, move to the next patch, and before we know it, the cleaned up patch looks like the next patch, like around that tree, and we have to go back and pull, drag, cut, and burn all over again.  If we are not super alert a clean patch can quickly become an overgrown patch again.  It’s a vicious cycle.  Over and over.  It is constant cleanup.  

But, what I have noticed is that if we are able to stay on top of the already cleaned out brush, if we are proactive in our maintenance and not reactive in our cleanup – you know, only pulling the stuff when it becomes overgrown instead of before it’s out of control – it is much easier to tend.  As Barney Fife would say “Andy, you’ve got to nip this thing in the bud, nip it, nip it, nip it!” And Barn is right!  If we handle it when it is a small problem we may avoid the crisis of overgrowth.

So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.  2 Corinthians 7:1

Purifying, cleansing, cleaning up, is a two-step process.  Turning away and turning toward.  Getting rid of the brush and overgrowth (sin) in our lives, and turning toward God (becoming holy).  Ripping out the sin in our lives and maintaining the cleanup by living a life set apart, dedicated to God, working on holy by cleaning and controlling.

But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don’t think of ways to indulge your evil desires.  Romans 13:14

Run towards Him and run away from sin.  Maintain what is cleaned up.  Let the words of Christ, in all their richness live in our hearts and make us wise.

…for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. Colossians 3:9-10

Our wicked deeds are our weeds, and we all got ‘em.  Life is full of brush piles that need to be tended.  If we do not maintain, we will spend our lives cleaning up the same brush piles over and over again.  We cannot control the weeds around the tree on our own.  Only by giving Him complete control are we able to keep the weeds from coming back.  Turn away and turn towards.

Lord, make me as holy as it is possible for a man to be on this side of heaven.

Robert Murray McCheyne

I love my early morning walks.  That’s how I get tuned in to Him.  I prefer the dark – slight dark, because I’m less distracted.  But, this past Sunday, I was a little late getting started.  It was full on sun – shades required. I walked down Poor House to the tractor road between the two fields.  The fields are now planted and I was checking it out.  On one side of this tractor road are the woods, on the other soybeans.

When I’m out walking I’m always on the alert.  That’s just smart, to be on the lookout for the things that could be dangerous and frankly, things I’m afraid of.  Now a couple of my fears in life, things I’m super afraid of, are MRI machines (which I didn’t know until I was in one) and snakes (just yuck!).  On a daily basis I have other fears, but if someone asked me what am I most afraid of right now, those are the two things that top the list.  Since I’m pretty sure there are no MRI machines out in our fields, I’m looking for snakes. Yuck!

I was bebopping along and I saw something that made me start.  I was so scared.  For a minute I was not just breathing the morning air, I was gasping, big gulps and holding.  I leaned in, craned my long neck, did I just see what I thought I saw?  I jumped back.  I did the crane-jump thing a couple of times.  I just wasn’t sure of what I saw.   But what I thought I saw struck cold fear in me.  Then, I took off my shades, and I could clearly see. Ahhhh!  It was this big, ugly, curled up…stick!

As I walked on my muscles relaxing, my heartrate returning to somewhat normal, I started thinking about that stick.  If I hadn’t had my sunglasses on, I would have been able to see it clearly.  I would have known right off the bat that it was not a snake but a stick.  My vision was darkened.  I had put on shades to dim the light.  Taking the shades off allowed me to see clearly what was right in front me.  We’ve all worn shades to keep the sun out.  The problem is those shades actually do dim the Light.  We wear all sorts of stylish shades, things that dim the Light.  The shades of busyness, the shades of attitude, the shades of lack of commitment, the shades of fear, the shades of a hard heart, the shades of pride, the shades of disobedience.  We may have multiple pairs of shades.  All these stylish shades hide the Light and keep us from seeing God clearly.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12

Only the Light of Heaven, Jesus, can remove all the clouds, the darkness, the shade that hides the Light of God’s face from us.  We know that we will only have perfect clarity, that we will only be able to see things clearly, when we see Him face-to-face.  We know that when He returns all things will be clear, we will be complete, we will be able to see with God’s perspective.  Until then, with God’s help, we shed our shades.  We take those things that are blinding us – blocking out the Light, shading the Light, making the Light dim, obstructing our view and only giving us partial vision – and ask God to heal us.

