LIVING THE PROCESS, RIDING ON CAMELS

Ps 42:7  Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me. (NKJ)

THE CALL OF DEEP UNTO DEEP

By John Wright Follette

Down in the depth of my nature

Where the issues of life are born,

From that unknown mystical realm,

Surviving through ages of storm,

A call is forever rising--

But its language I cannot speak.

It was born ere I had being,

'Tis the call of deep unto deep.

Our mother tongue here is awkward,

For no words can fully express

The needs in the depths of nature,

In bondage to sin and distress.

Our hearts in their depths sorely ache;

They hunger; they call; and they seek--

Then silently wait an answer

To the call of deep unto deep.

Down deep in the heart of our God,

In mystical regions sublime,

In the Godhead's holy council

Long before our world or our time,

An answer was fully prepared

Every pain, every ache to meet,

In Christ, God's only begotten,

Is answer to deep unto deep.

The Answer indeed was the Word,

The Word when expressed was the Son.

Oh language of God how profound!

In answer what more could be done?

The heart of our God is hungry,

His portion, His people to seek.

"l thirst," was cried by the Answer-

'Tis the call of deep unto deep.

Sometimes I hear people pray things, or sing about things and I wonder, “Do they really understand what they are praying for? Do they have any idea of what would happen if the Lord answered that prayer?” My Pastor asked us how we would react if we saw a mighty angel, like Daniel did.

Another way to put this is, “How ready are you for the Lord to reveal things to you that are deeper in your heart than you really want Him to go?” Is the hunger and ache in your heart so great that you can ask God for more of Him?

What do we mean when we say we want more of God?

Is there a process He takes us through in order to give it to us?

There are 2 books I would recommend if you are serious in getting the full answers: “Hinds Feet in High Places” by Hannah Hurnard  and “The  Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Google them, I’m sure you can find them online. 

There’s an old song, I hope some of you remember it. It’s the kind of song you may have learned in Sunday school. It is very simple, yet walking it out takes a lifetime. I hope it becomes one of those songs that gets stuck in your head.

I want more of Jesus

More and more and more.

I want more of Jesus than

I’ve ever had before.

I want more of His great love,

So rich and full and free.

I want more of Jesus so

I’ll give Him more of me.

Sounds simple enough but it ends with something that will take you the rest of your life on Earth to experience. Giving Him more of us equates to a lifestyle of repentance. Are you determined to make the right choices? Determined to always yield to righteousness? Sometimes it’s not so simple, we complicate it with works, with self-righteousness.

Rom 6:16  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

17   But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

18   And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19   I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. (NKJ)

Now don’t get in the flesh about this and start looking for things that you may need to repent of – please don’t fall into a quilt trip or legalism. Remember, Christianity is not a list of does and don’ts. It is a relationship with the Almighty and in that relationship we learn how to please the Lover of our souls. As you catch some glimpse of His character, as He reveals something about Himself to you, His love in your heart will motivate you to change and His Grace and the Holy Spirit that is in you will empower you to do so.

The Lord knows that in and of our limited, frail, human capacities there is no way we will completely follow through, we just can’t do it. We want to heed His call to pick up our cross and follow Him but usually want to do that on a cross we make ourselves, padded and not so uncomfortable and Calvary’s cross. The sooner you realize that the sooner you’ll learn of the freedom we have in Christ. Please do not strive in your flesh to be righteous – you’ll never measure up to His standards. 

Now let’s get to those 2 questions I asked a little while ago,

1.    What do we mean when we say we want more of God?

2.    Is there a process He takes us through in order to give it to us?

As I already mentioned, sometimes I hear people pray things, or sing about things and I wonder, “Do they really understand what they are praying for? Do they have any idea of what would happen if the Lord answered that prayer?” Anyone ever prayed for patience?

When meditating on this my mind was flooded with so many songs we used to sing that were prayers for more of God.

“More love… more power… more of you in my life (2x)

And I will worship you

With all of my life.. etc etc.

Or do you remember... 

“More of You, more of You

I’ve had it all but what I need is just more of you.

Of things I’ve had my fill

But yet I hunger still,

Thirsty & dry, Lord hear my cry

For just more of you.”

In order for us to be able to receive His answers to these prayers He puts us through a process, and it varies for each individual, it varies with time, it is unique for you. The Lord has a plan for your life and primarily it is to bring you closer to Himself, to cause you to become more like Jesus and ever more passionate for Him, appreciative of His Manifest Presence.

