Tag Archives: Jesus

In the Moments (Simplicity in Christ)

The sun is breaking through the clouds on this chilly, late January morning. As I approach the house, from Jack’s mid-morning walk, the warmth lures me to stay outside. Jack is a twelve-week-old Australian Shepherd, who became a member of our family a few weeks ago.

But, by the time I secure Jack, grab my lawn chair, journal, and water, the sun hides behind the greyness of the day. Hopeful it’s just a temporary pause in my winter “sun bath”, I toss Jack a treat, sip some water, and open my Bible.

I turn  to the verse I’ve been draw to often this month. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”  (II Corinthians 11:3 NKJV).

Paul’s concern for the church at Corinth is about them being deceived. I get it. I believe I’ve been deceived as well.

My life seems anything but simple. From the divorce of my parents, earning an IT degree, raising four kids, maintaining a home, owning a business …   Simple is not how I’d describe things.  

Maybe my definition of the word is part of the problem. To me, simplicity seems to mean freedom from the complexities of life, uncomplicated. This can’t be what Paul meant. A smooth life was never promised.   

The sun is peeking through again. A bit of warmth slathers my face.

Have I been wearing myself out seeking something that’s not possible? 

From Jesus’ very words, I get my answer.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful (John 14:27 NASB).

Simplicity isn’t peace as the world gives it.

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33 NASB).

Simplicity isn’t a life free of conflict and tribulation.

I know simplicity is possible, but I need understanding.  What does true, Biblical simplicity really mean?

Pondering the question, I’m struck by two things:

  • The word we translate as “simplicity” in the original Greek means singular focus, sincerity, God seeking and not self-seeking, mental honesty.
  • Our simplicity is ‘in Christ‘.

Jack is getting restless. I know I need to stop soon. I press into God, Lord, show me how to live this life Paul is referring to.

Seek First

Tossing Jack a toy, Jesus’ words come to mind. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33 NASB).

The verses before this warn us against having a narrow focus on the world and the necessities of life. Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things (Matthew 6:31-32 NASB).

Jesus tells us to have a singular focus on God, His righteousness, and the reign of His ever-unfolding kingdom.  

This seems hard, but God empowers us every step of the way. “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 NASB).

Love as He’s Loved us

Hours before He was crucified, Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you (John 15:9-12 NASB).

Jesus boils things down to simple terms.

Love.

How do we love? As He’s loved us.

How much is that? As much as the Father loves Him.

And He tells us if we love others as He’s loved us, two amazing things happen:

  • We abide in His love
  • We receive His full joy

Wow, This is the kind of life I want.

Challenge

What’s crowding your mind this very moment? What thoughts and emotions seem to keep swirling around in your soul? It could be feelings of hurt, illnesses, concerns for loved ones, money problems …

Would you trade it all for a singular focus of seeking God’s kingdom by loving others?

Use the following verses as a type of vacuum cleaner for your soul, giving everyone and everything to God.

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (I Peter 5:6-7 NASB).

Linger in the ever presence peace of Christ.

Prayer

Lord, like Eve, I’ve been deceived. I’ve too often allowed the cares of this life to be my focus. I’ve allowed circumstances to make my life feel complicated and anything but simple. Peace as the world gives it is never possible. You are my Peace.

You have given me understanding and insight.

With you working in me, I have all I need to live a life of simplicity in You.

Please remind me quickly when I allow the worries and distractions of this world to draw me from pure and simple devotion to you.

Keep me in the narrow focus of seeking Your kingdom as I love those You place in my path. May I view the challenges and duties of life, not as distraction and bothers, but as ways to serve you and love others.

With all my love, Amen. 

Other posts in our series In The Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

The Gift of Presence

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

Please Check out the  Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

In the Moments (Stop Striving)

 I was hanging on for dear life above a large ravine. I’d wrapped both arms and legs around a gnarly stump of a tree, leafless but still rooted into the cliff face. About ten feet above, I could see the level ground I’d been clawing and scratching towards. But as hard as I tried, I’d made no real progress these many years. 

“This is impossible!” I cried out. 

Then I heard a soft, but firm voice directly below me, saying “Let go.”

The Background

When I drive into work on summers days, I reverse things a bit. Rather than spending quiet, solitude with Jesus and then driving to work, I do the opposite. I fix my coffee and travel the twenty-five minutes before the traffic gets heavy. That early its cool. And with my convertible top down and the wind whipping across my bald head, the interstate drive is like a mini vacation. I pull under a shade tree in the back of the parking lot, drink my coffee, and pull out my Bible and journal to see what God wants to say.

A couple of days ago, as I communed with God in my outside “living room,” I felt an historic lie rising in my soul from the vestiges of its former fortress. 

The message – It’s all up to me. 

For years this lie was a stronghold in my soul, which I believed and defended. Growing up as the oldest child in an alcohol ridden, divorced family, I felt the yoke of responsibility at an early age. There were times, after my mom and dad separated, that the only communication between them was through me. (8^( 

As my grandfather neared the end of his life, he conveyed that he expected me to look after my mother after he was gone. I was certainly glad to be there for my mom, and I did, but I was already fighting an over responsible tendency. Pop’s words just added to my feelings that It was all up to me. (8^0

In general, I was a compliant child, very eager to please. However, in my mid to late teens, I followed my friends into all manner of worldly activities. I guess I was trying to fit in and fill the joy hole in my heart.

But as all who try this path discover, all the world can give only leaves us wanting more.

It all came to a head one evening during my sophomore year at college. Trying to show off, by driving a bit reckless coming back from a night of cheap beer, I was arrested and thrown in jail for DUI.

Laying on the cell bunk, before my buddies bailed me out, I realized my search for joy had taken me down the wrong paths. In my soul, I knew God was the answer to my searching, but I didn’t know how to connect with Him. Especially since my lifestyle was far from holy.

Eventually, through talking with my best friend growing up and Chuck Colson’s book entitled Born Again, [1] I learned I didn’t have to straighten my life up to surrender to Jesus. 

A year later, when I was 21 years old, I knelt beside my bed and gave my life to Jesus Christ. The act was sincere, but until God gave me a new set of friends to disciple me, my life looked no different from the outside.

As my journey of being a follower of Christ continued, I couldn’t shake the inner lie that life itself was up to me.  I wanted to trust in Christ for life’s troubles, but I didn’t know how.

I prayed to give all my cares to Jesus, but deep inside I still believed it was up to me, I didn’t know how to truly trust in someone else.  

