He asks us to love our enemies and pray for those who abuse us.

He asks us to place high value on people even though their actions and lives are anything but high and noble.

He asks us to have faith in the way life can be, not the way it is.

He asks us to go to Church for His sake- a lot.

He asks us to experience difficulty, pain, even sorrow and loss, and yet maintain a sense of love, joy, and peace in our hearts.

He asks us to be dedicated to spending personal time with Him every day, listening earnestly to His words, and sharing with Him the secrets of our soul.

He asks us to give our resources to Him- a lot. In fact, He asks us to give all we’ve got to Him.

He asks us to live for Him.

He asks us to die for Him.

He even demands that we give Him our love- all of it. He asks for our total commitment, affection, loyalty, service, for all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

That’s asking a lot of us.

But here’s the catch:

He never asks us to do something for Him that He has not already done for us.

He loved us when we were enemies by choice, and He prayed for our conversion.

He placed infinite value on us even though our actions and lives were anything but high and noble.

He had faith in what our lives could be, not the way it was.

He spent worship time with the Father- a lot, and is our great High Priest.

He experienced difficulty, pain, sorrow and loss, and yet maintained a sense of love, joy, and peace in our hearts.

He is dedicated to spending personal time with us every day, listening earnestly to our words, and sharing with us the secrets of His soul.

He has given His resources to us- a lot. In fact, He has given all He has to us.

He has lived for us.

He has died for us.

He has given us His love- all of it. He has given us His total commitment, affection, loyalty, service, all His heart, all His soul, all His mind, and all His strength.

And that’s giving a lot.

“We love Him because He first loved us.” I John 4:19

They told me what God said that I should not do.

They told me of a thousand commandments.

They told me of order, love, discipline, faith, Heaven and hell.

I learned obedience and servanthood, sacrifice and spiritual warfare, of Church, hymns, Lordship, and devotion.

But no one told me of this wild, intoxicating friendship with this dangerous Person.

No one told me that He is the great Adventure.

No one told me He would be a bad influence on me.

He dares me to do the illogical and the irresponsible.

He challenges me to the high trapeze with Him, no net.

He urges me to ignore danger, laugh in the face of death, discard security, live for the moment, and be a thrill seeker.

These bruises and scars are from our escapades together.

I’m in trouble right now because He talked me into another one of His off-the-wall ideas.

Sometimes my God is hard to figure. I never know what He’ll come up with next.

But oh, how He fires my heart!

How He challenges my thinking, stretches my soul, and speaks to me of impossible imaginings.

He is definitely addictive and life without Him would quickly lead to death by boredom.

What’s next for us? I have no idea. I only know He is on the move again. I hope my heart can take it, I hope I can keep up.

And I hope my Friend always includes me.

“What? God, You want to what?

“Count me in.”

I worship the God of the grizzly.

He invented volcanoes, black holes, and whale song.

For Him the twisters dance, the bucks rut, and Saturn’s rings glisten. He crashes the waves against the rocks. He covers the poles with eternal ice, and hurls comets and meteors through endless space.

He walks barefoot on the surface of the sun, rides the storm clouds as a chariot, causes the earth to quatke with a stomp of His feet.

He gives wings to eagles, fangs to wolves, attitude to alligators, and life to me.

He’s the Wild One.

The gales of hurricane are no match for the blast of His nostrils.

The nuclear holocaust of a star’s heart is but a glimmer compared to the white heat of fire in the heart of my God.

He won’t be tamed, boxed, commercialized, explained, or predicted.

T Rex was His toy, the river otter is His clown, aurora borealis His night light, great barrier reef His wading pool.

He screams with the hawk, growls with the thunder, and dances with the dolphins.

He is the Wild One, and I am His son.

When I was a lad I was taught by my Dad the necessities of life among men,

How to get fish to bite, haul ‘em in day and night, and how to make the truth more interestin’.

I’d heard all his yarns about fish big as barns and the big one that still got away,

So I told him my story of fisherman’s glory to leave him with nothing to say.

“Should’a been there yesterday, Daddy”, I said, “I did pretty good from the shore.

With my favorite pole, I had set as a goal to land a hundred pounder or more.

A winch was my reel filled with cable of steel and the hook I had made from an anchor,

My rod was a crane that could lift a freight train, I got it from off an old tanker.

I was wearing my wife’s stiletto high heels, the ones with the ruby red tips,

So down on the bank to the hilt they did sank so my feet had immoveable grips.

