Keep Looking Up

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?" (Psalm 121:1)

Do you know where your help comes from?

The writer of Psalm 121 knew—answering his rhetorical question in verse 2:

"My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

If you notice a recurring theme about focus and the pitfalls of self-focus in my recent entries, it's intentional.

The root cause of much of our emotional depression and problems is an inordinate self-focus, or, more accurately; "self-absorption." As the pastor of our church has rightly defined it several times this year, it is "self-idolatry."

As tough as that is for me to hear, I know he's right.

Throughout most of my life before I met Jesus Christ, I wasted countless hours on constant self-focus and self-absorbed introspection. I'd sit in coffee shops and parks, 'journaling' my thoughts and feelings about my life, and on all the angst other people caused me. I even traveled halfway around the world trying to "find myself." I was so deceived that I actually believed that my introspective thoughts and musings, written down in the form of song lyrics, were actually pretty good writing.

Talk about self-deception.

All those secular 'self-help' books I read only caused me to look 'deeper within' to try and bring out the good person that was supposedly dwelling in me. I believed the humanistic lie of Satan—that my help comes from within myself.

Dead wrong.

Self-absorption is a guaranteed recipe for failure and depression because it causes you to take your eyes off of God. It also causes you to take your eyes off of others who are in need of God's love, mercy and kindness.

Self-absorption is the root of divorce, adultery, and a myriad of other sins. The mantra of self-absorption is, "It's all about me."

Here are a few synonyms for self-absorption from Webster's Dictionary:

"Egocentricity, egocentrism, egomania, egotism, narcissism, navel-gazing, self-absorption, self-centeredness, self-concern, self-interest, self-involvement, selfishness, selfness, self-preoccupation, self-regard."

I used to see signs in yards in the east end of the town we live in that read: "Create Global Peace."

As my wife is sometimes fond of saying, "How's that workin' for ya!"

Seriously, if humanity were indeed evolving—having the capacity within to supposedly attain enlightenment and create global peace—I think the jury has come back on that one folks.  #Fail.

Human nature's first instinct is to look within and ask, "What about me?" Look again at all those synonyms for self-absorption.

From years of being self-absorbed, I can truly testify that it's exhausting being constantly focused on oneself, constantly worried about "me."

Aren't you sick of it?

There is a better way.

The apostle Paul wrote

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4)

Jesus said:

"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

The secret to experiencing true joy is to, in the love of Christ, take our focus off of ourselves, off of our problems and off of our own needs, and reach out to others in need—to serve them and be concerned about their needs.

Just as Jesus said: "It is far better to give than to receive."

First, look up to Jesus—the Author and finisher of our faith. He is our only source of strength, peace and joy.

Then, look out, to others who are all around you, desperately in need of God's love, mercy and encouragement.

As you deny yourself, taking up your cross, laying down your life and will to follow Jesus, the problems that you are inordinately focused on now, that seem so insurmountable to you today, will grow faintly dim, in the light of God's glory and grace.

Try it—you'll see!

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

Keep Walking by Faith

"O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be our arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble." (Isaiah 33:2)

Up again at 3:30 AM.

As I sip my coffee this morning, I am looking back over the last two years of blog posts, and I came across one that really stood out to me. I was reminded of just how much God has brought us through, and protected us and provided for us.

He is always faithful.

One of my customers has a favorite saying that comes to mind today:

"God never comes when you think He will—but He's always right on time." 

Today's post is a re-posting of my entry from September 2, 2011, entitled "We Walk By Faith."

How well I remember the morning I wrote this post.

I was at rock bottom. I had been out of work for over a year. Discouragement was dragging me down. Way down. But in this—one of my darkest and most hopeless times—it was only 3 months later, and God provided an amazing job for me that not only meets our needs, but those who know me say it is the "perfect job" for me.

God didn't come exactly when I thought that He would. But, as always, He was right on time.

So, for those of who who feel like you've lost hope—your marriage appears to be done. You've been looking for a job for months, or even years, and nothing is coming your way. The things that you've prayed and asked God for just don't seem to be materializing and you feel like giving up...

Don't quit my friend—keep walking by faith!

"God never comes when you think He will—but He's always right on time." 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"We Walk by Faith" - (9/2/11)

"Lord, what am I supposed to do now?"

