Don’t Miss Out!

I left my big screen TV on and tuned in most of the day Saturday to the Fox News Channel.  I knew that they had been advertising all-day coverage of the 4^th of July, America 250 Celebrations in and around our nation’s capital and New York City… To which I admit… I’ve always enjoyed a good parade and especially those where our military is showcased… and I must say… from my point of view… the promised “best ever” celebrations did NOT disappoint!

My apartment is pretty small, so practically everywhere I went in it, I had a good view of the TV.  So… throughout the day, I found myself standing in awe of audacious F35C stealth fighters flying low over the Hudson River amazing the thousands of excited spectators that lined both sides of the river in New York and New Jersey, the parade of majestic tall ships and the all-day long formational flyovers of military planes, helicopters and demonstrations of the precision parachuting teams like the US Army Golden Knights.

Then after going to my son’s house for a family gathering that showcased delicious smoked pork ribs for dinner, I returned home to watch President Trump’s uplifting, patriotic, highly motivating and tear provoking* 4^th of July speech on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., followed by the largest and longest fireworks display that I have ever seen… and I guess the same could be said for anyone who observed it, as it was said to have broken the Guinness World Record for the largest amount of fireworks discharged**

From my humble point of view… it was a well-planned and orchestrated, large-scale event that emanated excitement and patriotism… that should have pumped up the pride of every American citizen in our great country… I know that it sure did in me and my family!  But alas… it would seem that not everyone felt the same sentiments concerning the event.  Many mainstream media outlets tended to highlight and point out… what they felt were… the many negative aspects of yesterday’s events… that had begun the night before at Mount Rushmore.

What I observed last night, as the various cameras panned throughout the thousands of people who had returned following the need to evacuate the outside venue when a powerful thunderstorm came through…*** was excited and boisterous men, women, boys and girls of every ethnicity, gathering in unity as they thoroughly enjoyed themselves while they sang, laughed, danced and embraced each other while they celebrated the 250^th Anniversary of America… which has aptly been known as the World’s Great Melting Pot!

The televised celebrations that were seen across the globe, highlight my personal picture of living the Christian faith… I was thinking late last week about my Christian conversion experience back in the early ‘70’s.  For me it wasn’t just a reckoning of my failures and sins and the receiving of Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord… but maybe more importantly to me… the realization that I didn’t want to miss out on any part of what I considered to be the very tangible, hands-on and outrageous excitement of a life fully yielded to Christ and the truth of His Word!

I was pretty tired when I got home on Saturday night and turned on the TV just to catch a recap of the evening’s 4^th of July events from Washington.  I didn’t know that the night’s events had been through a rain delay and were just beginning to reconvene.  And you know… after a few minutes, I forgot about how tired I was and could not move away from watching what I was enjoying that was unfolding before my eyes.  I realized that it was so exciting and meaningful to me… that I didn’t want to miss a single moment!

And as I alluded to already… that was the perfect example of how my wife and I lived and taught the Christian faith!  I think the Apostle Paul would have agreed wholeheartedly with me.  You would have to agree that he lived a pretty unusually exciting life.  Sure, he had some hardships... but he always downsized those experiences in comparison to the activities he shared with his “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”  God!****

Paul encouraged the young Pastor Timothy in his letters to him to.

“Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11 / The Message)

And as Timothy ran in the Faith to,

“Overcome every form of evil (hardship, discouragement, hopelessness or even potential bouts of depression) as a victorious soldier of Jesus the Anointed One.” (2Timothy 2:3 / The Passion)

The senior, highly experienced Apostle Paul, who is credited with writing almost half of the New Testament, was telling his student to live his Christian life to the fullest extent of all the blessings, wisdom and support that is incorporated into the Word of God.  Using one of my favorite phrases… Paul was teaching Timothy to “EXPECT GOD’S BEST” every day of his life… from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning until he shut them at night!

Is that how you start your day each morning?  Is that the way you walk out of your front door every day?  Are you at the place in your life where you… like Paul… don’t want to miss out on any of God’s powerful, supernaturally charged adventures in Faith?

Let me encourage you… If Not… Why not?  What do you have to lose?  For when you live this highly EXPECTANT kind of Christianity… you’ll suddenly find yourself enjoying a much fuller and satisfying quality of life and then… just possibly… hear yourself saying another favorite expression of mine throughout your daily activities… mainly…  “Gee, this stuff really works!”

Have a great week as you remember the exciting, visually stimulating and patriotic stirring 4^th of July fireworks in Washington DC… as well as those right outside your windows!  And… to start making some fresh memories as you become a source of fireworks-like excitement to others… while living your Christian life before them!

 

*When he honored different American heroes, each over 100 years old and their very courageous acts of bravery on the various battlefields of Europe and the South Pacific during World War II.