It took me another 20 years to recognize I needed healing from this strong lie within. This followed by years of learning to disagree with the lie and agree with the truth of God’s word. His truth and prayer destroy the fortresses and speculations raised up against the truth and the knowledge of God. [2] It’s not up to me. It never was. 

It’s up to me has lost it’s real power. But still, this hideous, prideful lie calls out from time to time from the vestiges of my “old self.”

This is what I was feeling the morning described above. If I’m not centered in the truth, I find myself vulnerable to fresh batches of brokenness and evil all around.

Back to the Tree

As I sat in front of the tree that morning and experienced the familiar lie, I wrote in my journal, “God do you want to say anything to me?”

Then I took out my blue pen to write down what I sensed He was saying.

Following is what I wrote. And It’s what brought up the thoughts of me hanging on the side of a cliff.

Robby, you strive so hard to be compliant, to please, not to fail. Hanging on to the gnarly stump of “I can do it,” as you dangle over a precipice of fear of failure and fear of rejection. Let go!

In my journal I wrote. “Yes Lord.”

And with as deep of a surrender as I knew how to give, I did. I let go. 

As Paul writes in Ephesians 4, I, as much as I knew how, put off the old man and put on the New Man, which is Christ Jesus who indwells me. [3]

As I might have thought, letting go did not mean tumbling upon the rocks below, shirking the responsibilities, failing and letting everyone down.

It meant just the opposite.  

In the Moments Since

 As I closed the convertible top, grabbed my gear and walked toward the office, I thought about the surrender I’d just experienced.

Certainly, there’d been many surrenders over the years, but this one seemed a deeper “letting go” than ever before.

And, as I write a few days later, I know this to be true.

I work as a corporate technical trainer. I love what I do because of the opportunities to meet and care for a wide range of folks, mostly just out of college.

In the classroom, I spend a lot of time conveying technical information and coaching my students on how to become mainframe programmers, using review games and workshops. It’s actually a lot of fun, but, as with any job, it has its challenges.  Especially when students realize during the class that this type of career is not for them and they must leave the program. (8^<

That morning, when I let go from the gnarly tree growing out of the rock face, my Savior, my King, my Lord, my faithful Friend was right there to catch me.

Since then, walking in the halls, and even in the classroom, I’m experiencing a sense of being carried along and having an eternal view of how my story ends, even as it unfolds.

God is shaping my overall perspective. Though there are still things to be done and troubles to be experienced, the sense of having a higher, eternal goal has not left me.

I’m having moments when the fact of Jesus’ imminent return shines brightly through all the brokenness, all the difficulties, all the pain of this fallen world.

In his first epistle, Peter writes of our current Living Hope and of our future inheritance, imperishable and undefiled. He reminds us of God’s protection, even now. He encourages us to see our trials and tribulations as ways of purifying us as gold is tested by fire. Though, now, we have not yet seen the Lord, we’re filled with joy inexpressible and full of glory. [4]

Paul tells us that God is always working for our good, but sometimes we have tunnel vision. His good for us is work, in the details of our lives, to conform us into the image of Christ. This frees us more and from the world’s hold on our souls. [5] 

Challenge

Like me, do you still sometimes believe life is up to? Certainly, we all have responsibilities and face trials, but consider the following truths which are undeniable:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me (Psalm 23:4 NASB).

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride (Psalm 46:1-3 NASB).

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NASB)

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20 NASB).

Whatever we face (troubles, responsibilities, challenges), God is with us. It’s never up to us. We’re to yield to His Spirit and walk in His nearness.

Consider praying a prayer of deeper surrender to Jesus Christ, your Lord. Ask Him to remind you quickly when you begin to walk in the old flesh and to guide you into yielding to His Spirit. 

Consider writing your words of surrender to Him in a journal and refer back to it often.

Make note of ways He surprises you in the days which follow.

No matter how deep our surrender is, as we press into Him, He will lead us into deeper surrender and deeper freedom.

Prayer

Lord, Thank You for Your longsuffering, Your kindness and Your mercy towards me. You don’t relent until You have my whole heart and I’m so thankful for that.

Please remind me quickly when I pridefully try and do anything apart from You. You tell me that apart from you I can do nothing. [6] And I believe it. (8^o

I see more and more what it means that I died and that my life is now hidden in You. 

Please help me to love others as You’ve loved me and to live a life that brings You glory.

I love You so much!

Amen

[1] Chuck Colson’s son, Chris, was a classmate of mine in college. I sub-rented his apartment on summer and read the copy of Born Again his dad had given him.

[2] II Corinthians 10:3-5

[3] Ephesians 4:22-24

[4] I Peter 1:3-8

[5] Romans 8:28-29

[6] John 15:5

Other posts in our series In The Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

The Gift of Presence

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

Good Friday – The Story of Us

A young man squatted in a dingy prison cell. His features were hidden by the deep shadows of his dark imprisonment. Only a thin plane of sunlight penetrated the darkness, revealing countless dust particles floating around rows of disheartened men. The man was seated, away from the light, staring, motionless, into the darkness.

Outside the prison, upon a hill, stood the place of execution, where condemned men were put to death. Today would be this man’s turn. In a way, death was a welcome ending to his pain. However, more strongly, the condemned man felt the fear of death’s mysteries. His soul, it seems, had died long ago, but the fear of physical death consumed every fiber of his being.

As he waited in the cruel anticipation of a violent death, his mind raced across the span of his life. What would have made a difference? What could have changed his inclinations towards evil? The answers to these questions could only be tossed out into his universe of despair. Like always, he knew no answers would come. There was no hope, never had there been hope.

Slowly and ever more increasingly, the young man became aware of the sounds of a great number of voices. There were shouts and roars, but none of the words could be recognized. The sounds increased and erupted past him like a huge ocean wave. An enormous mass of shouting people had passed just outside his cell and were proceeding toward execution hill. The time was near. The man could not remember so great a crowd ever gathered to witness a death before.

Just then, the outside door of the prison was slammed open hard against the wall. Keys jiggled and the main security door was unlocked. Prison guards streamed towards his cell. The hopeless man trembled and recoiled in fear. Death was pouncing upon him.

The guards unlocked his cell and converged upon him like many wild tigers. They seized him, and drug him out into the morning sunlight outside the prison. When they had cleared the outside door of the prison, he was slammed face down hard on the ground. The impact knocked him into a daze. In a semi unconscious state, he waited for the first slapping sting of the lashing whip.

After a while, he senses quickened and he slowly opened his eyes, spitting dust from his mouth. He tilted his head slowly, expecting his flesh to be ripped open at any moment.

Amazingly, he was alone.

People were flowing in masses towards execution hill, but he was left unattended on the ground.

