Questions

  It's true! I never met a question I didn't like ... or ask. Questions are terrific and, in my opinion, more important than answers. Though, I will quickly add that the reason for the questions is to discover answers. My point being that without the question, you really don't have a context. Questions always focus, though they often lead us to further questions.

  However in the midst of our question(s) we need to look at how we express them. Do we ask, expecting an answer? Do we express the question in a manner that is: challenging, angry, demanding, wondering, musingly (akin to but different from wondering), 'what if', etc. And do we recognize the answer... especially if it isn't what we want to hear? Do we allow the answer to be the end of the process or do we continue to discover the height, breadth, depth, etc. of whatever issue we are pursuing? If not... why?

  I realize that I have discussed this issue in the past but it is important for us all to discover where questions fall in our learning priorities.  My belief is that one of the biggest failings in education is that they have failed to help students learn how to ask questions. They appear to have the agenda to quash creativity, especially thinking outside the box, in favor of everyone knowing THE answer (according to the accepted current determination by The Authorities... whoever they are... yes, that was sarcasm). Process is lost in the midst of answer-giving rather than answer-discovering through asking questions.

  From a different perspective and definitely more importantly, do you ask God questions? Do you seek His answers for your questions? Do you seek to learn and discover what's important to Him? Do you use your understandings from your questions to lead you into a deeper appreciation of Who He is and what He does? The pastor recently challenged the congregation - When you ask God... ask BIG! Don't settle for less that all that the Lord has for you. But it becomes difficult to walk in this until you begin your journey of asking, not demanding, His involvement with your answers. 

  Questions lead. Typically to other questions. But questions are the method to discover all the various answers and discover yours. Rarely is there only one answer. What do you want to know? What do you need to know? Who do you turn to for answers? The Lord is right there with you and invites you into the questions and answers that provide you with meaning and purpose for your life.

GOLIATHs

  Got any Goliath(s) in your life? So tell me, what are you doing about/with/to them? Trying to ignore? Feeling defeated? Letting 'them' control? What? You do remember what happened to Goliath, don't you? Precisely. He got defeated. Now... what did it take to defeat him? And don't tell me that it was a rock from a slingshot because it was sooo much more. And don't tell me that the victor was a young man, actually a boy, because he too was sooo much more. Lastly, don't tell me that this has nothing to do with your life and issues because that too is sooo incorrect.

  Goliath(s) are NOT all the same. Some are bullies and run away when you don't succumb and actually challenge them. Some are truly as strong as they appear - but don't ever let the appearance of strength to deter you. Never ever just give in, give up and go away defeated. If you do then you are denying who you are and Whose you are. You are saying to those goliath(s) that they are mightier and stronger than God. Is that really what you want to say?

  I'm not suggesting that your goliath(s) aren't strong, I'm suggesting that God is considerably stronger and that He will prevail. For you that means that as you walk according to the path the Lord has you on that you will prevail. Scripture tells us in James 1:2-4, that when we fall into various trials that the testing will produce good results. In Hebrews 4:15 we are told that Jesus was tempted as we are but without sin.  And many times, this is the problem - we fall for the seduction and temptations leading us face to face with Goliath.

  The clincher, for me, that I can defeat my goliaths is 1Corinthians 10:13

     "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to
      man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
      beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make
      the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 


No temptation. Read that again... NO TEMPTATION beyond what we can bear. He will provide an escape. It means that we can go to Him and not be cast aside but given the necessary 'tools' so that our goliaths, like David's, are defeated!!! It's time to face the goliaths in our lives and overcome. We are able. We are equipped. We can defeat them.

Prayer... is for us!

  It took me some time to fully understand this and I'm still discovering. The Father doesn't need us to praise Him - we need us to praise Him, to worship Him for Who He is and what He does. Prayer is our method of coming to Him and consciously talking and fellowshipping with Him. If we aren't in relationship then how can we follow the 'directions' in Hebrews (11:6)?

     "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes
      to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
      who diligently seek Him."

Duly note the qualifier - faith. We come in faith... believing. Why would we come otherwise? If we don't believe then He can't help. Faith is our foundation to act on what we believe.

