FUEL

I recall watching a show once where they were showing people ways of doing something creative to celebrate the holidays. Their idea was to use special logs in the fireplace that when burnt would give off different colored flames. It was an interesting idea although not necessarily useful for those of us without fireplaces.

Still there was a basic thought that came to me out of that experience. Energy does require fuel. Plus with some forms of energy it ends with light.

Thus it is with our spiritual lives. They require fuel. We can use our version, whatever works for us from church life to special devotionals or we can use the fuel that God provides. It will all give off a light, but only the fuel God provides will cast off a light where Jesus shines.

The problem is sometimes the fuel isn’t something we will recognize. For God sees deep into the recesses of our furnace in our hearts. He knows what will burn best and what will produce the light that he desires. So he will put us in a position where that fuel in terms of opportunity or experience comes into our lives and will produce the energy from what part of our life and being truly serves his purposes.

It is simple enough, to a degree at least. However the hard part is appreciating that with the Lord the part of our life, that ‘furnace’ if you will that he wants to ignite may not be the one we assume he wants to use. We may be good at some given talent. But that might not be the one God wants to use.

Sometimes that is because he has a specific light he wants to shine from our lives that serves his purpose. It might be in an area of our abilities that we don’t even imagine is of any value to God. If we resist or try to second guess the Lord in that regard we can refuse a fuel he wants us to use because we don’t think it will burnt as bright or in the color we want. That’s taking too much pride in our furnace and not be willing to listen to his will.

Each spark from a heavenly laid form of kindling will create not just light, but also smoke. That is the part, which might get missed in our vision. However it is the smoke of faith, the vapor of obedience. It will ascend to heaven where it is see by eternal eyes.

On that day of reunion the smoke will at last turn to gold and we shall see the true fuel for what it really was. In the meantime, we struggle with finding the fuel and making sure our furnaces work as needed.

This is a process that is never completed in this life. It is part of our being whether we like it or not. And it just becomes a question of how willing we are to see what God calls fuel as something that will truly burn in our furnace. Hopefully we have eyes to see what burns the brightest in heaven more than what only shines for a while in this life. Sometimes the eyes of the soul can be blurred by the seeing only with the eyes of the heart.

UP THE DOWNHILL TRAIL

There are contrasts in scripture, paradoxes and comparison where the opposite of what we believe is actually true. For example, while the scriptures don’t admonish having riches, they do speak of how the love of money is the root of all evil. And there are a number of places such as the parable of Lazarus and the rich man that don’t exactly suggest that having your heaven on earth is necessarily always a blessing.

My point is not to try and argue against wealth, but merely illustrate the times when what we think is correct or true doesn’t mean that God sees it that way. Such is the case with the comment our Lord of how in eternity there will be some of the “last” that shall be first and some of the first that shall be last.

I’ve always felt this was in essence a source of comfort. For it means that regardless of how the world sees us, greatness with the Lord is based on a whole different set of criteria. Personally I have no illusions about being part of the first. I think that is a place of honor that will reserved for those with far more faith than I will ever have.

However for myself the comfort comes from knowing that when I am forced to trod downwards instead of up in human terms that God sees my journey just that same. It helps to make the sojourn that some will regard as a punishment in better perspective.

The big problem is knowing all of that and not surrendering to the accusing inner voices stirred by the father of lies that want you to think you should treat such an experience as something negative. That too me doesn’t mean we don’t have a right to be upset or feel stress out when our live has some downturn. Some people would imply that kind of honesty is a lack of faith. I consider lying to yourself and thinking God doesn’t recognize the truth as a bigger problem.

So look up with traveling reluctantly down that rocky path of uncertainty. Avoid the soothsayers of “I told you so” that are self-anointed prophets who thrive on misery and unhappiness.

At the same time I also suggest avoiding the “everything is going to be okay” people, especially if they have a terrible track record of being wrong most of the time. Such can hardly appreciate your journey if they are sitting in comfort and facing no similar problems.

Above all lift up one’s eyes and towards the Lord. His spirit will lift the veil of confusion and grant light in the darkness. If truth be a beacon of clarity that calms in the midst of the chaos regardless of what we fear, then rejoice for the knowing.

This is not a sermon. It is a prayer. It is also A petition of hope for everyone walking that difficult path and wondering why me? A simple wish to encourage and take heart that with God no matter the accusation or other obstacles, he will still always guide us beside those eternal sill waters. That is the place, which praise the Lord will refresh our souls no matter how great was our thirst.

CLEAR SKIES, BLURRED EYES

I’ve been dealing with this one person who is an ardent advocate of positivism. This involves a business relationship that I have to enter into for a variety of reasons.

Basically this is a very nice person in many ways, but one who suffers from two obvious maladies. Number one is the inability to separate out when being upbeat as a prediction is different from being upbeat as a statement of fact. While this individual means well the big problem is that staying that “everything is going to be okay” as a fact just doesn’t work if you are hundred per cent wrong.

The other area this person suffers in is in terms of being able to admit when a mistake is made. Instead of simply saying something like “I’m sorry, I was mistaken” the individual always ends up claiming the root cause of such a error was due to somebody else.

This is a person who reasons that if you do something good for someone it always will be remember far more than when you do something wrong or that causes somebody else harm. It is a regrettable fantasy that only leaves this person totally dumfounded on why in this person’s view people end up being far too ungrateful. The individual will sit and regale me with the things the person did to help somebody and never in any way grasp the idea that in midst of all those nice things you constantly mistake the facts and cost somebody a great deal of financial burden they aren’t likely to say thank you.

I have continued to work with this person because I felt that was the Lord’s will for the situation. And I know the Lord’s spirit has helped me to understand that our goal in this venture will be completed. For me this has been a test of my shortcomings in terms of compassion and tolerance. So I appreciate the value it places on me.

At the same time I have come to understand the sadness of how for this person the self view of being a good person so hopelessly colors that individual’s capacity to see the truth of the sin that occupies the person’s life. It is to be at the heart one who clings to the delusion that our goodness in any way helps us to earn out salvation.

I have tried in my own subtle way to try and listen and not do too much to complicate this heavy spiritual burden of denial that dominates the individual’s life. It is for me seeing grace through a new light. One that appreciates how God must be so longsuffering with our frailties.

In this case, the person does claim to be a believer. Sadly the individual is a member of a particular brand of Christianity that I personal know doesn’t make salvation by faith the criteria for salvation. I only hope that in our time of relationship God will perhaps work a miracle to allow this person to see Jesus truly as savior.

That I must like so many things leave in God’s hand. And to rejoice over the light God grants me from each encounter in life when I manage to keep my soul’s eyes focused as he would desire.

