Two realities put their fingerprints on me, the physical reality and the spiritual reality. The physical, earthly reality press relentlessly, assaulting my senses, vying for my allegiance with belligerence or cunning, and if I succumb, I have an ailed allegiance. Yes, in hostility, the world wages war to wrap my wishes in the here and now. Cunningly the world entices my desires promising present soothing, a self-serving semblance of security. All the while, the less visible yet more extant spiritual reality is overwhelmed by our senses and the apparent need of the immediate.
This battle between apparent physical reality and spiritual reality appears more visibly leveraged on the physical side of the balance as our eyes, ears, tastes and touches tie us with force to the world around us. The spiritual reality requires a diligent searching and exploration beyond what our senses seem to tell us. Not that our senses will not confirm the spiritual, but the physical frequently overwhelms the spiritual. Yet it is this spiritual, Godly allegiance that brings the oil into our lives; The oil that reduces the friction of ills rubbing against us to wear us down bringing us to ruin.
Just as in life, the immediate, the apparently more necessary task of the physical now, can do much to derail us from the deeper character of a well disciplined, relatively focused overall life. It should be that as we mature, we discover that, while there are many noble ventures, if we were to attempt to accomplish them all, we would in fact accomplish very little with any form of depth. Life would be shallow, scattered and mostly insignificant.
A life life lived most successfully is one uncovering our call, while setting in motion plans, distinct plans toward the continuation of the deepening of the call or purpose within our existence. None of us dream of having come to the end of our lives, disappearing off the planet with little impact or worldly benefit as the result of our toil. We all want our lives to count for something significant.
A squandered life is a sad one. Most of us would even go so far as to say a self serving, self centered life is a sad one, right? If nothing is more irritating than a life consumed and lived only for the satisfaction of itself, would a life lived in complete opposite have the complete opposite effect? Well, honestly, no. We would then live the derailed life of a scattered one, living and serving every need that comes our way, without a filter because another may be better suited to solve their problem. When someone comes to you with a legal issue, should you go as far as to represent them in court? Probably not if you aren't a lawyer. But will you tell them of a good lawyer you know? (and yes, there are many 'good' lawyers).
A balanced life is a life lived with greater content even in the face of disappointment and trials. The balance is found in the understanding of vacillating priorities that come our way. Sometimes I do need to take care of myself, other times I do need to take care of others. The most profound discovery in my life, has been that sometimes I need to let others take care of me. All this, part of the appropriate, correct balance of life.
There are two reasons why this balance does not occur. Our pride, and the fact that others are not looking hard enough into our life to see our need and make the sacrifice to help us, forcing us to either take care of the issue ourselves, or ask for help (but the second won't happen if we are steeped in pride). Honestly, most of us would point our finger at other's failure to meet our needs rather than point the finger at ourselves but when we do, we need to honestly ask the question:
What am I doing to sacrifice and meet the needs of others?
A life continually lived in defense, or with a belief of completely and fully doing so, is most likely living in a self-deceived state, as this question cannot be answered quickly.
So how does a life find balance? How does a life find their needs met? And the question of the century; How is what is happening now in civilization working for us?
Having now been unemployed for three months, I find my life wrestling with many questions. The foremost one being who am I? Followed by what am I to do? My career over the last 11 years has been led through change in such that I have insignificant tenure in any school district to remain employed, and even though many in the districts and schools I taught at would confirm my gift and abilities as top notch, I find myself unable to get a job, competing against many younger and more energetic potential candidates with the door to my career path seemingly closing. It is a potentially disturbing situation I live with.
I need help and ask for it. I pour myself into the expressive side of me (these blogs and other ways) with no result of income or ways and means for such. My wife and I have tightened our belts (thank God she has a fantastic job that pays well) and I press on, seeking balance, seeking truth, seeking my calling, seeking...God.
