Growing in Love

Hebrews 6:1-12 (paraphrased)
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying AGAIN a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God... but of instructions about washings, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement - and this we will do if God permits.

For its impossible (once enlightened; once the heavenly gift has been tasted and the Holy Spirit received, and one has tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come - and then fallen away) it's impossible to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain and produces useful crops are blessed by God; but if it bears thorns and thistles it is worthless, and its end is to be burned.

I am awestruck at the many layers of meaning and the beauty in it. The Lord has really put this message upon my heart this week. The implication here is that once you speak his name on your lips, once you claim your inheritance as his child, once you are touched by the Holy Spirit and you've received his blessings - to turn away from that is bringing the cost of Christ's sacrifice upon your head. I don't say that with a spirit of condemnation but with a spirit of urgency and seriousness that every Christian be compelled to ask God where he/she stands in this. Have I received your saving grace, Lord, and then, once confronted with truths that don't fit into my lifestyle, I reject them or restructure them for my benefit? Have I been the recipient of miracles, healing and/or financial blessing only to spat on that gift by lacking a heart of humility and an authentic desire for obedience? Am I building upon the basics of my faith by going deeper in your word with a hunger for revelation of it? Have I stopped long enough in my busy life to ask you if I am doing any of these things well?

I can only answer for myself, and that answer is whatever I'm giving, it's not enough; whatever my level of hunger and obedience, it's not enough; whatever level of knowledge of his word, it is not enough to stay where I am at, wherever that may be. The very sacrifice made to purchase us compels us to a hunger that can never be fully satiated (in this age), a commitment to never stop pressing in (even when we don't feel anything), and an urgency in realigning our hearts toward him daily.

To practice a religion is to set my life by a set of moral codes, attempting to live by them, under the compulsion to compare myself to others within my sphere of religion who are attempting to do the same.

Following Christ is to set my life at his feet in total surrender, under the compulsion of love, in which I set my heart to expand in the giving and receiving of his love, and the power of that love is what compels me to compare myself to him, reconstructing my moral code to align with his, and to get and give support to others who are attempting to do the same.

There really is a difference between the two - as far as the east is from the west - but the burden of my heart lies in seeing and hearing from so many who have only seen the first and have no idea what the second even looks like. And I should know, because less than 2 years ago, I didn't know what that looked like, I didn't even know that was something that existed to even want to attain it for myself! I thought Christianity was a decision to acknowledge God as creator of the universe and a decision to live my life under a code of morals, mostly shaped through the influence of a combination of Sunday School, grandparents, the (horribly anemic) current moral temperature of this age, and a process of self-elimination, by which I decide which of those morals fit into the life I want to make for myself.

Man I was so far off in left field I was missing the game. God is not a self-improvement mechanism or a part-time job, He is the center of your universe, the author of your personality, and your biggest fan. He loves you beyond your comprehension of love, just as you are in your weakness and brokenness and sinfulness. But he loves you too much to let you stay where you are, he wants to teach you things, expand your capacity to give and receive love, and a gazillion more things. But he's a gentleman and he won't force himself upon you. What he has is too valuable to give away to someone who could take it or leave it. He is a passionate, devoted lover who wants passionate love and devotion in return. He asks so little and gives so much. And if you don't have a vision for this in your walk with God, then you may be worshiping the wrong god.

The kindness of Christians

I read an article today from Eric Metasxas, and felt the need to respond to some of the comments posted after the article. http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/%2019343

I felt compelled to respond to Jonathan's comment about evidence of instances where Christians have displayed kindness to the children of same-sex couples. 

My immediate thought would be to point out the obvious; that if you're looking for an unbiased "news accounts" of the terms "gay/lesbian" or "Christian" used with positive connotation, you're not likely to find them. Most of our western news today chooses not to report on acts of humility, but to accentuate the negative in our society, regardless of group affiliation. Anyone who strives to live according to the teachings of Christ and the sermon on the mount lifestyle would not be documenting their good deeds, as that is the opposite of humility, which is at the core of the faith in which they subscribe. And any news source reporting on something positive relating to these two groups (which in and of themselves have become their own catchphrases that take on caricature-like meaning) is most likely from a group that is like-minded; meaning Christian new sources are likely to report on the successes and positivity of their group, likewise gay and lesbian news sources. In short, if someone were to provide you with documented examples of specifically how Christians have shown the love of Christ to children of same sex households, you probably couldn't hold any stock in them because the very idea cancels out the humility needed to carry out these acts of kindness. Are there exceptions out there that cast Christians in a positive light that are not reported from Christian news sources? Sure. But the very idea that Christians must go around documenting the goodness of their deeds for the purposes of convincing others is hypocritical in and of itself. 