THE RULES

Their creators are ghouls
devouring
each vision of winged and cloud caressing
journey
of the conscious
to flee the peril
from gravity’s earthen chains.
So they build walls
with their do’s and don’ts
till a prison
covers the nightmare stained chasm
we pray to escape.
Thou shall not
is a biting manacle
that imprisons
till the sky
becomes
just another place
one
can never visit.

YES AND AMEN

Is agreement and approval by others a sign of God’s blessing? You would think so with some people. The more folks that say something is correct or true the more some people feel that makes the item acceptable to God.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is reality. I wish it wasn’t the case. However there are just too many times when a tradition or teaching is embraced as scriptural and really isn’t.

What is even worse to me is when somebody makes an “anti-tradition” to counter a given tradition and it becomes as silly or absurd as whatever is being rejected. I thinking for example such as attending a “non-denominational” church so as to avoid the stigma of being a denomination. Then by the time they get through establishing their own set of rules and traditions the church ends up being just as encumbered with things that suffocate the spirit as any denominational house of worship.

Being different just to prove you are different and then in the process creating the same thing you dislike is hardly progress from my point of view. And always if it succeeds for any reason, God is claimed to be the reason. If it fails then it is always Satan faults. When was the last time you honestly heard anyone who tried this type of change and it failed say, “It was my fault. I was being stupid and prideful and boy did I make a mistake."

I’m not sure how people would react to such a confession. Personally I made so many spiritual blunders as well as the regular kind that I threw my scorecard away long ago. Now I pray God won’t let me go totally stupid any more than is necessary to help me learn what I’m too hard headed to see in any other way.

In the meantime if sharing this in some way helps another soul to feel a release in some way to have a peace to accept the same choice of confession, then I rejoice. I have a feeling though that the spirit of pride and arrogance will probably keep many from making that journey to the light shining upon the horizon of our own frailties.

For those who do, I say welcome. It is always nice to have company. And along the way perhaps have a chance to enjoy being human as well as forgiven.

The only nice thing I see in the confusion and games is knowing in Heaven it is only God’s rules that count. Until then, we are free to keep whatever type of scorecard we think works for us.

Perhaps along the way when God’s spirit comes with an eraser to wipe away a few brownie points we didn’t deserve we can accept it without complaining. Then move ahead one step at a time ever grateful the life of faith isn’t base on our “non-sinning” batting average.

Which will truly only be important when we reach that heavenly home plate where winged umpires keep score. At least they don’t make our kind of mistakes.

IMPLANTS OF BREATH

Lately my mind seems to gravitate to the subject of breath more than on other occasions. Not in terms of actually inhaling and exhaling, but more the simple issue of joy. That is for me an issue of spiritual breathing in part. It is to me what constitutes the warm and soothing breeze of the holy spirit in quiet or trouble times that keeps us from being prisoner of life’s shadows and ghouls.

I don’t wish to become too redundant on this subject. However I think it does merit more reflection. In this case I’m thinking of the times when we truly feeling out of breath and unable to inhale in terms of having the strength to keep trusting the Lord. This can happen if you are in the midst of a very long valley of struggle without being able to see the horizon. It is easy to want to just sit down and give up.

Oh I imagine there are some super spiritual beings that might claim they never have this problem. But I’m not among them.

To me life is not lived in golden hues of pristine clarity or perennial elegance in terms of the fruit of our lives. It is often marred, unpredictable and filled with the darts that cause small wounds to our understanding and heart. We end up consumed by spending so much time looking for some kind of band-aid.

And that can include church, which would be fine if one found a first aid kit as advertised. Instead if you arrive looking for a way to stop the bleeding and only are offered a knife is that really spiritual first aid?

Perhaps I am more prone to dwell on the flip side of adulation because it is most common to my experience. So I come to the circle of thought where I must look up and seek that special implant of spiritual breath for when somebody has literally through their caustic self righteous behavior knocked the wind from my soul’s life.

God, so merciful and understanding can be so touching with sending such an implant. It normally comes from the most unexpected sources. Seldom though has that included those who always have a bible on them, but seem more interested in beating you to death with it than reading it.

For me the implants of often come through means, circumstances and sources I would have never imagined. It has made me appreciate how much the Lord truly is sovereign over things we sometimes take for granted or do associate with the Lord.

Thus the message for me is a simple one. If our lungs of spiritual breath that we use to trust God are lacking his air and not very strong, sometimes they need implants to work correctly. The only question is whether we are ready and willing to accept such assistance when it is available.

As with so many the real answer remains affixed to the invisible gust of God’s will that blows through his desires. We just have to be prepared to see it when it rustles the tree branches even if the tree isn’t one we want to notice.

TWO LIVES

There are two lives
we live.
One that is seen
by the eyes
of other
minds
and only seen
from God’s throne.
At his altar of mercy
failure
is never recorded,
just forgiveness
if we, but reach up
with open arms
to touch his grace.
For eternity
affords us
a chance for success
that men
ignore.

SUFFOCATING

How long can you hold your breath? I have no idea what the world’s record is for anyone being able to hold his or her breath, but I do know none of us can live very long without breathing.

While this might be a reality in terms of the flesh sometimes I wonder if we worry about it very much on a spiritual level. For our soul’s need fresh air and a chance to breath also. To me that relates to those things that lift us up, encourage and don’t attempt to confine in any way.

The place that ought to be most evident is in the Lord’s house. But is it? When one enters a house of worship does the word freedom truly come to mind? If not, why?

Suffocating on a spiritual level to me includes not being able to truly yield to God’s will for one’s life. The Lord knows our heart and that means among other things he knows our strengths and weaknesses. For the sake of our spiritual breath and faith he will at times allow us to be exposed to events and experiences that may seem restricting at times when in reality they will enable us to discover some new strength or get rid of an old fear. Only it may not be something we appreciate at the time.

Venturing into the shadows of uncertainty can be fearful. Anxiety can pound one like a hammer and we may not be willing to confront such challenges. Sometimes that is wisdom if the uncertainty involved taking a risk to do something that will be harmful to us. One has to be able to listen to God’s spirit to know if a given situation will ultimately bring light or utter darkness. It is so easy just to follow our own desires in that regard. To justify in our minds our actions without consulting the Lord.

Yet for some that translates into sitting in the pew week after week and somehow thinking that is enough. In their minds it represents freedom at a level they can handle. In reality whether sitting in the pews or a park or at home we can suffocate spiritually if we are attempting to inhale and exhale with our souls.

The Lord being everywhere truly includes our souls. And he can touch us and guide us through our minds even if our bodies are sitting quietly. It is our thoughts that suffocate when we don’t listen to his voice. We could be dead on the inside while having the appearance of possessing a life of blessing.

