The Adoption

An adoption process has been set into motion; a communion with what is not perceived and with what is graciously received by the external party. There is an importance in harboring that which others receive from us; regardless and void of our own perception and emotions that are conjured up from that proclaimed theory. Yes, discernment must be firmly clung to in relation to this personal adoption before giving yourself the green light to accelerate forward into new territory.

In the closing of this latest season, I feel that I have had to step out in faith into new roles; waters that have been unexplored and uncharted until these present moments; the expanding and broadening of my faith, intimacy, and total effectiveness; a depth that God alone is leading me to. These "positions" that others have defined and characterized me with possessing have been, at the very least, stretches for me; positions and titles that I would have never fathomed to give myself, but, have been wonderful series of self discoveries and God given revelations. By quickly adopting these banners of "pastor, father, big brother, leader, peace bringer, etc" I have been able to hone in and be more purposeful in my interaction with others; meeting the needs well beyond those just at the water's surface. When you quickly marry these defining adjectives, courage and boldness soon follow; seeing the feasibility of the impossible growing as your faith takes on greater capacity; firsthand testimonies of God's marvelous power at work through you as you step out into the inconvenient and unfamiliar. God is quick to fill and encourage in these fresh moments of obedience and selflessness. What I had perceived could never have been outworked in me, has been unfolding magically before me; mindsets being eradicated and rebuilt.

...It is wild how starkly different the renderings can be of yourself; at the mercy of others and their steady brush strokes. Maybe, just maybe, it is healthy to know the three renderings; my own, my peers, and, MY GOD's.

Casting on the Other Side

I am speaking from a place that is familiar, only because I am walking IN it at this juncture in time; yet it in truth, it IS a place of unfamiliarity... casting my net on the other side of the boat.

In John 21, Peter, as well as Thomas, James, John, Nathaniel, and two other undisclosed disciples, find themselves in the very same predicament that I stand in at this moment. These highly skilled and overqualified fisherman had been up all night long throwing nets, and by dawn’s arrival, had caught no fish to speak of. And with the dawn came Jesus; a word beckoning them to a new level of faith. From one hundred yards away, Jesus, giving no word of persuasion, rather a blatant command, told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. And from that faith-filled cast a blessing would be yielded.... and was.

What an uncomfortable place to be. You find Peter and his mates being told how to do their jobs from a stranger on the beach; who we only find out later is Jesus. What if the left side of the boat is all they had ever known; what if throwing with their left arm was more comfortable and more efficient than throwing with their right. Maybe taking the net to the other side was actually a rather large thing to ask of them; a pain staking task to be exact; maybe in that fact, they had to take up the anchor and reposition the boat to do so. And to be honest, would 20 feet the other direction really make a huge difference??? But to Jesus, this faithful response meant everything; and Peter and his boys voluntarily chose to venture into unfamiliar territory; a place where pride and fear cannot go; a place of great blessing, as well as stretching.

This makes me think about my own approach to Christ; how we approach others; our dreams....

Peter’s heart’s desire was to catch those fish. Intimate encounters with Jesus is my fish; what I am casting my net for. And maybe your hearts desire is to see lives miraculously changed by the Savior of the world; a longing we ALL have stitched within our being. But, has our approach found itself residing in a place of familiarity; hanging out on the comfortable side of the boat??? Like Peter, Jesus wants to fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts. But the question is, are we willing to walk away from comfort to receive blessing; a blessing extending far beyond what we originally conjured up in our minds.

Sometimes we have to allow Jesus to walk us to the other side of the boat to receive that blessing; a place of unfamiliarity and discomfort. But in this shift, not only will lives be transformed, but intimacy with our creator will find new depths.

Be bold and step out in faith.

John 21:1-14

Walking Forward from Now

... I have found, and have received salvation in Christ; nothing in this world can satisfy that which has ALREADY been satisfied in Him. So as I walk forward to eternity, i need not seek anything else; the most precious gift is already in my possession. Amen.

....keeping a foot on the break

... one tiny, cultural observation has been brought to my attention as of late; in regards to Aussie drivers, pedestrians do NOT have the right away. They in no shape or form decrease their speed or break for you as you prayerfully step from the curb in total commitment for the other side. Nope, they do not, and I am quite uncertain at this juncture in time if they would stop at all. It's hard to fathom what it would actually take to get them to abandon themselves for a moment; to be inconvenienced for a brief moment in time to yeild to the lives walking before them ....