     "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
      obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

  From the beginning, when God created man, He wanted to be in relationship with us. Remember how He would walk with Adam in the cool of the day (Genesis)? Remember how His son, Jesus,  in speaking with His disciples, said that He called them 'friends' (John 15:15-16)?

     "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know
      what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all
      things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."

Friends! This relationship is what initially incensed Lucifer and ended causing his downfall. And relationship is our gift that we receive when we accept Him.

  Prayer is one method that we have to relate with the Lord. Never forget that this is a two-way communication. As you are still before the Lord, He does make known His plans and purposes. You/We bring our needs, our wishes, our dreams and hopes and lay these before Him waiting on Him. Prayer is our 'tool' to also go beyond needs, wishes, dreams and hopes into a deeper level of knowing and understanding. 

  As we wait on the Lord, He makes manifest to us what is important. That is why I say that prayer is really for us. When we wait and listen, we are empowered and commissioned. Prayer has always been more than simply bringing our requests. It's how we come. It's what we come with - such as singing unto the Lord concerning what He has done in our lives. Certainly He knows but it's important that we tell Him that we know. 

  Prayer can occur at any time, in any place. Prayer is never a one and done. Prayer is talking with the Lord and letting Him know our plans and allowing Him to become part of them, refining us and them. It is my belief that prayer is one of the pillars on which we stand in good times and in bad. It is the firm foundation. It never is shifting sand. Prayer.... is for us.

God pleaser?

  Are you a God pleaser? Consciously? How do you know? Do you Do and say those things that would be pleasing to Him? Do you want to Be pleasing? Does it matter? How do you know you are pleasing? Have you looked into His book, the Bible, to discover what pleases Him, what He considers important? Obviously you don't need to be pleasing, that is always your choice, but if it is important... do you act on it?

  Be-ing pleasing is never a 'goodie two-shoes' or 'brown-nosing' activity. It always has to be an intentional, integral, and purposeful decision - who you are, what you do, and how you go about Be-ing and Do-ing in the world you live in. I would argue that it takes enormous confidence and strength to be a God pleaser. You can't go against His standards. You can't be cavalier about who and what you are and do in the day. You do have to be intentional and not succumb to the possible ridicule by others or equivocate your stand to be other people-acceptable. It really depends on Who you want to please, because I would also argue that it is inevitable to not be a pleaser... to someone, thing.

  Presupposing you want to be a God pleaser, how do you go about being and doing this? It isn't a robot based attitude or action, it is based in a deep conviction that God is Who He says He is. That Jesus is our propitiation for sin and allowing us to enter into relationship. The the Holy Spirit is working in our lives to help us live a fruitful and abundant life. The Triune God is and continues to be your foundation and stand. And that you have a manual, The Bible, to help discover what is important, what would be pleasing to Him.

  Is it the same for everyone? Well, the decision is. The discovery is always personalized according to what understanding the person needs. The ultimate understandings are the same, the timing of the learning rarely is. And once learned, that's not the end. There are layers to uncover, depths to plumb, and behaviors to develop. You never stop learning and exploring and discovering. The motivation? To discover what is important to God. To become pleasing to God. But, ohhhhh what an adventure this is. And what joy it brings you when you know that you are becoming what the Lord sees in you.

Gifts

  Do you fully appreciate that it is We who are given gifts when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord! It’s true. And do you understand or realize ALL the gifts we are given? Have you unwrapped them in your life? Do you see the riches you have been given? Yes, it starts with salvation - being born again (John 3:3). Our acceptance, acknowledgement assures us of our final destination - heaven. Some people don't believe in hell, some don't believe that there is life after death but they are wrong or misguided. This present life isn't all that there is... there is life after death. Plus there is abundant life available to us... Now!

  Sadly, many times, we don't begin or we postpone our journey of discovery of what 'being born again' means in our lives. This will delay our understanding of what marvelous gifts the Lord gives to us when we accept Him. I still find it mind boggling that He would bring us gifts, but He does. I'm still discovering the depth and breadth of those gifts. 

