“…on the other side of the Jordan” Joshua 22:4

It was a strange feeling sitting on the deck of the house we rented knowing that the time to do so would soon be past. Perhaps it was no different from, or was at least similar to, the last days on vacation, the last port of call on a cruise, or the close of a Venture. One has to disembark sometime. One has to keep momentum.

Following the Father with Jesus means keeping moving. As I sat on the deck three short weeks ago and listened to the neighbors and their kids enjoying their new home, something said in my head, “You were a fool to let go of your home.” Whether this is true or not from a real estate perspective, from a kingdom perspective it is a lie. The kingdom of God sometimes requires that we sell all, pull up our stakes, and move. Only later do we receive our godly inheritance in our land, the right land, the land on the other side of the Jordan. Settling is not virtuous in and of itself, and neither is moving for the sake of moving. The question is not whether I want to settle and be established and take dominion over a land and a sphere and a giant, for that matter. The question is, “Will I press forward to the right side of my Jordan?” A nice house in the wrong city is the wrong house. A fine house on the wrong side of the Jordan is a destiny stealer. Are you determined to walk in your destiny?

The paradox of the kingdom is that we must be both pilgrim and planted, both local and translocal… what some call “glocal.” But we must not let God’s permission for us to be local allow us to become spectators in the taking of the Promised Land. Each of us has a part to play. Participation is, in fact, mandatory from God’s perspective. The Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh decided to stay on the wrong side of the Jordan, but first they had to fight with the other tribes for five or so years before they went “home.” They had arrived, but they could not settle until the job was done. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. In that sense, we have arrived! But God’s job on earth is not done. Don’t settle on the other side.

Who is your rewarder?

“He is the rewarder” Hebrews 11:6

This week as I went for a walk this phrase came to mind and I meditated on it. We live too much of life thinking that someone other than God is our rewarder. A coach, a child, a peer group, a fund manager, a landlord, a teacher, a boss, or a company. Who is your rewarder? Who dangles the carrots that drive your donkey forward? You may be an independent sort that says, “I make my own goals; no one tells me what to do.” Good—but when you do what you do, whose eye is upon you? Is it the approving eye of man, or the singular eye of your true Rewarder?

Imagine a week in your life lived fully cognizant of the truth that God is the only rewarder that matters. No stuffing in of meetings that don’t matter, except that Thus-and-so will be there. No time spent on activities that posture but do not produce. No browsing through magazines or websites or TV channels to gain a temporary reward.

In some ways God rewards everyone. We will all be judged for our works. But he positively rewards those “who diligently seek him.” Each of us has things that get in the way of us seeking out, not answers or things from God, but God himself. We live in a temporal, physical world. Other people, projects, tasks, things… these can help us look to the Rewarder, but often just distract us. If you are truly after God, your cell phone or PDA is a more likely distraction than some grievous sin you would rather others didn’t know about.

Lack of faith can be the ultimate source of distraction. Let’s face it; our activity can easily be “just in case God doesn’t come through” busyness.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

Reflections

• Are you doing things because you trust God, or as a contingency in case he doesn’t come through?
• When you reflect on the motivation for your activity, which rewarder(s) drive your doing?

“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God…
 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me…”  Psalm 139: 17, 23-24

What was God thinking when he made you? What was on his mind when he put your unique blend of talents, quirks and toenails together? When he decided how tall you would be… what was his plan? “My frame was not hidden from you when I was hidden in the secret place.” How about the color combination of your hair, eyes, personality and skin? Was he planning how this could specially reflect who he is? And your gifts, your skills, your passions, your dreams… where did those come from? Why?

Have you thought about these things? Have you asked God, “What were you thinking?” when you made me? And now that I have lived a while, what are you thinking today concerning me? David says in verse 16, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!” David knew God thought a lot about him, and he appreciated it.

