Gods In It...(Pt.3)

In some ways this is the most difficult part for me to write because it tells the story of how I went from being a regular three time a week church attendee to striking out and "accidentally" establishing a ministry of my own. It's difficult because what I've got to say is critical of certain aspects of not just my church at the time but mainstream churches as a whole. Over time what I began to see and hear became very frustrating to me, the message I kept hearing was that we need to be a church outside the four walls but as far as I could see there wasn't any real practical or specific plan as to exactly what that means other than to just "be a good person" or "invite someone to church". Being able to confidently share your faith with others is a weak spot with most Christians. But from my perspective, after all of the ways I had witnessed the Lord's provision in my life through all of the circumstances I'd been through it was very natural for me to tell others how good He was to me! Over time what I was hearing just ceased to minister to me. I wondered if I was being spiritually prideful or if I was just tired of sitting in a pew week after week hearing the call to GO being given but not feeling as though it was something most took seriously. I tried to make suggestions for various outreach activities but they were all ignored or dismissed. There's an old joke about a church that was seeking a new minister, they were particularly impressed by one man and asked him to return and speak to their congregation again, he does but he gives the exact same sermon! The elders met together and asked the young preacher "don't you know any other sermons?" he relied "Sure, and as soon as this congregation start's practicing THIS one I'll preach another!"

One Monday morning in October of 2009 I couldn't get my car started and wasn't able to figure out exactly what was wrong with it and fix it for 26 days. During that time I was unable to attend church and when I finally did get my car fixed I just didn't want to go back. What happened was kind of sad but in another way it was a blessing because it forced me to make a change that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have otherwise made. The next twist was what I thought was a God ordained partnership with a new friend I had found. Instead it was another necessary nudge that also helped serve the purpose of moving me from being a pew sitter to a well, whatever it is I've become...An evangelist, a counselor, or perhaps just a Christian who's wiling to trust in a God that has brought him through so many things, and in His promises of a plan He has for my life to establish me and not to harm me!

In the beginning of this three part series I used a card game as an illustration to expound upon the ways in which I believe God has shown Himself in my life. Playing cards requires that you pay attention to what's in your hand and that when you have something to "lay down" it's best to go ahead and just do it. To me that's what my blogging has always been about, trying to tell or "lay it down" to others that it's not about what we may go through in this life, it's who you go through it with that gives it meaning or value! Every story I've told here is about how God showed up in the midst of my circumstances and kept me from hitting bottom. I'd also like to say that what I've written here is a very abridged version of many, many ways God interceded on my behalf, far too many for me to even mention! Nobody in my family has ever been hungry or gone without any thing they really needed. Even during the worst of it, when I lost my home, He made sure I had enough money to rent a truck, that I had help moving, and most important a place to move to! God knows me so well, and He knows what I can take and what I can't take.

The following verse in Isaiah really sums it all up for me.

Isaiah 54:17

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Our enemy comes only to kill,steal,and destroy! If the trials and troubles that you have in your life can steal your joy or make you doubt Gods great love for you than his weapons have prospered! It's only through the blood of Christ and the sustaining power of Gods Holy Spirit that we can have victory over life's most difficult challenges. For what was meant for evil against us, only God can turn into good!

One of the most common questions I'm asked by people regarding what I'm doing in my ministry is "How are you funded?" and the answer is that I'm privately funded by Jesus!

Say What?

That's right! He's sustained me through all things and now and has moved me into the position I'm in and even though I only make about 13,000 a year I've been able to financially support my ministry! I live a wonderful life, It seems like I always have plenty of money for life's little extra's, going out to eat occasionally or just buying something I need, it's absolutely true that you can't "out give" God! He's made a 17yr old car that I got as a gift with over 255,000 miles on it last for two years and just last week I was given another car that's the exact same model and color except it's 10yr's newer and in immaculate condition!