I think that idea is conveyed in scriptures when Jesus referred to the Pharisees as being like a dead man’s bones in a grave with a white headstone. I am paraphrasing, but the idea was people who had an image of a blessed and righteous life, but inwardly where only God could see they had suffocated spiritually. They died from a mindset of rebellion not just against the Lord, but what their souls truly needed.

So it is a question each of us has to be willing to ask for ourselves. Do we truly want to let ourselves follow God’s spiritual wind wherever it might lead, even if it means visiting a place everyone else calls a valley filled with shame? It is left for each of us to choose if we will breathe or continue letting our soul hold its breath.

LIFTING UP THE MOMENT

Is there anyone that truly enjoys criticism as much as encouragement? Yet I doubt that is what we hear most in life from any source. And it seems that criticism is far more contagious than kind words.

What is hard though is finding the right words to encourage when a person has made a mistake. The temptation is naturally to point out the problem, but it is so hard to do so in a way that doesn’t wound. That will in some way leave the person feeling full of hope and not full of despair.

I wish this was a practice we were all skilled at to the same degree, but I haven’t noticed it to be the case in reality. Another challenge is to me how does one expect such compliments from someone who is scarred by too many negative memories? Is it really possible?

The Apostle Paul tells us in his Ephesians letter how we should only say things to each other as believers that is profitable and edifying. I don’t think he would have had need to mention it if Christians in his day didn’t have as much a problem with that as we do.

Is there a balance one can truly find between constant criticism and too much flattery? A pastor has to find that balance more than some as the shepherd of a flock. But it is truly something that applies to all of us.

The simple answer is naturally that love ought to fuel our motives. A love that comes from the Holy Spirit and thus comes to us from the Lord’s heart.

Unfortunately emotions sometimes get in the way of our reason. Plus there is the uncontrollable mantel of our own personalities.

I know in my life I have been more inclined toward being negative and critical than uplifting. So I’m sure you can appreciate how I felt totally unworthy to be put in any capacity to inspire or encourage.

However I have tried to be obedient despite my fallings in that area and let God’s spirit use what words my mind was capable of forming to serve his purposes. Along the way I have had times when it has helped, at least by the kind comments that have come my way.

But for me it is the simple joy of knowing that it served God’s purposes that really matters. And to any of you who like me are a better critic than inspirer I offer the simple encouragement to leave it in the Lord’s hands. For as we know with him all things are possible.

I pray that we each find the path God has for us to lift up a moment in a way that makes in memorable in a positive way. And to rejoice in the small tidings of thought, which often are used by the Lord to warm and heal when life scars and bleeds.

WHERE THE VALLEY GROWS

When I speak of valleys I’m referring to the circumstances we face that challenge us in some way. While not all valleys are necessarily bad, they are all different in some ways. And some people manage to avoid certain valleys while others only seem to manage to survive one long enough to enter another.

A few years ago I had a pastor tell me that he understood valleys were part of the life of faith, but that he was convinced you could “control” them. It was perhaps not the best choice of statements to make in my opinion.

For his life sure seemed to fall into some very long valleys after that. Eventually he even ended up leaving the ministry. From what I understand he is today a very bitter and unhappy person.

That isn’t to say everyone will have the same experience, merely that in his situation it seems that God put him in a position that hopefully was to teach him the fallacy of such a theory. At least it appears he didn’t gain from the lesson, but that again is just an impression.

From a spiritual viewpoint to me valleys and mountains are only apart of the “landscape” of faith. By that I mean the “sights” or scenery we encounter that either drives us to trust God more or in the opposite direction.

What is interesting to me is that we all travel the same landscape in terms of having struggles, highs and lows. Not being a believer doesn’t mean you will be issued some pass to hitch a ride on a cloud. I’m sure there are plenty that keep trying to find the ticket office, but so far I doubt they have located it.

Meanwhile the journey continues. We either learn and rejoice in the process or we use it as a reason to let ourselves die in some way spiritually.

I remember the other day listening to a Pastor speaking of how great he felt it was that a person had a chance to live a life in some low paying dead end job. I found it interesting that he shared that opinion, but wasn’t about to give up being a minister to choice that option for himself.

I personally have always had trouble coping emotionally with people who want to demean my own valley. They want to make it seem like it isn’t really a problem even though they are on the mountain top and never even been in that kind of valley.

My heart truly goes out to anyone who is struggling with any valley even if to somebody else it seems an easy path to follow. And to those who are passing through such an experience we know God is there even if it is hard to see his presence in the barren and scorching heat of our moment of doubt.

May God grant all who seek him the strength to keep on the path of where the valley grows in his or her own life. Plus the blessing of having his spirit grace us with the wind of refreshing when we feel the most exhausted and ready to quit.

SHALL I KNOW

Shall I know
where angels
oft go
as I hope to dwell
at heaven’s steps
instead
of hell’s?
Only grac
brings the Lord’s key
to heal
and grant
some peace
unto me.
So I shall cling in faith,
ever joyous
for the mercy
that God’s
forgiveness
shall give
unto my unworthy being.

BEYOND THE LEDGE OF KNOWN

Faith is such a difficult challenge to the senses. To see with the soul instead of the eyes sounds easy, but it really isn’t. The unknown will always make such sight a problem.

Plus there are varying degrees of things being unknown. Our greatest tests of what we truly have faith in comes when there is something at risk.

I can certainly trust God for a promise from his word when it doesn’t have any consequences that will affect my life. However that doesn’t mean I will necessarily get too concerned if I don’t experience the fulfillment of the promise when I have nothing to lose.

On the other hand if my health or survival are at risk the level of stress goes up and it is so easy to have the mind get distracted by so many echoes of “what if.” If they become too loud from a proclivity towards expecting the worse it can truly wither our flowers of faith.

So does that mean only optimists can truly have faith? If that were true then I think a number of very well known biblical characters wouldn’t be among the redeemed. There were several episodes with the Lord’s disciples when their comments didn’t ring out with confidence. Yet God in his grace was merciful to them just the same.

Which is something for me that is so uplifting and a source of joy. There is no disgrace in being human. And for some that means they will always be prone to look at the glass as half empty. What is important is the need to accept that is part of one’s nature and be willing to allow the Lord’s spirit to give one strength in the midst of one’s doubts. It is if understood another chance to trust God.

Sadly there are times when it seems that out of fear of what others think we are afraid to admit our doubts and the times we don’t trust the Lord. It is as if we somehow will have more faith if we don’t accept ourselves for our weakness in the ability to trust.

