Splash

I am standing on a dock, it is a crisp, cool morning and the water looks cold, it is calm this morning and little ripples lap quietly against the dock pilings. Appearances are deceiving, because I have been in this lake before. The water has always been warm and comfortable, but my skin crinkles up in goose bumps at the thought of entering the water, the chilling mist which drifts up around me only heightens the feeling that I should stay away, I know what I need to do, I need to get over my fears, I need to be in the water, I need to just jump.
The decision is made and I am flying through the air, I am about to hit the surface, I am smiling, I am happy, soon, oh so quickly I will be one with the water. I will be where I am supposed to be.
Splash.

I once looked down into a pool, at the deep end, I was young seven, maybe eight, I couldn’t swim, oh, I could dog-paddle a little, very little, but no, I really couldn’t swim, off to the side my parents were urging me to jump in. They didn’t know what I knew, they didn’t know that if I jumped in I would drown. I knew this, but at their insistence I jumped in and I started flailing and sinking. My Dad swam over and pulled me out. He seemed disgusted with me. I never wanted to enter the water again, but I was wrong. I learned to swim despite my parent’s attitude. I had to, I had to get past the jeering, the looks of disgust, or die of shame, I did get past them, because God helped me.
We can spend our whole lives on land, we can build our worlds in such a way that we needn’t think of entering the water. We can shut off the views of the river, the lakes, and the endless ocean beyond. But there is something which calls to us from the water, the constant motion of the waves, the wind in our faces, the smells on the breeze, the quiet depths. Sometimes, short of putting on our swimsuits, we just like to look at it.

This is what it is like for us, we are all standing on the brink of God’s great mercies. We are looking down into the depths of the inestimable love of the one who died that we might live, and we are tempted to chicken out.
It is because in our native form we are dry, we are dry and water scares us. We imagine that our dry substance is what we are. We are empty desert and moisture would destroy the dry uniformity we have become comfortable with, but we need not fear, dry dirt plus water is mud, the kind of thing God made us from in the first place. If we look to Him the Spirit of God will bring forth in each of us a spring of living water. This is not a vain imagining, Jesus said it would be so. When we have a spring we are sprinkled with His provision and in our moist potential, He can mold our mud into something wonderful. When we have the spring inside us, we need no longer fear the water. We can jump into the sea, into the fullness of His grace.

Oh, Muley Me

I am but a bellows for pumping air in and out.
I am but an ant running about in orderly confusion.
I am but a weed whose very success is a bane to the gardener.
I am a mule whose every step is tempered by the inward desire to cease stepping forward, to halt and resist progress.
There is a sense in which I am all of these things, yet I am no longer just these things.

I am an abandoned and useless bellows, if I am not allied to the Smith who uses the bellows to perform useful tasks. Does the bellows understand what the Smith intends?
No, surely not, at least not the “big picture”. Does the bellows do something useful?
Under the guidance of the Smith the bellows makes many useful things happen, but without the Smith’s guiding hand, it is just so much air going in and out, to no purpose. A plaything for children who do not know the proper use of the bellows, or a decorative item gathering dust.
May the Smith use these bellows for the useful functions He intends.

I am an ant running about in apparent confusion. Without the purpose of maintaining the colony the ant’s movements have no meaning. there are many actions of the ant which have no meaning at all without the maintenance of the colony as the end view. It is the Lord’s heart which is my home, my colony if I am not guided by His purposes I am indeed in confusion. Yet I need not fear, He has set up His quarters in my heart to direct me, to lead me home to Himself. My actions though hard for others to understand have a deeper purpose, a purpose which I am beginning to grasp, due to His tutelage.

I am a weed, my growth up to the point where I met the Gardener was useful only to myself, no one else stood to benefit from my luxurious foliage. But then when I met the Gardener, He recognized in me some use, some future benefit. He pruned me and cut me back, I now know it was for my good as well as His. Now I stand to bear fruit as a consequence. There will be fruit, where before there was only wild growth in every direction and branches covered only with leaves. My fruit will delight my Gardener and be useful to others as well.