But the real point here is not to confuse the kindness of Christians with the kindness of Christ. Just as there are a plethora of homosexuals who believe in and act out in perverse ways, there are Christians who do the same. Clumping together ever person who exhorts themselves "Christian" and applying the actions of all of those inclusively would be just as inaccurate and inappropriate as clumping all of the homosexual community together, making each accountable for the actions and words of the worst among them. I am more offended when I see someone use the mantle of Christianity in an un-Christ-like way than I am when I hear of some perverse action or word from someone who is homosexual - because it's personal then, someone is potentially representing ME in ways I don't subscribe to. 

Christianity is represented in our society in so many conflicting ways that many outside are rightfully confused about its true face. But the reality is, is that if you expect to find an example of perfect Christianity in any person on earth today, you are looking in the wrong place and will not be able to find it in its fullness. The knowledge of God as revealed in the bible cannot be attained through intellectual interpretation; but rather, requires spiritual revelation through the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, to understand. Jonathan, there are many people who call themselves Christians who act in ways that do not honor the beliefs they supposedly subscribe to, and there are many who have only an intellectual understanding of and moral obligation to Christianity - but even the most devout and dedicated Christian falls short of displaying the full grace that belief in Jesus Christ affords them. And that is the point. You see, Christianity isn't about a moral code and list of do's and don't's to live by, it's not about group of people that use religion as a blanket for personal hatred and bigotry (although I understand that that is only face of Christianity many people see); but rather, Christianity is about the worship of one man, Jesus Christ, who is full God and fully man - it is about the revelation of who he is and what he did to offer all of humanity a way to be reunited with the uncreated God, and it's about the transformative effect that a true revelation of the love of God brings to your life. 

Mankind is fallen and broken as a result of sin; but most importantly, our sin is what keeps us separated from God. It dulls our spiritual capacity to receive love and knowledge from him. Those of us who are able to get a handle on that and in faith, set our hearts to submit to the will of God are able to establish a connection to God. His love and wisdom and knowledge are perfect, and the more he reveals to us, the more overwhelmed and humbled we are by him. But as he begins to reveal his heart to you, you have a choice to set your heart to obey the truths he shows you or not to obey. And the decision you make directly affects your ability to keep that connection open and alive and growing. Notice I didn't say "when you obey perfectly", but when you set your heart to obey. He knows we are unable to keep our commitment to obey without his intervention; but it is only through our willingness to admit our inadequacies and in humility, pray for his help do we succeed in our efforts. And this commitment has to be reaffirmed every moment of every day of our lives. It sounds like a miserable existence, constantly trying to attain a level of perfection that we can't possibly attain in this age - and for many Christians who have committed with their minds and not their hearts - it is. But nothing could be further from the truth; because when you are lovesick for God, your weakness is replaced by his strength and you are able to empty yourself to allow his endless love flow through you to others. Love your enemies. Serve your neighbors. Exalt others, not yourself. Share the good news of the healing and transforming power of God's love. This is Christianity. Hate is not a byproduct of Christianity, but is a weakness of our flesh and a tool of the devil. God's word teaches us to hate the sin, but love the sinner. So if you are the recipient of a Christian's hate of homosexual sin projected in a non-Christ-like way, that is a fault of that individual, not of Christianity. It is in those moments we are called to forgive and love, because we too fall short. 

So I cannot and will not attempt to go into detail about where and in what context God's word says that homosexuality is a sin, because I can tell you my opinions all day but what matters is the truth, and that truth can only be revealed by God and through his word. And if you are unable to separate yourself from your natural reaction to assume that God is prejudice of you and therefore must hate you, and attempt to seek out knowledge and truth for yourself, you will never have the opportunity to find out. But the truth of God is still truth whether you or anyone else ever acknowledges it. People who know the truth speak with absolution not out of the arrogance of men, but from the assuredness of God. The only way to dispute that truth is by personally exploring the word of God and praying for wisdom and revelation of it for yourself. If you are unwilling to do that then you cannot speak knowledgeably on the topic of Christian faith and their beliefs toward homosexuality. 

