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“Anything to Declare?”

“You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don’t have time to carry grudges; you don’t have time to cling to the need to be right.”  – Anne Lamott

 “There’s a luggage limit to every passenger on a flight. The same rules apply to your life. You must eliminate some baggage before you can fly.”  – Rosalind Johnson  

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“Do you have anything to declare?”  This is commonly heard at international airports as a traveler, sometimes weary, enters their destination.  It’s a question that must be asked for safety and security purposes that I think begs answering in our lives as well.  I’ve never received a degree in counseling or psychology, but I’ve been around long enough to know that sometimes when we enter the present moment which is the doorway to the future we often are still carrying baggage from the past that prohibits us from entering and from moving on.  Baggage, which is anger, regret, hurts, fears, scars (emotional & physical) can seriously limit us and that of the potential for personal and spiritual growth if we continue to carry them with us. 

 

Jesus even alluded to these types of burdens when he said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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 NIV)

What is Jesus saying here?  He is telling us to let go of our baggage!  He is saying if you learn from me you will understand that you don’t have to carry this heavy burden any longer, my way is lighter and it will free you of your past, your baggage, your worries and fears.  Jesus says to us in this passage that we ought to let go of it all…it doesn’t matter anymore…we can be free!  Wouldn’t you like to forget some things about your past?  Wouldn’t you like to let go of burdens that you’ve carried around with you for far too long?   We were never meant to heap these worries, regrets and scars around with us for the rest of our lives!  That was not God’s plan for us.  Sure from time to time we have screwed up.  Sure from time to time others have hurt us so very deeply.  Sure from time to time we find it difficult to forgive that one person who broke our heart or betrayed us…yet that’s precisely what Jesus is asking us to do.  He wants us to leave our past behind.  He wants us to lay it down at His feet and for us to allow Him to help us. 

I don’t presume to understand how God’s grace works, but I do know that it does.  By faith, daily I must once again surrender my past to Him.  I know that from time to time that even Satan will try and remind me of those things from my past.  He will try to discourage me and persuade me that I really haven’t changed…and yet when I seek the Lord, when I read His word God shows me just how far I’ve come.  The same is true for you as well.  You can let go.  You will be free.  The answers to healing your past and restoring your future lies with the One that made you, not the ones that have hurt you, or the situations that you fiercely regret.   

The Lord is asking us today; “Do you have anything to declare?”  If we are wise we will declare everything to Him, and allow Him to restore our present and future by letting go of the baggage that weighs us down and holds us back.  Don’t let your past dictate where you go today or tomorrow!  You and I can be free…but first we must confront and let go of the baggage. 

There’s an old prayer chorus our church used to sing and it goes like this:

“Burdens are lifted at Calvary, Calvary, Calvary, Burdens are lifted at Calvary…Jesus is very near!”       Jesus wants to be near to you today, He wants to lift your burdens, your baggage from you…will you let Him?

Prayer:

Lord I have been carrying around this baggage from my past for far too long and it is weighing me down.  This baggage is holding me back from growing in your grace.  Help me to surrender it all to you today!  I know that it may not happen all at once, but grant me your strength to surrender it all to you!  I want to learn from you, I want that freedom that only you can offer.  Thank you Lord for guiding me and for being here with me each step of the way.  –Amen.

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On the journey

Like the sorrows of the sea

drifting back and forth,

froth with foam

deep as the midnight sky

a firmament of wonder 

that stretches out far beyond

our eyes can see…

there we find our humble 

existence. 

There we recognize 

just how finite we are

within an infinite realm. 

As the ebb and flow 

the undertow 

and the currents of time

cast us about messages in bottles

and washed up wreckages 

we tell our tale, a story to share

existential clarity 

never charity but love

centered and fine. 

This pure hope resounds

keeps stillness at bay, 

at arms length the death knell

is silenced. 

Thankful

I close my eyes…

and enjoy this journey.  

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Whose ‘Will’ is it?

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“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  (Matthew 6:10)

 

It’s from the ‘Lord’s prayer’.  You’ve probably recited it any number of times, but have you really thought about what you’re actually saying?

When we say to God, “Father you are holy” we acknowledge two things, the first is that He is our heavenly Father and that secondly He is holy.  Kinda obvious isn’t?  But when we get to the next line of the ‘Lord’s prayer’, what we begin to realize is that our prayer to God isn’t about what we can get from Him, but rather what we can give Him.

A few verses back Jesus even tells His disciples not to pray like the hypocrites who love to hear their own voices and want others to hear them as well.  Our prayers can be corporate but they should also be private conversations with God throughout our day.

