Security

Security is a most ambiguous word with many meanings, particularly when we try to apply a measure of security to our lives.
In a recent conversation with a friend, this whole topic of security was stirred up within me. We were catching up on life after not having been able to talk for some time.

We, along with many, have had the privilege to have read a novel called “The Shack”, written by Paul W. Young. What was originally designed to be a mere story written by a dad for his children has taken an unbelievable turn and launched into something that continues to defy all logic.

This book has and is being used by the Lord to stir up many different thoughts and emotions in readers in unpredictable ways. My friend and I were commenting on and observing how there seems to be a most positive but disturbing awakening coming into the consciousness of so many who have read it.

Without knowing the unconditional love of a Father, we hunt and peck for this proverbial and elusive end of the rainbow, the pot of gold called 'security.'My friend and I were musing about some folk who seem to have very caustic reactions, not only towards this book, but also towards those who seem to be drawn into a growing sense of intimacy and security.

I am discovering how disarming this constant unconditional love is, and yes, it does speak of a security that can't be designed or fashioned by any amount of fleshly efforts on my behalf, but depends totally upon who He is and what He has done for everyone.

As this increased sense of intimacy and security unfolds from within, it is addressing issues of the heart in others, as if penetrating the false walls of security we think are protecting us from the harshness of everyday living.

Rich

Life Finds A Way

Life always seems to find a way to come to the forefront, always alive, but often hidden from sight.

I was out watering the plants, shrubs and other delightful beauties this evening, as the weather has been increasingly getting hotter. As I was watering the side of the house where my wife has done considerable rearranging of the plant life, along with recovering this extended area with a layer of rich top soil, then a healthy blanket of bark chips, I happened to notice that which had been buried in the process, was being brought out into the above ground world.
I couldn't help but delight in the beauty and magical elation I sensed in seeing these tender green plants making their living presence known.

I was instantly reminded of the source of my Life, and being pointed to that life source in a heartbeat, through something almost ignored, a little slip of a green plant...

How loving and caring is this God and Father who is willing to remind me over and over, of His everlasting and invisible presence.

Rich

Taking Shape

I was asked to come and spend part of this weekend with some friends that I met in Stratford in July when Wayne and Sara Jacobsen came for a visit.
It has been a time of getting to know one another even more, such richness this has been.It was a wonderful joy also being a part of their house gathering with so many of their extended family. Being included in they’re working out, sorting out, just what church life might really look like.

It’s wonderful seeing the Father making known to us our intense need to be loved by Him unconditionally, and as this reality is unfolding in our hearts, we are freed to view more pieces of what it just might all be about.
The father’s love is freeing us from so many lies/fears that have dogged us most of our Christian lives, and in the process, becoming relaxed, or at peace with hearing the same Father expanding and opening up piece by piece, of what His church looks like.

Within this home fellowship/meeting, both of my friends have presented to those that regularly attend, of how, without there being a greater knowing of Papa’s unconditional love for us, it will be the same old, same old, clinging to something/one other than Him.
Meaning, I see most clearly, not all of it mind you, but enough to know that He is defining and redefining by His life in us what church is going to look like.
The beauty of this is in my opinion is solely about His life defining what, if any structure is going to look like at any given moment, and for how long.

As my brother Wayne shared recently on a pod cast, ‘Let’s stop talking about IC (institutional church) HC (home/house church) but instead, talking about Jesus.

Many point back to the first century church as a model, pining or lamenting over what was, vs what we now have, as if we have lost something.
If only we could go back…the God who was, or will be? But what about the I AM, who says, I am the same yesterday, today and for evermore, I change not declares the Lord!Is it possible what appears to be a contradiction, is simply an inability, not recognizing how He has dealt with His church in different dispensations?

Back to the home meeting/gathering last night…If it is in fact His life defining/redefining what we are to look like, structure wise, if we are not secure in the knowable reality of His love for us, then like so many repeated times down through the centuries, as soon as He begins to define what Church (relational living) is to look like in a new group of believers, they have been attacked, and in past ages put to death for not doing IT, the right way.

Wasn’t there a moment when a couple of Jesus’ disciples come back to him fully expecting to receive some kind of reward for setting matters straight? They said Lord, we met someone trying to expel Satan out of a person, but we told them they were NOT doing it the right way, our way, or the highway.We know what Jesus said, those who are for me can not be against me.

What His church is going to look like at any given moment just might be His business, him being the Head of the church.The lies and fears that hold us captive will not allow us to let go of what we have believed to be the right way of doing church, apart from His love becoming something far more than a nodding of the head.

