Life...is hard.

Life is hard. Age diminishes us. Disease ravages us. Then, we die.

Or...

Life is hard and softens our hearts. Age diminishes us and equips us with wisdom. Disease ravages us and empowers us to embrace hope.  Then we die and pass into eternity.

What happens to us, all of us, in the course of a lifetime is simply a variation on the same theme. What sets apart those NOT beaten, from those that are? It is what that "lifetime process" produces in us.

We are fragile and our bodies will eventually fail--some sooner than others, but for all of us life ends in one final breath. The ability to see our sojourn as a prelude to "something more" is the key to empowering us to embrace all we experience in "time" with wonder; while anticipating what we glimpse of eternity with hope.

Yes, I'm talking about faith. A specific "effective-faith" we are given instruction about in the Scriptures; the Second letter to the church in Corinth, written by the Apostle Paul (5.1-5):

"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit."

Be sure not to miss v5...God prepares us for Next, gives us a holy desire to "level-up" and then seals the deal with His Holy Spirit--indwelling, empowering, informing us--all the while transforming us into the image of Jesus Messiah--in this life with godly character--in the next life with a heavenly body. YAHOO!

Over these past 48 months I've invested time in some weary people...all filled with hope. They are fragile over-comers. Their lives are a tapestry illustrating God's grace, love, presence, power and certitude about Next. Paul acknowleges this too (2 Corinthians 5.17-19, 21)...

"17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them...21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

Trusting Jesus Messiah, through effective faith, is what makes the difference--"so that we could be made right with God through Christ (5.21b)." 

No one makes it out alive. It's what happens Next that matters for eternity. It's a quality-of-ETERNAL-life issue. The Apostle Paul spells out exactly what we must do in his letter to the church in Rome...

"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'” Romans 10.9-13

Next looms close on the horizon for each of us--we know it's there, what will you do with Jesus? 

Life is fast.
Live it well...M.6.8 bN

Better than Beethoven!

Many of my friends express concern about the fact that "God is being forced out of the public square." It's become a favorite pastime for People of Faith (yes I'm guilty)--lamenting the "sorry state" of the Nation.

What concerns ME?  It's this: People of Faith have come to embrace the notion that the symbolic presence of God is the same thing as the authentic presence of God.   Here is a short list of "hot-buttons," not intended to be exhaustive--but illustrative.

• Do we want God in our schools--disciple your children to know and love Jesus. 
• Do we want our Nation to understand that marriage is a beautiful metaphor, designed by God, of a much bigger relationship--and for this reason it is a sacred estate? Love your wife selflessly and trust your husband implicitly.
• Do we want values to govern our economy, greed to be disdained--choose simplicity and invest our resources on behalf of the poor, widows, orphans; be seekers of justice for all the disenfranchised.  
• Are we befuddled by the National obsession with abortion-rights, perplexed by the disdain modern cultures have for human life, and high regard they show for endangered species?  Find your voice and speak passionately-forcefully for the little Ones, consider... adoption, Foster parenting, Mentoring programs.

For too long, too many of us who profess to be followers of Jesus have routinely "phoned it in."

• We've been content to build private school sanctuaries, teaching Bible courses, that will disciple our children for us.
• We've turned a blind eye to the failure rate of marriages in our churches.
• We've justified selfish ambition and the boastful pride of life as "what's ours is ours" and left justice to government inefficiency and the dehumanizing impact of its one-size fits all insanity.
• We've ceded the heavy lifting for protecting the lives of unborn-children, the quality of life for born-children to others "called" to missional living.

BraveHart...Braden Hartman...lived it well!

Consider this: God's plan has always been to "show-up" via the beautiful music being played through lives well-lived by those who are His devoted followers--the Scripture makes clear that no law can stand against such purposeful, selfless living, "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5.22,23 NASB

Lives lived this way will produce a breathtaking symphony that will bring relevance back to our Mission as His Church--no longer engaged in managing the kingdom (small ''k") but compelled to build HIS Kingdom (big "K"). 

WHEN we take seriously our empowerment, from God, to add value to the lives of people, to make hard lives easier, to speak the truth of the Gospel into the brokenness of life without Christ, to model the transformational reality of the Gospel through the choices and investments we make--with our lives and resources, THEN they won't be able lock God out of the public square. There is no law that can stand against this kind of authenticity.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3.20,21 NASB

I hear a symphony.  Through Jesus Messiah, let it be.


