Doing the right thing isn't about being right all the time. If that makes any sense. Because I've found that it is more important to be KIND than to be "right." Its more important to maintain relationships than to win arguments. It's more important to have the right word than the last word. More important to lift people up than to slam them down. Nobody has ever made themselves look good by making someone else look bad. That's the wrong way to go about it. Look at what Jesus said in Luke 14:8-10 (NLT), "When you are invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, 'Give this person your seat.' Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, 'Friend, we have a better place for you!' Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests." When you try to exalt yourself--or toot your own horn to put it in some more modern lingo--you end up worse off than you were. But if you just go about your business... do what you do because its in your heart to do it... people will notice. Maybe not everybody, but the right people WILL notice. And I believe in quality over quantity. One person truly having your back is better than having a ton of "friends" who abandon you when you're no longer giving THEM what they need. Relationships have to be a two way street. If its one person giving and giving and giving and never getting anything... they'll run out of gas. And I'm not saying you can run out of love, because you can't, because you're connected to the unlimited source of love--the God who IS love who lives inside you--but I'm saying when you bang your head against the wall, all you usually come away with is a headache. So love everybody. Give people everything you've got and everything you are. But know when to say when. Once you've given it your all, its either enough... or its not. And either way you've done what you can do. If you give something (or someone) everything you have and everything you are... you've done the right thing. Whether it works out or not. Whether it works out the way you want it to or not. And if you can't give it everything you've got... you probably shouldn't be messing around with it in the first place. I always tell me kid, "If you do your best, I'll be proud of you." And if you're not gonna do your best, you might not even want to bother with it. I believe its better to have nothing than the wrong thing. I think settling is one of the worst things we can do. Because there's so much more available to us than we could ask or even think. God has given us everything we would ever need. Simply because He loves us and wanted us to have it. And we experience it... by giving it away. By sharing it. Sharing that gift. Sharing that love. Sharing what we've got. Sharing who we are. That's the right thing to do. That's the right way to live. Not being right by proving someone else wrong, but by giving what we've got without making a big deal about it. I think I want to hit this phrase tomorrow, but I'll use it to end tonight's Rant: When someone blesses you, never forget it, when you bless someone never remember it!"

When its right, its right. And you know it, beyond a shadow of a doubt. You don't have to force right. In fact, you can't. The harder you try to make something that ISN'T right... right... the more frustrated you get. Because you can't earn a gift. No matter how hard you try. And the love, and acceptance, and mercy, and grace of God is the GIFT of God. That's what eternal life is--knowing the one true God and the One whom He sent. Knowing God as loving heavenly Father and knowing ourselves as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's the right standing that came about through, and because of, the cross. Because first of all, in the beginning, we were made in God's image. And then, on the cross, we were conformed to the image of His Son. We could finally stop trying to be someone we weren't. We could finally stop looking for love in all the wrong places. And we could know (and believe) that we are who we're supposed to be. We could finally find love in the God who IS love. Right at the source. Right inside of us. God is everywhere, right? But He LIVES in--He dwells in, He operates from--our hearts. When the Bible describes Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father--the power seat--that's the heart. God is all powerful (which doesn't mean MOST powerful, but ALL of the power) and God is love. So LOVE is all powerful. And love doesn't come from without. Love comes from within. God is love. As He is, so are we in this world. We ARE love. We CAN love because we ARE loved. And because we ARE loved, we can understand our true nature; which IS love. Loving is the most natural thing in the world--when you know who you really are. When you're not trying to be someone you're not in order to get something you think you haven't got. And love is the rightest (is that a word? Most right?) thing in the world. If you want to be in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing... love people. Wherever you are. Whenever it is. Love is the right thing. Always. But love is giving. So you can't be focused on getting. Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and everything else will be added to you. HAS BEEN added to you. So when you stop trying to get, you can see what you've already got. When you stop trying to be who you're not, you can be who you are. And God created you to be who you are. He created you to be... you. And to do everything you do the right way. Not because you're trying really hard to do it right--works and labor don't work--but because you know that you can only do it right by letting Him do it. In you. And through you. And as you. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. When we can't... He can, and will, and does! Love is too big to keep inside. But its all too big to do by ourselves. I mean, in order to love, we need something (or someone) TO love. It takes two to tango. But we can't do it without the God who IS love. Without Him loving us we don't have any love to give. We love because He first loved us. We give what He gave us. We receive it and release it. We give it away. We share it. And in that way, we experience it. That's the right way to do it. That's the right--the only--way to live. Life is empty without love. Without people. Without relationships. But when its right... its right!

