Life in Gehenna (the trash dump in Jesus' day)

 There are times, often at unexpected moments, where God grabs us and speaks to us in undeniable ways that rip right through us. In these moments, He reveals Himself in ways that we are not expecting and, even more, in ways that may take a lifetime to fully understand. He did that to me during worship this morning. He has been speaking to me about His love and judgment a lot in the last few weeks but I am not always to quick to apprehend what He is saying. Today, He said it in an unmistakable way and I want to try and share it with you though I am still processing it.

I was sitting during the last couple of songs during worship and focusing on what the words reveal about Jesus. As I sat, I saw a picture of a man and he was yelling down into a garbage dump at a man that was digging through the trash. He was telling him not to take things out of there because they were dangerous and contaminated. Everything in there was potentially harmful. The man was just looking to survive. He had grown accustomed to finding his food, ointments for his wounds and needed comfort items in the trash. Sure, they were not up to the standards of the man standing above him yelling but they met his need for the moment. It was not a good life but at least he was getting by.

As I pondered this picture, I felt like the Lord spoke to me about our taking offense at the sins of others thinking that we are doing Him a favor. We tend to believe that the sins in a person's life are offensive to God and have caused Him to reject them. We can be harsh when people don't listen to our directives and repent on our terms. As I saw this, I felt broken. I knew it was true. I was carrying offense on God's behalf that He is not carrying Himself. This is not to say that He does not have a right to be offended at men's sins, their blatant disregard for His grace and mercy. He has every right and He will judge sin. The issue is that He is not offended. Sin does not push God away from us but it does push us away from Him. Our sin cannot change His holiness but His holiness would destroy us if we hold on to our sin. He is perfect and complete regardless of how we act. His response to sin is for our protection, not His.

As I saw myself in the man yelling, I saw Jesus too. I was keeping my distance. I was shouting from the top of the dump. I wanted them to change without the risk of entering their world. Jesus climbed down in the dump with them and offered the man something better. Jesus offered Him a sample of the feast that He is preparing for all that will come. He offered kindness and compassion. He did it face to face and not from a safe distance. Jesus came directly to the man. He had compassion in His eyes. He knew that the man was not in the trash dump because He wanted to be. He was acting on a need to survive and many years ago, he had bought the lie that living in the garbage of the world was the only way he could do it. He could find a little food, a little alcohol or discarded drugs to ease His pain. he could find a few things to bring him comfort and so he had settled for much less than Father had created Him to be.

While Jesus offers a sample of a feast, we offer condemnation and criticism for his life choices while merely telling them that there is something better. We want them to follow us as we follow Jesus but we are misrepresenting His heart. Unless we are willing to take a sample of the feast into the dump and risk getting dirty, we cannot really represent Him. We are not protected from falling into the trap of the other man by simply not risking getting his filth on us. We are protected by walking into the dump in obedience, knowing that Holy Spirit has us sealed, that Jesus has written His name on us and our walking in obedience.

There is a huge garbage dump in Guatemala City. It cover a valley the size of 24 football field combined. It has a highly polluted  stream flowing through it. Many people "work" there every day. They wait for the trucks to come in and as they are dumping their loads, these workers are scavenging through the trash that is being dumped looking for anything that they can sell for a few cents. They will be there from the time the trucks begin arriving in the morning until the last truck dumps in the late afternoon. They can make $2 or $3 a day. This dump is unsafe and has seen many die in it over the years. Some have been crushed by the trash and others get sick from the unsanitary conditions. Over the years, this dump has caught fire several times and it can burn for many days. Unfortunately, for those that work in this dump. they see no other option to make a living. This place, to me, is a literal picture of hell, a place that it seems God is not, a place that desperate people are left on their own to try and find their way through a seemingly senseless life. This dump is where I saw the yelling man and Jesus. He has not abandoned any there but maybe we have.

