Be

[After watching people for 50 years I think it's fair to say that no one is perfect. Translated, that means that everyone is broken in different areas...to varying degrees.   

In a doctor's waiting room might be three patients...one with the measles, another with a toothache and a third with a broken arm. It's safe to assume the doctor will take different actions and prescribe different remedies for each...even though the goal...health...is the same for all of them. 

I write this because it occurred to me that not everyone is broken in the way that I am, and the home-made remedies I'm prescribing for myself might not work for anyone else. (Heck, they might not even work for me...) I put these out on the web in the hope that if someone is broken in the way I'm broken, this might be of some help or comfort to them. That's all.]

 

A pastor challenged our congregation to come up with a word that's the opposite of "life." Of course, no one answered since that's a no-win situation. If you answer the obvious question with the obvious answer, you're viewed as a suck-up. And then there's always the chance it's a trick question and you'll answer incorrectly. Then you're viewed as a suck-up...who's stupid, too. Best to be cool and let someone else take the fall.
 

Well, in this case, it was a trick question...and the correct answer was "separation." Life, the pastor explained, was the joining of the body and soul. Death was the separation of them.
 

This sort of concept is embraced in the Bible. Jesus said that He was the vine and we are the branches. If we are joined to Him we will live the spiritual life. If we are separate from Him, our spiritual life will wither and die. So the opposite of "life" is "separation."
 

I feel so strongly that this alone is the essence of life...that our trust and faith in Jesus as our savior is ALL that's required for salvation and spiritual growth. We don't need to DO anything else.
 

"But," you say, "Doesn't the book of James tell us that faith without works is dead?" Sure does. But the faith comes first. The relationship with God comes first. The actions follow...they flow out as a RESULT of that relationship. Like the fruit which can't help but grow in the right conditions, people who are in a close relationship with God can't help but follow His lead and the result will be good spiritual works.
 

God is so powerful, so awesome, so overwhelming, so compelling, so irresistable...that if you're in a relationship with Him, you Cannot Help But Be Transformed by Him. If you're not transformed by Him, it's safe to say that you're not in a close relationship with him. So faith in God that does not result in eventual works...is a dead faith.
 

How do you get closer, living faith?  I'm trying the Spiritual Loser's Operational Plan (SLOP). Spending time in getting to know how big and powerful and unsearchable and fascinating He is. Learning how much he loves us...love that is so large and unfathomable that it's just impossible to conceive. He's given us his son...the most humungous, loving, permanent commitment ever made in any history, and has lovingly proclaimed to all Creation that He is glad to be forever know to all as a family member with sinners like us.  We will never, ever, ever find a better deal than this.
 

This is not "religion." I hate "religion." "Religion" is doing acts on your own behalf to attempt to please or placate your god. Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship. You don't need to attempt to please God because Jesus has taken away your past, present and future sins and God finds nothing...absolutely nothing...displeasing about those who have trusted His son with their lives and souls. No need to placate Him. He's already perfectly pleased and delighted in you.
 

You don't have to "do" anything. All you have to do is relate to him. Talk with Him. Be with Him. Don't "do." Just "be." That's all. And from that relationship, the "do's" will eventually flow as a result of his love for you.
 

Some fruit trees take years before they begin producing fruit. So it might take a while. Never fear. God knows this too.
 

But please, please, please STOP trying to earn what He's ALREADY given you. If you do an action to try to make God love you more, or less angry with you, it's sin and it's wrong and you need to stop it and repent. If, though, you do THE EXACT SAME ACTION as a result of your thankfulness for God's gift of Jesus to you, then it's good, holy, and pleasing to God.
 

Get out of religion and into a relationship. Don't "do." Instead,"be." Just "be with Him." In the book of John, they asked Jesus, "What must we do, to do the works of God?" And Jesus said "Believe on the one whom he has sent." That's it. No "do." Believe. Embrace Jesus. Be. Relax and just "be."

Here's a mental picture I have...and I'm thinking this is right...it's my best guess anyway.  Imagine you own a big 4-masted ship.  Each mast has a name...the first one is "heart," the second is "mind," the third one is "soul" and the fourth on is "strength."  You're the boss.

Let's say you've decided to follow Jesus, so you invite him to command and own the vessel.  Now since there's two of you, you'll need to divide the workload.

