What Is Your Will In Christ?

  ethos  noun : the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution. Synonyms for ethos: ethics, morality, morals, norms, principles, standards - Merriam-Webster At the center of every human being, behind every emotion, bias, desire or habit, there's a core foundation - a set of basic principles that tend to guide everything else in that person's life. A wise person will periodically walk their responses and reactions to life back to determine where and what their foundation is and whether those reactions and responses are honoring what they claim to hold true of themselves at their core.  It's an examination of one's own true face - one that God can see clearly without any possibility of our   self  employed deception, cloudiness or distortion. It's who we truly are. I've been forced to do it many times in an effort to be honest with myself about who I am, where I'm standing and where I'm headed. ...

"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) I'm not about to preach religion here, I'm all about "relationship" with the God that created you and me and what He requires of those who want to know Him and have relationship with Him. You may follow any sect of Christianity or none at all, but unless you have a relationship with God based on His requirements as opposed to just practicing a religion, or nothing at all, you might never actually know Him ... but you will answer to Him. The "altar call" - I've heard it so many times. My first memories of it began in my youth and it was repeated for years in different church buildings that I've attended in the past. It was the call to anyone desiring to accept Christ as their Savior - to come forward and have the opportunity to be prayed with - often to repeat ...

  You can find a fair amount of mention in some classic literature about fearful sailors in wooden sailing vessels - desperate to avoid the crushing devastation of contact with rocky shores or the geologic leviathans hiding just beneath the waves in their path. Such perils had the potential to bring about the sudden loss of precious cargo or much more concerning, the terror inciting fear of the loss of their own lives.  It was easy for me as an avid young reader to place myself in the stories of those long written chapters. I could spend hours engrossed in well written tomes of adventure - experiencing with those hearty adventurists of each tale to varying degree, the emotions they themselves felt as the words streamed from the pages through my eyes - gleaning every word in an almost transfixed state. This was my means of escape from other unwelcome things that inserted themselves into my childhood and a habit that often kept me engaged for hours at a time. What I di...

There's a lot of turmoil in the world - that's not news to anyone that doesn't have their head in the sand. There are so many things going on that are disturbing, disheartening and even potentially threatening to people with good hearts and a desire for good. For those raising children in a world of uncertainty, it's even more so as they consider the future prospects of their young ones facing a world seemingly more ominous than the one they themselves were raised in. So there are a lot of fears out there to be had if you want them. Not everyone is sharing them, but many have them just the same. I don't. Recently a number of people were present   in a group chat  while a few of us were discussing the current state of things - the seeming rise of evil, the decline of security and of good as a societal goal. These things and so many others are concerning to many right now and the comments in that chat touched on the need for preparations and the defense of home and fa...

 We likely know what the word 'icon" refers to in computer terms or we probably wouldn't have found each other here. Whether by traditional computer or our overly intelligent phones or tablets, we click on "icons" to navigate a number of functions.  "An icon is a picture on a computer screen representing a particular computer function. If you want to use it, you move the cursor onto the icon using a mouse." - Collins English Dictionary The word has has more than one definition with a variety of potential designees available to wear the title. Pushing back and casting aside human lusts, societal fad and fickle whim, there's only one designee in all of this crazy world truly worthy to bear it though... and getting it wrong could cost more  than the human mind might be able to imagine. "Icon ... 2. - an object of uncritical devotion : idol." - Merriam-Webster We have more than a tendency to assign importance to people places and things in thi...

The Lord God is always faithful to His word. Unlike a parent who voices a threat of punishment or offers a promise of reward and then fails to follow through, we can count on our God to honor what He says without fail.  "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" Numbers 23:19 (NLT) What many seem to miss though are the requirements connected to His promises that have to be met in order to realize the fruit of what He's offering. There's a key - a prerequisite, that activates every promise God has made. Without the key, the power and fulfillment of the promise might never be realized. Once I acknowledged and understood that for myself, things began to change in my own life and heart and I began to pay attention to those things that essentially untie the Lord's hands and allow Him to fulfill what He's promised. If God has made a p...

 We might often tell someone that we love them, but what does that love mean in real terms? If that love were tested - with a cost applied, how far would you be willing to go for them ... really? And what value would our definition of love have against God's? What if God called us to love someone loud, un-bathed and shabby, destitute and begging for our compassion? What if they came from a foreign nation, bearing a different skin color - a color that Father God chose for them like He chose for each of us. Even to the very least in all of humanity's suffering eyes, they would have been created by God and if they belong to Him ... they'd be royalty and under His watchful eye. Who would we have to think we were in order to judge or reject them because of our own personal bias? Would we dare? We tend to recognize family through our own personal definitions. We might define it by blood, relational longevity, marriage, a combination of all of these or some other personally define...

"All heaven will praise your great wonders, LORD ; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness. For who in all of heaven can compare with the LORD ? What mightiest angel is anything like the LORD ? The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O LORD ? You are entirely faithful." Psalm 89:5-8 (NLT)  I was participating in an online, midweek church service when the words of a song grabbed my attention - "...whatever it costs me...". It's easy to just sing those words, but the reality of the potential cost in singing them in earnest honesty, might not be so easily made comfortable to our flesh. Coming to a place though, where consciously and honestly meaning those words in relation to putting God first above all other people, places, situations and things and following Him wherever He might lead, brings us in closer proximi...

