Trinity Unity..The Model of Trust***

The Holy One call to me this morning. I have been blessed by family and others in the Body of Christ who have brought comfort and help to me and each other.  As I ponder, with thanksgiving, the encouragement such relational inter-action has brought, the Holy One speaks to me about "community".

"Jesus came to model Trinity Unity".  His statement draws me into deep thoughts about the Tri-une Godhead.   The Trinity IS community...and Jesus came to model that for us. Overlooked some times is the real inter-dependency the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had in the Lord's earth journey.

We know and read about Jesus' submission to the Father's Will unto death, but we don't always think about or realize His dependency on the Resurrection power and "performance" by the Holy Spirit after His death. He went to the Cross trusting the Spirit would raise His body from a death state.

Even though we cannot wrap our brains around or explain the mystery of the Trinity, scripture conveys the 3 part Godhead as Truth.  In the same way we cannot explain the secrets of the universe or the rules that hold our life and world together, we cannot explain the Trinity, or the inter- dependency of that unique and Sovereign Community we call God.

Jesus said He came to show us the Father.  He said He would send the Comforter AKA the Holy Spirit after leaving planet earth.  He said, "I am in the Father and the Father is in Me".  John 14:9-11.  Then He went on to explain the amazing promise that goes with "abiding" in that unity.   John 15:7 "If you remain in Me and My Word remains in You,  ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you."  

By His words, Jesus was conveying a "Mysterious Spiritual Union" that is called the Trinity, but more than that, He was laying out the relationship Trinity was about to draw humanity into.  We have the written Word that tells us, Jesus, "the Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being.  Heb 1:3. 

We know that the "Son" took on flesh and blood to share in our humanity but with the ultimate goal that humanity could share community with God as the Trinity.  We know Jesus did the Father's Will.  We know that He submitted His own will to the Father's Will even unto death on a Cross.

We focus on the submission of Jesus in the Father-Son relationship which is a model for every believer in Jesus the Christ.  But Jesus also modelled trust in community at the deepest level. While He was in submission to the Father's Will, He was also trusting in the Holy Spirit to resurrect His body after His human death and that even after the Father turned away from the sin He bore in humanity's behalf.

When Jesus tells us to "Love one another" there is an exhortation to be in community as was modelled by His submission to the Father on the one hand and trust in the Holy Spirit for His resurrection on the other.

Jesus was the "assigned" Lamb of God, who knew He would bear the indictment and penalty of the Tri-une Godhead for humanity's wicked rebellion.  He was honored for His sacrifice and returned to His place of "original" Community with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 

I am in awe at the realization that we have been called into that Eternal Community and have been given the only key to that "Spiritual Union", Who is the Holy Spirit.

Identifying with the death of the Son while in His flesh body, identifies me with the resurrection of His Spirit unto a new life of unity with the Tri-une Godhead. No other way exists to join in the Heavenly Community of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

As I consider the Lord's model of love and community, I see how I must learn to trust the Body of Christ under the lead of the Holy Spirit but also I must become a "trust worthy" member of this Divine and Holy community on earth.   Staying connected to the Lord in intimate personal relationship is mandatory for both.

There is no discord to the Trinity.  Each operates independently but in one accord.  Each honors the role of the other, and each brings Glory to the other.  We have the supreme privilege under the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring Glory to all Three.

The Body of Christ in unity and love is where we can fulfill the Lord's directive to "Love one another".  The fulfilling of that command is the extension of the Divine Community of the Trinity on earth.

I am realizing that this sense of community and inter-dependency is what the Lord wants from His Body. Will we honor and celebrate the gifts, strengths and talents of one another without competition or jealousy?  Will we support each other in the roles we have been assigned?  Will we come to those being crucified and offer resurrection prayers?  Or will we just walk away and say, "better you than me"?

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

What IS Victory?

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  His word is firm.  He says it strong as if this is a very important piece to "our" strategy in the vexing issues of "our" life together.

His word is like a banner in the dark sky etched in flames:

 

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed"  Provb. 16:3

 

I have read this verse before, but today it takes on an unforgettable meaning for my heart and mind. 

 

When I first came to the Lord for rescue, I was like a drowning person going down for the third time.  His strong Gospel message of God's love as opposed to His wrath was a welcome relief and I surrendered myself to the Truth:  That the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was all for me.

 

Jesus became my Savior and I surrendered to His Lordship over my life.  Phase one completed, I moved on to a different lifestyle and focus. 