I'm in one of those extremely challenging seasons in my life where I know that eventually, the painful trials that I am going through are all going to work out in the end—but right here, right now, I don't have the slightest clue of how I'm going to get there.

I just can't see exactly how this is all going to work out.

Perhaps you too are in a season like that right now in your life.

You're not alone.

I know a lot of people who are going through all kinds of difficult and painful trials. Marriages that have ended, or are on the brink of divorce. People who have been out of work for extended periods of time, and whose options are running out. People who have serious health issues and don't know what the outcome is going to be for them. People who are close to losing everything they have and don't know what to do next.

So many of us have been praying for an open door in whatever our situation is, but that open door we so desperately long for, seems elusive.

What do you do in times like this?

In your despair and desperation you cry out to God with all that is in you.

That's what He wants you to do.

Today, I hit the wall and pretty much lost it. I felt like I had hit rock bottom. Emotionally, there was nowhere to look but up. I haven't cried out to God like that in a long time. Oh sure, I've asked for help and wisdom and for many other things.

But this cry to the Lord was from the deepest place in my soul. It was primal. My cat came and brushed up against my leg as I sat at my desk. He was checking on me to see if I was okay. Thank You, Lord, for that little guy.

Just a few moments later, a friend of mine called and just wanted to talk, and see how I was doing. The timing of his phone call was literally a God-send.

Cry out to the Lord.

That's what we do when we hit the wall—when things look hopeless—when we don't know how all this is going to work out. We cry out to the Lord. And then, we call someone else who is going through hard times and we reach out to them, to see how they are doing, and we encourage them. We reach out and extend God's love, kindness and mercy—to them.

Unbelievable! I have been taught this lesson so many times, and yet, here I was, again, so focused on my own problems—so self-absorbed—that I let myself wallow in my little pit of despair. I have no excuse for forgetting this lesson. I've been down this road way too many times, and I have reminded so many other people who are going through hard times that the secret of joy is to forget about our problems and reach out and encourage someone else.

Today, when I cried out to God with all that was in me, He did answer my prayer. He did intervene and had my friend call me when I absolutely needed to hear from a friend. But more importantly, He reminded me that it's not about me. It's about serving and encouraging others. No matter how difficult my trial is, many other people are going through far more difficult times than I am.

Jesus came to heal the broken hearted.

As Christians—the Body of Christ—we are His hands and His feet. We are to be "Jesus with skin on" to others who are hurting and suffering. We are to bring encouragement and comfort to those who are lonely and who need hope in the dark night of their souls.

This is a timely reminder of the acronym for J.O.Y.

Jesus

Others

Yourself

Our love, devotion and adoration is to always be for Jesus first. This the first and great commandment. The second commandment is like the first—to love others as (more than) you love yourself. Your focus on yourself should always come last.

And the secret is, if we will invest all of our time and focus on loving and serving God and loving and serving others, we won't have time to dwell on our own problems and circumstances. And we will experience great joy.

Jesus said, "It is far better to give than to receive."

It really is.

Walking by faith is to trust in God and wait for Him—even when we can't see how things are going to ever work out.

Walking by faith is trusting in God, that He will do all that He has promised to do, even though we can't always see Him doing it in that moment when we feel that we can't go on. Walking by faith is trusting in God and not giving up, even though we may feel that God didn't answer any of our prayers in the way that we had expected Him to. Walking by faith is loving and trusting God, even when He didn't heal us when we prayed and asked Him to. Walking by faith is trusting in God to provide for us, even when we've been out of work for a year and still have no prospects for a job. Walking by faith is trusting in God, even when our spouse wants us out of their life forever, even though we've done all we can do to love them and seek to be reconciled to them.

Walking by faith is trusting in God to cause all things to work together for our good—even when our whole world is falling apart.

Most of the time, the difficult things we go through in this life just don't make any sense.

But remember, God said, "My thoughts are higher than your thoughts; and My ways, higher than your ways."

A good friend of mine and I were having lunch today and he reminded me that Jesus, responding to Thomas who had doubted that He had risen from the grave, said to him,

"You believe because you have seen Me. But, blessed are those who believe and who have not seen."

Friends, we walk by faith—not by sight.

We can't see right now how our problems and situations are ever going to work out for our good. Many of our situations appear hopeless... at least to us.

But our God—Jesus Christ—defeated Death, Hell and the Grave by rising again and ascending to His throne in Heaven.

To us, our problems and situations tend to look impossible.

