A Very Unlikely Pairing

S - Matthew 10:24-25 (NIV): " “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!"

O - We are called to share in the life of Jesus … literally. We receive full adoption as sons, we are made to share in his Kingdom, throne, Spirit and vibrant irrepressible, forever life, etc. We are also assigned to share in his sufferings, rejection, self-denial and self-humility, etc. We are to both expect and accept this because he has called us to himself and to be with him forever … starting NOW! He takes it so very personally (whatever is done to the least of his is done to him) and tells all to take it the same way (no one who has left … for my sake and the gospel …). It is such an unlikely pairing but this is the joy and mystery of amazing grace and never failing love. It really is enough (more than enough) for the student to be like his teacher!

A - I am so unlike Jesus being like Jesus seems so far out there. I accept the facts of the "negatives" as they come my way … I too have been rejected, falsely accused, derided and refused. I have suffered at the hands of family and friends and been mocked and even in physical danger. I have been lavished with the Father's love, amazing grace and his relentless love … and I am so very glad to be able to come near the Lord of all who willingly is the Lord of me. Nevertheless, my reactions and actions under pressure and pain still are so often NOT like Jesus. My mouth, mind and heart, sometimes independently and other times in an unruly gang, seem to react or respond so unlike Jesus in the situations which are a part of sharing in his life. Pride in the good and anger at the bad. Holding it together while the moment is upon me and then falling apart when the moment has passed. David's prayer in Psalm 141 is a good starting point for me as I want to grow and really be like Jesus. David prays: "3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. … 8 But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death. 9 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, from the traps set by evildoers. 10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety."

P - Dear Awesome Jesus,

How, Lord, can I ever really be like you? I want to grow through and out of my core hurt and not respond in word, thought, heart or deed out of its not-like-you force. It drives and you will only lead. Thank you for letting me join you in your life, not just your work or kingdom or adoring crowd. Thank you for wanting me, choosing me and for refusing to change your mind. Thank you for reminding me and helping me know that for the matchless good and the undeserved bad I am called to be like you. Today is the day you have made and I want to spend all of it, seen and unseen, in the unlikely dynamic of being like you. Lord, I really want to be a reason someone else will believe. Enable me in this day, all day, to bring you glory and make you glad.

Steve

Why not How, Who not What

S - Deuteronomy 7:6-9, 17-19, 21 (NLT): "For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. "The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you, and because he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the LORD rescued you with such amazing power from your slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands. … Perhaps you will think to yourselves, `How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?' But don't be afraid of them! Just remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt. Remember the great terrors the LORD your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the amazing power he used when he brought you out of Egypt. The LORD your God will use this same power against the people you fear. … "No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God."

O - When facing new, challenging and/or threatening territory the Lord gives his people some specific and essential points of focus. They are:
1. We belong to the Lord as his own special treasure.

2. He loves us because he loves us.

3. He is faithful to the thousandth generation.

4. Do not worry about the 'how's'.

5. Do not be afraid of the powerful.

6. Remember who the Lord is (nothing is too difficult, impossible or too wonderful for him).

7. Remember what we have seen him do with our own eyes.

All of this is wrapped in the very formidable reality of "Do not be afraid … for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God."

A - I woke up from dreams unsettling into thoughts disturbing. The very limited nature of my life is being squeezed by the impersonal and the personal pressures of a fallen and hostile world. In this same world the Lord presents me with a promise land future and a call to daily recalibrate according to who he is not what this world currently presents. These seven facets of reality are reality … he calls me to himself to primarily believe, to take him at his word and then to live out loud the confidence his person inspires and requires. The only place or platform I have for reality is today while it is called today. Today I am his and he is mine unto his nearness, greatness and love.

P - Warrior God,

Thank you for fighting for us and for calling us to join you in all that you are doing. You are forever tender toward us and ruthless toward the enemy. Today, only while it is called today, can I live out loud the reality of who you are and engage the purposes you have determined. Lord, I believe. Lord, I welcome you and your promises. Lord, I ask for new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and for that which is too wonderful for me. I ask for open heavens, open doors and your open purse. I yield to your awesome brilliance, limitless power and your extreme goodness.