The right thing is rarely the easy thing. But it CAN be easy (easier) when you stop trying to do it all on your own. When you let Jesus take the wheel, if I can coin that phrase. And watch this: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14). Now, real quick, in my way of thinking we are all the Son(s) of God. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). So this is talking about us BEING who we ARE. Those led by the Spirit will be IDENTIFIED as the Son(s) of God. Because the Spirit only leads us to one place--love. The Spirit only guides and directs us to DO one thing--love! The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He leads us into all truth. The truth that God is love and He loves you. The truth that you can love... because you are loved! And love is ALWAYS the right thing to do. Which means its not always the easies thing to do. The people who are hardest to love are the people who need love the most. Because they aren't getting any. Because they're hard to love. Now, as always, I'm NOT saying you should put, or keep, yourself in a bad situation. I'm not saying you should let people abuse you. Turning the other cheek is one thing, but I think walking away can go hand in hand with it. Don't retaliate, but don't just stand there and take it, either. Sometimes you have to love from a distance. And when you understand that love is giving--not getting--you can love people without expecting anything from them. You can let the love inside come out simply by filling yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. We ARE the Son(s) of God. Letting the Spirit lead us is how we BE who we are. And look at Romans 8:14 in the Message Bible, "God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!" Because rest is NOT inactivity. Rest is Holy Spirit directed activity. Rest is loving people from the place of God loving us. Letting HIS love fill us to overflowing. Learning how to love by learning how we are loved. Receiving and releasing that love. Letting it flow through us. When you can let love flow through you, without worrying about who its directed at... that's when its right. Because love has nothing to do with what people do. You can't "deserve" or "earn" love. Love is about who people are. The Son(s) of God loved by our heavenly Father. A father doesn't love his children because of what they do. He loves them because of who they are, and because of who He is. And that's what it means to be right with God--stop trying to earn His love and just know and believe that He loves you! Because, like we saw in the last Rant series, you don't have to keep cleansing yourself. He did that. You don't have to keep "getting" love. He gave you that. Because He wanted you to have it. Because He wanted you to share it.That's the right way to live; from inside out. Letting the love inside COME out by knowing and believing that its in there. By doing the right thing. Even when its hard. Loving people. No matter what.

The message I have for this Rant series it pretty simple: The right thing isn't always the easy thing, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. In fact, what that means is... you SHOULD do it. If it was easy, everybody would do it. And for a memory verse I have Romans 4:5 in the Message Bible, "But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it--you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked--well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift." And, listen, let's make something clear: I'm not talking about "Get right or get left." I'm not talking about "shape up or ship out." I'm not talking about a supposed God who would supposedly punish His children forever in eternal, conscious torment. I'm talking about how wonderful it is when all is right in the world. When you're right exactly where you're supposed to be, doing right exactly what you're supposed to be doing. That's how I feel, most of all, when I'm writing. I'm a pretty quiet guy. Most of my words come out of my fingers. That's what's right... for me. And I know we're all different. I'm not saying you should be like me. I'm saying you should be like YOU. The real you. I read somewhere that the two most important days in a person's life are the day they're born, and the day they find out why they were born. And I'm here to tell you... its too big for you. Your EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) destiny is much too big for you to accomplish... on your own. That, of course, is where God comes in. Look at 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." I like the idea of not getting too big for your britches. But I like the idea of God's strength being made perfect in my weakness even more. When I can't (and most of the time... I can't), God will. A preacher said it like this: When you work God will rest, but when you rest God will work. That's what trusting in God IS; its resting in His arms. Letting Him carry you when you can't walk anymore. Not trying to walk in Jesus' foot steps, but letting Jesus make His own foot steps in your feet. "Trusting Him to do it." That's such an important phrase. Such an important concept. Because that is the RIGHT way to do it. Don't try to do it yourself. You can't. And, even better, you're not supposed to. If you could do it yourself, where would God fit into the equation? Especially when its what He wants you to do. If He wants you to do it, then its perfectly good and right to put it on HIS broad shoulders to do it. He can. He will. He does. And then its all good. Then its right.

