True Love (or “God Gives a Valentine to a Love Junkie”)

How’s your history with love? Like mine, is it quite a story, full of twists and turns, joy and sorrow, hope and heartache? One of God’s favorite things to do for us is a re-write, where true love really does win our hearts.

Way back in the murky years of elementary school, it occurred to me that I liked it when girls liked me. It felt good. And I wasn't dumb about it—I took note of what girls liked. When I was funny, they liked it. When I was caring, they liked it. When I made a good play in sports, they liked it. When I looked good, they liked it. It wasn't long before I had a storehouse of knowledge concerning what girls liked. Pretty useful, I thought.

Through the ensuing years of wanting to be liked, I brought out of my storehouse whatever I thought was best for the situation. I wanted this girl or that girl to see me at my best, so I offered a bit of caring here, some physical prowess there, and perhaps a witty phrase or two to really dazzle. And I figured out a very useful equation: She sees me + she likes me = Valentines galore.

Happiness.

What did I do when I wanted God's love? Well, I thought the same thing would apply. Right? I wanted Him to see me doing the things He liked—reading the Bible, witnessing, giving, caring, comforting, not sinning, etc.—so He would like me. Right? So I worked a similar equation: God sees me + God likes me = Valentines galore. It works with women, so it must work with God. “It's the way of love.” Or so I thought.

But ever since God and I really got together when I was twenty-four, God, who sees me at every moment, loved me for no reason that I could see. Before I could bring out one speck of Valentine worthiness from my storehouse, He dazzled me with love. And I have never been able to motivate Him to love me from that day to this. He has never once conveyed to me that He loves me now more than He once did. Not one time has He told me that His love for me is deeper, better, seasoned, more fun, more reliable, or more secure. I haven't done a thing to bring about anything any better. Maybe that will be my claim to fame, or maybe it will be on my tombstone: "Without doing anything to deserve it, Ralph knew God loved him like crazy.”

If you asked my wife, Sarah, why she loved me, she would give you some good reasons. She would say, "I love Ralph because . . . he's witty, he's smart, he's caring, he's good looking, etc." But if you asked God why He loved me, His response would be nothing like Sarah's. There would be no “because.” That's something that has confounded and fascinated and drawn me to Him ever since He first wooed me to Himself.

God is love! (1 John 4:8) God's love doesn't ebb and flow, rise and fall, motivated by the subject or the moment—God is love. And have you noticed? He's wild and reckless with it! When you consider who He loves, don't you come to the same conclusion? He doesn't keep His love only for the loveable—not for a moment! He lavishes His deep and lasting affection upon the best and worst of us—without regard. And, try as we might, nothing can ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39). Nothing. God shot my love equation all to hell. Really. He did it for love, and a re-write of what I thought love was.

And now? I’ve got a new equation: God's love + God's grace = Valentines galore! The very best of true love.

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:4-9).

Slaves In The Making

The lie of religion suggests that while God has already given us everything in Christ, we might have lost a little of the all we never earned—here’s how to get it back. Slaves are made in the "here’s how." So evil and destructive is this suggestion that the apostle Paul made a wish for those who spread the lie.

"As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!" Galatians 5:12

The Gift of Righteousness

On The Playgrounds With God

If you don’t know what and where God’s playground is, it’s likely because something else has distracted you and kept you from it. You don’t want to miss a good playground with God, right? Well, as a son or daughter of His, you’re set up for this.

First, beware of acquiring so much information about relationships that you treat people as case studies for the templates you access in the file cabinets of your brain. Do you have some of those? I sure do. Those templates, whether they involve children, adults, co-workers, love-interests, relatives or strangers, can easily get in the way of Christ in you and the leading and evidence of the Holy Spirit in you. Plus, you’ll not as easily get to know God, who is all about relationships and is rather good at them. While relationships get our interest—and they must—they are the playgrounds of God with you. Keep the truth of the gospel in the center of your relationships, reflecting upon it and the immediate presence of the Spirit, and you and yours will know “the power of God.”

