WHEN PRINCES COME

Some people seem to be blessed with a special stroke of fortune on their life. And when your life is a struggle you may not always appreciate their blessings. Heck you may even downright resent them.

However regardless of how we feel about the person, it will seldom change the reality. I wish life was such that there was always a balancing out of such events so that the day came when the pendulum of fortune swung in all directions, but that only happens in the movies. In this life, image and illusion often are like Siamese twins of consequence. One can, if a master of illusion shape and mold a given image that is anything except the expression of truth as it relates to a person’s life.

And while all of that may in some way impact our view of life it doesn’t mean that it represents God’s reality. We might be seduced into the notion that a person’s blessings in this life are always prove of approval with the Lord, but it may not always be the case.

I am reminded of the words of our lord when he said that there were some who are last (in this life) who will be first in Heaven. Basically I think this conveys the idea of how the realities of life here don’t always translate into the realities in eternity.

We see the glitz of prosperity and success in this life and our eyes judge its worth. We are more impressed with wealth and the other tangibles of this life than we are with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. That is just being human. And what is sad is when it intrudes into the spiritual realm. When we someone mix together our sense of what is of worth with what God cherishes.

With the Lord we are justified by faith. And trusting God is not a process that will always translate into the kinds of success in this life of which we can boast. Thus for example we might attend some mega-sized church and regard that pastor as a “prince of the pulpit.” Oh the numbers at least suggest that the individual certainly can hold a person’s attention. And it might even suggest the nature of their anointing by the Lord. But as I said it may and that does mean necessarily that it does for sure.

Who can say in the realm of trusting God whether the one who is actually a prince in his eyes is this pastor of a mega-church or some pastor of a small church who keeps trusting the Lord week after week despite the lack of evidence of blessing. His church doesn’t grow, he doesn’t have huge numbers of members and yet he is faithful to his calling.

Or perhaps it is just some follower of Jesus living a very obscure life who is barely getting by. Yet the disappointments never keep the person from doing what God has called them to do.

In eternity we are told in scriptures that the redeem will be given crowns. I’m not sure it is necessarily speaking of a literal crown or more of the type that is a radiance of God’s glory in some way. But in either case we know crowns are given to princes instead of just anyone. And the big question in this life is when God’s real redeemed princes come into our lives will we see them? I pray the answer is yes.

BEYOND THE CLOUDS

Why is it when things go sour in our lives our primary response is to look for really great sweetener? As humans I don’t I ask that question unaware that it is natural to want to avoid pain.

However as followers of the Lord who are waiting till Heaven is our inheritance, craving this life does seem a contradiction to our faith. However we all do it. We might not admit it on Sunday at church, but it would be hard to go through life merely content with misery and not want more while breath touches our lungs and lives.

Finding a balance in life between the needs of being and the awareness of the soul can be difficult. And it gets complicated of course by the fact that we are surrounded by other individuals of various views of reality who may or may not share our priorities.

So we times find ourselves seduced by our pride into making lateral comparisons with the plight of others. That isn’t God’s doing, just our ego and human nature rising to the surface and erupting like a volcano.

And that process seldom ends up bearing the kind of fruit that is profitable to our well-being or life of faith. After all, there is always somebody better off or worse off than we are. The best we can achieve by that process is to either end up deluded with our false sense of superiority or left feeling depressed because those we know are better.

To response by some houses of worship to this vice grip is to attempt to ease the pressure by offering up the sometimes vain or futile guarantee that there is a path to heaven that you can walk on this earth. That God will grant us everything we want out of life right now.

This becomes a narcotic for some. An obsession fueled by lust and greed rather than any love for the Lord. And it seldom ends in any refinement or growth of the soul even if the person ends up actually prospering in some way.

There is nothing wrong of course with having wants and needs. But they can be stumbling blocks to our real purpose when they become some kind of god in our lives.

To truly walk the path of faith is to have a mind’s eye that remembers the real horizon to which we are headed. That can enjoy this life for what it offers and yet never forgets what lies beyond the clouds.

It is perhaps in a way like treating this time when the heart pumps as being a residence like one uses on a vacation. One that is only temporary. Enjoy what it offers, savor the time, but don’t forget that we still have a home else where.

How easy it is to forget that priority. So some times we need those little “postcards” of inspiration written by the Holy Spirit to remind. Hopefully we take time to read them in between our race to find what we are seeking in this life.

DIETING

I have learned

that pride sired obstinate and futile
reality
of denial.
Not
from pleasure
alone,
but also of need.
Well
presumed
need at least.
Perhaps the greatest
truth
discovered
is that
my journey
in a forced change of ways
will end
only
at Heaven’s throne.

AN ISLE OF ACCEPTANCE

Do you remember the television series “The Castaways?” I saw a program devoted to profile the series and it pointed out how originally before it was released some people in the television industry thought it would bomb. But it is one of those series that is often remembered for a variety of reasons depending on who you ask.

I always found it amazing how years after they were stranded they still managed to have all kinds of supplies that one wouldn’t have even assumed somebody would take on a short boat trip. That was one of several “question” marks that fester in the mind, but you try not to let it impede one’s ability to enjoy the entertainment.

To be stranded on some island with few or no prospect for rescue would certainly have a big impact on the need for people to accept each other since survival was at stake. So in such situations I can image tolerance would be necessary. I didn’t say it was something you would particularly enjoy, just I can appreciate how a unique situation would require a special “mindset” of acceptance that you might not find in other situations.

To me any environment with a social element will involve the issue of acceptance. And if you want acceptance you have to follow the rules of conformity for that climate. Failure to do so can easily cause you to be rejected.

But that is the human side of life. The one we face in school, work and even with families. We each deal with it on our own level and sometimes we don’t do a good job of conforming since we aren’t all gifted with the same quality of people skills.

The question is should church function on the same level? Or should the fact that it is there to serve the Lord give it a different set of priorities?

Well there is the “scripturally” correct response and then there is the reality. And the reality is that regardless of what is said from the pulpit churches often end up being microcosms of our social nature.

Now that might be okay if honest prevail as part of this scenario. However that would hardly be something we know that would God would approve. So people end up saying one thing in terms of caring while actually doing another. It is a sad game in which there really is no winner since the Lord is the one keeping score!

However it will still be reality as long as churches are composed of people. For we are human and flawed and the little game of politics and playing little plots to gain the prestige in a house of worship have been around for years and aren’t going to change.

What is truly important is to keep prevalent in one’s mind that God isn’t the author of this chaos on cruelty. He loves us unconditionally. And it is his opinion of us regardless of what others thing that will count in eternity.

