Jane arose early and leaving a snoring Richard in bed headed to the living room.  She picked up her Bible and opened it to the text they were studying for mid-week Bible study.  “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”  Matthew 5:48.  “Perfect?!  I’d love to be perfect,” thought Jane, “but I always seem to mess up.  How do I get to be perfect like the Bible says I should?”  Just then their  new little beagle puppy, Henry, who they had brought  home just a few days before crawled out of his bed and tumbled on over to see Jane.  She picked him up and smelled his puppy fur and sweet puppy breath.  Ah, he was so cute.  Then she looked in to his face and saw how much he resembled his mother and father who they had met when they picked him up from the kennel. 

Suddenly the light went on for Jane.  Little Henry didn’t think about acting like a beagle or worry about looking like a beagle because he was a beagle.  He was born a beagle.  When she had accepted God as her father she would become like Him; look like Him and act like Him.  She sat down and read two more texts.  “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever”  Psalm 138:18.  She finished her morning reading with Philippians 2:13;  “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”  She put down her Bible and looked up just in time to see her sweet puppy leave a puddle on the floor.

Brett’s experience yesterday reminded me of when I used to live in Alaska.  I lived 10 miles from town which translated into a 20 minute drive in good weather.  Sometimes snow would fall the night before church.   Keep in mind that I drove a two-wheel drive van at the time and our house was situated in an area that seemed to be protected from the wind.  I would look outside and think, “Well I can make it to church, it doesn’t look too bad.”  So I would load the kids up in the vehicle and off we would go.   It was usually early enough in the day that the snow plow hadn’t made it by yet and maybe one other vehicle had traversed the road before us.  By the time I got down the road a little ways I would realize that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, but there was no turning back.  Unless I stayed in the tracks of the vehicle that had gone ahead of me I would be stuck in the snow.  It was early enough in the morning that not many others were out on the road and there were no cell phones back then to call someone.    After driving a mile I would arrive to the main road at which point in time it usually got even worse!  The wind would be blowing and causing white outs, but I couldn’t turn around because I had to stay in the tracks of the person who went before me or get stuck in snow too deep for a two-wheel drive vehicle to drive in.   I couldn’t turn back despite the poor driving conditions because if I did I would be off the road entirely.

God sent His son Jesus to go before us and show us the way.  We can choose to follow Him and stay in the tracks of the One who went before us or we can choose to try to go our own way with our limited power and go off the road entirely.

Psalm 119:1-8 The Messgage

1 You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. 2 You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. 3 That’s right – you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. 4 You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. 5 Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; 6 Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. 7 I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. 8 I’m going to do what you tell me to do; 

After reading yesterdays story, “Fit For Life”, my husband Brett compared an incident in his life to that of our make-believe character Richard.  We live just across the street from Brett’s work, but he drives his car every day rather than walk.  But just the day before I wrote “Fit For Life” he chose to walk to work.  The street we live on is lined with trees on both sides and therefore sheltered from the wind.  He walked just a little ways down our street before getting to the main road.  The weather was so beautiful he wondered why he didn’t do it more often.  Then he got out to the main street and the wind hit him.  The seemingly gale force wind took his breath away, and his eyes watered as he tucked his head lower into his coat.  I’m sure he mumbled words under his breath that I’m glad I didn’t hear since I had encouraged the walk.  Now the walk was an entirely different story and making a commitment to daily walking to work became more of a challenge.  After all it is so much easier to get in the car and drive than it is to walk. 

This story has a couple of applications.  First of all; so many times after we choose to make a change for the good in our lives it seems that shortly after that we get hit with the cold winds of reality and it gets harder to do the right thing.  Second of all; how many times do we make it easy on our spiritual lives by applying the point of the sermon to someone elses life rather than our own?  We don’t always appreciate the cold wind of truth hitting us in the face.

Richard sat on his couch flipping channels.  He stopped on the shopping channel and watched the man pitch the latest fitness machine.  He glanced down at his belly and remembered his 41st birthday he had just celebrated last week.  Yup, those 41 years were beginning to show.  He sighed and continued to watch the ultra fit guy with less than 10% body fat make his sales pitch. 

Richard thought with disgust about all the exercise gadgets he had bought over the years and now they just collected dust in the basement.  He had a massive collection of fitness books sitting in boxes in the garage too.  He kept all his fitness equipment because he believed they worked as well as the infomercials on TV proclaimed.  When he went down to the basement  for some tools he always looked with pride on his collection of fitness gadgets, someday he would use them.  He had always wanted to be fit, but fitness seemed to always elude him.  There was always something else to do.  Work, his favorite shows, taking a nap, the donut shop on the way to work, the extra-large-extra-cheese-extra- sausage pizzas.  Those were for him, his wife and the kids shared the other extra large only cheese pizza; the kids were picky eaters and his wife didn’t like sausage. 