I find myself asking for His wisdom in this day, His call for my life, His desire to shape me into a man with His significance, His heart, His grace, His order forging discipline and care into my life. I have other friends in my same predicament with even more dire challenges, and I have many times been there too. I have been amazed at how often I settled for less and was severely disappointed. I also stand fully aware that I too have contributed to the disappointment of others, and the plethora of times I could have sacrificed just a bit more to make a huge difference in another's situation of life.
Rather than beat myself for these moments of coming up short, I choose now to rise and do, to listen and hear, to move and walk in a manner worthy of my God Himself. It is much larger than I can take credit for, requires more power and skill than I could ever dream of. I am tired of being a poor representative of Jesus Christ, and though I will fail, He will prevail through them. He has taken many of my poor choices and raised them to a level I cannot take credit for, but sincerely appreciate. It is not my decision and personal wisdom that I am touting, but the glories of God adding oil to my allegiance, to the friction of my life.
Our nation was built on balance. Our nation was built because we trusted in God. Don't believe me? Look on every piece of your money...oh that's right, we don't often use cash, so we don't often have such to look at, and even if we do, we overlook the 'truth' stated on each coin and bill. So how are things working for you? Has our nation, moving away from this belief solved and provided everything you need and desire as an American? Is it not time to stop looking for man's solution and wisdom to solve our national issues?
In my current state of employment, yes I continue to remain 'employed' by my God to be and do, and every day is filled with His call, His leading. I believe my life can be lived out in significance, and that won't happen with me planting my hind end on the couch watching blathering, insignificant media pouring fantasy in the name of reality into my life. It is time for a new venture, a new direction, a new place to be and go. Where? I will follow and listen to Him for today. I believe He is unfolding His call bit by bit, and that is enough for me.
Is it enough for you? Are you feeling what I feel? Are you growing weary of your daily experience? Are you looking for a 'savior'? I know one I can trust. He isn't and hasn't let me or any of my brothers and sisters down yet. He owns and designed the physical world as the spiritual one existed before the physical. It is time to put the 'worlds' in their right order. It is time to set the priorities straight. It is time to rise above that which we can see only with our eyes to see beyond the physical to God's revelation, God's leading, God's purpose for all of us.
The questions remain. Is our allegiance ailed? Or, do we find our allegiance oiled? Friction is a scientific fact or property of movement. As I look at many of my friend's lives, some seem relatively unaffected by worldly friction, while others seem to be ground on hard, life wearing and tearing their lives apart. Is it time to restore our allegiance to the only one who has proven to provide in the past, and present?
I can't explain it, but I have tried God and found His hope, His provision, His guidance, His wisdom, far greater than any I have found in the world. How about you?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
How is This Heavenly? How This, is Heavenly.
If anyone promised you or I that trusting in Christ would bring us a life without toil or trouble, they are walking in an disillusioned 'bubble'. For if not yet, surely toil and trouble will strike them, shaking them to their utter core. To be honest, I too wrestle with the fact that God leaves His Fingerprints on us by allowing difficulty and struggle, and some of us get to do more of that than others which doesn't seem 'fair'. How...is this...heavenly?
I have grown weary of a world whose major premise seems to be that equality of everything will make life...'fair'. Yes, we are created equally human, and have the rights to live and do as we believe, as far as those rights do not remove the rights of individuals to live as they believe. This is why I do not impose my beliefs upon others, feel that legislating beliefs is the answer, or engage in confronting wrong thinking and compelling others to abandon such as my 'cause'. Yet,this is why I do not have the right to take your life, unless you threaten to take mine or the life of those I love. And this too, is why you do not have the right to take my freedom to believe and do, allowing other beliefs to be flaunted in front of me, while squelching my right to humbly 'share' my truth. Many speak of 'tolerance' but only as far as it fits their belief. Many speak of equality, but only as their idea find equal ground as other beliefs or values.
So, in fact, is equality really something that should be grasped? Will equality bring heavenly utopia to our world? It seems we may never know, for complete equality will never be!
Imagine a world where everyone received the same pay for what they did for a living. Where everyone lived in equal estates with equal amounts of toys, and all covered with equal amounts of health care. Isn't this kind of thinking absurd? For those of us who believe in heaven after this life, we know that equality does not exist even there! But satisfaction and absolute unity and peace does exist there, of this we are confident! We will be satisfied, fully satisfied that we are present and together doing as we are supposed to do and be!
