The Source

This weekend My pastor used this example to bring home a point. He had a small lamp next to him on the communion table and brought out that if the lamp is not plugged into the the source, it will not perform as expected. I frequently use this same example. As I listened, it made me think that it's important to consider what "being plugged in" actually means.

For believers, God is clearly "the source." There was a time when I could articulate this fact, but my life seemed to lack the energy that comes from a strong connection. I lived a frustrated life, my light was lit, but it was so dim. I took it with me everywhere I went, but it was easily snuffed. I could easily quote the principles of the Bible, but consistently applying them was almost impossible.

In the Old Testament, being connected to God came through "keeping" the law. The outward appearance was important. We are sinful and God can't even look on sin so He gave us rules for our behavior. In theory, keeping those rules would keep us pure and able to be in relationship with God. If you know Old Testament history then you quickly come to realize that, even when it was clearly spelled out for us, we weren't willing or able to eliminate sin from our lives. God knew that we were created to have Him as our source. He wanted that more than anything so another way was provided.

Now, the Bible clearly indicates that God has three distinct "persons, " the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It also indicates that all three persons have been present through out time. Your understanding of this is critical to knowing how to be plugged into the source. There are no shortcuts. If you don't understand this, then we need to have a discussion around this topic.

So we've established that, as humans, God determined that we are not able to do what it takes to stay connected to Him, the source. And His desire was SO GREAT for us to be connected, that He made the way. That way came through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the second Person of God. He came to the earth, lived a life that was perfect [pleasing and acceptable to the Father]. In other words, he kept the law, and willingly sacrificed his life, on behalf of you and me. This is the gift of salvation. What that means now, is that keeping the law is no longer the way for us to directly connect to God. We are directly connected to God by accepting the gift of salvation. In this simple action, we are "plugged in."

So why did I feel dimly lit? Why did my light go out so easily? For me it came from a lack of understanding. I didn't understand how the law still applied to my life, even though it's not the way I'm connected directly to God. I also didn't understand that there's another power. It's the power that Jesus refers to in the gospel of John 14:15-31. It's what gave Jesus the power to live out his life, here on earth, in an acceptable and pleasing manner to the Father.

Stay tuned for the second part of the discussion and for my important discovery that keeps me well connected to The Source and keeps my light brightly lit!

Q. When does the "thorn" become a "blessing?"

A. When you accept it. (ie. embrace, befriend, recieve, hold, understand, allow, admit, affirm, acknowledge)

Think about it! It's within your grasp!

Psalm 16:1-11 (NLT)

Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge. I said to the Lord, "You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you." The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!

Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in the sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.

Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What wonderful inheritance!

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow you holy one to rot in the grave.

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Marinating in humility

I've been thinking a lot about humility. As it pertains to my daily life situations. As it applies to my responses in life. As I evaluate myself and the advice I give to others. It's a concept that I've previously misunderstood, and as I study, seeking a greater knowledge for the things of God, it's become a recurrent theme.

Months ago, the Holy Spirit began to address my personal pride, as it was a spiritual issue. The interesting thing about that pride, was that it was the source of my perceived protection. In other words, I had been hurt (many times) and the main ingredient of the mortar of my "wall of protection" was pride. As you may relate to, I didn't want to get hurt, so my pervasive attitude became, "I know how to protect myself and I will do whatever it takes to keep from getting hurt." The root of that attitude is spiritual pride. It indicates that I know better what should happen to me than God and I will manage those experiences, not trusting in God.

Mind you, hindsight is 20/20 and I didn't recognize this as my pervasive attitude in the middle of my prideful behavior. It wasn't until I had come to a place of desiring full surrender to God that this became evident to my mind. This evidence was presented to me a couple of ways.

The first was through suffering. Really! Yes I was living to avoid pain, all the while, God was working in my life, providing lots of opportunity for me to see that all of this was bigger than I am and out of my control. He orchestrated a wonderful chain of events that completely eliminated my ability to exercise any control over my life, and eventually I had to come to the end of myself. This was the beginning of changing the way I think, in regards to pride.

I began to recognize the nature of sinful pride. Author and Bible teacher Beth Moore states it concisely in her book, Praying God's Word, in the chapter, Overcoming Pride.

"Perhaps no other spiritual obstacle is quite like this one. Why? Because the challenge to overcome pride may be the only common denominator on every one of our spiritual "to do" lists. A simple reason exists for its Goliath proportions: pride is Satan's specialty. It is the characteristic that most aptly describes him. Pride is the issue that had him expelled from heaven. It is still one of Satan's most successful tools in discouraging people from accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that pride is a problem only for the lost. The most effective means the enemy has to keep believers from being full of the Spirit is to keep us full of ourselves. No wonder the Bible states and restates that God hates pride. It is the enemy of genuine ministry. It is the end of many homes."

In my prideful thinking, I thought that I had control over the circumstances of life and the way they effected me. What I learned through my season of suffering was that control of external circumstances is really a mere illusion. I even need the help of the Holy Spirit to exercise self control. What a happy day it was when I came to realize that! I also found that God's word tells us the pattern of suffering I experienced is not limited to me! Daniel 4:37 tells us that, "Those who walk in pride he is able to humble." Our faithful God will go to great links to provide us opportunity to be humble.

Which brings me to the second evidence. I learned that my prideful thinking was leading me to a separating relationship with God. I had no intimacy or fellowship, even though I attended church and was outwardly serving him to the best of my understanding. Pride had a two fold effect: it created a chasm, not just in my relationship to God, but in my relationships with others and, it provided me with "far-sighted vision" that eluded me to the reality of the distance.

As I've taken time to address the thinking, I've come to the place that I realize that every word, action and deed must be marinated in humility. It's not that I don't recognize that God has given me gifts, but it's realizing that those gifts will be most effective if they are operated under his control. In every situation, admitting that I don't need to understand the outcome to live in obedience. Humility is actually far more empowering that spiritual pride ever was. There's a freedom in releasing yourself from being ultimately responsible for everything that happens to you. There's a sweetness in a close relationship with God that comes from total surrender and fully trusting him.

I'll leave you with these closing words, again from Beth Moore's book and the chapter on Overcoming Pride:

My name is Pride, I am a cheater.
I cheat you of your God-given destiny...because you demand your own way.
I cheat you of contentment...because you "deserve better than this."
I cheat you of knowledge...because you already know it all.
I cheat you of healing...because you're too full of me to forgive.
I cheat you of holiness...because you refuse to admit when you're wrong.
I cheat you of vision...because you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window.
I cheat you of genuine friendship...because nobody's going to know the real you.
I cheat you of love...because real romance demands sacrifice.
I cheat you of greatness in heaven...because you refuse to wash another's feet on earth.
I cheat you of God's glory...because I convince you to seek you own.
My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
You like me because you think I'm always looking out for you. Untrue.
I'm looking to make a fool of you.
God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...
If you stick with me
You'll never know.