He's made sure that my daughter always has nice clothes to wear because He knows that there's no way I would be able to do what I'm doing if I thought she was being made to suffer because of it or if it prevented me from taking care of her. I'm sure that there will be some people who read this and say "Your circumstances were the result of your own bad choices!" Sure I've made some bad choices, who hasn't? But if I had gotten the choices I wanted I would've gone back to work driving a truck, remember? or "I think that there are quite a number of other more practical ways to explain everything that you've attributed to God", and in response to that I say, "You're right! But this is my story and I'm going to tell it how it make's sense to me, I was there, I lived it, and from my perspective it definitely doesn't make sense to me any other way so I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree as to whether "Gods in it" or not!

Well, I've laid all of my cards out on on the table, and slid my entire pile of chips into the pot. And all I want out of the sum of my life's experience is to be able to say that when it came to my faith, "I wasn't just shuckin'! To be able to say that my belief in God not only sustained me but moved me into action, and that I chose to step out in faith and answer what I feel is the call on my life which ALL Christian people have. To live, despite the circumstances of my life in such a way that other's just have to say...

Gods In It!

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Gods In It...(Pt.2)

It was in May of '08 that they re-possessed my car, a 2003 Subaru Brat, and within a week or so I was given a car to use that had been given to my pastor at the time by one of his congregation. Losing that car was hard, but it was fortunate for me in that by doing so I became eligible to receive food stamps without which my wife, daughter and I might have gone hungry! This was also the last month that I was able to make my mortgage payment of 700.00 on my home and 63 acres. It was along about this time I started thinking something was up and that my circumstances were a conspiracy of sorts. The things that I was able to do successfully were quite limited and for many months consisted of going to the grocery store, church, writing and an occasional venture into West Plains to Wal-mart or Aldi's for necessities. One day I was reading another blog and I came across this bit of wisdom which seemed to describe my situation, it said...

"Sometimes when it seems as though you've lost everything that's the time when God shows you He's really all that you need!"

Those words seemed to bring me comfort because more and more I was understanding their truth and relevance in my life. I spent that summer blissfully unsure of whether I was in a state of grace or one of perdition. Despite the fact that my world was crumbling around me and I was apparently unable to do anything but watch it happen, this was an incredible time of spiritual awakening within me. I'll always remember things like walking down my driveway at sunset talking to the Lord in the cool of the evening, or how even though we had hardly any money we always had gas to go into town to church and we even paid tithes! We still had a roof over our heads and plenty to eat and I wrote some of my most heart felt blogs about my deepening relationship with Christ and my total dependence upon Him. It was my "surrender" that allowed me to have peace knowing that there was a purpose to all that my family and I were going through.

My inability to pay my child support became a huge issue, I was summoned to court to show cause and I tried to explain my predicament to the judge. There was absolutely no way in the world that I could get a job without my having a drivers license which they had suspended! I was asked to return again at a later date which I did although the situation remained unresolved. My third scheduled appearance I was unable to make because I didn't have the 100.00+ it cost's in gas to make the five hour trip so I faxed the prosecutor asking for a continuance. Very soon after that I was told about the possibility of getting a job driving a school bus. I knew that you had to have a background check done to get it and that I probably had a bench warrant out for me so I stopped in at the sheriff's department one afternoon and sure enough I was a wanted man! They seemed pretty shocked by what I was doing but dutifully took me into custody. I spent the next ten days in jail, after two days they sent a car for me to take me back to Cass county, it was a five hour ride in the back of a cop car with my hands tightly cuffed behind my back "Cass-catraz" I believe the inmates called it...

After I got out I didn't get the first job that I was after but within a few weeks a friend at church told me about another school that was looking for a driver and eventually I was hired! One of the things that was so incredible was that I was hired with barely enough time for me to work and receive a paycheck so that I could make a 400.00 support payment that the judge ordered me to make! When I first got this job I was so broke, I remember that I had to ask the superintendent to loan me twenty bucks until I got paid so that I'd have enough gas to get back and forth to work. That was in October of 2008, and for the next eight months nothing really changed except that I added "Go to work" to my routine and had a little more money. Speaking of money, here's something that will put my financial situation in proper perspective...In 2008 I made a total of 2950.00! I actually paid more in child support than I made the whole year, they took my 3900.00 tax return and I paid them over 600.00 to get me out of jail, 400.00 to keep me from going back to court and two or three hundred more in Nov. and Dec.