Well, I had to get here eventually, right? I think its ok to end on this note. We'll see. 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Kind of a big part of where the whole idea of "confession" came from, from what I understand. That continual, "I messed up, I better go confess it," hamster wheel. And I'm not even going to get into who John was writing to and all that. I'm more focused on the idea of confession. And the truth that we should NEVER confess to being a sinner. Even the idea of, "I'm just a sinner saved by grace." Well, if you've been saved by grace, you're not a sinner anymore! You're something else. You're a saint. A new creature in Christ. A new man. THE New Man. Different parts of His many membered body. And He is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. YOU are light. In YOU is no darkness at all. So let's look at the next verse, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a lair, and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:10). I don't think this is talking about admitting to everything you've ever done. I think God already knows. And I think God is more interested in the heart, in any case. I think this is about acknowledging our need for a Savior--even though He has already saved us. Acknowledging the change that took place on the cross. From old to new. From death to life. From sinner... to saint. And, while we're here, that's what I think Romans 5:20 is about: "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin aboudned, grace did much more abound." Sin abounded... before the cross. Culminating AT the cross. Which is where grace did much more abound. Grace defeated sin. Jesus fought, and won, the war to end all wars. Which means there are no more wars. Only the good fight of faith. Laying hold of eternal life. Receving the gift we've been given... by giving it away. Cleansing ourselves (and others) by accepting the truth that we've BEEN cleansed. We don't have to do anything to get God to forgive us. He did that on the cross. "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." We were stumbling around in the dark, doing the best we could with what we had. But we didn't know we had anything. Not until the light shined. The light that He is. The light that WE are. Shining to show us who we REALLY are. Clean. Whole. Holy. Loved. Forgiven. Graceful--full of grace. Merciful--full of mercy. What we have been given... we can give. But if you think you don't need anything--I'm not a sinner, I don't need a Savior--then you'll miss out on what's available to you. You'll rob yourself of the gift you've been given. So don't confess that. Don't confess the lie. Don't confess how things used to be before Jesus finished the work. Confess the truth. Confess how things are now. Because of the cross. Because of the Finished Work. Confess love. Confess life. Jesus washed us with the Word--which is Jesus, which is love. That's our confession!

I once knew a guy who claimed (jokingly) that he took a bath every Saturday... whether he needed it or not. And it seems like that's how we look at cleansing ourselves. We go up to an altar call... whether we need it or not. We go through these rituals... whethere we need to or not. Or, on the other hand, we think we constantly need to be cleansed--like "confession" in the Catholic faith. But let me answer the question, "what about my future sins? Don't I need to take care of those too?" like this: When Jesus died on the cross and took away the sin of the world ALL of your sins were in your future. And let me add this, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9). The sin issue is really a dead issue. Its been taken care of. Handled. But for today let me share a story from John chapter 13. Jesus was fixing to wash His disciples' feet. Then this happened, "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all" (John 13:8-10). The one not clean, of course, was the traitor Judas. But what I want to pick out of there is that he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet. Once you're clean, you're clean. And the foot washing, I believe, refers to Psalm 119:101, "I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word." Walking in newness of life, and not getting your feet dirty. And I'm not saying you should use your feet to necessarily avoid people--sometimes you should, absolutely--I'm saying that you can walk on water and not drown... if you keep your eyes on the Lord. If you're walking on the Word of the Lord (which, as always, Is Jesus... love). If you're walking by faith and not by sight. If you know that all things are under your feet... because you see Jesus, and you see all things under HIS feet. I think, even more than cleaning the disciples' feet, Jesus was imparting something to them. He was empowering them to walk and not be weary. If you're clean, you're clean. That doesn't go away. Those born of God CANNOT sin, so why are we so fixated on sin? We should be focused on life. Not on following in Jesus' foot steps, but in letting HIM make His own foot steps in OUR feet. Jesus hung out with sinners, right? He didn't care where His feet went, because His feet were Holy. And whever His holiness went... well... let me say it this way: When the light shines, darkness flees. When holiness shows up, nothing else can stand. When God arises, His enemies (the lie that says you have to do in order to be, which is also unbelief, which is sin) scatter. So stop trying to recleanse yourself. Trust the cross. Trust the finished work. Keep your feet clean, in a sense, by keeping His Word. The Word, one more time, that is love. If you're walking in love, it doesn't matter where you end up. You'll be right where you need to be!