Remembering this when we feel wounded by the social rituals of a given house of worship will help one to separate our faith in God from distrust of others. And perhaps keep trusting even when there are too many who would give us cause to want to give up.

FOUND, BUT LOST

Sometimes the best insights in life seem to come during a bad experience or when we have some time of loss. That hardly makes such moments ones that we celebrate, merely that we have the option to learn or mourn each episode of tears.

To know the growth of one’s inner self is to find what life itself often causes to be lost when we wander some maze of expectations and imagery forced upon us by others. We go to work, we dream, sleep and do all the daily demands of life, but normally they are part of the backdrop of spiritual coma that we do without a lot of conscious effort at insight.

And one can hardly be blamed for such zombie like existence. So much of what we do often is without profit and seems to have no impact in terms of making a difference. Yet like breathing, so often it has to be done for a variety of reasons.

In some cases the solution to such situations is to set aside a special time for inspiration and allow the deeper meaning of life to fester in our soul. Some pursue this through going to a house of worship while others seek chose different methods.

Essentially this path does have merit in many cases. But one can’t always guarantee the mind and soul will be prepared by the destiny of a clock to learn and understand on cue every Sunday. That is the inherit flaw with making one’s essence obey a schedule when it comes to understanding spiritual light. Our eyes can easily be shut and half asleep for a variety of reasons including simply being human.

While I am not suggesting such methods are bad an they can bring moments of pure clarity and epiphany, they may also numb the reason by virtue of excuse to the willingness to listen to God’s spirit at other times. And that is the link to heaven that is so easy to break without being ready to feel the wind of God’s spirit caressing us when it is most important.

At the opposite end of the extreme are those who see God everywhere and think each moment is suppose to produce some profound interpretation. Trying to live as if every moment is intended to have that kind of consequence may be impressive to boast about, it just will not end up being reality.

The course I think brings us the closest to God is to be receptive to listening for his leading when he is touching our lives. That can’t be shackled by a given moment or event. It means to respect God’s sovereignty and his desire to teach us at the times when it really makes a difference.

But sadly the heart is full of the folly of ego. We don’t always enjoy listening or having our “private time” intruded upon when we have some agenda in terms of satisfying some desire. And there are times when those are the moments God wishes to touch in our lives the most.

Hopefully we will manage to stop long enough in our race to see what we need to see and then know God’s version found, but lost in a way that truly heals and inspires. And in the process find a joy from this newness in revelation that we lost on other occasions.

A MOMENT OF FLARE

Morning

summoned a smile
as a dream
became
one grateful textured entity.
I was consumed,
having my heart
glow
in the aftermath.
These are the rarest
of memory’s diamonds
and I wish
they could be
turned
into a necklace.
Perhaps
instead
at Heaven’s gate
it will become
a crown, which fits.

GLISTENING

I recently had a very heartbreaking experience with a publisher. Like most writers I have labor long and many hours, but publishing offers haven’t come. And especially when you are speaking in terms of novels. Using the aid of literary agents and professional editors just never improved my opportunities. It hasn’t compelled me to stop writing though. That is a passion I feel deep in my soul and regard it as an implant from God’s spirit. So come what may, I know I shall write, whether some publisher accepts my tome or not.

In this case what happen was that I found a publisher who claimed not to be a subsidy or vanity press publisher. Those are the kinds that for a fee will publish anything. So I gave them a try and sent a letter to see if they were interested in this one novel. To my surprise and delight they asked to see the manuscript. And then a few weeks later they actually contacted me and told me they accepted it for published.

Obvious if I could glisten from joy then I was glistening. So I reviewed their sample contract and then sent them the information they requested. I was told after I replied with an email they would send me a contract in the mail. Only that never happened. And I made three separate attempts to contact them by email to find out that status of my information. None of emails was ever answered. After a month of silence I have from past experience come to accept that basically means they have elected to not handle my manuscript.

Am I still glistening? Not so anyone would notice. And for me the biggest heartache came from having received good news that turned out to be false. It was much harder on my system to have my hope burn so bright and then fizzle when in reality this turned out like too many other experiences to be nothing more than a dead end.

Since my work was of a spiritual nature I have viewed it as something I did for the Lord. And my primary goal was to give it a chance to “glisten” that it might serve his purpose and hopefully serve as a form of inspiration.

Yet, once again, I am left to have to try and glisten by faith alone and hopefully say something in a posting that might touch or inspire. And if that serves the Lord’s purposes and in some small way help someone else who fights to keep trusting when life’s song is filled with too many sour notes then I will regard it as having been worth it.

I share this moment of dimming in my personal joy that perhaps will be one someone else will identify with in his or her life. There are far too many such moments at times in the life of faith.

And they are also opportunities to stand in faith during these trials and let God’s spirit flow through our willingness to keep trusting him even when we don’t get what we think we want in a given situation. That is the burning eternal in terms of a glistening in spirituality that will shine all the way into eternity.

I pray if you are in the midst of such a disappointment you will find the strength to let God’s spirit minister to you and not take the path of allowing the disappointment to cause you to give up. Faithfulness and obedience are the lights that will always glisten with God regardless of what others see.

OLD NOTIONS

I heard a story once about practicing traditions. There was a pastor visiting one of the members of his congregation and staying for dinner.

He sat in the kitchen chatting with the lady as she prepared a ham for the meal. She took it and sliced off the edges till it was the shape of a rectangle before putting it in the pan. The pastor found this to be an unusual method of preparation and decided to ask her to explain.

She told him that she was just fixing it the way her mother had showed her, but had never asked why it was necessary to trim the edges. The mother happened to be visiting the woman and chose that moment to come into the kitchen. So the woman asked her why she had always trimmed the edges off the ham. And her mother pretty much said the same thing, she had done it the way her mother had taught her.

Well as it turned out grandma was also visiting, so both women went and asked her to come into the kitchen where they asked her to explain the logic for this preparation. Granny just smiled and said, “Oh lordy, I just did that till I finally bought a bigger pan!”

It is funny how often we do things because it is tradition and we never bother to find out the origin or reason for such tradition. And I doubt any arena of life there is more examples of unquestioned tradition than with the spiritual side of life.

If that didn’t complicate life enough when one is in church there is a whole additional layer of traditions added that are the offspring of some personal bias. I remember when I was in this one church with an abundance of long term elderly members. And for them they had a complete set of unwritten traditions on what it meant to be a Christian that wasn’t based on what the scriptures declared. Instead they were simply the result of their own opinion, but they just never admitted it.

