You've probably heard of the "Three T's." Time, Talent, Treasure. Well God has laid on my heart the Three P's. Perception, Perspective, Priority. And I really think if we understand these Three P's, it will help us in how we deal with... everything. Because I've heard it said that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you deal with it. We can't stop things from happening. But like I always tell Logan, "Feel what you feel... but don't let your emotions control you." Things are going to happen. Life happens every second of every day. And a lot of times there's nothing we can do about it. We can bang our heads against the wall trying to change things, but all that accomplishes is giving us a headache. If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired... something's got to give. If you want something different you have to DO something different (unless you're building something. In which case, keep up the good work). And that's where the Three P's come in. Perception: What you see. Perspective: How you see it. Priority: What you do with it. If we can line these three things up correctly, I believe it will not only simplify things but it will help us to enjoy the righteousness, peace, and joy that is found in the Holy Spirit that is the Kingdom of God! And listen, I'm not trying to write a self-help rant. I'm writing a Jesus Rant. I'm not trying to help you follow a system to be happier. I'm telling you that these Three P's ARE Jesus. To me, this is a practical way that we can LET the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. By, as I said, lining up our Perception, our Perspective, and our Priority. It's like confession. Confession means, "to say the same thing as," or to agree with. We can't just confess any old thing we want and expect it to be true. I can confess that I'm a millionaire all day long but my bank account knows the facts of the matter. True confession comes from hearing what Daddy says about me (and about you) and then saying the same thing. Confessing JESUS. Confessing LOVE. I AM loved, and because of that I CAN love. That's true confession. That's worshipping in Spirit and in Truth. Knowing the TRUTH is what sets us free and makes us free. So. When I say we need to line our Three P's up, that's what I mean. We need to line them up with what is True. Perception--what we see. We need to begin to see Jesus everywhere we look. Especially in the mirror. Because if I can see Him in ME then I can see Him in you. Perspective--how we see it. We need to begin to see that everything is part of God's plan. That all things work together for good. We need to STOP judging things as good and evil--judging by appearance--and start judging righteous judgment. And Priority: What we do with it. We need to start (what's that old phrase?) majoring on the majors and minoring on the minors. There are some things that don't deserve your Three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure). When we see things correctly (what it is and what it means), we can deal with it correctly. We can lay aside the weight and the sin (unbelief) that so easily besets us. We can stop making mountains out of molehills. And on the flip side we can put our energy into things that DO matter. Like loving people. I've said many times that the only two important things in the universe are God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. And this is that!

If I don't accept you, I can't embrace you. If I don't understand you, I can't accept you. And if I can't understand, or accept, or embrace you... I can't love you. Which is a problem because, according to 1 John 3:14, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." Love is the difference between life and death. And here's what we think: We think that if we don't love someone we're hurting THEM--and to a degree we are--but really, when we don't love others we're hurting OURSELVES. We were created to be loved, and to love with that same love. That's our purpose. That's our EPIC destiny. Our Eternal Purpose In Christ. That's why we're here. So if we aren't doing what we were created to do... we feel useless. Pointless. We feel like we're missing something. When the truth is, we aren't missing anything at all. We're missing out no sharing what we have. And that's why it feels like we don't have it. Things are real when you share them. Love is GIVING. If all you're ever trying to do is take, take, take... then you've completely missed the point of everything. Love cannot be earned. It is freely given and can only be received. So if we're waiting for someone to "fit into our box" before we're willing to accept them and love them... take my advice and don't hold your breath. There is nothing in this world more frustrating than trying to get someone else to be someone that they're not. It's impossible. Even if they WANT to be someone else... even if they're TRYING to be someone else (and those are two really big "ifs") they will still never be able to be someone else. I think that's why so many people are unhappy: They think they have to be someone else in order to be understood, and accepted, and loved. But they can't be someone else. So they feel misunderstood, and rejected, and hated. Isn't it time to show people a more excellent way? To show them the Father the same way Jesus showed people the Father? Not by condemning them, or judging them, or trying to make them change... but simply by extending grace, and mercy, and forgiveness and love! We're all in this together. We're all just trying to satisfy that apetite of love. And when we know where the source is--WHO the source is--we find that by delighting ourselves in Him we HAVE the desire of our heart. And we find that we have an abudance of it. We find that we have passed from death into life. A life of love--which is what "life" really is. We find that we can understand why people are doing what they're doing. They want love just like we did. And we find that we can accept them without trying to change them. We can celebrate them and embrace them. We don't have to agree 100% of the time. We don't have to enable. But we can help. We can lay our lives down. Because someone (Jesus) laid His life down for us. We can receive and release. We can understand. And because we understand we can accept. And when we accept... we love. We love one another as Jesus loves us. And in that way we partake of the Divine Nature. We live His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life by letting HIM live it in us, and through us, and as us!

