A sincere call to a renewed practice of the “House Rules”

To my brothers and sisters at the Rock -

I want you to imagine that before you graduated high school, you and your father worked out a plan for your future. Over time, the plan has changed as the Lord has moved in your heart and called you to higher things. Your father is immensely proud of you. You’ve decided to devote the rest of your life to serving the Lord, and you are trusting Him to lead you. You and your father have been executing your plan together, and the Lord is leading and confirming, and you are seeing things come together in neat ways, and it is starting to get exciting.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Now I want you to imagine that others are watching this take place from the outside, and they do not know what is going on. As they watch, there are things that they don’t understand. But rather than asking you what is going on, they jump to conclusions, and they assume, and form negative judgments about you and your character. And then, not to stop there, they share those judgments with others and shake their heads and ask each other, “What is wrong with <fill in your name>?” Imagine further that you find out about this as people, who assume that the rumors are true, make statements in your presence (or that of your father), or in Emails to you, which basically say, “What is wrong with you and when are you going to get your act together?” The first few times, you just think “Where did that come from?” But after it happens again and again, it starts to hurt deeply as you realize that people are gossiping about you – people you consider to be your friends. Nobody comes to you to find out the truth. And worst of all, nobody stops the gossip, which just continues to swirl around and affect more and more people.

All of a sudden that doesn’t sound so good, does it? In fact, it sounds evil, doesn’t it? How would you feel if this were happening to you? What would you want someone else to do on your behalf?

You and I know that this type of behavior would be sin. It is not at all how Christ instructs those of us in His family to interact. He tells His followers that arrogance, judgments, gossip, slander, and idle chatter are not to be practiced or received by any of us in His household. No unwholesome word is to proceed from our mouths. We are to assume the best in one another. We are not to receive gossip, but rather stop it in its tracks and send the offender back to make it right with their victim. This is the way of Christ – the way of love. It is patient and kind. It is not jealous, does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account suffered. It does not rejoice in sin, but it rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

This is not the main point of this posting, but just so that you know — I am the father that I introduced to you in the first paragraph. My special princess, Sarah, is the child. The details of the “imagine if” are all true. This incident is currently taking place in our midst. Some have been proud and judged things they did not understand about decisions that the Lord has led Sarah and I to make regarding her life. Others have naively received those judgments, swallowed that gossip, and shared in the slander. Still others heard this unwholesome talk going on and did not receive it, to their credit. But though they were aware that it was swirling around in the family, they chose to do nothing about it.

Now,to be sure, most knew nothing about it and many would have done something had they known. Had I not been part of this one incident, I’d have probably not known about it myself. And that is what makes what I say next even more important. This incident is not alone. Though it is recent, and it has prompted my writing this note, it is only one of several such occurrences that have been floating among us. In fact, I’m only telling you of it in order to give you a real-life example of what I’m talking about. I’ve been aware of several others, and have been involved in bringing an end to some of them. We have a problem. We have not established ourselves in a deep understanding of, and practice of, the “House Rules.” And because of that, this sort of thing is too easily tolerated by us.

When I say, “the house rules”, I’m referring to the instructions that Christ has given us for how He wants the members of His family to relate. This includes the attitudes we should have toward one another, the responsibilities that we should assume for one another, and the manner in which we should treat one another.

So what do we do about it? What are the house rules? There are too many to list here, to be sure. But the Scriptures inform us where to start:

1. Repent. Stop it . . . immediately. Ask the Spirit if you’ve been involved in judging another, if you’ve received gossip regarding another, or if you’ve let it happen in your presence without correcting it.
2. Make it right. If you’ve offended, make amends without delay. Go to the one harmed and apologize. Do what you can to heal the hurt and provide reassurance.
3. Shut it down. Don’t let it occur again in your presence. Determine that as far as it depends on you, this will not be allowed to happen again regarding any of your brothers and sisters in Christ.
4. Dedicate ourselves to understanding and practicing the “house rules”. The New Testament is full of principles that we are to practice as part of loving one another the way Christ does. We must master them. For instance — we are family, we are devoted to one another, we’re patient with each other, we put up with one another, we protect one another’s’ reputations and do not tolerate judgment, criticism, or gossip regarding one another . . .period. If anyone has a question or concern, they will either (1) dismiss it, or (2) take it directly to the one they have it with and settle it together.

“ . . . speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Look at the powerful image in this instruction the apostle Paul gives us. “speaking the truth in love”, “fitted and held together by [our relationships]“, each person doing his/her part, the body of Christ grows and builds itself up “in love.” How we treat one another as members of God’s household has to do with the very core of our identity as the church of Jesus Christ. These are issues that Paul and the other apostles spent a lot of time dealing with in the earliest days of the church. Jesus said the supernatural power of God is made visible in our midst through (1) our love for one another, and (2) our unity with one another in following Him. If we allow Satan to come and and separate us through worldly interaction with one another, we forfeit a central part of who we are and why we are here.

The purpose of this post is to use a current event, which is part of a larger pattern, to instruct us and call for a renewed devotion to practicing Christ’s “house rules.” We’ve been given a set of principles to live by in relationship with one another, and we must be unwilling to settle for anything less. It is time that we repent, my brothers and sisters, and no longer treat one another nor relate with one another the way that the world does. We used to be that way ourselves, and we could not help it. But now that we are in Christ, we’ve been washed, we’ve been justified, and we’re being transformed into Christ’s likeness. So let’s put off the old ways. They are no longer acceptable. Through the freedom we have in Christ, and the power we have in the Spirit, we can put on love.

Many of you already live by these principles, and are saying “Amen” right now. Good! Let’s instruct our brothers and sisters and assume the responsibility to help these practices permeate our community. And to our wonderful Savior and Master be any and all glory from the results.

If you have a concern about anything I’ve shared in this document, come share it with me face-to-face, my brother, my sister. We’ll work it out and maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

Why does God care?

Seeking insight does not happen nearly often enough these days. It is the crown of the wise. Seek wisdom. Seek insight. Seek truth. You’ll find it. Or rather, He’ll find you.

Why does God care? Have you ever stopped and wondered? Think about it for a minute. God . . . .

1. existed in contentment for eternity past

2. doesn’t need anything

3. could do or make anything that He wanted at any time

Then, why oh why, would He go to all of the trouble to make this world, and even more importantly, us?

Have you ever considered what a pain we are? Since shortly after He created mankind, we’ve been rebelling against Him. Every one of us has. We don’t treat Him the way that He deserves to be treated – with total love and adoration and obedience. We don’t live the way that He created us to and tell us to. And worst of all – we ignore/suppress the truth that He has given us (in His word) and continues to give us (through nature) in order to proceed unhindered in our pursuit of rebellion.

“Why does God care?” may be the mother of all spiritual questions. It certainly is one of them. King David (the man who the Bible calls “a man after God’s own heart” put it this way.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him? (Psalm 8:3-4)

What a question! If we are humble, we must admit that only God could answer that question, for He is so far beyond us that none of us could fathom the motivations of His heart. To do so would be pure arrogance. Our only hope for an answer would be that He, Himself, would tell us.

Has He told us anything about why He is the way that He is? Yes, He has. For over two thousands years, He revealed Himself and His ways and His plans to mankind through the mouths of His prophets (many of which are recorded in the Bible). And in these last days, He has told us through His Son. He has not answered this specific question, but He’s given us enough info about His heart and His motives that we can at least put together a decent explanation.

Consider the following things God has told us about Himself in the Bible.