Let me show you this from the New Testament. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians in 1 Corinthians 2:1 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

That makes a difference, right?

So why was the great apostle Paul afraid and trembling when with the Corinthians? Well, certainly the Corinthians had a not-so-good reputation for decent and hospitable behavior toward others. Paul likely knew that. However, I think Paul trembled because he didn’t erect and rely upon a personal façade, a kind of “Here’s-the-image-I-want-to-project-to-the-Corinthians” template to get them to do what he wanted. He had nothing to hide behind. No personality to push at them so they’d understand better. No excessive happiness (“You Corinthians are the greatest people in the world! You’re my best friends!”), no professional demeanor (“Please take your seats, Corinthians, and I, apostle, professor, bishop, reverend, ex-Pharisee, brother Paul shall bring you the gospel hidden for thousands of years.”), and he had no promise of prosperity following his ministry among them if they tithed (“You’re on the gravy train now, Corinthians! The wealth of Rome is on its way to you!”). No, he had none of that.

Among the Corinthians, Paul believed that knowing Jesus and that He had been crucified for them all was the best way to navigate relationships—elbow to elbow, face to face. No façade. No show. No template. When he could easily have put up a front that conveyed confidence and authority, he chose instead the defenselessness of knowing Jesus right then, whether Jesus gave him anything to say or not. That is scary. And that is where the evidence of Christ in you is uncovered. Is it mysterious? Of course it is! It’s white knuckles sometimes! It’s choosing an uncertain blindness to what fills the eyes for what fills the heart instead—and that’s God. But unless you choose it, you may not find how good life in the heart really is.

When you refuse the flesh’s diversionary tactic of relational templates because you believe that Jesus is in you, and that the Spirit’s great delight is to make Him evident and known in you (and maybe through you, in this fruit or that fruit), that is life—real life—by the Spirit. That is what you get with Jesus. It’s yours. And that is how He is formed in you, it’s how He becomes evident to you and through you.

When you do this you may find yourself saying a lot less, actually. I have. You may find yourself caring a lot more. You may find that you see people differently—better, more truly. You may find that it gets easy because it’s with Him, and that’s the point of Christianity—with Him, who comes to live in you. You may find that what you do say to people is right from your heart to theirs. And that is going to count.

That is why a godly trembling might be just the thing for you right about now, a holding back from the old relational templates of days gone bye . . . when you didn’t have more, when you didn’t have Who you have now. It will mean that God is calling you to the playground. A little “Come away with me. Let’s do something for people. You and I, we’re good at this together.”

And because of Him, you are.

(This is a transcript of yesterday’s video, “On The Playgrounds With God,” and is for those who might rather read than watch. To see the video, click https://youtu.be/Q18hkO6_tEw, or scroll down this blog page.)

On The Playgrounds With God

Got 7 minutes?  Many people tell me that, while they enjoy knowing Jesus at home and at church, He sort of disappears amongst all of the people and all of the work they have to do outside of home.  Here’s an amazing and daring way to “find Him” everywhere and with everyone.

His Life

It’s not so much about trusting God with my life given to Him; it’s about trusting God with His life given to me. After all, Jesus didn’t accept my life when I gave it to Him, I accepted His. Kindly and graciously, He crucified my life and gave me another—His. I’m learning to trust Him in me. What a wonder that is.

Be Careful How You Motivate

Surrendered Image offers a lot of great resources, particularly good articles with solid content.  Do you know of it?  They have just posted my article/video, and you can see it by clicking the link.

http://surrenderedimage.com/Blog/be-careful-how-you-motivate-35790

Satisfaction

We are set up to find our satisfaction in Jesus, and whatever sets us up, whether weakness, hardship, insult or arrogance, it is redeemed in knowing Him. Everything we encounter becomes a doorway to knowing Jesus.

Think Again

Think about this.  A believer has been put into Jesus, and shares in His death, shares in His resurrection, shares in His life, shares in His righteousness, shares in His holiness, shares in His blessings, shares in His work, shares in His glory, and will share in His life in the world to come.  A believer’s condition is spectacular and perfect because of where she is—in Jesus. 

