3 When I was going to the province of Macedonia, I encouraged you to stay in the city of Ephesus. That way you could order certain people to stop teaching false doctrine 4 and occupying themselves with myths and endless genealogies. These myths and genealogies raise a lot of questions rather than promoting God’s plan, which centers in faith.
5 My goal in giving you this order is for love to flow from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith. 6 Some people have left these qualities behind and have turned to useless discussions. 7 They want to be experts in Moses’ Teachings. However, they don’t understand what they’re talking about or the things about which they speak so confidently.
1 Tim 1:3-7 (GW)

From the time before I was born, while still in my mother’s womb, I was being affected by the sounds of my father’s guitar. Somehow, growing up on a ranch, with more of a country heritage, he became drawn to classical music, and especially the Latino sounds of romantic musical expression. Without any lessons or critique he had learned many pieces on his electric guitar by listening to phonograph albums. Although many of his techniques were not what would be considered correct, there was something he communicated to me in his playing that touched my heart with an inspiration and a motivation to produce that same passionate expression. In his playing is a sound that moves past the limitations of mental thought and methodology of theory to the reason music exists in the first place- to produce an emotional movement of the heart.

In my musical studies inspired by both the guitar playing of my father and the piano playing of my mother I moved on to the university setting where the emphasis became more on methods and theoretical correctness than actual production of something to which a heart might be drawn. For all that was brought to an ability to play expressively during that period of intense criticism, there was almost a loss of the passion that drew me to play in the first place. While my mother and father had given very little criticism, what he did give was a demonstration and an expression of what music really was in such a way that I will never be able to let go of it. I’m grateful for that exposure and it is still my pleasure to go to their mountain home surrounded by the inspiration of God’s incredible creation and hear the heart sounds of their playing. I’m always turned once again to that purpose that transcends the confines of the scholarly ones self-consumed in their knowledge of history, theory and ability to criticize, but possessing very little ability to draw a tear from a single note of their production.

I’m grateful for all that’s been provided in the Word regarding everything having to do with life and Godliness. He has left nothing out that is most necessary for the fullness of life that is ours in Christ. What has drawn me to the cross, though, hasn’t been the sounds of debate and contention that elevate the details above the overall purpose of the composition. In Christ there is a sound that will pervade even the most detailed theme that maintains the forward motion of a heart-consuming expression of His overpowering love. Any sound, any compilation of knowledge or ability to elevate based upon ‘superior’ information or methods apart from this sound of love will just be an annoying and discouraging ‘sounding brass or tinkling cymbal’.

I’m grateful for the real sounds of heart expression that have come to me from my parents, motivating me to a life’s quest to produce like sounds, and I’m grateful for the sounds of my Savior’s heart that have drawn me to a life that transcends the thoughts and contentions that would in themselves only inspire doubt and confusion. May there be in the airwaves that are moved by my expressions much more of His heart purpose than any mental contentious construction. May there be a heart moved, a tear shed and a life drawn to a quest of like production.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 GNB  The LORD gave me this answer: “Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance.  (3)  Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed.

`Que sera, sera– Whatever will be, will be’. So why bother to write it down, then, if it’s just going to happen anyway? Maybe the looking at what is written enables the course to completion?

I remember the first day of registration at Denver University lo these many years ago. There was a day coming a little less than four years from that point, on which I was determined to graduate with a Music Degree. My look towards that day guided every course I chose from that first registration all the way through my last semester. It was beyond my capacity to keep that day from arriving, but whether or not I was a college graduate on that coming day was totally dependent on the direction of my gaze over that course of time. It wasn’t enough to just sit back and let the passage of time take care of my destiny. It’s success would only be determined by a written goal that stated my major course of study. Many well-intended friends I met that first day never made it through to walk across the stage and shake the Chancellor’s hand. Their initial intentions could not take the place of a steadfast gaze on an unwavering, written down goal.

