2010. That's a strange year to say, isn't it? Do we say 20 10? 2000 10? or just '10? Anyway...

I was thinking about that old favorite, the new year's resolution. Actually, I've never been a fan. I honestly can't remember any resolutions I've ever made. I suspect there have been some, I just can't remember. I guess they weren't too significant.

Maybe it's because the focus is a little off. Should our greatest resolutions be about what we are able to willpower into reality? Should our goals be summed up in do's and don'ts?

Shouldn't our resolves be about who we are? Our character, our views, our life decisions? If those are our resolves, will they naturally begin to translate into our decisions, our do's and don'ts?

What is your resolve this year?

I visited an elderly man in the hospital last week. He had just had a stroke. He was pretty affected by it. He talked nonsense if you could understand him at all. It didn't seem that he was aware of where he was or what was going on around him. The room was rather quiet so I began to read Psalms to him. This is a man who is not familiar with the Bible at all, but I thought it might be therapeutic anyway. I started with Psalm 139. Shortly into the Psalm, he declared, "incredible." As I continued to read, he started to nod his head. When I finished the Psalm, he sighed and said, "holy smokes." I proceeded to read another Psalm. He proceeded to nod, and when I finished he said with a sigh, "holy smokes." I went ahead and read another Psalm, then another. Every time I did, he would nod along in agreement and then bring his amen of "holy smokes." I figure I read to him at least 15 Psalms, each with the same punctuation from my aging, bed bound, stroke impaired patient.

What was going on? What could he hear/understand? How was his jumbled brain interpreting what he heard? Or was there ministry riding on the words of the Psalms, spirit to spirit ministry? I know what I saw, heard, and felt. However, there was much more happening that I can't fully explain. At the time, and even now, the unexplainable was perfectly fine with me, because what I had the privilege of witnessing was both very genuine and very precious.

In all things God works for the good of those who love him.

Everything happens for a reason.

One of these phrases is scripture - a truth longing to be mined and polished so it will shine. The other phrase is more common, possibly more believable and more believed, and yet always leaves me very empty. Why, because it's simply not true!

Seriously, does it satisfy you at all when someone tells you that 'everything happens for a reason'? Does it fill the gaping hole in your mind? your heart? your gut?

Why do we believe it? And why don't we believe the first phrase, the scripture, the truth?

Why do we settle for a false superficial answer and dare not wrestle with the profound Word of God?

This past weekend I had a brief conversation with a lifelong faithful Christian who completely blurred these two phrases. It was sad to see the confusion. It was sad to think of the years and decades of poor teaching and/or understanding. Mostly, it was sad to witness the tainted view of God it had caused, and therefore the missed opportunity for a deeper relationship with the lover of her soul.

Do you understand the difference in these seemingly similar yet polar opposite phrases? Can you articulate the difference to a struggling friend? Give it a shot. Here's a good place to practice.

[ a few helps: 1. ask God for revelation, 2. study the context by looking at the whole Romans 8 chapter, and 3. after 1 & 2, if you want you can listen to my sermon on this topic http://wellspring.net/?q=node/309. Note, the recording begins with a skit]

I watched the movie The Soloist. Granted it was on a plane, so my viewing quality and personal attention was less than ideal, but this is what I saw. The movie is a true story about a LA Times reporter who befriends a homeless man. The appeal is that the homeless man is an amazing musician, and he's been diagnosed with mental illness. The result is a volatile mix of moving interludes and rash reactions.



Throughout the movie religion is presented as a cold, uncompassionate, empty form insisted upon by simple-minded people. However, the inspirational hope of redemption that is available for both the homeless man and the reporter is through the saving grace of relationship. It is the channel for both awakening the heart (the reporter) and clearing the mind (the homeless man).



As I watched, I felt sad. Is it true that the world's view of religion stands in direct opposition to life-giving relationship? Is it true of all religion? Have we all failed to reveal the God who so desperately wants to be in relationship with us that he laid down his own life for us? Is there no distinction between empty formality religion and genuine born again transforming Christianity? How does the world see me and what I profess? What I live, what I've become?



