Duty or Love

I have found that obedience to Him must come from a heart of love not a sense of duty if it is to bring me the rest necessary to continue to obey Him in all things. The obedience that comes from duty leaves me prone to search for other gods that I can love for the Christian walk is not an easy walk. And usually I don't have to look far. Just into the mirror in the morning. "Why not," duty asks, "do what's best for you not Him? Hasn't obedience too often led to sorrow and struggle?" When I look at my circumstances as proof of His love, I doubt His character and promises. I draw away from Him. He never draws away from me. But when I remember who He is, when I rest in who He is, when I long to love Him, obedience becomes a joy. That obedience teaches me to love Him more. I find that what's best for me is always obedience to Him. I have found that there is never a reason to disobey.

Why

I have found that the curse has been a blessing. The sweat and sorrow of life has always--if I submit to it as a gift from Him--allowed me to find His unconditional love, a growth in the strength of my character, a clarity about truth and the very few things that really matter, and an incomprehensible peace and joy that permeates my soul in the absolute worst human moments. Who but an all wise, all loving God could make the curse the foundation for love, strength, truthfulness, and joy? I have found it to be undeniably so. In the midst of doubting who He is, in the midst of a son with cancer and its lifetime complications, in the midst of betrayed love, in the midst of seeing God's work and God's men misrepresented and even lied about, in the midst of trying to raise two sons as a single father, in the midst of personal failure that was no one's fault by my own, in the midst of discouragement and despair, in the midst of wondering anxiously what God is up to in the lives of those I love most dearly, in the midst of doubting one's calling or wishing it was a different one, in the midst of the sweat, toil, and suffering of life, I have found Him always to be true, always to be faithful. Always. In the fiercest storms of life or in the gentle breezes of good times, He has given me the faith to soar on the wings of eagles.

I do not understand how, but I do understand why. No one loves me like He does.

Walking in Integrity

"He who walks in integrity, walks securely."

To walk in integrity is a difficult choice--only possible through the enabling of the Spirit. To walk in integrity is to live a life that is in perfect balance with what one claims to believe. It is to be who you say you are in light of what you claim to be true about God, His character, and His daily presence in your life and in your circumstances. Paul in the New Testament calls it "walking worthy." He uses a term related to scales used in the market place to buy food. You would put a one pound weight on one side of the scale and then put the produce on the other side--when the scale balanced, you had a "worthy" purchase. Spiritually, you have a worthy walk when what you claim to believe is in perfect balance with the life you live. And in perfect balance no matter who you are with and no matter the circumstances in which you find yourself. And any believer can live a life of integrity. It does not rest in how much you know, but how consistently you rest in the Spirit's control so that you live out what you know. It's not a matter of age, intelligence, or spiritual maturity, but a matter of submission to let Christ live through you--no matter what. Whether your circumstances are like a refreshing cool breeze on a hot summer's day, like an Arctic vortex on a frigid winter's morning, or like the whirlwind of a summer's destructive storm, you are the same--your behavior doesn't change. Your walk is a worthy walk--a walk of integrity. As David says, you are like a tree planted by the rivers of life--steadfast, and not like the wicked who in their self-centered meanderings through life are like the chaff that is tossed about in even the slightest breeze and devastated by life's whirlwinds.

Now, what are the basics of a walk of integrity?

First, it is an honest life. Honest in word--my "yes" is a "yes" and my "no" is a "no." Honest in walk--how I treat and respond to you today will be the exact same way that I treat and respond to you tomorrow. Honest in vulnerability--my faults are many, and I believe and am thankful that our Lord has put you in my life to strengthen me in my weaknesses; I cannot live this life without your exhortation, grace, and fellowship.
It is, in addition, a walk of speaking words that are a fountain of life. I must be slow to speak, careful to say what encourages and builds up in the faith. I must never forget that the tongue can start a raging fire in a drought-afflicted heart.
I must have a forgiving heart--a heart that readily forgives transgressions--eagerly forgives even those who have deliberately and maliciously hurt me and those I love. Even those who continue to do so.
I must have a teachable spirit--I must understand that I am called to be a life-long learner. No matter how deep my relationship with Him, I have barely "scratched the surface" in understanding the majesty of who He is. And my transformation into His likeness has barely begun. Godly wisdom rests on an understanding of how little I know.
I must have the fear of the Lord. My decisions must always be made with His heart in mind. I dare not grieve His love, dare not hurt His heart through willing disobedience--active or passive.
I must be diligent. I must do all that I do with all my might. He promises each day that I will have the strength I need to glorify Him in all things. I must rely on and use that strength day by day.
I must have His heart toward my money. He has called me to make a living for myself and my family--not to make a profit. My "extra" resources must be invested in the needs of others that He reveals to me. Only then will I truly grasp the real richness of life with Him as my Lord and my Provider.
I must have the right perspective. All my blessings--even the one's that don't seem like blessings--are a gift of His love and the working out of His wisdom in my life. Knowing that every blessing comes from Him, none of them are small, insignificant blessings. He deliberately gave them to me! Each day is a day that requires a heart of gratitude.

What are the "products" of a walk with integrity? What does security look like?
A life filled with memorials, memories of those times that He has shown His love for me--often when I least expected it, certainly when I did not deserve it. And as memorials to His love, I with joy can proclaim them to others. As His redeemed one, I can say so.
A life that when my parents think of me, their hearts are filled with joy.
A life that is immersed in an unquenchable gladness. I have an inescapable Hope--I will see Him. How can one who is the child of the Father by choice and adoption before the world began not be glad? How can a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords live in the regret of a grace cleansed past, live in anguish of today's challenges when I have a promise of a victorious present, or wallow in pity over an imagined future not to my liking when I am a joint-heir with my blessed Savior?

May God in His grace and love and discipline enable me to walk in integrity, to walk each day in security.

"He who walks in integrity will walk securely."

Diligence

I'm afraid that one of the most ignored commandments in the Bible is "whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Or in the Iten translation: Regardless of your age, your gifts and talents, your intelligence, your physical strength, your economic situation--or whatever---God commands you to be diligent in all things!!!!

Diligence: the mindset to do all that you do with all that you are in a way that deeply desires this response from God: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

The End of Our Rope

The reason God sometimes takes us to "the end of our rope" is to remind us of the power of prayer.

Americans and Politics

I believe that we have too many politicians who believe that man is inherently good.

I believe that we have too many politicians who believe that the Good Samaritan was a fool.

I believe that we have too many politicians who get their "convictions" from the latest Gallop Poll.

I believe that we have too many politicians who support their party line instead of supporting the ideas that they know are right.

I believe that we have too many politicians who don't understand that "spin" makes them liars.

I believe that we have too many politicians and not enough statesmen--not enough men and women who really believe that they are meant to be servants, not lords.

I believe that we have too many Americans who are exactly like their politicians.

Losing Contentment

I begin to lose my contentment in the place where God has called me when:

I forget the need for accompanying godliness

I forget to rely on Christ for my strength

I worry more about tomorrow than the need to be obedient today

I spell my wants n-e-e-d-s.

I get comfortable murmuring

I forget the necessity for physical rest

I think "great gain" has something to do with my bank account

I minimize the power of acceptance and forgiveness

I get upset that people won't come to my pity-party--and bring gifts

I think that the primary reason God has me where I am is for my benefit

Contentment is a terrible thing to lose.