Picking Up a Dropped Tool and Running With It

Dropping a tool can be a big deal if the tool is critical in one’s building project and especially if there is considerable effort required to pick it up again. This thought occurred to me while I was recently on the roof of my house, overlooking the edge, taking down Christmas lights. Overeater’s Anonymous lists nine “Tools of Recovery” and I have fumbled the one called “Writing.” I cannot commit to writing daily as was necessary in the beginning, but I owe it to myself to check in here occasionally, just to keep myself accountable and I hope to do it with more regularity than I have recently. I can only live today and here is today’s post.

I am abstinent today by the grace of God, and I am working to maintain my healthy body weight and living the Twelve Steps to the best of my ability. I abstain from eating between four planned meals per day; from candies, cakes, cookies, and nachos; and from the “forget it – I’m eating” response. I generally plan my meals a safe distance from sweet or sugar-containing foods so that I do not fall into the death traps I just described. I am taking action to redefine myself, not just physically, but spiritually, mentally, and even professionally.

Most noteworthy today is a whopping development in my exercise program. I have been going to the gym three days a week since I began my journey, stepping through the doors of a post-operative rehabilitation gym when my knee ligament was severed under my excess weight, then 320 pounds. While I make it a practice to give it all I’ve got while I am in the gym, I must admit I have remained mostly sedentary once I leave that place. Since then, willingness has developed, erasing old “never” statements I have made about running. What I once swore I would never do I now do regularly, jogging three times a week: two shorter runs of 3 to 4 miles, and one longer run of 8 to 10 miles. Last week, I ran my first half marathon (13.1 miles) and finished in 2 hours 18 minutes, a respectable time even among experienced runners my age. The reason I bring it up today is that I have just now registered for three more organized runs (aka “races”), one a month for the first quarter of 2015. The grand finale of these three is one for which 20,000 runners turn out and the 15K (9.32 mile) course traverses two large bridges, the elevation of which makes finishing difficult. Having only just pulled myself out of the sofa cushions in March of 2014, and with my experience witnessing God’s constructive power in my life, I know that no uphill climb is too big an obstacle for God’s strength when applied to my weakness. When I am weak, He makes me strong!

Dear Father, today, help me live in Your strength. May the breath of life You have given me inspire another to breathe You in deeply and experience the abundant life for which You came to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ.

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b, KJV)

Every Choice a Crossroad

The devotion Our Daily Bread focused on this verse this morning:

¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life… (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, NIV)

 

Every choice is a crossroad, an opportunity for compromise that leads to judgment or for integrity that leads to the abundant life God bought for us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. All spirit and nature testify against us that we have chosen poorly since the seed of our race fell in Eden. There is no room for middle ground. I cannot be partially alive and fully in God’s will. This means that every choice I make comes with its own litmus test: will this bring life, light, and good; or death, darkness, and evil? The lie that everything is acceptable in moderation is one straight from the tombs of darkness. I choose to abstain from the things of death and darkness, and choose life instead!

John 10:10; John 3:16; Genesis 3:6; Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:33; John 14:6; 1 Peter 5:8

 

In my NT in a Year reading, I got this confirmation of my new mission:

² and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. (Luke 9:2, NRSV)

 

Dear Father, today, as I offer my life, my day, my resources, my very being to You, empower me to do Your will, never mine. Forgive me when I snatch back my will and greedily act out of selfishness and vain fear. I lay down my carnal self before You again and ask that You replace it with my daily portion of Your Spirit, that I might not sin against You or Your children. Cause me to be useful in Your hands today, precious Lord. Make me shine with Your love that others may know You.

Running toward Faith

I’m not nearly as anxious about today as I had planned to be. The medical test results over which I had become far too concerned were posted on a web application I was requested to fill out, so I already know what the doctor will tell me, and can sort of guess what she will recommend from here: more tests. The worst-case scenario was ruled out (Praise God!) and so now we will try to find the real cause of my problem. One possibility that my precious bride, dear friend, and research partner found for me was a ridiculously simple one: lay off one of the spices I use to flavor my food. Excesses of it are shown to cause the very symptom I am having. I will discuss it with my specialist this afternoon and see what comes next. Until then, I don’t want to defame the awesome substance without cause. I’ll talk about it later. I’m not talking much about the problem, because I am living in the victory over it. When I know more, I’ll say more. Thank you for your prayer support always!
Whatever happens, I know I am in God’s hands.

Psalm 73:26 (NRSV)
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[Heb rock] of my heart and my portion forever.

In other news, I went running with a group last night. I bought my first pair of running shoes a couple weeks ago and, according to recommendations from the running experts, have been running three times a week with the help of a beginner’s application that regulates run-walk-run intervals. Running with the app has been fairly elementary, but I jumped the gun and ran a 5K last night without any walking breaks. It was quite a big deal for me, as I have never run a 5K before. I’ve walked them in support of causes and such, but never run one. Funny thing: I forgot to time myself until I passed the “one mile” sign. I had planned to take walk breaks, but since I started the timer after passing that sign, I felt I just had to (and could) keep running to see what kind of time it took me to run a mile. I ran the second mile, slightly slower than the first, in 10:30. The rest of the 3.14 miles (It was called a pi-K. Get it? Pi (π) = 3.14) took another 11:10. That’s pretty good for a beginner I’m told. There were lots of more experienced runners far behind me, but no one there felt the joy of accomplishment like I did. I guarantee that! It was a conflict for me though, because this running group meets on the same night as one of my favorite OA meetings (the first one I ever attended on May 11, 2010). I have a home group on Saturday, and another local meeting on Monday night; and the other available group run conflicts with church on Sunday, so this was the only option for me to attend. I’ve petitioned a few people at church to try to drum up interest in a church community group run on another night of the week, but so far no one’s off the couch.
There is a beginner’s running program starting in May in my area, that is said to help even morbidly obese and inactive people go from couch to a half marathon (13.1 miles) in just 26 weeks, using the run-walk-run interval method. I told the ambassador of this group that I was in fellowship with some folks who just might be interested in turning over a more active leaf. Could your Action Plan use a boost? I certainly would like some company out there on the road! Anybody want to join me?

