You Look, He Works

If you're God's workmanship (and, indeed, you are - Ephesians 2:10), then your part isn't to work but to relax and know Him and how He is with you.  Jesus is your focus because you’re His.  He'll take care of the building and the result, because He knows what He's doing.  You don't have to.  He’s the Expert.  That’s why you feel better after looking at Him or talking with Him. 

You look, He works.

A Harris Family Reunion

Can you tell it's an annual Harris reunion?   We're in Three Arch Bay, California.

Okay, it's only a small yellowfin croaker, but still.  I'll seek out it's grandpa tomorrow.

My eldest daughter, Ellen and I wandered the beach early this morning.

Beach bums.

 

 Two of my brothers.  Yes, one is my identical twin.

Yes, we're a tad bit odd.

Listen For Him

If God long ago bore all of your iniquities and ransomed you from sin, if He made you His own home, secured you for heaven and rescued you from this present evil age, if that’s all done, then you’ll be able to discern the voice of the Liar whenever you hear anything different, even if it comes from someone you might otherwise believe.  That will also help you to hear the voice of truth and freedom and love and correction and direction and encouragement.  It will sound like you’d think Jesus would sound looking right at you, since He knows all that He has loved doing for you already.  He has the voice you want. 

Listen for Him. 

(Isaiah 53; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 2:6-7; Galatians 1:4) 

Mississippi Crosses

Sometimes I get to experience something that was obviously orchestrated long ago. That was the past five days in Mississippi. It was rare, it was profound, it was surprising, it was engrossing, and it was loving. Pictured here are the coaches with whom I spent three days, talking and sharing and cooking and arguing and laughing and dreaming. Seven men who know Jesus loves them, as well as the players, students, staff and families they’re deeply involved with every day. We talked about where God is, how He got there, what He’s doing there, how we can know Him and walk with Him in what He’s doing, and how we can assist others to the same in the midst of learning how to play football—and to play the game well.

The second picture is of the eighty players, coaching staff and college President, gathered for an unforgettable moment. Two men in their 80’s, each of whom allowed as how they had believed their lives were virtually over in terms of godly fruitfulness, in a moment and seemingly by coincidence, arranged for us all to gather together. One of them had recently “lost” his wife of more than sixty years, while the other had a crazy vision several years ago of erecting three large crosses on a part of his property. In the years since, he wondered why and if anyone would ever see them.

As I spoke about the cross of Christ, history’s most important moment when our sin was removed and we were made innocent, and how one covenant became the “former covenant” as the New arrived, where the pressure to keep our side of the covenant was removed from us and kept eternally by God, these two men happily and openly cried. I spoke for only sixteen minutes, but a more captivating and profound sixteen minutes I have not known. And the team members? I wish you could have seen their faces. They were beautiful as they received the truth of Christ.

Thank you for being involved with me in the grace and love of Christ. I don’t know of anything more worthwhile and satisfying.

Intimacy With God

Intimacy with God is not something you can earn or achieve. Intimacy with Him is something already achieved and given, and is something you learn to enjoy. "But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit." 1 Corinthians 6:17

The Ultimate Eureka

Sometimes a person’s quest for love is played out for all of us to see.  I don’t mean in a movie and the big screen—that’s acting—I mean most everyone is told or shown or is somehow privy to what someone is going through relative to their quest for love.  You can probably think of some of those people. . .it’s not pretty.

Jim Morrison, the amazing lead singer of The Doors, a top band in the 1960’s until his drug-overdose death in 1971, played out before us and sang of his search for authentic love.  Through endless and momentary relationships that resulted in more than 20 paternity lawsuits against him, as well as tawdry newspaper headlines, magazine exposes, and more than 20 tell-all books written about what Morrison’s search looked like, he found only fragments of love, evidence, but not the love that gave him safety and rest, freedom to be himself all the time.

He wrote, “That’s what real love amounts to—letting a person be what he really is.  Most people love you for who you pretend to be.  To keep their love, you keep pretending—performing.  You get to love your pretense.  It’s true, we’re locked in an image—an act.”

If love is the greatest treasure, the most desirable and fulfilling gold we can possess because of what it does for us and to us, then every “Eureka!” every little discovery we have with each other is a vein leading to the source and treasure Himself.

