Jesus the destination?

It seems that I am in the stage in my life, as with others to want a more clear vision of where I am going. Life is a journey and everyone is on that journey but not all of what people call life is really life-giving. It is a dangerous, risky, sometimes cloudy, and always interesting journey. The people who give pat answers whether they be religious or cliche often cannot make these answers really function in life. I am thankful for the people who are willing to be honest and open about life's disappointments, dangers, and yet find life. The Word of God defines life as a person, Jesus in 1 John 5:12. When I was deep in prayer and in a time of disappointment in life, the Lord spoke to my heart and told me He was my destination. I have to be honest I have veered from that path a times but through God's faithfulness I am finding my way back to live that truth. Everyone has some vision for life otherwise they would be dead, vision gives hope. It is what or who we behold that either can give life or bring death. The crack addict has vision of getting his next fix, only to find yet again that it did not satisfy the ache inside so back for another. Don't judge the crack addict because we are not so far from him, we often have a desire for something or someone that doesn't end us up in fulfillment. Everyone is searching for life and those of who call ourselves Christian and who the secular world calls "religious" don't seem to have the corner on life. There are many who are Christians who are just as empty, disappointed, lonely, and miserable as the world. Only Jesus is defined as life and therefore our destination as well. Isn't true that Jesus is coming back for a pure and spotless Bride, if we don't die beforehand we will see Him returning for us. He is ultimately my destination, it is not to live as though Heaven doesn't exist and is not my eternal place of rest. So what does it mean that I will one day see Him in all His fullness and in that moment be truly free of all encumberances (sin, the flesh, and the enemy). Isn't it true like a flying a plane that in order to fly level (w/o instruments) you need to focus far out in front of you on the horizon. If you focus on the ground or clouds you will get disoriented. The horizon is fixed and will keep you going in the direction you need to go. We have the privilege as followers of Christ to know the end of the story, written in Revelation, that the Bride will be with the Bridegroom forever and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. All this to say that to see, know, and experience Jesus is not only where we are going but also life today. Also I think of the verse in Matthew 6:20 that says "lay up treasure in Heaven..." Am I really yielding to His Spirit and Life to let Him do works through me that are laying up treasures in heaven. Having an eternal perspective according to the Kingdom of God impacts the way I approach the people I will meet today and how I will treat my family. I believe as I see Jesus as my destination that my vision for how His Life will unfold in me will become more clear.

In His Love,
Bret

Blessed are those who Mourn?

Jesus was always teaching about the Kingdom of God (a realm where God is King) and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. What a strange thing to begin His public ministry saying that the Blessed are the poor in spirit and those who mourn. The Kingdom of God is not like this world and operates not based on self-sufficiency but humility. After 5 years of solid ministry I realize that I am tired, fatigued, and in need of some renewal. I am getting back to the basic foundation of encountering Jesus and being filled by Him. I realize that there has been a "great sadness" lurking beneath the surface in my heart that tends to spill out in areas of my life. I tend to do what most Christians do, stuff it and suppress it because I am supposed to be joyful as a follower of Christ. Yet Jesus seems to tie experiencing great mourning with being blessed and comforted. We all have things in our life to mourn: broken dreams, disappointments in relationships, loneliness in childhood, lack of experiencing love, financial loss, lost relationships, death of someone close, etc.. I could go on with quite a list because we live in a world that is deeply infected by sin and the death that it brings. It is amazing that Jesus doesn't call to the learned who have been studying the Scriptures to know about the Messiah or those who have diligently been working to keep the Law, He calls to those who are low, hurting, desperate, and in need of hope. We don't encounter Jesus with our intellect but out of the deep needs of our heart. So I am entering into this deep sadness to mourn, fully believing this is the very place that I will encounter Jesus. In Nehemiah we are told that the "...joy of the Lord is your strength" to a people who were mourning and weeping. I am so glad that the Lord does not expect us to supply our joy for the Christian life but invites us to exchange our pain, loss, sadness for His joy. I do expect blessing out of this journey into mourning and sadness. If you are human like me, you probably have your degree of sadness and loss. Jesus doesn't want us to handle with our own strength, trying to cover up this sadness with a surface happiness, He wants to take us on the journey to reach the other side entering into His joy. He is here to comfort and encourage you (and me).

