The Reality Is

These are a shadow of the things that were to come;

the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Col 2:17)

The reality is that in Christ we are free from all religious activity, rituals, regulations, etc that would supposedly bring us into good relationship with and keep us in good relationship with God, His favor, His grace, and as it were, His smile.  The reality is that we are already in right relationship with God, and are under His grace, His mercy, His favor, and His smile through Jesus Christ.  We can't be in a better relationship with Him than we already are in Christ.  All the grace and mercy and favor we can experience from God are in Christ., and all of that by grace. The reality is that in Christ we are free of all religious activity that would supposedly make us more right with Him or more pleasing to Him.  Not only are we free of those things but also the institutions and people that would try to impose those things upon us so that we may be more godly in their eyes.  The reality is that in Jesus we are free of all self effort to be right with or maintain rightness with God.  The reality is that in Christ we are free form sin and all efforts we attempt to make up for, pay for, or pay the price for sin.  We have what religion and rituals can't give us. We have what regulations and penance can't give us.  We have been set free of those activities and delivered into the freedom of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The reality is that in Jesus we are free from the shadow of religion, and have free access to God and all that implies through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Alive, Forgiven, and Triumphent

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Col 2:13-15)

We must live out of our new nature as those who are alive with Christ.  Our sinful past is not to cast shadows on our present nor our future because we have been totally forgiven  The list that was against us has been erased, removed, nailed to the cross, our debt cancelled. Demonic principalities, powers, and authorities that had to us because of our sins, no longer have those rights - they have been stripped bare and are without authority or power against us.  We have entered into the triumph of the cross over them.  Yea God!

Some Things That God Delights In …

His people and rescuing them and crowning the humble with victory (Ps 18:19; 149:4)
the well-being, prosperity of his servants and in blessing them with peace (Ps 35:27)

every detail of His peoples lives (Ps 37:23)

those who love Him and put their hope in His unfailing love (Ps 147:11)

those whose ways are blameless (Prov 11:20

people who are trustworthy (Prov 12:22)

the prayers of the upright (Prov 15:8)

mercy (Micah 7:8)

kindness, justice, and righteousness (Jer 9:24)

honesty and integrity (Prov 11:1)

The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews

In 1963, Edward Lorenz presented a hypothesis to the New York Academy of Science. His theory, stated simply, was that: A butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules of air in motion, which would move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air – eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet. Lorenz and his ideas were literally laughed out of the conference. What he had proposed was ridiculous. It was preposterous. But it was fascinating!

Therefore, because of the ideas charm and intrigue, the so-called “butterfly effect” became a staple of science fiction, remaining for decades a combination of myth and legend spread only by comic books and bad movies.

So imagine the scientific community’s shock and surprise when, more than 30 years after the possibility was introduced, physics professors working from colleges and universities worldwide came to the conclusion that the butterfly effect was authentic, accurate and viable.

Soon after, it was accorded the status of a “law.” Now known as The Law of Sensitive Dependence Upon Initial Conditions, this principle has proven to be a force encompassing more than mere butterfly wings. Science has shown the butterfly effect to engage with the first movement of any form of matter – including people.

On Friday, April 2, 2004, ABC News honored a man who, at that time, was 91 years old. The news program was running a regular segment called “Person of the Week.” Usually the honoree’s accomplishments are listed in advance and by the time the name is announced, most folks have already guessed the identity of that week’s recipient. In this instance, however, the pronouncement left many viewers puzzled.

“And so…our Person of the Week is…” the anchorman finally said, “Norman Borlaug!”

One can only imagine the frowns. Who? Who did he say? Norman…what was the last name?

Yet, despite our unfamiliarity, Norman Borlaug is a man who is personally responsible for drastically and dramatically changing the world in which we live. You see, in the early 1940s, Norman Borlaug hybridized high-yield, disease-resistant corn and wheat for arid climates. From the dust bowl of Western Africa to our own desert Southwest, from South and Central America to the plains of Siberia, across Europe and Asia, Borlaug’s specific seed product flourished and regenerated where no seed had ever thrived before. Through the years, it has now been calculated that Norman Borlaug’s work saved more than two billion lives from famine.

Actually, it was never reported, but the anchorman was misinformed. It was not Norman Borlaug who saved the two billion people, though very few caught the mistake. It was Henry Wallace.

Henry Wallace was the Vice President of the United States under Franklin Roosevelt. Over his four terms, Roosevelt had three different Vice Presidents and the second man to serve was Henry Wallace.

Wallace was the former Secretary of Agriculture who, after his one term as Vice President, was dumped from the ticket in favor of Truman. While Wallace was Vice President, however, he used the power of that office to create a station in Mexico whose sole purpose was to hybridize corn and wheat for arid climates. He hired a young man named Norman Borlaug to run it.

So Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Prize. And Norman Borlaug was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. But considering the connection, it was really Henry Wallace that saved two billion people!

Or was it George Washington Carver? You remember Carver, don’t you? The peanut?

But here’s something that very few people know: When Carver was 19 years old and a student at Iowa State University, he had a Dairy Sciences professor who, on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, would allow his six-year-old boy to go on “botanical expeditions” with the brilliant student.

It was George Washington Carver who took that boy and instilled in him a love for plants and a vision for what they could do for humanity. It was George Washington Carver who pointed six-year-old Henry Wallace’s life in a specific direction – long before he ever became Vice President of the United States.

It’s amazing to contemplate, isn’t it?

George Washington Carver flapping his butterfly wings with the peanut. There are currently 266 things he developed from the peanut that we still use today. He flapped his wings with the sweet potato. There are 88 things Carver originated from the sweet potato that we still use today. And while no one was even looking, George Washington Carver flapped his wings a couple of times with a six-year-old boy. And just happened to save the lives of more than two billion people…and counting.

So maybe it should have been George Washington Carver – Person of the Week! Or the farmer from Diamond, Missouri?

His name was Moses and he lived in a slave state, but he didn’t believe in slavery. This made him a target for psychopaths like Quantrill’s Raiders who terrorized the area by destroying property by burning and killing. And sure enough, one cold January night, Quantrill’s Raiders rode through Moses’ farm. The outlaws burned the barn, shot several people, and dragged off a woman named Mary Washington who refused to let go of her infant son, George.

Now, Mary Washington was a friend of Moses’ wife, Susan. Though distraught, Susan promptly set to work writing messages and contacting nearby farms. She got word through neighbors and towns and two days later managed to secure a meeting for Moses with the bandits.

Susan looked on anxiously as her husband rode off on a black horse. His destination was a crossroad in Kansas several hours to the north. There, at the appointed time, in the middle of the night, Moses met up with four of Quantrill’s Raiders. They were on horseback, carrying torches, and had flour sacks tied over their heads with holes cut out for their eyes. There, the farmer traded the only horse they had left on their farm for what the outlaws threw him in a dirty burlap bag.

As the bandits thundered off on their horses, Moses fell to his knees and there, alone on that dark winter night, the farmer pulled from the bag a cold, naked, almost-dead baby boy. Quickly he jerked open his own coat and his shirt and placed the child next to his skin. Covering him with his own clothes and relying on the warmth from his own body, the man turned and walked that baby home.

Moses walked through the night and into the next morning to get the child to Susan. There, they committed to that tiny human being – and to each other – that they would care for him. They promised the boy an education to honor his mother, Mary, who they knew was already dead. That night, they gave the baby their own name…and that is how Moses and Susan Carver came to raise that little baby, George Washington.

So when you think about it, maybe it was the farmer from Diamond, Missouri, who saved the two billion people. Or was it his wife who was responsible? Certainly it was Susan who organized the effort – it was she who demanded immediate action.

Unless…

Is there an ending to this story? Exactly who was it that saved the two billion lives? Is there a specific person to whom we could point? How many lives would we need to examine in order to determine whose action saved two billion people – a number that continues to increase every minute?

And how far forward would we need to go in your life to show the difference you make?

There are generations yet unborn whose very lives will be shifted and shaped by the moves you make and the actions you take today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

Every single thing you do matters.

You have been created as one of a kind. On the planet Earth, there has never been one like you and there never will be again. Your spirit, your thoughts and feelings, your ability to reason and act all exist in no one else. The rarities that make you special are no mere accident or quirk of fate. You have been created in order that you might make a difference.

You have within you the power to change the world.

Know that your actions cannot be hoarded, saved for later, or used selectively. By your hand, millions – billions – of lives will be altered, caught up in a chain of events begun by you this day. The very beating of your heart has meaning and purpose. Your actions have value far greater than silver or gold.

Your life and what you do with it today matters forever.

Adapted from The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews, © 2009 Simple Truths LLC

Poem: The Race; D.H. Groberg

Quit, give up, you’re beaten”
They shout at you and plead
“There’s just too much against you
This time you can’t succeed”.