I used a dumptruck for a sinker, a houseboat for a bobber, and a whole Holstein for bait,

Then made a mighty cast, and held on fast, and settled in for the wait.

‘Twas not long coming for my reel started humming, and a Big Fish my bait it took,

I leaned back on my feet, my high heels dug in deep, and I reared back and set the hook.

Then on was the fight, forty days and forty nights the fish and I waged our watery war,

Up the coast and down, the monster dragged me round and round,

My high heels plowing up the shore

‘Til finally it went that its great strength was spent and I pulled him up close to the land,

But the fish was so large, twice the size of a barge, I couldn’t get him up onto the sand.

Well I pulled out my knife, but thought to spare the life of my adversary of so many rounds,

So I cut from its side six feet long, three feet wide, a nice filet of about a hundred pounds.

The fish was sad to be beaten but glad not to be eaten, my noble giant of the sea,

I said “Thanks for the fight and for dinner tonight”, then I cut the line and set him free.

“So Daddy”, I said, “whatcha think about that, now that my fish tale is done?

Some may think I’m lyin’, and there’s no denying that I am my father’s own son.

My Daddy said, “Son, that’s a mighty fine tale, one of the best that I’ve ever heard,

And I’m telling you now and right to your face that I believe every word!

For just last night I also went down to the shore for to do me some fishin’,

And I caught me some fine ones, among which I spied one that had about a hundred pounds missin’.

I hung my head and walked away with nary a backward glance,

For it’s still as it’s been in my clan among the men,

The first liar doesn’t stand a chance.

For my Daddy,

From John

February, 2010

Long term guilt is like a having a bone that was broken, and didn‘t heal properly; you can go on, you can get by, you can hobble and limp, but you can‘t run, and you certainly can‘t fly.

What is it just now that comes to your mind? What is that familiar old guilt that rears its ugly head and puts a lump in your heart even after all this time?

Did you know that your God never intended for you to live under such a burden? Did you know that He would have you free from it? Did you know that He created you not to hobble, but to run and to soar?

Here are three powerful steps to get you loosed from your burden:

STEP ONE: Realize that there is a difference between GUILT, and SHAME.

Guilt is the knowledge and emotion that comes from committing sin against God. The conviction of sin and the resulting feelings of guilt are the job and business of God the Holy Spirit.

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; John 16:8 NASB

And He is very good at it.

As a Believer in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, you know firsthand how plainly and blatantly the Holy Spirit causes you to know perfectly well whenever you do, say, or think something that is against the will of God.

And like any good parent, our Heavenly Father makes certain that His children understand exactly what we did wrong when He chastises us.

Put more bluntly, God never punishes us without telling us why.

This then, is the nature and purpose of Guilt in simple terms: we do wrong, God points it out to us, and we feel bad about it.

SHAME, on the other hand, is not limited to only those bad things which we ourselves do that are against the will of God.

Shame also includes those bad things that happen to us that are NOT OUR FAULT. This is important. Not every bad thing in your life is your own fault. There is such a thing as being victimized. There are injustices in the world. The innocent do suffer. And it happens to people just like you and me.

The problem is that Shame feels a lot like Guilt.

A person who has suffered abuse at the hands of another can categorize their feelings of shame over what happened as Guilt. They assume that since they feel badly about what happened, it must be their fault, they must be guilty, and they must deserve punishment is some form or another.

Dear friend, search out those feelings that you struggle with. Are they feelings of Guilt? If so, God will let you know exactly what you did wrong.

But do yourself a huge favor; let God be God.

It is God‘s job, and His alone to convict of sin. There are many “Holy Spirit, Jr.‘s” in this world that would stack guilt upon us. Oftentimes, we are our own worst critic. But if Holy God doesn‘t tell us that we have sinned against Him, then why should we listen to any other Voice (including our own) that tells us we are guilty?

It is perfectly normal to feel shame over bad events in your life that happened through no fault of your own. The event was bad, and that is a fact. But you must separate between a bad event, and your own bad actions. You must separate in your mind and heart between your Guilt and your Shame.

Once you do that, you and God can deal with each one separately, and He can set you free from both.