The future is a force of inevitable arrival, but this force is not without the potential influence of a written-down goal that is completely within our capacity in Christ. Four years, ten years, a lifetime will pass and whether or not those milestones include the abundance and fulfillment that He’s provided for us in His resurrection will have everything to do with how steady our gaze remains on the written revelation of that goal and that prize. For every area of life– personal, family, occupation and church body- there is need for a simple, definite, written goal that will influence decisions of time, energy and passion commitment. ‘What will be’ has everything to do with ‘what we see’, and, praise God!, the ultimate responsibility for this has blessed success as we look unto the Author and the Finisher of our faith. A written determination to know Him will bring into line every choice in between now and that great day of honor as we stand before Him face to face.

 

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Luke 9:62 But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the
plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

I’m definitely not a farmer myself, but I did grow up in a part of the country where corn, sugar beets, and wheat covered a great deal of the countryside. And, I did get to work on some of the farms, driving tractor. While it was quite fascinating to watch the machinery work the ground, and though it was necessary to make certain that it was operating correctly from time to time, it was most important that the great majority of the focus be given to where the tractor was going rather than where it had been. Keeping the wheels headed straight down the rows really wasn’t all that difficult to maintain, but if for a second the front wheels were allowed to stray from the true straight line crossing the field, it would create a swerve in the rows that was unacceptable to any legitimate farmer. The days might get long, hot, and dusty, but the attention had to be kept on where the tractor was headed at all times, even during the occasional backward glance. Everything about where you’d been with that tractor would be clearly seen by anyone who might later drive by the field, and where you were looking while driving would be the greatest determining factor as to whether or not you created a success or a mess.

The end of the year is the usual time for retrospect, when experiences of the past year are acknowledged. There is power in this backward glance to maintain an assurance of operability and use those remembered moments for adjustments and lessons learned. However, there is also power in that backward glance if too extended to get completely off course and create an unacceptable past. There is one other power of the past, though, that has been provided for us in Christ, when the future is given significance and hope by the past we’ve been given in Him. Everything we’ve gone through, both good and bad, when taken to the cross can be part of His working all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28)

There is a significant work for each of us in the kingdom of God, all of which requires a forward focus, with only a backward glance that keeps things in the perspective of the cross. Victory, forgiveness, and especially the overcoming power of love are the lessons to be learned there, resulting in a heightened lively hope of a productive and gratifying life in Him.

 

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3 Then he said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.
Matt 18:3-5 (GW)

With the house full of Christmas décor and lights, and while food was being prepared for our family Christmas Eve gathering, another Christmas movie was playing on the television. It was the second in ‘The Santa Clause’ series; you know the one where the new Santa is required to find a Mrs. Santa Clause in order to continue in his role.  He goes with a beautiful young woman to this party of very boring, skeptical, and older people and transforms the whole nature of the party by giving special gifts to each one of the guests. Toys that each one of them had wished for as children were magically presented after all these years and in receiving them it was as if those children from so many years ago were joyfully awakened.  The solemn crowd was turned into a true party with all these old ‘children’ playing with toys and games that turned skepticism and doubt into belief and joy. Specifically for the particularly doubting young woman he was seeking to woo, Santa had a baby doll that was exactly the one she had wished for as a child. In receiving this magical gift, her heart was returned to the state of her childhood and opened up to eventually receive the love of its giver.  Yeah! Christmas could go on with the proper Santa in place with his new mate.

While the true reason for the season is being denied recognition in more and more locations around the country there is an observance of why He came in the giving of gifts. Every gift may not produce the desired effect, but you can tell the ones that do. These are the ones that quickly absorb the recipient, with attention displaced completely from other gifts and relationships to focus with heightened excitement and pulse rate on the thing that is obviously transforming them to the state of – maybe – a child? The book, Ipod, PSP, computer, instrument, clothing, etc. that awakens the child within (no matter the age without) is the gift that touches the place where brightness lives, joy is displayed, and hope is given validation and support in believing. So much of what takes place in the heart to displace hope and believing takes place in the child realm where things desired may have been denied or postponed indefinitely.