**Although not yet verified by Guinness World Records (who had official representatives present at last night’s display).

*** Only to dissipate long enough for the president’s speech and fantastic fireworks display… (was that the hand of God or not?) and believe me… I’m not much for fireworks… but that display had my 100 % attention and pleasure!

****Ephesians 3:20 - KJV

ME and MY BIG MOUTH!

My son and I were able to fly home to California this last weekend.  Although we had discussed the possibility of the trip over the winter months, it was sort of a spur-of-the-moment decision to go now, as my son had a sudden opening in his family’s very busy schedule.  As Josh is a long-term employee of Southwest Airlines, we were actually able to fly for free… albeit on a standby basis.  Attempting to make all the connecting flights between Nashville and Santa Rosa is a little like a game of chess… but we (or I should say Josh, with the help of some very nice gate agents) eventually made it there and back in one piece!

I must say that he and I had a great time!  We stayed with my sister and her husband in their beautiful home in the midst of the vineyards and blackened hills (from a couple of bad fires in recent years) in the Oakmont retirement development east of Santa Rosa.  From there… as our base of operations… we toured all our old haunts in the city, spent a few hours on the beautiful Northern Sonoma County Coastline and visited cousins… from both side of my and Piper’s families.

After being pre-warned, I was expecting the city I was born and raised in and then Piper and I raised our family in, to be quite different.  But you know?  It was the same city with a lot of new buildings and quite a noticeable increase in traffic!  And even with the visual additions, I have to say that it did feel like home.  The toughest part of the tour was that everywhere I looked I was filled with warm and emotional memories of childhood adventures and also of the places that I Piper and I and then our family frequented during Piper’s and my over 50-year life in Santa Rosa.

This may sound funny… But when we left for North Carolina in the summer of 2014, it wasn’t on the best of circumstances.  With Piper’s increasing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, big changes in the vision our home church, my parent’s passing and some strained relationships with a few extended family members… she and I needed a change of environment and a fresh start!  We basically left and seldom looked back (although we have kept in close contact with friends and family)!

So… this trip was in God’s perfect timing and was both grounding to me as a strong foundation for my current season of life here in Tennessee, as well as bringing closure to the previous seasons of my life in California.  I am proud to say that Santa Rosa is the place that I am from and that while I know that I’ll never live there again (but then… who knows what God has in store?  I never thought I’d leave after returning from Bible College in Oklahoma in 2009!), beautiful northern California will always hold endearing memories in my heart!

I didn’t realize how emotional the trip would be to me.  There was definitely a lot of deeply established LOVE (and teary eyes on my behalf) flowing between us and the family members we were able to visit.  The full extent of that LOVE called out to my heart after our return this week as I felt led to study God’s Word in the Biblical book of Romans 8:31-39.  Here the Apostle Paul writes,

“Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's LOVE for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture.  (for) None of this fazes us because Jesus LOVES us. (&) I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's LOVE because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39 / The Message)

While studying these scriptures about the faithfulness of God’s LOVE for you and me, I couldn’t help but to compare it to the special bond of a family’s LOVE for its members.  I was also vividly reminded that it was… and continues to be today… the force and firm foundation of the LOVE of God that brought me through the hardest situations in my life.

God’s LOVE… in union with my Covenant Relationship with and unconditional LOVE for Piper… was the steadying force that empowered me to deal with everything and everyone that came against us when Piper got sick.  It was His LOVE that undergirded me and gave me the confidence, determination and wisdom, along with the physical, mental and spiritual strength to follow through on every direction that I believe He was leading me to pursue during the eight year, 24/7 hours a day that I cared for her every need.

I can laugh about it now… but back then I thought it was absolutely ludicrous when friends and/or family asked me if the attack on Piper’s life shook my faith or if I was angry at her for getting sick???!!!  I must have seriously looked at them like they were demonically crazy… because (thank God) they never asked me again!  I NEVER doubted the faithfulness of God’s LOVE throughout that whole season of our lives… and have never done so since!

I especially like the way that Paul vehemently declares,

“I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's LOVE - because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (The Message)

Or… as the King James Version puts it,

“We are more than conquerors through Him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)

Hopefully your reaction to this verse is the same as mine… For when I read it, I can’t help but to get all excited as I realize that this bold declaration is the MIND and MOUTH of Paul’s personal FAITH… being spoken into the situations of his daily life. 

And along with that revelation… I likewise, want Paul’s thoughts and his spoken words, which are in line with the faithfulness and LOVE inherent to God’s Word… to be in my MIND and MOUTH whenever or whatever comes at me every day of my life… no matter if I am here in Mt Juliet Tennessee, on the west coast in Sonoma County California, on a plane flying across our 250-year-old beautiful country!