Yet, there is no way for God to ever truly help us to grow in out willingness to trust him if we don’t face the truth about out shortcomings in that sense. It is like so many things a willingness to come to the Lord in times of failure rather than hide behind some mask of pretense and false spirituality.

For some the regretful sense of insecurity will always inhibit them from flying by wings of faith. Regrettably in some cases they can even be active in churches and have cultivated an image of a mature Christian. The whole time having allowed their need to battle a sense of insecurity cloud their judgment and willingness to truly obey God’s desire for their lives.

The Lord will guide us with our weaknesses towards eternity if we are willing to do so by his means. Or we can simply retreat to the sanctuary of our own delusions never discovering the greater blessing that can only come through facing what God sees in our heart’s mirror.

SPIRITUAL BAPTISM

How long could any of us survive without water to drink? And I’m speaking in terms of being stranded in a desert where one had literally nothing to drink. It would depend upon the person, but we do not we wouldn’t live that long without any water to drink and even less time if we were in the place where the sun was scorching us.

In fact we know that water plays a very critical part in life on the planet. It covers most of the land with oceans and even the human body is composed mainly of water. Is there a subtle message in all of this? Perhaps. If one is willing to accept or embrace that God did this for a special reason.

While that is a matter of speculation we do know water is necessary to our daily lives. But do we apply that same rule to the soul? I’m not sure.

The scriptures speak of the experience of being baptized by the Holy Spirit. And to be baptized is to be “immersed.” In traditional baptism that would mean having the body totally engulfed in water, which is how some practice it. Others treat it as an symbolic act that only requires one to show surrender to the act so they merely consummate it with a sprinkling ritual.

My point is not to debate the merits of which form of baptism is preferable, but rather to say how it does involve immersion. And wouldn’t it therefore apply that true spiritual baptism would also mean immersion?

So the question perhaps is what does that mean? What is total immersion through the baptism of the Holy Spirit involve?

For me it is incorporated in part with surrender. It is to willingly allow God’s spirit to completely wash over one’s life. And that isn’t always excess for we all have those smudges on our soul, the marks of our will that don’t come off that easy.

Another aspect is that just like real baptism we can’t stay completely immersed in the water forever. Thus there are times when some wind of being a sinner will dry the Holy Spirit in our lives. Which is why it is a continual process of immersion sometimes being more effective on our lives that others.

We have to be prepared in that regard to be open to surrender to that baptism on a regular basis. But there may be days when we honestly don’t feel like it. That might seem trite or silly, but it is the way we are on a human level.

However the biggest problem is with the will. There are times the Holy Spirit’s water will seep into some crevice of our pride we out of selfishness want to keep dry. And those are the places we probably need the immersion the most.

This is in reality a process rather than an one time experience. And I pray we are willing to return to the point of baptism as often as the Holy Spirit leads for refreshment is always better than being thirsty.

THE COINS OF THE SOUL

The change
shines
from a redeemed face
having been minted
in an eternal place.
You can know
when it jingles
by the eyes,
which will always have
a glimmer
of heaven’s skies.
But it is a richness
that will glow
beyond the bank accounts
one longs to know.
For there is
no gold
worth more to have to show
than spiritual coins
filling the soul.

THE SPEAKING LIGHT

To see with the eyes is to only perceive the obvious. It is a reliance merely on the realm of the known, logical and rational. And that might be applicable to anything relevant to surviving in this life, but it doesn’t always equate in terms of spiritual light.

The fruit of the spirit or some presumed might dazzle some when they are evidence, but without understanding or discernment of the brighter hues that shine with a deeper and richer meaning we only see in part. And it is in this wasteland of spiritual misinformation that it is so easy to wander while thinking one informed and mature in the matters of the soul.

For God speaks to us on many levels. But we don’t all respond as we should. We see what appeals and never listened for what his light of revelation is supposed to convey.

What is lost is the true foundation for a faith that embraces Heaven as a greater reality than this life. Yet it is so easy to be consumed just with wanted evidences that affirms what we desire to be as reality.

It is by this liability in thinking and misconception that deception so often happens. We become slaves to the shimmer of a tradition and miss the luster of God’s real message. All the time thinking ourselves so pleasing to the Lord while the entire time oblivious to the fact we are really showing a disrespect to his will and truth.

By such labors of what stuns just the eyes without touching the soul those who capture hearts with false teaching and fake miracles are able to prosper. And even when we do see clearly the shadows of falseness twisted in the presumed illumination of some false teacher it doesn’t keep us from being dependent or drawn to what we see more than know.

Yet God does desire for us to seek HIM by the light that can truly pierce our deepest recesses of essence. To have us listen as it speaks in a way that becomes a voice of guiding that no shout of distraction or resound of conformity can cause to grow silent.

However the Lord doesn’t force us beyond where we are willing to look. And in his grace and mercy he understands that for some they will only be able to see the little flashes of his presence while thinking it so profound. They will be content to look only at what shines on the surface instead of what radiates in tones beyond our physical senses.

Let us lift our eyes and open the soul’s ears to learn with our hearts to listen when the illumination of God warms more than our senses. May it become the song we seek more often that the hymn known just by man. And most of all may we find the peace of knowing when those vibrant whispers from heaven tell us what dim eyes refuse to truly try and see.

YES AND NO

Life may not be black and white, but there are plenty of times when an event can be the bearer of both black and white in terms of both good and bad news. These are the times when our dreams flutter in the Neverland of vagueness, not quiet becoming true and yet not being totally hopeless either. They are the bittersweet snacks of the soul whereby we consume them for the sugary goodness flavor, but fully aware it will probably sour our stomach.

One has to struggle in the yes and no moments with the exasperation of asking, “Why me? How come my dream can’t either just come true or whither and die? Why does it have to end up such a wasteland where there is still a horizon to reach.

When you do finally reach that horizon, all the waiting and stress doesn’t necessarily bring euphoria as much as a sigh of relief. That is never quite the way emotionally we anticipate the ending of a dream to come. We want the pristine smile of our fantasy fulfilled completely and perfectly.

Yet we know if we live long enough that is not the way of life and certainly not the life of faith. Despite our desires and prayers, God just doesn’t sprinkle our lives with any level of perfection. It all remains within the boundaries of the realm of reality where if dreams come true they are subject to flaws.

Still despite the stumbling and detours, faith doesn’t have to diminish. Questions about the merit of why in a given situation may not come as we wish. Not in this life, but in due season God will surely answer that prayer when we are in his eternal light.

Will that satisfy the thirsting and aching soul? Probably not in all cases. And when the yes and no does come, there is one thing we can rejoice is in knowing how God will not desert us. He can comfort us. If only with a spiritual hug that will give us a peace to keep trusting to that day of reunion when the light restores what this current darkness has taken away.