Man, there were a lot of cleansing rituals in the Old Testament. The Old Covenant. And it was all about US putting the work in. Unfortunately, we still think that's what needs to happen--we think WE need to put the work in. Here's the thing though: We've already been cleansed by the Word that was spoken. The Word that is Jesus. The Word that is love. Love is what made us clean, and washed away ever spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. When you look at someone with love you don't see what's "wrong" with them. You see what's RIGHT with them. You see them clearly. You see them as God sees them. Because God IS love. So when I say, "When God looks at Jesus He sees us, and when God looks at us He sees Jesus," I'm also saying, "When we look at each other we ought to see Jesus." He is our true identity. But here's where I want to get to tonight: "But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 11:9). And, yes, this story was about food. But it was really about people. Not so much what they were eating, but who they were eating with. Because even then Jews wouldn't eat with Gentiles, right? And some people wanted some other people to jump through hoops in order to "be cleansed." Be it through circumsicion, or what. Point being: Since God has called us cleansed... we ought not call ourselves, or each other, common. We ought to just accept the truth. And act accordingly. Stop trying to get people to change. Let people be who they are, and love them anyway. And watch love show them who they REALLY are. You can't be who you really are until you see who you really are. And telling people what's wrong with them is the opposite of that. Showing people love is the only way to show people that they are loved. Not making them try to earn it. You can't earn love. Love is freely given and must be received (and released). But if you think you're a dirty sinner, what chance do you have of being anything else? You are what you eat. If you swallow that lie... that's what you're going to experience. But if you stop trying to "clean up your act" and begin to know and believe and understand that God has already cleaned up your act (by dying both for you and as you on the cross and then rising again so that you can walk in newness of life... so that you can experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love by letting HIM live His own life in you, and through you, and as you). You are clean because of the Word. Because of the love. So don't call it any other way. And don't let anyone else call it any other way. When you know the truth you can simply ignore the lie. When you know you've been cleansed, you don't have to go around trying to cleanse yourself. Or anybody else. You can be who you are--who you really are--and you can let the people in your life be who THEY really are. Don't go through the motions. Don't try to do it yourself. It is finished. Let what's true about you BE true about you. And then give what you've got to others. Don't call yourself, or anyone else, common. Know that you've been cleansed... and BE who you are!

We have been cleansed by the Word that Jesus spoke. The Word that Jesus is. Love. Love is what washed away all that junk that had piled up on the surface. Love is what reveals what is deep inside. The hidden man of the heart... no longer hidden when we let what's inside come out. And, in that way, we can cleanse others, and, in a sense, cleanse ourselves. Let me quote some Scripture and then I'll try to make what I'm saying plain. "If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven" (John 20:23 NLT). Sounds like we have a lot of power, right? We can forgive people, or stop people from being forgiven. Well, the truth of the matter is... we--as a species--have been forgiven. That's a done deal. When Jesus cried out on the cross for His Father to forgive them (us) for they (we) know not what we do... I believe God heard, and answered, that prayer. But let me add a verse to the one we just read: "For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT). See... God did what He did. He forgave us. Took away the sin of the world. We ran from Him because we thought He was angry, but He reconciled us back to Himself. And gave us this Word of reconciliation. Not, "Come back to God... or else," as so much of the religious world has taught, and would have you believe. But, "God brought you back to Himself! We can enjoy the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God that He has already given us... by letting Him live His own life in us, and through us, and as us!" That's the gospel. The good news. That's the message we ought to be preaching. Not... "Maybe I'll forgive you and maybe I won't." But, "You are forgiven!" When we tell people that they are forgiven, it makes God's forgiveness real to them. And when we don't tell them, we're kind of holding them back from experiencing it. Because the truth HAS set us free and made us free. But if we don't know the truth we can't LIVE free. So this idea of "cleansing" ourselves has nothing to do with us making ourselves--or each other--clean. It has to do with knowing and believing that Jesus has made us clean. And making each other clean simply by sharing this glorious revelation. Not, "You aren't good enough, but if you do this, this, and this someday you might be." But, "You're exactly who you need to be and God loves you just the way you are. He MADE you just the way you are! Now let Him show you just the way you REALLY are! You... but loved. You... being you... with love, through love, in love, because of love!" There's no cleaner feeling than when your heart and mind is clear. When you lay aside the sin (unbelief) and the weight that so easily besetts you. When you let go of the things that are holding you back. When you let go and let God. Stop trying to clean up your act, and understand what it means that God already cleaned it up! He did what you couldn't do because He wanted you to know how much He loves you. He gave you the Word that cleansed you, and now you can use that Word to cleanse others... by letting them know they've been cleansed. You can share the good news and in that way equip and empower others to experience it! You can share the gift you've been given and in that we can all experience and enjoy it!