Back to His Kingdom:

What we mean when we say “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is this: God you are God of my life and I want to be a part of Your kingdom.  We are also saying that God’s Will is more important than that of our human will.  Essentially what we are saying is ‘God I trust you and I surrender to you!’…but do we really?   I don’t know about you but letting go of the control that I have on my life isn’t something that I’m good at.  It’s a powerless feeling to let go, and yet when we pray this prayer or something similar to it,  we are implying exactly that.  If we don’t mean what we say then why are we saying it in the first place?

I liken it to parenting.  I’m a father of four children.  They mean the world to me and I am proud of each of them for who they are.  As their father I want what is best for them.  I want to see them succeed in every area of life.  In school, I want to see them get good grades and flourish.  In social settings, I want my kids to have healthy friendships and strong bonds and connections with others.  As future adults I want them to be wise with their resources and smart with their money.  I want to see my children succeed and so I guide them and provide them the wisdom that I have learned since I’ve been on this earth longer than they have.  In the same way isn’t that what our Father in Heaven wants from us?  He wants us to love Him first, but next there is that deep longing for us to succeed in this life!  He wants to guide us, He wants to provide for us and show us how to live better lives.  The key is that we have to listen.  We have to subjugate ourselves, or submit ourselves to His kingdom and His will.   When we view this submission not as negative thing or that we are losing our freedom, but rather we are gaining our freedom then it becomes clearer as to how important it is to submit to the will of God.

We don’t pray this line to mean, God wipe out all of my enemies and crush them with your kingdom.  We aren’t turning prayer into another selfish edict of our wills…but rather we are first saying, “Lord it has to begin with me…right here, right now…teach me, I am submitting to your will not mine anymore.”  When we can say this and actually mean it there is freedom.  When we find ourselves willfully submitting to His will great things can and will take place.  The world might become fiercer because of it, you might face stronger opposition in your life but you now are fully engaged in the workings of God and not your workings any longer.  Our Father in Heaven wants us to trust Him, and He wants us to allow His wisdom and will to guide our lives.  He wants us to succeed because He cares and loves us.

This isn’t some magic phrase that we say to make things work better in our lives.  This isn’t some mantra that we utter habitually and thereby willing our essence to perform amazing tasks either.  No, what we mean when we say these lines to our Father is “Here I am at your feet ready to submit all that I am to your kingdom and your will.”

What does that mean to you today? 

Have you submitted yourself, your will, your desires, you hopes and dream to Him?

It won’t be easy, but if you let Him reside in you and allow His kingdom and will to replace yours, you will be amazed that you didn’t allow Him to do so earlier.   Make it your private prayer today to say “Lord, your kingdom come (in my life) your will be done (in my life) on earth as it is in heaven.

-Blessings on your day today!

Prayer:

Lord I confess to you many times I have not allowed you access to my entire life.  I have held back and tried to force my will not your will to be done.  Forgive me and show me today how I should submit myself to you.  I know that you want what is best in my life.  I know that you want me to succeed.  Help me to follow you, help me to trust you with everything in my life.  I want to turn it over to you today.  This I pray in Your name, may your will be done and your kingdom come in and through my life.  –Amen. 

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So What?

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You know…I hate to do it…but here goes:  SO WHAT?

There’s a lot of stories out there talking about the breaking news of Jason Collins’ ‘coming out’ revelation.  My opinion really doesn’t matter and I’m not really going to share that, but my whole take on the actual story as a whole is “SO WHAT?”.  Meaning does that really effect anything on the court or on the field of play.  Take away any moral (conservative or liberal) view on the topic of being gay, and just look at it from the perspective of someone’s professional life.  It really doesn’t matter.

Now (and I love flipping the coin) on the topic of Tim Tebow…should the headlines on his story be that he’s a Christian or that he just can’t play the needed position of Quarterback in the NFL?  Now, don’t get me wrong I like Tim Tebow, I just haven’t seen him play successfully at a starting QB position in the NFL.  Again if the story is  or the lead in is that He’s a Christian…again I say “SO WHAT?”  Both Jason Collins and Tim Tebow seem to be really great guys and I’m not criticizing them by any means!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against Christianity or defaming/berating anyone’s personal life here, but in the spectrum of being a professional in any sports arena/league a person’s abilities and presence on the field/court should always trump their personal life.  Looking at it from an objective stand point (and I’m sure there will be those who will disagree with me), I am sure that there are countless Christians in the NFL yet they don’t rely solely on their faith to propel them in their profession, it also takes hard work, effort and talent.  The same is probably true for athletes who are gay…it just doesn’t matter on the field.  You can’t rely solely on your orientation and/or personal life to propel you forward.