1. God is love.He is not just loving.He is love.He cannot act contrary to love.It is His very nature.He is kind in all of His deeds.
2. God’s love expresses itself practically and tangibly. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth. He gives lovingkindness to thousands. He forgives sin.
3. Lovingkindness, by definition, is a passion to pour out one’s goodness on others. It requires an object. It cannot exist in a vacuum. It makes no sense unless there is someone to direct it towards.
4. For all of eternity, God has existed in a perfect love relationship with Himself. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all completely devoted to each other. They needed no more than that. The object of their love is one another.
5. God chose, for His own reasons, to create additional objects for His love. He created a spiritual realm — angelic beings. And He created a physical world – the heavens and the earth and all that they contain. Then, He placed spiritual beings within that physical world – mankind. He made them in His own image – with the capacity to choose to love.
6. God’s plan, which He is executing in this physical realm, is to develop a kingdom comprised of men and angels who have chosen to love Him and to become the eternal recipients of His love.
7. He wants/calls/pleads with us to know Him. To experience His goodness. To trust and follow Him. To love Him in return. This is the good news of Jesus Christ – that God has sent His only Son into the world to make a way for us enter into relationship with Love Himself and become the eternal recipients of His goodness.

Listen to King David as he continues His reflections on this marvelous truth.

Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:5-6)

Why does God care? Because He is care. He is love. He is mercy. He is grace. It is as natural for Him as breathing is for us.

Why does God care about humanity? Because He wants to. More than that — because He chose to. Love is not good intentions. Love is action. God is passionate about pouring that out His goodness upon others. So He chose to make mankind to be the object of His love. He could have chosen to do it an infinite number of other ways. He chose to do it this way. In the end, all of those who want Him in return will become the eternal recipients of His goodness. The eternal Three-in-One will pour itself out upon worshipful children forever and ever.

Nowhere is this more clear than in God the Son – Jesus. Just one little example:

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8:1-3)

Jesus was more than just willing. He wanted to. He chose to.

But now for the real question . . . why does God care about me? Let’s be honest. I don’t deserve His love. I’m a rebel. I don’t reciprocate His love nearly good enough. There is nothing that I can give Him that He needs. Why does He still pursue me, woo me, pour out His goodness upon me? Because He wants to. Think about that. Because He wants to. Therefore, He choose to. Why? Because He wants to. That is what love is. That is what love does. But I don’t deserve it. Exactly!

Love that is deserved is not love. It is duty. It is not God’s duty to love you. It is His choice. It is the purest expression of who He is. Don’t spurn His love. That is the unforgiveable sin — to reject God’s love. To write Him off. To walk away from Him. The purest form of faith and confidence in Him that you can muster is to stand before Him with your arms open wide, and say, “Here I am. I receive you. And all that I am and have, I give you in return.” Why? Because I choose to.

What does it mean to believe . . .

To anyone who reads the teachings of Jesus it is clear that the single most important thing that you and I must do in this life is to make sure that we “believe” in Him. “Belief” is the cornerstone of everything that Jesus taught. Consider the following:

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)

It is God’s will to give eternal life to those who believe.

” . . . unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

Eternal judgment is guaranteed for those who do not.

If you consider Jesus to be at the very least a good moral teacher, these statements must make you stop and seriously contemplate the nature of “belief”. According to Jesus, the single most important question that you and I need to answer is “Do I believe in Jesus?” The quality of our eternal existence hangs in the balance.

How would you answer that question? “Do I believe in Jesus?” A lot of people in America today would answer “yes”. Polls show that a majority of Americans consider themselves to be Christians. But that sounds more than a little suspect when you consider other instruction which Jesus gave on this same subject. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said . . .

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. . . . Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23)

Ouch! According to Jesus, a significant majority of people are heading for destruction. Only a small percentage are actually finding the “narrow way” which leads to life. A lot of people who thought that they “believed” will find out that they did not. A lot of people will reach the day of judgment with false confidence. How can this be? How can a person intellectually accept certain things about Jesus and yet still be regarded as an “unbeliever?” Some of the people Jesus talks about here believed in He and His power so much that they did miracles in His name. Yet, they did not “believe” in the sense that Jesus says that we must believe. Have we also been deceived? Is there a false perception of what it means to “believe” in Jesus? The answer must clearly be yes. There must be a hollow, shallow, counterfeit “belief” that gives a false sense of security, but is actually deception.