Wouldn’t you agree with that… concerning the bold declarations of your own personal faith?  Let me ask you… what is in your MIND and MOUTH right now? 

Have you ever thought after saying something you maybe shouldn’t have said… “OH!   ME and MY BIG MOUTH?”  Well, I definitely have… But now that I know the importance of thinking and then confidently speaking words… God’s Words… that emphasize the faithfulness and LOVE of God… Then… I hope that I will regularly think to myself and then hear others around me say…

“Oh, it’s just JIM (put your name in place of mine) and HIS Big MOUTH!”

We just came through some days with huge thunderstorms and now that they’ve past… we are under an EXTREME HEAT WARNING… with heat index values up to 110 expected!  Hummm… now that’s something that they don’t (usually) get in northern California…  But it’s okay… I’m staying here!

Have a great, safe and Godly LOVING week!

Take the Plunge!

Even though my wife has been absent from this world for over seven years, I regularly find my self thinking about many of the wonderful memories that we created in our life together.  And when I think about her laughing smile and spunky inherent nature, I always tend to go back to the time she surprised our kids and I when she finally made up her mind and plunged headfirst into the freezing cold, ice-melt fed Little Jamison Creek that flowed right behind our campsite one summer at Plumas Eureka State Park, in northeastern California, near the Nevada border.

After making the dive under the cold, clear water in a deeper area that had pooled next to a fallen pine tree, she literally burst up from the water with a huge smile on her face yelling to us, “You didn’t think I’d do that did you?”  Well… NO… we didn’t.  We had all been egging her on for quite a while and had just about given up when she dove into the Sierra mountain stream.

That’s kind of who she was… she liked to keep things fresh and exciting in our personal relationship, as well as within the daily development of our family.  That was actually one of the MANY things that drew me to her in high school.  Her bright-shining brown eyes tended to always have a mysterious sense of adventure about them… and I LOVED it… from our beginning days as teenagers through her final two weeks after turning 65.

She wasn’t one to just jump into something without consideration and thought… but once she prayed and made up her mind… she plunged in with abandonment and deep determination!  Which is the way she and I both tended to live our Christian walk… Once we set our faith for something that was inline with and based on the promises of God… we abandoned doubt and unbelief and plunged head first into the deep waters of faith.

And you know?  We weren’t alone when it came to plunging headfirst into our faith for the daily adventures of our lives and ministry.

In the Biblical book of Romans, the Apostle Paul uses the example of the faith of Abraham who,

“Staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He (God) had promised, He was able also to perform.” (Romans 4:20-21 – KJV)

The word ‘staggered’ in the Greek implies someone who hesitates and has withdrawn from their steadfast belief in the truth of God’s Word and/or let their minds wander in thinking about all the potential reasons why God’s promise(s) won’t work for them in their particular situation or need.  These scriptures paint a picture of Abraham’s unmovable faith and trust in the promise that God had given him… concerning the seemingly impossible conception and birth of a child…

“Now that he was about a hundred years old, and Sarah (his wife) was unable to have children.” (Romans 4:19 - God’s Word ©)

And yes!... While the King James gives us a strong idea of Abraham’s faith and the mindset that drove his stand on God’s Word, I literally pushed away from my desk and straightened up in my rolling office chair this morning as I discovered The Message Bible’s paraphrase version of these verses.  I think the Reverand Eugene Peterson (pastor, professor, theologian, and author who translated The Message) hit the nail on the head in capturing the true sense, excitement, total abandonment to doubt and unbelief and personal determination that was living large in Abraham’s life, by vividly declaring that,

“He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. (But) he PLUNGED into the promise and came up strong and ready for God, sure that God would make good on what He had said.” (Romans 4:20-21)

Paul reiterated this over-powering sense of excitement and determination in his closing salutations to the Thessalonian church when he stated,

“The One who called you is completely dependable. If He said it, He'll do it!”           (I Thessalonians 5:24 – MSG)

So… you see… that fresh and exciting mysterious sense of adventure that marked Piper… that caused her to plunge with abandonment and determination into her Christian walk… as well as in her personal life in general… wasn’t just a fluke of nature or a gift that her heavenly Father gave to her alone…  No!  I believe that it is part and parcel of the character of God that comes to live in us (Yes!  That means both you and me) when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord*… Piper just chose to fully accept and develop that powerful characteristic in her… by her love, study, obedience and tangible application of God’s Word in the daily routines of her busy life.

When is the last time that you plunged headfirst into the promises of God and believed Him for the fulfillment of His Word for a particular need or situation in your life? Whether you’ve done it before or not… today would be the perfect time to jump in and experience the character of God actively working in and through your life.

