Radically loving Christ=Thanksgiving!

As a servant journeys through this life heaven-bound, listening for the voice of the Father is all important. Many wonder how to hear it, or why they do not hear it. Many times we do not because we are not truly listening. Our mind is too full of what we want or need or expect, rather than being openly submissive to Christ the King. We forget basic principles of being the child of an extravagant God whose love is ever-present & never dependent upon our behavior...however...our behavior very well may, and most likely does, determine our answer to prayer. Our devoted creator knows what is best for us, and his answers are not always yes. A no, a maybe, a wait a bit answer IS nevertheless an answer. What about all those "bad" things that happen? Why does he allow it? We live in a fallen world, where sin begets sin, BUT the Lord will use everything for good that we will turn over to him. This may be particularly hard in some instances, but once we learn that character is built in such times we can take those times and turn them into ministry to others in pain.

Many books are written, many songs are penned, and many poems are put to paper because of the Savior bringing someone through a tough circumstance. Likewise, much is said of many due to the revelation of the extravagant love of Christ. Being quiet before the Lord, pouring out our deepest thoughts, desires, dreams, and fears we find a God who cradles us in his bountiful love and speaks gentle words of favor to our waiting hearts. We can live without fear or guilt in this life, and seek eternity with great joy and expectation. All that is required of us is to return his extravagant love.

What does extravagant love mean really? It is love abandoning all else, it is love that moves you to desire only goodness in your behavior, abiding worship of the Lord of all, and loving those in this world with Christlike genuineness. True "religion" is caring for others as Christ cares for us, usually in many practical ways-feeding the hungry, helping the poor, and serving the orphans & widows in this world. "Church" is where we hear the word, worship the Lord God of hosts, and connect with other believers. The world outside the church doors is where we practice our "religion". We have come to think dutiful good works, the observance of man-made rituals and the legalistic following of God's commands is religion. It is not. TRUE "religion" is the boundless desire to do good, the radical love of a matchless God, and the freedom to follow God's commands out of deep desire to please him. The Bible says where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. It is a "get to" mentality, not a "have to" one.

Our salvation is an option...we can choose eternity in hell (the total absence of a loving Dad forever), we can choose to give back to God in whatever % we want of what he has given to us (tithing once was a legalistic command, but has become a love-filled option in the presence of a saving Christ, wherein we sow seeds that are reaped accordingly),we can choose to worship as we wish, pray as we will, enter the waters of baptism as an act of obedience or not, and the list goes on. Radically loving Christ is an option-a wonderful, glorious, mind-blowing option in life that is surpassed by nothing else in this world. God is a God of grace, mercy, and everlasting patience with creation. He is an all-loving God, a just God, and a God of graciousness. The Holy Spirit never forces us to do a thing, but will overwhelm us with radical, extravagant love when we simply acknowledge our total lack of real control in life without the help of God almighty. Nothing in this life is worth anything without the love of the creator guiding us through it.

There is a place for the deep reverence of God and a place for the unbound excitement in loving God. Thus we have the extremes of denominational boundaries and non-denominational freedoms. I have seen in recent days that these extremes are learning to not just be tolerant of one another, but to be involved with one another, and to learn and adopt from one another. We are learning that reading the scriptures and tracing the meaning of the words written there brings us to a place of understanding and radically loving a God we never fully knew. Above all, seek not the gifts of God, but God himself. Never seek to please man before God. As we immerse ourselves in the Word he reveals himself to us and we find that place of radically loving an extravagant God. As he says "shhhh...be still and know that I am God" and we abide in his presence we come out the other end ready to shout to the world that we serve an all powerful God that we love so radically that nothing can hold us back from serving him and worshipping him with all that is in us.

It is nearly Thanksgiving time in America, where we give thanks for a God of great blessing. My Thanksgiving prayer is that all would come to know the heart of God, the overwhelming joy and peace in radically loving him, and would celebrate this love of God by being a willing servant in a fallen world. Thank you Jesus, for loving us so much you allowed yourself to be broken and spilled out in radical, extravagant love for us!

A rending...