I am anticipating hearing further reports from my friends of how this graced flexibleness is freeing this home gathering to allow His love/live, define what it’s supposed to look like for them, as it will be in seeing our Head define what it will look like in each of those He has birthed, and calls His own.

Rich

Copious Amounts Of Grace

I was coming back from the grocery store with some needed items to get ready for our scrumptious feast we're planing on having later, celebrating my brother-in-laws time with us this weekend.
I try to come home going down the street where our son lives, and sure enough, wouldn't you know, there he was, our son talking with his uncle and his mom, having fun connecting in the moment.
It was a flash thought, much like a speeding arrow strategically aimed at my heart, simply seeing my precious wife reveling in the thick of family reconnecting, mom, son, and uncle.
The thought was sobering and unsettling at the same time, or as I am growing increasingly fond of saying, His disturbing grace~ha! I could see such a relaxed and at peace wife, being vividly alive in that moment.

I remember not all that long ago of how I was so much more out of sync with Father's heart and love for me, and as a sad consequence, those destructive ripples, more like a full force gale, so reeked havoc in my precious wife's soul. Today, I love having the joy of saying to friends and new friends, go ahead, make my day, just ask my wife if Papa is working/disturbing Richard with His grace~ha!

So much water under the bridge, so many memories of being a child of God, and yet so bound, so out of control. How amazing His ability is to remove the stinging barbs of those tormenting memories, and yet, remembering those events to this day.
Why, a living testimony of His grace. prodding and provoking me ever deeper into the vast and unexplored territory of His generous heart.

The rippling affects of grace in Father's heart is so infecting not just my life, but my precious wife as well. I am seeing how Father is freeing her in her innermost being with His love, to actually believe I can be trusted with her heart.

Is it any wonder when I watch for the umpteenth time the movie, The Christmas Carol, that I become a babbling crying fool, why, if you know the story, you well know Scrooge, who did NOT ever deserve a second chance, was given just that. Oh how I so relate with such a generousness, so many more extended second chances have rippled into my life from the first encounter with this Living God.

My wife said to me with her heart being freshly disturbed this morning, I am so thankful for Him freeing me from being so religious, making my heart so much more loving like His.
This ongoing journey of learning to live loved, has and is infecting us and I'm so grateful there is no cure~ha!

Rich

Ripples

If I was created to be and live loved, then, if I do not know and experience that love, His love, Papa's love, is it any wonder there is such a wasteland of lostness?

Although 'saved', rebrithed, many years ago now, the reality of God becoming my Father at a knowable level is, and continues to invade my jar of clay.
This unconditional love is greatly, but wonderfully disturbing me, thank God! I remember someone saying once how God comforts the disturbed, but disturbs the comfortable~ha!

On a recent pod cast Wayne and Brad ( http://www.thegodjourney.com/podcast.html ) were discussing the issue of the 'The Relationally Challenged', it was very good, but, and I'm not dickering over words, but, in my opinion, it goes far beyond being relationally challenged, it is being relationally dysfunctional.
The latter description (imo) more clearly paints the truer picture. ALL who have been born from the loins of Adam are dysfunctional, and will continue to be, unless, Love comes to town~ha!

The pervasiveness of the lostness within us is beyond our comprehension, but thank you Papa, that you delight in seeking and finding that which is lost.
Being loved is inseparable from defining who we are, our identity. When man chose to separate himself from his source of true identity, he became lost. You know the deal, hey man waz up, Oh, I'm just trying to 'find myself.'

Somehow being, and living loved is calling all of the lostness within my soul into an order of relational functioning stability I have never known, and I have been walking with Jesus since 1972.

I shared all of this to set a stage for the following thoughts....

The love of money Jesus said, is the root of all evil...both my wife and I have struggled~ha, what a weak word that is, more like being suffocated, drowning, for so long with 'finances.'

This is NOT an obscure far removed nightmare reality from most believers I know, and am getting to know. It is a curse, being a prisoner to this setup, meaning, although so many struggled with this monster, very few freely, openly, admits or talks about it. Why is this?

The 'love of money,' maybe its what money represents at an unconscious level,. security-power-being treated as very special etc. Whatever it is and its appeal to us, it is a horrible lie, and a substitute for the present and abiding security of the Father's love.
This area of lostness is being addressed by Papa's disturbing grace and love, and somehow I sense the beginning ripples of freedom.