Tradition: "an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior" - Merriam Webster  There are all kinds of traditions to be found in the multiplicity of character types and personalities among the throng of humanity. Human traditions - some are amusing, some are mere perfunctory habit, and some are even repugnant, but among all of the possible traditions to be found, there are some that have far more power and importance than we give them credit for ... and losing them - a far higher cost. In a society that seems bent on leaving traditions behind and forging a new way forward, I beg for a moment to consider where the trashing of some former traditions has brought us. Take manners, the consideration of others and courtesy for example. Where did leaving genuine courtesy and politeness behind get us as a human society? It doesn't take too much thought to recognize that the erosion of such simple and easy traditional values have helped generate a s...

 There are times when in discouraged reflection, I wonder whether the words I've ever written or the things I've done have any real worth or value ... but it's then that I'm confronted to admit a humbling truth: MY words aren't  the ones that really matter ...  The LORD's words are those that instigate and perform the work of His Kingdom - bearing light and life to a world in deep peril. They're true and they strike a chord in a heart and call attention to an inner issue of divine importance - a matter to be reconciled. They provoke and speak to the inner soul of a person bringing understanding, healing, unity and discernment. They bring about repentance, sanctification and new life - writing " forgiven" over the old. He might choose to speak them through us on occasion, but the glory of anything He might choose to accomplish whether in words or deed through any of us, still belongs to Him. It's our purpose fulfilling pleasure simply to serve...

A Psalm of David ... "O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place — what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority — the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!" Psalm 8 (NLT) A wise person reserves their highest praise for The King who rules over their future destiny, in part because such respect serves toward saving their own life, but the lack of ...

 If only we truly understood God's heart, felt His joy, understood the depth of His love and the reasons for His plans... The Apostle Paul:  "I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.  God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence." Ephesians 3:9-12 (NLT)  Paul wrote of one glorious plan that Father God kept secret until the time was right for it to be revealed, but this was only one of His plans, one among countless others - plans intended to give us a bright hope for the eternal future. "O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You h...

 For those looking for a foundation on which to build a fruitful life, especially for men - because of my own experience, but applicable to any life, I have some simple advice.  As a young man I became enamored of a certain book of the bible that quickly became the anchor that I've relied on for much of daily life since. It's served so often as a guide to properly respond to the things that life's confronted me with - to keep my feet from walking some of the paths that would have only led to causing my heart later regret.  Admittedly, at times I've allowed myself to drift on the slack of my chain to it and felt myself suddenly jarred by hitting against my inattention to its immovable wisdom, but this book's wisdom has never failed to provide safety when I've hauled in the slack and stayed tightly tethered to it. The jarring of my unfaithfulness to keep the line of my life taught to the book of Proverbs has honestly only ever caused me unnecessary pain. Sometimes...

 "Now, my son, may the LORD be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the LORD your God. And may the LORD give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the LORD your God as you rule over Israel. For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the LORD gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!" 1 Chronicles 22:11-13 (NLT) ... It was a father's advice given to his son. In fact it was King David, the King of Israel speaking to his son Solomon. "Follow His directions", "obey the Law of the LORD", "be strong and courageous" ... those words could be very wise counsel given to any of us as we consider how we submit our lives and ourselves to allow the Lord to build His temple in us. Like that great temple that Solomon would build as a place to be inhabited by the Lord's presence, we too have influence i...

 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."   Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJ) While interceding for others in prayer, and even when petitioning the Lord on my own behalf, I've been repeatedly led by my own human emotion and wisdom in the past when seeking resolution to a particular issue or situation. In fact, I did that very thing for years without ever really giving it a thought - it just seemed natural. I knew what my heart desired and what the natural tendency of the human condition required me to seek - whether on my own behalf or that of someone else.  But one day as I was praying for someone, I began to feel as though the Lord was confronting me. “My tho...

 How far are you willing to follow Christ? ... All the way?  If the current culture leaves you behind while you're following Christ, are you willing to stay behind Him?  If we're truly following Christ, popular culture left us behind at the station long, long ago, but staying in one place wasn't what we were supposed to do. The word "follow" is a verb, describing an action, occurrence, or a state of being. So when we use the word "follow" in relation to Christ, what exactly does that mean? Something to think about while considering... "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone."   John 1:1-4 (NLT) If you're familiar with the chapter, you know that John was talking about Jesus. What this mean...

 I won't allow myself to become ignorant and I'll do my duty, but I had had enough of the world's perverted news and politics some time ago. If you're a conservative Christ follower in the USA right now, you could easily fall into a trap that you might not be thinking about if you're focusing on the media and not watching where you're walking. I could call it The Fearful Worry Trap... Some people are drawn like moths to a flame when it comes to The Fearful Worry Trap and dutifully walk right into it every day - some do it on purpose. I prefer to think that it's because they might not have understood the truth about the need to watch where they walk and the dangerous choice they're making to walk into it. For anyone struggling - worrying around in it now, I have some potentially helpful advice - look away from the media and check where you're standing. If you're standing with one foot on the truth of God's word and His promises and one foot on...

“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!   Mark 13:21-23 (NLT) ... They were Jesus' own words - a few among many that bore the truth about the time we live in. We can hear those words and dismiss them, relegate them in our mind to being a prophecy for another time, or understand that they're a serious warning intended to get our attention. They're in fact a warning to spare us harm, to send us into a deeper study of the biblical truth that we can count on and into a deeper relationship with the God who will call us before Himself when this short journey's through. Heeding that warning though, is just one of the choices among many we make. We can live for now as though tomorrow may not come - latching onto any worldly thing that bri...