Richard continued to watch the ultra fit man with less than 10 percent body fat.  He did want that, he did.  He was tired of looking like a donut from the coffee shop he stopped at every morning on the way to work. He was tired of not being able to keep up with his kids and sitting in his favorite spot on the couch instead.   He glanced at his watch.  10pm.  Yes, it was late, but he was determined.  He would have it and it would elude him no longer!  He clicked the ‘off button’, stood up and grabbed the keys to the car.  He would go to the store and get some running shoes, lucky for him it was “Midnight Madness” shopping night.  By the time he arrived home  he had purchased new running shoes, a membership at the gym a mile down the road, a blender for protein shakes and some healthy fruits and veggies.  He was on fire, determined to acheive a six-pack and rid himself of a donut belly. 

Five o’clock the next morning he laced up his new shoes and ran the mile down to the gym  where he had just bought a membership.  Just three houses down from his his lungs rebelled and he huffed and puffed.  He conceded and decided he would start his exercise routine with walking.  When he arrived to the gym, he felt as if he had already worked out, but he concentrated on his desire to have a six-pack and worked out with a trainer before beginning the walk home.  He walked past his favorite coffee shop just as the manager unlocked the front door.  The smell of his favorite donuts wafted through the cool morning air.  that was just opening for customers.   He almost caved, but turned his head in the opposite direction.  His eyes opened wide as he saw the man he had watched on the late night TV show running past.  If he could do it, so could Richard. 

Every morning after that Richard turned his head the other way and ran past the donut shop.  When he arrived home he took the blender out of the box and whizzed up some of the fresh fruits and protein powder.  Then he fixed a salad and put it in a cooler to take to work for lunch.  He was surprised at how good he felt, a sense of freedom from past bad habits.

Soon his morning walking turned into a run all the way to and from the gym and he began stopping at the juice bar that was next to his old haunt the coffee shop.  He hadn’t even realized it was there and he was surprised to discover that a couple of shots of wheatgrass did more for him than the donuts and coffee.  He was no longer sore from his workouts and when he got home from work he had the energy to play ball with his kids and go for a walk with his wife around the neighborhood. 

The day he admired his new six-pack in the mirror he paused to wonder what had made the difference, after all he had always wanted a six-pack and he certainly had plenty of information in the books he had and more fitness gadgets than the average person, but had never achieved the desired six-pack til now.  Then he realized that you can’t just desire something, you have to actively pursue it. 

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matthew 6:33

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4

As a person’s body is useless without breath, so our statements of faith are meaningless without action.  James 2:26

Richards heart beat faster as he stared in fear and amazement at the massive lion.  The lion growled,  “Come sit next to me.”   Richard hesitated, “No, I’m afraid.”  The lion smirked, “That’s right, everyone is afraid of me.  But, if you sit next to me you will have my power.”  Richard sat down next to the lion.  In the constant presence of the lion  his fear didn’t diminish, but grew larger and more demanding.  Every time the lion roared, he got it something to eat.  Sometimes in the process the lion took a few fingers or nipped at his toes as well.  He couldn’t leave the lion, his fear held him captive.

While at the market Richard overheard  the town gossip; a Lion Tamer had recently arrived in town.  Richard longed for an escape from the lion who held him captive.  If only he could see him.  But the lion, hearing this as well, commanded the man to chain himself  tightly to the lion.  The lion became increasingly demanding, pacing incessantly and roaring almost constantly.  That evening as the man got up to feed the lion once again he noticed a stranger walking down the street towards them.  The man stopped in front of Richard and the lion.  He looked at the chains that bound Richard tightly to the lion and said, “Do you want me to set you free?”  Richard couldn’t believe it!  The Lion Tamer stood right there in front him.  “Yes”, he shouted.  “Set me free.”  He felt the chains fall from his body and looked down to see his fingers and toes restored to him.  He looked around for the lion, but couldn’t see it anywhere.  He grabbed the Lion Tamer in a big bear hug and turned to walk down the street with Him.  Now that the Lion Tamer had banished the lion he  felt such peace and joy.  He decided to travel with the Lion Tamer throughout the country as his apprentice.

There is a hungry lion that lives within our soul.   What things do we do to quiet the roar of the lion?  What pieces of our lives are being taken by the lion?  What good parts of us are we allowing it to eat up?