Slowly at first, but with increasing urgency, the freed man got up and made his way into an old warehouse, across the block from the prison. Looking around as he fled, he expected his fantasy to end at any moment. He made it to the abandoned building and flung himself sobbing to the ground.

After a long while, the man’s curiosity couldn’t be contained. He left the building and circled around the back of execution hill. He came up upon the crowd and mixed himself safely among the masses. With much effort, he fought his way through until he could see what the commotion was all about.

Three men hung dying on crosses, the pain etched across their faces. Two of the men he knew from his time in prison, but he didn’t recognize the man in the middle. This man seemed much weaker and closer to death than the others. He stood watching the dying man with blood gushing down the wood of the middle tree. A strange magnetism drew his soul, locking him in on the suffering criminal.

Their eyes met. Though he was among a mass of people, the man on the middle cross was looking directly at him. The dying man’s eyes were not desperate and frantic, but peaceful and loving.

After a few moments the freed man turned and walked away. As he fought his way back through the crowd, he overheard someone asking about the man on the middle cross, “Why are they killing him, what has he done?”

“He’s done nothing wrong,” the answer came. “He’s dying in place of a man set free.”

Exchanged Life

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him Second Corinthians 5:21

What would it feel like to find yourself in a prison cell, sentenced to die? Yet, being released at the last hour for another to die in your place. A man free of wrong, willing to die for you. This is our story.

Please Check out the  Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Lord, You’ve Got To Do This. I Can’t.

My father was at a low point in his life. He’d lost his marriage, his home, and his ability to live a normal life. He was imprisoned by alcoholism. I tried to comfort him, but my words didn’t help.

But one day, I read Jesus’ words to him, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.”[1]

I read the rest of the chapter and explained to Dad that Jesus wanted to give him the rest from this great burden. He began to cry. The philosophies of his college had led Dad to doubt God’s existence. But Jesus’ words opened up the eyes of his heart. Eventually, Dad entrusted his life to Christ.

But Dad still struggled. There was a gap between his reality and the deliverance he longed for.  He tried dozens of alcoholics anonymous meetings and was in and out of rehab centers. Nothing worked.

All along he’d been asking God to help him quit, but it wasn’t working. One day he came to the end of himself and cried, “God. I’ve tried everything I know. This isn’t working. I can’t do this. You’re going to have to do it.”

A bit later, after cutting the grass, he opened a beer and took a sip. It tasted horrible. He poured it out and never had another drop to drink the last fifteen years of his life.

Dad modeled for me a very powerful truth. Christ Himself is our life.

Jesus said. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”[2]

Paul said it this way, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”[3]

We were never designed to live life apart from God. Christ was pierced through for our transgressions[4] in order that He might share His life with us. By God’s doing, we’ve been placed in Christ[5] and seated with Him in heavenly places.[6] We’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit.[7]

As children of God, we’re new creations. [8] We’re united with Christ. God’s purpose is to transform us into the image of His Son. [9] But His way is not for us to try harder to improve ourselves. God never intended to make a better version of us. We died and our lives are now hidden in Christ. Christ now is our life. [10]

Anything which causes us to realize we can’t and God can has the possibility to draw us deeper into our true Life Source. It comes with humility and utter dependence.

Perhaps in our situations we need to say along with my dad,  “God. I’ve tried everything I know. This isn’t working. I can’t do this. You’re going to have to do it.”

Thanks Dad. I miss you.

Robert Elroy Buck III, whom I am named after, went to be with Jesus on April 30th, 2011. 

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)

[1] Matthew 11:28 

[2] John 15:5

[3] Philippians 2:13

[4] Isaiah 53:5

[5] I Corinthians 1:30

[6] Ephesians 2:6

[7] Ephesians 1:13

[8] II Corinthians 5:17

[9] Romans 8:29

[10] Colossians 3:3-4

Unless otherwise noted, verses are from the NASB version of the Bible.

Other Posts on Depending on the Lord:

Raised up with Christ

Christ in Us

Hidden with Christ

Batman or Spiderman

Waiting on Jesus

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

 

The Shadow of Death

God has given me such a joy and delight in diving deeply into His words. I write to clarify my thinking and understanding, but also to share and to encourage others, both those who confess Christ and those yet to become His disciple. Glenn Livingston (Guest Blogger)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me (Psalm 23:4a).

In previous seasons of my life the shadow of death seemed like a remote idea. But now, being over 80, I’m sensing the continuing erosion, loss of my physical vitality and abilities to deal with life.  More and more it’s as if my demise, my death is looming over me as an increasingly, uncomfortable shadow. This has caused me to pursue developing a Biblical perspective regarding aging and death.

I find the Lord has given us great encouragement for dealing with living in the shadow of death as it relates to aging.  It’s not to be feared.  Is it not a natural process ungoverned by God? This season of life, with its attending suffering, is not without purpose.

In a general way, God seeks to use the problems of our aging to sharpen our focus on the transcendent [1] realities surrounding our existence.

And for those who are disciples of Jesus, to further develop our spirituality. The way we deal with the difficulties of life, and our infirmities, stimulates others in their faith and trust in God. [2]

What Does God say about our Impending Death?

OUR PHYSICAL BODIES function as temporary intermediaries between us as persons, our inner self  (our souls) and the physical world.  2 Corinthians 5:1-8 speaks of our present physical body as a tent that is our earthly home, something temporary and of limited duration.

OUR AGING involves losing our physical abilities to function in this physical world. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 speaks of this as…our outer self is wasting away…  This is but our souls being prepared to depart from our physical bodies and be able to put on our heavenly dwelling 2 Corinthians 5:2. (More on this below)

The circumstances of our aging are governed by the Lord.  He uses it all to reveal how weak and fragile we are.  This causes us to think less and less of this present life and more on present and future transcendent realities.

OUR PHYSICAL DEATH is not the end of our existence. 2 Peter 1:13-14 The apostle Peter speaks of death as but putting off our physical body ( this earthly tent), not the end of our personhood. 

Jesus said; I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me though he die, yet shall he live (John 11:25)

Jesus told the criminal who confessed faith in Him even as he was being crucified; Today you will be with me in paradise. This man’s physical death on the cross would not be the end of his existence. [3]

Moses writes of Rachael’s physical death. As her soul was departing for she was dying …i.e. her soul was departing her physical body. [4]

In our physical death we only lose the limitations and vulnerabilities we possess through our physical fleshly bodies. 

 OUR ETERNAL FUTURE involves our receiving a spiritual body which we see manifested in Jesus’ post resurrection appearances. Examples John 20 and 21Romans 6:5we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.