Think about it.  She is not alone.  She is not a sinner.  She is not broken.  She is not poor.  Instead, she is always with God.  She is a new creation saint.  She is whole and complete.  She is wealthy.  Can she temporarily believe otherwise by choosing a worldly view, one outside of her true location?  Yes.  Will that change her condition?  No.  It will affect her experience but it will not change her condition or her location.  Deception is painful, but she cannot lose the magnificent benefits she did not earn, because she will never be removed from where she is.

If you’ve been induced to view yourself as outside of Christ and apart from the security and wealth found in Him, think again.  Have another look.  Did God make His “home” in you or not?  Did God make you a “new creation” or not?  Has He brought you to “fullness in Christ” or not?  Was God successful in blessing you with “every spiritual blessing in Christ” or not?  Yes or no?  He thinks the answers are all “Yes!”  If you’ve received Jesus and He has received you but you don’t like what you see, consider where you’re looking to find yourself.  It will affect you.

If who you think you are does not match up with who God thinks you are, think again.  It’s important.  Ask Him about it.  One of the most important questions you’ll ever ask is, “Father, what do you think of me?”  Prepare to like what you hear.  He will help you think again.

In Life

Christians, as we rise into the new day, we do well to remember that we are not first gathering ourselves to properly engage life, but that because we died with Christ and were raised in Him, we are in Life and have Life already—to the full—before we ever consider bacon and eggs. We are not searching for life; Life has come to us, made His home in us, and now we’re growing up in Life.

Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

 

Life for the Cling-On

(Yes, I’m a Star Trek fan and couldn’t help using Worf, the Klingon crewmember, to make an important point. I even gave him a cameo in yesterday’s video. Things often collide in my imagination, so I hope you enjoy what results.)

Some of us are schizophrenic cling-ons, holding on to our first birth in Adam one day (“I’m a sinner”), and then to our second birth in Christ on the next day (“I’m a saint”). It cannot be both. It is either one or it is the other. Either you are still in Adam (your first birth), you explain your misbehavior accordingly and have a whole lot of changing to do in order to overcome that troublesome birth, or you are in Christ (your second birth) and explain your misbehavior as fleshly and not in keeping with who you actually are by nature, Jesus having made that change for you and to you. Only those who cling on to their second birth have hope that Jesus made the change inside of us through the new birth—we really are new beings at the heart—and move on to new life in Christ.

I encourage you to cling on to your new birth in Christ, no matter what. It worked! It happened! He was successful! Thank you, Jesus! Can I get an “Amen”? Quit clinging on to and wrestling with imaginary Adam as if he defines you. He is gone. He is outta here. Turn your focus to Jesus and to the fact of Him with you and in you for life. He defines you. That’s better, right?

Here’s how your second birth, through faith in Christ, is described:

1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

 

Look at those beautiful words, and cling on! “Imperishable.” “Living.” “Enduring.” Doesn’t that seem like God did a perfect work? It does. He did it, and your second birth got rid of your troubled first birth. You will never “fall back” into your first birth because you are forever new in your second birth. Imperishable, indestructible, unchangeable—never will your birth or Spirit-born you decay, no matter how things look, no matter how you behave, no matter how you seem to mess things up. He did it. It worked. You’re in. Forever. You live by faith in Jesus—that He was successful. You live off Him and His triumph.

And that is life for the cling-on.

(This is a transcript of yesterday’s video, “Life for the Cling-On,” and is for those who might rather read than watch. To see the video, click https://youtu.be/4CQDplsFkWo, or scroll down this blog page.)

 

Life for the Cling-On

Got 3 minutes? Every now and then I get a little grumpy. If you’re the least bit of a Star Trek fan, you might think of me as Worf, the Klingon crewmember of the Enterprise. That might be how I come across in this video, but it’s for a vital truth, without which we suffer and cannot get healthy.