My home mortgage was almost a year behind by now, and even though my banker was a very kind and patient man who tried to help me avoid losing my home we both knew what was coming. My house had been on the market for over a year and the only real offer I had was for 100,000 which was rejected by our sales person without bringing it to us first for being too low. Ironically our house ended up selling for about 25% less than even that offer when it was all said and done! My house and property was appraised by the bank and came in at 148,000.00 I owed about 72,000 which is what the bank sold it for, I walked away with nothing...

Gods In It...(Pt.1)

Note to readers: This blog is a narrative of an as of yet still unfolding story which is my life. I've included numerous links to blogs I wrote over the last four years on Yahoo 360 before it's demise which serve as the "storyline" or Back story. I've never done a three part piece but due to the complexity and length of the story I felt it was necessary. I do hope that you enjoy it...

Do you see the working of the Holy Spirit in your life on a regular basis? As human's we're entitled to see the events and circumstances of our lives in any way we choose according to our own beliefs. It's the central feature of our free will to acknowledge something or nothing supernatural as playing a part in our lives. Many people believe in only what they can see, in the works of men or in their own abilities, some in luck and coincidence, still others see everything as having an intelligent plan behind it, they believe that everything happens for a reason, that there are no accidents and everything happens "on purpose". I think this synopsis covers most of the bases, personally I believe that because God loves me He is vitally and passionately interested in every detail of my life! I can look back upon the years of my life and see His hand on me, places where He guided me, counseled me, and delivered me from and through so many things. I can also very easily see His love for me through His care and provision in my life. One thing I've noticed about how God seems to work is that when He does something it's never about just one person. Whatever He does always affects many people who are related through circumstances in a positive way.

Gin rummy is a card game where you collect cards that have some sequential relationship to each other and then lay them down for points. The ultimate goal is to match up every card you have into a set of some type leaving you card-less and thus achieving "Gin"!

My card game began back in February of '06 early one morning when I fell on my slightly damp and slippery rough sawed oak front steps and completely tore my rotator cuff. After my surgery I was off of work for about 6mo's. During that summer my wife also unfortunately lost her job as a nurse because of a procedural error she was blamed for which resulted in her nursing license being suspended. In August I went back to work and was digging myself out of the deep hole I was in when I was told my child support would be going from the 400.00 a month plus 150.00 towards arrears that I was regularly paying to a new total of 700.00 a month because of some medical bills I'd never seen but that I was now liable for. Also, it was decided by the government that I and my daughter needed to be automatically enrolled in the health care plan offered by my employer which cost me over 300.00 more a month, she already had insurance but hey, more is better right? In order to try and cope with this financial tsunami I decided that the only thing for me to do was to try and get a better paying job. After completing an over the phone interview, J.B. Hunt told me that I was hired and that I should go to St. Louis, Mo. and report to orientation classes which I did. ( I'm not sure how it has to do with the overall story but I feel as though I need to mention that my father passed away in July of this year which was immediately prior to my trip to St.Louis) Three days into it they told me that they can't hire me because I have a preventable accident on my record. I was involved in an accident while driving an 18 wheeler in '05 but I wasn't cited for it by the investigating DOT officer's. After I quit working for them the company turned the accident in to the driver advocacy council (DAC) as being my fault which essentially black-balled me from getting any driving job. I came home in disgust, and a gentleman whom I had talked to previously about logging my property called me up out of the blue and said he could get right on it! I made a couple thousand dollars that I used to try and start up a home based internet business with a friend of mine which promptly failed. Everything I became involved with failed pretty much right away, nothing I tried worked out! I remember at one point I was desperately trying to sell firewood, it was a Sunday and I had a load sold that was about three quarter's finished. I decided that I wouldn't finish the load because it was Sunday and I wanted to observe the sabbath. That night it rained hard and the next day when I tried to get my truck out it sank down to the axles in mud! That truck sat there for probably 3 months before my stepson brought out his skidder and winched it out.
I was getting discouraged...

