The Narcotic of Man's Favor

The favor of people is fleeting. It is also an emotional narcotic that can create an unhealthy need for its presence in our lives. This kind of favor is typically based on consensus and a shared worldview. When the consensus and worldview changes and is no longer mutual, those who negatively interpreted the change can initiate relational distancing and withdraw the needle that fed our need for their favor. This distancing is many times silent and polite, but hurtful, nevertheless. We then enter a favor addict’s season of withdrawal where we can become so desperate for approval we might put our integrity in a place of jeopardy.

 

Over the years, I've had favor lift off a few long time relationships. I discovered what I thought we had was less than I imagined because it only took one differing opinion to cause a shift in those relationships. It was painful to one day be “in the mix” with friends and then quietly moved outside the perimeter of the relationship.

 

We all want to be favored by others. It feels good to be included. But it can also become narcotic in nature. In these situations, we find we need continual hits of other people's approval and favor to find our value because we have forgotten our true value has already been set by God. 

 

There will be times when the favor of God will cause the favor of specific individuals and groups to lift from our lives so we can undergo a revamping of our personal value. In these times, we need to grab hold of our emotions and not let them run ahead of the truth regarding our identity in Jesus Christ. When the approval of others is withdrawn it allows the favor of God to be seen with greater clarity.

While God is processing your understanding of favor, especially if the favor of friends or associates has recently been removed, don’t burn your bridges. Always keep the way open for reconciliation. That will allow the favor of God to rest on your life in increasing measure in the coming days.

  

The Gracious Hand of God

Five times in the book bearing his name, Ezra is described as having the “gracious hand of God” upon him.  Ezra and the Israelites would need to know God's hand was on them when they returned to Palestine after being exiled in Babylon. The hand of God gave Ezra an audience before a king, provision for his needs, and protection for the dangerous journey. Ezra moved forward with his life-calling because he knew the gracious hand of God was upon him. 

As a child of God, you have the same gracious hand on your life that was upon Ezra. No matter where you are or what you are going through, God’s hand of favor is on your life and making a way for you to move forward into the future. 

The gracious hand of God upon your life releases the favor you will need to open doors into a future you thought was impossible. Knowing God's hand is upon your life is where the courage will come that will be needed for the journey set before you.  You can trust in the faithfulness of His touch.

 

Repairing a Frayed Faith

With so many opinions and demands pulling at us during this unfamiliar time in history, it is easy to feel like a worn garment coming apart at the seams. This fraying can produce a thin faith that will rob us of the pure essence of our relationship with God.

I never think of Paul, the great and fearless apostle, as ever being afraid of anything. Yet, he told the Corinthians he was afraid of one thing. "I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Unpacking the language Paul used to frame his comment, he described our faith as simple. Simplicity here refers to our focus. In all the cultural debris being tossed at us, a simple focus on Jesus is our greatest defense against deception. Paul described this simple faith as pure. In other words, unpolluted by any outside source no matter how noble or timely it might appear. He also said our faith should involve devotion to Christ alone. This is a phrase in the original text that means to enter into something, to move towards.

If you feel frayed and the seams of your faith are becoming threadbare, the only remedy for repair is to lay everything down and move once again toward the Lord as your only focus. Embrace the simplicity that you encountered when you first met Him. As you move toward Him, the pollution of other agendas will fall away, and a new clarity will come. A rewoven faith is a wise faith and a faith able to endure the harshest fraying abrasions that come from living in a challenging season of life.

 

  

Becoming a Usable Vessel

You can tell hell is at work when people choose to believe a bad report about longtime friends and then reject their influence from within a circle of fellowship. Those who believed the bad report may put on a happy face, but underneath the smiles, the dismissal has already done its damage. These negative reports are like rotted balls hurled back and forth, destroying what was once a beautiful thing. What is left behind after a bad report has been allowed to sow its death is the sorrow of betrayal. These experiences are not a complete loss if we can keep our hearts unoffended in the trial. God can use an unoffended heart for His glory in ways not thought possible when we were first tossed aside and dismissed. Passing the test of betrayal and remaining unoffendable will make us a usable vessel in the hand of the Master.

Chasing After God

There has been only one principle that Jan and I followed when needing to discover our next step in life. That principle has been to follow the Lord at all costs. We had a few times when we stumbled, but when we finally stepped out in faith, that single principle has led us without fail in the last 47 years of marriage and 40 years of service in God’s Kingdom.

At times chasing after God made no sense financially or logically. It created challenging times with good friends who did not understand. It changed how people viewed us, and in some cases, radically altered the trajectory of our lives.

