Isaiah 35: 3-10

Encourage the exhausted
and strengthen the feeble.
Say to those with an anxious heart,
"Take courage, fear not.
Behold your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But he will save you."

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then the lame will leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

For waters will break forth in the wilderness
and streams in the Arabah.
The scorched land will become a pool
and the thirsty ground springs of water.
In the haunt of jackals its resting place
Grass becomes reeds and rushes.

A highway will be there, a roadway
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
but it will be for him who walks that way.
And fools will not wander on it.
No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
These will not be found there,
but the redeemed will walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord will return
and come with joyful shouting to Zion
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Seek what He Desires to Give

And do not seek what you are to eat
and what you are to drink,
nor be worried.
For the nations of the world seek after these things,
and your Father knows that you need them.
Instead, seek his kingdom,
and these things will be added to you.
Fear not, little flock,
for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:29-32

Father,

You are my king. You are our king. I love that you are both my Father and the King. But I am fearful and worried. So much depends on you...more than I know...and I feel as if you will not be a giver and give to us all of the good things we need. Is it really your "good pleasure" to give us the goodness of your kingdom? If I understood that, then it would drive my fear and anxiety out.

So, Father in Heaven, I ask you to open our hearts to know that you are a loving and giving Father. Would you please take us to the depths of that truth? Help us not only to understand it but rest in who you are.

So many of my friends need to know you as Father and it seems that so much gets in the way of that. They are carrying way too much. I carry their burdens too. It is all too much.

I admit to you that we need to repent. We are trying to be in control of our lives when you offer the promise of rest in your love and care. You are kind and we don't believe that whole heartedly.

I read in your word just how much you want to pursue and redeem people and your world...how much you love the world. Will you please give us the joy of that love for the world too? Would you also please give us the joy of trusting that you are loving and powerful?

You are a promise keeping Father. Here is my heart. I want to trust you in that with all of my heart.

In Jesus' name. For Jesus' name's sake.

In this Way, the Father Loves

For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish
but have eternal life.
For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is judgment:
the light has come into the world,
and people loved the darkness rather than the light
because their deeds were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds be exposed.
But whoever does what is true comes to the light,
so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.
(John 3:16-21)

In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him.

In this is love,
not that we have loved God
but that he loved us
and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
(1 John 4:9-10)

Humble Subversion, Loving Rebellion

The cross was a full scale rebellion against the deranged ways of the world. Those words seem strange as I type them.

Along with so many others, I love a good film about rebelling against an oppressive system. Those movies glamorize the courage that it would take to stand up to a corrupt system that governs the world and the movies show (to some degree) that a cost is always paid to express that courage. I can enjoy the "rebellion" from a safe seat in my living room.

The real "rebellion" is never safe and never trendy. There is sweat (and blood) that is spent in real change that brings lasting hope.

What was it in Jesus where he knew he was subverting the desires (however twisted) and power structures of the people he lived among, but was not arrogant? In fact, Jesus' "rebellion" was an overflow of his humility... his "made himself nothing"-ness. (see Philippians 2)

To really, truly love is to subvert in a way that pierces the heart of sin and points to a better Way. It has to start with my own treasured selfishness.

Jesus' life and his death subvert the world's selfish, destructive, and ignorant desires that become actions that become institutionalized. The world hated him, misunderstood him and forgot about the authentic "him." We still do. But his subversion was never selfish. He was never trying to be a "hero" in order to gain the affections of mankind by his power to have courage. His "rebellion" was never, even for a moment, an attempt to make his life worth living in his own mind. His defiance was filed by humility. His courage to stand up to injustice found its source in untainted love.

It was an act of love to his Father and an act of love to a world that wants to hate him. The love that led Jesus to the cross humbly subverts my puny, self absorbed desires and awakens in me that same kind of loving rebellion that drives me to fight against the oppressive system built by my own sin...even if that system (for now) is just inside me.

[Father, teach us to grieve. Teach us too love with so much depth that we want better for the people around us than the selfish desires that we all cling to. Please break our hearts and open our eyes. Please give us such an overwhelming amount of your grace that we have the courage to turn our back on world ways and trust you...even if it means to lovingly and humbly, reject the ways that seem so much like "common sense."]