Cliche'

As I was considering prospective titles for this post it occurred to me that all of the idea's I had were little more than just tired cliche's. Then, upon further reflection I realized how many of my other titles were also cliche's!

(note to self: Try to be more creative/interesting)

What makes this post different is that this time I'm intentionally writing about cliche's so therefore I've concluded that the only logical title is well, cliche...

Since I'm being predictable, I might as well start out with a proper definition of said title.

cli·ché

–noun1.a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox.

Ouch, that hurts! Especially that first word "trite" which seems to me to indicate something unimportant. Isn't it enough to be boorish, must I be insignificant as well? ~sigh~

For all of you newcomers, this is the part of the blog where I turn off of the main highway and steer you back along the small meandering pathway that eventually leads to the "profound" point I'm trying to make. And as is the case in both roads and reasoning, the more untraveled either of them are the more likely it is that you'll find a few pot-hole's in them. So try to insulate yourself from any hard or unyielding surfaces or belief systems you might be injured by and read on!

Why do so many anointed men of God seem to do a wipe out at some point in their life?

How many can you think of ? Of course most of us have either read or heard the story of King David, and of course there's Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker as well! Here's a few more that you may not be familiar with that I found interesting, people like Alexander Dowie or maybe Finis Jennings Dake. All of these men were used mightily by God and had incredible ministries only to fall prey to temptation and various publicly observed sins. It's happened so much that it's a cliche', man seeks God, God finds man, Gods Spirit empowers man, he get's a big head, takes advantage and starts believing in his own abilities granting himself certain "indulgences". It was pride that got Adam, apparently not much has changed in that pride still comes before the fall!

Solomon had this to say...

Ecclesiastes 8:14

There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

If you're trying to figure out who's good and who's not based on the circumstances of this world you may find them in it probably won't make good sense! Perhaps That is the real vanity!

The great apostle Paul had a lot to say about mans weaknesses, and God's strength,

2 Corinthians 4:7

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

I've been told by people that they don't believe in using doctor's or medicines because they feel it makes a mockery of the atonement of Jesus. That it basically amounts to idolatry because it's putting those things in place of the healing that Jesus' victory over sin, sickness and death obtained for us. I agree that when Christian people are sick they should first do as the bible instructs us to do, be anointed and prayed over by their church elders but if you don't begin to get some relief pretty quickly I think you ought to see a doctor. Even though both drugs and doctors have been known to be BAD, I believe that God can work through them if He chooses to, and I don't think you can toss out the whole of medical science because you feel as though God is limited to healing us in any certain way. It seems spiritually prideful to me, like the guy who sat on top of his house during the flood waiting for God to rescue him...he turned away three different people trying to help him escape and of course he eventually drowned! Before God he asked, "where were you, I was waiting?" and God said. "I sent a guy in hip waders, then a boat, and even a helicopter! Why didn't you get in?'

God can't work through evil? Doesn't seem like He has much choice in this world!

1 Corinthians 1:27

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

I've heard this next one a lot, that all other versions of the bible besides the King James are basically heretical. Look into it, the research is compelling, lots of critical verses are severely butchered or omitted entirely. I personally prefer a KJV, because I believe it is the most accurate translation, but does that mean that the Holy Spirit can't move in a persons heart when they read the NIV or the Living Bible? I don't think so!