 

How To Handle The Judgment Doctors

A friend recently told me that an otherwise sweet and gentle person apologized for having been gossiping about her, and then took advantage of the difficult and fragile moment to find fault with her in a deeply hurtful manner.  In fact, faultfinding seemed to have been her intent all along.  My friend asked, “How can this be?  What should I do?”

Here is my response:  That’s a great question.  You have met someone who fancies herself to be accurate in her shallow judgments of others, and who then gathers a twisted courage to wrongly point out and heal wounds falsely.  But you can survive the evil of judgmentalness.

People will come to you in personal judgmentalness dressed up as caring concern, and offer you an olive branch that you will discover is actually a knife.  Out of your presence, they have already been cutting on you, and they’re about to continue in your presence.  They might say something like, “I have noticed how immature you are (or some such thing), and I’m sorry that I let it affect our relationship for so long without saying anything to you.  I apologize.  But don’t you think you should be concerned about this immaturity?  I mean, I sure know of some ways that you could be better . . .”  They are suddenly the doctor, you are the patient.  However, they care less about who you actually are than about what bothers them.  They have gone blind and want to share their blindness with you. 

Look away.  They cannot truly help you.

Here’s what I’ve done when a member of The Judgment Doctors (TJD hereafter) has approached me, suggesting healing but offering harm: 

1) I listen to TJD while thinking toward the Spirit.  I think something like, “Well, Holy Spirit/Jesus/Lord, I’m glad you’re with me to keep me to the truth.  You know me, so what do you think?”  While I listen to TJD, I’m listening beyond, I’m listening through.  I do not want to submit my identity and focus to anyone who cannot see me as Jesus does, but I do want to listen.  This keeps me both present and aware of God, who made me His son and who holds me securely in Christ.  This also allows Jesus in me to take the accusations, cuts and otherwise wounds from TJD.  He’s very good at that. 

2) I take what I can from TJD.  Whenever someone approaches me with criticism and they do not know me personally or (and especially) do not know me as I truly am, in Christ, they might still have something to say from which I can learn or go forward better than before.  That’s valuable.  They have a surface view of me, but perhaps there is a way I come across to them that I can easily correct without believing that I have to change who I already am.  God doesn’t want me to actually change, since He already made all of the change necessary.  And since I am His workmanship, what chance do I have at improving upon His work anyway?  I want to grow up in who I am, not alter who I am.  I’ve learned a few things from TJD over the years; very few were valuable, but some helped me to consider how I might be better understood or interpreted at the surface. 

3) I offer myself to God for a Spirit-led response to TJD.  Most often that has meant that I thanked them for their input:  I might say, “I know this could not have been easy for you, so I appreciate your effort to help me.  I’ll take what you’ve said and consider it with Jesus.  I know you’d want me to do that.”  Other times this has meant something more direct and less gracious.  I might say, “I think you see poorly and it bothers you, of course, and you’ve stumbled into this moment as a way to get relief.  If you knew me, if you knew the real me, the new creation that God has made, then that would have your focus, you would see truly, and both of us would be better for it.  Instead, you are shallow and trapped in blind judgmentalness, from which God will certainly want to free you.”  Since God knows the person talking with me, I listen for what He’d like them to hear from me:  something kind (maybe they’re only dabbling in judgmentalness, and He is about to do something with them to save them and to prevent them from becoming a full-fledged member of TJD), or something more like a harpoon—right to it.  He knows what’s needed, and I offer myself to Him for that.

4) I don’t quickly run away from TJD.  But I do consider it a viable option!  If TJD are going to be helped, then the opportunity might be when they show up to be judgmental about you.  Twisted in their thinking, they believe they’re being spiritual in coming to you, but they’re in danger of navigating perhaps all of their days in the blindness of judgmentalness.  That’s not going to go well!  That’s going to hurt—themselves and others.  TJD are often pretty friendless because no one wants their “help” anymore—it’s too painful and ineffective, because it’s focused upon the flesh.  It’s from their flesh directed at your flesh, and that’s not going to benefit anyone.  Maybe they can be helped by someone who cares about them . . . but maybe not.  Sometimes you’ve gotta get away from them, simply put.

