FIRM PATHS

How many secrets are tucked away in the Bible! The secrets of success in life are plainly stated throughout God's Word. The book of Proverbs is practical wisdom distilled. Recently I read these instructions for ordering my life for success.

What am I learning?

1. Guard your heart. This speaks to our desire, drive, motivation. What is the one thing I am truly pursuing right now?
2. Guard your tongue. Pay careful attention to speaking what is true, right, positive. What is the overall message I am broadcasting?
3. Guard your eyes. With the options that today's technology presents, this is more important than ever. What is the true focus of my attention?
4. Guard your decisions. Only take decisions that are firm. Do not walk in ways that you do not know will succeed. Once you make a good decision, stick with it. Do I make decisions hastily, or do I do the work necessary to make decisions that I know will succeed?

The context for all success is bringing honor to God. Nothing else will last; any plan or action that does not honor God will flourish temporarily at best.


Proverbs 4:20-27 (New Living Translation)

20 My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
21 Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
22 for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.

23 Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

24 Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.

25 Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
27 Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.

POWER PRINCIPLES

Up early today, cup of coffee and finally back to capture my thoughts here with this twenty-first century version of a personal journal. Most days my blog has been written alone, early in the morning with a quiet house. Today is mostly the same, except I have some company. Unexpectedly, our family adopted Happy (named because of how happy he seemed to be with us). According to the vet, part white German Shepherd part blond lab; according to Jack his best pal.

Recently God did some very fresh work in my heart. I am thankful. I had some work to be done that I didn't know I needed. Recently I was in a meeting. About a week before, the Lord had shown me a verse, I'll have to go back & find it, about humbling myself, then He would prepare my heart. So I began to consider that and humble myself before Him. So in this meeting a friend spoke up, a friend who is always extremely encouraging and extremely challenging at the same time. My ears heard his words, and at the same time my heart heard God speaking to me, gently correcting me.

Now, no correction at the time seems pleasant, but I must say this experience was unique. I would not say it was pleasant, being corrected, but it was not unpleasant either. Often we associate correction with the displeasure of the corrector. Maybe that was the difference - God was correcting me but I did not feel His displeasure. Like He was letting me know He was correcting me because He was pleased with me and loved me. I had had some opinions about some things, and the Lord was correcting me about the way I was using those opinions. Not so much that God told me that my conclusions were wrong, instead saying that He had not chosen me to have authority in the method or timing of implementing those conclusions. So I humbled myself further to Him and admitted to Him that I was wrong in that, that I needed His help, and asked Him to please deliver me and teach me. I sensed a new freedom in my heart and later told my friend about the good thing God had done for me.

Since then I have been enjoying this new freedom. I have also been wondering how it works. It is not right, to simply say, "God has not put me in charge of this so I will blindly accept what is decided." At this point I think it is more like understanding the sphere of my authority, and staying very firm inside that, and letting God expand that outward instead of me reaching over into someone else's.

I am beginning to understand how my mind works. It is always on (although my wife may say it shuts down at 9pm, and at other times there is evidence that my mouth was working when my brain wasn't) and always looking for patterns. That is how my brain works, it is constantly scanning for patterns of meaning in the massive flow of jumbled data that every day brings. Then, coming to a working conclusion that is always subject to revision or rejection based on new information. So, knowing this, I do not think I will simply cease having an opinion (or, I think more appropriately described, a working conclusion). Instead I will vigorously (and humbly) govern what He has put in my sphere and humbly (and vigorously) serve outside of that.

Don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me, but writing it down is helpful in ordering my thoughts about it. I understand it even better now.

Well, I started out this morning to write about a Power Principle the Lord showed me in the Word concerning giving. It is good to give, and giving results in increase. But the Lord showed me some specifics about a certain way and timing of giving that results not just in incremental increase but in breakthrough. I will revisit that next time. Apparently the first Power Principal is to humble yourself before God, that He may lift you up in His time.

You Know the Way

Peer with me into an intimate setting. After dinner on the most important holiday of the year, the family talking and laughing in the den. Lights are low but not dim, voices quiet but not subdued. Laughter lays like a thin veil over a somber mood. The eldest brother, the leader of the clan, is preparing to move. Saying his goodbyes. He is receiving a promotion, the opportunity of a lifetime. He is excited that his destiny is so near, but sadness whispers that this period in his family's life is now over and can never be repeated. He knows this is the last time they will be together like this for a long, long time.

You have been there. I have too. Maybe not in the den, but in that time of transition. Giving up the known for the unknown. Trading the certain for the unproven. Watching some of the best and truest moments of my life pass before my eyes, trying to hold them in my heart because I will never hold them in my hands again.

I have lately been making decisions about where my family is going. Not physically - God has blessed us and set my feet in a wide place. I am very thankful. We love our church, the kids are in a wonderful school, I am very thankful for and committed to my job (even in this economy I've had 2 attractive opportunities come my way in the last month but I'm not going anywhere). Just refinanced the house, so we're committed to it for a while too. I'm talking about where we're going spiritually, and financially, and relationally. Who are we becoming?

