The predominate western world, modern and post modern worldview is Entitlement – the world owes me the life I desire.

A Christ (Christ-like) (Christian) worldview is Gift – I have been given life, genuine life, life that I lost because of my sin and it has been given back to me. I am not entitled to it, it has been gifted to me. God has brought himself and his life to our circumstances. We live by his Spirit in the midst of our circumstances. As we have integrity with his character, we shine his glory and release his life into our circumstances.

When we feel we are ‘entitled’ we are selfish, we are takers, we grasp and cling, we demand and get offended when we don’t get what we feel we deserve – and we feel we deserve everything. We drain life from others and yet we’re never satisfied because when we’re entitled, we’re always entitled to more. Satisfaction and entitlement don’t co-exist. Satisfaction births peace. Entitlement rejects peace. How can we be at peace when we know we have something coming to us that we don’t have yet? Something we deserve. Something that is being kept from us. It breads anger, resentment, jealousy, frustration, and the list goes on. Each of these is a toxin in our lives.

When we realize that God has rescued us, given his very life to us so that we may have life, we are grateful. We want to live generously. We value life as something to live, something to share. We were caught in the grip of circumstances (what were thrust upon us). We were drowning in it. We were being drained of joy, love, energy, and of course peace. But we have been rescued. We have the fountain of life from which to drink. We aren’t entitled to a better life - we have been given an eternal full life. And the fountain of life never stops flowing. We can endlessly drink of joy, love, energy and of course peace.

When our circumstances define us, we try to control them and they inevitable end up controlling us, destroying us. When we live our lives above the circumstances, we are free. Even in the most difficult circumstances, we can live free. We have been set free...see that we stay free.

...more on this topic on Sunday morning, May 10th.

What does it mean to Live above fear? Do we deny it? Do we say there is no reason for fear? Do we become the proverbial frog in the pot? Or do we ignore the fear? It’s there but we refuse to acknowledge it? Do we stick our head in the sand. By the way, do ostriches really do that? I’ve seen little kids cover their faces as if to say, "if I can't see you, then you didn't just see me run naked into the room full of guests."

Or do we somehow defeat the fear? Beat it into submission, like every Will Smith movie…Independance Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I am legend...saying, “I do not fear what is terrifying to everyone else…”

The book of Revelation, the final entry in our Bible, reveals a great Cosmic battle of the end times. Evil has reached it’s full ugly blossom. An epic final battle of Good and Evil is pictured for us in this grand vision of the last days, full of symbolic languages and images, allegory and reality. The fulfillment of promise. The completion of battle and the final victory. One reality coming to a most dreadful end while another springs forth in majestic grandeur. There are plenty of fearful things: events, destruction, battles.

The interesting thing is, in all of Revelation the word 'fear' only appears three times. The first time, well that one says fear God and glorify him. But the second...well that one also says fear God and glorify him. But the third…well, it also says fear God and praise him. That's it. The three times the word 'fear' appears are all directed to our need to be in right relationship with God.

There is a difference between fearful, dreadful, terrifying situations, even doom and gloom, and living under a Spirit of Fear. Revelation describes a great and dreadful cosmic battle. But Revelation instructs us that when the battle starts blazing, we better know we are aligned with God.

I'm going to wrestle with what that means to us tomorrow morning at Wellspring. Specifically, the question of the day will be: How do we live in faith, love and hope when fear is all around? If you miss the services, you can catch the audio at http://www.wellspring.net/

Does this picture remind you of anything? Sam reaching down for Frodo hanging over the fires of Mount Doom? The first time you jumped into the deep end without your swimmies on? A pretty good rendition of Stephen Cahill?

Does it represent our great desire to be rescued from the swirl of our lives? I sure don't know all the answers even for myself let alone all the possible challenges you face. But together, let's wrestle with some of the questions. Let's reach with all we have to the outstretched hand of one who is reaching down to us. Let's grasp for his promises. Let's live out of the resources of an eternal kingdom, not out of the limits and emptiness of this temporal world. The scriptures call us to live in this world but not be of it. How do we do that?

This should be an interesting series. I know I'm looking forward to it...and I barely know what I am going to share. But I do know that God offers us the opportunity to live above brokenness of this world. I do know that as we seek it, specifically, as we seek him, we will find him when we seek him with all our heart. Let's go seeking...