But with God, nothing is impossible.

We can only see where we are at in the parade of life. We can't see the end. But we know the end of the Story. We've read the Book.

The same God that defeated death and rose from the grave, knows the end from the beginning. He holds us safely and securely in the palm of His hand, and absolutely no one can snatch us out of His hand.

Cry out to Jesus today, with all that is in you. Wait for Him. Trust in Him. He is the Arm of our Strength every morning.

He is our salvation in times of trouble.

   —Look up!

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

Self Absorption Kills

"Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind." (Ecclesiastes 2:17)

This passage was written by a man who is said to be the wisest and richest man who ever lived.

He went to extraordinary lengths to build himself the most lavish houses and gardens. He spent millions upon millions of dollars to buy every luxury known to man. He had more servants and wives than you can imagine.

And yet, near the end of his life, as a wise old man, he could lament the above statement of truth.

This wise king spent a lifetime being self absorbed—to the point that he hated his own life.

Self absorption is self-idolatry.

And self absorption kills.

It kills your peace, and it kills your joy. For, no matter how rich you may be, and how beautiful you think you are today, riches and beauty are fleeting. They will one day disappear.

The apostle wrote:

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

The bible says that we are to set our eyes on the heavenly things, not on the temporary things of this world.

If your focus is on yourself you will continue to be an unhappy person, because we reside in fallen bodies, and live in a fallen world. There is no perfection in this life. And as we age, we are living proof of the Second Law of Thermal Dynamics—it's all breaking down.

If it hasn't already, just like it did to that wise old king, self absorption will cause you to hate your life.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Set your heart and your mind fully upon Him.

Everything else is just vanity and grasping at the wind.

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

Fruit—Fragrance—Follow.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life." (Psalm 23:6)

Oh, how I love the taste and fragrance of ripe summer fruit. Seriously, is there anyone out there who doesn't love it?

When I used to read the above passage from Psalm 23, I always assumed it meant that surely, God's goodness and mercy would always be with me, providing for me, blessing me—which it does.

But it means so much more.

The biblical word used here for "follow" means "to chase after—to pursue."

My wife and I had a blessed time together early this morning, enjoying the (from scratch) biscuits she made, hot out of the oven. And while sipping steaming cups of coffee, we discussed what this passage from Psalm 23 means to us.

She said, God showed her that as we love and serve Him—His fruit and fragrance will follow us—meaning, the fruit of His goodness in our lives will linger, and be there afterwards—as a legacy of what God has done in, and through us.

Fruit produces a wonderful Fragrance, and people Follow after that fruit and its fragrance.

Fruit—Fragrance—Follow.



Fruit
Where does fruit come from? It comes from the vine. Fruit cannot produce itself. It grows from the branches, which come from the vine—the root—the living source. In spiritual terms, any good fruit in our lives can come only from our source—Jesus Christ; just as He said. (See John 15:5).

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." He is our source of life—our source of good fruit. To abide in Him means to live, to stay—to abide. This is true communion—unity, intimacy: close relationship. Good fruit in our lives (love, mercy, giving, sacrifice, service, kindness), is the result of an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.



Fragrance
What do you do when you smell ripe summer peaches or strawberries? If you're anything like me, you want to get closer, to see the vibrant color of the fruit, and if you're really lucky—to taste it. When my wife is wearing her favorite perfume, I want to get closer to her. Her fragrance can be, well... almost intoxicating.

When summer fruit is fully ripe, ready for harvest, it gives off an unmistakable fragrance. The irresistable fragrance of the fruit makes you want to get closer—to follow after it—to pick the fruit, and enjoy it.

Speaking of Jesus...

"His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon." (Hosea 14:6)

Lebanon was known throughout the entire region of the Middle East, for its massive groves of cedar trees, which gave off an incredible fragrance. The fragrance of Jesus draws people to Him—His never-ending love, mercy, goodness, and kindness.

Follow
It is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. It was the fragrant aroma of His goodness—of Him first loving me—giving His life as a ransom for sinners like me—that led me to repent: to change my mind—and then allow Him to change my heart, and then my course in life.

What do you think people would say about the fragrance of your life? Is it sweet? —Or does it stinketh?

Good fruit grows from a good tree, and bad fruit grows from a bad tree, just as Jesus said:

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit." (Matthew 12:33)

We are known by the fruit of our lives. Is your fruit good? Or bad?