Jesus’ resurrected body is a prototype for ours. Through Adam we received our natural physical bodies and through the last Adam (Jesus) we receive our spiritual bodies. [5] 

The apostle Paul writes…the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body…(our physical body vs a spiritual body with an enhanced capacity to know and enjoy and love God) [6]

 We will be further clothed so that what is mortal – subject to death is swallowed up by life…by what is immortal, not subject to death. [7]

Then we will in no way be restrained (limited) in the manner imposed on us by our present physical bodies. See 1 Corinthians 15:44-49  (frailties, sicknesses and death)

we groan…as we await this future reality, the redemption of our body. [8]

Fear No Evil

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me (Psalm 23:4a).

Back to Psalm 23, WHY NO FEAR?

BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE AND ACTIVITY OF GOD, OUR SHEPHERD.

 Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)                 

 WHY DO I HAVE SUCH CERTAINTY REGARDING MY FUTURE ?

Because God has given us His words that, by His grace, He has given the opportunity to have the eternal, personal experience of knowing Him; a relationship with God.

FOR I KNOW YOU ARE THE GOD; WHO has REVEALED HIMSELF to me in Jesus.

Luke 10:22 no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

For God who said let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ  (2 Corinthians 4:6). 

WHO has REDEEMNED me in Jesus’ death on the cross. 

For there is One God and there is One mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1Timothy 2:5).  

Who gave Himself as a ransom for all…who would receive Him (John 1:12). 

In Him we have redemption thru His blood (Ephesians 1:7) .

He who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will raise us…into His presence  (2 Corinthians 4:14) .

WHO has given the SPIRIT OF JESUS to reside within me, guiding and empowering me into living a qualitatively different life than I would have ever known, even as I experience aging. [9]

When the fulness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons, and because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts… (Galatians 4:4-6).  

When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth (John 16:13). 

Galatians 5:22-23 ..and the fruit of the Spirit is…the believers inner transformation is the evidence of the Spirit of Jesus’ presence and activity.

I identify with the Apostle Paul who wrote in Philippians 1:21-23For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, that is far better. (i.e. the best is yet to come). But to remain in the flesh is necessary… for God is not through working in my life and using me in the lives of others.

 And in another place God’s word says; But as it is written, What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him (I Corinthians 2:9).

Bottom Line Biblical Perspective For My Live

  • I treat my death and moving towards it as but a shadow. It is a difficult time, but not to be feared for God is with me. The best is yet to come.  
  • I sense this time of decline is not wasted. God has given the promise that He uses all things for our good. [10] In our experiencing the weaknesses of aging and becoming increasingly weary of this life, He is weaning us off our sense of self-sufficiency in order to develop our spirituality [11] more fully.
  • The promise of a personal resurrection and living in the close presence of God energizes my heart with hope and endurance through all the trials of life. 

I often meditate on the testimony of Job who was physically afflicted in many ways. He testifies that it was God’s words and promises that sustained his faith in dealing with so much.

From Job 19:23-27 KJV:

Oh that my words were written, Oh that they were inscribed in a book  That with an iron stylus and lead they were engraved in a rock forever!      

 As for me, I know that my redeemer lives  – (Job acknowledges his need of a Redeemer that has overcome death)

and He will stand in the latter days upon the earth  – ( He knows how it’s all going to turn out)  

and though worms consume my body, –  (It’s a sure prospect Job will die and his body will decay)

yet in my flesh I shall see God,  (He has confidence in his personal resurrection and that he will see God)

whom I shall see for myself – (and that he would have a close, personal encounter) Yes I will see Him with my own eyes.                    

I am overwhelmed at the thought!    (It takes precedence over everything else).

[1]  transcendent – beyond what we can know by our physical senses

[2] Colossians 1:24

[3] Luke 23:43 

[4] Genesis 35:18

[5] 1 Corinthians 15:44-45

[6] Philippians 3:21

[7] 2 Corinthians 5:4

[8] Romans 8:23

[9] John 16:13

[10] Romans 8:28-29

[11] spirituality – living out of a heart valuing God and eternal realities

Subscribe below to have the posts delivered to your email. We publish weekly. At least that’s the plan. (8^>

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

 Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Soap

In the mid 1800s a large number of babies were dying soon after childbirth. During that time Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor, learned something which would change the medical community forever. In his studies he noticed more babies were dying after being delivered by medical students than by midwives. Digging deeper, he realized the students often performed autopsies prior to delivery, contaminating their hands with microbes.

Dr. Semmelweis instigated a regiment of hand washing which substantially dropped the number of infant deaths. Though soap had been around since Biblical times, its total benefit was not known until then. This began the great soap-related hygiene revolution which radically changed the medical field.

It’s amazing how a bit of knowledge about soap could save countless lives.

Is there knowledge we can gain which can have an even larger impact on us? 

Yes.

Knowing God’s love for us is even more vital that knowing the benefits of soap during medical procedures. Us knowing God’s love has eternal ramifications.

Following are three reasons knowing God’s love is so essential. To grasp it we need to realize its more than information to be stored in our heads. It must also come alive in our hearts.

May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened. [2]

Perfect Love Drives out Fear and Allows us to Love

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us (I John 4:18-19 NASB).

As I examine my heart, much of my sin is rooted in fear. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of poverty. Fear of unhappiness. Fear of . . . 

Fear causes worrying and robs me of essential peace.

In the above verses, John writes about a love which drives out fear, a perfect love, flowing from the heart of God. 

While we still fear, we’re yet to be perfected in God’s love. However, to the degree we realize God’s amazing love for us, our fears melt away and peace reigns in our hearts.

As I write, I imagine a life with no fear. Fearless. Oh the freedom! Oh the joy! And it’s not just something to wish for. God’s perfect love is real, the chaser of all fears. 

But there’s much more.

God’s love for us is the source of all true love. To the degree we realize His perfect love, we’re able to reflect His love back to Him and to others. 

Perfect love not only gives us courage, is also the source of all of our love.

We love because He first loved us.

God’s Love Enables Our Obedience

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NASB)

Since our love is rooted in God’s love for us, His love enables our obedience. In the above verses, Jesus gives two vital commands which basically summarizes the entire Bible. Our obedience is characterized by love. It’s the overarching filter to govern everything we do. As the ten commandments state, loving God (first four) and loving others (last six) should guide our every word and deed.

So, why is God’s love for us important?

God’s love enables us to love. And loving is how we obey Him.