Then you’ll be similar to Piper who burst out of the icy cold waters exclaiming for all to hear in the surrounding campground (or in your neighborhood) “I didn’t think I’d do that… But I AM GLAD THAT I DID!”

And once you’ve taken that initial plunge… you just won’t be able to keep your abandonment to doubt and unbelief and the determination to see the power and faith of God and His Word… from working in every aspect of your life!

With all that in mind… have a fantastic week… and let me know how your plunge goes!

 

 

*Have you made Jesus the personal Savior and Lord of your life?  It’s really easy to do and the results will change your life forever!  You’ll feel an unexplainable new freedom and peace that you never thought possible. In Romans 10:9 Paul gives us the simple directions by explaining, “that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

And yes… it’s as simple as that.  Once you do that, I would recommend that you find a good, BIBLE teaching church to attend, pick up and read the Bible daily (I suggest you start in the book of John and then move on through the epistles), and start talking with God (praying) on a regular basis!  Welcome to the family!

 

Tornado Season!

Well… PRAISE THE LORD!  It looks like we made it through another TORNADO SEASON here in Tennessee.  I guess I should be pretty relieved as our TORNADO horns in Mt Juliet only went off once about a month or so ago… in the middle of the night… of course!

That was an interesting experience for me, as it was my first TORNADO adventure in Tennessee.  This season was quite a bit calmer here then when I lived in Oklahoma.  The actual storm that triggered our sirens though, wasn’t much different than an Oklahoma severe weather event… except for when I stepped out onto my apartment balcony in the midst of the sirens, heavy rain, strong winds and booming thunder and lightning.  I think that I must have lived in Oklahoma long enough to have garnered the typical male response to an incoming TORNADO… thinking… Oh Gee…I gotta check this out!

But… I quickly got a reality-check when there was one of the loudest thunder claps that I’ve ever heard… immediately followed by the crack of a hot, super-bright, electrical discharge that flooded my senses with the strongest scent of ozone that I have ever experienced!  That kind of shook me and I quickly retreated back into the living room of my apartment.  I’m glad that I had enough sense to only take one step onto the balcony and not the full distance out to the railing!  I think that someone must have been watching over me!  What do you think?

In that moment of less-than stellar responsibility… I learned that there are certain situations where I should not have the ability to throw caution to the wind (literally in this case…) and think that I am safe in any environment!  But you know… as I was studying the Word… as a thunderstorm was moving into our area early this morning… the scriptures I’ve been studying for about a week now, brought to mind a very specific time of when the Lord had taught me about the need to control the environment surrounding my wife and I.

I’ve told of the experience before, so I won’t bore you with the whole story, but suffice to say, when Piper was first beginning to deal with the encroaching debilitating symptoms of Alzheimer’s, the Lord clearly spoke to my heart early one morning and in no uncertain terms, explained the importance of me controlling the atmosphere around her. 

It was already becoming very apparent to both of us, that not everybody around us… be it extended family, friends, the medical professionals or even strangers that we encountered on our walks or times at the store… were in faith for the journey we were forced into.  So along with everything else I was doing for my sweet wife’s physical care, the Lord also impressed upon me the need to keep an atmosphere of faith, joy, peace and encouragement in our home and as much as I could… outside of our house as well.

Sounds easy right?  WRONG!  And I learned real quick that in order to have any sense of success in this directive of the Lord… that I needed to keep myself in a consistent and ever-growing attitude of faith, joy, peace and encouragement.

Hummmm… and just how do I do that?  Well… The verses of scripture that brought me back to this memory this morning are found in I Thessalonians 5:16-19 where the Apostle Paul closes his first letter of encouragement to the church in Thessalonica (as well as to you and me today) saying,

1)   “Rejoice evermore. 

2) Pray without ceasing. 

3) In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 

4) Quench not the Spirit.” (KJV) 

I specifically numbered each verse as they seem to be set in a logical systematic order in which to follow… and as these steps worked for me in my situation back then, I believe it is also a current day directive of the Lord written to each of us for the varying situations we find ourselves facing each and every day.

First of all, Paul encourages us to “Rejoice evermore.”  The God’s Word© translation makes it a bit more up-to-date by saying “Always be joyful” while the Message Bible seems to be a little more accurate to the original Greek stating, “Be cheerful no matter what!”  Strong’s defines the familiar word “REJOICE” as “to be full of cheer, to be calmly happy” which to me says that our calm and cheerful demeanor is simply to be a well-practiced mindset that we operate in all the time... no matter where we are or what we are facing.  It is the steadying, basic and foundational asset that we have to control the atmosphere around us.

Next, we are told to “Pray without ceasing.”  Does that mean that we are to stay on our knees at the side of our bed in prayer all the time?  No, of course not… but I do believe it is talking about our need to stay in an attitude of prayer by keeping our spirits alert to the voice of the Lord throughout our busy days.

