Monthly Archives: August 2012

“Do-Less-Ness” is Not a Gift of the Spirit

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My Work Bag

My Work Bag (Photo credit: pennuja)

One of the hardest lessons for the chronically poor to learn is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done.  I know there are many who are poor yet are very diligent in what needs to be done.  But it has also been my personal experience (and observation of others) that a certain “do-less-ness” attends the daily routine of many.

Perhaps it’s fear of confrontation that blocks dutiful behavior.  Perhaps it’s just that they focus on matters they deem more important.  Perhaps there are other reasons.  But the bottom line is that when we know what we ought to do and do not do it, we encounter a guilty conscience.  This guilt leads to introverted behavior in many fashions. And, in the end, we own a large portion of “sucky life”.

This is a truth that should be embraced by every Christian.  We expose our faith by our living habits.  And we often drag down the Beautiful Lord Jesus’ reputation by allowing our own to become soiled with neglect.  I can’t imagine what this place would look like if God took on that same “do-less” behavior.

I’m not chiding anyone with this post.  I’m pointing out a truth we should all consider as we serve the Lord.

From Warm Fuzzy to Molten Lava

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English: http://libraryphoto.cr.usgs.gov/cgi-b...

English: http://libraryphoto.cr.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/show_picture.cgi?ID=ID.%20HVO%20%2014ct Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. May 1954 eruption of Kilauea Volcano. Halemaumau fountains. Photo by J.P. Eaton, May 31, 1954. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

041 - Warm Fuzzy

041 – Warm Fuzzy (Photo credit: LaMenta3)

When we’re young love is a warm fuzzy.  Little by little we learn that true love is full of pain.  In the end we learn that true love is the hardest element of life to perform.  Love does regardless the personal desire to run away.  As intense as trials can be, love gets up and goes to the specific place you really don’t want to go.  Kind of like a dog rescuing something from a burning house fire.

(Thank you for allowing me to learn this truth.  I know it’s been horribly painful from time to time.)

Stupid Intelligence

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Stupid signs

Stupid signs (Photo credit: pkevinconnell)

I cannot understand us.  How do I put this?  I guess I’ll start with what we all know.

Men love selfishness.  And I guess that’s natural.  I’ve often said that we are born defensive.  After all, we can’t get outside our vulnerable skin.  So we are on the defensive from the moment we notice we have fingers.  Ok, I got that.

Now I know that this selfishness lends itself to rebellion against manipulation of any kind.  Even if we try to help another man understand his responsibility to others, it’s like pulling teeth without pain-killer.  Isn’t that what we face raising teens?

And what if a teen has not learned responsibility when it was due to learn?  He becomes an adult full of selfish and childish attitudes about life.  In this way, we see rebellious adults all over the place.  So we know about rebellion first hand.  Yea?  I think we can all nod about that.

Now we don’t really know a whole lot about pure good and perfect responsible behavior.  We all take stabs at it as best we can.  But we all know we fall short of purity in one way or another.  Again, I think we can all nod to that.

Here is what I don’t get:

Perfect isn’t a word that lends itself to interpretation.  Perfect is perfect.  That also means perfect is eternal by nature.  So why do we find men trying to water down the word “perfect”?  Why don’t we find them, instead, admitting that they are far less than perfect?

I am astounded that certain men, who know better, believe and teach something other than the whole Gospel.  Some how they have been duped into something far less than the perfect message of the Gospel.  And they seem to think that it’s ok to just kind of tear away at the concept of perfect.  I’m sorry.  I’m just amazed at us!  In the end we have to say this (as it was said by that wonderfully deficient character), “Stupid is what Stupid does.”

Two Sets of Legs

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Lamb

Lamb (Photo credit: freefotouk)

Are you a Christian who has sin in your life?  I want to mention something you may not be aware of:

There is a story of how the shepherd breaks the leg of a lamb who continues to wander off from the herd.  The problem is that the sheep will teach others how to disobey his master.  So to keep the flock in line, it is necessary to resort to radical means of insuring obedience.

Now, in the matter of breaking the legs of His people, there are two sets of legs every Christian owns.  One set of legs enables that Christian to chase after things he shouldn’t.  Breaking those legs may mean taking away the means the Christian uses to rebel against his Lord.  In this we are talking arms, legs, eyes, lungs, etc..  It also might mean taking away any other means to sin, money, social contacts, mental ability, etc..