But the biggest point of concern Eric makes in this article is that: 

'Tolerance used to be defined as a willingness to put up with the beliefs or practices of those with whom we disagree. Today, tolerance means we must accept the beliefs and practices of others as correct — or risk being called a bigot. It's interesting that this redefinition of tolerance almost always involves debates over homosexuality — and it always seems to be people on just one side of the debate calling those with whom they disagree “intolerant.”.'

Allowing a person or group to have opinions and beliefs that are different from yours is tolerance. But today, Christians that are willing to speak openly about their belief that homosexuality is sin are seen as intolerant, and that's just not true. And in twisting that word and its application, you are actually propagating the intolerance of Christians and their rights to their beliefs and their right to express those beliefs in a respectable, non-violent way. That is the point of this article. The tolerance movement that is mounting right now is a move by society (which is prophesied about in the bible) to institute worldwide, man's version of a "moralistic society" not based on biblical truth but on a false peace and acceptance of all religions and all behaviors. Mankind is putting their wants, desires, and judgement above that of God's; replacing biblical truth with a faith-in-self spirituality that allows for and condones immorality and idolatry. This new tolerance is being used to give mankind permission to tolerate sin and turning the mass acceptance of it into its own religion. 

And Christians really need to heed (what I believe to be) the underlying message here, beyond the simple concept of the changes in these word meanings and their implications to Christians. And that is, that the persecution of Christians and Jews is inevitable, read your bible. We are not called to arm ourselves, strike back, defend ourselves to our enemies (by and through any other means but love) and strong-arm truth to others. We negate the word of God by doing so. But, as Eric stated, we are called to love our enemies, serve our neighbors, stand firm in our faith and display the love of Christ to all. We Christians need to stop reacting in anger and hate to defend our beliefs and prepare ourselves and our children for the mounting intolerance of Christians and Jews that will eventually turn to persecution. If we don't get a biblical perspective of what lies ahead and set ourselves to be diligent students of understanding God's plans for mankind and come into agreement with those, we will not have the discernment needed to stay faithful and to not be deceived. 

Response to NC Gay Marriage Issue

I wrote a response today to this article about the NC ban on gay marriage.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-rights-activists-christian-leaders-react-to-nc-ban-on-gay-marriage-74733/


The protection of the definition of the institution of marriage, as designated by God, has nothing to do with hate or oppression, with segregation or lack of tolerance; but with truth and untruth. And if you believe the bible is the living word of God, then you have to believe in His definition of marriage as truth, period. The bible is explicit about what marriage is and is not. And while many may not believe in God or His word, the fact remains that our country was founded on the basis of religious freedom and in God, regardless of where our country now stands on this principle. Whether you believe in God, the bible or what the bible says about marriage or not does not negate the truth of it. And while the men that founded this great nation were fallible and prone to wander from the truths of their principles, just as every man (person) in history has/does/is doing, aside from Jesus Christ, their hearts were set toward truth in God and the institution of marriage as a sacred, life-long covenant between a man and a woman.

I grew up being taught that the women's liberation movement was a good thing, that it brought freedom and equality from the oppression of men; a freedom long overdue. My generation was taught that being a stay at home mother was all but slavery; that we should set our sights on higher things. And we did. We set our sights on higher education, equal pay for equal work, and even freedom from the traditional institution of marriage, claiming our rights to sexual equality.

And now, as we find ourselves at least two generations into this new way of thinking, something is amiss. We have all but destroyed the institution of marriage with divorce, pre-marital sex and abortion; we've traded the privilege of making love within the boundaries of a covenant relationship for internet porn, phone sex, and friends with benefits, along with a huge surge in homosexual experimentation, sexual abuse and rape, and overall immorality. But most of all, we women have given up our place as leaders in the home for the right to be as men are; with the majority of us struggling to be both, caught between our jobs and their endless demands and responsibilities and our children, who are stuck all but raising themselves.

See, the idea that being a wife and mother was oppressive was a counterfeit truth planted by Satan. Satan has made it a point to counterfeit every truth established in the bible, and present it as another option for society to embrace, with just enough truth in it to lead us astray, and society accepts it and calls it truth because it ingratiates the desires of our flesh and are easier to live by than the truth. And as history crawls ever closer to the end of this age, our society adopts more and more of these counterfeits as the norm under the guise of tolerance, equality and peace.

