I recently read The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Vallotton, a senior pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. The book is primarily about how many of us don't view ourselves the way that God does. But, that would be a simplistic assessment of the book. Vallotton shares his personal journey out of what he calls a pauper mentality and translates it effectively for us.

In his words, "a pauper is born into insignificance. As he grows up he learns through life that he has no value and his opinions don't really matter. Therefore, when he becomes a king, he is important to the world around him but he still feels insignificant in the kingdom that lies within him. Subsequently, he doesn't watch his words or the way he carries himself. He ultimately destroys the very people he is called to lead."

We live out of how we view ourselves. We can't help others feel valued if we don't feel values. To steal from Henri Nouwen, wounded people wound others. Kris encourages us to love and see ourselves the way Jesus loves and sees us, then we will expect other people to value you and trust your words the more they get to know you. Therefore, we will act accordingly.

We did not create ourselves; God created us. We are the work of His hands. When we tear ourselves down or make self-degrading jokes we are not being humble. You are not just a worm worthy of nothing more than rolling in the dirt. We are no longer sinners. We are saints. We are joint-heirs with Christ. We are a royal priesthood.

This book attacks our view of self with enough force to change our behaviors. Vallotton states, "so much of the way we read and interpret the Bible has been affected by pauper mentality. When we feel small and powerless, we tend to dilute the word of God down to something we can accomplish in our weak state so we don't feel convicted for not doing what's required of us." Paupers are afraid of failure because they view their identity by what they do. If they fail, then they are a failure. Pauper's reason: God's word says I am an overcomer, so I better not do something that makes me feel like a failure.

This is why so many Christians still struggle with saying they are not a sinner. They know they sin. But if you view yourself as a sinner, you cannot help but sin because sinners sin. But, just because you sin, it does not make you are sinner. God wants to re-wire our thinking.

I would highly encourage this book. It will challenge your thinking, hit you with surprising truths, and take you into a greater love our Heavenly Father.

image of Fakarava dock courtesy of Rotoava

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28

For many the Christian life is anything but rest. We are encouraged each Sunday with spending daily time with God in prayer AND Bible study. We have two or three meetings a week at church. Of course there are prayer meetings, men/women's groups, accountability times, etc. Then we have our day jobs. And, don't forget to spend time with the family. Where are we to squeeze in the promised rest?

Jesus' example doesn't give us much hope either. He spends long hours ministering to people then pulls away for extended prayer. He seems constantly busy.

He also seems to lead the disciples into the same busyness. Look at Mark 6. Jesus sends out the twelve for them to try some ministry on their own. They see success, but when they come back to share their success stories, they hear news that John the Baptist is beheaded. Unfortunately there were too many people around for the disciples to get time with Jesus, so Jesus promises them some time alone and rest. As they go to separate themselves from the crowd, the crowd followed them and Jesus gave a day long sermon. The disciples try to encourage Jesus to send the crowd away, but Jesus gets them to feed the crowd. After this miracle, Jesus tells the disciples to go across the lake. The simple act of rowing was even difficult because of a storm that Jesus knew was coming. Battered, tired, and confused the disciples get to the other side to be rushed again by the crowds bringing the sick to Jesus. Where is the rest?

The problem with rest is that we have the definition wrong. When we think of rest, we see ourselves on a hammock at the beach sipping a drink with an umbrella. We think rest is doing nothing.

Jesus' definition of rest is different. He says come to me and I will give you rest. At the very least we have to have motion towards Jesus. It is not the absence of doing anything. Rest redefines work, not replaces it.

• Work has been our striving to accomplish tasks.
• Rest is allowing Jesus to lead us into the work He wants to accomplish through us.

Jesus exemplified this rest by doing only what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19).

None of the items at the beginning of the post are bad. In fact it is good to to spend time with God in prayer and Bible study. It is good to do your day job well and spend time with your family.

The problem arises when you see these things as tasks to check off in hopes of getting to your rest. Invite Jesus into your tasks. Look for Him. When you find Him, your tasks will no longer be a burden but will be a source of life.

John 4 starts with Jesus tired from His journey (ever think of Jesus being tired?). The disciples are off trying to find him some food. Jesus starts to minister to a lady by the well. Revival starts. And, Jesus is refreshed. Jesus says our food is in the spiritual not the just the natural. O Lord, open our eyes that we may see the work you are doing around us. Help us to do only what we see You doing and not strive to do things in order to find you. You are a good Father. We believe You will take care of us as we follow You.

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What does it walking in the Spirit look like? I recently just finished a move cross-country. It was a move that both my wife and I felt God was leading. Even more we felt that He wanted us to move as soon as we could. It really did not make sense. We were to leave the state where we were born and raised, which meant leaving our family. We were to leave our house and neighborhood we really loved. We were to risk losing my job. But, in the end, we both felt this was God’s next step in our journey with Him.

As we moved forward in faith, God gave me favor with my boss to be excited about the potential that my move opened up. We also found places to stay in the move and people to help us in that transition that were just opening up as soon as we got there.