One of these situations was with the issue of dancing. These folks had grown up in a time when dancing was associated with dance halls, which had a stigma of being a home to immoral and drunken behavior. But that had been decades earlier. The current view of dancing had nothing to do with those practices. However in the minds of those folks it was still a bad choice.

Needless to say they frown on anyone who loved to dance. Did God hate dancing? No. Did he say you couldn’t as one of the Ten Commandments or somewhere in the law? No. But you could be darn sure in the minds of these folks you were definitely acting sinful when you danced.

Old notions that inspire faith or somehow encourage are an uplifting fruit of the heart that can add to the sweetness of life. And if they are grounded in the truth of God’s word they can be even more edifying. Only God’s spirit can allow one to embrace such old notions that have their origins in the Lord’s truth. When the heart gets in the way with selfish motives then the line between reality and fiction gets hopeless blurred. I pray we will all let God fill us with the kinds of old notions that have an eternal blessing instead of a temporal value.

FINDING THE WAY BACK

As a dispatcher for a courier company I’m used to dealing with the issue of directions. And in Southern California with its maze of freeways and countless addresses to find, having a good sense of directions and being able to read a map book is critical. Naturally we wouldn’t expect to hire anyone who couldn’t at least master the simple knack of finding a given address, especially with the tools we make available.

However despite our employee screening process, training assistance and resources available we still sometimes end up with drivers who literally can’t make it from point A to point B without getting lost. I do wonder at times how they even manage to get to the office or home given the fact they can’t be dependent upon finding a new address even with help. Obviously that liability as a rule generally ends up in the person quitting in a short time since our deliveries are constantly changing each week.

Why someone with no sense of direction would want to work as a driver is a question I can’t answer. And I do hope they find a job where such a skill isn’t required. Unless they happen to refine that talent in some way, but from my experience that seldom happens.

When following the Lord sometimes it can be difficult to have a good sense of direction. There are simply so many different maps out there to choose from. And everyone seems to revel in the chance to offer you his or her version of the best path to follow. They might be lost themselves, but that doesn’t keep them from giving directions.

For believers our main source for a spiritual map book is supposed to be the bible. It has a great deal of information on what is the Lord’s instructions on the path we are suppose to follow him by faith.

The problem is that everyone who reads it comes to his or her own opinion on what the information means. In reality God’s plan for our spiritual journey makes allowance for getting confused or lost. He calls it grace. However there are many people who seem to approach the scriptural instructions as if any error in directions has such dire consequences that you can’t under any circumstance admit or in any way accept you managed to get detoured in your understanding.

With the Lord if you come to the point in one’s spiritual life where you know you are off the path he intended you to follow, you can find your way back by coming to him in prayer. One seems in by asking for forgiveness and most of all be willing to follow the path he has chosen even if we can’t always see the final destination.

The biggest roadblock to finding one’s way back to the path of the Lord’s will is often pride. Satan will stir up the flames of the ego and we will not allow ourselves to admit we made a mistake. But God isn’t like us. He won’t subject us to some long lecture of “I told you so.” Instead, if we come and be honest and simply admit we got lost along the way, he’ll give us a spiritual “hug” renew us in our passion for faith and send us on the path of his will once more.

But it does take the willingness to surrender and turn back to the Lord. We don’t even have to travel to find him. For the way back is wherever we are because God is there already.

THE CONQUERING BLIND

Glasses help
at times
when the lips
can’t lie
sufficiently.
It turns yawns
into smiles.
With a circle’s irony
one can feign
understanding
though it is vaporous
and deficiency
in stately
indulgences.
The white flag
hoisted by the soul
darkens
ever more
until it is hard to see
any light.

THE HEART'S TREE

What do we see when we gaze upon a profile is the branches of the heart? These are the expressions are the ones that the person has learned to sprout. Yet it may not be what truly is the root of the person’s essence.

It is so easy as a Christian to learn what to say and how to act in order to pass as a believer in a church setting. But I think we need to remember the words of our Lord when he was speaking about the religious leadership of his day. He called them (paraphrased) that they were “whitewash tombs” filled with dead men’s bones.

The problem was that these were individuals that had learned how to be religious. On the outside the appeared pious and righteous. But it was all an act. Their roots went deep into the soil of sin. They had filled with evil and corrupt desires.

Having a heart that is sinful describes all mankind no matter who we think we are. God’s spirit will always bring us to the awareness of our sin and need for repentance and forgiveness. And when one is rooted in this truth, there is no reason to create or manufactured form of blossom that might impress others, but is not based on truth or honesty.

How often I’ve witness this sad bouquet of self-righteousness appear on some church members tree. They love the false scent of goodness they have manufactured. For them being a Christian always translates into more concern over what others think about our whitewashed bark of pretense than the roots of our desires that God knows about.

The blossoms that count with God are the ones that flower from a heart willing to let the thorns be visible as well as the pedals. From the heart that knows it is corrupt and doesn’t pretend that somehow being forgiven has permanently transplanted one’s roots from sinful soil to saintly soil. It means allowing what others see to be the truth and to rejoice more in forgiveness and grace than our own filthy rags of our righteousness.

In the heart’s tree of the true believer the sap of self-centered motives is slowly replaced by the blood of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t somehow end the reality of who we have been. But it does give us a new cycle of being and chance to see how we are truly diseased trees in need of his trimming and help.

Some discover the joy of simply being a tree in one’s heart that lifts up towards in heaven in a burning desire to have Jesus tend to our growth and survival. For others it is simply a different garden in which to try and tower over the rest of humanity by making one’s branches appear greener and more desirable than anyone else.

In eternity though, the trees filled with God’s spirit and the blood of Jesus are vital and alive and will grow in due season. With others, they have nothing, but dead branches that are only worthy of being consumed by God’s judgment fire. I pray we live to seek the hand to God to tend our heart’s tree and don’t end up simply one more soul with branches that are dead and can never blossom with the Lord’s beauty.

ABOVE IT ALL

It would be wonderful to live above the cares of the world. And I imagine in one way or another those that believe in heaven feel eternity is in part about being beyond the cares of this life.

But regardless of the reality of heaven, while we breathe we have to contend with this life and its demands. No matter how appealing the emotional mountain top of spirituality or serenity we seek, we simply can’t reside in the clouds.

That doesn’t keep people from trying. And for some in means finding some path of presumed stones of mellow they claim they can walk to be above it all.