God’s Love Roots and Grounds Us

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19 NASB)

God’s love for us surpasses our knowledge. It’s beyond our understanding and our intellect. Even so, Paul prays that the superlative dimensions of God’s love might be comprehended or realized in a way which comes alive in our hearts.

Paul is praying that what does not fit in our heads, will dwell in our hearts as God is pleased to illuminate it.   

God’s love roots us and grounds us and gives us a vital firm foundation. To the degree God’s surpassing love is illuminated and made real to us, our souls are secured against the storms and trials of life.

Story: There’s a song based on the verses above about the deep, deep love of Jesus. Many years ago, the song was sung at the funeral of Rachel, a little two-year old play mate of my oldest son.

O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus [3]

As the song was sung, I looked over at her parents. I couldn’t comprehend what they were feeling. In my raw state, I wondered how the song could possibly fit since Rachel had died. 

Then it hit me. As deep as the pain Rachel’s parents were feeling, God’s love was deeper still. In their pain, they had an opportunity to experience the depth of God’s love in a way they might not have otherwise known. 

Since then, my wife and I have experienced some deep relational pain of our own, kind of like the death of a child. But through it all, God’s love is deeper still. We can truly say that we know God’s love more deeply because He’s met us in the depth of our grief and pain.

Conclusion

From Zephaniah 3:17 we learned that God delights to be with us and that we make Him happy.

The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

What makes this and other facts about knowing God’s love for us so VITAL is that:

  • God’s love chases away ALL fear
  • God’s love and is the source of our love
  • God’s love enables us to obey Him
  • God’s Root and grounds our soul, no matter what

Prayer

Lord may my comprehension of Your amazing love for me continue to grow as I soak in its reality. Thank You for chasing away my every fear with Your perfect love. Please remind me quickly when fears arise. Thank you that Your love enables me to love You. May I receive Your love and give it away.  Thank You for delighting to be with me. Please help me to grasp Your love more and more. Steady my heart in the firm foundations of Your delight in me. Amen.     

[1]https://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/21/tenthings.changedtheworld/index.html         

[2] Ephesians 1:18

[3] Written by Samuel Trevor Francis

Other posts on God’s Love

God’s Everlasting Love

Experiencing the Freedom of God’s Love

God’s Love in a Broken World

Completely Loved

God’s Delight in Us

When we don’t Feel God’s Love

What we Need is Love

Subscribe below to have the posts delivered to your email. We publish weekly. At least that’s the plan. (8^>

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

 Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

U Can’t Touch This

Stanley Burrell was batboy for the Oakland Athletics from 1973 to 1980. During that time, he was given the nickname “Hammer” because he looked so much like the homerun, king Hammering Hank Aaron. 

After his time with the Athletics, Hammer went on to write and perform the first rap song ever nominated for a Grammy Award record of the year. It became the  winner for best R&B and best rap solo performance. 

The song – U Can’t Touch This. The artist – M.C. Hammer.

I like it. It has an inviting, catchy rhythm. The title is repeated many times during the song.

U Can’t Touch This.

What’s interesting is how these words have helped me get a deeper understanding of some key aspects of God’s love.

You may wonder how the title of a rap song could possibly illuminate God’s love. Let’s take a look. 

Everlasting Love

On a vacation in Highlands N.C. a number of years ago, I was struck by the  the following verse.

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jeremiah 31:3 NASB)

 As I rocked on the front porch, staring at the Appalachians, towering above the small mountain town, I dug deeper. I discovered that “Ahabah,” the Hebrew word  translated “everlasting love,” describes a quality of love which is beyond corruption. It can’t be changed by anything physical or what goes on in our souls.

With all the recent devastation in the world, the idea of God’s love not changing, no matter what the circumstance, is extraordinary news. It also means neither choices, thoughts or feelings can affect His everlasting love.

The steady embrace of God’s love for us can’t be changed. It remains untouched and unaffected by any external force. You can’t touch God’s love in a way which can change it.

U Can’t Touch This.

As believers, this changes everything about us, especially since we’ve been chosen to be loved by God since before the world began. [1]  

And how do we more fully grasp this quality of love which is not only unchangeable, but vast beyond belief?

As we ponder and meditate on the enormity of God’s everlasting love, let’s consider other aspects which add to the quality of His amazing love:

God’s Love Rescued Us

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:8-10 NASB)

We were apart from God, facing eternal darkness with no ability to change the situation. In our helpless state, while we were still hostile toward Him, God choose to rescue us. And He did it by sending His Son to die in our stead.

Please don’t allow the familiarity of this great news to cheapen the impact!

We were hostile and helpless, but God, out of His unparalleled love, gave His Son to save us.

And, not only did He save us from God’s wrath by His death, much more will He now preserve and heal us by His indwelling life. 

Jesus Loves Us as Much as God Loves Him

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”[3] Jesus

As much as God loves Jesus, He loves us. How can this really be? It seems unimaginable. Yet, Jesus said it. It is true!

Don’t rush past this. Remain in the truth of Jesus’ abiding love. 

But, we can’t assume upon the love and grace of Christ. [4] Though our actions can’t change God’s love for us, we can choose to disobey. As believers, the strap of His love holds, but Jesus desires us to walk in the fellowship of His love and joy. This is done by relying on Him and walking in obedience. 

Conclusion

As believers in Christ’s finished work for us on the cross, gazing upon and beginning to grasp the magnitude of God’s love for us is a first step in prioritizing and nurturing our relationship with Him.

God’s love has an eternal quality which keeps it from being affected by anything of this world, seen or unseen.

Even when we were against God, His love for us moved Him to send His own Son to die in our place, rescuing us and making us whole.

As much as God the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us and we’re called to walk in the fellowship of His love.

Prayer

Lord, I’ll never fully comprehend the extent of Your love for me. It’s beyond my ability to comprehend. However, because You describe it in Your word, I believe it and want to walk in it. Though I don’t understand Your love, please make it real in my heart that it might shape every moment of my life. Amen.

[1] Ephesians 1:4-5

[2] Romans 8:29

[3] John 15:9

[4] Romans 6:1-2

For Further Reading on God’s Love

Completely Loved

Why is Knowing God’s love Essential?

The Connection between Love and Joy

What Threatens us knowing God’s Love?

Experiencing the Freedom of God’s Love

God’s Love in a Broken World

Being Loved by God is our True Identity

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in the Midlands of South Carolina.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Rhythms: IN (Developing a Love First Mentality)

Watchmen Nee wrote that his mentor, Margaret Barber, cared more about life than work. She focused on loving the people God brought her way rather than the work she needed to get done.

What a beautiful focus. This is my desire as well, but too often loving people gets lost behind the pressure to get things done.