There are some great analogies in the Song of Solomon. Briefly,

Song of Solomon  5:2   I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is covered with dew, my locks with the drops of the night."

3   I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; how can I defile them?

4   My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him.

5   I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock.

6   I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

The next verses in this chapter describe her desperate search throughout the city to find Him. She was too slow to respond, she made excuses to stay in bed.

Something happened in her heart between Chapter 5 & chapter 8. She went through a process. Notice she isn’t walking with Him, they are not skipping like a young couple just having fun and laughing together. Those times are wonderful but here she is leaning on Him. Her own strength is gone, she’s dependent on Him. The call of deep unto deep was answered – she’s different. Look at the change of heart and then we’ll talk about what the Lord does to bring this about.

Watch the center of her attention in the following 5 steps.

    Song of Solomon 1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the     king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad       and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than       wine: the upright love thee. (KJV)

Believe me I would much rather remember God’s love, remember intimate times in His presence, even those times of correction, than the effects of too much wine. The Lord loves it when His kids get happy in His presence, when we rejoice with exceeding great joy.

But my friends, this is only the beginning. The intimacy, the fellowship with God that is available to us is far greater when we come back from that field, from that vacation in the villages with Him with our own strength gone, when we’ve let go of more of our carnal self. When we allow the Lord to go deeper into our inner man and replace the junk with some revelation of the deeper  things of His character.

What is it that God uses to bring us to this place of great freedom and blessing? Stuff that our flesh doesn’t usually enjoy:

    Rom 5:1   Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

    2    through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

    3    And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

    4   and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

    5    Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our                   hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Our lives are constantly in the remaking process, we constantly exchange junk for pure gold. The Lord is preparing us for our marriage to His Son. How does the bride get to the Bridegroom? Look at Genesis 24, the story of Abraham’s servant going to get a bride for Isaac. In this story we can easily say that Abraham represents God the Father, Isaac the SON and the servant is the Holy Ghost. The servant doesn’t just walk across the vast desert, and he doesn’t go empty handed. In addition to beautiful things that will wet the Bride’s appetite, he brings 10 camels (Gen 24:10). She is given a means of transportation across that vast desert. In verse 11 we see that the servant, that is to say the Holy Ghost, is in control of the camels, he has them kneel.

The journey starts with her making a choice. We are constantly faced with choices and it is so important that our internal radio is tuned to the God Station. Rebecca chose to go with the servant.Let me quote more from Folette, 

 So let us not be foolish and pray for God to draw us          nearer and bring our hearts to sweet fellowship and        understanding of Isaac and then when He sends us a camel to carry us there want to shoot him. Never shoot your camels! What foolish creatures we are anyway!  With one breath we pray God to draw us near, conform us to His image, and deepen our lives in God, and with the next breath we shout at the camel He has sent to answer our prayer. Don't you remember it is tribulation that worketh patience and not a sweet feeling at an altar service?”

           “The camels are awkward and not so very easy to ride. There is an art to it and the secret of it is this---move with the camel and do not try to resist his momentum. For that is already established, so all you have to do is to yield to the sway and movement of the camel and you will soon learn to ride. Never resist the camel's momentum, for if. you do it will make you sick and you will have a very hard time of it. 

Let’s look at 1 of the camels, the person you really have a hard time loving, the one who just always gives you a hard time and is just impossible to get along with. You water this camel with a bad attitude. God sent this camel for you to ride, not for you to carry on your back. Get the right saddle out of the barn

What a neat thing happens when we repent of that pride and apprehend God’s enabling Grace. We handle the irritating things about that camel graciously and enjoy the ride toward our Isaac.

How about the camel that is a long, drawn out trial? The Lord has had me ride this camel all too often – a trial of faith and patience -  unemployment. Some people are caring for handicapped family members, dealing with severe financial and/or health siuations, or my amazing wife who has had to lovingly endure being married to me for all these years (39 as of this writing). There’s a saddle in the barn for this:

In the midst of that trial, we are called upon to give, and not just financially. When we apprehend the Grace to be a cheerful giver we will have an abundance of everything we need for every good work.

The caravan is large and we get to ride many different camels. The key is to apprehend His Grace to deal with each one with a right attitude. Don’t you want to get to the Lover of your soul? Of course you do. And not just to be in the same room but to be completely yielded to Him.