God's impression upon our earthly existence is therefore not one of equality, but divine provision and care through every single ordeal and blessing He provides for the good transformation of our unique and individual souls. I have seen the tragedy He brought me through bring comfort to others who face the same types of tragedy years later, in their 'now'. I have seen His hope, His sustenance in the face of incredibly impossible odds rise up in my life and the testimony of His work, provide a rope for others to hold onto while they are hanging above the pit of despair. Others have been my rope in such times of encroaching disaster, of whom I am always eternally thankful for their persistent presence in my life!
I find myself no longer asking the question "Why?", but rather spending better time asking the questions "What? Where? and How?". What do You want me to do? Where do You want me to go? And How do You want me to live and walk as an encourager with them in their time of need? Later, as I have found looking back on the lives of those who asked these questions and followed through in my life, my response to be...How this, is heavenly!!!!
I have grown weary of a world whose major premise seems to be that equality of everything will make life...'fair'. Yes, we are created equally human, and have the rights to live and do as we believe, as far as those rights do not remove the rights of individuals to live as they believe. This is why I do not impose my beliefs upon others, feel that legislating beliefs is the answer, or engage in confronting wrong thinking and compelling others to abandon such as my 'cause'. Yet,this is why I do not have the right to take your life, unless you threaten to take mine or the life of those I love. And this too, is why you do not have the right to take my freedom to believe and do, allowing other beliefs to be flaunted in front of me, while squelching my right to humbly 'share' my truth. Many speak of 'tolerance' but only as far as it fits their belief. Many speak of equality, but only as their idea find equal ground as other beliefs or values.
So, in fact, is equality really something that should be grasped? Will equality bring heavenly utopia to our world? It seems we may never know, for complete equality will never be!
Imagine a world where everyone received the same pay for what they did for a living. Where everyone lived in equal estates with equal amounts of toys, and all covered with equal amounts of health care. Isn't this kind of thinking absurd? For those of us who believe in heaven after this life, we know that equality does not exist even there! But satisfaction and absolute unity and peace does exist there, of this we are confident! We will be satisfied, fully satisfied that we are present and together doing as we are supposed to do and be!
God's impression upon our earthly existence is therefore not one of equality, but divine provision and care through every single ordeal and blessing He provides for the good transformation of our unique and individual souls. I have seen the tragedy He brought me through bring comfort to others who face the same types of tragedy years later, in their 'now'. I have seen His hope, His sustenance in the face of incredibly impossible odds rise up in my life and the testimony of His work, provide a rope for others to hold onto while they are hanging above the pit of despair. Others have been my rope in such times of encroaching disaster, of whom I am always eternally thankful for their persistent presence in my life!
I find myself no longer asking the question "Why?", but rather spending better time asking the questions "What? Where? and How?". What do You want me to do? Where do You want me to go? And How do You want me to live and walk as an encourager with them in their time of need? Later, as I have found looking back on the lives of those who asked these questions and followed through in my life, my response to be...How this, is heavenly!!!!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Incredibly Indelible
Fingerprints fade; Usually. Just like the surface of weathering rocks, the etching of time and erosive forces remove them. But, unlike rocks, lives are shaped by the weathering of the soul and unlike rocks, weathering of the soul adds character rather than removes it. Surely, weathering uncovers what lies within a rock, but never does it add character, just reveals what already exists.
I have, however, found the remains of incredibly indelible Fingerprints upon my life. Fingerprints that do not fade, but press into and add character, God's character to this wayward soul. As He presses and touches my life, there rises within a new character, a boldness I have come to adore. I turn to read His writings and they are like the magic powder that reveals the image of these, His Fingerprints upon my life. The more I read, and the more I carefully observe the Fingerprints of my Master upon my soul, the more apparent becomes the calling and direction of my soul.