This in itself was wonderful, but just a few days after moving into our home, God introduced us to a young lady with a toddler needing a place to stay. She had just started to realize the destructive nature of her husband’s words and attitude towards her and her child and had just left for their safety. Our home provided a stable location for their family to get help. It also provided children to help her child have friends and love during a stressful time. It is a story that is still without an ending.

The point of what I want to get across is that walking in the Spirit is a life of faith. As you feel God leading you to something, you will often not know the reason for your actions ahead of time. Faith is stepping out in obedience with the outcome not guaranteed (that is circumstantial outcome; the spiritual outcome of pleasing your Father is always guaranteed).

The secondary point is that it is not always about you even though it is always about you. It is always about you because God is building character and eternal rewards for you. It is not always about you in the temporary.
God the Father, in His immeasurable love for this girl and her child, motivated a family from across the country to move with haste to create a place for her to land for her safety and health.

My wife and I believe that there are other blessings to come with the move, but the “as soon as possible” was at least for this hurting family as much as it was for us.

"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." - 1 John 3:6

Have you ever been reading the Bible and been stopped by a verse? Look back at the verse above. Are you kidding me? I do the best that I can, but I know that I still sin. Am I to believe that I have to be perfect to have known God?

For those familiar with this passage it starts out by the great love of the Father lavished on us and is followed by a call for us to love. in the middle is this section that those who sin are children of the devil and the children of God don't sin.

Now, I am in love with my wife. I know that I have been given a great blessing being married to her. I really do not know how to love anyone else more. Even so, just coming off a move, she asked me to do some things that in the heat of the moment where anger and frustration started to rise. In that moment God was giving me a glimpse to an area in my heart that has not truly seen the fullness of God's love.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." - 1 John 3:16

John, in his inspired wisdom, is helping us to see sin as a tool of growth in the Lord. Before he looks at sin, he reminds us of the great love of God our Father. In the middle, he reminds us of the great expression of love of God the Son. And at the end, he reminds us of the gentle reminders of love from God the Spirit. Bathed in love, John can have us look at sin without the discouragement of condemnation.

What is John trying to say? Do not look at sin as something you need to remove solely on your own! Ask God what is hindering you from seeing Him completely which is leading to sin.

Take a look at the image above. As the sun was descending, mountains started to block the light and colors. In the full light of day, there were no shadows, but as the sun moves throughout the day, shadows comes and go. God works similarly in our lives. He is moving the light of His presence around in our lives to show us areas still untouched by His love. We are not to shrink back in shame when we are exposed. We are reminded of His complete love for us, so we can come to Him for not only exposure, but cleansing.

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." -  1 John 3:21-22

Cleansing leads us to confidence before God. We have opened ourselves to His correction and felt completely loved. As we move out of that experience, we know we are children of God, and we can ask anything from our Father who has moved every obstacle for us to experience the fullness of His affection for us.

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When I was first on staff with Campus Crusade, we were trained to ask people the following question to initiate a gospel conversation: "Have you come to know the wonderful adventure of knowing God personally?" While I did know God personally, I lacked the experience of it being a wonderful adventure. Sure I was grateful for knowing my sins were forgiven and that I would enjoy eternity in heaven, there was still a little disconnect between eternity and the here and now besides just keeping me out of bad choices and a fall back when I did not know what else to do.

Looking back on my life and experiences, I can say that it is definitely a wonderful adventure. The things God had led me to do and go are for me exciting. As a quick example, I have been married for 13 years during which we have moved 10 times... with several month long stays in between. All this has come up in my mind again because next Monday we are moving yet again.

He may not make you move at all as you journey with Him, but I have found that He is unpredictable in His predictableness. I may count on His love and faithfulness, but the way He chooses to show them to me are rarely the same.

I believe the book of Joshua is a good example of how we are to live out this adventure. Joshua is one of the two spies that go into the promised land and comes back ready to take it. He knew God's call for the Israelites and wanted to move forward in faith. Unfortunately he had to wait 40 years in the wilderness because of others unbelief. Finally, he gets the green light and also gets tapped to lead the people in. He gets the clear directive on how to cross the Jordan in the land. As they followed the clear directives, God miraculously stopped the flow of water. God was leading them into Canaan.

God then delays the first battle to get all of the men circumcised leaving them in enemy territory vulnerable to attack. Again following God's directive and not man's wisdom.

Then as they prepare to take Jericho, Joshua seeks God's direction and finds a new plan. Again Joshua had clear directives and again God worked miracles causing the walls to fall down before them.

Now the Israelites' confidence was running high, so as they went to fight the city Ai, they planned out what seemed best. Unfortunately, this time they did not seek out God's direction and lost many lives. It turned out that someone was carrying around plunder from Jericho that they were told to leave. After seeking God's direction, He lets them know the issue and they correct it. Now they sought God's direction again about how to fight Ai and they completely destroy them.

Feeling good about themselves again, the Gibeonites came up to them and easily deceived them. Not seeking God's wisdom, they make a treaty with a nation they were to destroy. But then mercifully, the other nations find out about the treaty and attack the Gibeonites.  This time instead of trusting in man's wisdom, they sought God and found out that they were to maintain their treaty and go protect the Gibeonites.