I am a mule, In my flesh lie all of the elements of a grand rebellion. No forward progress will be made so long as it has it’s way. But if my mind and heart can be won over, the stubbornness will decrease a little each day. the heart and mind will lend themselves to His victory over my stubborn nature. I will at last be able to relax in His plans for me, knowing that my Mule driver is indeed smarter and more reliable than I will ever be apart from Him. His Spirit will gain victory over the resistance of the flesh and the war will be over, the mule will die in the process, but the result will be a Spiritual creature of His making, wholly given to his will. A glorious horse perhaps, who will tremble in anticipation, and leap to do the will of the Master.

I embody all of these things sloth, stubbornness, waywardness, but the wonderful truth is there are seeds of greater things, placed in me by Jesus. Things which through His patient cultivation will blossom and bring me out of the shadow of my own rebellious stubbornness into the light of His purpose.
But to accomplish that I must,
hand over the bellows,
allow Him to colonize my heart,
give Him my garden plot,
and hand Him the reins of my mule.
This is not a dictatorship, it is a relationship,
I ask, and He answers, He speaks, and I respond.
He prunes and I grow fruit.
I hurt, and He comforts me.
I give Him my hurts, and He heals me.
I am walking with Him, and He is walking with me.

What Is Fair?

In the day to day world you live in there are a few rules people usually live by, to make a complicated issue simple, most people, when not driven by greed, try to be fair. Fairness, as they see it, is the apple divided into equal parts. One roughly equivalent piece for each partaker. Things get more complicated when each partaker represents a family or two, but as long as it stays relatively simple most people can go along with that, the person representing two families, gets two pieces, this is elementary. But as things get more complicated the average person’s mind quails at making so many judgement calls, and soon they can be persuaded, if approached from the angle of self interest, that the other partakers hardly deserve anything, otherwise the ones who worked so hard for the division of the spoils, the ones who set it up, will not get the extra shares to reward their labors. Now we see how greed has stepped in. The people who organized the division of the spoils, become the ones who can create a surplus and who end up with the extra shares. So the competition to be the organizers becomes quite keen.

In this country we elect the organizers, and one way or another through publicly visible means or covert ones the organizers get a lion’s share of the proceeds. Hardly anyone notices anymore that elected officials usually leave office wealthier than when they were sworn in the first time.

Folks in our country have become quite obsessed with the idea that they are not getting their fair share. It’s a bit odd, but when greed enters into the picture the idea of the “fair share” becomes inflated beyond all practicality. Politicians often play on the fears of the worried John or Jane Doe and blame others for taking too much, other ethnic groups, people from other faiths. Yet no one seems to think about the shares the politician is skimming off the top of the turmoil he/she has stirred up. No one wants to realize that they are being duped. How often have funds been allocated to a project only to blow away as if on the wind. It does not matter who is in charge, one side may claim to be doing the things they do for the sake of all the citizens while the other side claims to protect the interests of the fewer “real citizens”. It makes little difference which one has control, somehow the funds still evaporate into thin air. These evaporated dollars flow into the pockets of a few instead of the pockets of the many.

So now you turn to me and say, “You are so full of hot air on the subject, what is your solution?”
I say there is a solution, and yet there isn’t. As long as there are politicians of any stripe, they will act like selfish barons, hoarding wealth and power. There is no solution on that front. But I say there is something we can do. We can stop trusting men to solve our problems and turn to God.
Yes, I know, you might say “We don’t want a bunch of hymn singing ninnies telling us what to do”. And I would say you are right. I am not speaking of the “god” that protects the wealthy, the privileged, the smug. I am speaking of the God who was not afraid to get His hands dirty, the one who turned His back on His own self interests and died for you and me. There is such a person, He does not live in a “church building” He does not even live in the pages of the Bible, He will surely speak to you through those pages, but He is not limited to that form of communication. No, this God is with you everyday, He is in the poor guy, on the street corner, He is in the guy or gal working next to you. He has always cared for the plight of others more than you do, and certainly more than any politician does. He also cares deeply, intensely for you.