Dear Father, today, I am trusting in You. I will not be afraid. Help me not be afraid, but to live in the abundant life which You came to restore (John 10:10).

Purpose Powered for Life!

But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Luke 4:43, NRSV)

Jesus declares His purpose as proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. If that is His purpose, and I am His disciple, then it should be my purpose too. In John 10:10, Jesus describes His purpose this way:

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

The two are not contradictory. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings abundant life! First it brings eternal life to the soul, then it gives power to live today according to Spirit, and last, depending on our level of submission to it, the Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies. According to Romans 8:11:

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the life of our mortal bodies, and this verse keeps coming up. Another one I received last night is Psalm 73:26:

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[or rock] of my heart and my portion forever.

We tend to stand in the way of our own good. At some point on that life continuum, our will sets God’s boundary. He wants us to live eternally with Him, but we want to have a little more fun with sin before we make a commitment, and the sin entangles the lost, who spends eternity without God. He wants us to live for more than just the escape from judgment, but we insist on behaving our way into grace and go through this present life frustrated until He draws back the veil of our lives and reveals it for the futile effort it had been. He wants us to have abundant life here and now, but we will not get off the couch, so we suffer from the inflammation of our own consequence, serving the will of the commercial and warping our spiritual gifts with neglect. He wants to heal us, but we doubt that He can, will, or wants to, so we suffer needlessly. God is always trying to turn up the gift of Life to us, and we are constantly turning it down in preference for another portion of our will, wish and way, this time with extra toppings please.

Dear Father, today, I trust you with my soul, my life, and my health. I offer myself a living sacrifice to You, and submit to Your will regarding my condition, my longevity, my power, my purpose, and my every step. Whether You decide that my flesh flourish or fail, I offer it all to You, that every heartbeat, however many You supply, would be devoted to Your purpose of translating the abundant life of Your Kingdom to the people of Earth. Make me fruitful, Lord Jesus, so that my life is an acceptable marker of Your love and life. I remain a devoted citizen of Heaven, and eagerly await Your collection of the saints, and the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Come to Believe

⁵ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. ⁶ And he was amazed at their unbelief. (Mark 6:5-6, NRSV, from Bible Gateway’s NT in a year)

Yesterday, I posted about a toxic evil poisoning humanity: sugar. Today, I turn my focus to the toxic evil poisoning the human spirit: doubt. Look carefully at the description of Jesus’ dilemma: “he could do no deed of power there… amazed at their unbelief.” God gave humans a will of their own, and God does not intrude. When God’s will is done on Earth as it is in Heaven, it is because somewhere, a human has called it into effect by aligning his will with God’s and humbly asking for it. When the wills of men clash or run rampant, the result is strife, war, disease, and death. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

Check what you know about this. Take a mental poll of the people you know. Don’t most of them believe that the miracles of God were for another generation of people, or that He doesn’t move today the way He did in the Bible? The reason He doesn’t for those people is precisely because they believe that. God does not change. He is not asleep. He has not abandoned us. He is, likely as not, amazed at the unbelief of this generation that binds Him from doing the work He longs to do in our lives. Were we to believe, and humbly submit ourselves to interceding on behalf of those we are called to serve in love, we would see the glory of His power, His love, and His way of life.

Jesus’ neighbors could not see His godship because they were too familiar with his personhood. The women who taught Mary to take care of her firstborn were among them. The men who watched Joseph teach Him to cut, plane, drill, and glue wood were told this was now the One who built the world. Their experience told them something contrary to what they were hearing. It must have been an awkward place for Jesus.

How is it where you are, under the misconceptions of your experiences, hurts and disappointments? The One you blame for the loss of your loved one asks you to believe He is the Resurrection. The One you are certain took that unborn child says He knit you together in your mother’s womb. The One against whom you’ve held a grudge because He did not prevent that terrible thing from happening to you or yours asks you to trust Him with your life and circumstances. Not you! You can’t believe someone who could do all that is worth trusting!

Let me propose a question. If your conception of God is disappointing you, which is more likely: that your conception of God is mistaken, or that God is? It might be time for you to come to believe that the Power greater than all can, and will, restore you to sanity, to wholeness, and to a trusting relationship with Him. Why not erase your grudges against God, and pretend for a moment that He is not the One who snatches away unborn children, kills loved ones, and orchestrates tragedy, but who grieves even more deeply than you at such things. Why not step away from doubt, give God the benefit of being omniscient, and let Him love you the way He has always longed to? God is not sleeping; but your relationship with Him might well be in a coma or worse. Hear Him call you awake. Respond to His touch, and let Him love you alive. The Prince of Peace is standing at your door. All that stands in the way of His power is your doubt.

Dear Father, today, erase my doubt and help me in my unbelief. Wash me of my insecurities and wipe away all my disappointments. Lord, I trust You are God, and from You comes every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). I set my mind to know that it is the enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy, and that You are committed to my abundant life both now and forevermore (John 10:10). Help me live in that life even now in this physical body, while I wait for my graduation to be with You for eternity.

⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:5, NIV)