In conclusion I have to ask again, Do you really want more of God? Will you, as Rebecca did, say, “I will go.” Are you ready to ride those camels, choosing the right saddle for each one? 

WORKPLACE GRACE

God’s abundant grace is abundantly available for every situation.

If you’re blessed there is a button on the bottom to SHARE on Face Book.  Your comments in the box below can also add to the world wide blessing once approved. 

Did you ever look back and wonder, “How did I do that?” or say to yourself, “What just happened? That impossible circumstance just worked out and I don’t know how.” I find myself frequently recounting, often in the course of my work, something that just happened that was definitely more than coincidence with, “That had to have been the Lord!!” Those were not coincidences if you belong to Jesus, they were acts of Divine intervention, freely given, though undeserved, by our loving Heavenly Father. I’ll share some things that should stir up your memories that will help you see that that thing that happened must have been the Lord’s doing. Click the Add Comment at the bottom of the blog so that readers all over the world can also be blessed by what God has done in your life.

Back in the mid to late 1970’s I was a machinist, running large computer controlled machining centers. Back then, machine shops were a far cry from what they are today concerning safety and efficiency, and I thank the Lord to have been a part of that progression. There was a man who ran the machine next to mine who was the kind of person many tried to avoid. He would be ornery, contentious, complaining and OH DID HE STINK! There were different theories as to the cause of that smell but I doubt anyone really knew. We worked in close quarters and the Lord just gave me a love for Herb, compassion and the desire to seem him get to know Jesus. Co-workers would ask me how I could stand that smell. My response was simple, “God just put a Holy Ghost close pin on my nose and really was not bothered by it.” Herb and I worked there for years and somehow I just about always was gracious to him. People who really know me fully understand that that had to have been a gift of special grace because I was not always that way with people. I left that shop in 1985 and heard later on that Herb had given His life to Jesus and was a very changed man. Herb went on to be with the Lord at a young age but you can be sure I’ll see Him in Heaven and thank him for being used of God to build character in my life. 

My next job was teaching in a trade school for a couple of years. I was training people for jobs as CNC operators who could read prints, inspect their work, program the machines and more importantly, how to make it in a machine shop. I had a student who had been tool makers and welders, a homemaker who had never handled a hand drill and everything in between. The only things they had in common was that they were unemployed and were accepted into a Federally funded program. You could add to that list that they had to deal with me. I am not a very good actor but somehow I managed to role play a spectrum of supervisory styles. One week they would be lead by a mean, tyrannical shouting in your face BOSS and the next week an easygoing, caring instructor. After four months with me they were ready for anything. My ability to prepare them in such a way had to have been a supernatural gifting, a work of the grace of God in and through me. After two years the school was shut down because there were no jobs in the Syracuse, NY area for people with these skills. God then extended His grace to me to get through my 1^st dose of being unemployed.

More recently, in fact just a few months ago I experienced a miracle of God’s protection from what could have been a very serious industrial accident. The specifics are confidential but suffice it to say that the Angel of the Lord pushed me away from a very dangerous thing that should not have been airborne toward my mid-section. Jesus so graciously kept me from severe injury and everyone around was told, in no uncertain terms, that the Lord had sent an angel to protect me. To God be the glory, and thanks forever. 

John Wright Follett, one of my favorite Christian authors, wrote an amazing chapter in the book BROKEN BREAD called “Trouble is a Servant.” That someone put on the web as a .txt file, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/follette/broken.txt is truely a blessing. You’ll find the whole book there and you can download it free as a .pdf file too. Every trial, every temptation, every adverse situation we face is our opportunity to experience God’s grace. He gave us the grace to receive enough faith to get saved in the first place, and everything else in the Christian life happens the same way, by grace Through Faith.

Rom. 5:3   We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 

   4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 

   5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (NLT)

Eph.2:8   God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 

9    Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 

10    For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (NLT)

Having a hard time dealing with that boss or coworker? Are the stresses of the workplace wearing you down? Do you think you have too much, or to little work to do? God’s abundant grace is abundantly available for every situation. 

Add your comments, your story below. It won’t go public until I publish it and I am eager to let the world hear your story of God’s grace in your workplace.

STORY TELLING: WHAT SEED DO YOU SOW AT HOME?.

Gentlemen, as the old saying goes, “If Mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.” WE CAN save a lot of heartache IF WE DO IT RIGHT!!! 