The heart of the Father is to run to those that are lost and hurting. It is to lift them from the dump they are burying themselves in. It is to rescue broken and hurting people. He does not just tell them He has a better plan. He sent Jesus to reveal His heart. He came to give them a foretaste of what is in store for them, for us. It was His plan to reveal new life by giving free samples then inviting us to receive the whole package. We, in our desire to be safe and maintain our comfort have lost the power of the Gospel. We want to disseminate it to the Sunday morning crowd where it is safe. The Father is saying to run to the dump. Offer a sample of the feast He has prepared to those that are eating garbage. Help them get to the place they can be cleaned and their wounds dressed so they can be clothed in the proper robes for the feast. It is prepared and we are the ones being sent into the highways and byways to make the invitation. 

The question we must answer today is, 'Will we love like Jesus and go down into the dump to bring Jesus to them?' If we can't answer yes to that question, we cannot claim to represent Him to a lost and hurting world because He has already said yes to that question. He had all authority because He fully obeyed the Father wherever He was sent. His authority goes with those that are willing to be led into the places the broken reside and to sit with them and bring the touch of Heaven to their lives. You and I have a choice to make and our answer will determine the course of the Church over the next century. We will get close to the broken like Jesus and see revival or we will keep  a safe distance and see our congregations become irrelevant. There are no other options for us.

Around the Mountain Again

I don't know about you, but sometimes I am a slow learner. I can go through something and God shows me how he was faithful through it all and then, a similar crisis arises and I am panicing all over again. Circumstances can really cause me to take a step back and even start doubting what I know god clearly told me. Life often throws us curve balls and I, for one, feel ill prepared regularly.

Today I was reading in Matt 14 and 15. I find these chaptesr a great comfort when I feel like I am hopelessly missing God's leading. The disciples were out with Jesus and he was being followed by 4,000 men, plus women and children. They were desperate for a miracle. They stayed close to Him for quite some time watching, listening and trying to get close enough to touch Him. If I were desperately ill or crippled, I would be right there with them as long as I had the help I needed to get there.

This story follows shortly after the disciples had their eyes open to Jesus' ability to provide from abundantly from next to nothing. Before He multiplied the food Himself, Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat. He was testing them and letting them know that they had the ability to do what He was about to do as long as they walked in fellowship with them. They did not understand what He was doing so they just questioned. Jesus, full of compassion for the hungry people had the people sit down and then He fed them all.

Right after this story, He sent the disciples out in a boat while He wrapped up with the crowd and then went to pray for a while. He came walking to them on the water and they were frightened. When they recognized it was Him, peter asked if he too could walk on the water. He did for a few seconds. In my mind, he got just out of reach ofthe boat and then he turned his eyes from Jesus to the circumstances. Jesus reached out and saved Him but then He chastised them all for their lack of faith. Peter was the most obvious failure but all of them were afraid as Jesus came walking up to them.

I do not think that you can separate these 2 stories. They were both faith building exercises for the disciples. Both of them revealed their weaknesses and lack of faith. At the same time, they were designed to destroy the disciples faith but to strengthen it. Jesus just walked them through 2 amazing faith building exercises.

 Unfortunately, I think we miss the message of these two stories just like the disciples did. Jesus was trying to create an opportunity for them to see Him move through them. Once again, Jesus did what we assume only He could do. Really, He was saying to them that they could have done this themselves. Becasue He was with them, they had the ability to multiply the food and bring glory to the Father. We have been given that same challenge. Jesus calls us to do things for His glory that we assume only He can do. What He wants us to see is that He will use us if we are willing to allow Him to work through us. He is not limited by our limitations. The unlimited power of God resides in us and wants the world to see Him through our obedience as we walk in faith.

I have now been unemployed for 3 weeks. In September, I felt like God was telling me that 2022 was a new season for me and I needed to cut ties to old things, work and leadership positions specifically so I could focus on the new season. In September, it was an easy thing to say I would do it but when the end of December came, I started questioning if I had made a mistake. Actually, there were moments that I was panicking. I thought through my bills and what things I felt led to do and I could not see how it was all going to come together. Life is expensive and I had just walked away from my only source of income.

God has been faithful to me for years. He has provided countless times. He used many people over the years to meet my financial needs and also to encourage me to continue pursuing what He called me to.  Sometimes experience does not teach us trust. If we don't recognize the hand of God in all we walk through, we will still try to do it in our own strength. We have to choose to continually walk in obedience and also acknowledge the past works of God in our lives so we can live from a place of expectancy and not fear. Worship is essential to build confidence that God is moving on our behalf because we have seen He already has.