The sad reality is, while we were being taught to be all we could be, no one was teaching us how to be mothers and wives. But even sadder, the biblical truth about why we (women) were created, what our purpose is and the fullness of what marriage was designed to be has fallen away to progress. When I finally gained a biblical understanding of marriage (after my 3rd major relationship had come and gone) I actually was angry, angry that the truth of the privilege of being a wife and mother really was never spoken of. The truth says women were created to be man's helper (not to rise up and replace him). And sex was reserved to be enjoyed only after a life-long covenant was established between a man and a woman. The true pleasure of sex was intended to join a man and a woman physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. Wives were called to submit to their husbands and husbands to treat their wives as their own flesh. There were/are bad marriages; there are abusive spouses, always have been. But the solution to those was never intended to be solved through divorce, but through prayer and fasting and living as a Godly example to the other. By choosing to look to ourselves for the solution to our problems (through divorce), we relinquished our rights to God's power to implement His solutions. Satan successfully convinced Eve and Adam that God was "keeping" knowledge from them and that they could be equal to Him. What was the reality? They traded a perfect life free of hard labor, self-consciousness; a life of  innocence and peace for a life burdened by sin and death.

So what have we gained by trading our "oppression" for "freedom"? The freedom to feel unloved; many of us fatherless, abandoned, abused, neglected? The freedom to have empty, disconnected sex with anyone we want? The freedom to try to support ourselves and our children financially, spiritually and emotionally by ourselves? We have the freedom of exchanging a life-long bond with someone with disposable relationships? The freedom to live empty, broken, unfulfilled lives? Sounds an awful lot like slavery to me. The truth is that when society as a whole had adopted and lived by many of God's commandments, the instances of divorce and immorality were the rarity, not the norm. Those ways of living were oppressed for a reason; because they are detrimental to our physical, spiritual and emotional health as people. Virtue, honor, self-respect, dignity and truth were exalted in their rightful place. What is our society like now, full of disconnected, emotionally crippled, angry, self-entitled people? (I am generalizing).

This was a long, roundabout way of coming to this - gays and lesbians can have a union equal to marriage that isn't defined as marriage. If we can pass a law to expand the definition of marriage, we can create a law that gives those unions partner rights that does not affect the institution of marriage. Ah, but that would not be simple enough. And that's not Satan's plan. Doing that does not serve his agenda. I stand with the word of God on the gay/lesbian issue - but I do not hate anyone. Any "Christian" who speaks hate and fear is as counterfeit to Christianity as Satan is. There is no gay-bashing, no beatings or afflictions, no killing - only the desire to speak truth and life to all. I have as much or more of a problem with the heterosexual sexual immorality (pre-marital sex) than I do homosexual immorality, there's no difference, it all leads to death; and it's hypocritical for straight Christians who do not live by this to single out gays and lesbians. But it is not wrong for a Christian to speak out against the defilement of an institution established by God and agreed with by our own law. Not speaking out is the true crime.

The Truth About our Lives, our Loves and our God

The gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, has been lost in man's religions. Through the ages, it ("it" meaning the true apostolic Christianity, not "it" the bible) has been twisted, corrupted, watered-down, used as a weapon for the gain and plunder of kingdoms, and paganized. And today, religion is the largest stumbling block of people coming to know Jesus as their personal Savior and in developing a deep, personal intimacy with their maker. Because for the majority of people living today, their version of God is based on their personal expriences with religion, not with Jesus. They have unwittingly formed a god in their own image, or in the image of the current cultural temperature today. Their god has been reduced to a weak, disconnected, self-serving, opinionated, puny remanent of what he truly is. It's no wonder why this god has been deemed by millions unworthy of worshiping.