In His Comfort,
Bret

Self-security= No Security!!

As the Lord has taken me on a journey of challenging the security I find in my own protection (armor) and my own resources (our finances), I have been struck how fleeting security in yourself is. In the journey of support raising, we recently had a very low month which exposed deep insecurities in me (my flesh). As a child I did not feel secure in my parents love or God's love (I didn't know Him at the time), so I began to build a fortress for my own security. This included not trusting others but only trusting my own alarm system if I may be hurt, so then I would withdraw inside myself (my fortress). Though I did not like the loneliness of the fortress, the fear of being rejected and hurt seemed greater. I now am compelled by love and desire to reach out to those who are hurting or just need love. Yet at times I still seem to love my fortress more than I love others (through the love of God). My spirit is grieved because I know the real me, is the one that loves without barriers and does not withhold. I find God's answer is not one I like, it is that my fortress die so that the me "in Christ" is more free to love. This fortress has been much of my life, that I don't risk being rejected or hurt because then I will lose my security. It seems that God is bent on getting rid of my security, so that He can be my security. As I turn 40 years old and reflect back on my life, the greatest fruit has been as I have lost my life and given to others out of the love of God. These are truly when "lay up treasures in heaven" has happened, not when I did something led by my self-protective ways or fear. It is a strange thing to realize that you were "born again" to give your life away. Jesus says clearly "you cannot serve two masters, you will love the one and hate the other", He is right because when I am trusting in my fortress for my security I am mad at God's tug on my heart to love others sacrificially. I want nothing of the self-life but I find pieces of it resident deep within me, thank you to Jesus who has delivered me from the tyranny of the flesh. It is amazing how this struggle with finances has revealed such deep insecurities within me, even going back to being a baby. I am standing on Jesus finished work on the cross and God's amazing love. His love includes finding a deep security in Him. I declare that He is my security, my rock, and my fortress. I stab through the heart my false security (the fortress) for it has only sought to separate me from my true heart and leave me alone. Maybe you have a fortress that needs to be brought to death, that you may truly live. This new life is all about really living, death is on the way to resurrection life. I am thankful that no matter what we are going through there is resurrection on the other side, it may not include change in our circumstances right away.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Living in the Present

I seem to find it easy to get stuck in the past or fearful about the future but all of this robs the joy of the present. Paul says, "...for me to live is Christ..." This is written in the present tense, we are to experience an awareness of Christ in this very moment. It seems silly to some to need to be aware of Christ in every moment, for others this seems like a Law but still for others He is a necessity. In Christ's first major sermon, He begins with saying "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." To be poor is not desired in our society but the poor do understand something, what it is to be thirsty and hungry. It is out of desperation that I believe the poor in spirit discover the kingdom of heaven, because they are willing to do anything for life. I could definitely lament about the past and there are enough uncertainties in the future to get me anxious, yet this moment is the one where there is life and Him. I can't say that I am very schooled in how to live in the moment because my gaze has been one way or the other. We have been forgiven of all our sins past, present, and future; we have been brought out of death into life and finally we have been embraced by God through the Holy Spirit. I find that His grace is so huge and yet I find that I need His grace for every day's challenges and hurdles. Being a tenderheart and sensitive my heart can be affected by the weight of sin's consequences on hurting people. To enter into human suffering and not be consumed, I must keep my eyes on my Jesus. He alone brings life and hope in the darkest situations. Jesus is the light, if we take our eyes off Him we are left with the world in the darkness and without hope. I heard one author and counselor talk about allowing the client to only go on so long about their pain and hardships, then turn all eyes to Jesus. Since the Word of God defines Christ as life (1 John 5:11), all other ways of defining life are ultimately deceptions. Sometimes in our religious world we can get close to Jesus but be far away at the same time: WWJD (What would Jesus Do?) - leaves me to figure out what Jesus would do and try to do it (in my own strength), statement of faith/doctrine (good to have truth but the person of Christ brings life), study the Word (great but do you encounter the Word became flesh), and so many other word oriented sermons where we don't encounter Him. I am not being critical, simply saying that my heart cry is to know the living and resurrected Christ daily. Can you feel and experience that His blood (the Lamb's) is flowing through you at this very moment, He is alive and living His life in you. Will we yield to His love, His power, and His life in us? It is so easy to get distracted in life with the kids, budgets, people's issues, my own issues, disappointments, worries, and all the concerns of modern life but do you see Him today? Listen for His voice, His voice is often still and small but full of love and life.