Here's your work.  You raise the sails on all four masts.  You trust him with your heart, mind, soul and strength.  Unfurl the sails as completely as you can, and keep them unfurled as best as you can.  That's your role.  If you want extra credit, head on down to the pilot house and hang out with Jesus as he steers the ship.

Here's the rest of your job:  1. Don't worry.  2. Don't steer.

Jesus owns the ship.  As hard as it is not to worry, I (try to)rest assured that he commands not only the ship, but the universe as well.  He cares about me more than I ever could, and he has the resources to do anything and everything.  What benefit do I find in worrying?

Yet, if I decide things are too scary, I snatch back the captain's hat, lower down the sails and jump back in to steer...and he lets me.  And I park it right on a set of boulders.

And patiently he waits for me to admit my foolishness, and re-raise the sails while he miraculously lifts the boat off the rocks and we set off again.

 

Gooeyducks. Ya dig?

Here on the Pacific Coast we have these 10 pound clam-things living in the sand by the shore. Their name is spelled "geoduck" but it's pronounced "gooey-duck." People love to dig them up. Why? I have no earthly idea.

When I was in gradeschool, my teacher said you can't dig up a geoduck by digging straight down after it. She said it can dig faster than you can. You'd never catch it.

She said you needed to dig a hole adjacent to it, and once you're deeper than the geoduck, you dig under it. At that point it senses danger and begins to dig down...right onto your shovel.

A google search of geoduck hunting methods seems to indicate my teacher was clueless about geoducks, but to her credit, she introduced a concept that was completely counter-intuitive to a chubby-cheeked 4th grader: You can't always obtain things you want by going straight after them.

What about apple farming? (I don't know anything about that either, but why let that stop me?) Seems to me apple farmers want their trees to grow lots of big fruit. Rather than focusing on the little apple buds, I would suppose they spend most of their time NOT worrying about them...but, instead concentrating on things like soil acidity, fertilizer, sunlight, pesticide, water, temperature and humidity.

They know how their trees are wired. If all the requirements for fruit exist...trees being wired the way they are...the fruit will grow. In fact you can argue that if you place an apple tree in the right situation with all the requirements for growth...the tree CAN'T HELP but produce fruit. It's what apple trees do.

Do you suppose that's what Paul the Bible-man was talking about when he listed off the fruits of the spirit? I can't remember them all right now, but some were "joy, peace, goodness, gentleness and self-control."

Take one..."Joy" for instance. Is that one you can chase after and catch? Or, do you think that...like the geoduck...you won‘t chase it down. Do you think that Joy is like an apple that grows if you focus on it alone? Or maybe it appears when that person is in the proper environment with the requirements for joy...whether they focus on it…or not.

My thought is that the Spiritual Losers' Operational Plan (SLOP) is exactly the right manure (so to speak) that's needed for the spiritual fruit to form and grow. It puts us in the right environment so that we are depending on, trusting in, hoping in, and relating to...God.

Take two healthy apple trees and put one in Antarctica and place the other in a healthy Eastern Washington orchard tended by an expert apple farmer.  The first tree can't possibly produce any fruit.  The second...if tended properly...can't help BUT product lots of fruit.

Take two healthy people and place one apart from God and the other in a healthy, close relationship with God.  The first person can't produce any true spiritual fruit, and the second...tended to by God...can't help BUT produce lots of spiritual fruit.

One thing I know that I lack in several areas of my life is confidence. Not having confidence is hurting me. But here’s what I’m NOT going to do about it. I’m not going to worry about it. I’m not going to focus on it. I’m not going to chase after it. I’m not going to "act confident." I’m not going to read positive self-affirmations. And I definitely NOT going to “believe in myself.”

Instead, I’m going to set myself firmly in the SLOP. I’m going to relate to God as much as I can and as best as I can. And I’m going to let God supply me with all my needs.

I also know from a previous post that I want to be a River (giver) and not a Laker (faker). I know how selfish I am and I don’t like it. But I’m not going to visualize me being selfless. I’m not going to put slogans on my bathroom mirror and I’m not going to sing strains of Old Man River. I’m just going to do the SLOP and let God do what God wants.