Consider a startling reality. It is possible for someone to “believe” almost everything there is to believe about Jesus, but still go to hell. Do you think that Satan will go to heaven? Clearly not (see Revelation 20:20) But Satan “believes” more about Jesus than a lot of people (if not most people) who think they believe in Jesus. Satan does not just believe . . . he knows as actual historical facts (which he personally eye-witnessed) that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who created all things, who has authority over all things, who was born of the virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, who died on a cross for the sins of mankind, who rose again on the third day, who ascended into heaven, who is currently sitting at the right hand of God, who dwells in His followers and is building His kingdom through them. Satan believes all of that and a lot more. He was there. But that “belief” is not going to get him into heaven.

So let me ask you again, do you believe in Jesus? Not in the sense that Satan believes, that in the sense that Jesus tells us we must believe in order to receive eternal life? No other matter in this life is worth even a moment of your time until you’ve settled this one. Don’t give rest to your soul until you are certain.

Is it possible to know for certain? Definitely. Jesus said that it was. It is the reason that John wrote to us about Jesus:

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31)

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

What does it mean to truly believe? This is one answer that you don’t want to get wrong.

you think you’ve got it bad . . .

Throughout all of the history of mankind, who had it the worst? Who was the person that you can think of who had it worse off than anyone else? Who would you at least nominate for a chance at the award?

I nominate a man who lived amongst the Gerasenes, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. This man was physically possessed by an entire army of demons. We’re talking fallen angels, followers of the chief of demons, Satan himself. This company of evil warriors completely ruined this man’s life. Can you imagine living in a body that was completely under the control of a whole army of demons. He was a complete and helpless captive within his own body. This created a terrible danger to both himself and others. The townspeople had tried to bind him in order to protect them and him. It failed. They tried many times. It always failed. The demons gave him superhuman strength. No chains or shackles could hold him. He just shattered them. That in itself is amazing. Can you think of the pain that it would inflict upon your body to break through shackles? Your bones might make it through in one piece, but your skin would be ripped to shreds — and the muscle underneath would be crushed and punctured and genarally ripped up as well — probably all of the way to the bone. How do you spell, “no medical care”? The pain and the arduous healing process would be indescribable.

They could not contain him, so instead they drove him away. He lived out on his own, among the tombs – naked and homeless. That in itself would be bad enough — to be totally alone, rejected by everyone, deprived of any and all human companionship, with only the company of the demons who owned you. No love. No kindness. But then to live amongst the tombs — like being in a graveyard, only worse. At least in a graveyard, the bodies are buried. If he got into the tombs, the bodies were wrapped and laid out to rot away. The stench! The grotesqueness! Constantly surrounded by death.

His situation was entirely hopeless. He could not even kill himself to gain relief from it. He was the demons’ home — so they kept him alive. He was in such pain and agony at every level — emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically — that the only relief he could gain was to scream at the top of his lungs and beat himself with stones. And this he did . . . day and night . . . day in and day out. Have you ever been in such pain that it gave you relief to slap yourself, or pinch yourself, or cause yourself some other form of pain? That was this man’s normal existence. There have been many many people in terrible situations that you and I would not want to experience. I cannot imagine it getting any worse than this. As bad . . . maybe. Worse . . . I don’t think so.

So what happened? He met the One for whom there is no such thing as impossible situation. One day, Jesus led His disciples into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee and land on the shore right near the tombs where this man roamed. The demons had no problem identifying who Jesus was. They immediately ran the man over to Jesus and bowed before Him and begged for His mercy. You see, demons have a keen sense of authority. They pay attention to chain of command much better than humans do. And the demons knew that Jesus had complete authority over them. He had already kicked them out of heaven. He could send them to their final resting place in the abyss any time He wanted. So they pleaded with Him not to do so.