People don't want to spend time with people who are constantly criticizing them, always condemning them, and trying to get them to change. That's the kind of thing that gets people to run FROM God instead of running TO Him. And that, in large part, is what the church has become. We seem to think it's our job to be "Kingdom Cops." To make sure people are acting like "good Christians." But guys... that's NOT our job. Our job, in a Word, is to love. Period. Exclamation point. Look at Romans 13:8, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." The perfect law of liberty. The New Commandment. Love one another as Jesus loves us. Listen, love is not something that needs to be--or CAN be--earned. Love is freely given. Love IS giving. And it can't be earned. It can only be received. And it can only be received through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of truth is our love receptor. It testifies of our true identity by testifying of Jesus! We are the righteousness OF God IN Christ! That's who we are in Him because that's who He is in us. This journey that is never-ending, eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life is not us "changing." It is Jesus revealing the change that took place on the cross. Jesus revealing our perfection by revealing His perfection in us, and through us, and as us. It isn't "becoming" something, but instead discovering what--LOVE--and who--JESUS--we really are. And I gotta tell you, it's hard to discover who and what you are if you're always trying to be someon else. If you're too busy hiding the "bad stuff." That's why James 5:16 tells us to, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." When we confess our faults to one another we (should be able to) find understanding. Because my faults and your faults are basically the same. We human beings are a lot more alike than we seem to realize. We go through the same things. Remember Hebrews 4:15, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin." Jesus has been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. And in a large sense we've all been there. When you're going through something it seems like nobody understands. But He does. And your neighbor--your brother--probably does to. That's where understanding comes in. I'm convinced that many times we go through something so that we can help others get through the same thing. So we can understand where they're coming from and where they're going. And if we can understand them, we can accept them. And if we can accept them we can love them. True love is laying your life down for your friends. But in order to consider someone your "friend" you have to do more than tolerate them. And you can't try to change them. You have to accept them. You have to understand them. And then you can love them. Then you can help them, without judging them. You can look down on them... but only to help them up. And you can realize that it's not that far from where they are to where you are. We're all in this together, so we ought to embrace each other and help each other. And love each other...!

Helping someone without demanding change from them... that can look a lot like enabling them. And that's where things can get really tricky. Especially when the person you're trying to help is involved in something "bad." Or, more specifically, something harmful. Let me keep using my example of alcohol. As I've said, I don't believe it's my job to get people to change. It's not "on me" to force someone to stop drinking. It's my job to do what I can do to help them. Giving someone who is drunk a ride home, rather than letting them drive for example. I think that's a true expression of love. And understanding. And acceptance. But if that same person wants me to TAKE them to the bar, or go to the bar with them... I think that's where I would draw the line. If that person wanted me to get them alcohol, I would probably refuse. Because there's a difference between laying your life down for your friends, and putting yourself in a bad situation. And I get it: Jesus put Himself in the worst situation possible. He LITERALLY laid His life down. But He did it so that He could pick it back up. He knew that death wasn't the final stop, but simply another step in the never-ending journey of abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. Without death there couldn't BE Resurrection Life. But I want to focus on what we do for each other today. How far we should go. And the "conventional wisdom" says, "Don't cross an ocean for someone who wouldn't hop a puddle for you." But that's not really love. That's more, "I'll scratch your back, but only if you scratch mine." That's you EXPECTING something. And in my experience, more often than not, when you expect something, you're only setting yourself up for disappointment. So what I say is: Cross the ocean. Not because you WANT something, but because you HAVE something! I'm absolutely convinced that the people who are the hardest to love are the people who need love the most. Because they aren't getting it. Because they're hard to love. (Makes sense, right?) But if WE--who know and believe the love of Christ, and are filled with His fulness--don't love them... who in the world will? Jesus said people will know His disciples because they have love for each other. Because they are different. Because, like Jesus, they are "friends of sinners." And the love that He loved us with--the love that we ought to love each other with--was laying His life down for His friends. So I say again--and this is a personal conviction type deal here--love no matter what. But draw a line where you're comfortable. You don't have to condone something in order to accept the person who is doing it. I don't have to drink just because I'm friends with people who do. But I don't have to try to get them to stop drinking either. If the Holy Spirit can't "change them" (by revealing the change that took place on the cross) what chance do I have? I guess I'm trying to say, "Love everybody, all the time. But don't put yourself in a bad situation either." Just do what you can do, where you're at, for those around you!