 

Phase 2 was, for me, the early lessons that salvation is not just my "get-out-of-jail-free" card or my "get-past-the-pearly-gates-and-enter-paradise-when-I-die" pass. 

 

Phase 2 was learning to live with my Savior; learning to see His influence over the battles I seemed to find myself fighting by the day, season or event in my earthly life.

 

Our relationship has grown and grown, but not without hiccups, not without challenges, and not without a need to crucify my flesh like He did on the Cross.

 

Surrender has been a big word over the years, acknowledging His Sovereignty and yet fearing it,  as if it is not the absolute best thing for my life.  I have discovered much in this course of study the Holy One has arranged for this season of my life.

 

Things like the reality of my carnal self.  Jesus told us (who read and embrace His Word) , "Apart from Me you can do nothing".  John 15:5.  and yet, 'If you remain in Me and My word remains in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you". 

 

For me to question that God's Sovereignty is sweet,  makes me realize that my mind is being impacted by my flesh or carnal thinking and "that" thinking is being impacted by the enemy of my soul. 

 

In other words,  my carnal mind and my carnal emotions simply cannot be trusted for they are still able to be manipulated by the ancient deceiver, who is a liar and a snake.

 

Begin phase 3 and today's "word" for me causes me to make a subtle but important distinction between "surrender" and "commit".  Both are volitional and an act of free will.  For me to commit, means that beyond surrendering to His great authority in my life, I consciously give Him charge and custody over everything, while trusting that He will take everything "committed" unto successful victory.

 

Commit is a pro-active description of His charge over that which has been committed, while surrender suggests giving up to a greater force than self.

 

"Commit" for me, is rich with the idea of co-governing in recognizing and realizing that even my "best" plan is outside of my ability to insure a victory or see it succeed.  Commit is trust at a higher level than surrender.  Surrender has a fear tucked inside that commit does not.  Even when our Lord surrendered to the Crucifixion of His body, He committed the plan for resurrection to the Holy Spirit, who brought that plan to successful victory.

 

Now, my life is "Christ within", "Vine life" as He calls it.  Surrender having been made complete, by taking up His lordship and government over my life, I can go on trusting that my desire and His Will are one in the same.

 

The first step toward any victory is to commit each and every thing that I find to do,  unto Him.  The plan will unfold and  bring me to experience true victory,which is His.  So what is "Victory", after all?  I understand now, that true "Victory" is not my will for me but rather His will for me and that by committing it all to Him, I will enjoy the blessing of success.   

 

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed".

 

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?     





 

Uncommon Peace

The Holy One calls me this morning.  The night wrestles have been brutal as the dark lords spew their lies.  Believers everywhere are under attack, not necessarily for their faith or Biblical world view directly, but circumstantially to distract us from the real battle that rages.

The darkness that covers the land is assaulting our families.  God's Divine Covenant called marriage and the children of those unions are being put through a thrasher.  The end game is ancient but rarely recognized in the emotional chaos of our society.

The goal of the enemy is the same goal as when he sat among the angels God created to serve His Sovereign purposes. This being created with the same free will that we have been born with, turned on the Creator and launched a mutiny taking 1/3 of the Heavenly Host along with him.

These "angels" who once served in the Heavenly Court, are now inciting rebellion on earth.  Working in the unseen realm of the spirit, these beings are responsible for manipulating humans to do their bidding and rebel against the will and Divine purposes of God.

While we are not to get our focus on demonology, we must acknowledge that the gospel record of Jesus' life as one of confronting those beings known as "demons" and their leader known as "Satan" the adversary of men.

Jesus' life on earth was to re-take dominion the first Adam surrendered to the enemy of the Creator God.  Jesus did what the original man failed to do:  Follow the directives of the One who spoke all things into existence and created the human to co-govern in His created universe.

Having failed to repent for original rebellion, Adam and Eve set their minds to blame shift with a little help from the "talking serpent".  This sheds some light on the "tempter" and his inner-action with us since the beginning of time. Without an understanding of the tempter's role, we get confused and then victimized by the voices in our heads suggesting everything from wrong perspectives to evil acts. 

Jesus came to rescue us .  He was the "human" sacrifice sent to pay the ultimate debt for the human sin of rebellion.  From the very onset of His earthly ministry and mission, we see Him exercising dominion over the tempter.