5) I can be re-afflicted by the verbal assaults of TJD days later, so I reflect upon the truth and ask the Spirit what He thinks of me.  This is important!  If we’re going to remain open around people, and not barricade our hearts and proceed to navigate relationships by template or method but by the Spirit, then we will want to involve Him in the messy aftermath of a bout with TJD. 

The Spirit often sounds a lot like Colossians 2 and 3, where Paul strongly advised the perfect sons and daughters of God to remember to “live your lives in Christ, rooted and built up in Him,” to let no one take them captive by suggesting a “false person,” a “lesser person” than who they had become in Christ, since they had already been made perfectly complete and full in Him.  The Spirit reminds me that not only have all of my sins already been forgiven, but that the Law that proved my violations with evidence in support has been cancelled, having been nailed to the cross.  I am free of it, and so are you.  He tells me that I must let no one give me my personal identity based upon what earthly things they see me do or by what quirks they might see in my behavior. 

People who are falsely humble and who offer themselves as spiritual specialists will come after me and they will come after you, but we must not buy into their delusion.  You and I have died to the shallow estimations and pretended religionists of this world, and we are in Christ—perfect, righteous, holy and secure.  There is a lot that sets us up to need Him in our days, and I have found some of the best of life in Christ through ugly moments with TJD.  You can, too. 

All of us have fleshly quirks and odd behavioral characteristics about ourselves; we don’t cover them over or pretend they do not exist.  No one who ignores reality will escape paying the cost of it.  And that’s my point:  the reality of who I am and who you are in Christ is transcendently important.  It’s crucial.  We live truly and only when we live from there, quirks and odd characteristics notwithstanding.  Don’t let anyone focus you where God is not focused.  There is no life there, only confusion, and maybe years and years of it lost in lesser identities.  You and I live around people who cannot see us and who do not actually make the attempt to trust that Jesus made us new creation sons and daughters.  While they have little to offer the real you, listen to them but live in Christ.

I hope this helps you in your relationships and in how God offers “wellness,” rest and freedom to people through you.  He thinks that He has made them well off with Himself and with others, and it’s our “work” to help them enjoy that.  Keep your heart and eyes open, my friend.  He fills them both.

(This is a re-post.  To see the video, click http://youtu.be/zjIjL9GCCTE.)
 

No Change Needed

God doesn’t want me to actually change, since He already made all of the change necessary. And since I am His new creation workmanship, what chance do I have at improving upon His work anyway? I want to grow up in who I am, not alter who I am.

Jesus and Your Starting Point, 2016

As we turn the page and move into the New Year, I want to remind you of your starting point. If you’re considering a New Year’s resolution, here’s where faith starts and get’s you moving in the right direction. While it’s true of the New Year, it’s also true of every day, even every moment.

With Jesus, we don’t start incomplete; we start complete. We don’t start empty; we start full. We don’t start wounded; we start well. We don’t start broken; we start whole. From our new birth in Christ, our mind is catching up to the truth of who we are as a new creation—perfect sons, perfect daughters of God already. That’s our starting point! If you’ve been thinking or speaking differently, consider the truth, especially when confronted by your feelings. They’re not always your friends—they can lie—and the Holy Spirit with the truth will help you. That’s what He does.

Colossians 2:9-10a “For in Him all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been brought to fullness.”

“Fullness.” What’s missing from fullness? That’s not a trick question. Nothing! Not a thing. That happened at the start He made for you. That means you’ve got no room for more, because you have everything already. You’re starting full up! He did it. He’s done. And so are you. That is your starting point.

I want to thank you for your love and care and the many ways you contribute to this ministry. Some of you have begun to support us each month—do you know how encouraging that is to me? I hope so. Thank you for sharing in the ride that was 2015. Here’s to navigating 2016 together.

(This is a transcript from yesterday’s video, “Jesus and Your Starting Point, 2016,” and is for those who might rather read than watch. To see the video, scroll down this blog page, or click https://youtu.be/SeyGxPtHJmo.)