  One of the more important (my bias) gifts He brings us is Righteousness. There are many other ones but, for me, this is the start of my discovery of all the gifts. 

     "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all 

      these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)

Seek FIRST the kingdom and His righteousness... this was sufficient for me as to my direction in beginning my journey. Yes, there are other gifts, but He wants us to begin with seeking His righteousness. 

  Righteous means being in right standing with the Father, nothing standing between us. One of the manifestations of this gift of righteousness is that we can be in relationship with the Father. The wall of separation because of our sin is erased because of the cross that Jesus bore for us. There is no conceivable way we can earn, purchase, or attain righteous - but because of Jesus, it is ours. Read again what righteousness purchases for us (2Corinthians 5:17-22). My understanding is that we are 'made' righteous in order that we are empowered to become His Ambassadors. And this only begins to scratch the surface of an unending discovery of His righteousness and what we can become and do as a result. Never forget though that it is Faith that is the pathway to righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, 22 and Galatians 3:6, etc.) Our faith is the beginning of the journey.

  Another critical gift is 'belonging-ness'. We become part of a family. We are adopted and become sons and daughters of the Most High God. We are joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17). We also have a place in the family - we are members of one body (1Corinthians 12). Verse 18 - "But now God has set the members, each one of then, in the body just as He pleased." To me this means that we have a role, a part, a responsibility that is important to the effective working of the body. This says that we have a meaningful life full of purpose. 

  There are many other gifts that Jesus brings to us when we accept Him as Lord, but there is only one gift we have to give Jesus when we accept His Lordship. But, though it is only one, it is the only one He wants. That gift of ours is us. But that's all He asks for. When we do and then open the gifts He's given, we become an enhanced and empowered who we are in order to be and do effectively in the world in which we live.

  Did I mention that there are responsibilities that come with the gifts? There are. But just like opening the gifts, accepting our responsibility seems to also to be our choice. We also grow in understanding, appreciation, and the other attendant aspects... at our own pace. We are constantly becoming so that what we DO has a solid foundation and isn't shifting sand. We are provided with armor (Ephesians 6) to become His strong Ambassador to the world in which we live. Remember though, seek the Giver not the gifts.  

Good Intentions aren't enough!

 Thank heavens for Paul's statement (Romans 7:15) about doing the things he didn't want to and not doing what he did want. I can get so very irritated with me when I do what, primarily in retrospect, I really didn't want to do/say. It's like the words just spill out of your mouth before you have the chance to catch them, almost as if they have a mind of their own - which is ludicrous. The problem is - once said, how do you resolve hurt feelings or mistakes or whatever is the result of your own behavior? More to the point - can you make amends? However, we can never let Paul's words become a license or excuse for our words/behaviors.

  A related area is our 'good intentions'. We really do need to be more intentional... about our intentions. Saying, '...but that's not what I meant...' or '...my intention was...' really doesn't help. Actually, it doesn't matter because your words and or actions conveyed a message someone else received. If you truly didn't mean what was understood, as what you 'meant'... you need to look at how you convey your messages so that misunderstandings or mix messages don't occur.

  This brings up - precisely, what do we want from our words, from the message? Do we want others to seriously consider what we say? Or, do we simply like the sound of our own voice? Only either/or? Probably there are a multitude of reasons concerning what and how we speak and what we want from others - acceptance of what we say, and action on what we say? Some people only want the opportunity to present a different view to be considered in the decision-making. Again - a multitude of reasons. My point is that we need to be very intentional about what we want from others, which means that we need to be intentional about our intentions.

  All of these 'issues' (behavior flaws?) leads to our lack of [willpower (?), intentionality (?) - fill in the blank] of our own Self-control, or at least our use of it. We really do have the ability to use self-control, it's ours but... do we exercise it? Not always and in some cases, quite deliberately ... until the remorse hits us. Do you know what self-control means, how it is defined? Simply because it is a 'concept' that does not mean that we know what it means - how it looks, what it 'feels' like, what it says about us. How You apply your self-control is the point.