 And so, when faced with worshiping their puny god versus aligning themselves with the marketing message of the day that speaks in unison of self-empowerment, self-discovery and self-entitlement, and most of all, winning; it's a no-brainer. And in doing so, they have subconsciously replaced "He" with "I". Society tells us that happiness is one payday away, one promotion away, one new car away, one winning lottery ticket away. Convinced that status and winning is the ultimate goal, we shape our world in this image, teach it in our schools and playgrounds and corporate meetings (and sometimes our pulpits), and live out our lives believing that this is all their is. We've (society has) traded tradition for new age solutions, cashed in our morality for self-indulgence under the guise of "tolerance" and "equality", mortgaged our marriages for Internet porn, and degraded the purity of love to mean sex. We don't care anymore about our neighbors; we care about survival of the fittest, god eat dog, winner takes all. We've lost sight of integrity, commitment and accountability and replaced it with greed, but hey, that's capitalism!! We've traded our families for our careers, worked harder, gotten less only to lose most or all of it anyway by the selfish actions of greediest among us. Our relationships are in ruin, our homes broken, and our kids, (many) without a father (cause he's never around) and a mother (cause she's too busy being the man of the house to be a mom - or vice versa), are being raised by pop culture and entertainment. And in the name of progress we've surrendered our right to live in the fullness of God's plan for each of our lives. Why?

Because we really don't know what the truth is. We know enough about religion and the bible to sabotage our own well-being and happiness. We've all heard "God is love"; but our version of love has been degraded to the point that it's unrecognizable. And we've made our god as small as we are, which makes it impossible to comprehend that his capacity to love is infinitely greater than ours. We've heard, "Jesus died on the cross for my sins"; but we either don't acknowledge our sin or don't even see it, let alone have a personal revelation of why he gave his life or what that even means. We grasp and cling to our crappy hope (borrowed from Dr. Kelly Flanagan) because we don't have a vision for the real, breath taking, deep burning hope that comes from the truest and purest form of love ever in existence - the love of God. Many of us have some semblance of a grasp on (or have at least heard of) the commandments in the bible, but see them as outdated, unreasonable restrictions on our self-entitlement, rather than the freedom bringers they are. Let's take a deeper look, shall we?

The first commandment says to love God, our Father, with all of our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul and to worship only him. We've already established that our society promotes a culture of self, and the assumption is that by doing so we can grow and accomplish and succeed and become great. In our broken world, it only makes sense that when everything around us is going to hell in a hand-basket, that focusing on our wants, our needs, our desires, our fulfillment will help us attain what we seek. Strength. Power. Honor. Intimacy. Beauty. Fascination. Inspiration. Impact. Love. Those are the things we long for, in one variation or another. But what if, by putting ourselves first, we actually prevent ourselves from attaining these in their fullest measure? If I told you that by giving up your own right to use your strength to your advantage, that doing so would give you access to the greatest source of strength in existence, how would you respond? If I said that by giving up our desire to seek power in this age, we will inherit a position of authority even above the angels in the next, would you consider it? If I told you that by lifting up others in every circumstance, higher than yourself, that you would receive the highest honor as a reward, would that motivate you? If I said that the highest levels of pleasure, intimacy and love you've ever experienced were available to you, but not through conventional means, would you seek them out? If I told you that your desire to be beautiful and to look upon beauty as well as to be fascinated and inspired were longings purposefully woven into our beings - that they aren't sinful - and that it's actually God's plan and purpose for us to experience those to their fullest, but in ways different than how we satisfy them now, would you stop at nothing to receive them in greater measure? All of these and more are true; the problem is, nothing you've experienced in your life thus far has convinced you they could be true so there's no vision for them; thus, no real push or desire to seek them out. And without real, breath taking, deep burning hope, we'll never see it, believe it, reach for it.

So where are you now? I'd say just about anyone over the age of 25 has either been through a divorce or a relationship breakup. Our hearts are broken, our hope, weary. You may have one or two or a whole bunch of things going for you - but I can say with absolution that without experiencing the things I've talked about here, without going deep into the knowledge of God, that driving feeling inside of you, that thirst and hunger for something more will never subside. You can never be satisfied to the fullest possible extent (in this age) in any longing that you have, unless you seek to satisfy it with and through God. But you have a choice today to lay aside your preconceived notions, your prejudices and misconceptions and choose to hope in the possibility that there is truth in what I say, and seek it. How bad do you want it? To the level at which you pursue these will be the level in which you receive them. If you half-heartedly go after them, you'll receive half-hearted results. But if you burn with desire for something more, something better in your life, and seek these out like gold and diamonds - go deep in the word of God - the rewards are unlimited and will exceed every expectation. See, the bible isn't meant to be read and understood intellectually, but requires supernatural revelation of its meaning through the power of the Holy Spirit, whose purpose is to reveal the heart of God to you. Whether you've ever read the bible or not, if you haven't felt the word come alive inside of you, if you haven't been stirred in your deep emotions to the point that it awakens a hunger you never knew you had, then you're not going deep. He will reveal himself to you in the measure in which you seek him out. You have to treat it like any other relationship - you have to talk to him, find out things about him, get to know what's important to him, ask him questions, but most of all - spend time with him. The fullness of all of your relationships - friends, family, spouse, kids - all depends on the fullness of this one relationship. It changes everything.