STEP TWO: Deal with the Guilt. If God convicts you of something you have done, said, or thought that is against His will, then confess it as sin, ask His forgiveness, and let Him cleanse you of your sin and guilt.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

You know that Jesus Christ died on the Cross and paid the penalty for those very sins you feel guilty over. His Blood can overpower any sin, and you will be forgiven, restored to fellowship with your God, and your guiltiness before God is removed as though you had never done anything wrong.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

STEP THREE: Deal with the Shame. Once you are forgiven, called “not guilty” by Holy God, then what you have left is Shame, feelings of regret, humiliation, and embarrassment.

For these you cannot find forgiveness, because they are not your fault, your feelings of guilt are without grounds. There is nothing to forgive.

Did you know that Jesus Christ died not only for your sins and guilt, but also for your shame? Listen to the heart of Christ, prophesied in the book of Psalms:

Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. Psalm 69:19-20

Did Jesus take your sins and guilt as His own on the cross? Yes.

Did bad things also happen to Him there that were not His fault? Yes.

Can you ask Him to take away your shame as He takes away your guilt? Yes.

Do with your shame as you do with your guilt; give it all to Jesus, asking for His grace and mercy.

That‘s what the cross is for.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5

JT

Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be

Whatever you need you can have for free

I’ll give it all to see you smile at me

‘Cause all I am is yours.

So ask me for all of your heart’s desire

Ask me to pay the price your joy requires

I gave my love and there is no cost higher

So all I am is yours.

If you would be my Lady I’ll be your Knight

‘Though my armor’s rusty and I’m more black and blue than white

I’ll be your champion, fight with all my might

‘Cause all I am is yours.

My faith in you will evermore endure

My hands are rugged but my hold is sure

I ain’t pretty but my heart is pure

And all I am is yours.

And when it’s time to face the setting sun

And we look back on all we’ve been and done

We’ll understand just how the two become one

‘Cause all I am is yours.

If there’s a love that conquers life and time

That can’t be broken, faded, or left behind

I swear to you it will be yours and mine

‘Cause all I am is yours.      

My Strength, my Breath, my Life,

My Heart, my Love for you my Wife

All I am is yours.

But what if God on Judgment Day, asks you why you didn‘t follow your God-given dreams?

“For it is God which works in you both to desire and to do His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13

What if He asks why you neglected your greatest gifts, settled for mediocrity, and didn‘t help a languishing world that needed you?

What if He wants you to explain why you listened to the voices of discouragement when you could have followed the Voice of the Great Shepherd?

“Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

Believe me, I understand.

The moment you think about taking a step to “be somebody”, it‘s as if the whole world rises up to put you back in your place of obscurity, mediocrity, and meaninglessness.

And the loudest voice of all is the one inside your own head.

“What will people think? What will they say?”

But let’s put it in perspective.

There are 6 billion people on the planet, and you only know about 1000 of them.

What if you set aside that 1000 and their “opinion”, and be a blessing to the rest?

You probably won’t ever know what most people think and say about you anyway.

But one thing is certain; you will know what your King thinks and says about you, for you will appear before Him one day.

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world”

Get busy.

Father’s Day

As we celebrate Father’s Day in June, let us remember that the best way to change our world is to fill it with Godly Christian men. Everyone in the Kingdom of God has vital work to do, but upon the men of God has been laid the responsibility of leadership.

Maybe we can learn from the mistakes of the first father, Adam, and be more like the greatest Father of all, our Heavenly Father.

Now the serpent was more subtil than  any beast of the field which the Lord God had make. And he said unto the woman, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1

Adam strolled with Eve through the Garden of Eden. She amazed him with her winsome ways and intriguing perspective. He could listen to the sound of her voice for hours, whether she was speaking with him or with one of the fabulous creatures of the Garden, such as that beautiful serpent. But as wise and witty as it was, Adam knew it would never match Eve for sheer glory, insight, and persuasion of speech. He listened in amusement as the two of them bantered and sparred with words.

The serpent was speaking.

“By the way, has God said…”

Satan carefully spoke his first recorded words in this world, through the forked tongue of the serpent, and planted the seed of his original thought in the fertile mind of Eve. Subtle but solid, there is was: “question the Word of God.”

Adam listened to her reply.

“We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die’.” Genesis 3:2-3

    That wasn’t quite right, Adam thought, what was she up to?

    Satan saw his opening and took it, pressing the point of his lie home.

“Ye shall not surely die…”

And when the woman saw that the tree was good…she took of the fruit thereof…

    When Eve touched the fruit, two things did NOT happen:

    First, she did not die. Maybe the serpent was right, and God had lied to them.