But this is not a campaign for another politician, this is not “Jesus for President”. Oh no, this is something a lot more serious than that. This is an announcement that Jesus is willing to take up His natural and proper residence in your heart. If you will respond to His knocking and let Him in, He will heal your heart and set your feet on a path which few have trod, a path full of His love and His compassion. He has riches to share beyond our understanding, and far beyond what we deserve.
He will give you what you need, for you see He understands what fairness is, because He invented it.

We Must Respond

I am beginning to understand that there is no such thing as a right place to be, there are no holy places, and there isn’t any such thing as a correct state of mind, so long as we are apart from Jesus.
It seems that the most important attitude we have on our own is the response we make to Him, when He has knocked us off our high horse and brought us down to the desperate hunger of the prodigal.
The new found humility of knowing our futility and how we react to it is the key.
A man cannot forge his destiny with God, no matter how many scratchy robes he wears or how many “Our Fathers” he lisps.
No, you cannot pack up the car and hit the road some morning and find God.

The wisdom of how we are to find Him was set down very early, very long ago, as He walked in the garden calling to Adam.
Adam would have been wise to respond, to seek forgiveness, but he didn’t, and in so doing he set the course for his children.
But we can reverse this age long tendency.
It is the simplest thing imaginable, as God calls to us, we are to respond.

Therefore the journey is not to God, the journey is in God, but we must respond to God to place our feet on that path.
We have always gotten the story wrong because we have been trying so hard to make ourselves the heroes of the saga.
We thought of it as our adventure, instead of His.
We are but, annoying little children who refuse to see the reality, we catch a glimpse here and there, but we fail to comprehend, because it does not fit our pre-conceived notions.
We do not truly grasp that He is the Shepherd who comes after the lost sheep.
The God who seeks us.
Oh yes, as Jesus once taught, we are to seek Him, but we must understand that we are not heroic in our quest, we are not the initiators.
We are to seek Him because He first sought us, He called out to us long ages ago, from the cross, and from the empty tomb.
The path is secure, for Jesus has already blazed it.
The path is secure because it is His finished work, not ours.
And now it is our moment to act, we must respond.

Nathan

nathan@cherandana(dot)com

Thirty Years Later

Dear old friend, it’s so nice to see that you are on Facebook.
It was many years ago when I saw you last, I know I should have controlled my tongue better, I shouldn’t have said those awful things that night. Now here we are thirty years later, both of us old married folk. I can’t say I regret the years gone by, I can’t say I am sorry for the the mate I chose, I can’t even say that I gave you much thought in the intervening years. I am sorry for the things I said that time so long ago.
I do wish I could share with you the joy I’ve found living in Jesus, no church, no religious zealots foaming at the mouth, no false authorities telling me what to do, just Jesus. But now I remember that you were really angry with folks who talked about the Lord, and I see from your comments on Facebook that that hasn’t changed, sigh.
Yeah, I guess you would just think I am crazy, when I tell you that He speaks to me just about every day.
I am not gonna cram the story of my joys, and my maturity, yes finally my maturity, and the very real nature of my Lord, down your throat. I would like to share, not shove. No, pushiness would cheapen the story and it’s not without value and the cost was too dear to drag it in the dirt.
I know that the Lord got my attention the hard way, maybe he will get your attention one of these days.
I will be ready to share, when you are ready to hear.
I love you, you old buzzard.

Ever your ornery pal,
Nathan

Now, if only I could get up the nerve to “friend” him and send this message.