Smith Wigglesworth who was one of the great Apostles of Faith in the first half of the 20^th century was once asked how long he prayed everyday and he responded saying that “I don’t ever pray more than twenty minutes…” and then after a pause, continued by declaring “but I never go twenty minutes without praying!”  In other words… he stayed alert to the leadings of the Holy Spirit in his life and kept the lines of two-way communication between God and himself open all the time.

And once the first two directives of the Lord are up and running in our lives, it becomes increasingly easy and “normal”, as The Passion Translation says, to find ourselves “giving THANKS in the midst of everything.”  The Bible in Basic English tells us,

“In everything give PRAISE: for this is the purpose of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 

The actions of giving THANKS or PRAISE seem to be almost interchangeable when it comes to the worship of our God, but in reality, they each have a separate focus.  The Bible Hub* informs us that PRAISE focuses in on who God is, while THANKSGIVING emphasizes what God has done in our individual lives.  But in either regard and for the purpose of our verse in I Thessalonians 5:18, either action specifically takes our thoughts off of any difficulty in the situation that we are dealing with and focusses our attention on the love, truth, ability and over-coming power of the Lord and the truth of His Word for the need at hand.

And then… once the Lord has an open door to work in the midst of whatever it is we are facing… “Quench NOT the Spirit” as He begins to assist you.  Or as The Passion Translation puts it,

“Never restrain or put out the fire of the Holy Spirit.”

Once He starts working in the situation, stay in faith and sensitive to whatever it is that He is doing… AND… to what He may have for you to do in the situation as well!

And so… As I stayed sensitive to… what I like to call the “HINTS” that the Lord was regularly giving me… back when I was caring for my wife, it became increasingly easier to be aware of what other’s around me were doing and thereby for me to say and do the right things at the right times… and change and/or keep the atmosphere around my wife and I in a more positive, joyful and faith-charged atmosphere… just like the way that bolt of lightning changed and charged the atmosphere around my balcony during that TORNADO producing storm...

And… since we know that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever”**

You and I can have the same results – TODAY - by following Paul’s directions and walk in such a way where our reactions of THANKSGIVING and PRAISE… in the midst of anything that happens in our lives… both good or bad… causes our faith to focus on the goodness of God and hereby allow Him to work His miracles in the daily situations of our lives… be it TORNADO SEASON or not!

 

* https://biblehub.com/topical/p/praise_and_thanksgiving.htm

**Hebrews 13:8

Personal Responsibility

My wife and I were different than most of the people at her American Baptist church that she grew up in and I, along with her, participated and served in leadership positions for over eight years… before and then after we got married. 

If you were to read the doctrinal Statement of Faith on the back of the weekly bulletin, we could put a check of agreement to every bullet point… but we believed in more!  To us, there were things missing from that list.  There were parts of the Gospel message that were seldom… if ever… talked about.  We believed that our precious friends in that wonderful congregation were missing some of the most exciting and powerful promises in the Word for the daily events of their lives.

After our high school graduation, we were drawn to the Charismatic Movement that was being reported on in the local newspaper and was beginning to stir up long forgotten discussions amongst the denominational churches in our area.  There was a growing congregation in our city that held weekly “Prayer” meetings where attendees talked about seeing the manifestations of the Gifts of the Spirit that had not been widely seen or experienced by the Christian denominational churches since the great Healing Revival of the 1940’s and 50’s.

To make a not-too-long story short… we jumped in with both feet and have never looked back since!  We were always very discreet about it at church, but yet… lived out our beliefs as vividly as we could in front of the youth and young adult groups that we ministered to, as well as with our friends and fellow congregants of that church.

Following the birth of our second child, Piper and I both knew that we had a major decision to make.  She and I hungered for more teaching and involvement in this exciting part of the Full Gospel message and also wanted more for our kids.  So, we prayed (a lot) and made the difficult decision… taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for our Christian growth… and left the Baptist church to join a small, Full Gospel, Word of Faith congregation that met in a rented space at a resort/motel on the far southern part of town.

And I know that Piper would vigorously nod her head from heaven today and TOTALLY agree with me… that it was the BEST decision that we ever made… for both of us and especially for our family… which continued to increase to four kids over the following years!