Choosing Peace

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 
- Ephesians 4:1-7

What does peace in our lives look like? Does it mean being devoid of conflict? Does it mean never having a bad day? What do the scriptures mean when they refer to peace within the body of Christ and between men (mankind)?

I don't know many people who wouldn't say that they wished there was more peace in their lives, even some who tend to perpetuate a lack of peace in their own lives would say they wish for peace. Even those unsaved talk of peace on earth; and in the last of days, Satan will deceive the masses under a guise of world peace and tolerance. So there is something inherent in us that seeks and desires peace, in our hearts, our minds, our lives and our world. But is this peace we seek really as elusive as we make it out to be?

When I read this passage from Ephesians, it is like a how-to peace guide for my heart. There are layers and layers of implications here that, when discovered, enlighten our understanding and concept of peace and gives us clear instructions on how to obtain it for ourselves.

The first and most important revelation we must have about peace in our lives is that we have total control over that. Peace is not something afforded to us by the powers that be or dished out through some random system of luck; peace is a choice. How so, you say? The freedom given to us by God through the exercise of our free will entitles us. Free will is the combination of making decisions for our lives through a combined effort between our minds, our hearts and our soul - and through that we are afforded real power and control over our lives. So, in using the term "free will" (will) to describe the combined effort of our intellect, our hearts and our inner spirit-man in our decision making process, our focused "will" has enormous power to affect the outcome of our state of mind. Along the same lines as the power of positive thinking, our decisive thoughts* have the power to influence our perception of our circumstances. [References to *thoughts/mind here refers to more than just engaging intellect but a combination of decision making based on our exacting free will]. Keep that in thought as we move on.

I'll tell you what peace isn't; it's not an absence of conflict in our lives. If that were not so, then peace this side of time wouldn't be possible, and the promises Jesus made to us about obtaining his peace in this life (in measure, not in fullness) would be exaggerations. And if we believe Jesus is truth then we must believe that peace doesn't mean a life free of pressure or conflict. But often times, that is the definition we give to peace when we use that word, and it is the misapplication of this definition that plants seeds of dissatisfaction in our hearts in search of peace in our lives. In short, an unbiblical view of peace undermines what the bible actually says about it and how to obtain it, and undermines our faith in God, which has a cascading effect of negativity in our lives. So what is peace?

peace |pēs|noun1 freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility : you can while away an hour or two in peace and seclusion.• mental calm; serenity : the peace of mind this insurance gives you.

I believe a biblical definition of peace to be a combination of these first two definitions from the dictionary. When Jesus spoke of peace in terms of a state of mind we could attain (in measure) in this life, I believe he was referring to a mental calmness and serenity; combined with not an absence of disturbance in our lives but a minimized effect that disturbance has on us. Or simply put, what we think of when we talk about inner peace. And I believe inner peace is afforded to us through a combination of the promised love of God that brings about joy in our hearts; peace is the byproduct of inner lover and joy from God. So how does that translate into choice, you say?

Well, Jesus gave us example after example of how to manifest peace in our lives. We cannot control others. We cannot avoid conflict in a world riddled with it; in fact, the closer we get to the end times, the more intense conflict will be in the world around us. So we must look inward. Jesus shows us how to live a lifestyle that manifests inner peace, through application in his own life and in his word. Here are some examples of that lifestyle.

Humility and meekness produce peace. These two words have a negative connotation in the world around us. We see it as examples of what weak and pathetic people do because they have no power. We see it as an avoid-it-at-all-costs personality trait, to be squashed under the feet of real men (and women). But, the only personality description Jesus ever gave about himself in the bible was that he was "gentle and lowly in heart", Matthew 11:29. And we have all heard, "the meek shall inherit the earth", Psalm 37:11. He calls us to love one another as we love ourselves; and love produces humility and meekness. "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.", 1 Cor. 13: 4-7.