God Makes "Dead" Past Tense

[Praise the Lord that I am not the last person he will do this for:]

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,
     following the course of this world,
     following the prince of the power of the air,
          the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-
               among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
               carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God,
     being rich in mercy,
     because of the great love with which he loved us,
          even when we were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ-
     by grace you have been saved-
     and raised us up with him
and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved
through faith.
And this is not your own doing;
     it is the gift of God,
     not a result of works,
          so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
     which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them. 

Ephesians 2:1-10

Colossians 1:15-23

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For by him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether  thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-
all things were created through him
and for him.
And he is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,
in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
if indeed you continue in the faith,
stable and steadfast,
not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard,
which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,
and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Father,
Your word says that I am not going to be heard because I use a lot of words or the right words. I want to tell you that I am yours. All of my heart, all of my mind. You are welcome in all of my life. But, I also want to welcome you into my friend's lives. For your name's sake, we would love it if you would have your way with us today. I ask these things that our joy in you would be full.

Sign of the Kingdom: A Fool's Kingdom

Would you let me (Wes) do something that feels foolish to me and share something very personal? (If you keep reading, I will take that as a “yes”)

Picture a long beach with plenty of moldable sand. Not a dirty beach or a rocky beach but one in which a person can get creative building a sand castle. Now picture a large sand sculpture that looks similar to thrones in those British period movies. Big. So big that you wonder how all of that sand is still sticking together.

Now comes the absurd part: I built that sand sculpture so that I could sit on it. Its my throne. I have made myself comfortable on that sand chair. 

Then my Father sends a wave. Actually, its wave after wave. Each wave hits the “throne” until it becomes a sandy mess that doesn’t resemble the sculpture I built at all. I am left clutching the sand in tightened fists until, little by little, all that is left is a flat beach…and a humbled man resting on it.

My Father is washing my self-reliance out from under me and it hurts. It wounds.

I told some friends earlier this week that I feel like I could cry at any moment. That’s true though not obvious.  I mentioned that I am weary of praying, planning and acting on conviction with little (obvious) fruit for my labor. On top of that, the evil one takes advantage of my weariness and adds: “Your God wants you to be shamed…to teach you a lesson.”

I question why and I question where the pain comes from.

Then I read this passage earlier:

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline

or be weary of his reproof,

for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights.

(Proverbs 3:11-12 ESV)

Discipline. Reproof. Son. Delights.

This lingering pain is not my Father’s lingering punishment, it is his lavished delight.

When I try to do things in Jesus’ name to satisfy a desire to please others, he sends a loving wave by not empowering my selfish plan.

He sends a wave of grace to confront my sense of safety. I look for security in life through formulas and plans that I can come up with. I think “If I could just plan and work enough, everything will be easy.” The wave comes to remind me to plan, but plan abiding in Christ.

Our Father has a way of wounding me, not to hurt me, but to dig down deep to the sin that I fiercely guard… to get to my deep seated desire (often hidden from even me) to be in control of all aspects of my life.

I treasure my sand throne. My sand throne is killing me. 

So, as I type, I am weary. Spent. Planning to take a day next week to get away and pray. Just me and my Father…and the refreshing silence that a hiking trail affords. My “spentness” is not from the discipline, but my fight against it. Trying to shore up the throne and build it back up as my Father’s waves gently- but definitely- wash it away.

This is the manner of the Kingdom of God: to erode my self-reliance and lead me to the King who beckons me to come to him…learn from him…take His yoke…and find rest for my soul. Though he could roar, He gently whispers, “let me be the King of your life.”

The King of the Kingdom shows his lavish love by washing down my crumbling throne. He washes away my self-reliance and gives me a deep, joyful God-reliance.

And, though I sit humbled in the wreckage of my own, private sand Tower of Babel, I am learning just a little bit more to trust my Gentle King rather than the sand I am clutching. He is creating a Kingdom of people who delight in relying on their King.