I believe God knows how I'm wired.  I believe that relating with Him as much as possible will be the right environment for me.  And like those apples, I believe that I CAN'T HELP but grow into what He wants me to be.

I'll keep you posted.

Beating the McFly Syndrome

In one of the old fables, a father and son were walking their donkey to market. A passing citizen remarked how foolish they were to not use the donkey to ride on. So, they both climbed on the donkey and continued on.

A few minutes later another passer-by commented on how cruel it was for them both to ride the poor animal. So, the father hopped off, and they continued.

In the next moment, another traveler allowed how little respect the son was showing to his father…riding the donkey while the old man had to walk. So the father and son traded positions.

That worked fine until then next passer-by indignantly noted how evil the father was, riding like a king while he made his poor boy walk like a little slave.  So, they switched places again.  The story continued on like this until the two arrived at the market…carrying the donkey.

The moral of the story is, of course, that if you try to please everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one.

Well wasn’t that the life story of George McFly in Back to the Future? He was “not very good at confrontations.” So, in effect, he spent every moment trying to appease everyone…fellow students, school administrators, parents...and Biff.  McFly spent his life not being who he really was and trying not to offend anyone. And as a result, he moved himself into a place where he was alone and relevant to no one.

Finally George realized that there was something worth fighting for…and dropped Biff like a sack of potatoes with the right cross that launched Back to the Future II and III.

I’ve lived like a McFly for years. There are many of us people pleasers who “don’t do well at confrontations.” I avoid them like the plague. 

I tried to please the world, my flesh, my family, relatives, colleagues at work, God, churchpeople.  I was engaged in a hire-wire balancing act, trying to keep everyone appeased.  And, I ended up carrying the donkey.   I stood for nothing and guided myself into loneliness and irrelevancy. Hello! McFly? Is anybody home? Can’t you see what you’re doing to yourself?

But as I work the Spiritual Loser's Operational Plan (SLOP), I’m starting to see how I’ve been trying to appease everyone in my life…and…that I don’t have to.

While I need not be as dramatic as George McFly in turning things around (I don’t intend to slug anyone) I’m seeing now only One that I really want to please.

As I continually look into God’s face and see his love, compassion, excitement, encouragement, forgiveness, acceptance, affirmation, peace, protection, etc., I can let go of my appeasing attitude and seek to please just Him. He’s easy to please. Trying to please everyone else is…well, it’s frustrating and impossible.

I suppose I will begin to step on a few toes who will begin to wonder why I don’t fold like a deck of cards like I used to. And my goal there will be to continue to look on God’s face, relate to Him with faith through the Holy Spirit, and let God’s love overflow from me like a river, and let that deal with the situation. I see no issues with that.

I feel like I’m growing, and I feel like I’m growing in the right direction. It feels good.

　
　
　

Rivers, Fakers, and Lakers

It’s certainly not an original thought, but one that’s been on my mind a bit recently. If we are relating to God, seeking His face and letting him meet all of our emotional needs, then we’re full of all we need, And since our needs are abundantly met, we can begin to overflow like rivers overflowing their banks onto parched, dusty dry land.  Man, there is a lot of parched land out there.

If we’re not being filled, we’re empty and become like lakes, hoping and needing to be filled by others and other things. I’ve spent many years doing this, trying to latch onto people and things, to have them meet my needs. Maybe I pretended to be a river, but in reality I expected them to reciprocate, to help fill my emptiness. In so doing, I revealed that I was not a river. I was really a fake river.  I was a laker.

I hope my acting days are over. I know I don’t have what it takes to generate what it takes to meet my emotional, physical, and spiritual needs, and I don’t want to burden others to meet my needs. And I don’t want to be a fake river, pretending to give only to expect to receive.

So if I’m dry, I pray that I won't strive.  I’ll try to be satisfied just being dry and will look to the One who provides the water I so desperately need. Instead of playing mind games to get you to give me some kind of substitute that won’t really satisfy me anyway. And I think I know enough not to try to meet my own needs. (No, I do not “believe in myself.”) I’ll wait for His river to fill me. That’ll take faith…the first SLOPpy step of the Spiritual Loser's Operations Plan.

The good news is, of course, that once lakers get filled, they begin to spill over and become the source...of rivers.