Fly

We have a pet Australian diamond dove, the other day I was thinking about how she relates to her surroundings and I found a parallel to our lives in Christ.
I often open up her cage so she can fly around the room for exercise, while I putter around on my laptop. She usually does a circuit or two around the room and then goes back into the cage. Sometimes she just sits in the cage with the door open, secure in the knowledge that that is her home.
It made me think of how Jesus by His death and resurrection opened the cage to release us (everybody) from sin and death and freed us to choose to live in Him forever.
Because of His death and resurrection, the cage door is open we are completely free to choose or reject Him.
It is by her choice that our dove sits in her cage and doesn’t fly, and since I am in the room she could choose to come sit by me as I am typing this, and share in her funny way in what I am doing.
By the same token we can seek the Lord, (who by the way is a lot more fun to sit with than I am) or we can live a half life of our own choosing. If we don’t pay attention to the opportunity the Lord has given us, we will live small, shriveled, flightless lives in the cage even while the door is wide open,
We could choose to remain in our cage, secure in our flesh which over the years will betray us, as it deteriorates, or we can learn to fly and we can seek the Lord of all and come to know Him and fly with Him.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to fly.

Nathan

nathan@cherandana(dot)com

Shhh, Hush, Listen!

Have you ever had a friend or acquaintance who always misunderstands what you are saying to him or her? Or a friend who talks incessantly but never listens to you? It’s frustrating isn’t it?

We live in a world like that, everyone is talking at the top of their voices and not listening to God.

Jesus spent three years teaching the disciples about the incredible relationship He was forging for mankind, for anyone who will seek Him, and He sent the Holy Spirit to seal the deal. The disciples became apostles, and spent the rest of their lives passing the message along to the world at large with the Holy Spirit to sustain them and to keep them on track.

So what has it come down to today? We have people who think Jesus started an exclusive “God favors me” club made up of all the “right” people, with lots of rich friends, and their very own political party. We have folks who think Jesus came to allow us to keep the law (or as some express it, “to make us good”). We have a lot of people who believe that Christianity primarily means serving the church, and it’s leaders, instead of serving Him. We even have people who think that a minister is or should be an authority on theology and church history, who will “set you straight” if you stray from the party line.

Our modern “church” leaders are so busy talking, telling you their grand ideas, and condemning others, that they are not listening to the Lord. Most of what they have to say is reworked “wisdom” from their seminary days. Great!, so we are being led by the well worn traditions of men. That is the wide path, the path that leads to destruction.

The early church had a tremendous secret, which most folks don’t know today. But, it was a secret which they were eager to share. They knew that a minister was simply someone who knew Jesus intimately. Someone who lived in His presence and helped bring others into this same kind of relationship. A person who could lead another person into the place where they could hear the Good Shepherd themselves and start to grow. No seminary, no denominations, no high sounding pronouncements, not a Father, a brother in Christ, a fellow priest and king. Just living in His Spirit, and sharing it, furthermore they knew that every person who knew Jesus, who was led by the Holy Spirit, was a minister. They took the narrow path, the one where they walked with the Lord and were taught by Him.

I know many modern “authorities” have all kinds of arguments against our hearing God in our everyday lives, and following His lead, but God said this;

“18 What good is an idol, once its maker has shaped it, a cast metal image and a teacher of lies, that its maker puts his trust in it, and goes on making non-gods, unable to talk? 19 Woe to him who tells a piece of wood, “Wake up!” or a speechless stone, “Rouse yourself!” Can this thing teach? Why, it’s covered with gold and silver, without the slightest breath in it! 20 But ADONAI is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”
Habakkuk 2:18-20 (Complete Jewish Bible)

And Jesus said,
1 “Yes, indeed! I tell you, the person who doesn’t enter the sheep-pen through the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 But the one who goes in through the gate is the sheep’s own shepherd. 3 This is the one the gate-keeper admits, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep, each one by name, and leads them out. 4 After taking out all that are his own, he goes on ahead of them; and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because strangers’ voices are unfamiliar to them.”
John 10:1-5 (Complete Jewish Bible)

In Habakkuk 2:20 He said “But ADONAI is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”
Do you know where that temple is now days?
In the sanctuary of your local church? – nope.
In St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome? – uh, no.
In your hearts? – Yes, ding, ding, ding we have a winner!

