Really Living

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Really Living

09.24.06
various texts

From the last time I spoke before Dena’s and my trip to Fiji…

Some peoples’ “reality” is that “God helps those who help themselves.” So they put the “eggs” of their lives only into the “baskets” of what they can feel, hear, see, smell, and taste; the things they can control.

That’s okay for some people. All I know is that I had no control over my stage IV cancer diagnosis four years ago, and still have no control over the results of my last CT scan that showed some of my tumors growing again.

In regard to my cancer, for those of you who don’t already know, our game plan at this point is to have another CT scan the 17th of October to see how fast the tumors are growing. Then, if they’re not too aggressive, we’ll go back into chemo after the first of the year. We’re also keeping our eyes and ears open for any viable experimental treatments that might be available in the US or abroad.

Getting back to peoples’ realities…

My reality is that I’m helpless, and I’m not just talking about cancer. Ultimately I can’t help myself. And, I’ve come to believe that:

God doesn’t help those who help themselves because they think they don’t need Him.

Rather…

God helps those who can’t help themselves.

Folks, this is most especially true concerning our spiritual lives.

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For those who don’t believe in God, (whether or not they say they do is irrelevant) they can’t, don’t and won’t see God’s fingerprint on the goings on of life around them.

But, for those who truly do believe in God, and in how He interacts and intersects individual lives as well as the lives of nations, God can’t help but be seen.

“Our souls become filters through which we perceive goodness or evil. The pure (those who have Christ in control of their lives) learn to see goodness and purity even in this evil world. But corrupt and unbelieving people find evil in everything because their evil minds and hearts color even the good they see and hear….”

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Many of you have heard me say over the past few years how I wouldn’t wish any of the surgeries or especially the chemo treatments on my worst enemies (as if I had any worst enemies); nor would I trade any of these experiences for anything.

While I don’t like traveling this journey (particularly for what it does to my family, although their lives have been enriched as well) yet because of this journey I have been blessed with a perspective on life and living that not many in our country of affluence and comfort have.

Sadly, I know far too many people whose primary goal in life is to stay safe and be comfortable. Period.

Ron Fox from our Fiji team does not like to fly; he’s afraid of flying.

But Ron has been all over the world (Africa, India, Guatemala, Russia, now Fiji and all layover / transfer points in between) on Work & Witness mission trips.
But, he’s afraid to fly, so, why does he do it?
Ron has a phrase that he’ll verbalize at airports before he gets on the planes, which is really one of his philosophies of life. It goes like this:

“It’s another great day to die for Jesus.”

That may sound kind of humorous, but when you have a real fear…

Ron’s reminding himself as he says that of why he puts his fear on the back burner to do and to go where God leads him.
The same is true for my daughter, Dena; she’s also fearful of flying.
And I told her how proud I was of her for doing what too many people will not do; put their fears behind them to do what the Lord would like for them to do; i.e. TRUST HIM.

“Too many people are so consumed with protecting their lives that they fail to live their lives.”

While on vacation last month we stayed with friends in Cerritos.

My friend Rollie was anxious to show me his 2006 Mazda Miata MX 5 (with MazdaSpeed i.e. turbo); a gorgeous convertible coup.
As we were driving around late that first evening he was telling me about what this car was designed to do. Not only did he tell me, he showed me:

He “put the pedal to the medal” to let me feel the turbo kick in;
Doing about 30-35 MPH he made a 90 degree turn into their housing development;
Doing about 40 MPH he slammed on the brakes to demonstrate the anti-lock braking system that, along with the wide, low-profile tires, made the car “stop on a dime.”

As he was demonstrating all this I kept thinking, “Boy, he’s really abusing this car.”

But, that wasn’t the case at all. You see, Rollie is a meticulous neat freak who would never do anything to harm his car. He simply knew what that car was designed to do.

As I’ve reflected on that night with Rollie in his sports car, these thoughts came to me:

That car, designed as it is, will not wear out any faster than if someone drove it ultra-conservatively for several years.

It’s the daily grind that wears people out, not the excitement of walking with God by faith.

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Several months ago I developed an overall mission statement for my life:

MY MISSION IN LIFE as a disciple of Jesus…

LIVE simply and contentedly;

MODEL RISK to help others experience the joy and peace of full faith in God;

HELP OTHERS grasp the richness of this life; consciousness of the next;

God’s world outside their box.

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, “Wow, what a ride!”

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One of my favorite Christian artists is Nichole Nordeman. In her song entitled “Brave” she paints the picture of people who, as I mentioned earlier, are simply living to be safe, comfortable and in control:

The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in

Welcome to the middle ground
You're safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been

'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

Why did I take this vow of compromise?
Why did I try to keep it all inside?

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

In another song “Fool For You” she states the obvious:

There are times when faith and common sense do not align,
when hardcore evidence of you is hard to find,
and I am silenced in the face of argumentative debate,
it's a long hill it's a lonely climb.
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After Jesus’ crucifixion, the religious leaders, who basically wanted to keep control of the life they’d become accustomed to and comfortable with, went to Pontius Pilate to ask that Jesus’ tomb be guarded extra carefully:

Matthew 27:64-66 NIV

So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."

65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

But, we all know what happened…

God can’t be kept in a box!

You can try to secure your life as secure as you know how, but in the end God is going to accomplish His purposes, with or without you.

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Which brings me to our text as we conclude:

Paul was writing to the Thessalonian Christian’s who had been going through “persecutions and hardships” because of their faith in Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NLT 2nd ed.

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. 12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

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“As Christians, our calling from God is to become like [Jesus]. This is a gradual, lifelong process that will be completed when we see [Jesus] face to face. To be ‘worthy’ of this calling means to want to do what is right and good (as [Jesus] would). We aren’t perfect yet, but we’re [to be] moving in that direction as God works in us.”

LAB on 2 Thessalonians 1:11,12

As children of God we were created by God for far more than just settling for comfort and safety.

We were created to walk in a dynamic faith relationship with the God Who gave His best for us through Jesus.

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“Thou art never weary, O Lord, of doing us good. Let us never be weary of doing thee service. But, as thou hast pleasure in the prosperity of thy servants, so let us take pleasure in the service of our Lord, and abound in thy work, and in thy love and praise evermore.”

John Wesley