As I watched, I also was encouraged. I saw a worldview that clearly grasped the power of relationship. I was challenged by it. How can we bring the greatest relationships, the truly transforming relationship with God and his body the church? How can we bring the eternal relationship to those who are endlessly seeking? How can we introduce a loving life-giving God to a world desperate for that very relationship?

Pam and I are off to New York University in the morning to drop off Kyle (our youngest son). How do we "drop off" our 18 year old son in NYC, 10th and Broadway, Manhattan!? How can we protect him? How can we make sure he stays on the right track? How can we see to it that a huge university in a huge city doesn't chew him up and spit him out?

The simple answer is we can't. He won't be under our roof, in our watch, or within our reach. Our confidence can no longer be in our parental nest. We must now rely on him, and what we have instilled in him. It has always been our goal to raise him to be a man of integrity and destiny. Therefore, for 18 years our role has not simply been to protect, and direct. It has been to nurture a Godly character in his own spirit, a spirit that is set on what is right and just. A spirit that comes alive as it is aligned with God and Godly inspiration. A spirit that embraces life as an image-bearer of the divine.

I recall a time when I was dropping off Kyle and his brother at a middle school dance. Before they left the car I said, "Hey, I only have one rule...make good choices!". I could not predict what they might face, but I was engaging their spirits and their wills to rise up and embrace the truths they had been taught. I was calling forth their consciences to the relationships with God that they had professed.

Now, in a few hours when we once again drop off Kyle, we will have but one desire of him...make good choices. As we have had the privilege to watch him over the years, we're fully confident that he will. We can't wait to see the bite he takes out of the Big Apple!

In Matthew 14 we hear the account of Peter walking on water... or did he? Science would tell us that it is impossible for water to hold up a person. So, in this story do we need to dismiss science? Do we interpret the story to mean that if we have enough faith that we also can walk on water?

I believe that if we think that we can walk on water, we will surely fail.
I believe that if we think we can walk on God's Word, we will surely be victorious.

We don't need to, in fact shouldn't, dismissed science. That is, the genuine scientific approach to understanding-observation leading to truth. A false interpretation is that water held up Peter, so therefore, if I believe hard enough water will hold me up to. However, if we use the science we know then water cannot hold up a person. Therefore what did? It appears that it is the spoken word of God, in this case, Jesus' command to Peter. Note what Peter said: command me or order me to come to you. In essence: declare the word like a foundation for me to come to you, to walk on. This is extremely different than: help me squeeze my faith muscle so I can do the impossible.

From above comes the word, a declaration of God, which is greater than the reality of this world. It is the eternal invading the temporal. It is "your kingdom come".

What are the words of God that you are being invited to stand upon? Not someone else's word (like Peter's) but words for you. These can be specific words or universal words, but they are words for you. Let the greater reality of God's kingdom, his eternal kingdom, invade your world so that the impossible is made possible.

Any thoughts... Please share...

"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty."

I came across this verse today in Proverbs 11. What is the connection between generosity and wealth? What is the connection between ownership and poverty? What is the difference between living with a spirit of open hands and living with a spirit of grasping and clinging?

Isn't it true that the more we give away the less we will have? Isn't it true that the more we can hang on to the more we will have? Come on, that's simple understanding, simple math, simply true - or is it...

But what if this verse is true? It seems to be saying the exact opposite. Let's look at the next verse:

"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." The original Hebrew for generous is blessing, and the word translated man is really soul. Therefore, "a soul of blessing" will prosper. Also, the word refreshes is taken from "to water". If we choose to let water flow from us, out of a soul that desires to bless, then the refreshing water flows to us as well. Jesus said that the one who believes in him, streams of living water will flow from within them.

If you have a stream of water that is literally damned up, the water begins to stagnate and become unhealthy. The way to correct it is to undamn the water, which opens a flow of fresh water to that pool.