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NASB)
All you have to do is earnestly seek Him, and learn to listen in humility, and He will tell you what you need to know, He will lead you.
You know it’s true, it was part of the original plan, you know “My sheep hear My voice”? Old time folks used to talk about it, they called it “waiting on the Lord” or “praying through”.
Did you know that you can talk to Him and hear Him answer you? It’s all part of having a living Lord. A real person, not a tradition, not a dead poet or philosopher. He is God, He is here with you, He has been listening to you all of your life, wouldn’t it only be polite to listen to Him for a change? He is waiting to forge a relationship with you, a relationship like no other. So how do you expect to know Him, if you never listen to Him?

Nathan

nathan@cherandana(dot)com

At Bay

The more we read Scripture and listen to the Lord. The more it becomes apparent in a deep, visceral kind of way that the flesh, our flesh hates the Holy Spirit. It will do almost anything to sabotage our union with Christ.
We choose our course by deciding whether to follow the Lord, as difficult as that sounds to our minds (and our flesh which is screaming, “No, no, Aaaaaargh!”), or by following the flesh. When you follow the flesh, you may come up with some dandy religious stuff, but nothing really changes. Not one single thing. So even though our flesh knows that it will have to go, and may be trying to bail on us, we must keep moving toward the Lord and listening to Him no matter what the consequences. For if we are at all serious about following the Lord and walking with Him, then there is no other option, the flesh has to go. This short bit is about that struggle. It is not an easy one and we will almost certainly surprise ourselves with our stubbornness, but ultimately, if we always turn back to Him even when we screw up badly, He will pull us through.

At Bay

I was running very fast and very hard, down a path in the thick forest, almost in a panic, gasping for breath, listening behind, rather than looking back. I was being followed, it was bad, nothing I did seemed to shake my pursuer, I zigged, I zagged, I even left the path, and ran through the trees, though I was in danger of losing my way. My level of panic began to rise as I realized that I was becoming exhausted. I started to look for the place where I could make my stand, I saw a clearing ahead, I began to calculate how difficult it would be to defend. Satisfied, I wheeled around and whipped out the large knife I carried for protection. I tried to calm myself, but my effort had been too all out, I could not catch my breath, I was still sobbing great panting breaths when He came into view.
I thought He had been hell bent to catch me, to kill me, what I didn’t understand is that instead, he was walking calmly toward me to relieve me of my hell, to calm my fears, to give me life. I stood gasping and looking at Him, His kindness was shining in His face, I could see it in in His eyes. He held out His arms to me. I took a step toward Him, still wary, and then, I don’t know how, but I caved in, I threw down my weapon, I sank into His arms, crying loudly.
I did not know that He actually cared for me so, I could not know, I had been listening to the lies I grew up with, the lies which I had grown accustomed to. “God is angry with you,” they lied, “He will send sinful little boys to hell.”
As He comforted me, as you would a little child, I could not believe that this was the person who was supposed to be so angry with me.
He held me for a while, and when I had finally caught my breath He held me at arm’s length and said, “David, I pursued you because I love you. I was not going to leave you to your own devices, no, not in this world, no, not ever. I am never going to abandon you, never. You are My son, I will always come after you when you are in trouble, always.”
He brought me to a stream where I was able to wash myself and get a cool refreshing drink, then We walked back to His house, it was much shorter and more pleasant going back than it had been running away. It was much better walking with Him.

In A Nutshell

I was a victim of my own fame, that is the fame which I ascribed inwardly to myself. When things were going swimmingly I imagined that I was the captain of a great ship on the sea of life, a large, beautiful schooner. I was breezing along, immune to the cares of the world about me, passing the wreckage of those who had foundered, without so much as a how-dee-do. I avoided the unfortunates lest I also run on the rocks and shoals they were cast upon. In my triumphant journey each success or honor became an adornment for my vessel, a showy bit of brass or some smart paint. I imagined, if only I could find some tropical paradise where the fish jump into your boat and the islands give their fruits willingly to the wayfarer. Ah, to be a part of the grand procession of human progress. But I deceived myself and the day came when I looked about and things were quite different.