Now the question is, “What are you thinking about?” The fact is that we spend too much time thinking about what other people think about us, particularly if we work in the corporate world. “What does my boss think? What would my coworkers think? How does my customer see me? I wonder what my competitor is thinking? What would my friends think about this? Do they think I am cool/smart/successful/wealthy/powerful/together/ whatever? If I did this, would they think better of me?” David says, “Test me and know my anxious thoughts.” This word sar`aph is used twice in the Old Testament, the other in Psalm 94:19: “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.”

If you are like me, every now and then you have anxious or disquieting thoughts. I have two choices when this happens: think my own thoughts, or think about what God is thinking about. If I spiral into my own thinking I offend God. If I think about what he is thinking about then I please him. “See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” We cannot overestimate the trouble that Christians (who should know better) get into because we think about the wrong things.

What were you thinking?

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced… Psalm 105:4-5

He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. They performed his miraculous signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. Psalm 105:26-27

Moses and Aaron learned very quickly in their new partnership that they were always God’s signs and wonders, but sometimes they had to get involved in performing them. Hollywood has given us a “fairy godmother” mindset that has us wishing for random acts of kindness rather than collaborating with God. The kingdom way is to see where things on earth are not as they are in heaven, and then take action. Moses and Aaron saw a people freed in heaven, but still slaves on earth. Then they spoke the words God gave them, and God did signs and wonders. Frogs, flies, a river of blood… God did all of these.

But there were other signs and wonders that required that Moses take a first step, such as throwing down his rod, or lifting up his rod. Alright, it doesn’t seem that hard looking back, but he had a role to play. When God first called Moses out of retirement he looked at his business tools—his shepherd’s staff—and asked him, “What do you have in your hand?” and then told him to throw it to the ground. The signs and wonders began when Moses laid down his business tools, and God imbued them with the supernatural. Again and again God had Moses use his repurposed assets in a greater context.

What about you? By now you have seen God do the miraculous in business, probably your own business. Have you reduced this to a one-off occurrence, or have you stepped into a new level of partnership with God? Have you gone from God occasionally doing something beyond the natural to him showing you what needs to be done, and you performing his miraculous signs?

Imagine what can happen when we yield the little we have and God takes us and our business to a whole new level by daily performing signs and wonders by using what is in our hands.

“and the sin that so easily entangles” Hebrews 12:1

It is very easy to get entangled in sin. Anyone who is honest with themselves regarding the ongoing strength of “the old man” knows that the dark side of human nature does not die willingly, or easily, gaining strength from the slightest pampering or feeding. Romans 7:21-23 says it this way: “It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.”  Hebrews 12 is like Romans 7 in that, in the midst of great discussions of faith and victory, it contains a warning, and gives ten practical things we can do to reduce sin-entanglements. Go to Hebrews 12 and mark them in your own Bible.
1. Throw off everything that hinders. “Strip down, start running…”
2. Run with perseverance the road marked out for us. “- and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.”
3. Fix our eyes on Jesus.
4. Think deliberately about the opposition he faced so that you don’t get discouraged by your opposition.
5. Resist. Resist the devil, and resist your old nature—give it the same nurture as you would a corpse.
6. Don’t make light of God’s discipline. Expect discipline, and don’t get bitter about it. “Hurt” will come; how will you respond?
7. Endure hardship—it is part of what keeps us on the straight and narrow.
8. Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Arms and knees is where we “do faith” after we have “thought faith.” Thinking without doing is relatively harmless.
9. Make level paths for your feet. Some paths look enticing, but you know they are not level. Often we choose a bad path then blame God for how tough it is to run the race.
10. Make every effort to live at peace with all men. It is not all about us—we share the race track with others. Keep your elbows out of their sides as you run. Share the lead, utilize their slipstream, encourage each other, help each other up if you stumble. Our goal is not to beat the person next to us, but to attain Christ. Remember, “keep your eyes on Jesus” and off the person or church or ministry that you perceive as competition.

Close your eyes: can you list all 10? The reality is, it takes his grace and power to do any and all of them. He is the author and finisher of our salvation. Call on him for grace today.

“Strip down, start running - and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Message)