Have a number of close friends also in transition. For some of them, like me, the transition is internal. For some an actual move to a new job, new town, new friends (hopefully also keeping the old ones like me), even a new country. Either way, it feels like we are creating the way forward as we go. At times it all seems so uncertain.

Somehow I woke up wide awake very very early today. Cup of coffee, reading about Jesus in John 14. He has just finished the Passover Meal with his disciples, the most celebrated moment of the most important holiday of the year. They don't know it yet, but their eldest brother is saying his goodbyes. He is receiving a promotion, so to speak, moving forward to his destiny. He knows they will not be together again like this for a long long time. And in these intimate moments Jesus words give strength and direction.

I go to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you with me. You know the way.

Jesus words are alive for me this morning, alive for us today. You know the way. He has prepared a place for you. You know the way. He will steer you forward. You know the way. Not something to be created by us at all, simply following him. Moving forward into the place he has already prepared. He will bring you there. You know the way. It's not a mystery, really not hard at all. Your eldest brother has already gone before you, prepared a place, and will bring you there. When we are lead by the Holy Spirit (keep reading John 14) we are lead into the place he has already prepared for us.

This time of transition is not uncertain at all. Keep moving forward. You know the way.

it's NOT FAIR!

I just want to go on the public record to say...

IT'S NOT FAIR!!!

It is NOT fair, what happened to me.

I did NOT get what I deserve.

Also for the record, I do not want the US government, or ANY other government for that matter, to make it right.

What happened to me is this...
I broke God's law. I deserved judgement. Jesus died on the Cross in my place. I was set free, simply by receiving His gift.

It is not fair. It is not fair to HIM. It is not fair to me. But I wouldn't change a thing (even if I could, which is not up to me really).

It's not fair, but I am thankful. It's not fair, but I am grateful. It is not fair, but I receive it by faith.

Thank you Jesus, you did it all. It wasn't fair for you, but now all authority in Heaven and on earth is yours. You deserve all power, and all glory, and all dominion, and all praise. Right now You are waiting until Your enemies are made your footstool. It is not fair, but You did it for me.

Thank you. It is not fair, but I receive it all with gratitude eternal.

These are the words...

Early morning.

Still and quiet, dark as night.

I am awake. My heart is still, expectant.

"I want to speak to you."
"I am listening."

"Let your heart receive my words, like ready soil the seed."
I am ready.


"I love you."


Your words fall like rain on thirsty ground. I soak it in.
Good seed in good soil. I will be fruitful for You.
My heart knows fresh peace. Confidence. Gratitude.


Now, a new revelation from Heaven:
"These are the words that allow you to receive."

Yes, Lord, I receive your words. I receive your love.

Confidence in Your love allows me to receive every good gift from You.

5 Years From Today

Five years from today I will be five years older (no, it is NOT my birthday).

Been thinking about what my life will be like then, and what I want it to be like then.

Wanting to take the steps today that will get me there then.

Wanting to make decisions today that I will be glad for then.

Today is the foundation of our future.

Look out kid, he's coming!

Yesterday I went to one of the neighborhood pools with my two youngest children. We had fun swimming and splashing, playing in the water. It was a nice summer day and the pool was pleasantly full but not crowded.

Another dad, younger than me, was in the water with his son who looked to be the same age as mine. This dad seemed to have been a competitive swimmer in the past and was teaching his son how to swim. I had also worked some with my two but mostly we just played.

After a couple of hours I took a time out to sit at our table while the kids kept swimming. My son Jack was on the ladder getting in when the other boy, also called Jack, was swimming with dad's coaching and a little assistance. The dad was focused on his son, as he should be. They were swimming towards the ladder when the dad noticed there was an obstacle in the path. "Look out kid, he's coming!" he shouted at Jack (my Jack, that is).

Now, if the boy on the ladder was someone else's son, I probably would never have noticed. There was no anger or menace in the other dad's tone, just an urgent command that must be obeyed.

I have written a lot on this blog about spiritual things, about love and forgiveness, etc. etc. etc. But I have a confession to make. I didn't like what this man said to my son, and I didn't like the way he said it. My first inclination was to march over there and explain some things to this guy: a) the boy on the ladder is NOT some kid, he is MY SON; (b) he can ask requests from my son but he has no authority to issue him commands, (c) he needs to start treating ALL people, including children, with the same respect he would like his own son to be treated, and (d) if he is unclear on any of the above I would be happy to explain it more clearly in the parking lot. He may be bigger than me, and he may end up on the top of the pile when it's all over, but he would know for sure he had messed with the wrong little boy.

Fortunately, I kept my mouth shut and the moment passed. I don't think Jack felt slighted or even thought a thing about it. But it has me thinking about how you treat other people's sons. You don't mess with them.

The Bible describes God the Creator of all as a Father. The Bible says that God has a Son. This Father loves His Son and is proud of Him, so much so that He has given all authority in heaven and on earth to His son. Pretty much it goes like this - if you are okay with the Son, the Father is good with you. But if you reject the son, you have put yourself on the wrong side of the Father. That's how I felt at the pool yesterday with my son. That is how God the Father feels about His son.

We better give the Son the love and respect He deserves. Look out kids, He is coming!