I then found that I was still at sea, but I did not have a grand ship, oh no I had a walnut shell and a leaky one at that, no sails, no crew, no motor, only paddles. So between bailing, and paddling I found that I was making no headway. And the currents were taking me to places I did not wish to go, in fact toward the very shoals and rocks I had been avoiding.
I paddled madly, bravely, but the current was so strong that I despaired.
Then I noticed a sail on the horizon. It was a ship, it was far grander and larger than my former one was, and it was heading straight for me. I tried to paddle and stay in one place, but it seemed hopeless. So as the ship drew closer I waved my arms and paddles and yelled like a wild man, and yes, the crew spotted me, they got as close as a large vessel could to the dangerous shoals and they skillfully hove-to, backing sail to slow their progress. A boat was lowered with a single occupant, he handled the oars with swift and sure strokes, until he pulled alongside me. I still couldn’t believe that I was being rescued, but I gripped the gunnels of his boat and jumped for it. As I landed safely aboard, my tiny, abandoned shell settled beneath the waves. Then to my amazement I saw that the man who came after me was the Captain Himself. He smiled, deftly brought the boat about and headed for the ship. I couldn’t believe it, I pinched myself, I felt the seat and the sides of the boat, yes it was real. Then I got a splinter in my finger from the strake along the side and it finally sank in, the pain underscoring the reality. This was what was really happening, this was not a nightmare from which I would soon wake and find myself safe aboard my own ship, I had no ship of my own, the tiny, sinking shell was my vessel, my way of life, and the gracious Captain who risked Himself to rescue me was the Lord. When we reached His ship he gave me warm dry clothes and seated me next to Him at the table in the Captain’s ward room. With all of His officers gathered ‘round He served me Himself and was most attentive.
Finally I found my voice and said, “Captain, You risked yourself to rescue me and I am deeply grateful, but now you heap honors and favor upon me, it is too much! I do not deserve it, my seamanship stinks and I have no means with which to repay You.”
The Captain looked at me with a sparkle in His eye, he cast a friendly glance around the table and said, “My friend, I knew when I saw your dire situation that in rescuing you I would gain an appreciative companion and a great shipmate. You have all of the means to repay Me at your disposal for all I require is your total dedication to Me as your Captain. All which you need to serve Me, will be given you in time, and training, by Myself, and My faithful crew. You need no longer worry, you are now a crew member aboard My ship, and most welcome. So say we all.”
At that a rousing cheer went up around the table. And the Captain’s fine wine was poured in celebration.

Let the Sun shine

I am watching the plumes of steam which people give off. From their point of view it is wisdom. The steam comes out of their mouths rising voluminous, insubstantial. There are no real shapes to it, just wisps, one wisp is this idea, the other is another, rising gently on the breeze, thin as smoke. The only difference is that this steam can condense on the innocent, and stain them with the musings of the guilty.
Urban legends are like that, the froth of an addled brain becomes the conversation and belief of the unwary.
Well, just as you can go to an encyclopedia to check the facts of an old liar’s tale, you can go to God and ask Him what is important, what is genuine, and what is unnecessary, or false.
Because of this, we can leave the destructive, sometimes hateful opinions of others behind, like the vapor it is.
Much of what we deem necessary in our daily lives is not.
I dare not tell you what is right for you, dear reader.
Many of my pet-peeves and dislikes were not forged in the fire of His gracious attitudes.
I have yet to eradicate my old habit of being annoyed with the bad habits of others. My bad habit of criticizing the bad habits of others only amounts to judgement. I couldn’t saddle you with that.
But there is One who knows what is good for you and what is not. He is here with you now. Open the door He has been knocking on and ask Him in. Once settled, He will bring more to your life than just approval and sparkling conversation, He will heal old wounds.
Have you have been wondering why you can’t give up an old bad habit? There is likely a wound behind it. Something which has colored your outlook, distorted your thinking. He can deal with it, and set you on safe and solid ground. Oh, I am not saying this is all easy, no, sometimes it hurts to have your favorite vice revealed, and wounds which have never healed are often sensitive and painful.
But there is a better way to live, allow the Lord to shine His brilliant light into your heart. Let Him clean things up in your life, let Him show you what it means to live, to really live, live in the sunshine.

Nathan

nathan@cherandana(dot)com