As someone on the last lap or two of life, I can look back over the previous four decades of life and say, following the leading of the Lord has been the single most important decision we have ever made. It has been our key to fulfillment in all areas of our life. Today, Jan and I have no needs, but if tomorrow should a need arise, we know that in Christ, we lack no good thing. 

If you want to know your next step in life - chase after the Lord. His is the calling of your life, not what you do to express that calling. Follow Him wherever He leads no matter the cost or the jeopardy that choice creates. The place where God is leading you and how you will execute that calling will be the by-products of obeying His voice. That choice will challenge your faith when your doubts and the counsel of others tell you to take a safe and predictable course. 

Each day, Jan and I wake up and thank God for our life together, knowing we did not get here on our own or by our wisdom. We were brought to this place by a faithful Lord who invited us to follow Him. He is waiting to take your hand and show you how to move forward to something you could not imagine. Take Him up on His invitation, and you will never live with regret.

Making a Righteous Sound

Speaking the truth in love requires sound. A silent church that hopes to get back to “normal” without addressing the elephants in the room will have missed an opportunity to express the sound of truth in this time of growing anarchy and censorship. Yes, we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but we are also to be His voice. An honorable protest is part of our rich cultural history. Violent riots are the work of a spirit of anarchy and never lead to righteous outcomes. Civic leaders who have abdicated their assignment to protect a community will have to answer to a higher authority for their compromise and complicity. Evil taking place even within the smallest part of a city is like leaven. A tiny bit of leaven left unchallenged will eventually corrupt the larger host. We need to find our voice as believers, or someday our descendants will ask why we were silent. The fear of man will not be an excuse that will stand the test of integrity.

Pickup Your Memorial Stone

Amid all the noise, clamor, and disruption taking place in our culture, God wants to reveal His love and power. That love and power will be visible to those whose eyes have been trained to see His goodness.

When Joshua was leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, they had to cross the Jordan River, which at the time, was running at flood stage. The Lord stopped the river’s flow allowing the Israelites to cross over on dry ground. When the miraculous passage was complete, two memorials were constructed.

The Lord instructed Joshua to tell the people to choose a leader from each of the twelve tribes who would select a single stone and build a stone memorial where they would camp the first night after the crossing was complete. This would be a forever memorial to future generations of God’s faithfulness to deliver His people. 

The second stone memorial was built by Joshua. His memorial was built on the dry riverbed, in the middle of the Jordan. When all the people finally crossed over, the river began to flow again, and Joshua’s memorial would be submerged.

The crossing of the Jordan is a word picture for each of us.  We are making a crossing from what we once knew to a future yet to be defined.  Today, we have been given an assignment similar to the assignment that Joshua gave the Israelites. Stop and look for your stone of remembrance of God’s love and power displayed in the last few months. This stone is somewhere in your life. Only the eyes of faith can see this stone. Pick it up and carry it with you as you journey forward. It has a place on the other side of this time of transition where your stone will be placed with other stones of remembrance to remind you, your friends, and your family of God’s goodness.

If you are leading a family, a business, a church, or an entire movement of people, you also have a memorial to construct. Your memorial will be like the one Joshua assembled.  Place your stones where you stand today on the dry ground of your passage. When your passage is complete, it will be submerged and out of sight. In future generations, leaders will remember that your memorial to God’s faithfulness is there, somewhere underneath the future floodwaters of transition. It will give future leaders who follow in your footsteps the courage to step into the floodwaters of transition, knowing that God will always be faithful to reveal a way forward.

“Today, you will know that the living God is among you” (Joshua 3:10).

Crushing Our Opinion

As I prepared our lunch of wild salmon, I used a mortar and pestle to crush together the ingredients of garlic, cilantro, and green onion to create a rub that would be applied to the salmon filet.  I began to imagine the flavor they would bring in harmony when all the ingredients came together.  Atop the paste, I laid a layer of chopped pecan halves to create a beautiful crust.

The mortar and pestle reminded me of something. Maybe we need to rethink the social conflict taking place in America. We all want our distinct ingredient in the cultural conversation to remain independent and not lose its singularity. That might be what is contributing to our current problem. None of us is meant to be a standalone ingredient. God is crushing our individual opinions along with the insight provided by others to create a flavorful and fragrant topping meant to adorn the broader culture-wide conversation. If we are not willing to have our opinion crushed under the loving hand of God, we will not taste the good thing He is preparing.

As a postscript - the salmon was excellent. So were the Parmasssean cheese cauliflower florets and green salad.