    Second, her husband did not intervene. Adam stood silent and passive.

Unengaged, uninvolved, and uncommitted, the first man became a bystander, and willingly watched as literally the whole world fell apart.

Why didn’t he knock the fruit from her hand?

Why didn’t he pull her to safety and get between her and the serpent?

Why didn’t he chop that snake into wiener-sized pieces?

Adam, when faced with responsibility, chose inaction, and lost.

Today, we Christian men, still sons of Adam, are also sons of God. But the game is still on, and the stakes are still high.

As we watch the world around us fall apart, when sin and hopelessness ravage everything and everyone we claim to love, can we do better than Adam?

By the grace of God, yes!

We can intervene, speak up, and be assertive. We can become engaged, involved, and committed. We can reject sin, protect our loved ones, and fight against the Adversary wherever we find him.

Or we can, like Adam, step passively aside, with our hands in our invisible pockets, and let darkness reign.

What will YOU do?

I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:14-15

When he is strong enough, and used to following orders, he is called upon to become a Page, the assistant of a knight. He cares for the equipment, horse, and obeys whatever commands his master gives him. He becomes familiar with the trappings of manhood.

When he is ready, and has been himself trained to a point of minimal competency, he is put to the test. If he passes the rudiments of manhood, he is dubbed a knight. Green is his color, because as a new knight, his greatest task is to learn what it means to be a knight.

He grows in strength, prowess, and experience, and finds that he is strong. He can have his way, by his might. He becomes the Red Knight.

But getting his way through brute force leaves him dissatisfied. The voice in his heart convinces him that there is more to his life than living for himself. He wrestles with higher thoughts, discovers the beauty and importance of Truth. Now his life and service has found new meaning, and in his search for significance, he knows that he must live and fight for what is right, for the Truth, and for the oppressed. He becomes the White Knight, the one in shining armor.

But the trouble with the White Knight is that he is self-contained. He is always right, and he doesn’t need anyone. He is constantly fighting the good fight, rescuing the damsels, righting wrongs, serving and protecting. But he is unapproachable, unreachable, and above the common man. He lives alone in the high and lofty realm of Ideals, and all his strength is sealed up and protected inside him.

Until he is wounded. When his shining armor is pierced, and stained with his own blood, he falls crashing to the ground. Through pain, injury, and loss he discovers that being the Champion of Truth isn’t enough, and even more devastating is the realization that Right doesn’t always win. Goodness doesn’t always prevail. And for the first time in his adult life, he needs. He cannot heal himself, save himself, win the battle, protect himself, or even keep himself alive. He finds that he is after all, completely dependent on others. Faced with his own mortality, he has no choice but to cast aside his shining, broken armor, and put himself in the care and under the control of others.

As he heals, he finds common ground with common folk. He remembers the simple joys of a simple life, the satisfaction of a day’s labor, the contentment of time spent with friends. He reconnects with people, and relearns all the lessons from his previous stages. He will work hard, do as he is told, use his strength for those he cares for, learn humility, lead with grace, and become approachable. He becomes the Black Knight.

The Black Knight is not the symbol for evil, but for death. His mortality has made him truly alive. His wound has allowed his pent up strength to flow out to those around him who need it. Knowing by experience that life is precious and fleeting, and that people are of great intrinsic value, he has matured, ripened, looked into the jaws of death, and learned that each day, and each of his people, are gifts from God above.

It is the Black Knight who creates beauty, whether in poetry, painting, gardening, or calligraphy. He is in touch with his feelings, for though his wound is closed, it will never fully heal. He has made peace with himself, and allows himself and others to be less than perfect. He doesn’t always do the right thing, for he doesn’t always know what is right. He just does the best that he can for the people he cares about. He knows how to kill, and he knows how to heal. He can fight, and he can love.

Now he is fit to be King.

Wise, compassionate, fierce, just, approachable and forgiving, he is the Beloved Monarch for whom the people have been waiting.

Long live the King.

One of the interesting things about the human appearance is that a person’s ears and nose continue to grow throughout their entire lifetime.

That means in another decade or so, my actual photograph will be identical to my current caricature.

Science becomes art.

Thanks, God, I appreciate Your sense of humor. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”

I have a Walmart bag stuffed full of Walmart bags.

Cannibalism? You decide.

Fog in the treetops

Leaflets amid the green twigs

Spring slowly rises

    ~haiku