Thoughts of Kenya....

I honestly don't know why.... but this morning, as I got ready for work, my heart and mind were back in Kenya (..where I haven't been for 2 years now..). I guess it has never left there ...but thoughts come to the surface, more or less, at times. Maybe the recent loss of a friend has me thinking about this, the most equalizing of human characteristics, ....that we all die, and we all have the same basic need(s).

Our house is a wreck from remodeling a "den". I guess the thought occurred to me that... I have a den to remodel. Don't get too fluffy on me. It's not all Nat'l Geographic / Feed The Hungry stuff in Kenya ....though there's no question that the "don't-haves" grossly out-weigh the "do-haves". No question that there is "desperate" need in Kenya; and lots of 'em, in all shapes and sizes. A wise friend said it to me, on this visit to Kenya, "....everybody needs somethin'." I guess the thought also occurred to me that... I'm going to figure out "where" for lunch, even if I try and be humble and frugal ...instead of wondering if there will be lunch at all. I guess the other thought occurred to me..... that regardless of all that, I'm going to choose either to serve the same sovereign God, through faith in Jesus Christ, as one in Kenya who may have absolutely nothing. Both of us will be held to the same standard of Lordship of Jesus. Lots of thoughts. Not all "pity-thoughts" about "us and them", haves or don't haves, but the absolutely stark reminder that... regardless of our economic, social, or worldly status ....we all serve, or reject, the same, One True, God. He is no respector of men, and shows no partiality  ...instead, a lover of all. Only God can do that, and He did it through His Son.

Bitter or Better

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."    -Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)

The world can make you bitter, or it can make you better. This is a simple truth I try to teach my boys. Without question.... there will always be, in their lives, plenty to find "wrong" in the world. You can take that to the bank. You don't have to prepare or ramp up for it. You don't have to stock your life, as you would with an insurance policy, "just in case" bad things happen. They will !! Bad things do, and will, happen. We live in a fallen world, full of sin (greed, selfishness, covetousness, lust, and hatred). It is what it is, whether you or I like it or not. Good grief Steve, I really hope there is a BUT in this message. There is.

However, as absolutely inevitable as undesirable outcomes, bad things, unwanted things, are in this world..... so, too, is the individual's choice to become bitter, or become better. Circumstances can be, and will be, thrust upon us. Choices cannot. They reside with the individual. Join the bitter crowd.... and you're done. You've lost your flavor, your saltiness. Good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled ....if you choose to remain there. But I do not believe this is a nature which the Lord has given us. No matter what our circumstances, I believe we desire, we crave... better.

But don't even base your decision on circumstances. Instead of considering what the world may think of your "become better" attitude (...and I believe it cannot help but be perceived as positive, admitted or not...) consider what Abba Father thinks of your decision to choose "better". It is Him who we please.

Be Still

"A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot." -Proverbs 14:30

Covetousness, envy, greed, wanting what others have. All are certainly "human" characteristics, but that doesn't make them desirable characteristics. Not only are these characteristics indicative of a starving spiritual life, but they are also characteristics which health experts indicate lead to physical stress. The constant struggle with greed and envy brings "stress" upon the body. While these may be natural characteristics, they are, nonetheless, characteristics of our "fallen" nature.

Stress is not altogether a "bad". I recall a story of a mother who's child was trapped under a concrete slab during a tornado. As the emotional stress took effect (heart rate increased, breathing increases bringing more oxygen to muscles, blood flow to your brain and muscles increases up to 400 percent, digestion stops.. to conserve energy, & muscle tension increases) this mother found the physical strength to lift a slab, which later took 3 men to move.

Yet, like most things, too much stress has a very negative effect on the human body (chronic fatigue, digestive upset, headaches, back pain, stress can affect blood cells which help fight infection, increased blood pressure, makes asthma attacks worse, etc.).

Psalm 46:10 reminds us... "Be still, and know that I am God." Proverbial wisdom instructs us... "A tranquil heart gives life to the the flesh,....".

Whatever is applying stress in your life.... breathe in, breathe out, pray, and repeat.

The Brevity of Life

"O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah" -Psalm 39:4-5

Whether or not we act on it in any positive way we, at least, realize the brevity, the shortness, of "life". The even shorter days of youth and invincibility are soon replaced by a humbling reality that we are frail, and that "life" truly is precious. Our bodies degrade and eventually fail us. Not being a Danny-Downer. We are simply designed that way.

As I read this particular Psalm this morning a thought occurred. Reading these very words from the mouth of David ....do you realize that David, this man after God's own heart, has been departed from this life for 2,981 years? How many generations have come and gone since then? How's that for perspective? David is calculated to have lived from 1040–970 BC. All accounts indicate that he certainly "lived the life". He chose to live it for God. By no means perfectly, but one who was repentant and lived his life in submission to God. I'm talking BIG PICTURE here; not hair-splitting.

If someone were to read an account of your life, 3,000 years from now, what would be reflected? I suppose knowing what you did for a living, where you lived, etc. would be interesting. I find it interesting that the Apostle Paul was a "tent-maker". I find it fascinating that David was once the little brother who kinda' got looked over, and was a shepherd-boy turned king. But these things are far from what I focus on when I review their lives. Whatever they did as a livelihood, wherever they may have lived, "how" they lived is what typically fascinates us. Did they wring life's sponge for every ounce? Did they love others? Both of the persons in these examples recognized the brevity of life. David made it clear in words, praises, and songs. The Apostle Paul made it clear in his "no-hesitate" attitude and willingness to lay down his very life for the cause of Christ; and he did.

It has been said... "You haven't lived until you've found something worth dying for." You and I are going to die for something! It may, sadly, be for ourselves. It may be for our families. That is noble. Or, it could be for the cause of Christ. That is eternal.

Good times, Bad Times, You know I've Had My Share

Soooooo ...why do bad things happen to good people? We've heard that question many times. For that matter ...why do "bad things" happen? The older I get, the more I realize the importance of "definition". What is "bad"? Is losing a job "bad"? Losing a loved one? I lost a brother a few years ago. We would say... "way before his time" ...which, by the way, is not before God's time. I know the pain of losing someone so close. I had never lost someone so close. The reality sunk in. We "all" will die. These particular bodies aren't meant to last for eternity. In that line of thinking ...wouldn't you say it is "good" to shed the old skin? Well, it depends on your destination. Jesus said....

"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." -John 15:2

The Christ-follower, especially, should be able to fight off the element of surprise ....when difficulties come. What if we, when feeling the sting of difficulties, use that circumstance as a check-point?

• Is there anything in your life that is outside of God's will? Give thanks that He provides discipline, as any loving father would do. Then, be willing to submit to His will, which should align with His word, and use that moment as a first step of repentance and change.
• Or maybe there is nothing that is deliberately, and consistently, outside of His will (and if you're His ....you'll know. His sheep know His voice.). Again, give thanks. He is preparing you to grow closer to Him, to be a more effective testimony of His glorious grace.

Just as a loving father disciplines a child, and just as a gardener prunes dead branches ....every move of our Abba / Father is for His glory ...and our benefit.  He will not throw you under the proverbial bus! He "will never leave you nor forsake you."