Jesus did not have to drive them out. This entire army of demons left, voluntarily, as soon as Jesus gave them permission to do so. This hopeless situation, which mankind could do nothing about, fixed itself at the mere presence of Jesus. How powerful were these demons? There were so many of them and they were so powerful that 2000 pigs were plunged to their death as the result of the demons entering them. Do you know how much power it takes to control 2000 pigs? Even a single pig? That is the power that was controlling this man’s life . . . until He met Jesus. Or should I say, until Jesus sought him out.

The man was never the same again. When the townspeople arrived a short time later to check things out for themselves (those herding the pigs ran and told them what had happened), they found the man competely free of the demons, fully dressed, and in his right mind. As a result, they were terrified. They did not want to deal with that kind of power and authority. So they begged Jesus to leave.  But the man was free from that day forward.  He went on to do great things for God as the first to take the good news of Jesus to the gentiles.

The worst situation that I can imagine, and it had a happy ending. Can you believe it? A happy ending! So how bad do you have it? Could it be worse? Definitely. Has it been worse for others before you? Without a doubt. Is there any such thing as an impossible situation? Not when you are with Jesus. Does He promise to deliver you out of all of your problems? Definitely not. In fact, He promises that you’ll have problems. But He does promise to be with you, to see you through, to use it for your good, and to help shape you into His likeness.

What does this say about Jesus’ authority? There is no such thing as an impossible situation when Jesus is around. He has total authority over the spiritual realm. Nothing happens in that realm without His permission. He can take Satan’s best shot without falter, cast out demons, open eyes to see, set you free, place His Spirit within you . . . . Is this your Jesus? Do you see Him this way? Do you count on Him to be this way? In the midst of your trials, what do you do? Where do you turn? To whom do you look? You will never face a truly impossible situation . . . if you are with Jesus.

Are you with Jesus? Are you following this man?

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^“They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.” (Mark 5:1-20)

Impossible situations?

On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”  (Mark 4:35-41)

It was evening . . . growing dark. Jesus had spent the day by the Sea of Galilee teaching the masses. Now it was time to go. He told His disciples that they would be going over to the other side of the sea. They took Him in the boat and headed out. Stop. Many of these twelve men who were with Jesus were experienced, professional, fishermen. They had spent their entire lives on the Sea of Galilee. They knew that this was not a particularly wise idea for them to get into a boat and cross over at this moment — and for a whole number of reasons, none of which Mark tells us. We don’t need to know. But Jesus knew. He knew what was about to happen. He wanted it to happen. He deliberately set up the situation to unfold just as it was about to in order to train these men to be His disciples. Are you a disciple of Jesus? Then you need to pay attention.

As they head into the night, the wind kicks in. This is no normal wind. This wind is so strong that it kicks up huge waves that pound over the side of the boat. In spite of the disciples’ best efforts to fight them, the waves begin to swamp the boat with water. The waves are just too high and powerful. They do everything that they know how to do. But they come to their wits end. It is hopeless. The boat is filling with water and they cannot stop it. An impossible situation is upon them. They are about to die, and they know it.

And there is Jesus . . . asleep? What? How? On a cushion, in the back of the boat, which is rocking wildly up and down and back and forth. He’s getting sprayed by the crazy crashing waves, and blown by the powerful wind. But He is asleep? Once again, this is a setup. He knows what is going on. He’s just waiting for them.

The disciples came to Him and in terror said, “Don’t you care that we are dying?” No prayer here. No looking to Him to deliver them. No confidence in Him to be able to handle the situation. Just accusation that He must not care that they are all about to die.

