A Fresh Start

We all need one from time to time. Because time passes and life changes us, but we don't always change with the passing of life.

Sometimes seasons come and go and months become years and we wonder what happened. The answer is simple. Life. And sometimes death.

It's been a long year, and ten months have passed since I last wrote for this blog. During that time I lost a good friend, a few high school classmates, and my mom. But I've gained some insights and hope they will help you as you read them here.

One truth I stumbled across is this: enjoy the time you have because you don't know how much that may be. Notice I said "how much", not "how little."

Too often we focus on the negative. What we don't have. What we've lost. What we will never gain. We remember our desires that have become smoldering passions. We think of the dreams of our youth that are now tattered, faded memories. We recall our gifts and wonder if we've squandered them.

Why do we frame the negatives of our lives when we should develop positive images of life? Because we're human.

And that's why every now and then we need a fresh start.

Rather than focusing on what we haven't done, let's imagine what we can do. Instead of concentrating on how little time may be left, let's think as if today were the beginning of something grand and wonderful. What could you accomplish if you had 30 years left? Or 20? Or 10? Or even 5?

I don't know how to type. But I can produce about 1200 words of usable material in two hours. Then with a bit more time I can proof and polish that work until it's salable. That means if I write 40 hours per week, I can write a book of 60,000 words in about one month.

I've always thought I didn't have enough time. As it turns out, I have plenty. And I intend to use it wisely and enjoy it immensely.

Unlimited Acces

A friend of mine is in the security business. “I can let you in your office from halfway around the world,” he said. “I can also keep you in.”

Ever since 9/11 we in the United States have been subjected to a form of increased security, especially at airports. But what we do is minimal compared to many areas of the world. And it’s probable that no one enjoys unlimited access anymore. Everyone comes under scrutiny. And surveillance is common.

Whether you’re entering a warehouse or the White House, someone is checking IDs and controlling access. But that’s not what God does.

We are free to come before him anytime, 24/7/365. In fact, we’re encouraged to “come boldly.” To barge right in. To interrupt whatever may be going on and demand God’s attention. But it’s where we go that may be the most important point.

We’re to come boldly before the throne of grace. You won’t find God on the judgment seat. He’s sitting on the Mercy Seat. And because he is, we have no need to be afraid. We can ask for whatever we need—wisdom, healing, financial aid, even a bailout—and he will give us what we need.

So what you ask for is not as important as where you ask. And if your prayer isn’t answered, check to see if you’re in the right location. If you’re timid about what you ask for, that may be because you think you don’t deserve a positive response and that led you to the wrong place. If you are where God isn’t, you won’t get the answer he longs to give.

Blueprints and Plans

Noah didn’t get a set of architectural drawings. He got rough external dimensions and a few general instructions.

"Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks."

God didn’t tell Noah how many rooms to make or how big they should be or if they should all be the same size or how far the door should be from the bow or the stern or if it should be on the port or starboard side or if there was a bow or stern or if there were port and starboard sides. He didn’t tell Noah how many animals the ark would house. He didn’t tell him if the decks should be equidistant from each other or if the giraffes needed a little more headroom. He didn’t tell Noah how tall the window should be, only that it should be one cubit from the top.

There’s a lot God never tells you and me. Instead he gives us general instructions. “Love me. Love your neighbors—all of them. Love yourself. Do what’s right. Love mercy. Walk humbly with me.” He gives us commands, not suggestions. But he leaves it up to us to determine how to obey him. We decide how to express our love to him, how to demonstrate love to our neighbors, and how to be good to ourselves.

For much of my life I wanted God to show me his plans. He told me in Jeremiah 29:11 that he had some. He even said they are good. And that I’d like them. But he’s never told me specifically what they are.

Finally, I understand. I have the free will to decide and the intelligence to weigh the options and choose how I will live a life that pleasing to God—a life worth living.

Who's In Charge Here?

Is God sovereign or not? Do you have free will or not? These great questions have been debated down through the church age by people more scholarly than I am. But I have a few thoughts.

Think mathematical sets. Which would be larger? God’s sovereignty or our free will? Obviously, sovereignty by definition must be larger. Moreover, how would the two sets appear? Side by side or one inside the other? Again, the smaller must reside within the larger. If our free will is outside the boundaries of God’s sovereignty, then by nature he is not sovereign.

Sovereign is defined as “having supreme authority or power.” God is omnipotent. We cannot overrule him. And although he gave—he gave— us free will, he will at times overrule us.

Scripture tell us that God turns the heart of a ruler like a river, whichever way he wishes. We also know that our sins are like ropes and chains that tie and bind us. We are slaves to sin. Therefore, we are not completely free. And while we are told in the book of Joshua to choose who we will serve and to choose between good and evil, our free will still resides within the sphere of God’s sovereignty.

Free will is often thought of as “doing whatever we want.” But in fact our “free” will isn’t without limitations or boundaries. And that idea pertains to pruning.

Pruning is good. It’s for our benefit. It’s not a punishment. Grapevines are pruned to produce more fruit, better fruit. Healthier. Heartier. They yield more fruit and that fruit is of higher quality. Pruning is deliberate and by design. But we must consent to it. We must surrender. That is, we must exercise our free will.

What’s true in the physical realm is much more so spiritually. If we are not pruned, we will bear less fruit, perhaps only 30% of what someone else’s life might produce. Furthermore, our fruit might be only 60% as valuable as someone else’s if we are not pruned.

But when we present ourselves to God and permit him to trim away those things that draw down our energy and consume our time, we redeem the time and make the most of the talents we are given. When our resources are best used, we reach our maximum potential. And what better way to fulfill God's will?

What Are You Expecting?

Last year I focused on the topic of expectancy. This year my motif and theme are fruitfulness. And the two are linked.

We should expect to be fruitful because we are the branches and Jesus is the vine. In future posts I’ll look at the benefits of pruning. And I’ll try to address a few issues such as how we can inspect fruit and what happens when we do.

But for now, I want to stir your thinking about harvest.

I know, it’s not even spring. But when we plant we do so because we’re already thinking ahead to the harvest. And there’s an illustration that you might not typically associate with such planning.

“And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast.” (Luke 15:23, nlt)

When the younger son came home, the father ordered a particular calf be slaughtered for the party. But this was no spur of the moment decision. It wasn’t an emotional response. It was a deliberate action made on a specific choice that the father set in place long before his son’s arrival.

At some point after the younger son left, the father began to anticipate his return. And because he did, he made preparation for that day.

Anticipation leads to preparation. They are proof of hope. Which is evidence of faith. If you ever wondered about your faith, look at what you anticipate and prepare for.

Jesus told his disciples (and us), “I have to go. I have work to do. I must prepare for your arrival in heaven. I’m looking forward to the day we’ll be reunited. I’ll be back before you know it. And you know that all this is true because I never tell you anything but the truth.”

If that doesn’t excite us, I’m not sure what will. But when we realize that God anticipate our reunion and is preparing for us to be with him for all eternity that should stir hope in us. And we should anticipate and prepare for that day.

I don’t know what heaven will be like. But I know we’re going to celebrate and enjoy a feast, a banquet, a party unlike any we’ve ever been invited to attend.