I want to just introduce you to what I am moving into now. My heart has been to help missionaries succeed and to encourage them for about 4 years now. Much of that time I have been praying and asking God what that would look like. I have had countless ideas rolling around in my head. Some of them are going to eventually happen but for now, I will be working with Churches to help them prepare for sending missionaries and to walk with those missionaries through the transition to their new country. Then I will continue to work with the missionary and the Churches that sent them so that they can be ready for long term success. Missions is not just about the missionary going to serve Jesus but it is also about the Churches back home that are holding their arms up while they proclaim the victory of Jesus to the people they serve.

I am not looking to compete with missions organozations. They are an important part of the big picture for the missionary. They help guide them through things that the home Church has no experience in. They provide resources and encouragement beyond what the Church can offer. That being said, both of these are legs of the stool a missionary rests on. The 3rd leg is the leading of the Holy Spirit. I want to help make sure the home Church, the commissioning and sending Churches are not the week leg of the stool.

If this is your heart, please reach out to me. You can contact me at thegeokr@yahoo.com  I would love to hear from you/ Also please subscribe to this blog and share it with all your friends and your Church.

So Tired

 I don't know about you but I am tired. I am tired of politicians using every political talking point to divide our society. I am tired of hearing various "news" organizations spin stories to create fear. By the way, this happens on both the right and left. I am tired of friends breaking off friendships because they have differing views on how things should be handled; shot vs no shot, electric cars and wind power to save the planet vs continued use of fossil fuels, masks vs no masks, Republican vs Democrat. The list goes on forever and there are people working to make sure the divides only get larger. All of this is making me tired.

Today I was thinking about all that God has promised us. As you read the Scripture, God has revealed His nature, character and plan for us in the things He has promised. In 2 Cor 1 we are told by Paul that his words are not alwasy accurate. He has desires and expresses them but they do not always happen. He counters that with the promises of God. They are always yes in Christ because He is the fulfillment of all God has promised and we find our yes and amen in Him.

We are told that there is a path to overcoming all that is going on in the world and in our lives right now. When we are tired we need to pursue Jesus with all that is in us. When we seek Him with all our hearts, we are told that we will find Him, Jer 29:13. This promise was given along with the promise for Israel that God had plans for them. The context was that they were going to live in captivity but that they would still find God in the trial if they would seek Him with their whole heart. We live in times that kind of feel like that. We feel captive to many things right now but there is a path to overcome.

[Rev 12:10-11 ESV] 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

The devil will, one day, be ejected from the earth but, before that day comes, we can still live free of his torment. Verse 11 above gives us a key to overcoming all that is going on and living free of the torment of the day. First we must know that the blood of Jesus has set us free from his stronghold in our lives and learn to rest in that. Second, we must share all that God has in our lives. Sharing our testimony reminds us of His past faithfulness and fortifies us to walk with Him now. And finally, the one we often want to leave out. We can't hold to tightly to our lives in this world. When we live in fear that things could end our lives we are not free to take risks. It is only in knowing that this world our temporary and in living for eternity that we are set free from living for the temporal.

[Jhn 12:25 ESV] 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

As we learn to release our hold on our lives, we are able to lay hold of real life. Our baptism is a sign of our total identification in the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. We have been fully untited with Him and He has overcome all the powers of the enemy. He has fullfiled every promise of God in Himself and opened it up to us. In Jesus we find the ultimate Yes to all God has for us.

One of my alltime favorite pictures and a perfect image of God's rest and joy

If you are tired, stop complaining. Stop letting yourself be influenced by the media, by politicains, be those that live in constant fear and focus on the person and work of Jesus. He is still Lord over all regardless of what you hear. Look for His activity in your life. Listen for His voice and rest in His promises. It is time to stop participating in the world's systems and rise above it. He will guide and direct you from a place of rest and peace. As a follower of Jesus, tired is not to be our natural state.

[Psa 127:1-2 ESV] 1 A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

[Mat 11:25-30 ESV] 25 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

The Christian life is to be one filled with the rest, joy and peace of God. Don't let anything rob you of it today.