Steve

Pretend is a Killer Here and Hereafter

S - Mark 7:17- 23(NRSV): "When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, "Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

O - Religion must focus on the external as that is where all culture is focused. It is about expected and "right" behaviors. This, in itself, is not bad … it is completely incomplete and the caboose rather than the engine of the human being. It is always good to do good and it is always bad to do bad. But such activities in themselves do not and will not shape a character or change a human heart. Just like food, these ultimately do not generate the state of unclean or clean. The state of the heart, that which is unseen, is THE determining factor in all of this. The exchange between what I do and who I am is a bit tricky and religion/culture cares nothing for it and yet Jesus says it is all the difference in this world and in the next. Jesus is addressing who I am and then through that working out the details of what I do (sometimes very messy details … even tragic details). Religion is addressing what I do (according to the current opinion) and pretends that it is the same as who I am.

History, life experience, the courts and the prisons of our world all confirm the sad result of this great fallacy. Who I am comes out when all cultural obligations and expectations are removed or refused. Who I am comes out in my thoughts which, thank the Lord, no one else sees or hears. Who I am comes out in a flash when the unexpected overtakes me and I just react. Who I am comes out when pressures or pains are exerted and the squeeze reveals the identity which was there all along. Who I am comes out under great blessings when I feel very secure and satisfied. Who I am needs serious and continuous help because I am pre-packaged as damaged goods … no point to deny it and no way to avoid it. It is to this very true human reality that Jesus, the only undamaged human, calls attention to AND calls all people to come to him in and gives his very self to change/transform. He is willing to deal with anything on the outside as long as we are welcoming his work, presence and authority on the inside. He comes to wash the inside of the cup knowing that in the process the outside will also become clean.

Religion ultimately cares only for the outside and pretends the inside is the same. Bad actions will defile a person (make both the circumstance and their condition worse) but cessation of such activities do not change the source of defilement. Good actions will protect a person from tragic consequences and even be a blessing to others, but these do not change the source of defilement. The unseen really does hold sway over the seen … a change of source can only be accomplished by the One who is over all things seen and unseen. His life, written voice and speaking voice, spirit and desire is aimed at this very thing … that we would be transformed, conformed into his Image … a process only he can do and to which he insists on our cooperation. Who he is is the point and he insists that we become like him. It begins in a moment and continues on through this age into the next. It thankfully impacts what I do but more importantly it alters who I am.

A - While working on the outside (this is good for me and my world) I am to keep my attention focused on the inside … where Jesus is working (or wanting to work) the most. He will gladly help me with outside issues but is calling me to make sure I am engaging with him the essential inside work. The shower of his grace and the shaping into his image is the dynamic and life-giving duo which he alone brings and insists I (all) engage. Life on the railroad (and this freight train is moving) is way more effective and ultimately way more fun when the engine is in the lead and the caboose is not. All aboard … all of me, inside and out, all of me, clean and unclean, all of me known and unknown are the only terms upon which Jesus will take control and pilot the freight train of my life away from train wrecks to destinations far and glorious. Unlike culture/religion … all he wants is all and he will settle for no less.

P - Lord Jesus,

I am too often focused on the outside and you, in great mercy and awesome brilliance are focused on the inside. I throw open the gates of my heart/life and invite (beg) you to enter this day and every day to see everything there is to see, to have authority over everything there is and will ever be, to do whatever is in your heart to do. I am in ongoing need of source transformation … I am in ongoing need of you piloting my life in all aspects. I am in need of your life coming into me and your will in me on earth as it happens in heaven. Please work YOUR work in me. Wash the inside of this cup … I know you will see the outside sparkle in the process. Thank you for loving me where I am and for loving me too much to leave me here. Sovereign and only Lord … I do love you back. I do need you and I want you to do whatever is in your heart to do. Help me get and keep the 2X4 out of my own eye … and make you glad.

I pray in your name, Jesus,

Steve