These verses describe a flow. A spirit of generosity is a heart that desires to step into the flow. By doing so fresh blessing and refreshing water continues to flow to that same heart. Notice, this has nothing to do with a false teaching of a prosperity gospel. A heart that gives simply to get is not a heart operating out of a spirit of generosity. A soul that desires to bless is what opens the flow, and the purpose of the flow is to continue to bless.

A spirit of poverty clings to what one has and is afraid of losing it. The problem is that the very act of clinging stops up the flow. The word for poverty in Hebrew is derived from the word lack. Therefore, the spirit of poverty inflicts poverty.

Out of a spirit of generosity flows a wellspring of life.

Eternity
To live is Christ. To die is gain.
How can life compare to eternity?
Eternity is NOT an extension of life or time or existence.
That is only infinity.

Eternity? What is it?
Is life a window into eternity?
Is eternity you, God?
Is the word of God eternity?
Is eternity infinitely big and infinitely small?

Is eternity what Jacob contended for?
Is eternity what Esau was unwilling to contend for?

Eternity is holy, pure
It has to be, because anything impure, unholy, tainted
leads to decay, death

Is Jesus marked by the cross for all eternity?
Is eternity love, or is love eternity?

- I'd love to hear your comments -

Genesis 17:1-2 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

After 24 years of waiting on the promise of the Lord, Abram (Abraham) once again hears the voice of the Lord say..."I will greatly increase your numbers." Really God? I'm 99 and my wife is 89. We have NO children. Even when I tried to make this promise come true, it backfired (Ishmael and Hagar have caused some real turmoil.) Now, God, you tell me AGAIN that you will greatly increase my numbers?

How would you respond if you were Abraham? But notice how God defines himself: God Almighty, the Hebrew is El Shaddai. This is the first time God reveals himself as El Shaddai. El is a prefix for Lord. Shaddai comes from the root Bosom. The best translation I have heard is that El Shaddai is the "All Sufficient One". In the bosom of the Lord we find provision, comfort, protection, life! God tells Abraham, I am fully capable of bring forth my promise. I am the All Sufficient One.

Equally important is the instruction the Lord has for Abraham: Walk before me and be blameless. Abe, you're not responsible to make this promise come to reality (you tried that with Ishmael and that didn't work out so well.) I am capable of bringing forth my promise to you. All I ask of you is to walk before me and be blameless.

Now that sounds easy. But in reality, often we'd rather try to make it happen than walk it out in righteousness (rightly aligned with God). In fact, walking it out blamelessly is so hard that Abraham asks God for an alternative. Look ahead in the story a couple verses. Genesis 17:17-18 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

Abraham responds to God's instruction by saying, I'm too tired Lord. I'm too tired of believing in a promise for which I see absolutely no progress nor any potential of it coming forth.
How God? How can you be El Shaddai in this one? Then Abraham makes this appeal, won't you simply bless my best effort - I'll be satisfied with that.

Have you been there? Have you believed for the impossible so long that you don't have the strength to believe any longer? Have you in desperation asked God to simply bless your best effort so that you can be unburdened from the weight of the promise? But there is a difference between God's provision to you, and his Promise for you. God in his mercy will always provide, but God in his all-sufficiency (El Shaddai) will birth his promise. For example, God's provision to the nation of Israel was manna for 40 years in the desert. God's promise was the Promised Land! There is a great difference between manna in the desert and flowing milk and honey in the promised land.

The story of Abraham continues with the Lord saying that he would surely bless Ishmael. He would become a nation and be the father of many leaders. But, the Lord's promise, destiny, and favor will be upon Isaac. The Lord said, I am El Shaddai. I will accomplish this. Your part is the walk before me and be blameless.

Be encouraged. God will always provide for you, but the promises that he has put in your mind and heart are his destiny for you. Ask him to be El Shaddai. Tell him you believe in his all-sufficiency. Tell him you believe he can and will birth those promises. Walk before him, and with his help and through Jesus, be blameless in your walk. Then you will walk right into the promises he has for you.

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...