I am not slamming anyone here, by any means, what I am saying is from an objective stand point of any professional sports all that is important on the field is that a player can play the game and that their personal life remains personal.  I wouldn’t stop watching sports because a player comes out as gay, nor would I stop watching a sport if a player came out to declare his faith, Christian or otherwise.  On the personal side of things SO WHAT?

I do apologize if I have offended anyone here, not my intention, just a random opinion from a guy who doesn’t have all of the answers…yet 😉

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At the Construction Site:

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Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

When I was a child I used to enjoy watching construction workers build things.  I could sit for hours watching them work away at mixing concrete, hoisting support beams, laying rebar…it all fascinated me.  I longed to see the finished product, a completed project that took hours, even days to complete.  I would go by the construction site day after day on my way to school just to see how much progress they had made in the hours that I had been away.  I was invested in witnessing the completed project, though it wasn’t my house, I still wanted, I longed to see it finished.  

 

By the time the construction of the remodeled home was completed, the workers there knew me by name.  Why?  Because I wasn’t content in just watching, I wanted to know why and how they were doing any and every task.  I was insanely curious…and so I asked a lot of questions.  Luckily, the foreman (who must have had children of his own) was a patient man who didn’t mind giving me an answer from time to time.  He was competent and considerate of my age and so explained it as a parent would to a child; in simple terms.   He explained why they put wire mesh in with the concrete or why rebar was there at all…it would make the structure stronger and would last longer.  He also explained why the bubble on the level had to be in the middle so that the work they did would stand and not fall down because it was uneven.  I asked many questions and thankfully that foreman answered most of them with the patience of a saint. 

 

Why talk about this experience?  Why mention it? Am I just trying to relive my childhood?  Perhaps…but it’s more than that.  It makes me think of what kind of foundation I am laying in my own spiritual with God.  Many times in my life I have thought about those conversations with that foreman in the context of my spiritual journey with Christ.  Am I living a balanced life?  Have I continued to be firmly rooted in His word?  Is the foundation of my life what it should be?  Introspectively I have asked myself these questions many, many times.  I don’t say this in boasting, by any means, but a right relationship with God is that important to me.  Is it to you? 

 

Years later I tried my hand at building stuff…turns out I’m just not that gifted at construction with my hands.  But I will never forget those lessons that I learned as a child by simply passing by a construction site day after day on my way to and from school. 

 

How is your foundation?   Has it been reinforced with the rebar of fellowship with other Christians?  Are there cracks forming along the walls of your faith because of wear and tear and pressures of life?   At our conversion we align ourselves with Christ.  We accept His sacrifice on the cross for our sins and we essentially say God rebuild me.  Tear down the old, remove the dirty and broken, and start again.  In that process we gain new life, a new construction takes place and there is life on our spiritual property.  But here’s a big issue:  Many remain at the altars of their lives professing Christ and declaring “I’m a Christian”, but they never grow from there.  God expects us to mature in our faith.  He has provided us the best foundation in His son Jesus Christ, but we have to allow the Holy Spirit to begin the transformation within us.  We can’t remain baby Christians…or essentially just a foundation without a structure built on top.  God’s presence within us, which is the Holy Spirit, wants to develop in us a deeper, stable structure of maturity and faith. 

 

If your life needs some renovation, some rebuilding…will you allow God to begin that in you today?  He’s the best foreman for the job and He can be trusted to finish that construction of holiness in you!  The foundation is already firmly laid.  But without a strong, stable structure on top, which is holiness and spiritual maturity, we are still vulnerable and unstable in the temptations and elements of our old lives. 

 

Prayer:

Father in Heaven, thank you for your Son who made it possible for me to be redeemed, I ask now that you would continue in me Your work.  Transform me through the work of Your Holy Spirit, grant me the strength to address issues that still exist within my life that are yet remnants of my old ways.  Allow me wisdom and discernment to study your word and to apply it in my living day by day.   I want to be the creation you have intended for me.   Deliver me from sin and from temptation, as I know I must avoid their trappings in order to mature and to grow in Your grace.  May it be so in my life today.  Amen. 

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The Sentinel (Poem)

His mother,

Like a sentinel

Watches over him

Catching each breath

With her eyes

Never growing weary

of seeing him sleep…

each inflation of the lungs

and exhaling only to repeat again-

a gift, a treasured hope!

With wings unfurled,

alabaster gleaming

In the soft moonlit room,

So that while the darkness

creeps and leans in

with its shadows

she knows how to pull

him in and hold him close

again.