I won't going into the many misapplications of the word love in our culture; suffice it to say that the biblical definition reigns supreme. The increase of Godly love in our hearts manifests personality traits in us that produce love. We are called to empty ourselves, to be as empty vessels, so that we can be filled with love. That is the essence of humility - the emptying of ourselves with the intention of replacing that with the attributes of God.

If we stop for just a moment and analyze our thought processes regarding taking on the attributes of Christ, I think we'll be surprised at what we really find. We all know we are to be like Christ, but I think many turn away from that  when we come to the meekness intersection, throwing up our hands, exclaiming, "OK, that's it. That's just asking too much." And I believe it is our choice to turn away form that that leaves us lacking peace in our lives. We are taught that only the strong survive, that what we achieve is who we are and our ultimate goal - and that process of thinking induces pride and increase in self. This is a deliberate move by Satan to keep our focus off God and on to ourselves. He may not get us to worship him outright, but he will settle for us worshiping ourselves. After all, the end result is the same.

The conundrum that manifests as a result of rejecting meekness is one of increased conflict in our inner being. The shocking part of that is that every goal we set, decision we make, and thing we desire to attain is driven by our desire to experience joy and satisfaction from our lives. We actually sabotage our own chances for happiness by embracing the world's definition of how to obtain that.  The true revelation here is that we cannot experience the fullness of joy and satisfaction WITHOUT supernatural intervention. The more selfish we are, the more we want and are not satisfied. The more vengeful we are, the more spite finds its way back to us. The more entitled we feel, the more dissatisfied we are at the "lack of" in our lives. Nothing will be enough.

If you want peace in your life, you must put yourself lower than others. That doesn't mean you are spineless and fearful of man. What it does mean, is that you lift others up in your words and deed always. Regardless of how they treat you. Love your enemies. When someone wrongs you, extend forgiveness. That doesn't mean you continue to subject yourself to being mistreated, but it does mean you are to extend grace in circumstances where you are being persecuted or wrongfully accused. When you willfully CHOOSE to not defend yourself in these circumstances, you step aside and give God permission to defend you on your behalf. And his vengeance is way more powerful (and just) than yours. The biggest thing about embracing meekness is that you give up your pitiful human strength and replace it with God's strength. It's hard to bless and pray for someone who is wrongfully accusing you; but doing so blesses you and curses your enemy at the same time!! "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." - Proverbs 25:21-22. I believe this passage has a double meaning; the obvious one of providing nourishment to your enemy, but also an underlying meaning here. By being Christ's example to our enemy, you introduce Christ to them, who is the bread of life and is the water that eradicates thirst for all eternity. Praying for your enemy disarms them and neutralizes the effect their attacks have on you.

When a friend hurts us or betrays us, we can find the grace to forgive by looking inward and reminding ourselves that we have been that fallen friend at some point in our lives, desiring the same grace. Again, this isn't permission for people to walk all over you - if someone in your life is dragging you down, you need to cut that tie. But we are all fallen from grace and are called to give the same forgiveness that we receive from Christ. By lifting others up, through encouraging words, investment in their lives, and genuine friendship, we are lifted up by Christ, "which is above all rule and authority and power and dominion, above every name that is named, not only in this age but in the age to come." -Ephesians 1:21. In other words, by not putting ourselves in a position above others (this isn't related to the workplace or authority, but of greatness in our own minds, exacted out in our thoughts and actions), we again step aside, giving Christ permission to lift us up with him, above all else. "What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him (man) a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet." - Psalm 8:4-6. This passage does not apply to ALL men, but men (and women) who are brothers with Christ.

I think it's a lack of understanding and meditation on these things that keeps us away from the truth of the pure joy that surrendering ourselves to be as Christ is brings to our lives. Real peace comes from inside, not from circumstances. When we embrace the love of Christ as our source and set our hearts to love others with that same love, we are not devastated by a change in circumstances, a "lack of" in our lives, or overcome by anxieties that keep us from peace. Applying these principles of meekness and forgiveness doesn't mean that we let others run over us and never speak up. When we are wronged, we must bring it up in a loving and kind way in order for reconciliation. But regardless of the other party, forgiveness is for you, not them. It is for your peace, not theirs. It is when your peace is determined by their apology that makes it impossible to obtain. Here's my own personal top 5 ways you can cultivate inner peace in your life. 