It’s all over the New Testament, and 1 John 4:8 tells us specifically that God is love—He is the treasure we seek—and He is famously described to the love-confused Corinthians, and to the love-confused Jim Morrison, as well as to the love-confused Ralph Harris, and to you.  If you wonder how God, Love Himself, is with you, this is it: 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)
I’m thankful for the love I find in others, because it gives me a glimpse of what I’m really after.  But I no longer demand that their love equates with God’s love, nor do I confuse it as the end of my desire or the conclusion of my hunt—it isn’t the mother lode I once thought it was!  The source to which all of the little discoveries point is Jesus.  We’re entirely safe with Him, who loves us perfectly—no need to perform ever.  He is the “Ultimate Eureka” for which we search.

(This is a transcript of yesterday’s video, “The Ultimate Eureka,” and is for those who might rather read than watch.  To see the video, click http://youtu.be/qApostubk44, or simply scroll down this page.)

Speaking In Mississippi

I’ll be heading to Jackson, Mississippi, early in the morning on Friday (July 19), to spend the weekend speaking at a retreat with college football coaches, and then with the team on Monday. We would appreciate your prayers.

The Ultimate Eureka

Is there something that makes navigating the dangers and confusion of love worth it?  Give 5 minutes, and see if your heart doesn’t recognize the destination we’re seeking.

Context & Punctuation

Americans (and those hungry Canadians) get blamed for a lot already, but really?

The Power of Sin

This from my friend, Joel Brueseke, is beautifully clear: 

Paul didn't say, "By the law is the knowledge of righteousness." He said, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:20)

Paul didn't say, "The law was added so that righteousness might increase." He said, "The law was added so that sin might increase." (Romans 5:20)

Paul didn't say, "When the commandment came, righteousness sprang to life and I became alive." He said, "When the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died." (Romans 7:9).

There's a big difference between what Paul said and what is taught in many churches these days.

I would add that Paul didn’t write, “The power of sin is not knowing the law.” He wrote, “The power of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:56)

If you're struggling with sin, consider whether you're attempting to live by "straightening yourself up," by keeping good rules and appearances, or by looking to Jesus, who made us free and who makes us His workmanship.

Slang's Beginnings

An example of how slang gets started.

That's You

If God is working for change, then perhaps the greatest change He’s bringing about is for you to identify yourself, to think of yourself more as He does than you otherwise might by looking only at your reflection in the mirrors of this world — A true son or daughter, the place where He lives happily, a noble ambassador in this world, perfectly compatible with Him, now fit for heaven.

That’s you.  He has seen to it.  What do you think?

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

(This is a transcript of yesterday's video, "That's You," and is for those who might rather read than watch.  To see the video, click on http://youtu.be/Sag5NVb-UqY, or just scroll down this page.)

That's You

Got 1 minute?  If God is working for change, what do you think the biggest one is? 

A God-Given Unveiling

One of my favorite events is God’s unveiling of me to me.  He unclutters my thinking, He detoxes my mind, particularly regarding how He and I are doing together.  And I’m amazed by God.

If that seems selfish, bear with me.  Oftentimes the pressures and strategies of this world result in a virtual blindness of ourselves to ourselves.  This is not pleasing to God, who has made an incredible change to us through Jesus’ cross and resurrection.  He wants everyone to know!  To the extent that we remain unseeing, unconvinced is the degree to which we are hindered in our love affair with God and in our approach to people.  What’s the cure?  A proper view of His mercy and grace that pulls the cloak off of our minds, revealing the transformation. 

We who write and announce The Good News do it in order to assist people—you—with the view that awakens, unveiling you to you, and forever attracting you to the One who made it happen through Christ. 

To that end, I wrote a book.  You’ll find lots of books that I highly recommend on the “Recommends” page at LifeCourse.org, and I think you’d enjoy them all.  But this one’s mine—“God’s Astounding Opinion Of You”—and you can even get it or give it for free if that’s the way you need it. 

If you’ve already read it, then consider sharing this post on your web site or home page, and spread the news of God’s grace to us in Christ.  It will help people with their own God-given unveiling, and that’s what we want.  Right?

For more, Click on Ralph’s Book at:  http://lifecourse.org.

(This is a transcript of yesterday’s video, “A God-Given Unveiling,” and is for those who might rather read than watch.  To see the video, click http://youtu.be/d8ad1dFdax0, or scroll down this page.)

A God-Given Unveiling

Oftentimes the pressures and strategies of this world result in a virtual blindness of ourselves to ourselves.  It's a killer.  What’s the cure?  Give 3 minutes to this video and see what you think.