For some it will never be enough. What is the Lord’s testing of our heart and faith becomes only a heart ache from which they never recover.

Yet through it all we are not alone. We have a host in Heaven as our witnesses and there will always be the invisible hands of the Lord’s Heavenly messengers that will touch us when we think we are totally alone.

From pain and confusion can come a calm. For the believer it is available in Christ. We need not be perfect of have all the answers. We may not be spared from the angst of yes and no situations, but the Lord’s sweet hush from his spirit can still grant us a breath of hope to venture one more step and one more day.

May the Lord grant all who seek him the quiet joy of knowing he will give us the strength to pass through the moments of yes and no. And the willingness to find what spiritual whispers will give our soul joy in the process.

HALO MOMENTS

There are the times when obedience brings the kind of flood of inner warmth that you just know doesn’t come from this world. Some clamor and race for glory. Even in houses of worship and the body of Christ there are some who want to be a head instead of whatever is their portion. It is to be human to want attention and the trappings of recognition.

I don’t believe Lord is ignorant of that fact. And in some cases he does provide us the blessed moments when we genuinely have that sense of his “halo” of well done. The only problem is you can presume upon the Lord’s grace. He knows our heart and if we are driven strictly by the desire for a well done he knows that too.

I was in bible study the other night and we were discussing the issue of things one does as a volunteer act as opposed to it being required. Work for example is a “gotta do” as our a great many things in life. But there are some things such a serving the Lord that we do by choice.

And we got into a general discussion of the problems of finding the motivation to do something that doesn’t necessarily carry any immediate reward. I will grant my brothers in Christ the honesty to confess that this is never an easy process.

For me I think what is the most essential factor is the stamp of the “halo” upon the event. That for me is the spiritual passion that comes when one is doing something for the Lord you truly enjoy.

I see the key to that relying upon being confirmed in one’s heart and soul that it is something God truly desire one to do. And with that confirmation comes a special type of joy. It is a halo of pure contentment where regardless of the fruit seen by other you are enjoying the labor so much you happy just doing that service even if you don’t profit in the process.

I was fascinated the other day when I was seeking out certain believers to help with this one ministry. Any help would not carry with it a reward. No compensation beyond the joy of having served the Lord.

So far I am still waiting for the people I approached that I felt led by the Lord to ask to give me a reply. And I pray that they will. In one way though the immediate response I got sort of led me to sense that somewhere in their thinking was the very natural question, “what is in it for me.”

I do pray that it will unfold that the people I asked do eventually feel compelled to serve out of a love for the Lord. As for me, well I just enjoy the halo moment when it comes and smile on the inside. It is enough the Lord’s spirit seems to be telling me. And to be honest that is the abiding way the feeling swells in my soul.

May the Lord touch each person who follows him to cherish those precious Halo moments more than the approval of men. For one will last and the latter will not.

THE STAIRS OF ABIDING

Upwards with all one’s heart
is the surge in the will,
which thrives in the senses
when one dreams of reaching new plateaus
in spiritual intimacy
because of the assumption
that time alone
brings maturity
if one maintains a certain pace of obedience.
Then in the disillusion of stumbling
there comes a revelation
of how a steadfast path
doesn’t always
strengthen our faith.
For the stairs of abiding
do have holes
and falling down
is as much apart of trusting
the Lord
as reaching another step.

LITTLE WINGS

While visions of golden shafts of divine light piercing clouds to shine upon one’s face may be colorful and spiritually dramatic, I don’t think any of us experiences them very often if ever. I’m speaking only from my own experience naturally, but I haven’t heard too many believers mentioning that being an event they personally have encountered either.

Inspiration, especially of a miraculous or supernatural nature is wonderful. Anyone who has been touch by God’s spirit in one of those moments will never forget it. Such and event has the power to reach the deepest and most precious portions of our essence.

But as great as such spiritually tingling moments happen to be, as I said they often are rare. It doesn’t keep us from craving them and in some cases perhaps “imaging” or manufacturing them. Being human and having feelings I can appreciate how that type of need to buffer the monotony and disappointments of life can motivate some to become obsessed with such experiences.

Still, despite the times we might try to help God in that regard, it is only the genuine moments that ring true. We can claim some event is supernatural when it isn’t, but inside we know the truth and so does the Lord.

What I have come to cherish more in some ways are the “little wings.” Those moments are ones that are uplifting in a small way and allow us to get relief from some stress or frustration. I’m not sure that in those times when we are exhaling we necessarily remember how the Lord was the author of bringing us such relief.

In my situation, having a poet’s temperamental spirit, I suffer from such maladies as impatience, being easily offended due to an overly sensitive personality and also a person who can’t handle either confrontation or stress very well. I share that to simply point out how my own flaws make the “little wings” a very special blessing since I need them so constantly.

For me though, what is most amazing is how often God seems to know when I’m at some breaking point and have totally lost control emotionally. Then he will gently quiet the storm. Not enough to remove all storms forever or even dry up the rain of circumstance, but it is enough relief that I can catch my breath and take another step of faith.

Later when I am in a saner and calmer frame of mine then so often God’s spirit will nudge me on the shoulders and poignantly remind me how he came to my help. That’s when I feel the little wings the most and am truly grateful for their gift.

So while may be obsessed and pray for thunderbolt moments, I will rejoice over the little uplifting encounters that give one enough strength just for that day. How often does the Lord grace each of us with those blessings and we miss them?

I pray that we are touch enough with awareness to see the Lord in the little wing flights as well as the other more dramatic moments. And to rejoice to know that with the Lord he has and endless supply of such wings.

OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICE

I was invited a while ago to volunteer my writing skills at a new Christian web site. The creator knew me from another site and felt I could make a worthwhile contribution to this ezine she was creating. Her simple desire was to bring honor to the Lord by sharing uplifting and interesting stories about Christianity.

And I was more than happy to do it. From my view as long as the Lord was honored that was enough reward from me. It would be something I would regard as an offering of obedience. This would of course require a sacrifice of time and energy, but then from my view those are things that belong to the Lord anyway.

So I have embarked upon the simple quest of having the Lord lead me to individuals and organizations that I felt he would want shared in this ezine. Again my only desire was to simply honor Him. Beyond that I had no concern in terms of personal gain or attention for myself.

So far I have managed to contact a couple of wonderful servants of the Lord who have been willing to grant me the chance to share their service to God. But along the way I have also discovered sadly that in some cases what I perceived to be a ministry devoted to God was in reality more concerned with money.