When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.

The man looked up and said, “I can see the people, but they look like trees walking around.”

Once again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, and when he opened them his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly.  Mark 8:22-25

This is the only healing in the Bible that took place in stages.  Light healing from our life shades, those things that filter the Light, may be instant, but enlightenment may also be gradual, you know, step-by-step.  Just like with the blind man, spiritual truth is not always perceived clearly at first.  The Bible is replete with the truths of the Lord reiterated regularly for our refinement.  His Word repeatedly reminds us of His truths!  As we grow in relationship with Him, the dimness gives way to His Light.  The shades come off little-by-little.  The more we allow the Lord to work in us to remove our stylish shades, the more Light will be revealed. Jesus will give us perfect sight so that we can see.  He will make things abundantly clear.  We just need to remove our shades.

The other night I was reading a book by Alistair Begg, Brave By Faith, God-Sized Confidence in a Post-Christian World.  It’s a book about how Christians should live in the post-Christian era, like right now.  A line jumped out at me.  It was in reference to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, some folks we really have life in common with, and some folks we could learn some valuable lessons from.  The book is enlightening, and I would encourage you to read it, but the line that baited me was:

A dead fish flows with the current; it takes a live fish to swim against the stream.

You’re probably thinking, well right, you didn’t know that?  But I’ve been chewing on it, meditating on it, trying to grasp why it hooked me, the significance of it.  I’ve thought about this statement almost daily since reading it.  I don’t know anything about fish but my grandmother did.  Grandma Frye was a fisherman, from boat to skillet, she did it all.  She’d go out early in the morning by herself and work on a catch.  I’m guessing she was fishing upstream because she didn’t catch dead fish.  She’d then come back when she was done her fishing and load us kids into the boat to work on our catch.  A little sunny here and there was about all we’d get.  You see, in order to catch fish you have to be still and you have to be quiet, neither of which us grandkids could do.  I won’t speak for the others, but I still struggle with both!

Anyway, since I don’t know much about fish and their habits, I did a little investigating.  I learned that it isn’t just dead fish that float with the current.  Salmon migrate upstream to lay their eggs, but only the mature ones.  The immature salmon don’t have the strength to swim great distances so they follow the current downstream. Salmon and some other fish swim upstream to procreate, they swim upstream for future generations.  But, only the mature.

Something more native to West Virginia is the brook trout.  I found out that trout must swim upstream, against the current, in order to breathe.  How interesting is that?  The water enters their mouths and exits their gills as they face upstream, that’s how they breathe.  They die when they go with the flow downstream.  A trout who allows himself to float downstream is self-destructive.

I also discovered that fish must constantly swim, they must constantly move and use their muscles in order to grow in order to be strong enough to swim against the current to avoid being swept downstream.  It’s constant movement.  It’s constant forward motion.  To remain idle would not grow the muscles needed and would land a fish downstream, where the population is more dense, food more scarce, the water murkier, and predators prevail.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 6:12

There are two forces at war in the heavenly realm – one force headed upstream, one force headed downstream.  One leads to life, one leads to death.  What direction are we headed in?  Are we floating downstream or are we going against the current and moving upstream?  If we are going with the flow, following the current, we will die.  Just ask a trout.  It’s the easy way but it’s the deadliest way.  The salmon return to their place of birth each year to lay the next generation.  It’s a difficult journey against the stream but the journey results in life.  Life for the next generation.