If you reject Christ, you will be known by the bad produce in your life—which is: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and revelries. (See Galatians 5:19-21)

However, if you abide in Christ, your fruit will be good, and you will be known by your fruit—which is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (See Galatians 5:22-23)

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place." (2 Corinthians 2:14)

When a fragrance is diffused in a house, everyone who enters the house can smell and enjoy the sweet fragrance that was diffused. That sweet fragrance lingers for a period of time, even after the one who diffused it has left the room.

Let that be so in our lives.

God uses His humble followers to bring the sweet fragrance of the love, mercy, goodness, and knowledge of Jesus Christ to a lost world, desperately in need of Him.

Anyone can be loving and kind to people. But without proclaiming the knowledge—the Good News of what Jesus Christ did for them on the cross by sacrificing His life so that they could live with Him in eternity—they will remain lost and separated from God for eternity.

Invite them to come to Jesus...

"And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

Jesus Himself invites you to come to Him...

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest...learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28)

If you're weary from years of being beat up by this empty, hateful and evil world...call out to Jesus.

He will not turn you away.

Come to Him. 



—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

The Clock is Ticking...

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

As always with this little blog, the posts I write are intended for, and desperately needful for me to hear first. Never has this been more the case than it is with today's message. So, if you feel like I may be pointing the finger, please know that it is pointed squarely at myself.

However, if anything that I have said were to resonate with you personally, praise God for that.

Whether you're on the back side of fifty like I am, whether you're sick or well, or whether you're still young and feel like the world is your oyster—in the big picture—in the greater scheme of things—none of us are long on this earth.

The proverbial clock is ticking.

How does that settle with your Sunday morning pancakes?

If that sounds like negative or 'alarmist' thinking to you, know that the author of Psalm 90:12 was one of the wisest men who ever lived. And what I believe the psalmist is saying, is that this life is short. Very short. And that what we do in this life has short-term consequences, and even more important—eternal consequences.

We will all be held accountable. As Jesus said:

"For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required." — (Luke 12:48)

The words of Jesus here cause me to examine my actions and motives for doing them in all areas of my life. What are my priorities? Am I living just to please myself in the here and now? Or am I living in light of eternity? What am I living for?

What are you living for?

So much of my life—my emotions, time, resources and energy, have been spent in pursuit of things that I have come to learn, are ultimately not lasting or satisfying. And regretfully, much of my life has been wasted on worthless pursuits.

The wise man who authored Psalm 90:12 is teaching us by long experience that, since our days are numbered and relatively short, that we should spend our time here on earth, focused on what really matters.

As the not-so-old saying goes: "This is not a dress rehearsal." 

There are no do-overs in this life. You have one shot.

Knowing all that—that our time here is so short—we may "gain a heart of wisdom" by hitting the reset button in our life, and number our days—knowing that ultimately, we will each stand before our Maker, and, in my opinion, probably much sooner than we think.

When you stand before Christ and have to give an account to "Him who judges the living and the dead" what will you say to Him?

Men, will it be that you spent the bulk of your life focused on fishing, hunting, watching sports, movies, and looking at junk on the Internet that your conscience warned you was so wrong? Will the re-play of your life reveal a life wasted, where you spent your time and resources pursuing things just to please yourself? And all the while, your family suffered while you were an absentee husband and father?

Or will you be able to stand humbly before Jesus Christ and give an honest account of a life spent in devotion to God—unconditionally loving and serving your wife, family, friends, and especially strangers, widows, and orphans; who are lost and alone in this life? Were you quick to show God's love, justice and mercy, not thinking of your own needs, but considering the needs of others over your own?

The pastor at our church has talked several times this year about the "self-idolatry of self-absorption." This speaks of the large number of so-called "christian" people who are so wrapped up in themselves and their own personal needs and happiness that the lost and hurting people who we are called to love and serve, fall by the wayside along the idolatrous road of our self-focus and self-absorption.

I'm convicted by what the apostle Paul wrote:

"Examine yourselves, to see if you are in the faith."

As followers of Christ, we're told to set our hearts on heavenly things, not on earthly things.

Jesus said (Matthew 6:19-21):

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Where is your heart today?

     —The clock is ticking...


—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

From 10,000 Miles Up

"For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths." (Proverbs 5:21)

A good friend of mine and I met for coffee last night and had a great time of fellowship and discussion. Among other things, we talked about relationships, life, and our mutual dislike of much of today's "organized religion." We also talked about worship.