What happened next makes me speechless. Jesus spoke to the wind. Just as a parent would talk to their child, or a master would talk to his slave . . . Jesus spoke to the wind as one who was under His authority. “Hush! Be still!” How many times did your parents say that to you when you were growing up. Jesus says it to the wind. And what happens next is even more amazing. The wind obeyed . . . instantly . . . and completely. The sea went from uncontrolled chaos and certain death, to total stillness and complete calm . . . just like that. Like glass.

What does this say about Jesus’ authority? There is no such thing as an impossible situation when Jesus is around. He has total authority over nature – over the creation. He can make it do (or not do) anything that He wants any time that He wants. He can walk on water, change water to wine, multiply fish and loaves of bread, cause a tree to wither . . . make His creation do anything He wants. Is this your Jesus? Do you see Him this way? Or do you think this in your head, but when push comes to shove you don’t expect Him to come through? Just like the disciples – do you think He doesn’t care about your troubles?

This life is filled with impossible situations. You will face many seemingly impossible situations which you yourself can do absolutely nothing about — just as these fishermen were able to do nothing about this situation. When it happens, what will you do? Where will you turn? Who will you look to? You will never face a truly impossible situation . . . if you are with Jesus.
Are you with Jesus? Are you following this man?

that they might be with Him . . .

Studying the Gospel of Mark, I came across these words . . . “And He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him . . . . ” (Mark 3:14)

When I read these words, time stopped. Chills went down my spine. Since then, they have been haunting my mind for weeks. Not in the sense of scary, but in the sense of beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful. I would so love to have been in the shoes of those twelve. To be with Jesus, every second of every day – hearing His teaching, seeing His miracles, watching His interaction with people and with life around Him. Wouldn’t you give almost anything to be there? Weren’t they so lucky? But then I remember . . . He chose me for the very same purpose . . . to be with Him. How easily deceived we can be. How easily we can forget what we have available to ourselves in Him and leave it unused on the shelf.

Yes, the twelve were with Him, but they could not yet understand Him. They’d have given anything at that point to have what Jesus’ disciples now have. They followed Him everywhere, listened to His every word, saw His every deed, but it wasn’t clicking. They were in awe of Him, confused by Him, afraid of Him, and had no clue what He had come to do and why. It wasn’t until later (after He died and rose again on their behalf) that their eyes were opened to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). And it was only after they received the Holy Spirit that they could understand all of the things that Jesus had spoke to them. (John 16:12-13) They made the choice to follow Him for years before they really knew who He was and what He wanted from them.

Yet now, on this side of the resurrection, we have access to be with Him all of the time. 24/7. The moment that I placed my trust in Christ and chose to follow Him, I had more than they had. Each time I awake, I have the opportunity to spend the entire day with Jesus . . . quite literally. When I made that initial choice to put my faith in Him as my Savior, and to follow Him as my Lord, He changed me forever. (2 Corinthians 5:17) He placed His Holy Spirit inside of me (Ephesians 1:13) immediately. In a very real sense, Christ is in His Father, and I am in Him, and He is in me (John 14:20). I am spiritually very close to Jesus at all times.

But isn’t it is so easy to take this for granted – to ignore it? To go throughout our days planning infrequent rendezvous with Him (a quiet time here, a prayer time there) rather than being with Him all day long. We miss out when we do this, because this is eternal life . . . knowing Him . . . being with Him . . . joining Him in His work (John 17:3). This is where real life begins. (1 John 5:20)

So many who wear the name “Christian” are missing out on eternal life. And then they wonder what’s messed up. “Maybe this Christian thing doesn’t work,” they wonder. “Maybe it’s just not for me.” Wrong conclusion. The right answer – “Maybe I don’t understand eternal life.” Eternal life is not a destination. It is not something I put in my pocket for now and pull out in the future when I die. It is not eternal existence. Everyone will exist forever. The only difference between eternal life and eternal death is the quality of the eternal existence. Eternal life is the quality of life that is experienced by those who are with Christ . . . starting today and continuing throughout eternity. (1 John 5:20) Eternal life is today, or it’s never. In fact, many will be surprised in that day when they arrive at His throne expecting to join Him in heaven, only to hear, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23)

If you are His disciple, He did not choose you to believe in Him. He chose you to be with Him. And not for His benefit . . . for yours. Today . . . be with Him. For He Himself says, ” . . . abide in Me . . .” “Long for the pure milk of the Word, ” “pray without ceasing,” “rejoice always,” “in everything give thanks.” Embrace your eternal life to the fullest.