Some wonder why I do not grow weary of walking in the presence of war torn warriors of life. Those who mourn, those who have lost a loved one, those who have lost their marriages, those who have lost their jobs, these are the war torn warriors of whom I speak. I too am one such warrior of life, having lost my job, now 'aimlessly' writing and thinking, doing and listening. Yet I do not grow weary and I have not grown bored. Something has changed in my life. I am a long way from the man I started as when I was a scant 18 years old. It is as if my life has become transformed with the incredibly indelible Fingerprints of God.
Mind you, I do not speak boldly of attaining some perfection, or absolute purity, but I am moving in such appropriate direction with even my wife confirming this fact. Friends are encouraged with Fingerprints God places on their souls through this transformed heart. Many are perplexed at the peace that seems to rule my Fingerprinted soul. I have tasted and brushed death. I have sailed through numerous storms in life, and I have seen the provision of God through each trial. I have been blessed with 28 years of marriage to a gracious lady and best friend in life, and it hasn't been all smooth sailing, but we have persisted to this current harbor of rest together. I have been present at each of my children's births, participating in their raising, and have celebrated many joyous events. All these, both pleasurable and endearing, painful and pervasive leaving Fingerprints, each developing within me character, God's character.
His character is incredibly indelible. His holy, righteousness? Incredibly indelible. His power and majesty? Incredibly indelible. And His Fingerprints upon my soul? Incredibly indelible!
Whose fingerprints can be found on your life? Whose character, integrity and form does your life represent? When you exit this place, this terrestrial ball, who will be there to celebrate the fingerprints you have left in their lives?
Fingerprints press on each of us in significant events. Some are drenched in delight and splendor, others steeped in misery and angst. In between stretch the restful, fluid flows; the meanderings and majority of the living of life. Even here, The Fingerprints press onto our lives, only with far reduced force, a gentle firmness.
I believe in an incredibly indelible presence, persistence and power. He is more than all that, He is, God. He leaves incredibly indelible fingerprints upon our lives and He shows them to me with great regularity. Dust your life for His Fingerprints and you will see glory. Not our own, but his incredibly indelible glory!
I have, however, found the remains of incredibly indelible Fingerprints upon my life. Fingerprints that do not fade, but press into and add character, God's character to this wayward soul. As He presses and touches my life, there rises within a new character, a boldness I have come to adore. I turn to read His writings and they are like the magic powder that reveals the image of these, His Fingerprints upon my life. The more I read, and the more I carefully observe the Fingerprints of my Master upon my soul, the more apparent becomes the calling and direction of my soul.
Some wonder why I do not grow weary of walking in the presence of war torn warriors of life. Those who mourn, those who have lost a loved one, those who have lost their marriages, those who have lost their jobs, these are the war torn warriors of whom I speak. I too am one such warrior of life, having lost my job, now 'aimlessly' writing and thinking, doing and listening. Yet I do not grow weary and I have not grown bored. Something has changed in my life. I am a long way from the man I started as when I was a scant 18 years old. It is as if my life has become transformed with the incredibly indelible Fingerprints of God.
Mind you, I do not speak boldly of attaining some perfection, or absolute purity, but I am moving in such appropriate direction with even my wife confirming this fact. Friends are encouraged with Fingerprints God places on their souls through this transformed heart. Many are perplexed at the peace that seems to rule my Fingerprinted soul. I have tasted and brushed death. I have sailed through numerous storms in life, and I have seen the provision of God through each trial. I have been blessed with 28 years of marriage to a gracious lady and best friend in life, and it hasn't been all smooth sailing, but we have persisted to this current harbor of rest together. I have been present at each of my children's births, participating in their raising, and have celebrated many joyous events. All these, both pleasurable and endearing, painful and pervasive leaving Fingerprints, each developing within me character, God's character.
His character is incredibly indelible. His holy, righteousness? Incredibly indelible. His power and majesty? Incredibly indelible. And His Fingerprints upon my soul? Incredibly indelible!
Whose fingerprints can be found on your life? Whose character, integrity and form does your life represent? When you exit this place, this terrestrial ball, who will be there to celebrate the fingerprints you have left in their lives?