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.  2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.  Jeremiah 33:6

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,  Romans 14:17

The following narrative is my “DMV horror story”, I’m sure you have one as well.

I lived in the state of Nevada for five years and never got a Nevada drivers license.  It’s not that I didn’t try.  I did.  Really.  The first time I went in to the DMV I failed to take a piece of necessary paperwork with me, despite having read the required paperwork list on the DMV website.  So I can accept that it was my fault the first time.  The second time I went to the DMV their computer system had just gone down so they suggested that everyone there go home while they try to repair the glitch.  A year or so later I once again  gathered all of my paperwork and went to the DMV with my daughter who also needed to get a Nevada drivers license.  The man behind the desk called us both forward at once.  He was very helpful to my daughter but told me that I needed my marriage license to get a Nevada license.  I told him I wasn’t trying to change my name.  It was a waste of breath as he insisted I needed my marriage license. 

I waited well over a year to try again, I did have a toddler after all and spending time in a crowded DMV can be long and tiresome even alone.  I once again set about gathering all the paperwork needed to get a driver’s license.  I read and re-read the paperwork requirement on the DMV website and took every piece of required paperwork with me, or so I thought, this time including my marriage license.  Turns out this  trip was a bust as well.  This time the woman behind the desk insisted she couldn’t give me a driver’s license because I didn’t have my original social security card.  My current one wasn’t enough.  I was speechless.  Needless to say I gave up on ever getting a Nevada driver’s license!

Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t require any documentation when you want to join His family, only that you know His Son?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  John 17:3

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

Richard needed just one more class to graduate from college.  He had completed everything but the dreaded Algebra l class.   He had passed the pre-algebra class, just barely, but he had passed it.  He had attempted to take Algebra l  twice over the past four years of college, but both times had failed.  Now it was the only class standing between him and graduation.

He showed up to class and sat in the front row, but the concepts just seemed to elude him.  A test was coming up and he needed to pass it so he called up his brothers five-year old daughter and asked her how to work the problems.  When he got off the phone with her he was more confused than ever.   His sister taught first grade at the local elementary school so he decided to show up for when she taught the first graders math class.  He felt a little out-of-place, but once again when it was over he was no more closer to understanding algebra than before.  Then he remembered that he had read somewhere that listening to classical musical enhanced math skills so he bought a classical music cd and listened to it for the next 48 hours straight while trying to work algebra problems.  Finally exhaustion and the music just put him to sleep.  When he awoke he found his room-mate staring at him.  “What is wrong with you listening to that music like that?”  Richard explained his problem, nearly in tears at the prospect of not passing algebra once again.  His room-mate offered this piece of advice.  “Just go see the teacher, he knows everything about algebra and can help you with the problems so you can pass the test.”

It was as if someone had reached over and switched the light on in Richards brain.  Of course, the teacher.  The next morning found Richard in the teacher’s office at 8am.  The teacher gladly spent the time to help Richard understand the math concepts and Richard went on to graduate from college.

Trying to learn algebra from a 1st grade math class or your five-year old niece is a lot like trying to control our own lives rather than letting God, our Creator and the Master Teacher, show us how to live.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.  Psalm 111:10

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  James 1:5

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.   James 3:17

Richard dressed carefully for his lunch meeting with the boss later in the day.  He fumed as he navigated thru the traffic on his way to work.  This morning seemed especially bad for out-of-their-mind drivers.  Did they all think they could drive like Mario Andretti?  He sputtered words he said only on the way to and from work or when he slammed his thumb in the car door or other such occasions.   It was 30 degrees outside and he turned on the air conditioning.  He was sure the steam escaping his ears had something to do with the temperature in the car. 

Lunch time arrived and he jumped into his boss’s car.  They were going to a newly opened restaurant across town.  He buckled up and prepared for the ride of his life as his boss drove a newer model Porsche.  They exited onto the six-lane freeway and his boss accelerated the car to match the flow of traffic.  Richard looked at the speed-limit sign; 75mph.  He glanced over at the speedometer; 65mph.  He was puzzled.  Speed limit 75mph.  Speed of Porsche 65mph.  Sure traffic was heavy,  but why wasn’t his boss making the little car go?  Look there was an opening right there, and then they could zoom into that spot up there, this was worse than his morning drive to work.  His boss slowed down to let  a few cars go ahead of them as they entered onto the freeway.   Then the driver of the monster truck behind them honked the horn, drove past, and making a quick short turn cut in front of them.  A moment later the monster truck driver rolled down his truck window and yelled out words Richard himself had used just a few hours before. 