His 40 days in the wilderness (as recorded in Matt 4) with the presence of the devil, reveals this fact.  There was presented to Him, every temptation to complete the mission for which He was sent, under the power of darkness rather than in the Power of Heaven.  His flesh was the point of challenge just like ours is today:

The carnal mind was presented an alternative
The carnal emotions were incited
The carnal body was hungry

Yet through it all, Jesus kept focus not only on the Will of God from the written Word, but on the Ways of God as well.   God has His Will but also has a way that He desires His Will to be enacted by and through us. 

The enemy of our soul has a will also, and he works through the flesh of the human to enact it.  The devil' will hasn't changed.  His rebellion and subsequent eviction from the "paradise" of his creation and the lost honor he once enjoyed as the most beautiful of all God' angels, is to destroy God's Beloved human and separate us from our Creator.

Jesus came to rescue us from that dark dominion of Satanic control by bringing us back to our original peace in relationship with our Father in Heaven.  The Creator started off as a Father.  Rebellion by the human turned Him into a "God", not as in ultimate Sovereignty, but as in relational distance, impossible to reach and impossible to understand.  Since then, humanity has created and turned to many 'gods" yet, none but One, can be called "our Father".

Today, as I ponder the salvation of our souls, the rescue from the dominion of darkness and the Presence of the Holy One in my life, I see the need to surrender to His Lordship in all ways.  Having the mind of Christ is imperative  to gain the perspective I need over all the conflict I see. 

As I counsel with the Holy Spirit of Wisdom, He tells me to surrender my emotions as well as my mind to the Lordship of Christ.  I am emotionally devastated by all I see and I am "emotionally" motivated to act out of a hurting heart.

His sweet counsel today takes me to re-call the fruit of His Spirit in Galatians 5:22.  When the situations of this life ratchet up the heat, and confuse the heart, I am to remember that He is the source of all my appropriate emotional reactions.

When anger builds up against human opponents who hurt and betray me and He manifests "uncommon love" (I.E that which is uncommon to man, under the circumstance) somehow God is Glorified.  When  circumstances close in and discouragement pays a visit but He manifest "uncommon joy" somehow God is Glorified.   When the chaos is all around and yet He manifests to and through me "uncommon peace", somehow God is Glorified....and the list goes on.

The only way to explain this "fruit-filled" life is His Presence over-ruling my flesh.  I am brought o the place of surrender after along night of wrestles. His mind in exchange for mine.  His emotions in exchange for mine. 

And then comes the sense of an "uncommon peace", and I know my Lord is smiling.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

 

Eve, Wake Up!

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  I hear Him say, "Eve, wake up!"  It's always interesting as to how my Lord gets my attention first thing in the morning.

Maybe He is calling me to remember my earth birthday by taking me back to the day He created Eve.

The last year has been an amazing walk in His grace, having lost my earthly husband minutes after the day ended that was our 31st  wedding anniversary, and 3 days after my 65th year on earth.

The alone-ness has been challenging yet strangely, "OK".   I realize my relationship as the Lord's eternal Bride and this life journey, is much about seeing the temporal marriage as a symbol of the forever one and my earthly husband as a "stand-in" for my eternal One.

His greeting this morning was a surprise but also a clue for me to look back to "in the beginning" once again. 

Lately He has been gently arranging  for me to spend more time in His Presence, but not because of hard things I can't handle.  While the year of adjusting to temporal widowhood and other deep trials of family life have pressed me into deeper fellowship, I notice I am more drawn than pushed.  I find that I long for more of Him rather than less of loneliness.  He fills my mind with good things and appreciation for the blessings He brings with each new day.

Even as Eve was created, in a sense, for companionship and relationship with Adam, her first relationship was with her Creator.  Scripture tell us that Adam was put into a deep sleep, maybe even a "death" sleep when God took one of his ribs to fashion Eve.  (Gen 2:21)

How much time Eve spent with God alone is not clearly identified in the Creation account.  We are told that Adam spent alone time with God because the scriptures tell us "God took man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." 

God also gave, Adam, the command of his freedom to eat from any tree in the Garden except the one forbidden.  And then even told him the reason why it was forbidden.  God continued in His interaction with Adam by bringing all the animals He had created for the man to name them, which Adam did, and yet none was found to be a "suitable" helper for man.

But what we hear about Eve is simply that "Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man and He brought her to him".

Skipping over scripture can cause me to lose some of the precious details that are important to consider in understanding more of the mystery of our Creator God. The Holy One points out the small detail that He "brought" Eve to Adam.    This affirms to me that Eve's first relational experience was with the One who created her.