Story

A while ago, I needed to get the name of diabetic test strips which would be covered under our new insurance plan. My pharmacy told me to call my doctor. My doctor told me to call my insurance company. My insurance company referred me to a third party, which handled pharmacy issues.

After navigating a labyrinth of computer generated voices, I finally spoke to a person. His name was John. His voice was slow and shaky. I had the call on speaker and my wife and I could tell John was elderly.

John didn’t know the answer to my question and suggested I call my pharmacy. When I told him I had,  he suggested I call my insurance company. I tried to calmly explain that my insurance company was who told me to call him.

By this point, I had no compassion for John. I really just wanted to mark this nagging to-do off my list. I didn’t care what John might have been going through.  I’d lost sight of any opportunity to love him. 

I did not have a love first mentality.

John put me on hold so he could try and get an answer. While we waited, my wife helped me see the situation differently. She could tell he was having a difficult time.  She felt bad for him.

When John got back on the line, he had an answer. As he explained it, my wife made a signal for me to pray with him. This wasn’t on my radar, but when he was done, I said, “John, is there anything I can pray for you about?”

“Yes,” John answered quickly.

Then there was a silence.

“What can I pray for you about?” I repeated.

“My salvation,” John cried out.

Wow.

I prayed with John right there on the phone, though I’m sure the call was being monitored. I prayed he would recognize God’s tremendous love for him. I let him know God was willing to allow His Son, Jesus, to die in his place to rescue him and give him salvation.

When I finished and said goodbye, we could hear what seemed to be sobs from John before we hung up.

What a wonderful interaction. But I almost  missed it. I was so focused on getting things done, loving John had dropped from any consideration. I’d lost sight of the most important thing.

The Great Command

Jesus, on the night before his crucifixion, gave his disciples a single great command. He told them that as they followed this one thing, they would stay connected to his love and their joy would be made complete.[1]

“This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” John 15:12

Earlier in the evening, in John 13, Jesus had washed their stinky, dirty feet. The next day, He would endure a cruel death on a cross to save them. This is how He’d loved them. This is how He’s loved us.

Jesus’ new command to them, and to us, is to love others in the same sacrificial way He’s loved us.

It’s not the work. It’s the people. The things we do are not an end but a means to bring us to the people God wants us to love.

As we yield to God’s Indwelling Spirit, He will accomplish the work He wants done through us. But the Lord wants our focus to be on loving.

But what about everything else?

Having a love first mentality is absolutely what I’ve been called to do, but how do I keep my duties from becoming my primary focus, especially when to-dos mount and time is crunched?

I’m learning that, in God’s greater plan, tasks and even the problems I face, can be aids to my loving, not deterrents. It all depends on my overall intensions. Am I doing to love or just plan doing?

Looking back at my conversation with John, I was frustrated even before I talked to him. I felt like I was getting the runaround trying to get a simple answer. Finding the right test strips was one of many nagging to-dos on my every growing task list. 

I ask myself what could have made a difference and given me a love first mentality with John?

  • Trusting God that His love for me has nothing to do with me completing my task list, but is based purely on what Christ has done.
  • Remembering that Christ’s new command, to love others as He’s loved me, should supersede all other concerns.
  • Seeing duties and problems, not as purely negative, but as ways to bring me people like John to love.
  • Yielding to the Holy Spirit within as my source of patience, kindness, gentleness and love.
  • Trusting God with every task and problem, realizing they are not surprises to Him.

Conclusion

God has created a path of love. Trusting everything else to Him and His higher ways, He’s calling us to love as our primary focus.

When we do, our duties stop being the end goal and become a means to a greater purpose.

And, as we see in John 15:9-12, loving others as Christ has loved us. keeps us in the flow of His love and gives us His full and complete joy.

This sounds too good to be true, but God says it is.

Prayer

 Most gracious, heavenly Father. I’m sorry I so easily get caught up in the swirl of duties that I lose focus on loving. I see You all around me in Your creation and in the people You bring my way. Please help me trust You that the work will get done. Please change the paradigm of my day to care less about accomplishments and more about loving every person You bring my way.

Personal Study

Highlight John 13

Explain it in your own words

Apply it to your life

Respond to God in prayer 

[1] John 15:9-12

Previous posts in the Rhythms series:

God’s Amazing Love

God’s Essential Love

What Hides God’s Love

Christ Lives in Me

Raised up with Christ

Who’s your Treasure?

Obtaining the Joy of Jesus 

Orienting Life from Above

When Things Get Hard

Communing with God

Receiving God’s Love to Give it Away

.Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child with the gospel.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

 

Rhythms: IN (The Cadence of Life)

Story:

A few years ago a friend of mine shared a secret he’d learned during miles of cycling. “Don’t worry about the miles per hour,” Rick said. “It’s the cadence that matters. If you keep the cadence above 70 or 80, no matter how steep the hills, your miles per hour will take care of itself.”

What Rick told me turned out to be true. I had my bicycle computer set to always show me the Miles Per Hour. I  would strain, sometimes in very hard gears, to maintain my speed even on monster hills. But eventually my legs would wear out.

However, when I changed the computer to show my cadence, I paid attention only to how many times I pedaled in a minute. If it was at least 70 times, shifting gears as needed to accommodate changes in the gradient, my miles per hour worked out better at the end of the ride. It’s the key to endurance cycling.

Note: In the above picture, Rick Velilla is the second biker on the right. He is now with the Lord.

The Cadence of Life

As I think about how watching my cadence led to cycling success, I wonder if there’s a similar focus  for life. Is there a rhythm which can be maintained during the ups and downs of circumstances, that keeps me in God’s will, the same way Rick’s suggestion kept me steady on the inclines of the road?

I think of  Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus gives us a focus for our lives, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

These two summary commandments, focusing on Love, form a filter for me to run my words and deeds through,

But the kind of love Jesus is talking can’t originate with me.

I John 4:19“We love because He first loved us.” 

God’s love is the only true love. I can grind out a self serving type of love, straining at the pedals of life, but it’s not pure and it will wear out.

My cadence is to remain in Jesus’ love flowing through me, as Rivers of Living Water, [1] and to love others in the same way He’s loved me. [2] No matter what difficult hills I travel in life, my focus is to be on receiving His love and giving it away.

Receiving God’s Love to Give it Away

Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you (John 15:9-12 NASB).

As I look closer at the above verses, the steps of receiving God’s love and giving it away are clearly laid out.

Know His love. Remain in His love. Love other’s as He’s loved me

First, I’m to Know how much Jesus loves me. Verse 9 says He loves me as much as God loves Him.  The essence of this truth is beyond my understanding, yet Jesus tells me it’s true.