He chose you ” . . . that [you] might be with Him . . .”

A Deeper Life . . .

Once upon a time there was a boy. Just an ordinary boy, mind you. Same story told a thousand times before. Oldest of four. Divorced parents. Raised by Hollywood (aka television and radio). Paid attention. Figured out life at a young age. A good life = love, security, and pleasure. Love = married to a centerfold. Security = money. Pleasure = stuff, lots and lots of stuff. How to get there? Achievement! Plan A – Great athletes get the women and the money. Plan B (just in case) – top grades = top college = top job = good money. Went for it. Obsessed, some would say. Driven. Outworked all others.

Success . . . sort of. High school football star, basketball star, track star = hot sex life. Serious study = top grades. Scholarships. College success. Same song, second verse. Problem . . . . emptiness. This cannot be happening. Following the equation. It’s not working. Must try harder. Darkness. Confusion.

Surprise! Light shining into darkness . . . from an unanticipated source. An ancient text. Out-of-date. Antiquated. Intriguing. True? Couldnt’ be.  No way. Goals had been established. A life had been devoted to their achievement. They were . . . well . . . gods. Can’t give them up now . . . just when they are starting to be realized. But in the dark recesses of the soul . . . doubt. Are these dreams empty promises? . . . shallow? . . . fake?.

The ancient text continued to illuminate. A deeper life. There . . . on every page . . . laid out for all to see. Calling. Beckoning. Promising the very thing that could not be found . . . . “I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” A completely new paradigm. A good life is not a thing, not an equation, not an achievement . . . it’s a person . . . it’s a relationship? “Follow me,” he said. Sorry . . . can’t. Have plans. Have dreams. Have . . . excuses.

Nose stuck in the ancient text, looking for answers. An irreversible process. Words of truth shining ever brighter onto a life . . . exposing it for what it really is . . . a failure. The objects pursued had been obtained . . . achievement, sex, popularity, possessions. But the fruit that they promised did not come with them. Love, security, peace, lasting happiness . . . missing in action. A total failure. A whole life based on a lie . . . an empty promise. Now . . . for the first time . . . sight. There really was nothing to give up. What had been obtained wasn’t worth hanging onto. And not alone in this dilemma.  The problem bigger still. A worldwide epidemic. A whole planet pursuing gods of its own making, hoping to find a life that was not there to be found. The blind leading the blind. Light. Sight. Wisdom. A choice to be made. Could one risk it all . . . leave the world behind . . . believe . . . follow?

October 10, 1980. A little gymnasium. A concert. A speaker. “Choose tonight. Will you follow?” Will you trust the ancient text, leave your old life behind, enter into a new relationship, and begin a deeper life? Fear. Doubt. A surge of power! Clarity! A choice to make! A choice made! Goodbye old life. Hello new.

Twenty-seven years later. What a ride! Yet only just begun.  Eternity is a long time . . . or not.

There is a deeper life. Not wishful thinking. Not empty promises. Reality 101. Truth. Light. Do you hear? Are you listening? There is an ancient text. It contains light. It changed a life. It still is. One of countless millions so affected.  He is there. He can change you. Do you dare?

“If you grab onto my Words, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

So here are shared with you the simple reflections of a simple man . . . a failure on his own, who unwittingly, but thankfully, became the recipient of an amazing grace. Ancient truths . . . pure light . . . a way which leads to the deeper life.

“I will never forget your words, for by them you have revived me.”