We both agreed that what goes on in churches today is often more of a 'big show' than it is worship.

My friend mentioned something he had heard about how followers of Christ in China today worship. Many meet and sit in a small circle, and for the first five to ten minutes, they just cry—overwhelmed and thankful for what Christ did for them on the Cross.

That touched me deeply. 

What a wonderful example of what a worship service should be. But it also saddened me because that is nothing like church worship services in America today.

What does worship look like in your life?

Even more important than what you do during the twenty five minutes of singing songs during the praise and worship service in church on Sunday morning, what does worship to God look like in your relationships? In how you spend and use money? In how you conduct yourself at your job? In your views and practices on sexuality and morality? How about in your social and political views?

Getting right down to the nitty gritty—what are your views on hot topics such as abortion? Do you think it's okay to have sex before you're married? How about your views on the sanctity of marriage? How are you going to vote this year, and why?

Now, consider your views and practices on all these things and then step outside of yourself for a moment and consider how God views them.

What does your life look like from 10,000 miles up? 

Puts things in a very different perspective, doesn't it.

We who profess to love Christ should constantly ask ourselves this question: "Do my views, values, convictions, practices and lifestyle today honor God?"

That should make us all swallow hard and really think carefully about what our life really looks like to God.

Forget about what is socially and culturally acceptable to today's messed up world. Set aside your feelings, emotions and opinions for a moment. And who cares what the talking head on television is saying.

What does your life look like to God?

We who are followers of Christ will each have to stand before Jesus Christ and give an account of everything that we did and said—both good and bad—in our life as a Christian.

Jesus said, 

"If a man loves Me he will keep My commandments." (John chapter 14)

     —Is your life a daily demonstration of true love to God?

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

To Heal The Brokenhearted

"He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed." —(Jesus)

I've been thinking lately about the lyrics from a song I used to like back in the 1990's. The chorus said:

"There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by you. And this hole in my heart can't be filled by the things I do." 

And yet, how many of us do just that—seek to fill the empty places in our hearts—the loneliness, the longings, the emptiness, the pain—with other things, activities... or people? 

Jesus is recorded as proclaiming that He was sent, "To heal the brokenhearted." (Luke 4:18).

Not only does this mean that He came to heal our hearts that have been broken because of failed relationships, tragic loss, or rejection, but He came to to make our hearts whole. 

To make us whole people.

I've spent a lifetime trying to fill up the empty places in my heart with other things. But just as that song states so well, "And this hole in my heart can't be filled by the things I do."

We as human beings go to such great lengths to escape pain and loneliness. But nothing, no matter how exciting, or numbing, can permanently remove the loneliness or pain that we feel. 

So many people are looking for that "right person" to "make them happy." Several people that I know are, or have, cast aside all reason and common sense and are in destructive relationships that are a ship wreck in the making. 

And the saddest part is, once the ashes settle after these destructive relationships have failed—and they will fail—the fallout will be broken hearts, possibly another broken family, and another suitcase to add to their already huge set of emotional baggage—which they will carry with them into the next destructive relationship.

And the destructive cycle continues.

For some people maybe it's not bad relationships. Maybe it's destructive eating. "Comfort food." For others it may be buying new stuff. A new car, furniture, or new clothes. Others may try to fill up the emptiness in their lives by traveling, seeing new places. Others may medicate to feel better. All these things are done to forget about, or to escape pain, loneliness and emptiness.

But as I have experienced time and again in my life, the thrill or exhilaration you may feel from new things or experiences is only temporary. And afterwards, you feel even lonelier and emptier than you did before.

For Christ to make our broken hearts whole, we must ask Him to help us identify areas of brokenness in our hearts that have held us back, or that hinder us in relationships, in communicating, in intimacy, or in moving forward in our lives. 

Maybe you were hurt, abused, shamed, or ridiculed when you were younger, and to this day you feel the emotional scars of those experiences. Jesus wants you to invite Him into those scarred areas of your heart and ask Him to heal those painful places.

We all have holes in our hearts that can only be filled by Jesus.

Oh, how He wants to be invited in to heal us—to heal our broken hearts—to make us whole.

Jesus said:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in..." (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus stands at the door of your heart knocking... waiting to be invited in.

     —Will you invite Him in?

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.