"Less"

Today's post is a poem I wrote 15 years ago.

“Less”

I give of my less to the Master,

What I give seems to be afterthought.

Forgetting His best, His Son’s sinless blood,

Is that with which I was bought.

But morning arrives much too early,

And the rest of the day slips away.

I speak of much needed devotions.

Time spent-true priorities betrayed.

I long for much deeper connection,

The branch grafted into the vine.

Spirit is willing but flesh is weak,

Though I feed it most all of the time.

Father, You've revealed you are holy,

Though I know-less with heart than with mind.

Help me give of my best to the Master,

And a life of less “less” I will find.

                                                November 1998

Covered In Feathers

In the early days of our country to be covered in feathers meant that you were in serious trouble.  Being tarred and feathered was a very shameful thing.  Its hard to believe that anyone would want to be covered in feathers.  But as we look to scripture we find that being covered in feathers isn’t such a bad thing after all.  In Psalm 91 we are told God will cover us with His feathers and under his wings we will trust.  It is also in this passage that we are encouraged to dwell in the secret place of the Most High and also to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  It is in that place that we can be covered by His feathers.

But how do we find that secret place to dwell in?  I remember as a small child finding a hiding place.   It wasn’t unusual for me to be in trouble for something I had done or was framed for.  I knew that when I was found I would be in trouble.  This particular time I wasn’t in trouble but my dad was getting ready to leave.  Because most of my interaction with my dad, when he was around, revolved around punishment I didn’t really want to see or talk to him.  I took refuge in the secret place I had found.  That secret place happened to be under the bed in my older brother’s room.  So there I hid, quiet as a church mouse, hoping my secret place wouldn’t be discovered.  I remember hearing mom and dad calling out my name all throughout the house trying to find me so dad could say goodbye.  I had no interest in talking to him so I never said a word.  Finally mom went so far to say that I wasn’t in any trouble and dad only wanted to say goodbye before he left.  I didn’t care.  I didn’t want to talk to him and even more, I didn’t want my secret hiding place to be known.  It was my fortress, my refuge, my place of safety. 

God wants us to find that place of safety in Him.  God longs for that intimacy with us that our innermost being longs for even if we don’t realize what that longing is.  There is a secret place God has reserved for each one of us; a place where we can be who we really are.  There is no need to be strong, no need to live up to anyone’s expectations.  We can be completely safe and fully protected from anything the world might try to throw at us.  It is in that place of refuge where we can become intimate with the living God.  Where we can know and be known by Him.  So many people never get there because they never really get hold of the fact that we can trust God with everything.  We don’t have to be in control, God can be.

Here comes the difficulty.  Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High is not an easy thing.  It is not something that can be microwaved in our lives.  We must learn to enter in to the secret place.  It will take time for us to learn to abide under the shadow of His wings and develop that intimacy.  In the same way we cannot immediately have true intimacy with a person, intimacy with God takes time to develop.  Satan will try to convince us that we can never have that kind of relationship.  He will lie to us and make us think there is something wrong with our relationship with God.  When the truth is we just need time to grow.  We need patience and perisistence and determination to get there.  Remember, it’s a secret place.  We need to seek God and allow Him to lead us to that secret place.  Don’t get discouraged but keep seeking.  Jeremiah 29:13 sums it up well, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for me with all your heart.”

Devotions

As a new believer I was instructed that you are supposed to have daily devotions.  You must have a "quiet time" with the Lord.  For years I have tried to make this a regular part of my life.  I'll admit, at times I have done really well and at other times...sometimes for long stretches...not so much.

But I have always known it was important.  When I was really little, I remember learning the books of the Bible when my dad would lead us in family devotions.  He would come home from work, sit down on the couch and my sister and I would untie his work boots.  I loved that because the top 4 or 5 weren't eyelets but loops and dirt from work would often be dried in there and unlacing them meant shooting a little dirt clod across the room in an effort to release the captive shoe lace.  Dad would then do some form of devotions with us and I remember learning to recite the books of the Old Testament specifically.  Apparently I eventually learned the New Testament as well because I do know them in order.

I was even taught a song about devotions as a kid:

Read your Bible, pray every day,
pray every day, pray every day.
Read your Bible, pray every day,
and you'll grow, grow, grow.

Neglect your Bible, forget to pray,
forget to pray, forget to pray.
Neglect your Bible, forget to pray,
and you'll shrink, shrink, shrink.

In high school, my best friend and I  would end up over at our Pastor's house occasionally and they would include us in their family devotions at night before they sent their children to bed.

I had devotions modeled for me by multiple people as I was growing up.

Unfortunately life gets busy and if you aren't intentional about it, devotions can fall down the priority ladder. Busyness creeps in, responsibilities mount and there never seems to be enough time for God.

At least that's what I thought...

I was praying this morning and God impressed upon my heart the phrase, "Everyone does devotions."  As I continued to pray God revealed to me the truth of that statement.  The only problem is that they don't always include nor are they directed toward God.

If you will honestly evaluate your use of time then your "devotions" become evident.  What are you devoted to?  What "thing" is the object of your devotion?

For some it's a job, possibly a hobby or maybe an indulgence of their flesh.  But it is there!  You may not realize it, but it is there.  We all do devotions.

