Where Clouds Come From

Ever had a day or season that seemed cloudy or overcast from the inside out? I know I have. As a matter of fact some days seem as Gray as Dorian all the way into my soul; yet knowledge and feelings are two different things.

On the one hand I know certain things because I’ve read them or experienced them. On the other hand, I feel certain things not because I’ve read or experienced them, but simply feel them because that’s how reality is created, by feeling it.

Oh you may disagree, but check out your reality and ask yourself how you feel. If you feel good, then it’s likely what you’ve experienced or are experiencing matches with your learned expectations. If you feel bad in any particular way, its likely expectations are going unmet.

So where do clouds come from? I’m no Mr. Science, but it goes something like this. As I understand it, clouds are a cumulative association of H2O molecules; the more molecules the more visible the cloud. Dark clouds and vast areas of overcast sky are densely packed molecules. Often on very cloudy days rain falls from these dark clouds until enough water leaks out that they change composition and lighten up, sort of.

So what do clouds and feelings have to do with anything? Well, my take on them is this. Much like the formation of clouds, so too with the formation of cumulative feelings, ultimately leading to down pours of emotion. When the conditions or situations are just such, condensation occurs. Whether it’s the condensing of H2O molecules or feelings; both result in the eclipsing of the sun, and thus living in benign shadows becomes our reality. Therefore now there is no “condensation” on those who are in Christ Jesus. Think about it.

You know, maybe that’s why they drink lots of coffee and listen to Nirvana in Portland? Portland averages 222 cloudy days annually. If Portland were a person we’d call her depressed.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like Portland, coffee and even some Nirvana music, but I sure don’t want two thirds of my days being cloudy from the inside out, so what does a person do? How does a person get the sun to shine – on the inside?

Your responses are important to me; I’m working on a big-LIFE-science-project. Thanks.

LIVE LOVE LEARN LEAD LEAVE - part 2

Five Common Denominators of True Disciples of Jesus Christ

Knowing we'll give an account of our lives leads us to the Second Common Denominator of all True Disciples of Jesus Christ; LOVE. Yup, love. I know it seems so poetic, but since most of humanity could not keep the Ten Commandments and the myriad of other laws found in the Bible, Jesus left us with just two.

Your great, great, great, great… great grand parents Adam and Eve had one command or law and can you believe they broke it. Just one and they couldn’t even keep it. We’re no different, except we’ve been given a New Command; LOVE. Jesus told us all the law and the prophets hung on this one word; LOVE.

I remember way back in 1969 or so, my brother Martin brought an 8 track tape home, and it was call Upon This Rock, by Larry Norman. I remember listening to that tape over and over, not even knowing who this singer song writer was, but I liked what I heard. Over the years I came to love his music and it always championed the notion of LOVE.

Now granted, Larry’s music sprung from that rebel love generation sound, but nonetheless it was peppered with prophetic calls to LOVE as Jesus loved. And love is one of those things that is better caught than taught. My apology to those of you who’ve not caught any recently.

But what is life without LOVE? Not much. This might be a great time to highlight a couple of scripture passages that nicely define what love is and what love is like. First Corinthians 13 and Galatians 5:22-23 give a nice framework to determine your LOVE quotient. Even Jesus tells us that LOVE is about giving and laying down your life for another, done that recently? I could name a few of my friends that are doing that right now.

Paul the Apostle even wrote a description of God’s love towards us while we were utterly hopeless and nasty sinning rascals. The truth is and was and always will be God LOVES us. He never stops LOVING us. So actually if you want to measure your LOVE quotient, ask yourself if you’ve stopped loving someone recently, if so, you’re not following Jesus. He never stops loving ANYONE; even the perpetual sinner.

Oh they may never be saved by His loving grace, but He will NEVER STOP LOVING THEM even as they pass into eternity and out of relationship opportunity with Him and His Father. Man that would be hell, wouldn’t it?

LIVE LOVE LEARN LEAD LEAVE - part 1

Five Common Denominators of True Disciples of Jesus Christ

All too often the challenge of being a Christian comes at such a perceived expense that many choose not to follow the path Jesus trod. And unfortunately for those many who take the broad way, destruction is their final destiny. And while they fly down the broad way of this time proven exit strategy, they rarely if ever realize their eternal decline. It just feels too natural to be wrong.

As I meditate on the comprehensive truth of the biblical knowledge I’ve assimilated (which is actually very little), I realize it’s minimal as compared to the comprehensive truth of God Himself. So as I process what I have and attempt a humble assimilation of more revelation, I’ve come to a conclusion; True Disciples of Jesus Christ will share Five Common Denominators.

Come with me as I explore and express what I believe God has given me for such a time as this: right now.

Knowing that the Bible teaches we are all dead in our trespasses before grace through faith brings saving life, all people start at dead, though they look alive. Yet being physically alive is not the same as living alive in Him. The First Common Denominator of all who choose to follow Him is the call and command to LIVE.

That’s right, live. We’ve been brought to life to live for Him, in Him, and by Him. Anything less is NOT life in Christ. For when we came to know Him as Savior and Lord, there also came the distinct relational call and command to LIVE.