1. Lift others with your words. There's a reason your mother said "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" - talking about others negative qualities is gossip, period. It produces an atmosphere of conflict and distrust. If you are bashing one friend to another, the friend that's listening may wonder if you do the same about them with someone else. Venting frustration is not the same thing. When someone has hurt you and you need to vent, try focusing the conversation not on saying that "this person is this way or that", but rather focus on venting how what took place (the event, not the person) affected you and made you feel. But the worst mistake you can make is to complain to others but never talk to the offender about it. That's not fair and it sabotages relationships. Assuming they should automatically know how they have offended you is ignorant and you will be waiting on them, often indefinitely, to make things right.

2. Forgive and bless your enemies. Sometimes reconciliation isn't possible. This is when both sides talk about the issue, acknowledge the grievances, take responsibility for their part in it, and give mutual forgiveness. You can't control them, only you. Forgiving them frees you from the pain and negativity associated with the incident, it has nothing to do with them. It is for your emotional well-being. And being the imperfect beings we are, sometimes forgiveness seems impossible. And on our own, it is. Forgiveness doesn't mean once you forgive, the hurt never resurfaces. It means you set your heart to forgive, and when moments of hurt resurface, you pray to ask for forgiveness again. Rinse and repeat as often as needed. One day the hurt will be gone. Nothing produces peace in your life like training yourself to not hold grudges.

3. Be humble. Humility is not lack of self respect or confidence; but, rather is having a quiet confidence in who you are; it's having an accurate assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, not over-accentuating either side. Humility is a choice to express love and grace in circumstances that would normally lend themselves to pride and arrogance. Someone who lives in a world of "I'm right's" and "their wrong's" is so unattractive. Being timid isn't humility; timidity is a fear of man - humility is NOT humiliation, abasement, debasement or degradation; humility is the act of the emptying of one's self for the purpose of receiving from God, or grace, which comes from God. Humility is not feeling the need to boast or degrade someone who has made a mistake, but always circles back around to point #1.

4. Love, love and love some more. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love really is the answer to all things. But love as we've come to define it in our society is so weak and pitiful. Love can only be given and received in fullness through God; anything else is less-than, wanna-be love. Which leads us to #5:

5. Seek a deeper connection with God. The bible calls it intimacy. The relationship between Christ and his believers is even referred to biblically as "the bridegroom (Christ) and the bride of Christ (the church)", underscoring the level of intimacy we are called to with God through Jesus (sensual concepts related to marriage in this scenario are not biblical); but rather is to describe the level of connection and commitment both parties make, which is what marriage is supposed to be. A lifelong commitment with one another where each are selflessly devoted to the other. There is no peace without God, period. He designed us to be deficient in many attributes without him. Um, cause he's kind of genius that way :-). What better way to entice us into relationship with him than to make us incomplete without him. God is not watching us from afar; disconnected with our lives and our problems and our hope and fears and dreams, on the contrary, he desires for you to know and understand Him and the things dear to His heart as much as YOU desire the same from others. And just like any other relationship, gaining intimacy requires effort. God is such a gentleman; he'll never push himself on you in any way. You must seek Him out to find Him, to know Him. How do you know if you have an intimate relationship with Him? Well, you can't be intimate with someone without first knowing who they are, what their character is like, and what things are dear to their hearts. Secondly, the bible says that the more intimate we are with God (which is also translated into having the knowledge of God), the more overwhelmed we are by His presence, majesty, glory, sovereignty, grace, mercy, love, pleasure and joy. If you are not yet lovesick for God, then you have not yet discovered how lovesick He is FOR YOU. Getting a glimpse of this is the most important discovery of our lives.

Note to self: we will never exhaust our knowledge of even one of God's attributes; translation - we will be growing in our knowledge of and love for God for eternity. But if you've been saved and are making the choice to stay at an introductory level of understanding of Him, you will never experience the fullness of love. That's not an opinion; it's a fact of nature, no different from the law of gravity. It's not a finger-pointing talking point, designed to make you feel less-than anyone else; it's a call to action, motivated by passion from someone who has received the transforming love of Christ in their lives. This isn't some special thing that's only available to a chosen few - this is available to ANYONE who desires to find it. It requires no special gift or circumstance to obtain other than free will to choose it.