We learned a lot about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY in and for the APPLICATION and consistent ACTIVITY of our faith in our daily lives over the 48 years of our covenant relationship.  And I can say without a moment’s hesitation… the portion of Scripture that I have employed most often when it comes to taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY in my Christian walk (for every area of my life), is found on the most torn, stained, wrinkled and smudged… worn-out page… in just about every Bible I own… in the first chapter of the Old Testament book of Joshua!*  I have found that it makes more sense to me to read some of the verses in a reverse order, beginning with Joshua 1:9 and then Joshua 1:5… where the Lord instructed Joshua after the death of Moses, as He handed the reigns of the rulership of the Jewish nation over to him saying,**

“Have I not commanded you (add your name here)?  BE strong, diligent, confident, disciplined, assertive and courageous!  Do not tremble, BE timid nor BE dismayed or discouraged, for I the Lord your God am with you wherever you go.  And thereby NO one nor NO thing will be able to oppose you successfully as long as you live. For I will be with you just as I was with Moses. I will never (never, never) neglect you or abandon you.” (Ryrie Study Bible – New American Standard Bible - 1978 / God’s Word ©)

But the good Lord didn’t just leave it there.  He not only gave Joshua a direct command and a word of encouragement… He also told him EXACTLY what he needed to do in order to be successful in the job that the Lord had anointed him for.  In Joshua 1:8 He basically told the new leader that this is the KEY to make it all work… He pointedly told Joshua,

“This book of the law (or for us current day Christians – having the addition of the New Testament, ‘This Revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ’) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure that you practice everything written in it.  For then you’ll get where you’re going and will make your way prosperous and you’ll have great success!” (a combining of the NASB/The Message)

I can’t tell you how many times my determined obedience and practice of these specific verses brought troubling circumstances into the realm of victory in my life… Like a discrepancy in my monthly income that I had to deal with this morning!  I found myself bouncing around the kitchen… audibly Praising the Lord… a couple of hours ago when I hung up the phone after a conversation with my financial consultant… with tears beginning to form, as I thanked the Lord profusely for His hand in the affairs of my life. 

But then… for a fleeting moment… I stopped my child-like response to the Lord’s faithfulness to His Word thinking that “I should be used to this by now…”  But then broke out laughing in the solitude of my kitchen declaring… “I’m glad that I’ll NEVER get used to His tangible involvement in my life!”  I mean… After all, doesn’t Ephesians 5:1 tell us: “Therefore be ye imitators of God as beloved CHILDREN?” (KJV/EMTV)  Is there anyone else out there who responds to God’s faithfulness in this same manner?

So now… bringing us back to the thought and/or practice of us taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY in and for our Christian faith, I want us to take a peek at what always tends to catch my attention whenever I study these verses… and that is… the number of times the words “You” “Yours” “You’re” “Ye” and “You’ll” is inserted into the Lord’s command and encouragement to us… the students of His Word… throughout all these verses.

I count about 16 times… How about you?

And with that in mind… I can’t help but to think that The Lord is trying to emphasize a point here!  To me, He is wanting to bring us back to the foundational Biblical truth… that each one of us… yes… both you and me… are directly and PERSONABLY RESPONSIBLE to how well these promises from God to us… are activated and there by allowed the freedom to work in our lives.

I know how in my past… it usually seemed easier to blame someone else or some extenuating circumstances… including God Himself… when things didn’t go as I had prayed and/or as I would have preferred (or for what I’ve heard called “a Faith Failure”) in my life.  But you know… I don’t see that way of thought in these verses.  I see the Lord teaching us to take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for our daily faith walk.  And to do so, by pondering, meditating and SPEAKING out the Word and accordingly, the results that we’re EXPECTING to come to past (by faith) in our lives… both day and night!

How about you?

The Lord made it pretty clear to Joshua back then… and to US today… that He wants us to “MAN or WOMAN UP” and take the PERSONAL RESPONSIBILTY necessary to experience victory and thereby “to get where you’re going and make your way prosperous and have great success!”

Then who knows… you might just find yourself dancing around your kitchen… like a gleeful little kid… JUST LIKE ME… as you too experience the FAITHFULNESS of God to the promises in His Word… happening in your life… Today, Tomorrow… and to Infinity and Beyond!

Have a FANTASTIC week!  We are in the midst of a thunderstorm out here in Tennessee… so we’ll see how it progresses.  Now that Fiver has left us (and in particular, without having to deal with his panic and discomfort during noisy weather)… I’ve discovered that I actually enjoy the soothing ambiance a good heavy rain - complete with the dramatics of thunder and lightning!   Weird huh?  I’ll see ya all next week…

*A New Testament equivalent of Johsua 1:9 (also worn out in my Bibles…) is found in 2Timothy 1:7.  I especially like the translation in The Remedy New Testament.

**and I have added many of my notated words that have given me a greater depth of knowledge for the practical application of these verses in my life over the years.

DRIPPING and DRENCHED!

Over the last week or so, I have been waking up each morning (usually before 5:00 AM as my body seems to be stuck in the habit of taking the dog – deceased now for 3 months – out for a pre-dawn wet stop, before returning to bed…) with the words “The GOODNESS of God” running like a continuous loop in my mind.  Then on Sunday morning I heard a sermon entitled “Trusting in the GOODNESS of God” and immediately thought “Ah Ha… Finally, some direction!”