.... I had a thought today... how many divine appointed "God moments" do we miss every day because we fail to remove our foot from the gas pedal in our own lives; denying them the right to inconvenience us away from our own personal agendas. What will it take for us to be open to yielding to those hurting around us; people longing for YOU to utter the name Jesus into their expectant ears; yearning for YOU to give them Jesus in the very flesh that you have wrapped around your bones; the filling of a lifetime's worth of holes and cracks that have marked the very definition of their existence.

.... also a word for myself, maybe we should drive through life with a little more pressure applied to the break pedal; being prepared and WILLING to abandon our planned out lives to share the love of Christ; finding joy in the opportunities God gives us to yeild to other's needs and wants.... being that this IS God's will for our own lives.

... God give us the eyes to see your children around us...

... defintion

... be able to define the face of grace in your past. When you do, you receive the responsibility to live life in a manner that steers clear of complacency and shear boredom. Your whole life; every waking moment exudes worship; birthing from a place of gratitude....

.... what a good question to ask each day.... Is my day marked by worship; each breath, each word, each step???

... justice and love go hand in hand....

... there lies a picture in my mind; an elderly man who possesses a rare love that is much more beautiful than any love we have ever humanly experienced; yet, a man consumed by a thirst that can only be quinched by the completion of a goal and dream that rests before him on the cold, unwelcoming concrete. Scattered before him, puzzle peices of metal, glass, and plastic; a classic car named "Justice" beckons him to draw near with his soothing and purposeful touch. He invisions the end; a clear and untarnished rendering of the desired shape and form; the texture, the hue, the very smell of gasoline and leather. The love he has for "Justice" is evident and unshakable. One would think that a love so strong would promote a frantic and hasty construction; sleepless nights marked by conversations between you, yourself, and the stale air that permiates your clothes and lungs; conversing with nuts and bolts and a flashlight. But this is proven not true. Each piece is blanketed in loving patience; taking time to polish, clean and fit into place. Even parts that bare scars of obvious abuse and battery are given purpose and attention well beyond what is required. A vision of the intended design consumes his mind. He knows where each step is heading; he knows the final draft; what was designed will be restored; "justice" will be once more.

... and from this thought, our Heavenly Father loves justice as well; taking what was once shattered and broken and restoring it... a.k.a humanity; taking what is obviously wrong and making it undeniably right. He loved justice so much that He voluntarily forfeited His son over to death; to commence a restoration and new work in us and all humanity. Justice won't be fully complete and whole until Jesus' glorious return, but rest knowing that it has already begun; even amongst the fires and earthquakes of life. Justice is rising!

..... God is taking his time with each day; polishing and perfecting each moment for its Godly intention; no day, no breath being waisted..... allowing those who don't know Him to be grafted into the family and restored; healed, fed, and made fruitful....

.... breathe and rest in the fact that God knows what the final rendering looks like, and, that He will see justice to completion. Pain and suffering will not always be welcome.... soon, so very soon.

spagetti and pancakes

I think that we as Christians forget the humanous of other fellow believers; involuntarily defining them as superhuman and immortal; free from the battering and flogging that sin openly and lavishly pours out on the rest of us unfortunate souls. As I minister to myself and the choir in these moments, I must say that our index fingers and our straying thought life are pretty good at pointing out the duality that other Christians find themselves living. Modestly speaking, we tend to forget that God has them on a journey too; US not knowing to the slightest degree what the wreckage, from which they have had to scrape themselves off the pavement and walk away from, looks like. Like ourselves, THEY need a river of grace to flood its banks and sweep them away; US being a tiny part of that river that flows beside and beneath them to encourage them into the mighty current of our Lord and Savior.

Like ourselves, God is writing them INTO HIS story; day by day, helping them keep the "old them" buried in the ground where they belong. MY life has been littered with accounts of where I have ACTIVELY dug up the bones of the "old me;" a sad attempt to resurrect someone who should stay in the ground; a finish line where pain and mourning are always waiting to greet the willing with open arms.... a familiar story that you have written for yourselves as well.

... We are not, and have not been exempt from the blatant gunfire of sin; temptation dressed at its finest. All have fallen wounded by the crossfire. But thank God for the power that has been stitched within our very makeup with OUR simple, heartfelt "yes;" that same power that conquered death and beckoned Jesus from the grave; that very same power that comes beside us and treads on sin, and, breaks our hearts for the wounded among us; giving us courage and compassion to take a knee with them and weep.... positioning ourselves to see God work a miracle before our very eyes. Let us not wound the wounded, but, be quick to tend to the mortal's scrapes and gashes that DO exist.

... let us break our fingers, and subsequently, ask God to break our hearts for the not-so-superhero-like.... asking God to open our eyes and ears to see and hear them among the fires.

"Gracious words are a honeycomb; sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24