In His Grace,
Bret

Never Alone!

I am amazed at the truth Jesus speaks in John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." It was one of those days when I felt utterly alone in the world with my problems, issues, circumstances, and barriers. Some days it just lands on you and it seems hard to keep your head above the water. Yet just because this is my experience does not mean it is the truth, Jesus said He will not leave me as an orphan. So often God would say to those He called, "I will be with you". He said these words to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and then the ultimate to the disciples when He says they (we) will be one with Him just as He and the Father are one (John 17:23). I realize the times I have real difficulty is when I begin with the belief "I am all alone", then you fill in the blank. We were not designed to live life on our own, we were designed to be live in the reality of God's love and provision all the time. I have had so many experiences in my childhood where the lie "I am all alone" was planted in my heart, so now there are many times when these lies get triggered as an adult. It is amazing that as I am about to turn 40 years old this year, I can still feel just like that 7 or 8 year old little boy. I take great comfort that Jesus said in Matthew 18:3 "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." I believe we have a lot of believers acting like adults but inside they are really like little children hurting inside and in need of a loving Father. Shall we come to Our Father like little children, be vulnerable, in need, weak, and trusting? Or shall we put on a religious face and pretend to be together. We were at a birthday party for a sister in Christ who goes to our church and we spoke with some friends we had not seen in a while. The wife commented to me she had always admired my desire to seek God, in a moment of vulnerability I told her it was out of utter desperation and brokenness. She commented that we are all in that same place of desperation but others just don't admit it. I see the people that Jesus continually lifted up as an example to follow were those who came to Him desperate, thirsty, hungry, and longing. These all depended on Him in a way that left them either to be rejected or received, Jesus received each of them. Jesus was not able to receive those who rejected Him because of their lack of vulnerability. Walking by faith does not mean we become religious, distant, and unhuman. I am convinced that the gospel of Grace allows us to be human, imperfect, flawed, weak, and yet be loved by incredible love that not only receives us but changes us into another person. I think sometimes we believe it would be so great to have someone who truly understood everything we are going through and was right with us. This is not a dream but a reality, the Spirit of God is with you right where you are. It is not searching for His presence but acknowledging the truth of His presence by faith, so you can enter into experiencing His presence moment by moment. What a privilege it is to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit and to bring His presence where ever I go. Sometimes I still believe the challenges, difficulties, and trials I face are greater than His presence but this is a lie. As I said in an earlier posting, I believe the greatest privilege is knowing Him and that begins by awareness of His eternal presence with us and in us. The obstacle in our path is often not removed until we experience His presence, then our perspective on that obstacle changes (faith), and then it is time to release this faith toward the obstacle. What ever you are going through in your life right now, He is with you and He loves you. God is bigger than whatever mountain we face, but we must choose to see Him.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