And yes, there was… at least the beginnings of a wealth of information, encouragement, faith, love and joy… that is all drenched and dripping in the GOODNESS of God.  Do you ever think about the Word of God in that manner… all gooey, drenched and dripping in the GOODNESS of God? 

I have to admit that I pan fried an angus burger over the weekend that came out just the way I like it… and after the first few bites… my face, hands and the front of my shirt were all drenched and dripping in the GOODNESS of a potpourri of grease, mustard, mayonnaise, catsup, onion, cheese, lettuce and tomato… and YES…  I put WAY too much on the burger and stacked it up WAY too high… but the resulting mess was definitely WORTH the intense clean up that was required when at last I ran my fingers repeatedly across the plate to savor the final residue still present… I guess there are some perks to living by yourself!

Now… I won’t say that this type of experience is exactly like my interactions with God and His Word every time I open my Bible or attend church… BUT, I have had enough similarly exciting and over-the-top personal adventures with God through the many years of my Christian walk… that always stirs my faith to look forward to being totally drenched and dripping with the GOODNESS of God… at most anytime!

How about you?

Psalms 20 and 21 reflect one of the many personal examples that King David attributed to the GOODNESS of God in his and his country’s life.  Psalm 20 is written from God’s point of view and recounts the steps that King Davd took as he prepared himself and his troops for battle.  It was a preparation that was fueled by his personal faith… that was over-the-top and dripping and drenched with his assurance of the GOODNESS of God for the VICTORY he was anticipating.

In Psalm 21 David describes what happened at the battle and is dripping and drenched with overwhelming joy and thanksgiving for the results of the GOODNESS of God… that ensued on the day of battle.

I would strongly encourage you to take the time to read each of these Psalms on your own, and as is stated throughout both… “SELAH” …meaning to stop, meditate and consider (for your own personal life) what you are reading along the way.  You’ll notice as you read, that David followed a specific format* in approaching God before the battle.  He prayed, laid out specific requests for the battle, confessed what he was believing for based on the scriptures available in his day (ie; The Torah) and then thanked the Lord profusely for the victory he was expecting!

In Psalm 20:5-7 The Lord says that David declared… before the day of battle that,

“We will joyfully sing about your victory. We will wave our flags in the name of our God. The LORD will fulfill all your requests. Now I know that the LORD will give victory to his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty deeds of his powerful hand. Some rely on chariots and others on horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD our God.” (God’s Word ©) 

Then in Psalm 21…after the day of battle… David was hardly able to hold back his thankfulness and joy that was dripping and drenched in his acknowledgement of the GOODNESS of God that prevailed in the battle… And he sang out to the Lord,

“The king finds joy in your strength, O LORD. What great joy he has in your victory!  You gave him his heart’s desire. You did not refuse the prayer from his lips. Selah… Indeed, the king trusts the LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High, he will not be moved.” (Psalm 21:1-2, 7 - God’s Word ©)

David was an old hand at experiencing the dripping and drenching of the GOODNESS of God throughout his life… but he still took the time… each and every time… to humble himself and do his part in opening the doors to his and his country’s existence… by praying, making specific requests, confessing what he was believing for in the Word and following it all up with consistent and heartfelt thanksgiving for the results he was expecting… as was based on the truth of God’s Word.

Fiver used to love it when he saw and smelled me frying up a thick angus beef patty… because he knew… that with a little patience (not that he had much patience)… he would also get to enjoy the sweet-licking pleasures of the dripping and drenching potpourri of grease and everything else as it spilled from me, my plate, my shirt and many times my pants onto the floor… along with an occasional toss of a chunk of meat that he successfully begged with those big brown eyes of his… let’s just say that he had me well trained when it came to sharing my meals!

And you know… I’m a lot like Fiver when I fellowship with the Lord in prayer and/or the study of my Bible at home, at church and with family and friends… I get excited because I look forward with great anticipation… to slurping up the overflow of His GOODNESS that is over-flowing, dripping and drenched… in Him and His Word!

Oooh!  That sounds DELICIOUS doesn’t it?  So, let me know how it goes that next time you fellowship with the Lord… and make sure that you bring a handful of napkins with you…

Have a fantastic week wherever you are – we’ve got the potential of thunderstorms throughout the rest of the week… but more importantly… we have the protection of the name of Jesus!  Isn’t God Good!  (See: Philippians 2:9-11)

 

 

*The ‘format’ or steps that King David followed seems to be a prophecy of what would later be taught in the New Testament through the various writers (under the anointing of the Holy Spirit) including Jesus Himself!  For some examples look at Mark 11:22-25, Philippians 4:4-9 and Hebrews 11:1 etc;

CONTACT!