I truly enjoy hearing somebody tell me they have turned all their cares over to the Lord. And if they are honest at all they normally admit they often have to do this numerous times because after they gave it to the Lord they still worried, got angry and had the same feelings about whatever bothered them.

I’m personally not persuaded that pretending you are in control of your emotions impresses God. It is like claiming you are heal and yet still sick. That doesn’t truly reflect on the Lord truly touching one’s life.

It is true God can change our lives. And I wish he would always change it in ways that we wanted him to change it. But he doesn’t it.

Instead I think his spirit will lift us up from time to time for a brief touch of the clouds. Enough to let us know the coming bliss we shall experience in heaven.

Then he gently brings us back to reality no matter how blunt and painful that happens to be. And part of life is facing each footsteps that is along a path covered in thorns instead of sand or grass.

Following the path he chooses for us doesn’t mean we will be free of the sadness or pain that we long to be free from in this life. It means he gives us the strength to cope with that cross.

Sometimes he does graced us with change and removes some trial. When this happen we can rejoice. We can feel grateful and encouraged to keep traveling during the times when the walk is difficult.

Along the way, God in his mercy will at least give us a glimpse of what lies above it all. I think he does so to encourage. Only it is for the purpose of helping us be obedient and not give up. Not for the purpose of deliverance before we go home to be with him in eternity.

Heaven is our destination. For some they want it now so they massage the scriptures to somehow make such desire justified. But God is faithful to his promises and not our will. Hopefully as we keep along the right path we shall be refreshed to continue our walk with his help and not by merely spending the time trying to pretend we live in the clouds and above it all.

THE STAR

It is the gold
that shines
from who
we really are,
but don’t always
recognize
and though
one often
may not have any
visible
radiance
it is still
a bright light
unto the Lord.
For he sees
what we never
know
and keeps it
where it will
eternally glow.

COLD

Up till several years ago I had been overweight most of my life. And I never could stand hot weather. I love it when it was cold. I used to even go around wearing a short sleeve shirt even in the winter and almost never wore a jacket unless it was raining.

Then I had a life-threatening bout with pneumonia and was diagnosed with diabetes. I was forced to change my lifestyle and did. When one changes to eating right and exercising you naturally lose weight. And the good news was for me that my blood sugar returned to normal and has stayed that way since I still maintain that same lifestyle.

What I didn’t anticipate was the radical change this would have on my ability to deal with colder temperatures. These days the heat is something I enjoy and the cold something I dread. I find myself after a life time of enjoying things like air conditioning suddenly being chilled to the bone by air that once I savored.

I don’t mention this to necessarily make comment on the issue of health or temperatures. But more because of how sometimes in life a given change can have far more vast affects on one’s life than we could ever imagine.

And just with me and how I have had to adjust to a radical change in my reaction to my environment, so to there are times when following the Lord can bring impacts to parts of our life will be effected we never thought was possible. The question is whether we are willing to accept such consequences.

In my case for example with my change in reaction to my environment I understood that the environment hadn’t changed, just my tolerance of what before didn’t bother me. Yet at times I think as Christians when our spiritual metabolism changes in terms of what we view and feel is important, we expect others to change too.

Which can be a problem if the other person didn’t have the same change in their system or view of life. And without that change why would they relish doing anything different?

It just seems too often we forget that. When the awareness of what is displeasing to God touches us for the first time, it can be like my sudden reaction to the cold being so different after years. If we have a conscience and heart to please him we naturally want to avoid those things even if in the past we embraced them.

And to live one’s convictions is I think to be faithful to the Lord. However to expect everyone else who doesn’t have the same experience to change isn’t. It would be like in my case if just because I couldn’t handle the cold I expected everyone else to feel the same. Instead I just put on a jacket these days when in an air conditioned room. I make be chilled to the bone, but I don’t get up and demand everyone else has to suddenly do likewise when they don’t feel that way.

So when the Lord touches and we feel cold towards some given behavior that didn’t bother us before, put on the jacket of faith, but don’t expect the world that isn’t bothered by the same problem to do the same. Who knows they might actually come to see it that way if you don’t keep shoving a jacket in their faces!

NEW WINE

Jesus spoke of the problem of trying to put new wine in old wine skins. That is was impossible because the old skins wouldn’t hold the new wine.

In part I think this was a reference to the change he was bringing to man’s understanding of our relationship with God. The old wine skins being those traditions and attitudes that prevailed at the time, which were no really approved of God, but popular with man.

And the problem is that for some they simple want God on their own terms. They easily embrace some style of worship and fellowship that fits that view, but never ask the central question in prayer of want does God want. Naturally if the Holy Spirit was ever involved he has long since been grieved away by their selfishness.

Thus is the core of what often is an invisible barrier to our real spiritual growth. Our lives are like clay, which God sees as a vessel he molds. It is shaped at first by our parents or childhood. Then as adults we go continue to let it be molded in different ways, but often it still maintains in part that first form we took as a child.

The problem is that as humans and sinners what is the clay of our lives is corrupt and will never be perfect. There are different elements added to the mix that affect our actions and choices.

When we come to Christ the Holy Spirit begins that process of reshaped our clay. And in the process pouring the new “wine” of God’s will into your wine skins. Sometimes though we taste that wine and then look for our own winery to get a refill. So we end up at some house of worship where we sip upon its teaching and decide it tastes good enough.

God can lead us through such quests to satisfy our spiritual thirst. But what if he has a different vintage in mind that the one our palate decides tastes great?

New wine is also something that was fermented by God in his vineyards. They may be in stock in some local spiritual winery or he may prefer to simply offer them at a stand somewhere less travel. (God isn’t concerned over the number of sales as much as the quality of his patrons. Basically he sees our heart and knows what will really touch our souls as wine instead of what is popular.)

The big question I suppose is do we seek God’s form of new wine by looking for the label on a given bottle of traditions? Do we honestly seek his way of change and want the sweet, pure flavor of his grace and love or do we prefer to be able to boast we got the wine at some given spiritual “brewery.”

Being a Christian ultimately is about Christ and our relationship with him. It isn’t about whatever spiritual “wine” we think will impress or the taste we think is best.

And whether we are willing to let God fill our wine skins of souls with a new wine is often dependent on whether we will let him prepare the skin according to his purpose. Sometimes that can be the best taste and hardest one to swallow.

FAITH AND MORE FAITH

Is faith truly faith if it only is measured by a fulfilled promise? I think the true answer is no. As the scriptures declare, “though he slay me will I trust him.” That doesn’t sound like the insight of someone that associated faith with the idea of seeing it fulfilled in one’s life.