The true reason for Jesus’ coming as the special gift to each of us from our heavenly Father was so much more than to introduce religious décor and displays that might cause offense in some. Those things might be a means of celebration expression, but a much more significant expression is the desired result and actual purpose intended by the Giver. It is only when the Father’s gift awakens the child within to a displacing and exclusive focus that real hope and real joy and real faith will be given place and true Christmas celebration expression. Like those children in large bodies at the Christmas party in the movie, there is a transformation coming for each of those that let Jesus be the fulfillment of a heart’s wish and the removal of disappointments and faith-killers. He will satisfy when He becomes the gift that receives exclusive focus in the heart that is ever childlike in its expectation and continually gratified in its reception of Him.

May there be a setting aside of all other gifts for the One each child within is truly hoping to awaken to. May He bring renewed hope and strengthening joy.

Hebrews 13:5  … for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Isaiah 7:14 … a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].

One of the most precious things about Christmas, above the giving of gifts and the display of lights and ornaments, is the gathering of family and friends. There is great anticipation for the break from work and school where time is set aside to renew and nourish relationships, to make memories, and to enjoy the treasure in each other that is of value much greater than any of those packages under the tree. After the passage of time it is the moments with each other that rise to represent the memories of each Christmas, while the gifts become secondary and even forgotten.

As great as these ‘together’ times are, they always come to an end after the few allotted days, and there is the let-down of returning to the normal routine again that often includes separation from those loved ones only seen during Christmas. How wonderful it would be if each of those special people in our lives could ever be near? How great would it be if all could just be at the same home to stay? It is precisely for this greatest of treasures that Jesus came. Such anticipation preceded His initial arrival and how wonderful it must have been to have fellowship with Him during His time here on earth? Though that time came to an end, His departure was the fulfillment of a purpose, and this purpose was to make it so that our ‘togetherness’, our Christmas gathering, could be an eternal one with Him and all those who have become a part of His family.

John 14:3 KJV  And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.

This Christmas season is much more than just a holiday celebration. It is the expressed appreciation for the memory of Jesus’ birth along with anticipation for the time when our home gathering will be without end. His passion and His purpose in us today is to insure that our place is secured at His side and that our hearts are prepared to experience Him forever as Immanuel. (God with us.)

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.Psalms 19:14 (KJV)

Especially since 9/11 there is a stringent security process through which you must pass in order to be a passenger on a commercial flight. Special scanning machines look through cases, clothes, and even mettle to determine the nature of the content within. Why is this so necessary? Because the criminal intent of a passenger can be subverted if what he has concealed in his luggage can be seen. My brother-in-law works for Homeland Security in the Tulsa airport, and he said that color codes represent various densities and shapes as objects pass through the scanner. He showed me a picture of one bag that had contained a loaded pistol of a woman that claimed she had just forgotten to remove it upon arrival at the airport. You could clearly see the pistol’s shape outlined in a color that set it apart from the other objects in her carry-on.

For every unrighteous activity there is an available screening process that is guaranteed to subvert its action. For those whose desire it is to be free of destructive and unholy behaviors there is an option to have all that is concealed within our luggage revealed in the sight of our Father. Although He already sees all and knows each of our hearts, when this is realized and brought to light in the wonder of His presence, there is an opportunity for His security to remove and destroy all those things that are deemed dangerous. Even those things we might have overlooked or just forgotten will be readily brought to light in His sight and made to be unacceptable not only to Him, but to us. While every flight taken without screening has great risk of evil actions, the one that has gone through the screening and removal procedure has very little potential for danger. Where the heart no longer conceals any dangerous substance, and where it has been allowed to undergo the Master’s acceptance or rejection, there will be a safe, joyful, and peaceful passage to our place of productivity in the Kingdom.

The continual place of worship, where an awareness of the Father’s screening is a passionate choice for every moment, is the way to holiness and righteousness for this day. Actions originate in the heart and where their substance is revealed in its shapes and colors, the Father’s acceptance will impact and greatly affect them. May His seeing expose all potential danger in the heart and may our passage be one without mishap to the place of righteousness where the fruit is all good.