So many Christian men get the cart before the horse. Doing so will always have a negative effect on everything at home, at work, in ministry, or anything a married man tries to do. Ladies are welcome to read this and click the comment word at the end of the blog, but please pass this along to your husband, your friend’s husband, and any guy you know who aspires to be a husband. Understanding God’s principles about the role of husbands, as portrayed in this week’s characters and scripture verses, will save a lot of heartache.

Husband “A”

Joe has hard a killer day at work. The pressure has been on to get his project in on time and

“Murphy’s law“ has been in effect all week. The customer has called to check up on his progress. Joe’s boss is constantly asking for progress reports. It just doesn’t look like his usual great work is going to be accomplished with the perfection expected by the due date. Exhausted, stressed out, he pulls the car into the driveway and hears the kids screaming. It sounds like utter chaos coming through the walls. Joe’s blood begins to boil, he angrily mutters to himself, “Why can’t that women keep those kids in line and she better have dinner ready because I’m starving!!” Joe grabs his laptop, opens the door as the kids come running to him, all loudly battering him with a string of complaints about each other.

Joe’s wife Ann emerges. She is a mess, her hair uncombed, some liquid spilled on her blouse, no make-up and her glasses on crooked. She hands him the baby who’s diaper is rather in need of changing and says, here, he’s yours. I know you want me to start cooking dinner while you change that stinky diaper and spend time with the kids. Joe loses his cool at this point, yelling at her, “Ann, you knew when I would be home and that I expected dinner ready. What have you been doing all day? I know other guy’s wives who don’t work from home and they get it all done!!.” If you were the submissive wife you’re supposed to be than you would have judged your time all day in order to meet my expectations of dinner ready, the kids calmed down, ______ (fill in the blanks yourself) when I got home!!”

Ann yells back, “they’re your kids too!” and tearfully goes to the kitchen. Walking from the refrigerator to the stove she stops and cries to the Lord, “What happened to that sweet caring guy I married 10 years ago?”

§  Was there heartache in this home?    Considerable

§  Was Joe the kind of dad he would want his future son-in-laws to be?   No way.

§  Was the atmosphere of Juan and Susanna’s bedroom what they wanted?   

Husband “B”

Juan also has a high pressure job, owning and managing a construction company. Dates for sub-contractors to be there and materials to arrive were on a very tight schedule because the customer needed to move quickly. The weather didn’t cooperate, causing a week delay on getting the shell up. A sub-contractor finished late and did a horrible job. It didn’t look like it would be possible for his client to move into the new offices on time and that would cause penalty fees to kick in. Juan was tempted to be worried. The stress was high but was learning to deal with it, trusting in the Lord.

When Juan got home, his wife Susanna was with him. She was the logistics coordinator. They worked in the same office so she was well aware of the stress her husband was under. Susanna’s mother watched the kids for the few hours between school and when Juan and Susanna got home each night. Juan had no expectations of dinner when he got home so he ate a snack in the afternoon knowing it would be a while until he had a meal. This couple determined not to talk about work on the way home so that the stresses there would not adversely affect the peace they desperately wanted at home. When they got home Juan thanked his mother-in-law for watching the kids. When she left he spent time with the kids while Susanna washed up and got ready to fix dinner.

·         Where Juan & Susanna perfect?     No.

·         Did they lose their tempers sometimes?    Sure.

·         Did they have disagreements and heated discussions?    Of course.

·         Did Juan open the door for his wife?     Most of the time.

·         Where Juan’s expectations of his wife reasonable, taking her side of the story very seriously?    Most of the time.

·         Was the atmosphere of Juan and Susanna’s bedroom what they wanted?   

Lessons to Learn

A few verses prior to this following verse women are instructed to be submissive to their own husbands. Their having this condition of heart however, almost never happens unless their husband grasps the ramifications of Eph. 5:25-28 and, with God’s help continuously, works at becoming this kind of a husband. The Message Bible beautifully paraphrases these verses:

Eph. 5:25-28    Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage. (MSG)

The need for all of us husbands to grow to become like this transcends all times, nations and cultures. Being a Christian involves a daily death to the “self” life, living for God instead – Jesus is Lord of all and we are included in the word “all.” We continually exchange our old dying existence on the planet for His eternal and wonderful life. Once we get married, this principle gets kicked up to a whole new level.

·         Is it easy? Now way!

·         Is it possible? Absolutely!

·         How long will it take? Your whole life on Earth.