Rich

The Ripples Of Grace

Here's a thought I was reflecting on this morning, actually more about Papa's love for me..as I am experiencing the rippling actions/affects of His grace, I am experiencing much more of a calmness, instead of the old knee jerk reacting, it frees me in so many ways..

I am one who has been and is still so indecisive at times, and this rippling affect of love/grace is not causing me see or know why I am that way, as much as it is addressing at the core of my being the reality of what it means to Live Loved, and in so doing, this area of being indecisive along with numerous other areas are being awakened to what it means when Jesus says, If you continue to follow me, you will Know the truth, and the Truth will set you FREE.

This rippling affect of grace/love spills out, much like water when spilled out, it flows into all of the 'low places' first... for example, I was having some minor glitches this morning with my laptop, and yes, within my soul I was sensing/feeling stuff trying to rise up, and in the past, would try to rule me, but I attribute the not reacting to this issue only because of discovering, not only am I loved, but I am learning to live loved!

I love the thought of all of Papa's dealings with me, is in bringing me into a low place, whereby, as in water spilled out, his love and grace will flow into those desperate and needy places within my soul.

Rich

Living Loved

Paul makes it clear that we are always slaves, either to sin or to righteousness, but always slaves. This is a key point. In this we can plainly see that we were never equipped to be the god of our own lives. This is not a statement of failure or shortcoming for the human race. It is rather a clear recognition and concession about how we are made. Look at it another way, my car cannot climb trees. This does not mean that it is a bad car. All this shows is that my automobile was never outfitted as a machine to perform this function. For the function that it was design for, carrying people and things down roads, my car works quite well. The same is true for us. When we function as we were designed to live we do well and we enjoy rest and peace. When we try to do things we are not equipped to do we suffer anxiety and failure.


The above was written by a friend whose book I am now reading. It fits in with some thoughts I have been pondering, 'living loved' as Wayne Jacobsen puts it.

This whole thing of being a 'Christian' encompasses so much more than meets the eye, you know, the tip of the iceberg thing.

This morning it dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, living loved is an inbuilt design that was all part of the package when I became one of His sons. It is a biological part of our physiology that when we wake in the morning we usually eliminate the toxins and other stuff from our bodies, freeing us to maintain the machinery of this temple that is so fearfully and wonderfully made. If this is but a natural operation or law functioning within us, maybe there is a purging, cleansing function of the Father's heart built within our spirits as well. Is it possible that our Father is wanting to wash/purge/cleanse us moment by moment, like when we first wake up in the morning, only this is a continuous flow, or expression of what it might mean to live loved?

As my friend Bill said, 'When we function as we were designed to live we do well and we enjoy rest and peace. When we try to do things we are not equipped to do, we suffer anxiety and failure.'
When we do not 'know' we are unconditionally loved (and that is a continuous knowing), by default I will gravitate towards trying to go through life through performing. Isn't this what Paul speaks of in his epistles, that when we resort to the flesh, we sever, or cut ourselves off from grace?

The miracle of becoming a true son of the Father, displacing our previous state which was 'by nature being children of wrath and sons of disobedience,' we had at our disposal the only life love needed to live loved.

The ongoing miracle of His amazing grace is designed to save our souls, in other words, to have Christ formed within us, but if our perception of His loving correction is in fact is that he rejects us, how can we not but frustrate his grace for us?

Why has there been such morphed expressions of what it means to be a Christian, except for the fact that all of us have been born into a fallen world whose laws of operation governs everything to do with performing or measuring up outwardly?Not too many (those rebirthed ones) would disagree with God being our Father, but because of NOT knowing His love for us at the core of our being, we in fact live as orphans.

I am seeing, sensing His beckoning heart for me to draw ever closer to Him moment by moment, freeing me from pretending about anything I think I know, especially living loved.
Father, all I can say is, "I Love You!"

Rich

Trusting

Tonight we had friends over to share about our encounters with the Lord, having read the book, The Shack.

We had a wonderful time tonight, I was the only guy though..I have no problems with that at all.
Three ladies/friends besides us..so cool hearing how our friends are discovering/becoming much more aware of not only His love for us, but also His special fondness as well.

Funny, in coming to experience what it means to live Loved, how effortlessly it becomes to 'trust' Him with our lives. Rather than seeing, according to our warped perceptions, Oh boy, look at how I have to trust Him...as if we can by/through fleshly efforts on our part produce what we think He is demanding from us (trust)..make any sense?
If I know I am loved unconditionally, the trust issue is born out of the knowableness of living loved, (not something I'm trying to impress Him with) and when I screw up, its all about being loved perfectly still, make any sense?
Maybe our capacity to walk by faith, not by sight aka faith/trust, is in fact deepened and continues to flow out of that inner knowing, I am Loved?