Matthew 1:22-23 KJV  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,  (23)  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Do you ever wonder what might have happened if Joseph and Mary had chosen to just trash that note from the government referring to some kind of ‘people—counting’? You know, maybe getting half way with Mary in her condition and determining that they had just gone far enough?

The wise men, after their long and arduous journey would have been looking all night in a crowded city for a promised king that never showed up. The angel choir would have had to cancel their Christmas program for an accepting, though somewhat baffled, audience of shepherds. A donkey would have missed out on the resume entry of ’royalty transportation’.  A manger would have remained available for some other hapless traveler. There’s a possibility that God might have had to come up with a do-over– bring the whole plan to a screeching halt and somehow arrange another way for prophecies to be fulfilled and purposes met.

At the end of responsibility’s road is the possible success of some pretty well-laid-out  party plans. More than just a noble response to a another seemingly insignificant governmental or church request, simple compliance apart from personal feelings and convenience monitoring could enable the fulfillment of kingdom plans and nation forming. Rather than having to find someone else to complete His desired intent, the Father will have a heart filled with rejoicing over the impact made in another willing and obedient life. His plans are the best- they’re just in need of a heeded request.

To the call for worship may there be a journey taken and arrival completed at the place where Jesus’ presence promises peace, joy and a completed life’s purpose. In the middle of this season filled with so many other demands and commitments, the opportunity is great for complying with the Father’s smallest request. As His ‘to-do’ rises to the top of the priority list, there will be a corresponding rise in His ability to bless and provide. What great things are awaiting the completed journey and God’s desire fulfilled? He is looking right now for that open, receptive, and obedient heart that will enable the outpouring of His grace.

11 And for this cause, God will give them up to the power of deceit and they will put their faith in what is false: 12 So that they all may be judged, who had no faith in what is true, but took pleasure in evil. 2 Thess 2:11-12 (BBE)

Why, it was a common truth. You know, something quite obviously without question. Although the scientific journals confirmed it to be true, it was one of those things so incontestable that even the simplest person should be able to accept its validity. To even voice another possibility was to put oneself in danger of ridicule and derision. You could tell by just looking that the world was flat, and because of this reality you had better not allow yourself to venture too far towards wherever the edge might be. Because of the earth’s state you had better not even think about acting in a way that might refute this undeniable truth.
There were those in the land, however, who found the acceptance of this ‘axiom’ to be quite uncomfortable and impossible. Their passion for discovering truth had moved beyond the limitations of ‘common’ knowledge to embrace the possibilities of the truth that might bring with it an incredible amount of freedom and expansion. The more they allowed themselves to embrace what was so unpopular, the more they began to discover that what had been thought to be self-evident by the masses was not truth at all, but simply a confining falsehood. To break from the restraints imposed by this misperception, there would have to be a break from the associations that nurtured its fallacy. Instead of allowing their movements to be limited by the ‘common’ knowledge, there would have to be action attached to the newly discovered reality no matter how risky it might seem to be. Until this concept moved beyond the realm of thought to the realm of action, there would yet be service to the lie of the earth’s flatness, and the riches and beauty just waiting beyond what had thought to be the edge would remain untouched and unseen.
Though we have risen, though we’ve attained, and though there has been movement beyond the dangers of the ‘brink’, there are still ways and truths that are higher than what might have been established as self-evident. While it may appear that the ways of God and the walk of love are ‘flat’ and confining, in reality they bring with them a whole new world of beauty, riches, and pleasures forevermore. For true liberty to be known, however, there will have to be an adjustment of the associations that nurture the truth and challenge the falsehoods. Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only way to really know the truth is to know Him. Beyond exposure to the truth in Christ, however, there has to be a voyage made that challenges the borders established in the lie. Until there is adventure associated with His truth, there is no faith in it and no possibility of experiencing not only the promise of pleasure on the other side, but also the continual fulfillment of faith’s movements towards it. To remain on these shores might appear to be safe and the most comfortable, but a departure towards the perfect realm of love will be release from pleasures that restrain and destroy for pleasures that thrill and fulfill.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:31-32 (KJV)