While it is certainly true that to see the fruit of faith in this life can be satisfying and encouraging one has to wonder if that focus is not the one that dominates teacher and thinking. We want it NOW! Instant gratification is always something that appeals.

And that may work in life for some issues. But with faith to trust in God and keep trusting even when one doesn’t experience the fulfillment of a promise is the aspect of faith too many don’t want to talk about.

Yet it is a reality. And perhaps the abiding void in honesty on that subject can be appreciated as simple humanness intruding in the spiritual realm.

How often we judge and discern only using our eyes. We see a church that is ever increasing in membership and decide surely this is the hand of God. Or we listen to the tangential voices who proclaim we can have our heaven on earth and if we experience it that is the true measure of how much faith we have.

There are many different attitudes and opinions on what it means to trust God. But I can’t help wondering if some times our pride and ego dictate our opinion. After all, God see through the looking glass of eternity. He knows our heart and he is leading us to a point of an ever increasing need to trust him. That at times would be restricted or stunted if we were to realize the fulfillment of our faith in this life.

So just as those who were martyred for the faith and had to trust to the Lord that he would honor their faith in eternity we must face the constant burning issue of can we trust no matter the consequences. Too often I think the “textbook” answer and the one that stirs in the heart aren’t the same. We might with out lips proclaim how we will keep trusting, but somewhere in the recesses of our real essence there is that residue of pride that says we need it now in order to have the approval of others.

Thus is the dilemma, thus it the real choice each of us faces. To keep along the path of faith wherever it leads and regardless of whether in this life we end up with the Lord gracing us with some evidence of our labor and trust.

After all doesn’t it take more faith to keep one’s hand on the “plow” of trust every day when the sun of circumstance sweats away our zeal because we see no apparent fruit? The easy answer is we are all human and need that inspirational “wind” to keep the fire of faith alive. That may be the easy answer, but it doesn’t mean it is the one God intends.

Above all, the follower of Christ has to don those shoes of obedience that may not impress others, but are fitted to our lives by the Lord. The walk isn’t always comfortable or pleasant, but in the end when we step into the house of heaven they will still fit unlike those who took them off because it was easier to stop trusting by God’s way that our way.

ON BEARING FRUIT

The real juice of life
drips from our tongue.
It is the seeds
we sow
within our young.
By a portrait
of our slight of hand
is our fruit
tasted by our children
in due season
as blossoms
for our true thoughts.
Sometimes
what grows
has the flavor of love,
others the bitterness of hate.
Too bad
what we plant
can’t always be a real joy
instead of esteem it will negate.

THE ADORNMENT OF BEING

I believe the Genesis’ account of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is one that is very well known even to many people who don’t read the Bible. And it is interesting how the first thing that occurred from that fall is their awareness of their “nakedness.”

There is the practical side of that story in terms of this sudden revelation compelled them to find a way to cover themselves. Later God gave them the garments of an animal skin that isn’t specifically identified to cover them after they left the Garden.

According to one tradition this skin was one that had a special power that allowed Adam and Eve to have dominion over the animals. This is of course tradition and the bible itself doesn’t say this, but what we know is that after the fall not only have Adam and Eve had to wear some form of garment, but as a rule it has been the habit of most of mankind.

Yet I can’t help wondering if the nakedness mention had a greater meaning than the obvious. Did it also apply to the sudden “awareness” of their nakedness in terms of vulnerability. Before the fall in that perfect relationship with God they felt secure and had no sense of danger. But immediately after the fall they had this overwhelming sense of no longer having that kind of protection.

I think in one way this is part of the essence of what is suppose to be for any believer. It is to know we are far too naked in terms of our flaws to protect ourselves completely in a realm where there are not only elements in this life that can cause us harm, but those of a spiritual realm.

Part of this nakedness should drive us to seek God for covering and help. Some do, others don’t. And for some the illusion of self-reliance forces them to corrupt that total aspect of faith that embraces with the heart the type of covering God desires.

And we also know that even in Heaven we have a covering. For the scripture is clear that we will wear robes. Which in itself I feel is that ultimate perfect covering that reflects his Spirit’s total union with our souls. We will totally be the Lord’s with no barrier.

Perhaps that is part of why the description of angels often includes them dressed in robes. It might be a symbol of how they too are surrender to God’s adornment.

If this be reality then one can only imagine for those who aren’t among the redeem what an eternity of no type of covering must be like. Such would surely be the worst kind of terror to have nothing to protect you from the punishment that last forever.

But for those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior there is always the joy of knowing the day will come when we shall know the kind of adornment that will never be taken away. Until then we have the joy too have being adorned, however imperfectly by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

There are times that such adornment may not always be seen by others. It is a question of faith and one’s willingness to embrace it the Lord’s way.

MAMMON OF THE HEART

I’ve always found it fascinating how often people that I know who are incredibly selfish regard themselves as the exact opposite of their true nature. And if they happen to be part of a church they will go out of their way to do things for others so they can boast about and prove they really are generous. Of course when one is motivated by the desires for attention then it really isn’t an act of generosity. At least God knows the difference even if we want to pretend otherwise.

Mammon of the heart then is the deeper motives that reflect our true desires. Not the ones we claim with our lips, but the ones that are actions honestly reflect.

And as I said, God has the capacity to see deep into our hiding place where our real motives fuel our actions. He knows the difference between our words and what we honestly believe.

Sadly church life often lends itself to image. One can create the illusion of being one type of person while in reality being somebody totally different. And unfortunately there are too many that are followers of Jesus who can look upon us and see the truth even if it isn’t what we claim. That is part of what so often helps to give credence to the view that Christianity is such a regrettable abode for hypocrisy.

Why does church life so often lend itself to such behavior? And why do we as Christians so easily set aside the reality and honesty of our genuine nature in order to play the silly game of appearance counts most of all?

Well I think there are many answers. But most of all I feel it comes from the simple lack of understanding people have regarded the meaning of grace. Plus there is the complication that not everyone who sits in a pew is actually a follower of Christ. I don’t wish to try and determine those that are from those that are not. I can only observe the number of people I’ve seen who show no evidence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Nor did they seem to even worry about this fact. They seemed very content to have gleamed the image of being a good and loving person even if it was nothing like they were in reality.

But it is the absence to me of erecting one’s house of faith upon a foundation of Christ and using the mortar of grace that I feel makes too many suppose followers of Jesus get caught up in some form of legalism. Oh they claim they are saved by faith, but right after that proclamation they will always attach something that one has to do beyond accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior to be saved.