Rich

Reveling in the Revelator...

The thought, not very original, but none the less sobering, am I reveling in the revelator, Christ in me the hope of glory, or, am I reveling in the revelation?
I said that to say this, there seems to be so much falling into place (in my life) lately regarding what continues to be shared on the God Journey with Wayne and Brad...An ever expanding conversation of those living outside the box of organized religion... http://www.thegodjourney.com/ http://www.thegodjourney.com/podcast.html

This whole notion of 'friends, and friends of friends' that Wayne and Brad have been discussing is quite exhilarating to say the least. Knowing the propensity within our fleshly thinking to turn our focus away from the revelator onto the revelation, doggedly hounds us.

I like what Wayne says here, 'Remember body life does not produce the life of Jesus, only Jesus does that. The church can never be our source of life, it is the fruit of that life being borne in us. Let your relationship with him grow. If you don’t know any others, just lean in close to him and keep your eyes open. He may just want you to himself for a time so that he is the only one you’ll be dependent on. In time he will begin to connect you in the simple joy of...Twos and Threes.'

Rather than seeing this as a formula, lets look at it being as simple as Him, producing the Life in the context of people, friends and friends of friends. Let's take a peek at how some this might unfold.

I was chatting with a friend this morning on line and he mentioned that Wayne had called him asking if he would be interested in connecting with a woman's son who lived in the same state he lived in. He said, yes, for sure. The details are being worked out now towards the possibility of this happening.

Last evening I received a phone call from a university student asking if she might come over to meet my wife and me regarding her ministry in reaching out to her fellow students.
I said sure thing..this too is being worked out, arranging a time to meet.
How this came about was through meeting someone at a recent gathering here in Stratford when Wayne and Sara Jacobsen came down for a visit.
One of the folks there was a young woman finishing up her education in a near by university. As this young woman shared about her heart for those attending university, it was as if I was looking through the window of her heart at these people I didn't even know.
I said to her how deeply I was touched in seeing and hearing about these students and her having such a heart for them, I said, if there is anything I can do to be a blessing to you or them, please let me know. And that is how this friend of a friend I met is now wanting to meet us.

To sum this up, the quote from the movie, Jurassic Park (1993) comes to mind..Henery Wu: You're implying that a group composed entirely of female animals will... breed?
Dr. Ian Malcolm: No, I'm simply saying that life, uh... finds a way.

http://www.liberatedfilms.com/film-34301-Jurassic%20Park%20-%20US%20Home%20Video%20Trailer

Rich

Seeing, Follow Up

Kent,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me.
Here are a few more of mine, I would have posted them on the halo section, but for some reason it was not working?


I guess what I was getting at, although implied but not spelled out, was, imo, I see everything dealing with who we 'think' we are, is, being addressed and revolves in and around His love for us all.
Meaning, it is the de-construction of the false, outer man, vs the real, inner man. The real us, is not, black vs white, rich vs poor, smart vs dumb etc, and it is a demolishing of an identity built upon lies.

I like the analogy although most terrifying in its applications, being used of one of the prophets in the OT, he was being used of God, to tear down, and uproot, before there was any building up taking place. This demolishing is a loving action, although unfathomable to us at the time.
I have often thought of that reality unfolding, especially in my walk with Him, as well as the same violent processing of all that have been received of Him.

I realize it's totally about Him working in us and through us on an individual basis in addressing what I am sharing here, not a formula. In a nut shell, I want to learn in being a recipient of grace to be gracious in dealing with those like myself, still being extricated from the Matrix of religious thinking.

What do you think?

Rich

Do You Really Want To See

Is it saying to folks, 'just stop it' whatever that may be, or, is it being love to them?
Maybe if we shout a little louder, the deaf person will come to hear, or in pointing out to the blind man, how he is not seeing.

If we hear/see anything at all in regards to the reality of knowing God as our Father, what makes us believe it came about because of something we did? Maybe it all flows out of relationship/s, rather than drive by smarten up shootings...what do you think?

Rich

Friends 4-Ever

When Wayne and Sara where with us, in one of our touring the city times, we stopped to smell the roses, and a few other delightful things.
The connections of the heart that were established, I am 4-ever grateful!

Rich