·         Don’t worry about dazzling white silk, most of us could never afford that. Just make sure she’s clothed nicely

Test yourselves Gentlemen:

1.    What seeds are you sowing in your relationships at home?

2.    Do you care for your wife as a garden needs continual care?

3.    Does your wife know to wait for you to open the door for her?

4.    Are you the kind of husband you would want your daughters to marry?

If you feel like you can’t pass this test that’s fantastic. It brings us to dependence on Jesus to help us. We can’t earn salvation and neither can we work ourselves into who we are not – That’s God’s job and all it takes is continual surrender. He loves His Bride (the church) and gave Himself for her. My life and 39 years of marriage to Johanna is a testament to the possibility of making the transition from Husband A to Husband B.  

STORY TELLING: RELATIONSHIPS IN A BUSINESS & LIFE. Being a person of value will always precede doing what is valuable.

If the right ethical principles are part of everybody’s character than each customer, internal and external, will be satisfied. Jesus said many things appropriate to the work place. Let’s continue the same theme with a story based on the following Biblical quote that clearly identifies character aspects desperately needed in the workplace for people at all levels of the company.

Thanks to all those who referred my last blog to others. There were three times as many page views as any previous blog, reaching countries all over the world.

I have, and no doubt, most people who have had more than just a couple of years, experienced numerous management styles and have had coworkers with a wide range of attitudes and work ethics. The Bible clearly defines the attitude that drives the correct behavior and approach we should maintain in the workplace in order to be of real value.

As you read the following Bible verse, you can replace the word “Master” with customer (including internal customers), supervisor or any management position you want. “Servants” can be replaced with anyone who has a superior or a customer.

Ephesians 6:5-8   Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real MASTER, CHRIST. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the MASTER, regardless of whether you are slave or free.

9   Masters, it’s the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats. You and your servants are both under the same MASTER in heaven. He makes no distinction between you and them. (MSG Bible)

With that in mind, how many wrong things can you find in the following true story?

When I started my first job in a machine shop, I was very young and very naïve about working in a union shop. I ran a first piece on a CNC machining center and was waiting for it to be inspected. Not knowing any better, I leaned on the machine and began to read a little pocket Bible. It didn’t take long before my supervisor was reading me the riot act.

OK, I perhaps could have found something constructive to do.

The union president came over later and taught me the lesson of what to do. He said, “You should have a rag in your hand so it looks like you just finished doing something.” He also told me how to use a push broom, “Put the brush against the wall, put your elbow on the top of the handle and your hand on your chin.” ………. OK, you can stop laughing, that really happened back in 1975. I spent 10 years in that shop learning from negative example.

On another occasion in that factory, I was machining a high precision hole in an aluminum casting for a bearing to be installed. It measured too small. The inspector put his cigarette on it and told me if I came back in a few minutes the hole would be just fine. 5 minutes later the aluminum was hot enough to swell, expanding the hole so that it measured exactly to size. Would you call that integrity? 5 minutes later it would cool and be undersized again.

Have you ever had a supervisor that was constantly looking to find fault, always yelling and belittling everyone? I’ve had a few and they make for a very ugly, non-productive work environment. How much better it would have been for everyone if they concentrated on training, coaching and doing everything possible to help the workers get better at what they had to do, with a right attitude? If you are in a management role do you consider yourself a leader or a manager? The spectrum goes from oppressive cattle drivers desperately trying to get more out of people than they can do to wise shepherds who understand how to lead people so that they have their heart in their work. If one has honor and respect for someone he will move mountains, without it he’ll have a rag in his hand to look like he just finished doing something. Honor and respect are earned, most importantly by showing that you have it for those you lead.

So now I hope you say, “OK Andy, you’re right. That can really work, even on the home front.” If you’re honest with yourself you have probably realized that hard as you may try to be like this you frequently blow it. The problem is that in most situations, just 1 serious mistake undoes 100 “atta boys.” Dealing with ourselves in tough situations can get very frustrating, especially when there is someone, like a spouse or a boss, getting on our case for every mess-up, every word spoken in the “wrong tone of voice.” Change has to happen from the inside out and it is a life-long process. Have you come to that place in life where you understand that you can never make yourself good enough? That’s the most important place in life to come to.

You can become a person of value, in terms of the value that matters much more than earthly riches. From the book of Romans, chapter 10 (from The Message) we see the answer to all the frustration:

It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”

Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”

If something has stirred in your heart or mind, put a comment below. It is completely confidential unless you ask me to publish it.