The Power and Beauty of Belonging

On July 4^th, Jan and I had the honor of officiating our daughter’s wedding. Toward the end of the ceremony, I had Anna and Jared exchange rings. I explained to them wearing my wedding ring for the last 47 years was a daily reminder that I belonged to someone – to Jan. I remember the day Jan and I drove to the Eastridge Mall in San Jose, California, to buy our rings. I still carry the joy of that day. After all these years, the pattern on our rings has long worn off, but their meaning has grown more significant and meaningful with each passing day.

A sense of belonging is critical for a person to be healthy, both emotionally and spiritually. Belonging is not created by wearing jewelry or owning shared property. It is a look in a person’s eyes when you embrace them that speaks of shared love and commitment. It is a feeling you carry when apart wanting to be in their presence once again. It is a sacred trust and something you protect at all costs.

Perhaps one of the greatest things we can do for someone is to let them know they belong. For a friend, it is offering a reminder of the value of your friendship. For a stranger, it is affirming them as a fellow human being who is worthy of our love and respect. 

When people no longer feel like they belong, a separation occurs, and in that place of separation, mean-spirited and harsh things take up residence. The only thing that can disempower those things is a kind word or a gesture of affirmation that tells them they belong.  We all belong to each other and to God. No one should ever feel like they are alone. Knowing we belong is the first step in healing the painful wounds of separation. It is our responsibility to initiate that first step with each person we meet.

Blessing Our Way Through Life

Today, an angry man sped past Jan and me on our morning walk. It happened at a four-way stop and was a bit too close for comfort. Instead of offering him a vulgar gesture or a word of cursing, we blessed him. 

Everyday angry, depressed, and fearful people will cross our path. As ones who carry Peace, these are opportunities to bless, not curse. When our paths cross with distressed people, wisdom and love wants to offer them a blessing when our pride wants to do otherwise. Our blessing might be what releases their personal breakthrough. Like you, we have not been perfect in this endeavor.

Many times, we look for some big breakthrough event on a national or global scale and miss the purpose and significance of these negative personal encounters. What if we become an army embedded in culture, releasing an onslaught of blessings? Perhaps, the turnaround we seek in our nation would happen quicker than we might have imagined.

Regarding the man we encountered today on our walk, I chuckle imagining how the blessing we released over his life will dog him all day long and just maybe, bring him the personal breakthrough he so desperately needs. Jan and I walked away from that encounter with smiles on our faces and peace in our hearts.

Hidden Blessings in Betrayal

Jan and I have learned and God has faithfully reaffirmed, a powerful life-lesson after each painful betrayal we experienced. We learned that betrayal is a doorway into hope and resurrection. This was only possible if we did not allow our hearts to grow hard, cold, and unforgiving. We have experienced several deep betrayals over the years, and each one, without exception, turned into an opportunity for a blessing we could not have imagined when we were first immersed in the pain. Betrayal is not the end. It is the beginning of something new.

A Change in Direction and an Adjustment in Relationships

This morning, the Lord gave me two different words to share with those to whom they might apply. The first paragraph has to do with seeking direction from the Lord. The second is about coming change within existing relationships.

DIRECTION: You have come this far by wisely evaluating every step along the way. Each time, before you moved, you have waited for the Lord to place a stone to mark your next step along the path. The pause you are experiencing between the last stone, and the one yet to be placed, seems to be taking longer than expected.  There is a direction change coming. What you discerned in the past as a linear and straight-ahead way forward into the future is about to make a turn. The next placement of your time, energy, and resources will be critical.  It will determine the path of your future. Wait for the Lord to place the next stone before you take a step.

RELATIONSHIPS: There is a cluster of significant relationships in your life. Those relationships are about to be tested. It will be tested in the hearts of those who make up the group. Each of you has come thus far in agreement. This unusual time in history has tested some of your previous shared agreements. Nuances are now being discovered. The sounds of a direction change are now in the mix. This is making some in your group nervous. What is taking place is not a work of division. It is a work of clarification empowered by the Spirit. This clarification will make it possible to experience a deeper level of team intimacy and unity. God is clarifying the calling of your group and expanding the breadth of its diversity. He is unifying you in a deeper place than the diverse personal opinions that have recently surfaced. God is at work in the heart of your group. Let Him have His way, and He will make a way. 

The Love of Acceptance

Prophet Wanda Alger recently shared a word that caught my attention, challenged me, and brought clarity to some of what is taking place in this unique moment of history, "Though your love for me is strong, your love for acceptance is stronger. Though your commitment to me is unquestioned, your compassion has led you to compromise. You have traded righteousness for relational equity and divine providence for self-protection. Your spirit is willing, but your flesh has been leading."

Our pursuit of truth can be compromised by the need to be accepted by a group, any group no matter how well-intentioned that group might be or how much we want to belong. God is not surprised by our weakness in this area. He wants to bring clarity to these broken places in our lives so He can perform a work of deliverance freeing us from the control of this spirit of flawed acceptance. Those set free in this area will eventually find their voice and begin to declare the will of God with boldness and balanced compassion.

This time of social isolation has caused many things to rise to the surface.  What we allow to remain hidden and unchallenged will infect the authenticity of our relationships. 

What we will see rising to the surface is the flotsam of our unhealed brokenness and masked fear. This spiritual debris is what God wants to heal before we move forward. Do not fear when these negative things become visible in your life and the life of those you love. This manifestation is meant for our wellbeing and freedom if we are willing to let them go to receive something better. God is preparing us to reengage life and move into a new season with purer motives and priorities. That is a good and authentic thing. 

Your Future is Hope

In the last hour, I was thinking about a couple of good friends who are making a significant change in their lives. The Lord gave me a word for them. While it was a specific word of encouragement, the Lord said, “This word is for others. It has a wider application.” So, with that instruction, I want to share the word with you if it applies to your circumstance. Be well. God has you covered. Hope is your future.

“You just came to mind, and when you did, I felt the Lord nudge me to share something with you. I know significant change is on your horizon. In the coming days, God will reveal a new level of His faithfulness to you. The honor and love you have carried and displayed to many of us while you were near will go before you in our absence. It will open doors for the many wonderful things God has planned in the new place. Go expecting joy to greet you upon your arrival.”

Our Gate of Passage into the Future

Our social isolation will soon come to an end. During this time, we have experienced the cessation of forward motion. What was normal came to a standstill. That lack of felt movement and the accompanying sense of isolation can cause areas of personal dysfunction, not dealt with in the past, to rise to the surface. This surfacing of emotional and spiritual dysfunction is a gift for us because seeing is the first step in healing. 

While pondering what this all meant, I saw two ornate pillars in the distance. They were the gate posts positioned on each side of the way forward. Passage through this opening into what God has planned depends on what we are willing to leave behind as we move forward to engage our new and yet unexplored future.

We all need to take a moment to review what has transpired in this time of isolation. The spiritual and emotional quality of our interaction with people, our response to what has displeased us in this time of separation, and any demands we might have placed on others need evaluation. Did these encounters reflect God’s heart or our angst?

Finally, I saw that the two gateposts guarding the future were movable, not anchored in time and space.  As I tried to interpret what I was seeing, I realized we would need to stop and address what we might too easily ignore in our rush to return to a connected life.  Ignoring these issues will push the gate posts ahead of us, causing us to not pass through their opening into the new future God has planned. 

It will be too easy for some of us to think a new season of life or a refreshed ministry plan is to be our primary focus. It’s not. The way forward will open to us based on the condition of our heart, not a misplaced hope or the excellence of our re-engagement plan.

Catch a Memory

Take a moment and recapture a fond memory. It is a healing exercise. I just did, and a strange and beautiful peace entered my mind pushing aside some of the concerns I have picked up of late. 

As a young boy, I remember going fishing with my dad and riding in his little aluminum boat on Lake Berryessa in California. Dad had an old 2-cycle outboard motor that coughed and chugged us across the glassy surface of the lake at the break of dawn, leaving in our wake a tendril of blue exhaust smoke. Our fishing poles stuck out from the boat’s bow like a ship's masthead with red and white bobbers bouncing up and down. My brother and I sat in the front seat, shivering in the cool early morning air that passed by our pink cheeks. As the boat motored toward our favorite cove, we were anticipating the first tug of a fish taking the bait and submerging our bobber. Dad was at the stern, running the outboard with a Camel cigarette hanging from his mouth. My brother and I exchanged glances with each other and then back at dad. He was smiling. He loved to be with “his boys.”  Those were simpler times with a lot less life clutter to process.

Today, reach back in time and grab a simple memory. Linger in its remembrance for a few moments. Like the power of a testimony, a simple memory can cross time and bring the same joy into the current moment that was experienced when the event first took place. These are gifts from God. Unpack them with joy.

In Flew a Ladybug

This is a photo of two of my favorite females. Jan is holding our new puppy named Ladybug. The pup is the result of a romantic encounter between a Labradoodle mom and an Australian Shepherd father. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. I like it because Jan and Ladybug had just finished taking a nap together, and all was all quiet on the puppy dog front – for a moment.