You may find that funny, since we all tend to live in this world. I mean really, if I’m writing this and you’re reading it, you and I must be living; right? Yet what Jesus teaches us takes us to a greater level than just day by day existence here on this planet.

As True Disciples of Jesus Christ we are called and commanded to LIVE. For who would want a religion, let alone a relationship, that did not include of the opportunity to LIVE, despite the fact our earthly home has been tainted by the curse of sin.

Living in Him brings about genuine freedom, never bondage or condemnation. So when was the last time you decided to really LIVE? For some, the idea of living it up in Christ means doing whatever you want with complete amnesty attached to all behaviors. I don’t think that’s the life He’s called and commanded for us; because frankly all things are lawful but not everything is wise or pragmatic.

Yet without knowing it, many Christians live far from the genuine call to LIVE. The kind of living that we are given opportunity in Him is about taking a big slice of life and savoring every bite. It’s about sharing the beauty and taste of all that is good and bearing the burden of others as they taste and experience the ugly of all that is bad. Community, friendships, patience, air, food, rest, snow, green plants, a new born baby, a dearly departed friend, a fast car, a tender letter, a warm blanket, a tasty cup of coffee; need I say more? Do you LIVE or do you simply exist?

For as we LIVE we actually find places where He fits into the life we’ve been given. As I posture NOT for myself, but for the better of others, life turns Kodachrome right before my very eyes. Albeit there are days, I do enjoy the cloister of an empty house, a good book and black coffee, I also enjoy the rabble of friends and family.

If I ever sky dive, I’m sure I would love it. Do you get what I’m saying? Life IN HIM IS GOOD, even when it’s bad. And that’s esoteric. Go and LIVE. Don’t just waste your life, but spend it sowing into others, enjoying all that is good and shun that which is evil. But LIVE. For each of us has only so much time and then we will meet Him face to face and give an account of our lives.

Short Blog: POWERED by Cheese

If every one of us decided to live as Jesus lived… there would be far less issues between us. For in the life of Christ is the map by which we all are called to live.

I know I like cheese in an aerosol can, but Jesus tells us that life is far more than Cheese Whiz. For in the suffering of the Christ most of us miss that it was not about the nails and the spire in the side. But it was about “NOT MY WILL BUT THINE”.

When was the last time you felt and lived that way? Seriously?

Call Me a Sock Puppet

Just recently I was thinking about my greatest need in life. It’s not what you might think. You can create your own list of things you think I might need in life, but let me tell you what that need is.

Since it’s possible to go through life without the leading of the Lord, or at least possible to ignore or reject the leading of the Lord, my greatest need is to be led by God. Let me explain.

In John 5:19, Jesus tells us that He always and only does what He sees the Father doing. As a matter of fact He says that He can do nothing nor will He do anything that He first has not seen the Father doing. In other words Jesus is like a Sock Puppet on the hand of the Father.

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be irreverent toward Jesus or the Father. But simply put, God in me and animating me IS the only way I truly desire to live (although I fail many times).

Later in John 10:37, Jesus even tells us we are NOT to believe Him whatsoever, unless He is doing exactly what the Father is doing (how might our lives changed if we told the same to those around us). If the Father is acting, Jesus acted. If the Father spoke, Jesus spoke. If the Father rested, Jesus rested.

Now you may think this is kind of robotic, but it’s not. It’s the only way flesh can do the will of God. Flesh left to itself is mindless and lifeless. Oh it may not look that way from the outside, but without God being the hand inside the Sock Puppet; it’s still just a sock.

No matter what analogy you choose, God has planned it in such a way that we and He become one. As a matter of fact Jesus spoke about how the Father was in Him and He will be in us and we can all be one. Check out Jesus’ teaching on the Sock Puppet concept; John 14.

Please understand that albeit we think we’re living, since we get up and go to work, eat and sleep, and spend and use, we are NOT alive unless the Divine Hand of the Father is slipped neatly into the center of our lives. For the greatest deception we can live with is that we are alive when we are not.

The only way that we CAN LIVE is by allowing God to fully and always dwell so deeply within us, that all we ever do is what He is animating from the inside. When we move, it had better be His guiding hand. When we speak, it had better be His voice we are repeating. If not, we are on a collision course with destruction, only to be veiled in bios life, and NOT empowered by zoe life.

The next time you think you want a life of your own, look at your pile of dirty socks. That’s basically what our lives look like without God IN us.

Call Me a Sock Puppet if you want, I’m okay with that.
1 John 5:11-12

The Rule of Law or the Rule of Love?

Over and over in this day and age we hear the cry for judicial leaders to follow the rule of law. And rightly so, we are living in a time when laws are interpreted and misinterpreted according to personal whim and preference, instead of based upon historic precedence and godly wisdom, balance and justice.

I’m no lawyer nor am I a politician, but what I am is a man who loves the law if and when it is based upon the Rule of Love.

Now granted, law cannot always be interpreted in and through the organ of love, but if genuine love is absent, all law will be interpreted on a subjective basis and that’s where we get into trouble.