As stated in the definition a cliche is an expression that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse. If we're not careful our spiritual lives can also become just a cliche! We pray at certain times or in certain ways which are mostly just routine's that lack the vitality that having a real relationship with Christ should have. Inevitably, this superficial level of faith spreads to every aspect of what our Christian life is supposed to be about until even the most sacred becomes ritual and then a cliche'. That sounds horrible, and for sure it is, but even when we're at our worst, we serve a God that can clean the dirt, sticks and rocks out of the clay he wish's to use and then form it into a vessel suitable to be filled with His Spirit. It's never redundant or routine for God to love His children. Nothing God does is just a cliche', He causes the sun to rise every morning in a special way, He created each of us totally unique! I don't know about you but I'm bored with the cliche', I'm tired of the spiritual circle I seem to be running in and I want more! I don't just want to merely run in a "bigger circle" unless it's big enough for me to be able to continually step out and walk in places I've never been and do things I've never done! None of that will ever happen as long as our faith is a cliche' or until we drop the self righteous legalism and understand what it means to love!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmgZ2EcXCz4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1]

It's About Time!

I can hear it already,

"It's about time? yeah it is...You haven't written a blog for three weeks and this is all you've got! I'm sorry but that's just weak"!

WOW! Give me a chance! Would it kill ya to have a little faith or to be a little more patient? Maybe YOU should do like I've been doing and embark upon a study of the life of Noah...

I feel as though I've seen a lot of things change during my short lifetime. We've become a "microwave society" who's tongue in cheek prayer is "Lord give me patience, but hurry!" We're used to having the "instant gratification" of our desires. We spend our lives watching thirty second commercials on television and then wonder why attention deficit disorder is so common! We've become a people that seek constant reassurance of our being on the "right track", it's a herd mentality and the message is "don't stop and eat the flowers"! We're not sure exactly where it is we're in such a hurry to go but hey, everybody seems to be going there and even if it is wrong it seemed like the right thing to do at the time...

^{Proverbs 16:25} There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The story of Noah has always been one of the most fascinating in the Bible to me. As I read through one of the more well known parts of it I paused for a moment and reflected..

"How did God talk to Noah and tell him to build an ark?"

I know what it says in Genesis 6:13, God spoke to Noah, but at the risk of being allegorical I'm simply wondering...was it in an audible voice, or did God somehow just place the idea in his thoughts? Perhaps it was Noah's "inspired" conclusion based on his knowledge of Gods character and his observation of the pervasive moral depravity of his time that convinced him that God surely wouldn't let this go on indefinitely. Building the ark was based on the faith Noah had that God would do exactly what He said! At times I feel as though I'm building an ark and I can relate in some small way to Noah, however, I'm really glad to say that at least as far as my current venture is concerned I've never heard any voices that I attributed to God telling me what to do.

Maybe God had to speak directly to Noah because Noah didn't have a bible to read!

I read Gods word quite regularly and I continually try to understand the meaning of it and apply it to my life. Of course I'm a long way from reaching either goal, but so far what I've gotten from it is that it tells us to love, to go, do, and be, to the ends of the earth! Maybe just to the end of your block, or the edge of your town, wherever you find yourself if you're a child of God you're there on His time!

^{Hebrews 11:7} By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

In 1 Peter it says that Noah preached to the people of his "time" for over one hundred years and yet the only people he took with him into the ark were the eight members of his immediate family! Can you imagine the ridicule he endured from the people who heard his warnings of coming destruction, saw the giant boat he was building on dry land and thought he was a fool? And from the perspective of the world he was a fool, right up to the time when the waters began to flood the earth!

Studying the life and ministry of Noah has really helped me to be more patient with what I feel is my calling from God. It's helped me to give everything over to Him, to have a stronger faith that He is in control of the circumstances of my life. To be peaceful and not be anxious when things work out differently than I might of expected or wanted them to. We all have the same two choices when that happens, we can respond emotionally, and become frustrated or discouraged at the "No" we seem to be experiencing or we can instead keep pressing forward looking for the better "Yes" that God has waiting for us!

Maybe it is about time, more than anything else in this country our most common ailment is "hurried sickness". There's not enough time for people to be able to "unpack" emotionally toward each other and really let them know how they feel. We hardly even understand the need for it but we certainly understand the unavoidable consequences of not doing it! Isn't it about time that we as the church, the "body of Christ", reached out with our arms, legs and anointed hands and showed this world Gods heart that's broken over the gulf of sin that separates them. We're living in a culture very similar to the times of Noah and I believe that one day soon God will once again shut the door behind those He will deliver from the coming deluge and the time of the Gentiles will come to a close...