Hopefully your devotions involve you and your maker.

I've had people tell me that they just don't have time for devotions.

Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34 say it well, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

You are devoted to something.  How are you spending your time?

So the question isn't, "Have you done your devotions today?"

But rather, "Who or what are you devoted to?"

I wrote this on Facebook a few weeks back but decided to move it over here.

There is a very real distinction between “Jesus loves me just the way I am” and “Jesus loves me in the current state I am in.” The difference is this…the first statement is untrue and the second is true. We often hear the first and will even nod our heads in agreement but that is simply a deception. The truth is that God loves us no matter where we are when we encounter Him but He loves us too much to leave us that way. I have served God for years but I still can’t say that He loves me just the way I am. If that were true, He wouldn’t convict me by His Holy Spirit when I do something that doesn’t line up with His will for me or His Holy Word. God is constantly putting His finger on different areas of my life and saying, “Now that we fixed that last thing, I want to address this next.” And on and on the process goes and will continue to go. Jesus loves me in the state that I am in but not the way I am.
The problem is the world has embraced the idea that Jesus loves us just the way we are and want to continue in that manner of living. The church hasn’t done much to correct the deception either. Churches are full of people who want Jesus on their own terms, living the way they want and asking God to put His stamp of approval on their lifestyle. Unfortunately for that kind of thinking, you must come to God on His terms. He will be Lord of all or not at all. Excusing sinful behavior and saying “Jesus loves me just the way I am” will only lead you down a path away from the God you say you love. Hebrews 12:14 instructs us that without holiness, no one will see God. Holiness is God’s standard and sanctification is His process for cleansing us. I am thankful that God loves me in the current state I am in but I’m also thankful that He doesn’t love me just the way I am!

Some jobs should be hired out!

"If we ever do this again, I am hiring someone to do it for us!"

That was the declaration my wife heard the other day.  It was uttered near the end of a 16 month, yet unfinished project to complete my garage.  We decided to finish the walls.  I say "yet unfinished" because it is yet unfinished (profound, I know).  I still have to finish painting and put everything back.

The story actually begins three years ago.  At the time we were searching for a home to purchase.  We had been living in an apartment for some time.  "Some time" is a standard of measure used by apartment dwellers to rate their tolerance for their neighbors.  Other units of measure include but are not limited to, "Oh look, new neighbors," "Where is the apartment manager's phone number," "Really, 3 am?" and "Where is my NRA membership form?"

We had spent hours pouring over pictures of available homes on the internet and had found one we wanted to see in person.  Being the kind, thoughtful people we are, we felt bad dragging our Real Estate Agent 45 minutes to look at just one house so we added a couple others to the list even though there was only one we thought had a chance.  The house we were interested in turned out to be horrible, the second house we added to help justify the trip wasn't much better.  The last house...the house we eventually bought...we almost didn't look at because it wasn't photographed with a real estate camera.

I know, many of you are wondering, "What is a real estate camera?"  Its a camera that has a peculiar ability to photograph tiny, dark, ugly rooms in such a way as to make them appear spacious, well-lit and beautiful when posted online.  It can take a neglected front yard that is 20 feet deep with a 45 degree slope and make it look like the flat, well manicured outfield at Turner Field in Atlanta.

We were absolutely blown away when we walked in the front door of the house.  It was amazing!  We fell in love with it.  It had a great yard, lots of space and enough things that we could change and upgrade to really get us excited.  HGTV had turned us into crazy people that thought it really was as easy as they made it look.  Surely good-looking people with crews of people and a camera crew were already on their way to help us make our home ownership dreams come true, and pay for it!

Over the next few weeks we stalked our new home.  We would drive by, sometimes multiple times a day and just look at it.  Sometimes late at night.  By the time we finally closed the deal I'm sure some of the neighbors had alerted authorities of unusual activity.

We are still waiting for HGTV!  But about 16 months ago we decided to drywall our garage.  That was one of the projects we talked about doing when we moved in.  I wish we would have done it then.  We didn't, we waited until 16 months ago.  Now granted, our garage has a 12 foot ceiling so it isn't the easiest of projects but I keep having to move stuff around to work on it in sections.  Right now our dining room looks like our garage because I have relocated much of the contents there in a concerted effort to finish the project that won't go away.  When I say "We" decided to drywall our garage what I really mean is "we" my wife and I decided "we" me should drywall the garage.  So I drafted my brother in law to help me hang drywall.  That part was completed about 14 months ago.  The last year has been spent taping, mudding, sanding, griping, avoiding, griping more, avoiding even more, occasionally working on and now almost completing the project.  I strongly dislike finishing drywall.  In fact, I turned 40 and think I would probably prefer "the exam" 40 year old men are encouraged to get instead of finishing more drywall.  It isn't the prettiest drywall finishing you will ever see but it is done and its a garage so I'm ok with it.  The part I started on looks better than the part I finished on as my resolve eroded as the sanding wore on.  A little more paint and it will be complete.

Here is what I am taking away from this experience:

1.  I'm glad I don't do home renovation for a living.
2.  If we buy another house, we need to better think through the "must complete before we move in" projects.
3.  Hire out the drywall!!!!!