Life is fast.
Live it well...M6.8 bN

Bleeding out.

Culture in America is on an inverted spiral out of control--devolution. "Civil rights" have replaced "the moral imperative" as the final arbitrator in America. We've come to embrace (here's the irony) the idea it's "immoral" to deny the rights of individuals to act as they see fit as long as "no one is hurt in the process." But this rubric fails to understand that morality isn't defined as just "the absence of a victim." Debased behavior, wether it's Wall Street, Hollywood, Congress, Education, Church or at home diminishes the entire culture and has set in motion a "death-by-a-thousand-cuts" cultural bleed-out.

In the name of freedom we have acted in ways that have produced unintended consequences. We have come to believe that because we have the protection under law to do something, produce something, say something--we can. The problem is that liberty in that context is license--and license leads, inevitably, to lawlessness. One of the most important lessons I learned at home was this; just because I CAN do something, doesn't not mean I SHOULD do it.

If we as a culture, can get back to this simple lesson and apply it with consistency to the way we LIVE our lives, run our companies, invest our money, lead our homes, churches, communities and our nation, THEN I believe we will have taken a FIRST-STEP toward restoring sanity to our decision making process; toward rebuilding the ramparts that protect our culture from evil and devolution, toward certain destruction.

But mark this, healing our culture must ultimately address our spiritual need. The Older Testament prophet Micah lived in a culture that was being ravaged by evil. The theme of his prophetic letter stresses the integral relationship between true spirituality and righteous conduct. Toward the end of his letter he turns to an axiomatic concern: Micah 6.6 "...with what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high?" In today's vernacular it might sound something like this..."What must I do to please You, the Most High God?" He reveals that answer to us in chapter 6, verse 8...

"He has showed you O man, what is good. Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God." 

Micah 6.8 Do. Love. Walk.

Friends, it's not a fiscal cliff we see looming on the horizon.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Keep your eye on the Ball!

The cardinal rule of good hitting--baseball, golf, billiards--is of course, "keep your eye on the ball." 

That said, my mission as a follower of Christ--to proclaim the truth about God, His love for humankind, His provision for our redemption--does not require me to fear a culture filled with souls who "are like sheep without a shepherd."  It does NOT require me to win the so-called "culture war."

Jesus saw the crowds of distressed people and was "moved with compassion" all the way to the Cross where He crushed the power of sin, once-and-for-all.  God's Word makes it clear who the enemy is..."For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places"  Ephesians 6.12

God's Word tells me what it is I must do to engage these evil adversaries and prevail...

"10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."  Ephesians 6.10-24

Note that this passage does not instruct Christ-followers to revile the sinner, legislate a solution that protects my family, leave the Union, or disengage from "life in the world--not of the world."  This is not a political war, not a culture war--it is a Spiritual battle that calls for weapons fashioned by God for taking down, taking back, strongholds.  Our weapons?  See...truth, righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, faith, salvation, God's Word, intercessory prayer, wisdom from God to speak the truth in love with boldness behaving as an Ambassador/Doulos (bond-servant) for the King.

When we allow ourselves to be drawn into a "culture-war" mentality, we lose; people yet to trust Christ and experience spiritual re-birth lose.  We allow the "the rulers, the powers, the world forces of darkness, the spiritual forces of wickedness" to pick the time and place of the struggle; we lay the Armor of God aside--and we are impotent in the face of such evil. It's high time believers figure out "who and where" the enemy is and the rules-of-engagement; then take the fight to the enemy as per Paul's instruction in Ephesians 6.10-24.  Only then will we see the tide of evil begin to recede. 

We will not prevail in the long-term by building higher walls around the spiritual reservations we have fashioned our churches into,  by asking Focus of the Family to lobby our politicians, by finding conservative-too often shrill--politicians to write laws and pack the courts; cursing-the-darkness won't win the battle. 

Choose God.  Love people.  Know who the enemy is and "10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."  Ephesians 6.10   

Our battle is NOT against flesh and blood.  The stakes are infinity higher than a culture-war; eternity hangs in the balance for those yet to embrace Christ with effective faith.  

For the sake of the Kingdom, for those who have yet to claim their stake--through effective faith--in the Kingdom,  keep your eye on the ball.

Live it well...M6.8 bN