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failures face
My downward fall is broken by
The memory of a race

And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene
Or just the thought of that short race
Rejuvenates my being

Childrens race, young boys
Young men, how I remember well
Excitement sure, but also fear
It wasn’t hard to tell

They all lined up so full of hope
Each thought to win that race
Or tie for first, or if not that
At least take second place

The fathers watched from off the side
Each cheering for his son
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he could be the one

The whistle blew and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire
To win and be the hero there
Was each young boys desire

And one boy in particular
Whose dad was in the crowd
Was running near the lead and thought
“My dad will be so proud”

But as they speeded down the field
Across a shallow dip
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped

Trying hard to catch himself
With hands flew out to brace
And amid the laughter of the crowd
He fell flat on his face

But as he fell his dad stood up
And showed his anxious face
Which to the boy so clearly said
“Get up and win the race”

He quickly rose, no damage done
Behind a bit that’s all
And ran with all his night and mind
To make up for the fall

So anxious to restore himself
To catch up and to win
His mind went faster than his legs
He slipped and fell again

He wised then that he had quit before
With only one disgrace
“I’m hopeless as a runner now
I shouldn’t try to race”

But in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his fathers face
That steady look which said again
“Get up and win the race”

So up he jumped to try again
Ten yards behind the last
If I’m going to gain those yards he though
I’ve got to move real fast

Exerting everything he had
He regained eight or ten
But trying hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again

Defeat, he lay there silently
A tear dropped from his eye
There’s no sense running anymore
Three strikes, I’m out, why try?

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away
So far behind so error prone
A loser all the way

“I’ve lost, so what”, he thought
I’ll live with my disgrace
But then he thought about his dad
Whom soon he’d have to face

“Get up” the echo sounded low
“Get up” and take your place
You were not meant for failure here
“Get up”, and win the race

With borrowed will “Get up” it said
“You haven’t lost at all”
For winning is no more than this
To rise each time you fall

So up he rose to run once more
And with a new commit
He resolved, that win or lose
At least he shouldn’t quit

So far behind the others now
The most he’d ever been
Still he’d give it all he had
And run as though to win

Three times he’d fallen, stumbling
Three times he’d rose again
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end

They cheered the winning runner
As he crossed the line first place
Head high and proud and happy
No falling, no disgrace

But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line, last place
The crowd gave him the greater cheer
For finishing the race

And even though he came in last
With head bent low, unproud
You would have thought he’d won the race
To listen to the crowd

And to his dad he sadly said
“I didn’t do too well”
“To me you won”, his father said
“You rose each time you fell”

Can I Confess Something To You?

Something disturbing happened to me at a prayer meeting the other day. One of the participants was someone on the fringes of our congregation, on the edges of society, marginalized by those around him, ostracized by most, stigmatized by his past, and hindered by his lack of mental agility. This is someone who I usually avoid or ignore. As we all got up and were in the process of leaving I glanced at him, and on the inside I hear “He is one of the least of these.”

I found this disturbing because of Mt 25:45: 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Why is it so easy for us to say we love God, when we don’t respond with love to everyone around us? Becoming like Jesus is much harder when we want to love with our natural, or old nature’s love, instead of His love. It is easy to love those we have a natural affinity for. It is easy to love those who are like us. It is easy to love those who are easy to love. It is not as easy to love or respond in love to the unlovable, the marginalized, the wounded who wound others, the stigmatized, those on the outer fringes of society, the social misfits, the emotionally limited, the mentally deficient, the victimized, the misfits, the dregs of a contaminated society.

Who are the ‘least of these’ to you? It certainly will not be those you have a burden for or those your are drawn to. It will be those whose presence bothers you, those you don’t want to be bothered by, those you don’t want to listen to, those who are offensive to you or have a past that is offensive to you. Add to the list those who you marginalize, who you limit, who you feel better than, or more capable than, or more moral than, or more beneficial than.

When we limit the ‘least of these’ to be the prisoners and the poor, we do not go far enough, or deep enough to understand Jesus’ heart. Jesus has said whatever we do, or don’t do, to/for the least of these, we do or don’t do to/for Him.

GO FORTH BOLDLY

The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion (Prov 29:1).

2010 is a year that will provide many opportunities for the people of God, but it will require boldness to step into what God has for each of us. Boldness is confidence in God, His Word, His promises, His power, His purpose.

We will be presented with many opportunities to show forth the power and purposes of God this year. In order to step out into these God ordained moments we will have to ask the question, speak the word, pray the prayer, and follow His promptings out of our comfort zone.

If we look through the lens of 2009 to view 2010 we will be hesitant to do anything.

If we look through the lens of the world news to view 2010 we will be filled with fear.

If we look through the lens of the economy of 2009 to view 2010 we will be filled with hesitation and doubt.

If we look through the lens of current circumstances to view 2010 we will draw back and look for safety.

If we look through the lens of the Word of God to view 2010 we will be filled with confidence and boldness in Him. We will recognize what He is doing about us and have an eagerness to join Him in what He is doing.

Let's go forth boldly into 2010 knowing that we have a mandate from God to manifest His Kingdom wherever we go. Let's exercise the boldness that comes from being clothed in His righteousness. Let's be the light shining in a dark place. Let's walk with the Lion of Judah proclaiming His kingdom, pursuing Him and His purposes, and positioning ourselves for His glory to be released.