It's about time!

A Peculiar People...

According to the Strong's Concordance, the word peculiar in the verse below actually means to be "preserved", to be an acquired people who have been bought by Christ. To me that sounds like a people who are His possession, who are by faith sustained and have put their trust in God alone and are the beneficiaries of His great promises. A people who are grateful, and who are eager to express their gratitude!

1 Peter 2:9 (King James Version)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light

I read something recently I feel is related that really resonated with me.

"Jesus is looking for people who can display the fruit of the Spirit, not religious nuts"

Don't misunderstand me, I'm always interested to hear other peoples interpretation's of scripture and I try to keep an open mind because I definitely have a great deal to learn! I also greatly enjoy enthusiastic praise and worship that's done by people who're really seeking to glorify and praise God! I believe in the Holy Spirit and in the manifestation of His presence through the spiritual gifts. I'm a person who appreciates my freedom in Christ and fully extends that right to others, who's not trying to limit God, keep Him in a box, or reduce His blessing's to any formula.

What I'm attempting to describe here is something different, something along the lines of when peculiar becomes "Weird"...

I doubt that there's a single person who'll read this who doesn't know exactly what I mean! We've all known (or perhaps have been) people whose "Christian" beliefs are perhaps a little off the mainstream or even downright strange. And as we listen to them explain the biblical basis for their "revelation" or describe to us the angle that we must tilt our heads at to see it, somehow we just can't seem to shake the feeling that based on the lack of apparent "fruit" in their lives they must instead be "nuts". Have you ever noticed how little children seem to have an uncanny ability to recognize "weird" people and will instinctively get away from them? I'm not talking about people who just have a naturally off-beat personality, I'm talking about people whose weirdness is instead an intentionally contrived facade wrapped in a cloak of religiosity.

One thing that's been made very clear to me on my "spiritual journey" is that what I really find attractive are those Christians who display a committed, sustaining, genuine and balanced approach to their faith.

I just want to be an average person who's allowing God to do extraordinary things through me!

Everytime I encounter people who's belief's have more to do with emphasizing the differences between them and others it just seems as though the motivation is to glorify them, not God!

The God who's grace is responsible for them perhaps being any different than anyone!

I believe that what draws people to Christ is the expression of our empathy to them in that we openly recognize our own past and present "brokenness" while at the same time sharing with them what is our great hope in Christ in this moment and for eternity. That we've surrendered to the love and forgiveness of our Savior who while we were yet hopeless sinner's chose to die for our sin's to restore our souls and redeem us before the Father!

Now that's "Good News" everyone should be eager to hear!

1 Corinthians 1:2 (King James Version)

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:

Sanctification is a process, and to be a saint of God is a choice...A choice that we're empowered to make through the Holy Spirit's presence in us! At some point in our walk we learn that there's only one rule, and that rule is love! It would help if we were taught that initially, it would save us from following those spiritual "rabbit holes" and from the discouragement of false starts.

I've been wanting to write about this subject for some time, maybe even years! It's based on the frustration I've felt as I see people being spiritually stalled by one particular issue or being in bondage to some doctrinal understanding that keeps them spinning in circles preventing them from moving forward and from being more effective ambassadors for Gods Kingdom.

I have a fantasy about being in Heaven and of the first moments of my realization of it. I'm talking to some people who confirm to me that "yes, I am in fact in Heaven" so naturally my next question is, "Where's Jesus?' to which they reply "Oh, that's Him over there talking to those people at the table" I spin around and scan the room noticing a man standing next to a table full of people, He's a man, in a glorified body just like me who manages to catch my glance and lock's eye's with me for just a moment and smiles. He excuses Himself and begins to walk toward me...and that's where the fantasy ends. It always makes my hair stand up on my neck and gives me chill bumps to think about someone who is the equal of God who loves me so much to not think it wrong to talk to me like just another person, who even though He IS too Holy chose to meet me and to reveal Himself to me.