“So Champ,” you say, “You’ve been blabbin’ and bloggin’ for a couple of months. You promised to report whether this is real or hot air. Which is it?”

I don’t know. As I’ve said before I’m not a professional. I’m a loser looking to follow God and wondering if I‘m on to something here. I certainly don’t want to lead anyone down a foolish path. But I can say this: I’m beginning to see victories…some big victories…and failures, in areas where before I only saw failures. Enough victories where I feel I’ve got enough validation that maybe I‘m heading in the right direction. I’ll keep you posted.

Be-ings and Do-ings

Several years ago I heard a preacher talk about what God meant when God named Himself “I AM.”

This particular preacher said…and I agree with him…that God left the last part of His name blank, like “I AM ______.” Whatever we need, we can fill in the blank.

If I am afraid, than God says, “I AM your protector.” If I’m frustrated, then He says, “I AM your peace.” If I’m confused, then he says, “I AM your understanding.”

In addition to all the amazing things God does for us, He IS…whatever we need. And as I seek to look into His face for all He is, I sense this and I feel I’m becoming much more consistent in my emotions during my day.

This takes faith. Honestly, I don’t feel this way a lot. But we can’t go on by feelings any more than a pilot flying through clouds can go by his feelings of how the plane is flying. He or she needs to check and believe the instruments. I used to pilot 2-seater Cessnas, and was drilled by my instructors to not trust my feelings, but to go with the instruments. Trusting in our feelings will kill us.

I’m glad this is part of the Spiritual Loser's Operations Plan (SLOP). The first SLOPpy step is to pray for faith. In Hebrews 11:6 God says without faith we can’t please Him. A God this good…I want to please Him.

Another thought is that what’s most paramount is our relationship to God, not the things we do. The whole premise of this blog…and I hope it’s right…is that entering into a right, true and meaningful relationship with God will allow Him to heal us, give us joy and peace, and then will empower us to do the things He has for us to do. He provides the initiative, He provides the direction and He provides the power. At the end of the day, He gets all the credit and all the glory since the work is His.

I’ve heard pastors say this, but then sort of downplay it later by implying that we also have to do this and that. I guess I’m going rogue here and will believe that I don’t have to do anything, but just follow the SLOP and make my only goal a better relationship with God. I’ll be my own guinea pig and I’ll let you know if I crash in flames, and we’ll both learn something.

But I believe the Meaning Of Life has Nothing to do with Doing Things For God. But it has Everything to do with Being With God. We are Human Be-ings, Not Human Do-ings. By being with God...talking, listening, relating to Him... we will be spiritually, emotionally, and maybe even physically prepared to do the tasks He has for us. This should be our direction, and our goal, and then we can watch and be amazed as God takes us, changes us, prepares us and sends us to do His will.

My best guess. Pray over it and see what God tells you.

God's Expressions

Children are needy. Let me rephrase that. Children are desperately needy. Every committed parent knows this. A child won’t survive without an adult watching over them, protecting them, helping them, guiding them, providing for them and doing the thousand things necessary for them as they grow.

The Bible says that to enter into God’s family, we must become like children. We are needy. Please, I’m not using this as an excuse, but I’m presenting it as a fact. We are desperately needy. We are faulty, jealous, self-absorbed, weak-minded, lazy, with little faith and with too much pride. But God is happy to have us call Him “daddy.”

What could possibly be a better deal than that? Seriously, I cannot think of a better deal.  Anywhere.

What I’m driving at here is that I want to daily recognize how needy I am for God. I feel like a minnow in a big ocean and there are a lot of big fish that can take me out…big fish over which I have no, zero, zilch control.

I am needy for the basics…air, water, food…and the billions and trillions of miracles that happen…uh…miraculously inside my body. A heart that beats, lungs that miraculously take in air and expel the exhaust, blood that flows, the electrical system that moves me. I mean, can’t we just flip through an anatomy book and count the hundreds and thousands and millions of minor miracles each moment that keep us alive.

And other needs. I get scared. I get angry. I get frustrated. I get tempted. I get tired. I am needy for God.

And as I’m trying to seek God’s face in my busy day, I’m beginning to find…and I’m pretty sure it’s not just my imagination…that for each of my weaknesses and needs, God’s face has an expression to help me overcome my weakness.