Since coming to Christ, I am free from the Old Law. I am under a New Covenant that He established in and through Himself by the shed blood and death of His very own Son, Jesus Christ. And that covenant was ratified by the resurrection of the One cut and separated for the sake of the covenant.

Since coming to Christ, I am now bound by a New Covenant. I am under a new rule; the Rule of Love.

The Bible tells us in Psalms 119:165 “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Again, the author was originally speaking of the Torah, but in this New Covenant, this new Rule of Love that we are under, this promise of great peace is predicated upon the New Law that Jesus left us.

This New Law amended the old. This New Law has power over the old. As a matter of fact this last and final Law not only supersedes the old, but completely fulfills the old.

Jesus said; “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34 NIV) The newness of this command has yet to wear off. For in this very single command all of the other Rules of Law are fulfilled.

My question this hour to each of you is this: Which law do you champion? The Rule of Law or the Rule of Love? Your answer will reveal the depth of peace you possess. And the depth of peace that you possess reveals the depth this New Law is planted within.

It’s one thing to give lip service to law; but it’s a whole other thing to obey it. Love as the basis of law in this New Covenant changes everything.

May we let the Rule of Love stand as our daily precedent to follow.

the FALL-OUT shelter

I can’t remember when I first herd the song “Riding the Storm Out” by REO Speedwagon, but it stuck with me. The siren guitar lick that opens the song and the lyrics “riding the storm out” just hooked me.

If you’ve ever been in a situation where the external pressure upon your life was so great that you had to hunker down behind the walls of a bunker… you just might know what they were singing about. Oh it may not be a bunker of steel and reinforced concrete, but nonetheless it’s a place where you’re looking out into the unknown reverberations of a catastrophic event, wondering if and when the fall-out will ever end.

I remember when I was a kid coming across a can of C-rations or something very similar. It was an olive green metal can of crackers. Maybe something soldiers might have eaten while in a fox hole somewhere or the rations that would have been stockpiled in a bomb or fall-out shelter during the fearful days of the cold-war, but I remember thinking it was kind of weird; crackers in a can.

Anyway, what I really want to write about is the idea of a fall-out shelter. That’s right, a fall-out shelter. A place where one is protected from the residual effects of a nuclear blast so devastating that without it, one could not survive.

Some generation will be on this planet when nuclear war breaks out. Some generation will be on this planet when Jesus Christ the Son of God returns. But the question is; who really knows what generation that will be? I actually believe they’re alive right now.

As it appears, my generation and the ones that follow tend to be more enamored with their newest iphone or their next tattoo then they are with the future. It seems that few today think little beyond Friday (forgive me all you iphone users and friends with tattoos).

The Bible clearly tells us in Hebrews 12:25-29 about a time that is unfolding before our very eyes. It is a time when everything on the earth and in heaven will be shifted and shaken off their once thought firm foundations. It is a time when no manmade fall-out shelter or bomb-shelter will provide protection or security. It is a time when C-rations will seem like gourmet food for those behind the blast shield.

Don’t miss what I’m saying. I’m not simply talking about limited nuclear war (albeit that could be in the mix), but what I’m talking about is all the moorings you once thought were secure will soon be insecure. They will soon be worthless to tie up to during the impending fall-out storm that IS COMING.

In the book of Romans, chapters 1-3, we find God’s wrath being unleashed upon mankind. Paul’s not talking about the judgments of the Revelation, but something far worse, but often unnoticed and benign to the ones caught in the crossfire. He’s referring to times and seasons when mankind refuses to live IN TRUTH and BY TRUTH and thereby forfeits God’s grace and in turn receives God’s wrath upon themselves. In this case the wrath of God is man left to his own designs, believing lies to be true and seeking to live without God’s grace and truth.

My friends that day is upon us. The Old Testament and the New Testament both tell of incidents where people rejected God’s grace and truth, resulting in their own unnecessary demise.

Let me state unequivocally that any manmade fall-out shelter designed to give you aide and comfort following a catastrophic event will fail in its design and intention. Understand I’m not talking about steel and reinforced concrete; I’m talking about fall-out shelters for the soul. I’m talking about manmade coping mechanisms and steps that once hitherto got humanity by, but very soon will be worthless to those seeking solace.

For not only will the physical world be in upheaval, but worse, the emotional and spiritual realms will be rent asunder. And why? Because God IS right. We cannot make it without Him.

But, because He loves us so much He gave us the free will to choose His way or ours. Unfortunately the masses have historically chosen their way. Ergo the wrath we’re beginning to experience; life without grace and truth.

All too often in our modern convoluted Christian age, we’ve been plied with a cheap and easy grace as the most popular pitch point of the sale. All the while ignoring or omitting the other corresponding side of God and Kingdom Life – namely TRUTH.

If you believe you can make it by simply “Riding the Storm Out”… you have another thing coming. No comfort or solace will be found from the storm that is on the horizon, except the shelter of truth from the Most High God.

Get ready… I think I hear the sirens.