Thus, grace is ignored. People want to put on display the few things they do right and have everyone (including God) forget about the things they did wrong. One can so easily be seduced from this fragile pedestal of thinking into believing they have somehow earned their salvation even if they don’t admit it openly.

But beyond this insanity is the truth. That is the abiding wondrous joy of God’s grace. It is his ability and willingness to accept us as we are without conditions. It is a free gift from is unconditional love. For the person who understands this unmerited favor one’s relationship with the Lord is filled with freedom. To be able to enjoy the simply blessing of being saved and not have to be miserable because you can’t follow a set of rules and are afraid to confess it in a church where they make it a requirement for salvation. So be free, savor grace and above all enjoy each day in Christ and the miraculous gift it really is.

TOMORROW

Tomorrow
dies in my head
when I dwell
in the deep and dark canyons of mental
refuse
that were formed
by tears
never dried
by love
or mercy.
They are the deep, emotional
scars
with a voice,
which will speak
at the Lord’s throne
where those who caused
them
must at last
hear
what they ignored in life.

THE TEMPLE OF MIGHT BE

Do you ever spend time in the house of “what if?” That sanctuary of day dreams where one visits to think of what might have been “if.”

Some people might regard such a pursuit as a waste of time. Being practical is the only thing that counts. As for a spiritual realm, well that is in part the arena of faith.

With some the daydreaming in terms of faith is part of the “name it and claim it” mentality. They have in certain cases built a huge following with their temple of “might be.”

Of course they spend so much time naming it and claiming it that nobody ever thinks about the occasions when what they say they are trusting God for doesn’t happen. If one person does happen to get so “blessed” well that is prove enough it works. Nobody wants to reflect on the countless one who ended up not experiencing such blessings.

The purpose of my posting isn’t so much to cast doubts upon this teaching. It is more to hopefully encourage those who like myself are living on the surface ordinary lives of a less than glamorous existence.

So much of my own day is spent doing things for which there is never any accolade or reward. And even as a writer although I consider part of what I do to be done for the Lord he has not so far elected to grace my labors with any recognition of which I could boast.

Does this discourage? Sometimes. I do lift it up to the Lord often and yet in the end no doors ever open. Will they open someday? If the Lord wills it to be so.

But what if they never do and I go home to heaven just another soul who’s live was lived in obscurity? Will I feel cheated? Perhaps in part, but I can’t imagine being in the presence of my Lord and not having a reason to rejoice over his forgiveness and salvation.

As for what might be and never is, I think to me the most essential thing I feel is to be faithful to whatever we are called to do. And in eternity if we have done so whether we reaped any fruit or not there will be a time for celebration.

I do pose the following thought as hopefully a source of encouragement to other who find themselves in my time of life. Which really takes more faith, to abide and trust when nothing good happens or when you are constantly blessed? And if this be the truth then couldn’t it also be true perhaps that God will also regard the faith of the person who didn’t not reap in this life with a special joy?

We can remember the words of our Lord that he mentioned to the Apostle Thomas when he confronted him about doubting his resurrection. Jesus said more “blessed” are those who believed without seeing. And to that end I think more blessed are those who in this life kept trusting without “seeing” the fruit of their labors that those who did receive. I pray you will be strengthen in your walk of faith by knowing despite how it looks to others you if you are among those not reaping and yet trusting that you are truly blessed.

IN THE STILLNESS

A sun is burning in my mind and soul at the moment. Flares of anger and frustration are licking at my gut and boiling my otherwise tepid, stoic spirit with rage.

I hate people who lied too me more than once. They insult my intelligence and I know from scripture that Satan is their parent since he is the father of lies.

Yet I can’t always avoid such human beings. And this is a fact of life. There are some situations where God places us as part of our struggle of faith that we must be tested by dealing with those who are the devil’s implants of power.

That doesn’t mean one has to enjoy that reality. Merely that it is our choice and testing in terms of how we deal with it.

On a physical level the natural desire is to want revenge. And to be inclined to seek a way of causing harm to the person. The only problem is that God has said “vengeance I mine,” meaning it is part of his sovereignty to exact justice.

I have also come to understand that when the Lord does exact such justice he is so much better at knowing how to do so in a way that causes the person far more grief than I could. So my own slant on that aspect is if one really wants vengeance then let the Lord do it in a way that will really give the individual what they deserve.

Knowing this does not allow my spirit to alone dominate my flesh. Any spiritual awareness doesn’t prevent my moods and emotions from their maelstrom proclivity towards dreaming, wanting and praying for only negative consequences to the person who has harmed me.

What about forgiveness? Well for a person of my compulsive and proneness towards extremes sometime the made source of forgiveness comes from not trying to harm the person back. To let God’s spirit give me the strength to avoid that collision course with allow my desire for acting on my impulses control my decision.

It is in the aftermath often of when my emotions have cool that the stillness comes. Reason is restored and I have been surprised in the process how God will touch me during those precious times with a different kind of flame. It is one that abides with his light of understanding. A gift of grace that brings an insight, which enables me to see another facet to God I didn’t understand.

But it is hard at times to wait for that stillness. In my situation since I have learned how he has place me in the position to channel such light through words, I appreciate the “dialogue” of my experiences will never cease.

I only pray he grants me the peace and strength to wait upon the richness of his longsuffering stillness for the right answer instead of the one I would prefer when my flesh is doing the thinking. And I pray that as many as are able will also find that same stillness in their lives too.

A VOICE IN BETWEEN

My life is currently in a canyon of transition. I can see the other side that is my destination. I just can’t tell how long it is going to take to get there.

I stipulate this is a canyon instead of the valley because the transition that will come when I reach the other side appears to be a positive one. Which makes waiting even more difficult than normal. And in my case since I have no patience to start with so waiting is for me about as much fun as having a severely broken bone.

It is in times like this though that I try to sort out the inner voice that comes from the Lord’s spirit and the one that Satan seeks to inspire. It can be difficult at times to cope with having all those doubts barking at one and not be prone to at least worry about if God will in this situation keep his word.

Complicating the whole process is the memories of the times when I assumed God’s will meant one result and it turned out to be wrong. So that too lingers in my thoughts that help to suggest this canyon will end up with a destination I will never reach.

Yet through it all, I do what I can to cling to the voice that came before the canyon was reached. That inspired me to begin heading in a given direction. And that is the voice I continue to listen for during the in between times of having left one side of a canyon and moving towards the other edge.

We are in reality spirit of both light and darkness. Some try to separate the two and think you can reach a point of pure light in this life that will be absent any shadows or darkness.