That I have to admit sadden me. For I know that one has to have money to survive in life, but honestly should it really be the driving force behind serving the Lord.

Of course I have to let the Lord judge whether this one ministry was truly serving him or just using the name of Jesus to create a profitable business. Only he can know what lies at the heart of anyone.

As for myself, I am grateful to be free to serve the Lord where he provides me an income from a regular job. And it gives me a simple joy to know I can share what I think he wants me to share and don’t have to add some little blurb about needing support for this “ministry.”

I am not against anyone serving the Lord in a full time capacity such as a pastor and being compensated for such a calling. That is certainly a scripturally proper and correct way to serve God if one is so called.

All I wonder and reflect upon is how easy it is to lose the merit of service when dollar signs somehow echo in the mind. There is joy is the ministry and if it takes money in order to find that joy instead of the Holy Spirit is it really God inspiring the calling?

That is one of those questions I can’t answer for anyone else. As for me, well I’ll just plugging away in my modest effort to share whatever light the Lord grants me to share. And hope along the way it merits a ray of inspiration that helps another soul. If that brings some hope and joy to another person’s life and brings any honor to my Lord it is enough payment for me even if it doesn’t grace my bank account.

THESE ARE THE TIMES

These are the times,
which enrich one’s soul
A season
of muted accolade
from a voice
ignored.
But the moment
is fleeting and evaporates
in a heartbeat.
It depends
upon the life force
that one invents
like an idol.
If there is no
crossroads
we build a park
with a playground
having a steeple and pews
using prayers for a picnic
and rules as a treasure map.

RIPPLES

I had the occasion today to overhear a couple of believers talking about the Lord’s will in their lives. It seemed that the most important thing for them was getting out of debt. At least that appeared to be the thing they felt was what was most important for any believer.

I imagine that might come as a shock to those who have emergencies and have to take out loans to cover the crisis. Oh have to buy a car or house or anything else where an ordinary working person can’t afford to pay cash.

I’m not defending the idea of having debt. I do think that too many of us probably indulge in credit we don’t need. But that isn’t the issue for me.

What occurred to me more is how often it appears that we all become inclined to interpret our relationship with God by our own perceptions. Thus if it works in our lives then it means it is some kind of universal truth.

For me it is so important to let God’s spirit shine in our souls in a way that he gives us balance and the capacity to separate our prejudices from the Lord’s will. This is process that can be so difficult when we become to entangled and manacled to inner drives so that we don’t let the Holy Spirit reveal to us their true meaning. Being human that process and weakness is one we all have to accept, providing we can sequester the drive of pride that often fuels our thoughts.

It is to me so natural to want to justify our lives. That doesn’t mean we have to succumb to the need to call sin something righteous.

But for some, the unpredictable ripples of life, that disturb our lake of control need to be explained. We have an urgency to see them as other than beyond our control. Some stone of circumstance strikes our waters and we are compelled to somehow see it as other than chance.

Beyond it all, beyond the illusions and times we hide from God’s mirror, there resides the Lord’s truth. He will, if we grant him the opportunity in faith, help us to face the ripples and come away not with some personal interpretation of events as truth, but instead see how it fits our lives and our situations.

However that is a journey we each have to take alone. For the reality has to be embraced inside and not just be words we speak in a prayer or time of fellowship. Perhaps the joy is discovering when it is a good thing to admit we don’t have all the answers or have made a mistake.

And for some that journey comes with easier steps than for others. Which means allowing the other person to walk at their pace regardless of whether we can race faster in the process.

May the flame of truth given only by the Lord help each of us to cope with his understanding to the ripples of life. And to do so keeping his guiding map of will as our sense of direction.

NOT TRUE!

I was surfing the net the other day doing some research for a possible article I was thinking of writing and came across a “Christian” Web Site, which seem to be devoted to calling every major Christian leader a false teaching. They had this toll free number you could call for more information so I call it out of curiosity.

It was a recording, which basically was one of those “fire and brimstone” types of messages. All I sense was an awful lot of hate between what was on the web site in terms of content and also from the recording.

What it came down to was doing a lot of quoting scriptures to prove how they had it right and if you didn’t agree with their idea of salvation you were going to hell. And they had their big “hit” list of ministries and well-known pastors they had official declared as not representing the Lord.

I had to agree that there were a few names on their list that I personally didn’t regard as necessarily faithful in conveying the message of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But there were others that to me were about as basic and faithful to the truth as one could expect.

It is so difficult at times when it comes to spiritual concepts in terms of Christianity to always sort out what is true from what is not. There are so many voices that claim to speak for the Lord and often some have huge following. But that in itself doesn’t mean they truly speak for God.

I if this causes problems for those who read the scriptures it causes even greater problems for those who are not believers. They have a tendency to lump all voices into the same group. I can hardly blame them for that.

To me, I believe God knows the heart and he also through the power of the Holy Spirit is able to touch the souls he knows will respond to the message of salvation. And all pastors are above all else, human. That means they will be imperfect. They might be completely in harmony with the truth on one aspect of spirituality and incorrect on another.

What I feel is most essential is that the foundation be correct. Basically that means to me that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We can’t earn our salvation and will never be worthy of it. Salvation is a free gift from God’s grace and love.

Beyond that foundation we can disagree over the tenants of following the Lord. And we will. The hard part is truly listening when the message of salvation is preached. God kept it simple so we would understand it. But that doesn’t keep us from complicating it. The concept that we can’t earn our salvation doesn’t keep people from wanting to add a few “thou must” to the idea of salvation. That is the crossroads where many a believer often gets sidetracked. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can guide us beyond such spiritual pot-holes in the life of faith. I pray we see them before we stumble and are able to let God bring us to where only his truth is the one that matters and not the opinions of men.

LITTLE SLICES

Paper cuts can be so annoying. Especially, if when they happen to some part of your finger you have to use constantly such as with me when I writing at my computer. It is always just painful enough to distract me from my concentration. And the whole time I’ll keep thinking to myself “how long before this thing stops hurting.”

But there are other kinds of cuts that produce similar feelings or pain. Only they don’t always happen to the body. They can happen to the soul.

I found it difficult at times to truly come to terms with why it is so easier to find a church or pastor who specializes in preaching against sin than to find one that focuses on healing and encouragement. Now I’m sure such churches exists and if you attend one, then I envy you and praise God that such a ministry does exist.

The reality to me is that you can have any place where humans gather and have it be perfect. And if it has a spiritual purpose then one knows Satan will do his best to make sure it is a dysfunctional as possible.

It just seems that to that degree that it leaves such situations open to so many cases of little slices. Those are too me those situations where they cut into your mood or peace in a small way. And it can be as simple as a unkind word to being treated unfairly or a wide variety of the situations.