As I go through my day, I’m trying to remember to ask God for faith and the filling of His Holy Spirit and trying to have conversation…real conversation with him, and then trying to seek His face. Probably in 24 hours…maybe I’m up to 20 minutes a day.

And as I mentioned before, I am trying to imagine what his face could look like…a face with these expressions towards me…the image of the expressions of what every child wants…and desperately needs from their parent or parents: Love, mercy, kindness, acceptance, affirmation, affection, commitment, enthusiasm, nurturing, all knowledge, all wisdom, all power, compassion, encouragement, peace, serenity, etc.

And as I struggle through my workday, different issues come up. Minor annoyances that take away my joy. When I make mistakes, I get insecure and get fearful. Several items that come out of nowhere and need to be done “right now‘ that stress me out. You know, the things of life which so easily derail me.

And when I stop for a moment and seek to imagine the expressions on God’s face and “hear” Him say “come to me” and see his power and commitment to me, I’m not fearful anymore and can find joy in my day. 

When frustrations come up and I look at his wisdom and commitment to me, I’m better able to accept He’s got a plan for this, and relax and enjoy Him and let the frustrations go. 

When I screw up (and I screw up a lot), I look at his expression of love, and mercy, and acceptance of me and realize that I don’t have to be perfect, but I’m safe in His perfection, I’m able to return to a sense of peace much more quickly. 

When I react in anger and allow stress to overcome, I’m much more able to pull my eyes off the problem, look at His expression of love for me, see how huge He is and how small my problem is, and that everything is truly under control and I don’t need to be anxious about anything because He controls Everything. And I’m able to recover to a state of peace much more quickly.

I know others have much bigger battlefields with higher stakes, but this is my battlefield for now and I desire to continue on in looking for God’s expressions in as many circumstances as I can, and taking delight and comfort and aid, and every kind of help from Him for I am needy.  Desperately needy.

God's Face

I strongly desire to see God’s face more and more each day.  Right now…each day…I’m probably up to a few minutes…total…but we need to start somewhere.  Remember that Keith Green song?   “Lord, you’re beautiful, your face is all I see.”  It’s Keith Green, not scripture, but this is my desire.  I am finding myself desiring to see God’s face.    Because it’s way more than just beautiful.

My thought is that by seeking His face and seeing how good and wonderful He is, I will be drawn to him, and from that relationship  I will be filled with the things I need and those will cause me to become more and more like Him, and will overflow from me to those around me.  I am not a paid professional and I am trying this at home.  

Here is what I envision His face to look like, and this is what I’m seeking.  From reading the Bible and making my best guess, God’s face is:
 

Radiant.  Moses never saw God’s face…it would have killed Moses…but when God met with Moses, Moses’ face was radiant with the reflection of his meeting with God.

The A’s: 

Accepting, Affirming, Affectionate.  God has demonstrated throughout scripture His complete desire to relate to us, especially by giving Jesus to bridge the gap separating God from us.

The E’s:

Encouraging, Enthusiastic.  It’s clear to me that God is not relating to me because he’s obligated to…he’s relating because he wants to.  It’s what He loves to do. He likes hanging with me.  It’s His idea.  I don’t have to  remind Him…it’s completely the other way around.  He’s ready to go, 24/7.   Who doesn't want that?

The P’s:

Powerful, Protecting  God is all-powerful.  It’s the title you get when you create the universe.  And he’s my dad…he’s going to be there to protect me.  Sometimes I don’t feel safe, but how I feel isn’t always reality either.  In faith, I am completely secure.

Peaceful and Serene.  When you know what's going to happen and have the resources to handle it easily, there won't be much out there to get you riled up.

Nurturing:  Good relationships grow.  God wants our relationship to grow and he nurtures it.

Wise and Knowing.  God knows everything and has all wisdom to use that knowledge.  Nothing surprises Him.  Nothing confuses Him.

You know how commercials tell you you’re supposed to check with your doctor before starting any exercise or diet plan?  Well, I encourage you to pray about this SLOP.  I’ve come to this through a lot of thought and prayer and I think these are easily defended by scripture.  Yet, I’m not a professional and I don’t want to lead anyone astray.

As always, the proof is in the results and hopefully I’ll start seeing some…good or bad…that I can report.