But the true eternal day of genuine enlightenment will only come when we stand before our Lord and Savior. Until then when we open our hearts and soul to trust the lord and allow his light to burn within we also open a door that means the dark can come too.

Some either don’t understand this or presume you can buffer yourself from the devil’s intrusions. I’ve even seen those that have so downplayed Satan’s capacity to confuse and lend darkness to our lives they make it seem like you can totally ignore his presence and reach some level of being impervious to his efforts.

Such ignorance is the quickest way to make one extra vulnerable to his seductive ways. And that isn’t what the walk of faith is about. If you are walking barefoot and have to cross a sticker patch, it is the epitome of pride and foolishness to think you won’t at least step on some stickers.

Grant allows these voices in between, both from his light and the darkness as part of our testing in terms of faith. We may not always enjoy the process, but it is one we can’t avoid as long as we continue to trust him.

Does that mean we will never make mistakes or head off in the wrong direction or never error in assuming some test is a canyon rather than a valley? The answer is no. And the real joy comes not from pretending we are beyond such points of challenge, but listening for the real voice in between.

OF HOPE AND FOLLY

Cherish
is the fuel
of my soul.
An energy of believing
that can
rid our angst
from the seasons of oblivion
when the crops of hope
wither and die.
But if we use the wrong
seeds
tainted by delusion
they may blossom
and appear succulent
while only leading
to spiritual
diabetes
instead of a staple
bringing
illumined vitality.

REVELATIONS

Jesus once promised that whenever two or three were gathered in his name, he would be there also. While it is comforting to know that the Lord is there I can’t help wondering to myself at times what he must think of the confusion and chaos that seems to follow too many meetings. And worst of all is how so often there are such radical different interpretations of various scriptures, not to mention so many contradictory views of what it means to be a Christian.

It would be hard for me at times to not feel that all this craziness hardly furthers the cause of Christ. I also can’t help in that same vein wondering if one projects back into the past about some of the aspects regarding revelations and inspiration.

For example we know God gave the law to Moses and the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness. Yet there were numerous generations prior to the time of Moses. So was it not important for them to have the same understanding as it would have been for the people of Israel?

Likewise it is hard to fathom that during that period prior to the flood when Adam and Enoch, who we are told walked and talk with God, wouldn’t have some important insights about the Lord. If they did and if Noah was so instructed we were never provided with any preserved writings.

I am not strolling this path to in any way question God’s will in this regard. I’m simply conveying the basic idea that obviously one’s relationship with the Lord is not totally dependent on what has been spiritually revealed. Which I think points to the reality that ultimately God understood the nature of man far too well. He appreciated that regardless of the truth we would do as all mankind has done and filter what we think through our own values and what is important in our hearts.

That to me helps makes sense of why the bible often lends itself to so many different interpretations. The Lord simply understood that human nature being what it is no matter what was provided in terms of revelations we would end up choosing to believe what we wanted to believe.

Why then did God even bother to provide any scriptures at all if we were going to prejudice them with our own bias? Well I can only venture my own opinion. I think in part it was because man did evolve spiritually over the centuries. And so he gave us little doses of insight as we matured spiritually as a race of beings.

But in the end this would prove to be a double edge sword. For some this “grace generated timetable” of revelation meant future generations would have more opportunity for understanding and more accountability. That doesn’t mean we necessarily are willing to embrace the reality that the greater the light of inspiration the greater the judgment.

However for myself I am grateful to live in this age when I have access to so much of what God has shared about himself. I only hope and pray that along the way I will not spend more time deciding what the information means according to my understanding than I do being willing to listen to his spirit open my heart and soul to its true meaning.

PROMISES, PROMISES

My wife and I have been going through the ordeal of trying to get our first home built. We are grateful to the Lord that he provided us the opportunity through an inheritance that we had never experience before, but there are times because we have waited for decades that the heart wilts with impatient.

During this event we have had to deal with lenders, contractors, the county department and architect. And the one constant is that no one so far has given us a promise that has actually been kept as stated in terms of time. What we were told would only take two weeks sometimes stretches into a month or more. Which naturally does little to inspire any encouragement on our part.

But of course this is just a microcosm in a way of how often one experiences other such promises. It is sad, yet it seems that so many situations in life involved being given promises that turn out not to be true.

One could hardly be blamed for being skeptical or cynical in the midst of such experiences. If it happens enough times I can even appreciate how one would get totally unwilling to rest ones hopes on anyone or anything.

In the spiritual realm we are often exposed to a wide variety of teachings regarding the promises of God in the scriptures. And more than one ministry and built a large and thriving congregation from teaching how you can expect God to bless you and give you all you want out of life. There are many variations on this approach, but they almost always garner a large following.

It would be hard to fault people for wanting God to do in their lives what circumstance and denied them. Who could be blamed for wanting health, prosperity and all the other items of this life.

However I have also seen the reality of times when the faithful don’t life the popular version of being blessed. They experience all the usual problems of life that are common to most people.

I think the truth is that is the way life is for most people whether the follow the Lord or not. More than one Christian has no doubt been left bitter and angry when trusting God for a promise and then life gets worse. It would only be natural to want to know why?

And to that end I think you could fill a library with interpretations. It can be said that at times we do through our doubt and refusal to believe God’s promises not experience them. However that is not the ONLY reason.

Ultimately we know that God sees our heart. Which means he understands when a given “blessing” will actually be harmful to our spiritual life. There are many other reason too. But ultimately I think the important part is that we ask ourselves most of all if we have truly sought his promise for the right reasons and not from selfish motives. Only each person can answer that. And if the answer is yes, then regardless of what others think we know with the Lord we have made the right choice. May God grant each of us the peace to walk by faith even when in what we feel is a desert of blessing.

COUNTING BLESSING

They are never
numbered
with symbols
one can see.
For the sum
is a tally
added
by the mind
when good
glows
form the experience.
To be rich
in the bounty of heaven
doesn’t
have a total,
which one
can add
in the checkbook,
nor at a price
of one’s conscience.

AT THE MOMENT

Moods can be such a mixed blessing. When they stem from good news they can be so great. If them arise from negative events then they can be like a dark valley you just can’t seem to escape.

Does God understand the moods of man? I pray so. Because when some bad news hits me in the face unexpectedly it isn’t always faith that comes to my mind first.

And from what I’ve seen with other followers of Christ as well as read in the scriptures I’m not alone in having this problem. I think it is a definite expression of God’s enduring grace that he doesn’t respond to us solely based on some thought or feeling we are having when things aren’t going well.