Yes I know I'm peculiar, perhaps even weird! But I must admit I couldn't be happier about it!

Don't Go There!

There's a species of bird native to where I live called a Killdeer. They're quite common and if you take a summertime walk near a river or any place where there's gravel you're likely to encounter one. Their "KILL-DEE" call is hard to miss but what really drew my attention to them as a young boy was their instinctive flair for the dramatic. If you should happen to get too close to their young which they nest on the ground, they put on their wounded bird performance. It's their way of saying "don't go there", an academy award winning act intended to draw any potential threat away from that which is vulnerable, their chicks.

The more I studied on these birds the more they began to remind me of people. There's something familiar to me about an animal that lives on the ground instead of living in a tree where it's ability to fly is a distinct advantage thereby necessitating the aforementioned defensive tactics to survive. Although it doesn't seem to make good sense, living by the art of deception in this inhospitable rocky place is simply part of what defines them as being a killdeer. In my "human-ness" I prefer to think that by making different choices their lives could be so much easier but alas, they have to do what's in their nature to do. There are no real "choices" for them as far as how they survive other than picking a nesting site that perhaps affords them more security, that's about it .

We have a "nature" to overcome as well but with a much broader spectrum of choices to make that can either lift us above or deliver us over to what we're hardwired to do. It's difficult to spend much time around people and not notice a pattern similar to the Killdeers, most typically while having a "discovery" conversation with them. If they think you're getting too close to an area they feel protective of they'll do their darnedest to divert the conversation away from it. They'll scream,cry and yell if need be, often holding up one or both hands using a rapid back and forth motion from the wrist, palms towards you while in a stern voice warning us "Don't go there!". If they're at all skilled at this tactic, soon you'll be having an altogether different conversation than you might of originally intended to have. But just like the killdeer's performance the technique is only good SO many times, an experienced "seeker" won't continue to follow the ruse and will instead investigate the spot they were heading for initially.

From a human perspective, where exactly is "there" and why are we all so afraid of it? Maybe "there" is a place where it's real, where it's personal, where all of the pretenses and compromises have fallen away and the plain truth is all that's left. A place where there's an absolute right and an absolute wrong that cannot coincide or abide with the other. A place where we set aside the needs of our ego and lay our self on the altar. Where there is no ambiguity, and no one can afford to sit on a fence or be half hearted in what they're doing.

I found these examples of instances where Jesus chose to "Go There" and studied on them. the first one is definitely literal in one respect but figurative in another. Jesus is going to Jerusalem, but in response to Peter's rebuke He chooses to call it like it is with Peter and speak to the real sponsor of his thoughts

Matthew 16:21-24

²¹From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

²²Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

²³But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

²⁴Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

After He told the disciples of His plans to go to Jerusalem and of what was going to happen to Him there, Peter tried to tell Jesus "Don't go there" but of course Jesus had to "go there", and praise God that He did!

The next passage is more of a figurative example that most of us can relate to.

Matthew 21:12-13

¹²And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

¹³And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Why couldn't Jesus have just calmly moved about the room and "lovingly" convinced everyone to stop what they were doing? Once again He had to "go there", perhaps this is one of those instances where I guess you had to "be there" to fully understand it. Sometimes speaking the truth in love to people means "going there" with them. This is one of my own favorite quotes...

"Knowing the difference between who just needs a hug and who needs a kick in the pants is at the essence of what love is".

I'll admit that knowing the difference is a tricky business. Jesus always knew it because He had the Holy Spirit living within Him and was able to discern between the urgings of The Spirit and the the deception of Satan. I'll always be grateful to the people in my life who took the risk and went there with me, who talked to me instead of talking about me especially if "going there" with me wasn't an easy or pleasant thing for them to do. Thank You Jesus, for loving me so much that that even though they told You, "Don't go there" Praise God You did!