Fingerprints press on each of us in significant events. Some are drenched in delight and splendor, others steeped in misery and angst. In between stretch the restful, fluid flows; the meanderings and majority of the living of life. Even here, The Fingerprints press onto our lives, only with far reduced force, a gentle firmness.
I believe in an incredibly indelible presence, persistence and power. He is more than all that, He is, God. He leaves incredibly indelible fingerprints upon our lives and He shows them to me with great regularity. Dust your life for His Fingerprints and you will see glory. Not our own, but his incredibly indelible glory!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Touched and Touching
As I start this new blog, I find myself, my life, touched by God's mercy through the loss of a dear friend's father, Bob. Life is all to brief. Looking back and my passing (a short while ago) of my half century of life, it becomes all too evident that even under the best of circumstances, this life of mine has past it's half way mark, with my demise, earthly as remains currently, rapidly approaching.
In some ways, Bob's life is similar to mine, both of us share a common name and participate in making music with saxophones, his, more complete and actually professionally recorded, mine a passion and dream that maybe one day may find such, but with his passing I am reminded with a hard slap in the face that it is time to make sure I'm fully awake and fully pressing on to speak of that which is fully, life.
You see, we are all touched and touching lives. Lives around us are touched and touching us, and for many of us, God is touched and touching our lives as we press into the lives of others around us. God touched by our lives? Yes, it seems like an impossibility that such 'insignificant' creatures such as you and I can have a impact of a righteous, holy and perfect God, but, as evidenced by Jesus Christ praising and celebrating the life of a widow who in kingdom currency gave more that others who gave, by the world's value much more, it can be accomplished!
It is now time, as a church, to be touched and start touching the lives of others as a response of love and communication with God. We must listen, let Him leave His impression upon our lives, and then live as the magic powder that exposes His fingerprints upon you and me to others who need to see them. His fingerprints build character, integrity and honor in such a way that others may not see directly, but experience in power and healing. Are you ready to let God's fingerprints touch your life so you can touch others with Him? It is time to 'let' God leave His impression, the full and true impression of who He is and what He calls us to do.
I have been touched by Him and He is touching my life as a response to Him. So as one touched and touching others, if we all do the same the world would be transformed towards the glorification of Christ, leaving His fingerprints everywhere we go. Are you ready to be touched and continue touching the lives of others? We have been touched. Its time to start touching others in, not religion, but the power and fullness of Jesus Christ.
In some ways, Bob's life is similar to mine, both of us share a common name and participate in making music with saxophones, his, more complete and actually professionally recorded, mine a passion and dream that maybe one day may find such, but with his passing I am reminded with a hard slap in the face that it is time to make sure I'm fully awake and fully pressing on to speak of that which is fully, life.
You see, we are all touched and touching lives. Lives around us are touched and touching us, and for many of us, God is touched and touching our lives as we press into the lives of others around us. God touched by our lives? Yes, it seems like an impossibility that such 'insignificant' creatures such as you and I can have a impact of a righteous, holy and perfect God, but, as evidenced by Jesus Christ praising and celebrating the life of a widow who in kingdom currency gave more that others who gave, by the world's value much more, it can be accomplished!
It is now time, as a church, to be touched and start touching the lives of others as a response of love and communication with God. We must listen, let Him leave His impression upon our lives, and then live as the magic powder that exposes His fingerprints upon you and me to others who need to see them. His fingerprints build character, integrity and honor in such a way that others may not see directly, but experience in power and healing. Are you ready to let God's fingerprints touch your life so you can touch others with Him? It is time to 'let' God leave His impression, the full and true impression of who He is and what He calls us to do.
I have been touched by Him and He is touching my life as a response to Him. So as one touched and touching others, if we all do the same the world would be transformed towards the glorification of Christ, leaving His fingerprints everywhere we go. Are you ready to be touched and continue touching the lives of others? We have been touched. Its time to start touching others in, not religion, but the power and fullness of Jesus Christ.
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