I'm leveling-up!

Six years ago, on June 28, we lost our beloved grandson to a dragon named cancer.   Braden is a constant companion in my heart. He battled the disease and in the end, he lost his life, but he never lost his hope; the certain confidence that he, as a believer in Jesus Messiah, would be transported into the presence of His Lord and Savior, there to enjoy life as HE designed it to be. 

Life is hard, then we die. We will all lose our lives in one final breath, but we need not die without hope.

I am profoundly grateful for the certitude we have in Christ and the healing death brings for those who have embraced Him through effective, saving faith; we are given direction about what this is in Romans 8.10-13...

“'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' [Deuteronomy 30.12] (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, 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.' [Isaiah 28.16; 49.23] 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.'” 

For these, death is not something to be feared; it is a gracious provision that carries us back into a face-to-face real-time relationship with God. 

Without death, we become eternal beings, like Lucifer and the legion of angels which were cast out of heaven because of their rebellion, separated forever from God.  Without death we would be chained to a relationship of enmity with God; no reverse, no repair--no redemption.  NO hope.

So then, death became the modality that God uses to foil Satan's attempt to co-opt God's crowning creative act, humankind. It is the definitive check-mate, demonstrating God's mastery; always steps ahead of evil, and the chaos of sin. Genesis 3 describes the event that initiated the rebellion of Adam and Eve to sin and its necessary consequence, physical death; it's also here that we learn that death is part of God's bigger plan for hope and the redemption of humankind.

The rest is history.  The Apostle pens this remarkable statement in 1 John 4.9,10...

"God showed how much he loved us

by sending his one and only Son 

into the world so that we might 

have eternal life through him. 

10 This is real love—not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice 

to take away our sins."

Love is a four-letter word, spelled H-O-P-E; more importantly, death simply marks the first day of the rest of our lives, Paul reminds Christ-followers in 2 Corinthians 4.16-18...

"Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet 

inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 

17 For our light and momentary 

troubles are achieving for us an eternal 

glory that far outweighs them all. 

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, 

but on what is unseen, 

since what is seen is temporary, 

but what is unseen is eternal."

We will rise. 

I'll never forget Braden's exclamation to us as we gathered in his room at the hospital the afternoon before he died. We'd just been told by his Doctor, very tenderly, that Braden would soon leave his body behind.  Braden's father, Matthew, sat down on the bed, looked into Braden's eyes, and asked him how he was doing, to which Braden smiled and said "Is that the worst-case scenario?  I'm leveling UP.  I am going to be fine dad.  I'm ready."  

He was.  

Are you?  

We don't get to be here long. 

What will you do with Jesus? 

Life is fast.

Liveitwell!

Questions?  Contact me at goodneighbaier@yahoo.com

Whisper their names...

Taps begin.
Time stands still; this I remember. 

Their laughter, their scent.
  First smile, first step, first word, first love.
  A Friday night; life was simple.
  The future, a certain dream.

Bulletproof, not.
Whisper their names.

Taps begin.

Time flashes back, tears flow freely.
Pride in lives well lived.
Grieving for lives given, invested, gone.
The loss, the pain; broken plans, broken hearts--shattered.
Whisper their names.

Taps begin.
Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast-Guardsmen, Airmen.
Duty, honor, country.
Last full measure, their devotion.
No greater love, their sacrifice.
In peace, now rest.
Whisper their names...and remember.

Liveitwell!

Keep your eye...on the Ball.

We are owned by the most delightful young Black Labrador Retriever on the Planet. Really.

Jett is obsessed, wait for it, with playing ball--big surprise! He would do it 24/7 if we could sustain our energy and focus. His version of retrieving is unique in our experience. Jett is Lab #3 for us, dating back 26 years. So we have some background. He prefers two games--catch and soccer penalty kick. He dares us to get the ball past him in the second game. He's pretty good at it. I confess to deploying my opposable thumb to outmaneuver him because I cannot kick the ball past him--he's that good. 

His secret? He has figured out that the KEY is to ignore anything but the ball. He is a textbook illustration of an age-old coaching axiom; the cardinal rule of good hitting--baseball, golf, billiards, or retrieving games--is "keep your eye on the ball." 

My mission as a follower of Christ--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 need me to win the so-called "culture war."  

Jesus saw the crowds of distressed people and was "moved with compassion" to the Cross, where He crushed the power of sin.  

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 I must do to engage these evil adversaries and prevail; I must keep my eye on the ball...

"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 take our eye off the ball and allow ourselves to be drawn into a "culture-war" mentality, we lose; people yet to trust Christ and experience spiritual re-birth lose. We let the "the rulers, the powers, the world forces of darkness, the spiritual forces of wickedness" 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 imperative that 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 too often fashioned our churches after. 

We will not prevail...

By asking Focus of the Family to lobby our politicians. 

We will not succeed...

By finding conservative, too often shrill, politicians to write laws and pack the courts. 

Cursing the darkness won't win hearts and change minds.

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 Kingdom's sake, and especially those who have not yet secured a place, through effective faith, in The Kingdom, keep your eye on the ball.

One life.

We don't get to be here long.

Burn bright.

LIVEITWELL!