Lord, this truth is too amazing to fit in my head. Please open the eyes of my heart that I might begin to truly know the vast quality of Your love for me, which is beyond comprehension.  

Then I’m to Remain in the Lord’s love for me. Verse 10 commands me to stay, tarry, abide in Jesus’ great love for me. Abiding is not striving. It’s remaining, not moving from where God originally placed me, in the love of Christ. [3] God did it. I need to rest in what He’s already done.

Lord, please keep me aware that staying in Your love is not something to attain, but something to rest in.  When I’m tricked again into thinking I must perform to earn Your love, please calm my heart. May I continually remain and rest where You’ve placed me, in Your unending love.

And, from verses 10 an 12, I must learn the true cadence of receiving God’s love and giving it away, Loving others as He’s loved me.  This quality of sacrificial love, demonstrated by Christ’s washing of the disciples feet [4], can only be repeated by me depending on Christ’s Holy Spirit within me. Apart from Him, I can do nothing [5], especially love others.

Lord, truly this is the great cadence of life, receiving Your love, and by Your Spirit, loving others as You’ve loved me. So often I offer a cheap imitation of my own kind of love. When I do this, please shut it down quickly. Loving with my love is only harmful and self serving. But, by allowing you to love through me, You are glorified and my life is filled with Your joy.

Complete Joy

Jesus tells says when I know His love, remain in it and love others as He has loved me, I will have His joy.

As we look at Jesus’ life, we see love tightly coupled with joy.

. . . Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of Go (Hebrews 12:2b NASB).

 It was His love for us, and the prize of our reconciliation with Him, which gave Jesus a joy, which fueled His endurance on the cross.   

It’s this quality of joy which accompanies our receiving His love and giving it away, a joy which completes us.

Conclusion

There’s a command Jesus gave His disciples, after He washed their feet and before He endured the cross. He called it a new commandment and He gave it twice:

 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35 NASB).

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you (John 15:9-12 NASB)

Resting in the love of Jesus, we, in turn, love others. The great cadence of life. Receiving His love and giving it away.

If this rhythm of love is locked into our minds, the result will be far better than if we focus on the circumstances of our lives.

Prayer

Lord, you’ve given me a new commandment which seems to sum up Your desires for me. By Your strength and guidance, I ask You to allow me to obey this as the foremost focus of my life. Please show me quickly when I deviate and lose the cadence of receiving Your love and giving it away.

Thank you, that in obeying Your new commandment, I remain in Your love and experience Your joy.

I  love You Lord.

 Amen.

Personal Study

The Daily L.O.V.E. Examen

In order to LOVE those close to me, I need to regularly examine my interactions with them. The LOVE Examen is a daily contemplation of my relationships and conversations to see if I need to seek reconciliation or forgiveness. This is how God grows my character.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24 NASB).

 Listen   Did I  Listen attentively today to what was said and unspoken?

Open     Was I open and vulnerable in my interactions with others today?

Value    Did I  value the thoughts & opinions of others in my conversations?

Examine  “Lord, examine my heart for any way I didn’t love well today.”

[1] John 7:38

[2] John 13:34-35

[3] I Corinthians 1:30

[4] John 13

[5] John 15:5

Previous posts in the Rhythms series:

God’s Amazing Love

God’s Essential Love

What Hides God’s Love

Christ Lives in Me

Raised up with Christ

Who’s your Treasure?

Obtaining the Joy of Jesus 

Orienting Life from Above

When Things Get Hard

Communing with God

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child with the gospel.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

 

Rhythms: UP (Communing with God)

Much has been written about folks communing with God and walking with Him throughout the day.

Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24 NASB).

These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9 NASB).

He guides me in the paths of righteousness For the sake of His name.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me (Psalm 23:3b-4a NASB).

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.  You will guide me with Your plan, And afterward receive me to glory (Psalm 73:23-24 NASB).

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (I Corinthians 1:9 NASB).

As amazing as it seems, having intimate fellowship with the Creator of the Universe is possible for us right now. As believers, Jesus Christ indwells us by His Holy Spirit. He is always with us, as close as breathe. But do we acknowledge Him as we go?

For me the answers is: sometimes. But I want to know Him more deeply and communicate with Him more consistently, not only in my set aside times alone with Him, but also throughout the day.

After all, our access to God has been paid for by the precious blood of  Jesus, the Lamb of God, for the purpose of us experiencing eternal life, even now. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3 NASB).

Knowing God. Walking with Him, having fellowship with Him, communing with Him is possible. Today. This moment.

But how? 

Let’s look at a couple of rhythms for staying connected to God in true communion and fellowship.

Being Alone with Jesus 

One way to take advantage of our direct pathway to God is to regularly set aside dedicated times of being alone with Him. These times, though they can also include reading God’s Words or songs of worship, can be considered times of prayer.

Unless we are simply going through the motions, which I sometimes do, true communication is happening during these times of being alone with Jesus. 

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:6 ESV).

Jesus often had these times of pulling away to isolate with His Father God. 

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed  (Mark 1:35 NASB).

And when it was day, He departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought Him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them (Luke 4:42 NASB).

But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray (Luke 5:16 NASB).

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God (Luke 6:12 NASB).

The last verse tells us what Jesus did prior to selecting the twelve disciples.

Following are some suggested keys concerning our times alone with God which produce genuine communication. 

  • Be as consistent with the time of day as possible. Mornings are good, but not necessary. If unexpected events occur, no worries. Take the time when it can be grabbed.
  • Treat the time alone with God as other scheduled meetings. Mark it off. Protect it. These are, by far, the most important meetings you have.
  • Have a regular format during these meetings, but allow the Holy Spirit to alter your plan. Suggested routines might include worship, times of silent listening (more on that later), consuming God’s word and responding to what God might be communicating to you.  
  • Have a plan for reading God’s word, but be sure the amount doesn’t cause it to become dutiful. It’s not like homework, it’s delightful fellowship 
  • Write down your worship, insights from God’s word and your response. A journal, dedicated to your times alone with God, works great for this.

Our entire time alone with God should be looked at as a time of communing prayer.  If at times, your mind wonders into “get it done mode,” pause and reconnect into genuine fellowship.

Throughout the Day

Our communing with God doesn’t have to end when we leave our times of being alone with Him. God is always with us, even in the darkest of times. But we need to be intentional about recognizing His nearness. Some may call it practicing the presence of God, after the book of the same name by Brother Lawrence. He wrote about thinking often of God during the day and night, in our business and in our diversions. He called this art of practicing God’s presence a single act that never ends.