If we move too quickly through the Creation story, we can put the Adam/Eve, one flesh marriage relationship as her beginning.  Add to that the Divine structure of marriage and our role as women, I see that we can be deceived not just by the "serpent's" seduction but also by other voices that suggest we must go through husband or men to get to God.

We have been sold this lie and many have bought into a "legacy" that says, without a man we are deceivable and/or ignorant and/or you can fill in the blanks.  The deepest Truth and reality is that God wants a Sacred Romance with His beloved of both genders.

So much of our issues in marriage have to do with all of us "Eves" fearing loss of identity in our role rather than flourishing in it.  Remembering that God Himself is the "Role Giver" is important because we can return to Him personally at any time we have difficulty in relationship.

A word to all you Adams out there: In order your Eve to flourish, she needs to be encouraged in her sacred romance with her Creator, and it is up to you to facilitate it.

But I wonder, how much time did the Lord spend with created Eve?  What of her upcoming role with Adam might the Creator have shared with her?  While we can be blessed with our earthly husbands and appreciate our marriages for all they represent here on earth,  we must not forget that we translate as an individual and our relationship with our Creator and Lord is deeply personal and as unique as each one of us happens to be. 

Today the Lord wants to remind me that before I was a wife, I was His child. Relationship with my Lord becomes one long dialogue.  He brings blessed relief along with His wisdom for life day by day.

While I began this blog several days ago, it covers a sequence of "anniversaries" that are compressed into this week.  Each one must be traversed and processed.  Looking back at the trial of having to let go of my temporal husband after 31 years of "together",  I am reminded of the emotional choices that had to be made.

Choices such as:

The decision to surrender to the unfamiliar and trust my Lord who knows the end from the beginning.

The decision to look to the future instead of dwelling in the past.

The decision to believe that the Lord's purpose for my life didn't end when temporal widowhood began.

Each decision became the tonic of His Grace.

As I pass through this fleeting life on earth with it's ever fluctuating circumstances, I have been brought to the place of what I call the "eternal now".  The Holy One wants to make it so clear, that when He calls me to wake up each morning,  He wants my eyes and attention on Him alone, just like back in the beginning, before temporal life and death took it toll.

How thankful I am for the sweet and sacred romance that I share in the "eternal now" that means this very moment of peace can last forever.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 
  




  

Independence Day and The Return Of The King

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  It's our celebration of Independence Day.  So important to America is our freedom from tyranny, we set this day aside to celebrate the founders and heroes of old who fought and died for what we take for granted each day.

The superficial assessment can be made that we fight for our liberty from oppressive government.  But the deeper evaluation is that we fight for our most basic fundamental freedom to decide life's issues for ourselves.

From our "Land of the Free" mentality we look at other people groups languishing under different forms of "tyranny" and we recoil at the frustration of living under a dictatorship.  Freedom is a wonderful thing and a natural desire for any person born of woman.

I am thankful to have been born in the USA.  I am grateful for the liberties we have to choose our destiny and that includes our ability to worship and serve The Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Over the last 2 election cycles, I have agonized over the reality that something dark and sinister has been surfacing out of the "Heart of America".  Jesus came to set the captives "free", and yet the captives seem to want slavery over freedom and a lesser life of guarantees over a bountiful one of endless possibilities to thrive and prosper.

The Holy One tracks my sentiments and speaks a vital truth.  "You live in the land of exile on earth.  Until the rightful King returns there will be no perfect government for anyone".

I realize that any "human" government is a flawed government and alien to the sweet freedom we were created to live in.  Back in the "Garden" the first man and woman were given the benediction to take and have dominion over all of God's Creation. 

Absent is the directive or permission to have dominion over each other.  Even in the structure of the Divine Covenant we call marriage was the directive unto mutual submission for the benefit of each other and the family unit as a whole.

It follows, in my thinking, that the fall created a chasm between man and his fellows as well as a chasm between man and his Creator God. We see the evidence of people trying to "Lord it over" each other from the top levels of government right down and into the Church of the Living God. 

The wisdom of the Holy One brings a relief and at the same time a challenge.  I understand that I am living in the land of exile and however pleasant it might have been over the course of my life, this land is not my home. 

Our founders fought to establish a government where people could live with Biblical freedom and yet be protected from the threats of tyranny both foreign and domestic.

The Holy One speaks again, "Your government represents the best that man can establish, yet it is not permanent or eternal". 

As I ponder what that means, I look at where we are in the Prophetic timetable of man's days upon the earth.  Everything is coming to an end according to Scripture.  I understand that just as God is Sovereign and in control of  the days and times of our personal lives, He is also in control of the timeline we live within.