What I think is sad is because these are often something that happens that isn’t a major or obvious incident it can often be treated with indifference. Some major wrong will be easy for people to appreciate, but if you get wounded over something that only bothers you that kind of little slice may not earn the slightest degree of sympathy.

The good news is that God cares. He will listen when that hurt is bothering us. He won’t ridicule or insult in any way if we take it to him in prayer.

And the great thing is that often he can lead us to some person that has also had the same little slice in his or her own walk of faith. When we don’t limit ourselves to seeing the body of Christ as wearing a denominational hat or some other criteria it is amazing how many ways God can send us a band-aid.

The nice thing is that eventually little slices like paper cuts do heal. The bad thing is that they will most likely happen again. Hopefully though along the way we find the right spiritual medicine cabinet where the band-aids that work best for us will be kept.

I wish I could say it will always occur at some house of worship, but that isn’t the case. And the joy of that is discovery how God will answer that prayer when the house of worship where we attend doesn’t carry the band-aids we need.

Sometimes there is good that can from the bad providing we are willing to look for it. That part God grants us the right to learn providing we are willing to search.

HURRY

The race of due
and must
is sometimes
like a scorecard.
Only
winning
seldom
can be tallied
by numbers
or who
finished first.
Through each quickening
there are the moments
when one can’t help
sensing the vanity
of the chase.
But God
listens to our tears,
drying them
with his spirit’s towel.

TAKEN

Ever been in a church where there was almost like some kind of “reserved” sign on some of the pews? It is funny how some things such as having a favorite “pew” can end up an unwritten rule in some places.

I’m not attempting to complain though. For a faithful member of any given church to enjoy claiming one particular pew as theirs is not a big problem. I have noticed though that many times the first few pews in a church are always vacant. As if sitting to close to the front might carry some unseen risk.

Where am I going with this posting? Mainly mentioning how often when involved with something as regular as a weekly church service our minds seem to settle into focusing on little things to give us pleasure.

Is that a substitute for the miraculous? Does it get difficult at times to not have the mind wander out of boredom when attending a weekly ritual that gets too familiar?

Or am I the only one so lacking in pure spirituality that I have to admit there are occasions when I get bored in such situations? However I have a feeling that isn’t the case.

I’ve been in houses of worship where the solution to monotony is “dazzle.” They try to keep the congregation entertained in a variety of ways. And in some cases I think it at least succeeds in reducing the boredom since people seem to come in greater numbers to such events.

What I want to know though is whether that really is a cure? Or is there a failure in such situations to get to the heart of what truly causes the boredom?

Those are questions I can’t answer for others. I’ve just learned for myself that if I’m not honoring the Lord with my heart, then he knows the difference.

So I try to let his spirit guide me to the points of genuine worship where I am honestly listening. And you know what? By doing that I found his spirit touched me in all kinds of places other than while sitting in a pew.

Oh it also meant I didn’t have a “reserved” sign I could boast about on some pew. But I think what was more important to be open to what the Lord wanted than whether I was seen by somebody else.

There are times when it is good to open the mind and soul to let the Lord truly lead. When we do, his fire would be as extinguished by the distractions of life.

I’m not trying to suggest that going to church isn’t profitable. Merely that without being alive spiritually it is difficult for it to truly honor the lord. May God grant each of us the sight and wisdom to see where the places of worship are that he leads.

FOUND

To me there is nothing more joyous or satisfying than finding something you lost. It think that is especially true if it is something such as a set of car keys or a wallet that was misplaced. There is that period of stress and concern where you are not only looking for what you lost, but worried about the consequences that follow if you don’t. Things like having to get them replaced. That means time and normally money.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but the one thing that also runs through my brain is the frustration that comes from knowing I’ve misplaced something that I use everyday. So naturally I like to think I’m being more careful with such items because I need them regularly. And thus if I can’t find them it really forces me to beat up on myself for being careless.

On a spiritual level as a Christian it is funny to me sometimes how the concept of “finding” the Lord is such an easy term to accept. In reality on a logical level obvious Jesus wasn’t lost, so you can’t “find” him in that sense. What is really meant is naturally that person discovered what was there all the time. It is just become a comfortable way of expression being born again for some to say, “I’ve found Jesus.”

But regardless of how that saying may be skewed in terms of its logical meaning it is the type of finding that has every bit as much capacity to bring joy into our lives as when we find something as routine as missing car keys. At least that is the way I feel about it.

The only thing though is that I can think back to when I first came to the Lord. And following that moment came the time of discovery when I found all kinds of truths that were there all along, but I just had never looked for them before.

Even thought today that kind of discovery doesn’t occur as often as the first time I was searching the scriptures, it does still happen. And what is sad is when we quit finding out something more about the Lord. For it is truly part of the life of faith that brings us to a point of true relationship with our Lord.

And it is truly sad when we lose those “spectacles” of spiritual curiosity. The ones that God grants us to be able to genuinely see with our souls. It is a vision that can see light when our regular eyes have missed it.

The big question and the one only any of us can answer with our hearts is when was the last time you “found” one of those moments of revealing in your spiritual life? Are you still in the path of learning and growing or have you stopped at some place where you just are enjoying the familiar scenery and not really interested in searching for more.

In reality finding is a process and a path. It touches, brings a passion and gives a special life and light unto our soul. But sometimes there is nothing more desired than the complacency of pew sitting for some.

And that is the mystery of God’s grace. He never forces us to look for what we might benefit from having found if we refuse to search. I only hope I never reach a point personally that my spiritual eyes become so dim from apathy that God can’t shine new light in them to see what I still need to find.

I SEE

I see
in ascending and vaporous circles,
the consummate flickers of breath
never confessed.
It is an air
repressed
by laughter and lies,
which flows
as translucent ripples of doubt
out of weary and regretful eyes
seeking in futile escape gasps
deliverance
from fear’s enslaving cruelty.
Man invents his own gods
to worship as salvation,
but the Lord
seeks those
who by faith
accept his sovereignty
over all creation.

THIS LAND, THIS GARDEN

Right now my wife and I are in the process of taking the property we inherited from my Step Father and building a home upon the lot. His house was unfortunately over sixty years old and in such poor shape that the only merciful thing we could do with it is to have the old place demolished and replaced with something else.

This has been a very challenging experience for us and it has required a lot of faith and patience to leave so many things in the Lord’s hands. But the wonderful part is that in a few weeks it should be completed.