Has there been spiritual conflict in your heart? Does it seem that you are torn between this and that service, or here and there to serve? Are you conflicted about this interpretation or that opinion? Have the circumstances of your life tested your very sanity? The curtain in the temple was rent when the greatest lasting change took place on the earth. Luke 23:45. This removed the barrier to the Holy of Holies so man could enter in without the High Priest. Perhaps the rending of your heart is to remove a barrier between you and God? We tend to push ourselves in various directions, and we tend to push each other down many paths, but Jesus wishes to lead us down his path for us. If there is conflict in your spirit it may be there for a reason. Be still, and listen for his voice. Ask for discernment and peace. God allows things for a reason, and if there is a rending in your spirit God may be bringing about change, and you will then know (even if you do not see it) the path to follow. Look at Jesus' parable in Lk.5:36 Sometimes the rending in our spirit is because the old and the new in our life are not matching up...that is when change comes about. God may want to take us to a higher level, to a deeper conviction, or perhaps to a whole new place in our love relationship with him. It is times like this often when a scripture we never saw clearly or understood before becomes so apparent, so look up the topic of your conflict in his word. He may show you a new thing that will bless you immensely. Never miss an opportunity to grow in God. Never resist the work of his spirit in you. Just embrace the work and growth and run with God, for he will never leave you or forsake you. You are his servant and he desires to bless your heart and out of that blessing he will in turn bless others through you. Don't try to make the things of God happen, but rather allow them to happen. Don't despise the conflict in your heart, but rather ask God to change you. This is the reality of sanctification. Therein lies the shaping of the servant's heart.

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Servant walked into the house of God, took a seat and waited. Soon someone said the Lord had been invited to come and all could seek him...face to face. Wow...Moses did that! Servant had been there many times before, and had been seeking another encounter. Somehow today seemed like the right day...and then, it started to rain...it rained buckets full, drenching the ground and forming huge puddles that more resembled small rivers. All the servants had gathered to see the Lord and were faced first with proceeding through the downpour from heaven to find him. That's OK. Many servants before had faced far greater perils. It wasn't the Red Sea, and it wasn't a flood. However, servant reflected how many often let the rain keep them from meeting with the Lord. Servant had even been tempted a time or too, truth be known, to just stay in and dry and never mind. The Lord would be there again...he always was. He even made house calls, but he was so much happier when servants sought him out, for it showed that they were willing servants not fearful slaves.

Soon there was music and the sound of many voices praising God. Although familiar, something was a little different. Then servant realized it was that awesome "presence" of the Lord's spirit...it was pouring out all over the servants, not unlike the drenching rain outside. Why, it was that Pentecost feeling that comes when the servants hearts have opened fully to the Lord. Nothing has ever matched that feeling or ever will, this side of heaven. This is when the Lord brings his gifts and hands them out...a vision here, and an answer there, some encouragement for the sick and sorrowful, and most exciting of all...joy & peace...unspeakable joy & peace! Servants were seen with huge tears of thankfulness running across their faces. For joy & peace were sometimes difficult to find on the journey they were on. It was only ultimately found there...with the Father.

Servant looked at an image in the front that was just blue color but the Lord gently seemed to form it into the picture of a baby growing in the mother's womb. "Wow", servant thought. "That's like all of us. We are all growing deeper in relationship with the Father, just as a baby grows closer to it's mother." It was then that servant glanced at the cross that stood before the group. It seemed to have fine diagonal lines running behind it. "That's odd" the servant pondered. "What does it mean I wonder? Does anyone else see it?" Swiftly the answer came...straight out of heaven it seemed. "Those are the paths of my children, criss-crossing all over the world. Some of them are a bit closer to me than others, some drift off, but they are all trying their best to do what I have asked of them."

"What do you want of me right now?" servant asked. When the answer came servant was surprised because it seemed too easy. It was simple..."rest, reflect, and rejoice." The Lord said that was sometimes as important as doing much. A lady named Martha had once learned that. While all this was going on many others were having some face to face encounters themselves. The songs had faded into quietness and were now resuming, first quietly and then so much more enthusiastically. As always, as people lifted their hands to God, clapped, and even began to dance like David and jump a bit like there was a King in the room (there was, and he was their Daddy)servant smiled and reflected..."this is what heaven will be like...we will skip along the golden road to meet our Lord, every day, all day. Those sports enthusiasts here on earth are getting all warmed up for the end of the journey. I hope they all meet Father before it is too late."

As servant went out of the house of the Lord there was a freshness in the air, like often there is after a soaking rain. There was also a freshness in servant's spirit from the soaking rain inside...the rain of the spirit. As the spirit of the Lord lingered, servant wished it to never leave or be far away. We were in a sun-parched land and he brought us living water. Servant went home with a song in the heart and that feeling that only comes when you have been face to face with a King.