Not to surprising I guess is the fact that Satan also can recognize those moods. And I have no doubt that he loves to park some demon on our shoulder to whisper those little nudges of suggestion to make us doubt God and his work.

That is part of the journey of faith. We come to those dark passages of disappointment and while we make get temporarily blind we don’t stay that way forever. Sooner or later the light returns and we hopefully cling to that image in the midst of the black and bleak moments. Not perfectly of course, but to the best we are able.

And like all moments of reality where we find out we aren’t the pillars of faith we assumed (or self control, or sinless perfection) we need to surrender them to God in prayer. Not because he is unaware, but because in so doing there comes the peace of being truly honest with him over who we are as he sees us.

It is so easy to avoid that option. To choose to put it off for a variety of reasons such as embarrassment or not wanting to cope with the pain of knowing we aren’t as mature in the faith as we think.

Doing that too long and the distance or gap we create between ourselves on our Lord can easily become in our minds as wide as the Grand Canyon. That doesn’t mean God sees it that way. Just that Satan will try and get us to not accept our need for prayer and forgiveness.

For some at the moment can linger into at the lifetime. They fall prey to the allure of denial and may even plod along in their spiritual life pretending there is nothing wrong.

But if we avoid God’s altar of grace we merely bring ourselves to a point of stagnation. One where God will not guide us to any closer relationship until we face that obstacle we have chosen to place in the path of our walk of faith.

Some resist removing the obstacle, in some cases the rest of their lives. However for those who embrace the truth depths of God’s longsuffering, forgiveness and grace starting over is a new day rather than a moment of shame and sadness. Rejoice and celebrate when we stumble for the Lord will always reach out and take our hand to help us back to our feet if we aren’t too proud to accept the help.

ARISING FROM THE MADNESS

Wouldn’t be wonderful if all of us were able to do things that were wise and always worked out? I ask the question because I have a feeling that I’m not the only one who has wished life could be more perfect. It never is, but that doesn’t keep me from wishing it were the truth.

What is so disappointing at times and even more so when you find yourself guilty of such behavior is when we make the absolute worse choice possible. And sometimes even after a disaster occurs we try to excuse the blunder rather than admit we were just plain stupid in a given situation. That of course in itself is a form of stupidity prompted by pride, but it is still being stupid.

Even the smartest person makes mistakes. Just look at the record of Solomon. He was credited with being the smartest person of his time, but you sure couldn’t tell from his behavior. And in a small way I guess that makes me feel encourage to not beat myself up as much when I blunder since I’ve seen how someone that smart was capable of proving he had moments where sanity and common sense fled his mind.

The scriptures do carry a promise that if any one lacks wisdom let him ask, as in asking the Lord. But that doesn’t mean if he answers our prayers we will always listen.

I am reminded of the time when a remnant of the defeated kingdom of Judah approached the prophet Jeremiah to ask him to petition the Lord for guidance. They wanted to go to Egypt to obviously put some distance between themselves and the Babylon conquerors.

And so the prophet did seek the Lord’s wisdom. The only problem was the answer that came was that God wanted them to stay where they were in Israel. It wasn’t the message they wanted to hear and they refused to listen. They went ahead and did what they wanted and it turned out to be a disaster.

I look back at my own life and when I strip away the excuses I love to muster for my long undistinguished history of bad choice I realize more than anything they were my choices, Oh there were plenty of factors that contributed like a very abusive childhood and a panoply of affects that forced me to repeat the same self-abusive cycle over and over.

Yet I realize all of this was in part a madness of sorts. One I’ve seen in other people too. The good news for me was that eventually God did bring me to a point where I was able in part to break that dreadful cycle. And along the way, I succeeded in some small milestones with his help like graduating with honors from college, winning some poetry awards and even publishing a book. God took my madness and helped me to arise not to greatness to speak of, but to a point of enough sanity where I could function with all my liabilities.

It doesn’t give me a reason to boast. Simple a quite joy of knowing that in his loving grace and awareness that with the right kind of stimulus I could be lead in a positive direction.

And so if you have found yourself in a similar situation, listen. Let God minister as only he can. It may not be you will end up rich and famous, but it will bring you to the place where you can perhaps arise from the madness. Sometimes the greatest victory is being other than walking in a circle of confusion and self-defeated intentions.

WANTED "VERSE" LIGHT

The other day I had this person who is not a Christian, but a member of a different faith decide he was going to “enlighten” several others and myself on the true meaning of Christianity. So he decided to bore all of us who consider ourselves as born again Christians with his “interpretation” what it meant to be saved as a believer in Jesus.

Unfortunately he could only manage to ramble on in his comments to our postings with the hopelessly inaccurate thoughts. And needless to say he didn’t exactly endear himself to any of us with his need to try and explain salvation when he didn’t have a clue on what it meant himself.

A lack of “wisdom and god’s light” has never kept some people from preaching to others. What is even more frustrating is the way some element of carnal driven motives will end up being view as the light of truth.

I’m speaking in this case of the issue of legalism. Which to me is basically something that appeals to one’s need to control his salvation by establishing a set of rules you can keep. As long as you keep them the result is you have basically feel you have earned your salvation.

The only problem is that number one, God’s set of laws is generally a great deal more vast than the list the legalists love to emphasize. They will go through the scripture and pick out certain rules they say you must follow like keeping the Ten Commandments and then totally ignore the other laws even though the scriptures are clear that not keeping the whole law makes you guilty of breaking it.

Which of course is God’s way of showing us the futility of how we are unable to ever get any approval from the Lord through our own efforts. None of us, no matter how perfect we might assume we are will ever meet that standard.

Some people even get so absurd on this issue they claim to have kept the ten commandments. But Jesus gave them a whole new understanding when he pointed out things like hating in your heart was in reality breaking the commandment about not killing. Essentially we break God’s law just by the desires in our heart because we are sinners.

I see legalism is sort of form of juggling. You get really busy impressing yourself by not doing a given sin, but in the process you “drop” or end up committing a different sin. A person simply exhausts themselves spiritually by this kind of juggling act and in the end even though you should learn you can’t please God by your own strength, some still chase this delusion out of pride.

And as with so many frailties of the soul, when we allow this or any prejudice to color our search for truth we end up interpreting the scriptures inaccurately. Hopefully we can in some way let God’s spirit shine the light of truth into the darkness of our pride and misunderstanding. But at times people just fall in love with that blindfold they wear. I pray we all will be willing to take it off when the Lord tells us too.