There is another set of legs the Lord has at his disposal to break.  These are the legs we use to enter the Throne Room of the Holy Father.  It is quite possible that these legs will leave a far deeper impact in the Christian.  Only Jesus knows what is necessary, and will work for each of His people.  But I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone speak about His correcting actions in this manner.

Regardless what happens to you (those who are living a life of sin), I urge you to listen with understanding to see if any of this fits your condition.  If you are not caught in sin, don’t apply this to your walk with the Lord.  However, if you’re caught in something you know you shouldn’t be in, it might be wise to consider what He has done already.  And consider that He is quite able to do far more to entice us back into the fold.

By His Grace.

Treating the Lost With Respect?

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Sonoma's Left Ear

Sonoma’s Left Ear (Photo credit: BreckenPool)

Spam we get on WordPress is amazingly funny to a Christian.  It is designed by men of the flesh and targeted at greed and pride of men of flesh.  But let’s not get too heady about the ability to read through their ruse.  What’s that saying?  “But for the grace of God. . . “.

How often to we really sit down and contemplate the knowledge we have been given?  We see through a myriad of lies and temptations that the world embraces without even questioning.  The Holy Spirit speaks to all men.  But so few have ears that will hear His prompting.

Just about everyone has ears that work.  And if the ears don’t work, another sense tends to supply the lack.  When it comes to Spritual matters, however, everyone has ears.  If we listen intently and provoke a desire within us to do what we hear, we end up hearing more acutely.  Should a man whose ears work just fine boast because he can hear things a deaf person can’t hear?  Now that’s really a foolish idea.  Curiously, we seem to elevate the deaf regardless our spiritual standing.  Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Tough Stuff Requires Tough Response

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Sayer fight

Sayer fight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We live in a very controlled space.  Vacuum above, rocks below, winds, storms, great cold and heat, all assault our experience here.  Then there’s bugs of various sorts, some can cause harm, others are simply a bother.  Animals abound; some to eat, some to treat, some to abhor, and some would love to eat us.

Then we have the humans themselves.  To make a friend is a milestone in our experience.  To keep a friend is a milestone in itself.  But we can be sure we will be assailed by humanity, along with all the other plagues we encounter here.

Added to this boxing match, arrives political, social, economic troubles, personal thoughts and attitudes that need adjusting every day all day long.  We all know about these things.  But what has arrived among us is something a bit out of the ordinary.

It was that sins were a bit isolated among men.  One city would embrace a certain sin.  But you could always walk or ride to another place to escape their folly.  But with the advent of communications and faster, more reliable, transportation, the isolation of the sins of man have encountered a boundless habitat.  Now I challenge anyone to point to a place on earth where we can set up a roof and live a life absent of the refinement of wickedness we have come to teach each other.

How I desire to be removed from the complicated garbage that man advertises as prime today.  The body has replaced the concentration on holiness of spirit.  Medical commercials, ways to play, and financial “get well quick” schemes abound.  It is getting to where we are more aware of the things of this world than of eternity where God lives; forever past and forever future.  The temporary has become man’s god en masse.

This is not the end to escalation for sins.  There is a place where man is allowed to abandon all trace of conscience.  If it is hard to live in purity today, what will happen in that day?  Gone will be any hint of a peaceful little town where you can leave your doors unlocked.  Gone will be the day when owning some kind of lethal tool to protect what you call yours is an option.

Most people I know simply don’t want to talk about what they see happening anymore.  And if you bring them the Gospel, you find them backing up.  They no longer see the Gospel as a message of hope.  They only perceive another demand.  And they are absolutely inundated with demands.

What a curious ruse has been set upon man.  He is in a position of defence, from waking to waking again.  Peace is no longer an option.  And this isn’t even the height of horror that is bound to come.  Slowly, man is being squeezed into a stark choice; Fight or die cowering.  The evil one has man just about where he wants them to be.  And the end of things can’t be far behind that point.

All this said, it is important to encourage one another to fight the good fight with even more strength.  Even the best of us today is plagued with a monstrous onslaught of sin.  Hold each other up.  Look for signs of tiring.  Strengthen trust between your brothers and sisters.  The silver lining surrounding all this is the grace of God in Christ Jesus for all who are struggling to obey.

I posted this to say that I see it clearly enough (the struggle you face every day).  Oddly, this is a post of encouragement.  May God bless this message to all His people.

By His Grace.