11 For this reason, you are ever in our prayers, that you may seem to our God such as may have a part in his purpose and that by his power he will make all his good purpose, and the work of faith, complete;
12 So that glory may be given to the name of our Lord Jesus through you, and you may have glory in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thess 1:11-12 (BBE)

I was with a friend this last weekend whose son wrestles at a local high school and has already won many matches at meets across the state. While this friend of mine is indeed an engaged parent as you would expect, his engagement far exceeds that of most parents. He himself was a championship wrestler and has spent much time, energy, and heart imparting everything he knows to his son. At the matches, the coaches actually let him get on the edge of the mat to assist in coaching his son with insight that exceeds that of the coaches. The son has moves, strategies, and strength as a result of his Dad’s investment in him that gives him a significant advantage over all his opponents.  The father, also, is finding his greatest joy and fulfilled purpose in the successes of his son. For all guests at his home there is an invitation to see videos of his son’s victories and also experience the glory that has come to him through his son. Any of his personal greatness is magnified several times as it is manifested in the one who represents all that he has to give from a proud and loving heart.  His thoughts and his conversations are continually on his son and there will be nothing withheld from enabling him to pursue his totally fulfilled potential.

There is a Redeemer who never ceases to talk about us and revel in the replays of our successes. As great of a champion as He is, the glory that would be given to His name comes through those into whom He has invested everything. He is full of wisdom, strategies, moves and strength that equip his sons and daughters with way more than a significant advantage, and every point won is a reflection of an impartation of His nature and His insight. That Jesus will triumph and reign is without question, but the wonder of His method for victory is that it will come through His loved ones as His work and purpose are directly connected to those in whom He lives.

Given His strength and His victorious nature it is our privilege to take the mat with the preparation of His Word and the conditioning of His Spirit. He will also be there right on the side of the mat, ever encouraging, directing, and coaching us all the way through the challenges of a formidable foe to the triumph over him. There is incredible glory in the name of Jesus and it is our privilege and our incredible honor for that Name to be glorified through us as His purpose and His work is the completion of our greatest potential.

There’s nothing like a huge meal to annihilate a huge appetite. That was pretty much my condition from the Thanksgiving meal through the next couple of days thereafter. Continual grazing of leftovers and desserts never allowed the feeling of hunger to actually return. That never ending fullness, especially with such wonderful food was a most enjoyable experience, although I’m sure it wouldn’t be very healthy over an extended period of time.

Hunger, as it applies to food and many other areas of life such as fellowship, knowledge, leisure time, and productivity can be a strong motivation towards what is necessary in life. However, it can also open up areas of vulnerability, where something of great value is willingly offered in exchange for the filling of that hunger. This was seen in the case of Esau who came home from a hunting trip so hungry that he was willing to give up the most valuable thing in his life, his birthright. The 34th verse of Genesis 25 says that he actually despised his most valuable possession because of hunger, something that a simple bowl of porridge would fill. Jesus, on the other hand, was surely way more hungry than Esau could have been, and yet He was so full of the Holy Spirit that the temptations to fill His natural hunger were ineffective. He was already full with a huge meal that annihilated any other appetite He might develop. He could never be persuaded to part with His most valuable possession for the enticements of a few gratified appetites. There was a fullness He had from His relationship with His Father that disabled all other hungers.

There is no need for us today to part with any treasure that’s been given to us by our Father God. Rather than letting our enemy take advantage of any part of our life that has a voice of hunger, there is an opportunity every day for the feasting at the table provided for us in God’s presence to eliminate all other hungers and thirsts. In worship and in the reception of His Word into our hearts there is a great filling up that will refuse any giving in to the temptations our enemy might present. Whenever we find ourselves in a condition that, by earthly reasoning would justify compromise, there is a way of escape in God that will be a most pleasurable experience of continuous grazing and uninterrupted fullness. Where He has filled, there is no room for another.

 

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