While I see the personal significance and Truth in the words of my Jesus, "Apart from Me you can do nothing", (John 15:5), I haven't put it together with the bigger picture of our days.

He is allowing us to see that the governments of men, no matter how nobly founded, are corruptible.  We are being prepared to be ushered into the Millennial Reign of Christ upon the earth.  The Lord waits for each one of us to get to the end of ourselves: our depravity and our individual desperate recognized need for rescue...... then steps in.

Who is to say that the corruption of this, our great government, surfacing for all to see is not the Divine pre-cursor to the anticipated return and established government of the King of Kings.

While I am saddened by the corruption and eroding of our national freedoms, I find within my heart a growing excitement and anticipation for the return of My King.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?    

Be Still

The Holy One calls me this morning.  The power is out.....again. This Spring season has brought more thunderstorms and power outages than any I have experienced since moving to my new land.

Sitting alone in the dark this morning before seeing the sun come up to chase it away is very symbolic to me.  The Holy One is ever present so the alone for me isn't really "alone" but without human companionship the quiet can be quite deafening.

Being without power on my land means no lights, no phones, no computers, even no water as the well pump runs on electricity.  In the city, life is still moving forward with gas, backup generators, and fix-it crews, but here it's a time to just "Be still".

The Holy One speaks into the darkness with His Word, "Be still and know that I am God".  Psalm 46:10.  Today, I  realize that in the fast paced life I live, I am not so comfortable in the abject stillness.

The Lord has arranged this time for me to process and ponder the "moment".  He has arranged for the normal "distractions" to be silent.  I think about how our trials are like being without power, and the bigger challenge, when we are hemmed in and out of "control", is to "Be still and know that I am God".

The day is coming when all the wonderful technology of man will be silenced. There is a time when the entire universe will stop and we will stand before our Creator God.  There will be none to call.  No one to Face Book, no one to run to, silence all around.....Just me and God.

For some the thought of no technology or "white noise" is a form of Hell.  Add to the silence, total isolation and that is a true picture of eternity without the Light of Life.  We were created to be relational.  Our true relational being and fulfillment starts and ends with our Creator, through His One and only Son, Jesus.

God, as the Father, is available today to all of us in relationship.  The Son was sent to rescue us from the dark and lonely place of separation and isolation from our Creator and "Daddy", yet we are busy  ignoring the One who is calling us and thereby, missing out on the wonder and peace of that comforting relationship.   

We can see our "trials" in life as due to misfortune, or a screw-up/failure or even a cruel joke by the powers that be.  But what if our trials are designed to sit us down in relational dependency, where God becomes for us the Reality that He is:  Our relational community and our power source for all of life both temporal and eternal.

We cannot fix ourselves no matter how gifted we are or how hard we try.  But in every hard place we find ourselves, God has a purpose.  Today in the silence I know my Lord wants my undivided attention. I am thankful that this trial is simply a few hours with no earthly distractions.

But the question is, "Will I remember this on another day in another trial when the "no power" issue may hit home?  Will I "Be still" and know that He is God if other relationships get strained or my work gets frustrated or my agenda gets cancelled?

The Holy One is calling all of us to participate in the priceless fellowship and community of the Trinity.  Out of that primary and secure relationship comes all the other important ones and the power to do all we feel called to do.  The sweet familiarity we gain with our Abba Father here, relieves the fear of the future when we will be called into His Presence and it's "just us".

Interestingly, as I pen these last words, the power has been restored and I can move on with the day.  I praise the Lord for His graphic picture of today's important lesson.
 
But I think I'll  "Be still" for just a little longer and enjoy the sweet fellowship with my Lord.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?    

Slow Your roll!***

The Spirit calls to me this morning out of the dark and early watches of the night.  The enemy is very active in these hours, just after midnight.   I call these the "witching hours".  These are the hours on the clock when I am most vulnerable to mental attack.  I am seemingly too sleepy to even realize the intrusion of that dark evil snake that Eve ran into way back when.

The Words of my Beloved are comforting, "I never sleep so you are safe."  Psalm 121, "I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord".  That promise and fact is good in both the day and the nighttime hours.

"I, the Lord do not change so you, Oh descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed" Malachi 3:6

"The Lord is my helper so I will not be afraid", "I will never leave you nor forsake you", "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever".  Heb 13

The promises cascade out of a mental storehouse of God's Blessed Word, committed there to memory over the years of study.  I am so thankful in these days for all the Lord has taught me over all the years.  Whether it is my age or our close proximity to the Return of our King, the battle seems to be ratcheting up on earth.