I wrote last week about living within the realm of the ADJECTIVES that the scribes of the New Testament used in order to increase the understanding and passion of us, the readers, as we study and then apply the life-changing Word of God into our daily existence. 

But as I continued to delve deeper into this rich possibility of life… which many Christians I’ve interacted with over the years, write off as impossible…I kept coming back to the word “ANOINTED” in Acts 10:38, where the Apostle Peter, in speaking to his inner circle of believers, explained the good news that the Gentiles (non-Jews) could NOW have access to the Good News message of Jesus Christ!

After having an eye-opening vision by the Holy Spirit and a discussion with Cornelious, a Roman officer, Peter could hardly contain himself as he went to his people and declared,

“NOW I know for certain that God doesn’t show favoritism with people but treats everyone on the same basis.  It makes no difference what race of people one belongs to…” (Acts 10:34-35A - The Passion Translation)*

Following this revelation, he gave a quick summary of the work of John the Baptist and continued saying,

“Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, ANOINTED by God with the Holy Spirit (&) ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. (&) He was able to do all this because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38 – The Message Bible)

Well… It turns out that the word translated “ANOINTED” in this verse is defined in Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries as being akin to the Greek word meaning “to handle through the idea of CONTACT; to smear or rub with oil, that is, (by implication) to consecrate to an office or religious service.” 

And the more I looked at this definition, the more it dawned on me that the ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life on this earth… as well as the Holy Spirit’s ANOINTING on the life of every BELIEVER… is the foundational KEY to the spread of Christianity in our homes, our neighborhoods, our city, state, country and throughout the WORLD… wherever you may live!

Then I understood that the level of the Holy Spirit’s ANOINTING in each of us… is dependent of the amount and LEVEL of CONTACT that we make with Him in our daily lives.  Jesus was known by His disciples to spend many a night off by himself in prayer and fellowship with His Father… and that thought along with the definition of ANOINTED being described as “to handle through the idea of CONTACT” in mind, I couldn’t help but want to add a few descriptive ADJECTIVES to the end of Acts 10:38 where most translations say that Jesus did everything He did “for God was with Him.”

After being in that level of close and personal CONTACT with the Father… I would bet that Jesus had the Holy Spirit SMEARED ALL OVER HIM!  I believe that Jesus walked and talked with the fragrance, touch, taste and texture of God embedded in his skin and clothing!

It reminded me of the nightly, one hour or more, week night phone calls that Piper and I made to each other as our relationship blossomed throughout our senior year in high school.  Now… obviously… there was no physical CONTACT made between US each night… BUT… there was physical CONTACT being made between me and our kitchen wall phone, whose cord I stretched out, walking up and down the long hallway five nights a week.

And so… let me explain… You see, since that was the main phone in our house (remember this was in the early 1970’s) and its principal user throughout the day was my mom… WELL… let’s just say that I normally hung it up with the fragrance of my mom’s (Avon) perfume and the touch, taste and texture of her powered foundation… SMEARED ALL over the right side of my face!

Then years later, after Piper and I got married, SHE would (not purposely… I think?) mark me almost daily, with a SMEAR of her bright RED lipstick on my shirt or on my lips** along with the scent of her perfume embedded in my clothes… as we quickly kissed and embraced in saying good bye on my way to work!

I would like to think that I also carried some semblance of the fragrance, touch, taste and texture of God on me when I walked into work back then… or as I take my daily walks around our beautifully landscaped apartment campus out here in Tennessee.  I do actively look for opportunities to brighten other people’s lives as I traverse my new city and state and discover its Southern charms and ambiance.  And while I can’t sniff my collar or my hands and catch that all familiar, sweet scent of Piper anymore, I do believe that the Word I study does stick to me and diffuse the scent of the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit into the places I go…

How about you? 

Are you spending enough time in close personal CONTACT with God and the truth of His Word… so that HIS ANOINTED fragrance, touch, taste and texture emanate off of you?

Have a terrific week!  We have some warm weather and blue skies forecast for all week long and I’m looking forward to catching some sun… and I pray that you can soak in some rays as well!

 

*Kind of blows away the modern-day political left’s criticism of Christianity as being a racist religion… doesn’t it? (But yet not surprising… as we know the author of this lie and accusation… See: John 8:44 / Revelation 12:10)

**There were numerous times that I fondly recall, when I turned to go out the door to the garage and my car, when Piper would reach out and grab my arm and say “WHOA! You can’t go out looking like you wear lipstick!” and rub her right index finger across my lips, wiping off the residue of her RED lipstick!  Then she’d give that cute – killer wink of hers and say “I love you!” …and push me out the door!