  When you consider scripture, Galatians 5 teaches:

     "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under

      the law.(v14*)...  But the fruit of the Spirit is love,

      joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,

      faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such 

      there is no law." (v 22-23)   [*see also Romans 8:14]

       

This teaches us that... Against such things there is no law – that the fruit of the Spirit prevails. I could be mistaken, but I've interpreted this to mean that if I exercise my own self-control, then there is no need for someone/something else to control me - to stop me from doing or speaking. And before you ask, no this is not censorship. Nor are we to be mats to be stepped on. Nor is this an attempt to stop us from speaking the truth when it is not the 'accepted' mode. None as in none of the attempts to silence us is ever implied anywhere in scripture. If this seems like a narrow line to walk... it is.

  The letter to the Galatians is talking about being led by the Holy Spirit and giving us an understanding of what this means by talking about the evidence of the Spirit in our lives. We are taught that the fruit is the demonstration, the evidence. Our question should be - is our fruit ... love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Is this who we are? Are these the fruits that we exhibit?

  What do we ALWAYS have control over? Ourselves, our reactions, words, attitudes, behavior - to name a few of the significant qualities. Our actions are truly the follow through on our intentions. We CAN control our intentions... if we will. Can’t do it alone? Not sure we are supposed to. Try, yes. But part of the reason the Holy Spirit was sent was to strengthen us – let Him do His work and partner with Him. As we do exercise our personal control over ourselves, we discover that our helper (John 16:7) has been working with us all along to strengthen who we are becoming.

  Good intentions are important... as a starting point. We need to filter them through our self-control in order to determine whether to follow through. We can and in an instant. For me,  though I don't always do this, when I find that I am - my true intentions are in fact and not just in thought. 

Relationship building

  The beginning of a relationship may begin serendipitously, but the continuance is dependent upon the desires and willfulness, not just willingness, of those involved. Without continuous involvement by all, the relationship will atrophy. I know that the old saying says, "...that absence makes the heart grow fonder", but does this really 'work', I suspect that these relationships rarely last. Those involved must have a commitment to the relationship and for its health or it will gradually dissolve into only the superficial.

  And yet, from in a different context, I've learned to distrust anyone who says to me that they 'know' me when there is little time spent together. So one of my building blocks in Relationship Building 101 is time. Another of these blocks is to not limit the other person's growth or change - to not cast them into a cement of their 'who' they were, even if the then was only yesterday. We all grow, change, and develop based on a host of variables so we should always approach the other person with an openness to discovery - that there is so much more to learn about the other person and the relationship with them.

  This may go without saying, but another building block is truthfulness. If you can't rely on the other person's words or what they say they will do, then you tend to be on guard against (fill in the blank). Concomitantly, if you don't act with integrity, how can the other person be confident in what you say and do? By both parties there is always that degree of ... hesitation, a lack of confidence in the other person. 

  Taking this another step further, what is happening in/with your relationship with the Lord? Are you building a confident and secure interaction? I indicated only two of the many factors that go into building a relationship... with anyone. But, unless you take the time, because the Lord is always there, always ready (Deuteronomy 31:6) then the relationship will be superficial and/or crisis based. Do you really only want a superficial relationship with the Lord? What then, are you willing to do to have a close and intimate one? 

  Time has to be a component, a part in the building. Equally critical is that you be completely honest with Him. He knows. He was there when you said or did what you said/did. It really wasn't a surprise to Him. So why try and bluff your way? And yes, I know we do. Or we do something even worse by staying away because we are embarrassed or feel He won't forgive or whatever is keeping us away. Never, never, never forget 1John 1:9. If we... then He is. This promise is not license but it is understanding and forgiveness... and moving on. 

  Time and honesty are only 2 examples of the foundation pillars in relationship building. But they are significant ones. They have to be present or you have a superficial relationship and that never is acceptable to the Lord. The incredible joy, though, is that you can always begin developing a relationship right now, right where you are. Do start building your relationship with the Lord if you haven't. And if you have begun one, but have somehow let the cares of the world invade your time with Him, remember He is waiting. We limit ourselves when we don't take the opportunity to begin... now.