There will be no rest

this night as the sentinel

watches, waits, anticipates

never closing her eyes

for but a second,

lending all of her strength

to the dreaming toddler

at her side.

Such love.

An example, a reflected

beauty from the heavens…

As if God himself were there

Holding fast to the night,

holding shadows and its

Darkness away…

A sentinel, a rock

a safe harbor for those

seeking refuge in the darkness. 

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Steadfast Roots or upended by the wind?

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Psalm 1:3 (NIV)
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

It is a sunny day today, a sort of resplendent day that makes one long that each and every day would remain just like this one.  It is a spring day, still turbulent in the unpredictable nature of the weather…the wind is gusting as it normally does in late April in the Western hemisphere.  The temperature will undoubtedly drop this evening as the teasing warmth of the sun will drop below the horizon and we will find our wind breakers, which have now replaced our winter downs who are hanging lonely and longingly in the back of the dark closet once again.

Sitting in the sun shine, for even but a moment, one can hear the louder than whisperings of the Nor-Easter winds as they wrap themselves intimately, sometimes violently around the tall jack pine and the juniper trees that huddle together in our mini ecosystem that is our backyard.   On one brief moment it even appears as if the tall jack pine might succumb to the wind’s wrestling match, as a strong gust threatens to topple its long presence of standing at attention.  The branches, bending unnaturally, any moment a cracking sound might emanate giving credence to perishing callings of the wind.  Yet, no terminal sounds occur, the pine has survived this round unscathed…still standing tall.

As a lowly house cat suns herself on the back porch, the trees hold fast.  After all, they have stood the test of time…thus far.  Their roots, deeply planted, grounded and stretching out like unseen tendrils beneath the still cold and damp earth of spring.  A test to its created design, nourished and prepared for whatever the winds, changing and constant, can throw their way.

Watching such a witness of God’s grandeur, one begins to see the depth of wisdom forged within man as we too face winds of change, speaking much louder than a whisper to our human existence, beckoning us to succumb to its force and pressure.  How deep do our roots descend?  Like the conifers in their stately display, do our roots spread out like fingers spidering their way deeply beneath the rich earth?  Are we grounded in the fertile and fortified soil?  Will we stand the test of time?  It all culminates in this epic survival and constant journey.  A Creator longing for his creation to remain steadfast, deeply rooted and unafraid of that which seeks to upend and destroy.

Why be unafraid?  One might ask.  Our courage isn’t found from within but from without.  A God who richly loves, boldly equips and fiercely defends.  Our courage, our longevity and sustaining grace comes from Him…if we allow Him to do so.  Then, we too with roots deep within our Father in Heaven, will never be shaken, never be broken and forever be defended by the Creator of all things.

 

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

 

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In the Arms of God (Poem)

In the arms of God

I am complete again.

In the arms of God

This soul latches onto peace.

His arms, of might and glory

Redeeming me at such a cost

I was lost but enfolded now

Beneath His sacred saving hand.

 

In the grace of God

I will make my stand

In the grace of God

All things of heaven and man

Become focused through his love

In the grace of God

I am made right again

Unmerited, undeserved

Yet here I stand

In the grace of God.

 

The very heart of God

Is my forward focus

I am not whole but for Him

The very heart of God

Compels me onward

And through the

blood of Christ I win.

Standing boldly

Love surrounds me

I am but His and his alone. 

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Be Thou MY Vision – A Daily Prayer for you and for me!

There’s something about that Celtic sound…and when I hear this song it becomes a prayer in my heart.  May it be a prayer in your heart today.  This song has always blessed me in tough times as well as good times.  May it be so in your life today as well!

Be Thou My Vision Hymn

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

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The Path and New Directions (Poem)

pathway

The road drags on

Out into the vast distance

Its dust, blanket enfolded

Stretching out its forked

tongue, sometimes cumbersome

sometimes joy beyond refrain.

Often to the lowly traveler

beckoned  forward out past

horizons never fathomed

snaked upon winding roads

sometimes curved, and sometimes rugged

yet no blame can fall

upon the chosen path.

All devices and illusions

brought together by our choice

from departing consequence

to arriving destination

we, not the path are its creator.

Some, though waylaid, stop

along the trail a time or two

a destination -not the goal

but rather in the journey itself.

What of my journey?

Is there joy?  Fulfillment?

How often have I become consumed?

Overtaken by life’s ebbs and flows?

Can I start again?  Certainly not

from the original beginning…

but I know I must and so I take

the next turn and with the breeze

at my back, I smile and take

in each breath, each moment

a gift and not a curse.

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