Christians in this world are like fish out of water, or at least we’re supposed to be.  This world isn’t our home, just a temporary layover.  But, while we are here we’re expected to swim upstream.  We can only do that if we have a desire to – do you have the desire to fill that hole in your heart that can only be filled by Jesus?  We can only do that if we are strong enough – have we exercised our muscles in The Word of God or are we so weak that we can do nothing but be washed along by the undercurrent?  We can only do it if we are intentional – do we follow Jesus with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength or are we complacently floating along? So, let’s get swimming!   Choose Christ!  Don’t go along with the flow, exercise your muscles so you will be strong enough for the journey upstream, no matter what, don’t stop swimming, only dead fish don’t swim.

Anyone else struggle with the word “woke?”  I think it’s such an awkward word.  Say it.  See what I mean?  Woke.  What is woke anyway?  Is it a real word?  Yes.  It’s slang for the past tense of awaken. But, that’s not how the world uses it.  If it was we’d say awoke instead of just woke.  Awoke doesn’t sound nearly as harsh as woke.  It’s short, it’s abrupt, it’s pointed for a reason.  One can’t hardly go through a day without hearing the word.  In news, in podcasts, in print, on the street, on the radio, everywhere.  Woke.

The world would tell me that woke means being aware of systemic injustices and prejudices.  The world tells me that if I’m aware of those things then I’m woke — it’s trendy to be woke.  Woke is used as a weapon in politics, in social issues, and in moral issues, and if you aren’t woke you’re ignorant, asleep, unaware. We are expected to be woke to absolutely everything, and it can only be a certain kind of woke – the woke the world is proclaiming.  If we’re not woke, we’re intolerant, we’re bigots, we’re heartless, we’re radical (all harsh sounding and negative).  I’m not being flip, but isn’t it just like us humans to make up words to fit our causes and confuse our issues?  We do that to draw our minds away from the real issues, the real causes, and the real solutions.  We’re really, really good at identifying problems — being woke – in our world and in others.  But, let’s be real, it is so much easier to point out the fault (unwokeness) of others.  It’s much easier to point out the prejudices and injustices of others (publicly) than to take care of our own prejudices and injustices (privately), it’s easier to look without than within and easier to point out someone else’s lack of wokeness than to actually awaken ourselves.

 “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.  A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.  Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.  The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Luke 10:25-37

You don’t have to be called woke to see the injustices and prejudices in this story.  Can you see it?  Read it again and think about it.  The world would say the Good Samaritan is woke.  The Good Samaritan wasn’t woke because he saw a man along the side of the road who had been subjected to injustice.  The Good Samaritan was woke because he saw a man along the side of the road whose only hope of healing was the compassion and care that could come only from His Heavenly Father.

We need to be woke,  but not to the world’s kind of woke.  You see, in order for each of us to be truly woke, we have to have an awakening – we have to be awakened to Jesus.  Think how woke the world would be if we would all just wake up to Jesus and His message of salvation.  There’s no greater awakening than to know where you will spend eternity. It makes you look at everything completely different, it is life changing!  It changes us from robbers and bandits to Samaritans (following the example of Jesus).  It changes us from those who just talk about woke to those who are truly awake.  It changes us from pointing out the woke or unwoke in others to focusing on the Only One who can awaken us.

You see, the bottom line is that you cannot change the injustices and prejudices of the world and those who live in it without your soul being awakened.  Once our souls are stirred and filled with Jesus Christ, the Samaritan, we can then take on the prejudices and  injustices in the world – that is a natural development to a changed heart.  Any work on injustices, prejudices, or social issues that are not a derivative of a relationship with Jesus Christ are futile and short-lived.  Our actions without Christ at the center are hopeless and the world doesn’t really need any less hope, does it?

Be alert, be aware, be awoke, be awakened to Jesus Christ.  Works without faith is useless.  Woke without Jesus is pointless. Don’t let the world define you.

Crown Him with many crowns

The Lamb upon the throne

Hark How the heav’nly anthems drowns

All music but its own!

Awake, my soul And sing

Of Him Who died for thee

And hail Him as thy matchless King Thru all eternity.