For me, the mental assault comes in the form of conflict.  Jeremiah spoke of it when he lapsed and asked the Lord from his human doubts, "will you be to me like a deceptive brook, a spring that fails?" (Jeremiah 15:18)

One of the most amazing things about the Sacred Romance with the King of Kings, is that we can be totally honest about our feelings and outspoken about our fears without any risk of retaliation from the One who holds our next breath and commands the winds of adversity to "stand down".

Even as I read all of the great promises, He has made available to those of us who love Him, when we doubt, it is permissible to speak and very appropriate to confer with our wise Counselor.

Today I am compelled to question the swirling conflict I feel around me and in me. There is such anxiety to the clock and calendar I live with.   I feel like that White Rabbit who kept repeating, "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date".

"Beloved, you strive too much", was His gentle response.  "My servants are pressured by self-expectations to do more than I am asking of them. Many are making themselves sick in the striving and need to be at rest".

Then He reminds me of my Lord's days upon the earth.  His pace was slow, consistent with the society He was born into:  no internet, no plane travel, no cell phones.  Yet He came to show us the Father with a model that is still relevant today and a message that is meant for all mankind regardless of the world we entered at birth.

The weariness we feel, in part, has to do with all the knowledge we possess and have yet to gain.  Processing all the input is more than a full-time job, one we were not originally wired for.  I understand this from looking back to the day of the fall when the fruit from the forbidden tree was consumed. 

There is always a reason for the forbidden by God, and it has to do with our best interests.   The fruit from this tree represented a threat to humanity's peace and relationship with our Creator.  The "knowledge of good and evil" is vexing to our human mind.  We are simply not created (wired) to handle it all and mental conflict results.

Conflict in the human mind breaks down the human body. That is why the Gospel (Good News) is so critical to our health and well-being here and not just when we leave planet earth for our eternal destination.

As I think about the "Word" the Holy One is speaking, I am drawn back to the life of God (Jesus) wrapped in flesh. For all there is to understand and see in what He did, other great lessons can be gleaned by "seeing" what He didn't do. 

Jesus never hurried and never worried.  His message and His life was quite the opposite.  He modeled and then commissioned His followers to "Go preach this message: the Kingdom of Heaven is near.  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."  Jesus seemed to live in the "eternal now". 

As I think about the striving that causes conflict, I find that it comes from looking outside the eternal now...this is the moment we all have to do something good.  Jesus was on a mission and a road that lead to Calvary, but He extracted every opportunity out of every moment to do good and speak truth.

I don't see that Jesus felt the need to touch every sick person or raise every dead person or cleanse every leper or deliver every demoniac of that day.  He modeled what He commissions and empowers His Body of followers to do. We cannot take on the complete responsibility to do it all, but we must willing and ready to do our part.

We, as the Savior's servants (His hands, His feet, His mouth, His Spirit) are to be like Him in that regard.  That sounds like a "tall order" and without the Holy Spirit it would be impossible for any of us to accomplish in our own strength.

The message to me in today's meeting with the One who gave that directive is "Slow your roll.  Stop striving.  Extract and squeeze out all there is in each opportunity I bring you".

With the pace of life accelerating and the end of all we know drawing near, His message brings sweet relief.  Rather than telling us to sprint through each day to meet tomorrow's challenges ahead of Him, and some desperate time clock of doom, He wants us to work in the eternal moment.  So, we can stop leaping over one sick person to find another, stop passing by one "dead person" to resurrect another, stop ignoring those He has right in front of us for the ones across the street or around the world...that we can't quite get to just yet.

****As a side note:  Raising the dead can relate to a spiritual resurrection and not just a physical resurrection.  When we share the gospel with the spiritually dead person and watch them resurrect into new life.  That is the true miracle of the Gospel.

The Lord God of all Creation is Sovereign.  He directs our steps and orders our days.  He provides the precise Divine appointments for us that He has prepared at the foundation of the earth. His timetable for each one of us is eternity and His pace is slow.

I realize full well that if I am to Journey with my Jesus, and truly want to serve Him with a whole heart not just to win brownie points, but to do His will, I will need to slow my roll, take up His pace, and see to His interest in every situation that presents itself.

I need His help but then He has already made it available. So, I wonder what opportunity will come my way today?

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?