The point I am trying to make is that even though Joshua could rest in the promise that God was giving them the land, he still did not know how God was going to give it to them. And the real adventure was not taking the land God had given them, but finding out how God wanted them to take the land.

The Christian life is an adventure because we are following a God that is creative in how He deals with us. Sometime he wants us to walk around the city; sometimes He wants us to go out and fight; sometimes He wants to make the enemies fight themselves; and sometimes He wants to throw huge stones from the sky. We just don't know what He wants to do, so we live the life of faith continually asking Him what is the next step. We can trust that God wants to lead us into winning our battles, but He wants us to win on His terms.

For me and my family, following God has meant a lot of moves. Each step along the way He has had something new and different for us. New people to meet, new experiences to develop us.

Don't be so wedded to your conception of what is next that you become angry and confused when He takes you on an adventure and even more blessing. Others have also been led on crazy adventures, but you only get to the Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 by being faithful building boats in deserts.

image courtesy of HolyLandPhotos.org

As a Christian you just have to love Easter. It is the celebration of the transaction that defines what we believe. I hope that you yesterday you were able to be reminded of extent Jesus has gone through to show you His love and to show you your freedom.

During the worship time yesterday, the music led into a line about God has moved away the stone. Immediately I thought that this represented the stone God removed from our hearts.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone and
give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26

This is what Easter is about. It is when God has removed our hearts of stone to give us hearts of flesh. He has pulled back the stone that has deadened everything inside of us to allow the air of His Spirit in. O Lord, breathe new life into us. May we be awakened to that which You have created us.

In John 11:39 Jesus had another stone removed away, and He follows it up by calling out the dead man.  Our hearts are tombs because it is where all of life dwells and without the Author of Life living inside, we are the walking dead. As Christians we have the stone removed, but we need to come out. We need to hear the voice of Jesus and to step forth into life.

Life does not come from what we can muster or from what we can avoid. Life comes from the connection to the Spirit who has entered the tomb to lead you to your new home – the heart of flesh.

We need to step out of the old ways of thinking. Life does not come from success. It does not come from hiding away from the things that have caused us pain. It does not come from effort or striving or trying to win favor.

Just as your relationship with Christ started by faith, it also continues in faith. Taking on the heart of flesh requires moving out of the heart of stone. The stone has been removed, but you need to move out of the tomb.

Ask for the Holy Spirit to reveal to you areas where you are living out of a tomb instead of new life. Look for areas where you are living out of fear as these are clues that death is present. Ask Jesus what you need to know or experience to help you leave that way of thinking and living. Go to someone you trust and have them pray with you and stand together with you as you make these steps of faith.

Leaving behind old ways of thinking is not easy. Dead men need help. Remember even when Jesus raised Lazarus He still had the others help Lazarus remove the grave clothes (John 11:44). Work out you salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you (Philippians 2:12-13).

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Have you ever considered the implications of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Sure everything ends up wonderful and Isaac is spared. Sure it is a profound analogy of God offering up Jesus. But, have you ever considered that God asked Abraham to do something God did not want him to do?

God told Abraham to offer up his son as a sacrifice. Then God stops Abraham before he could follow it through. How many of us would have continued with the sacrifice holding on to what God originally said?

The thing that gets me is that God seems to lead us into situations and even leads us into decisions through prayer that He does not want us to ultimately follow through on. He seems to be getting us to a point of obedience that we would go and do whatever and then because of our willingness to do that first thing, He leads us into something even better. This is what happened to Abraham.

This is also what happened to David. He is getting chased all over Israel by Saul. Then on two separate occasions God gives Saul into David's hands. Both times David could have easily ended all of his running around. Both times he feels that God does not want him to harm Saul.

The funniest example I have heard about this is Jesus before He is betrayed tells His disciples to get swords (Luke 22:36-38). Then when Peter tried to use one later on to protect Jesus, Jesus tells him to put it away.

I don't claim to understand all of God's ways. What I do know is that He is intentional with us. He is leading down a path where we will have greater freedom from sin, greater power over the enemy, and greater joy in our lives. He is a loving Father that want His best for His children.

I have been thinking about this lately because, my wife and I feel God leading us to slow down our adoption. We are currently on the second attempt to adopt a little girl. Our first attempt was postponed by the announcement that we were pregnant with our second child. Both times we have felt very clearly that we were to start the adoption process. Both times we have given a lot of our time and money into trying to be obedient. We may have mis-heard His direction. We may also have heard Him correctly, but He did not want us to finish the adoption. Maybe the answer is another unknown alternative. I don't know the answer to that yet. I do know that God loves and rewards faith and obedience (John 14:15 and Hebrews 11:6).

I do not know what God is doing at this time, but I know He loves me. I know that He will take care of me and my family. I am know that He has already blessed me with more than I ever would have dreamed possible. So, I will press on with where I feel He is leading, and I will continue to press in to Him to enjoy this wild ride He has me on.

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