Richard could feel the steam beginning to boil within his head again.  He glanced over at his boss and wondered how he could remain so calm.  His boss glanced over at him and smiled.  “So what are you thinking?”  he asked.  Richard replied as calmly as he could said, “How do you stay so calm in all this crazy traffic?  It’s like you have the iron will of Superman!.”  His boss loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar.  Richard could see that he was wearing armor under his clothes.  “I put it on every morning and you should too.”  The boss pushed a few buttons and the following passage appeared on a screen in front of Richard:

Ephesians 6:11-18

 ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

The alarm clock buzzed annoyingly.  Jane opened her eyes and noticed the morning devotional book her mom had given her for Christmas the year before laying on her nightstand.   She closed her eyes and snuggled a little further under the covers.  She thought about what to do first.  Then her mind wandered to all the things that needed to be done that day at work.  Work.  That made her think about the cute guy who worked on the floor above her.  She finally brought her thoughts back to reality.  She should get up and read her morning devotional and pray.  She looked at the clock.  Uh oh.  She had daydreamed too long for that.  Now she needed to hurry to get to work on time.  She jumped out of bed and headed to the shower.  After dressing she grabbed her jacket, purse, and keys.  She glanced at the new blender her mom had gotten her for her birthday a few months ago.  She should make a fruit smoothie, but she didn’t have time.  She would grab a donut and coffee in the work break room instead.

Lunch time arrived and she wasn’t quite finished with her report.  Should she run next door and grab a quick salad or maybe she would just finish that bag of M&M’s in her drawer.  They did have peanuts after all, that made it almost like a trail mix.  She opened her drawer for the M&M’s and found a can of Redbull as well.  She smiled, even better.  Jane put the finishing touches on the report just in time to turn it in to the boss.  Jane felt the sugar and caffeine energy surge through her.  She buzzed through the afternoon then hopped into her little red car and headed home.  Jane groaned when she saw the traffic jam ahead of her.  She inched slowly along finally passing the accident that had caused the slow down.  By the time she pulled into her drive way she was absolutely famished.   She looked at the clock.  Her favorite Tuesday night show would start in five minutes.  She unlocked the front door, ran to the bedroom, threw on her pj’s and raced back to the kitchen.  She opened the cupboard door, grabbed some Ruffles and a jar of cheese dip.   She dropped into her chair, picked up the remote and clicked. 

She finished her favorite show, then moved into multi tasking.  She picked up her laptop and cell phone then randomly clicked  through various channels watching a little of this and that while catching up with Facebook and doing a little texting.   She yawned and took a look at the time.  12:02AM?!  Where had the time gone?  She padded her slippered feet to the bedroom and crawled under the covers.  She noticed her devotional book lying on her night stand.  She should read something, but she was too tired.  Oh well, she would say a quick prayer anyway.  She started, Dear God……that was it, she fell asleep.

And in the morning, a great while before day, He rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed.  Mark 1:35

I recently read the following story in the book, “The Good and Beautiful Life”, by James Bryan Smith.

“In the early 1990’s, gang violence erupted in Boyle Heights, a section of East Los Angeles.  Eight gangs were in conflict in the parish around the Dolores Mission Catholic Church.  Killings and injuries happened daily.  A group of women who met for prayer read together the story of Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33).  Then one of the mothers, electrified by the text, began to identify the parallels between the Jesus story and her own. 

The gang warfare in Boyle Heights was the storm on the sea of Galilee; the people hiding behind the locked doors were the disciples huddled in the storm; the crackle of gunfire was the lightning; in both cases death was imminent.  Then Jesus appeared and they hoped for a magical rescue.  Instead, he said, “Get out of the boat.”  “Walk on the water.”  “Enter the violence.”…..

That night, seventy women began a peregrinacion, a procession from one barrio to another.  They brought food, guitars and love.  As they ate chips and salsa and drank Cokes with gang members, they began to sing the old songs of Jalisco, Chiapas, and Michoacan.  The gang members were disoriented, baffled; the war zones were silent. 

Each night the mothers walked.  By nonviolently intruding and intervening they “broke the rules of war.”  The old script of retaliation and escalating violence was challenged and changed.  It is no accident that the women christened their nighttime journeys “love walks.”

As the relationships between the women and the gang members grew, the kids told their stories  Anguish over lack of jobs; anger at police brutality; rage over the hopelessness of poverty.  Together they developed a tortilla factory, a bakery, a child-care center, a job-training program, a class on conflict resolution techniques, a school for further learning, a neighborhood group to monitor and report police misbehavior, and more.

And it began with the challenges  “Get out of the boat” and “Walk on water.”