The Kingdom of God- Upside Down to the World

As I stared reading a book "Compelled by Love" I began to be reminded that the Kingdom of God is so different than the world system. The world system seems have an insatiable hunger for dependence on The Lie (self-sufficiency and independence) while the Kingdom of God is about humility, dependence, and desperation. I will be 40 this year and I can honestly say I have never been successful at living in dependence on The Lie. It seems I have never been successful at being strong, independent, or self-made. Yet Jesus tells me in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." I have felt poor in spirit for most of my life, except for those moments where I soar high into pride only to fall flat on my face. In the book she talks about how the Kingdom of God is so manifest to the poor because of their absolute desperation and dependence. Desperation and dependence are very unpopular ideas in our success-driven, independent, and self-reliant culture. I had another opportunity to rely on the Lord. Each of us as supervisors for our Advanced Training students needed to say some words about them. I decided I would ask the Father if He had something to say about each person because my wise, intelligent, and polished words would not compare to what He had to say. I was nervous about sharing what I sensed was the Father's heart for each of these people because the word was very personal. How easy it would have been to rely on my own way and not take the risk. It was encouraging to see how the words the Lord gave me for each person touched their hearts and drew them closer to the Father. I realize depending on the Lord in a new way is scarey, yet reliance on myself has not produced security, freedom, or Fruit of the Spirit. I still don't like being needy, desperate, and weak but I am beginning to be more used to it. When Jesus said "Truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:23), I always thought it was because of the man's riches. I believe it is because this man has learned to use his riches as his source of provision, protection, and identity. Thus the reason the it is difficult for the man to enter the Kingdom of God is because of relying on The Lie to make life work. I believe a person can have riches and yet be poor in spirit but it is more rare. I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of your heart (Ephesians 1:18) so that you would see the Kingdom of God, not for what you think (according to your filter) it is but by the revelation of the truth by the Holy Spirit. I realize that everything good is a gift from above, even the air I breathe today.

In His Kingdom,
Bret

Ultimate Privilige

What is the ultimate privilige of the Christian life? Is it to see successful ministry, or meaningful service, have a good family, see many come to know the Lord, see miracles, know the Bible very well, be free of all our bondages, or fill in the blank. I believe the ultimate privilige of the Christian life is said in Hebrews 8:11 "...For all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them." Also in Ephesians 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." This is not some future thing that will happen, I believe Satan has been deceiving through tradition, our wounds from imperfect parents, and just lack of knowledge. We have been brought near not through our own efforts, our acts of service, or our perfection but by the blood of Christ. The kind of "knowing" that is referred to in Hebrews is not some intellectual information, this is knowing by experiencing a relationship (even saying like Adam "knew" Eve and she bore a child). God has invited us into the ultimate privilige to actually know the Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings, and the Alpha and Omega. Unfortunately, we have been deceived to just expect to know about God rather than actual encounter with the Divine. I know of no one who encountered Jesus who was not changed, even those who walked away from Him were impacted or those who insulted Him. I am accepting the invitation that My God has put before me, I will know Him intimately not from a distance. In knowing Him we are transformed, families are changed, circumstances are changed, the physical realm is changed, and the atmosphere of Heaven is brought into earth. We come just as we are, don't think you need to clean up because the blood of Christ is sufficient to clean you up. If only we understood what Jesus has done to make intimacy with the Father available to us. I find in these days that I don't want to pray, trying to get God to do something. I just want to know Him, it is the cry of my heart to know Him deeply and to be known by Him. All of the life, freedom, power, and love flows out of this place of intimacy. I find that I am so weak when I am not in that place of intimacy because human strength is so insufficient when God has called us into the impossible. Seeing God's glory over the earth is a huge dream, the Kingdom of God can only be release in power when we enter into this deep intimacy. I am going deep with Him because I know the life He wants to pour through me is His. I now understand why praise is so powerful because in praise we declare to all of the powers of Hell that we are the Beloved of God and have total access to His throne room through Jesus Christ. It now makes sense why hearing God's voice is often thought of as unusal or impossible, if we can't hear from the One who loves us we will only hear the voice of the Enemy, others disappointment, and the world's constant barrage of expectations. What a joy to hear from the One who knows us best and loves us, then we can really know Him. The Lord recently touched my heart through the 1 John 3 which says "Beloved, now we are children of God....". As I looked up this word I was overwhelmed to see it meant "worthy of love". There are times I don't feel or believe I am worthy of love and yet God chose me and saved me through Jesus Christ so I could know Him and be loved. Everything else that is not consistent with this truth is a lie against my heart. Because of being shown an imperfect love through our parents, it leaves openings for us to internalize lies about who we are. I accept that I am the "Beloved" of God and I announce it to the world. This is the quality of love God has bestowed on us (1 John 3:1) that could take us from "children of wrath" to His Beloved. It is one thing to accept this truth, it is another to walk in and live in the reality of His love for us daily. The Gospel allows us to know Him, be loved by Him, love ourselves, and then love others. This seems to be the order of it but I think we often just go to the last one of trying to love others without any real power and love from God. Be the Beloved today.

In His Love,
Bret