My thoughts on this change in our life are admittedly mixed. We are very grateful to the Lord that he worked this miracle for us since we have never owned a home before. But we are sad too that my Step Father is no longer apart of our lives. Although our relationship after years of distance only became close the last couple of years of his life, it made the absence more felt when he did pass away. Knowing he went home to be with the Lord was a comfort in part though.

I guess the one part that is above all difficult to embrace is the idea of once again living in the neighborhood. It isn’t a bad place, but in so many ways it isn’t what was my idea of the kind of location where I expected to live either. Naturally I am not complaining. I would hardly want to dishonor the Lord by being ungrateful for his blessing.

And in that sense I am reminded in part of what it must have been like for Abraham when God told him that the area of Palestine where he was going to walk would belong to his descendants. At the moment, he had just separated from his nephew Lot and predictably Lot chose the most obviously fertile part for himself.

Even though I won’t pretend to claim to be anything as great a Abraham, I just can’t help wondering if in part he look out over that arid wilderness and didn’t have at least a passing reason to sigh. On the human level I know that is how I would feel. Sort of like, ‘ah gee Lord, I don’t want to complain here, but um this isn’t exactly the garden I had sort of in mind.”

I know the scriptures don’t tell us that is what Abraham was thinking. And I’m not suggesting it is. I’m just putting my own feelings as a human on the situation and wondering if he might not have felt that way in part.

But the good news is that Abraham was faithful and did as God had asked. His descendants did inherit the land that he walked just as God had promised. They may have had trouble over the years keeping title, but that isn’t God’s fault.

The one thing though above all that comes to mind in that situation is that how the land looks is in part is a matter of one’s heart and attitude. To that degree I am reminded of Psalm 84:6 where it mentions about those who pass through the valley of Baca (weeping or tears) and make it a well. Which to me in part means they by faith are able to see the garden or possibilities that God can provide where others might see them.

And so for me, I will try to see the garden of God’s blessing where I might have memories that remind me of when it was something else. I will savor the flowers by the power of his Holy Spirit. That will be enough and I hope you are able to find your garden in the valleys where he leads you too.

ACROSS THE WAY

How often I have pondered about if I am on the right path? And the thing is before coming to the Lord I seldom even worried about it.

However as a Christian my desire (at least I hope it is the real motivation of my heart) is to follow the path God wants for my life. Which the “scriptural” answer is probably that you need to know the Lord’s will to be sure you are doing what he wants.

Knowing the Lord’s will in all situations is not easy. There are times when prayer and waiting on the Lord don’t keep one from having to make the best decision possible when no clear choice becomes evident.

And in the midst of that process there are the sounds of the footprints from our past, which echo in our minds. In particular those we took before we were following the Lord. Those seem to have the loudest sound in our minds. At least in my mind they do.

What brought this to my mind was having a discussion with someone who was trying to cope with all the mistakes he had made in life. For him the joy came from knowing he had managed to learn from the process and that his future would be more serene and free of the ghosts of his past failures. He felt a certain peace in his quiet victory over a self-abusive lifestyle. And as he approached retirement he spoke of the comfort of knowing he could enjoy his current life with all the fruits of his labors. He had plans and expectations of a golden retirement that would last many years since he was only in his fifties.

The only thing missing from his plans was the Lord. God didn’t fit into his equation. There was no hint of his concern about eternity. Just a certain joy of knowing the rest of his life would be richer than the past.

I sat and listened. And thought to myself how my past failures were still part of my life. I had with God’s help overcome some of them. But my future was in reality plagued enough by those choices that I had no expectations of coming to some golden year retirement. For me life was only full of the promise of a life not much different in quality than the past.

My tormenters might have died that caused me grief, but for me that didn’t hold any promise in this life that I would someone experience a mountain of blessing to offset the horror of those nightmarish valleys. And naturally there was a part of me that felt cheated by this reality.

In time though God led me to “across the way.” It is that precipice of reminder that this life is only a heartbeat. That for the redeemed there is more to being than just this moment. And that included the awareness that God wouldn’t necessarily touch me with some kind of blessing to ease my pain. What he would do is make my life full by his standards. It would be the focus of joy that would not end in some lament of vanity like Solomon voiced when he was at the end of his life.

There are some choices we make in life that carry consequences, which God will not take away from our lives. If we come “across the way” and let him allow us to see the greater view from his spirit, then he will grant us the strength and understanding that will last in to eternity. That is a time of rejoicing even if it means do so without bragging rights.

WATERFALLS AND FLOWERS

I’ve always enjoyed the sensory appeal of waterfalls. There is something truly soothing about their sound and watching the crystal clear water as it cascades in such an alluring way from where it starts to the end, which is so often a pool. It just has that sense of being so refreshing and purging.

Flowers have their own appeal, they can be so brilliant in their colors and sometimes fill the air with a scent that can stimulate and affects one mood. The only problem is that for those of us who have the problems with hay fever, flowers can also mean pollens that diminish our capacity to enjoy their colors or scent.

Like so many times as I reflected on the contrasts between these two experiences my mind wandered to their relevance in the spiritual realm. It might be a stretch, but I saw how in some ways each is a symbol of a different type of spiritual life.

Both are of course fixed in a given location. But the waterfall is most appealing in part because it flows. Therefore the sense of rhythm and harmony comes through its motion for without the motion it would never be a waterfall.

Whereas a flower is in a given location too, but unless there is a wind, we might not be aware of how it moves. Still it does have the capacity to affect us by shear impact of color and scent.

And in a way I couldn’t help think how as believers there are often both waterfalls and flowers in the body of Christ. For me the waterfalls types of followers are the givers, the ones who exude a sense of freedom and are fluid in their thinking. From their essence the sense of the presence of God’s spirit seems to flow naturally. How simple they can easily express their spirituality without a need to force it through unnecessary or force words. They are not rooted in tradition, but the simple gush of the Holy Spirit and they refresh.

With the flower type of followers they are more inclined to have some outward image of being saintly in our minds. (Even if it is the result of a whole lot of manure in some cases!) But in reality they do serve a purpose of inspiring. They do by being a blossom of spirituality fill our soul’s nostrils with a scent of hope that perhaps one can be more than a weed.

My point is not to belittle the flowers of Christ verses the waterfalls. Merely I want to say that we need both. We need those who are free in Christ and challenge us to constantly listen to his spirit and not be only slaves to some tradition.

At the same time we also need the flowers. I am speaking of those who can inspire by their example of being loving or full of faith. They give us hope and encouragement that can help to enrich our lives. Providing they are like a flower pointing upwards and do guide us to our Lord.

And whether we are more like a waterfall or a flower in our spiritual life the great thing is when we can rejoice that both serve a purpose. Stop and smell the flowers while enjoying the waterfall for with God each will bring us hope if we let them.