A cook by trade, Brother Lawrence considered his time communing with God while working in the kitchen of the same quality as when he was alone with God on his knees. He learned to cultivate the presence of God by joyfully thanking Him and praising Him as he went through the day.

One of my favorite verses about communicating with God as we go is: Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful (Colossians 4:2 NIV).

Digging deeper into this verse, “devote” means to adhere to, to be steadfastly attentive to, to give unremitting care about something.

So, as we go, even in the midst of the fray of the day, when unexpected brokenness and “interruptions” crowd in, we’re to stick with our continual commitment to communicating with God.

Watchful” – be active, be aware, be alert for what God’s doing through and around us.

“Thankful” –  have an attitude of gratitude, even for the hard things, knowing God, our Fullness of All Joy,  is always with us.

Following are some suggestions for staying connected with God and practicing His presence throughout the day.

  • As you end your alone time with God, ask Him to keep you aware of Him as you tackle the challenges of the day. Talk with Him about the events on your schedule and invite Him into each activity.
  • If you’ve ever been on a long road trip or hike with a trusted companion, think about the “withness” you experienced. Words were not always spoken, but the extended time together gave you a deep sense of fellowship as you experienced the adventures along the way. Picture, in the dwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ, this same realization of continual “withness”.
  • As stressful challenges crop up during the day, see these as reminders that God is with you. Realize that whatever “brokenness” you face is not a surprise to your Father God. Talk with Him about it and depend upon Him more deeply in it.
  • When you are reminded again of God’s presence, after an extended time of focusing only on the endeavor at hand, don’t get discouraged. Simply thank God that you’re thinking of Him now and ask Him to keep you aware of Him now.
  • Don’t waste the down times. Unless you’ve packed your schedule to the brim, which I have a tendency to do, there will be times you find yourself alone with a bit of “free time”. A tendency is to fill this time with some noise or screen time. Instead, enjoy some silence with God. Love Him. Thank Him. Praise Him. Listen to Him.
  • Play the “I spy God” game. A number of years ago, Karen and David Mains, in there radio show Chapel of the Air, encouraged folks to go on God hunts throughout the day. Look for God in the beauties of His creation, in unusual “coincidences”, in unexpected encounters with folks. Thank God when you see Him and share the sightings with others. 

As we practice these and other rhythms of communing with God, inertia will build and we will more and more experience continual fellowship with the One who loves us and gave Himself for us. 

About Brother Lawrence it was written, “He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our souls. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence.” [1]

Story:

A couple of years ago I was introduced to a small book on listening prayer entitled Chair Time , by Dan Sutherland. It’s based on what Ephesians 2:4-6 says about us being raised with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places before the throne of God. The author asks us to picture a multitude of chairs around the throne of God and us seated in one of them. In this scenario, Sutherland asks, who would be doing the talking? Certainly not us.

He encourages a daily rhythm of picking the same chair, in the same place, at the same time, to sit and listen to God.

When we first sit down, Sutherland warns us that our minds will most likely be bombarded with all manner of distractions. His answer is to “spin off” each hampering thought. Perhaps use a  “spin off” page to write things on and refer to them later.

When I practice “chair time” I have a journal and a black and blue pen. 

The first phase, after “spin off” is called WOW. This is where we focus on being wowed by God’s magnitude and wonder. I usually use a Psalm to stoke the fires of my heart into praise. Using my black pen, I might write some genuine responses to who He is.

Next is NOW. This is when there’s a true acknowledgment of God presence with us right now. It’s believing He’s near, that Jesus, by His Holy Spirit indwells us and that our lives are hidden in Him.

I then write in black ink, “Do You want to say anything to me now?”

The blue ink is for what follows. Sometimes there’s silence, an enjoyment of just being with God. Other times, I get a sense of what He might be saying and I write it done in blue. I’m very careful during these time to be sure what I write down is not just what I want to hear.

An example was when I was listening to what He might be saying concerning the death of my sister. What I believe I heard was, “I am enough. No matter what, I am enough.

Looking back over the blue ink in my last few journals, What I see is God’s truth from scripture, nothing new. But each time, it’s exactly what I needed to hear at the time. 

These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you (John 14:26-27 NASB).

 The last phase is HOW. How do I respond to what I believe God has said? For me, this is usually a prayer written in black ink.

Conclusion

We were designed to live in community with God. When sin separated us, Jesus’ blood brought us back. Our Lord is near. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17 NASB).

We can walk with God, praising Him, talking with Him, listening to Him, depending on Him as we go. Being with Him, savoring His nearness, loving with His love is our path to full joy, in spite of what we face.

Part of the formula for communing with God is time alone. Jesus modeled this for us on countless occasions. But also, when we’re in the midst of our days, our fellowship continues as we seek God’s will and His guidance. Being dedicated to our conversations with Him, we rest in His nearness, abide in His Spirit, listen to His promptings seek to glorify Him with every word and deed. We keep alert, looking to praise Him, thank Him and enjoy Him each moment.   

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB)

In all our ways, as we we go, we acknowledge the Lord is with us.

Prayer

Lord,  right now I truly recognize You are here. I know it. Yet, sometimes I forget. Sometimes, even in my “quiet times,” I fail to truly acknowledge You. I read Your Word and talk to You, but in becomes an activity, not true fellowship.

I’m sorry, Lord.

In my day, I can get so caught up with the duties, I miss You. I can go large stretches of time not even thinking of You are thanking You for my breaths.

I’m sorry, Lord.

As I write, I sense Your forgiveness and Your desire for me to leave all that’s in the past behind. Right now I go forward with You. Keep me aware of You.

I  love you Lord.

 Amen.

Personal Study

Chair Time Pick a chair in a place you can have silence and solitude. 

Spin Off – Give to the Lord all that crashes into your mind to distract you from quiet.

WOW – Be amazed at who God is and praise His name.

NOW – Recognize God nearness right this moment.

Try and spend at least 15 minutes listening for what God may be saying to you. The recommendation is to write down what you hear. Don’t be discouraged if you hear nothing the first time. Try again.

Follow it up with:

HOW – Determine how to respond to what you’ve heard.

[1] From Goodreads description of The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/498641.The_Practice_of_the_Presence_of_God

Previous posts in the UP series:

God’s Amazing Love

God’s Essential Love

What Hides God’s Love

Christ Lives in Me

Raised up with Christ

Who’s your Treasure?

Obtaining the Joy of Jesus 

Orienting Life from Above

When Things Get Hard

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Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child with the gospel.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains