IN PURSUIT……

Sometimes I have to admit, I have a tormented mind. I wrestle through so many things that I often feel overwhelmed and would prefer a cave to any type of communication. At least in the cave, you know what you are getting!

However, that is not how we were designed by God. He made us for interaction, communion, and community. He created us in His image. He himself thrives off communion with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, His angels, and us, His children. He enjoys fellowship and friendship just as we do with our friends here on earth.

This very thought crossed my mind this past week as I was reading in Scripture. I was reading and when I was finished I was like, “God, why in the world would that even be in there? What good did it do me to read that passage?” It was not a passage of any deep concern and was merely one relating history, and that was IT! So it befuddled me that He would have me spend the time reading it.

That is when this idea ran through my mind.

I am good friends with Roy McDougal. He and I really enjoy hanging out and talking about things. SO I asked myself, and then I asked Roy. “If there was a book describing you and your history Roy, would you prefer I read that 6 days a week and hang out with you one day, or would you prefer I read it once, learn about you, but then spend my time hanging out with you and merely referencing the book occasionally as a refresher?” I imagine you can guess what he said. He would much rather prefer me hanging out with him to me simply reading about him.

So why would God be any different? Remember, we are made in his image. We reflect who he is. We share the same desires as He does when it comes to communion. So why would we treat God any different than we would a friend or a spouse? Why do we spend more time reading about Him than we do simply hanging out?

I don’t really have a good grasp on this, but I am IN PURSUIT…….

Lets be honest, I am not very good at quick, straight to the point articles. Just not very good at being “short winded.” LOL! However, I believe sometimes there is good use for more words.

I have been wrestling through some thoughts lately and it has centered on a few verses in Acts chapter two. It is human nature to desire and seek real friendships and deep relationships forming a unity only found in a tight community. However, in our self centered society, it is very hard to find. Our flesh nature desires to self sustain, self protect, and self satisfy, which means we are always looking out for self. Amazingly, as I have spent 36 years in the “body of Christ” I have found it rare to find an exception to this. As I have thought this through, I now find this to be an interesting fact in light of what Scripture said In Acts 2 about our first brothers and sisters of the faith.

Read this from Acts 2:42-47

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

2 things stand out to me. #1, they had all things in “common.” #2. They sold property, pooled resources, and made sure everybody had his/her needs (food, water, clothes) met. It was as if suddenly, they lost the concept of “mine” and everything suddenly became “ours.” Here is a continuation of the story from Acts 4:

^“32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

You see how the attitudes changed? Our typical attitude says, “I worked for it, I earned it. I deserve it. I am going to keep for my enjoyment.” When they heard the message of Jesus and gave themselves to be like Him, suddenly, they went from the economy of the world (mine, mine, Mine) to His economy (His, His, His to be used by any of His.) They no longer considered themselves owners of what they had, but stewards who willingly allowed any and all in the body to use. It was not, borrow and make sure you bring back. It was more of, if you have the need, it is yours to use. People had an attitude change, one to reflect the heart of Jesus.

In John 17:21-23, Jesus prayed we would be one as He and Father are one. This is exactly what Jesus was talking about. Having all things in common. One heart, one mind, one spirit, not considering yourself to be greater than any other or your things you possess as yours, but rather, having the heart of “it is His, it is ours.”

Imagine what would happen if we actually lived this way? Actually, we need not imagine, we are told the result, “many were added to their numbers DAILY.” Though people feared them, they held them in high regard (ACTS 5). When we live as one as Jesus did with his father, laying aside selfishness and pride, our lives will instantly change the world around. us.

The only question I now have is this! Is this even possible any more in our self focused, self crazed society known as America?

I believe it is, and I also believe when we, as His children, once again decide to live out this life He has lived out for us, our world too will be rocked and people will not have to be convinced of their need for Jesus, they will be drawn to it by our reflecting his Unity with His Father by our Unity, True Community, with each other.

In Pursuit……..

You know, as I walk through life, there never seems to be a dull moment. I am constantly learning, which sometimes drives me nuts as I am the kind of personality that “likes to arrive.”

Those who have met my son, Truett, instantly know how much of a daddy’s boy he is. He loves to be with dad, dress like dad, and do things with dad. If he were allowed, he would constantly be at my side. There is no doubt that this brings me great joy and has taught me much about my Daddy, Father God.

However, there is also another thing about Truett. Other than a few words like “yes” and “no”, he simply does not have much to say. He communicates mostly through gestures and attitudes. Sometimes this is cute, but for the most part, it is very frustrating as I long to speak to my son. To have a simple conversation would be awesome. Tonight, I verbalized this to him, saying simply, “Please son, talk to me!”

As I said it, I could hear my Father say the very same words to me. So often I expect Him to read my mind or respond to my gestures or attitudes, yet what He longs to have is a simple conversation with me involving WORDS! I could feel His heart tonight and the ache He feels in waiting for me to speak to Him. He said to me, “Just Talk to Me son!”

In Pursuit…….

Yes, I continually am learning new things from all kind of places. It is interesting the things you can pick up when you are in a place of seeking and wondering. (some might say wandering, lol)

The past few weeks have been interesting to say the least. It has been a time of almost mindless routine. That can happen when you have a child in the house and suddenly things don’t get done unless you just plod along a trodden path of routine. Unfortunately, this can also lead to complacency and laziness in life as well. Not to mention, the added struggle of simply trying to get by on a daily basis and see your children have a meal on the table and clothes on their backs.

Mind you, thins is no where near the pressures of those who lived through the Great Depression or in countries where food is extremely scarce. Rather, this is just learning to live in lean times when plenty has been the norm.

However, I personally struggle through this. I like any father, want the best, and most for my children. I want them and my wife to have the nicer things and the things they want. Whether that is a new pair of shoes, clothes, or simply able to afford organic food for my wife who likes to have her family eating naturally as much as possible.

Lately, those things have had to be set aside in order to simply meet the present need. Seems like a little money comes in and it is immediately followed by a bill that swallows it up. Been there?

Needless to say, this left me wondering, and wandering, asking God what is going on. When things get like this, I tend to wrestle in my mind, struggling with old religious habits like “what have I done wrong to deserve this treatment?” It is what comes naturally for me. Also, my natural tendency is to try and “fix” the propblem through my own efforts vs seeking out Fathers provision. My “old man” struggles to live and fight the “new man” He has made me to be.

So as I wrestle through this, asking God “why” and “where are you” desperate to hear his voice, I come face to face with a reality.

My son, Truett, who is now 2, is a true “daddy’s boy.” He wants to be where his dad is ALL the time. He wants to do what I do. If I leave him, he screams and cries out my name. If he sees me leaving to do a quick chore, he begs to come with me. This is also true in the mornings.

He has learned my routine in the morning is to go feed dogs and tend to sheep. So, he tries his best to get up and join me. Needless to say, you can imagine such chores are somewhat easier for me with him at home, especially in the morning. However, more often than not, he awakes to join me. However, on the occasions I am able to slip out, if he awakes while I am gone, He “cries out” my name until I return.

This morning, as I was asking God “why are you seemingly so quiet,” I was walking back from my chores. I had managed to slip out without Truett, yet as I approached the house I began to hear his voice. He was crying out “Dada, dada!” He was clearly upset and nothing and no one could stop the crying until I walked in and said, “Here I am son!” Which immediately led to us sitting in my chair and spending time with each other.

As I neared the house, and heard Truett crying, Father God spoke to me. He said, “Son, you come to me saying you want to hear from me. You claim to want to spend time with me, yet you show little passion in this quest. Your heart has become “fat and lazy” and you merely speak my name expecting me to rush to you. Son, I want you to WANT Me with a passion. To need me with a fierce desire. I am waiting for you to “Cry out” My Name, unwilling to be comforted by any other. I want you to Want Me. I want you to realize and see your need for me. I want you to “Cry out My Name!” I want you to draw near to me and that is when I will draw near to you. It takes more than just words of a prayer to draw me in, It takes a longing, a desiring, and a passionate pursuit. When you learn to Cry out my name, and cry until I come, then you and I will find time to walk in the Garden and speak to each other. I long to be with you, I am simply waiting for you to LONG to be with Me.

In Pursuit…….

For anyone who knows me well at all, it is common knowledge that I have a fondness for the book of Matthew. I am not certain exactly what is is, but for some reason I connect with how the author wrote and what God is saying there. All that to say, it is not unusual for me to be found reading from that book.

On my most recent journey through, I was captured by some verses in Matthew 15. It is a passage in which Jesus is having a discussion with the religious leaders of the day. They were upset because of what they perceived as blatant ignoring of the traditions by Jesus’ disciples. If you know anything about this group of religious leaders, you know they were extremely strict in their observance of the law and traditions passed down by their forefathers. So to see a group not following their way was more than disturbing to them.

As they complained to Jesus, look at what he says to them. (I have included the entire first 14 verses, highlighting the words Jesus quoted from Isaiah.)

¹ Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

  ⁸ “‘These people honor me with their lips, 
   but their hearts are far from me. 
⁹ They worship me in vain; 
their teachings are merely human rules.’^[c]”

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides.^[d] If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

Now, those are some strong words Jesus spoke, rather, quoted from Isaiah 29. I went back and read the chapter in Isaiah, and this was some very strong words God spoke to his people. Now, it wasn’t that they were doing the “wrong thing,” but rather, they were more interested in doing the right thing where God has ALWAYS been more interested in the relationship!

Now, I say all this to simply say this. I believe God has the very same thing to say to us today in the religion of Christianity. You see, we have sunken into the trap of trying to gain his favor on our lives by “doing all the right things.” We go to church on Sunday morning. We do not commit evil crimes like murder or theft. We follow the law and the traditions of our fathers, yet God is asking, “where is your heart?”

I am fully convinced that God repeats the words of Isaiah 1 to us in saying:

¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

Yes, He looks around and He sees so many, who like Job, are righteous in His eyes, yet have missed the point. That being what He first created and desired, The Garden of Eden. The very intimacy that Jesus came to restore us to. It is NOT about our Sunday gatherings. It is NOT about whether we follow a certain set of rules or traditions! It is ALL about “Putting your heart into it!”

In Pursuit…….

ps. I think it worthy to point out, Jesus had told his disciples in Matthew 5 to have a righteousness exceeding the religious leaders, however, at this point he tells the to “Leave them.” Or “Forget them.” stating they were blind leading the blind. He said any disciple the religious leaders made became twice the son of hell as they were! These were not “evil” men, NO, they were the elite leaders of the day. However, they had forgotten it was about relationship and had made it a religion of rules and traditions. Sound familiar?

May He open our eyes and ears so we may hear!

This past weekend as I was out with the sheep, I did my regular routine of counting to make sure they were all there. On this particular occasion I was with someone else. As I was counting they asked “what is wrong with that one?”

There was a four month old lamb stumbling around and then it fell over. As you might guess, something was wrong. Suddenly I heard that little voice again.

“you know, it is easy to count sheep Ray. Numbers always make you feel safe, as if you are getting the job done. and with everything else going on in life, it is simply easier to come up and count, then go about your business. However, this leads to not being aware when a sheep needs special attention. You see, sheep are stubborn and refuse to show illness until it is almost too late. The same goes for my people. Sadly, the religion of christianity has become more about how many are coming instead of how healthy MY sheep are. I am not interested in numbers. I already know who my sheep are. What I am interested in is my sheep being properly fed just like I told Peter. If you love Me, you will feed my sheep. And not just any food, but the BEST food, the food that brings them into a deeper, more intimate knowledge of Me, so we can be the Lovers I designed us to be.”

In Pursuit…….

Recently a friend of mine posted on Facebook that “Jesus is not a Christian.” I knew exactly where he was coming from, but posted a comment saying “Are you sure?”

I followed this up by pointing out the obvious. Jesus could not be a Christian as Christian means one who follows Christ and Jesus could jot follow himself. I also found it noteworthy that the followers of Jesus in the book of Acts did not go around and call themselves Christian. They did not claim to be a Christian. Rather, this was a title that was bestowed upon them “Christian?” why do we clamor for this title? Is it because we find safety in it from the flames of hell? (btw, Jesus never used he’ll as a reason to persuade people to follow Him! If I am wrong, please point me to Scripture in it.) Or maybe we claim the title because of our culture or it is what our parents are known as.

Truth be told, when this title was first bestowed upon followers, it was not am title of honor. It was more of a curse as it marked you for persecution and even possibly death. A “Christian” was considered to be a trouble maker like Jesus and was marked for ridicule, suffering, and extreme punishment. The meaning was “a little Jesus” or “little Christ” and they were treated the same as their leader, who we know died a horrible death. Those who were called Christian however accepted this name with joy, knowing that the cost was worth the prize. They considered all joy, as Jesus did, to be known as a follower of Him although they could lose everything including their lives. None the less, it was not how they identified themselves. It is how the world identified them.

So here is question worth considering. Are you known as a Christian because you claim to be, or is it a title the world would bestow upon you because of how much you look like Him?

In Pursuit………

I have been spending quite some time recently running over different things we know from Scripture. Reading through books like Job, Psalms, Matthew, and others. There are some questions that this time has brought up like…..

1. Who is this God of the Bible? Is He the same God we claim to know today? If so, what do we make of the passages where He destroys entire nations and even admits to cutting down the just along with the unjust without hesitation between the two? Ezekiel

2. Not to outdo the side of justice, but how deep really is the love God displays and why was it bestowed on some and not others? Why did he choose Israel and ignore the other nations? And why does he choose some today and not others, and why does he tell us he does this?

3. Is the Jesus we preach today the same Jesus we see in the bible? Sure, the stories add up because we read them, but what about the man that Jesus was? What about the struggles he endured through childhood, teens, and twenties that mademhim who he was? What was the reason he spent hours with his Father? What domwe make of his moments of frustration with the twelve disciples? If we truly knew Jesus, in his fulness, how would that knowledge change our lives today.

4. How deep does the rabbit hole really go in the book of Job? if Job spoke correctly and others did not, and what the othersmsay soundsmso much like what we call Christianity today, then is Christianity following the true and living Jesus/God?

5. Sommany claim to be Christian. What does that mean tom them and why do they want to be called that. Is itmso they can gain heaven? Is it so they can avoid hell? Or is it because they want to be like Jesus, which includes suffering his same fate, hatred by the world, something he promised? Do people understand following him starts, continues, and finishes with the cross, which includes suffering, (promised by Jesus himself and those whomwrote after him.)

Just some questions running through my head.

In Pursuit……

The past two weeks around this house have been rather full of excitement. We have all kinds of activity going on, capped off by the birth of our son, Knox Carman, on January 25th. Since then, I have been blessed to learn what it means to be dad, mom, teacher, playmate, friend, and servant all at the same time. Needless to say, it has taken its toll on me and others.

As I was out doing morning chores a couple of days ago, I realized something. Since taking on all the other roles, I basically have gone out and done the minimum required for the sheep. I make sure there is hay, grass, water, and that the puppies/dogs are fed. I then return home to face whatever is on the days menu. This means I have spent no time walking and talking with my sheep as had been my custom. I was merely do whatever it took to get by so I could handle everything else.

As I strolled home, I heard the voice again. “You see how easy it is for all the distractions and cares of running so much does? You lose focus on the simple, yet greatest chore I left you, Feeding my Sheep! You allow money and finances to consume your mind. You allow doing service for me to get in the way of the one thing I need you to do the most, Feed My Sheep. And that goes way beyond just putting out the basics and hoping it turns out okay. It takes work, preparation, and many hours simply sitting with Me, The Good Shepherd.”

In Pursuit…..

This is a phrase that was once used in times go by and I heard it again today. It is very interesting in light of many Old Testament prophets and how God described His own people during that time. They had not stopped doing what they were suppose to do, but they had added or took away from what He had said.

The Newsboys have done a song saying “God’s Not Dead.” if that is true (and it is), then He must be saying the same thing to us today. We want God to be either a hell and fire breather, or we want one who is the Grandfather who holds you in His lap. Rarely do we want to entirety of God because who he is in His entirety is not one we can control or manipulate. Sadly, we have chosen to take pieces of God and create one of our own liking. With this, our living and breathing God is not pleased.

And so, when a riff comes up in our bodies of fellowship, we simply go grab a God of our own liking and create a new fellowship based on what we believe or what we think. I am the first to say, I love God’s people, but the last thing we need is another church on another corner. We need to return to God.

Many times in Scripture, God simply tells us to “wait!” Wait on Him, seek Him, desire Hime, know Him. To often we are in a huge hurry to “serve” Him, but without the others, we end up serving a god of our own creation.

Jesus came a showed us what a life with walking with God meant. His only promises were that we would suffer for His name sake as He suffered and that He would always be with us.

I shared with two close friends last night that there was so much more to Jesus than we knew. A deeper connection to us and our humanity than we know. He truly bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, endured our afflictions (meaning he was not exempt from a common cold or the nasty stomach bug.) He knows our emotional struggles (why else did he go so often to be alone with his Father, or why the great drops of blood?) In his humanity, he knew what it meant to support a family (his mother, brothers, sisters, and their spouses.) He knew what is was like to be called crazy by those closest to him, even his own mother. He knew what it was like to have to choose His Father over His mother (temptations in wilderness.)

Jesus came that we might know that God understands EVERYTHING about us. Jesus did not only come so we could have a personal relationship with Him, he came to point us back to his Father. To restore the oneness we once knew in the Garden of Eden.

I have concluded, unless we pursue ALL of God, not just the parts we like or that make us feel cozy inside, then we do not know Him at all. He told me to start in Job searching for Him, where has He told you to begin. And remember, he is a God of Love, but he also is a God of Justice. He is a God of mercy and a God of wrath. He is the same Zgod who ordered the annihilation of both the wicked and the just ( Ezekiel ). He is the God who sent a portion of himself to be the Sacrificial Lamb so we could know ALL of Him.

So, the question we face is this, are we pursuing ALL of God, our are we playing the part of the Harlot?