The name Ladybug came after wanting to name her Lady but felt she was something more. My daughter Anna commented one day as we entertained our new puppy’s name, “She reminds me of a little ladybug.” An hour after Anna made that comment, the yet-to-be-officially-named puppy and I were sitting outside in her kennel enjoying the sunshine when a real ladybug flew out of nowhere and landed on my right arm. Once the ladybug had my attention, it flew up and off my arm and made a few orbits above my head, making sure I got the message and then flew away.

God likes to confirm the little things in life, like the naming of a puppy. For those whose image of God is of a distant and distracted father who cares little about such things, I pray those dear souls could see Him in a different light. 

Today, look for the ladybug kind of confirmations that visit our lives on a daily basis. They are messages from a loving Father who wants His children to know that His eye is on the sparrow, little puppies and anything His children love.

The Fruit of Heaven

In this time of worldwide shaking, the fruit of your past obedience will fall into your hands in an unusual display of God’s goodness. The Lord has not forgotten your love and commitment to Him and to others. Every act of kindness you have done in the past planted a seed. Those seeds have grown and matured to become sweetened fruit hanging from God's vine. Open your hands in faith. This is a time of harvest. The fruit of Heaven is falling to Earth.

“You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours” (Psalm 128:2).

Surrounded by Angels

I debated whether to share the following experience, not because of any fear or doubt. I wanted to make sure I had permission from the Lord to make it public or keep it private as a personal experience. The Lord just gave me permission to share.

Last Wednesday morning, I was on a prayer walk through the woodlands near our home. I saw just a few people hiking on the trails. I was in one section of trail where I rarely encountered another person even during normal times. All of a sudden, I felt a presence behind me. I turned around in preparation to step aside and allow someone to pass by, but no one was there. At that moment, I knew an angel was walking behind me. I could not see the angel, but the sense of his presence was as real as if a flesh and blood human was behind me. I said out loud, “I sense your presence.” When I turned back around to continue walking, I sensed another angelic presence in front of me. All three of us were walking together. 

I inquired of the Lord what this encounter meant, and He said, “I have dispatched angels to walk as rear guards to follow my people and way-maker angels to walk in front of them as they follow the path of their faith.” A beautiful and powerful peace enveloped me as I continued to hike. 

You and I are not, nor have we ever been alone as we step forward in faith. God has positioned the resources of Heaven to walk with us through valleys of dry bones and through fields of plenty. We are always accompanied. The great assault taking place in this moment of history is an assault of fear, not a virus. This fear has been released in an attempt to immobilize our faith by making us believe we are naked, alone, and abandoned. Don’t accept the invitation to this fear. You are not alone. You are surrounded by angels on assignment who carry the glory of God. They are walking with you at this moment, and they have you covered on all sides. Keep moving. Faith, not fear, is the way forward. 

THIS!

My wife, Jan, just wrote and released this powerful blessing.

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Blessing of Suddenlies

Isaiah 29:1-8

Isaiah prophesies sudden deliverance, which is fulfilled and recorded in chapter 37:36-38. He is not only speaking about a specific time in history, but a truth about what God is like for His people and towards their enemies. 

In the name of Jesus Christ,

      I bless your spirit with the wonder

      of living in His presence,

      in His preserving favor.

Whether experiencing great blessing

      or distress, you are always directly

      face to face with Him.

When trouble hems you in on all sides,

      keep looking to God—persevere in hope.

If you are humbled by adversity

      and under great stress and duress,

      if you are filled with sorrow and fear—

      your voice reduced to a whispered prayer—

      believe deeper still in God’s word to you.

He has already spoken a word of deliverance!

Your enemy considers himself powerful,

      yet that is how completely he is deceived:

      he is culpable and he will be humbled;

      his power doesn’t compare

      to the awesome ease of divine action.

This is what God is like:

      He will dispatch the threat,

      completely removing it—

      forgotten as though just a dream.

Divine deliverance will happen suddenly;

      in a dramatic, last-minute instant—

      it will happen!

I bless you with new faith,

      refusing to live by working the system

      and by practicing religion,

      yet not believing God’s word.

Without minimizing human culpability

      and the reality of evil in the world,

      may you no longer be run around

      by the noisy sounds of discord:

      no longer live as though you

      are at the mercy of earthly forces;

      no longer live as though you are dealing

      with secondary causes.

You are blessed with a direct face to face

      relationship with the Lord Almighty

      in every circumstance.

Though His mercies may seem delayed,

      He will not delay—

      He will never fail you:

      He is sovereign in history,

      He is your Higher Reality,

      He will preserve you,

      He will have the last word—

      and it is a word of deliverance.