This is tricky, but sometimes I try to tackle tricky subjects just because they ARE tricky. And because I tend to see things differently than most people do. So I try to provide a different perspective. As always, I'm not trying to say "I'm right, and you're wrong." I'm just trying to saw this is how I see it. This is what I think. As always, I don't write because I have it all figured out. I write in order to figure it out. So let's get some Scripture and I'll try to wander around and make my point. "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). And on the surface it seems pretty simple, right? We're dirty, and we need to cleanse ourselves. We're not good enough, but if we try really really hard we can become good enough. The old saying, "God loves you just the way you are... but He loves you too much to leave you that way." Friends... I just don't see it that way. The way I see it is, "God loves you just the way you are." Period. And I will admit that He loves you SO much that He wants you to know the way you REALLY are. He wants to reveal your true self to you by revealing HIS true self to you. By revealing His LOVE to you. And in you, and through you, and as you. He's not waiting for you to cleanse yourself. Watch this: "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me" (John 15:3). Now, I know Jesus was literally talking to His literal disciples over 2,000 years ago. But I believe He was speaking to all of humanity. He did what He did for all of us. When He was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew ALL men into Himself. Point being--you ARE clean. That happened. And you didn't really have anything at all to do with it. You ARE clean because of the WORD that was spoken. The Word that said, "Let there be light." The Word that is Jesus. The Word that is love. Love is what cleansed us. And, as we learn what it means to love--by learning what it means to BE loved--THAT'S how we, in a sense, cleanse ourselves. We don't have to do anything except receive the truth about what has already happened. We don't have to somehow "get" better, as if we're not good enough. If we're starting out at "not good enough" how are we supposed to, in our own "not good enough" power, get better? I don't think we can. But the good news (the Gospel) is that we were created in the image and likeness of God. In the image and likeness of LOVE. So we don't need to "get better." All we need to do is learn what it means to be good enough already. Accepting that you've been cleansed... is how you cleanse yourself. Not focusing on the bad, even in the sense of focusing on it in order to get rid of it, but focusing on the GOD. And notice, I didn't say "good." I said, "God." Focusing on the love is the only way to let the love that's inside come out. Knowing that you've been cleansed is the only way to be clean. Clean living, right? A life of being loved by God and loving Him back by loving others with that same love. Receiving and releasing the cleansing, living, Word of love!

Glory isn't earned. It is given. God was given glory in the highest when He gave us His only begotten Son. Glory is a response to something glorious happen. And I hope I'm doing an ok job of making the distinction between trying to earn it, and getting it because of who you are. Because trying to earn glory is works and labor, and that never works. But giving what you've got will illicit a response. The Way of Grace is God reaching out, and the Walk of Faith is our response to it. Let me quote Philippians 1:9-11 to try to make my point, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus, unto the glory and praise of God." So, as always, its all about love. Being filled with the fruit. The fruit of the Spirit. Which IS love. That's what grows on the Tree of Life. That's what we eat--which is so important when you understand that you are what you eat--and that's what we have to share with others who are hungry. Which, by the way, is everybody. So the more you know, the more you grow. The more you know how you are loved... the more you can love. That's what being a disciple of Christ is: A student of learn. Learning how to love by learning how God loves us. Letting what's inside come out simply by knowing and believing that its in there. And let me touch on "approving things that are excellent" for a minute. Because I've said for a long time, "You don't have to believe everything you think." You can, in fact, bring your thoughts under captivity. You can SET your affection on things above, instead of things on the earth. When you know the truth you can just straight up ignore the lie. And when you know the truth, you can be truthful. Sincere. Without offence. You can enjoy the gift you've been given, and in that way give glory to God. Not trying to get anything, or earn anything, but being grateful for what you have. SHARING what you have. Being generous. Seeing a need that you can meet... and meeting it. Giving what you've got. Giving who you are. That's glorious. That's what gives glory to God. Not being the "typical" (hypocritical) "Christian." Not judging people for doing what you're doing. Not making others look smaller so you can look bigger. But esteeming others higher than yourself. Edifying people. Making people feel GOOD about themselves. Not pointing out what's WRONG with people, but pointing out what's RIGHT with people! Even when we make mistakes--especially when we make mistakes--its important to know that our mistakes, our actions, don't define us. Our God defines us. Our LOVE defines us. Another song lyric, "You are what you love, not who loves you." Which is to say it matters what comes out, not what tries to get in. Because it IS who loves us, if you're talking about the God who IS love. But its not whether or not PEOPLE love you. In my experience, that kind of "love" comes and goes. But God's never ending love is glorious. And because He has given it to us, we can be glorious. We can love, because we are loved!