Accepting someone--because you truly understand them--means there is no desire to change them. "God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way" doesn't even make sense. Either He loves you just the way you are OR He can't leave you that way. But this, I think, is where the "grace movement" gets labeled as a "license to sin." Becasuse if we're not changing people... how are they going to stop doing all the "bad stuff" they're doing? You're saying, "Do whatever you want to do?" How does that lead to a holy life? And the simple answer is, "Telling someone they can do whatever they want DOESN'T lead to a holy lifestyle." But the Holy Spirit DOES lead and guide us into His holiness. I can tell you what to do and what not to do, but if I do that two things are probably going to happen. 1. You're going to do the opposite of what I say. What's the old saying? Gimme a rule, I'll break it. Gimme a line, I'll cross it. We seem to always rebel against what we're "supposed to do." So that's the first thing. And the 2. You'll probably stop listening to me altogether. I'll drive you away with my man-centered, performance-based religion. You won't want anything to do with it. You'll run FROM God instead of running TO Him. But here's what telling someone, "Do whatever you want" does: It takes the shakles off. It's lets people be who they really are in an atmosphere of grace, and love, and understanding, and acceptance. You don't have to hide who you really are or try to be someone you're not. You're ok. Just the way you are. And here's the secret: I don't believe people WANT to be "bad." I think people are just looking for love. Trying to fill that void that they feel inside them. They're searching for something. And what we do when we condemn them is we basically tell them that they aren't ever going to find what they're looking for. That they aren't worthy of it. That they need to change in order to get it. That they need to DO in order to BE. And that, my friends, is the same lie that Eve swallowed way back in the garden of Eden. I think if we stopped trying to change people and just got them in touch with God--by loving them! How else could God touch someone other than by us loving them?--then we would see the change we're looking for. I think people need a REASON to "change." Or rather, to experience the change that took place on the cross. Drinkers drink because they don't see a better option (broad, general statement, I know. But stick with me). They want to feel different, and don't know any other way. So what should we do? Demand that they stop drinking? Or show them a more excellent way? Make their drinking a wall between us? Or love them even when they're drunk? I thought I was going to get more into the difference between "helping" and "enabling" but I guess that'll keep until tomorrow. Today I just want to say: Love them anyway. Accept them for who they are!

I think the title of this Rant series is important. Because we're talking about "acceptance." But to me, acceptance is more than just tolerating something or someone. Acceptance--true acceptance that comes from true understanding--is an embrace. The same embrace, in fact, that Jesus wrapped us up in when His arms were open wide on the cross. When He was lifted up from the earth and He drew us all into Himself. And listen, I get that there's an aspect of tolerance in unconditional love. Otherwise it wouldn't be unconditional. I get that people are going to do things that you don't want them to do. But, as I think we saw in the last Rant series, that's where understanding comes in. Not judging what they do, but understanding WHY they did it. You can't love someone you don't accept, and you can't accept someone you don't understand. But when we begin to know and believe--to UNDERSTAND--the love of Christ that passes knowledge and understanding, that's when we can connect with literally anybody. That's when we can experience the connection of love. That's when we can live as different parts of the same body. See, an accepting embrace doesn't mean I agree with everything you do. It simply means I accept you. I'm not trying to change you. A big part of my ministry, right from the beginning, was an unwillingness to argue with people. If you're ok with what you believe... then I'm ok with it. You can--and will--believe whatever you want to. And, really, there's nothing I can do to change that. If you ask me what I believe, I'll tell you. But I won't argue with you about it. Because what I believe doesn't require you to believe it to. I can love you whether you agree with me or not. There's two sides to every story, right? And just because I may be on one side and you may be on the other doesn't mean I'm right and you're wrong. We spend a lot of time trying to be "right" when we ought to be spending that time loving each other. (And guess what: Loving each other is as right as you can be!) Acceptance means not trying to change someone. Being "ok" with them no matter what. But an accepting embrace is more than that. Deeper than that. There's a lot of things that people do that I don't like. But I can just shrug my shoulders and let it roll off me like water off a duck's back. I don't let it bother me. And that's one thing. And I think that's a good thing. Don't sweat the small stuff, right? But there's a more excellent way. Because even in the midst of someone doing something I don't like, I can still love them. I can still lay down my life for them. I don't have to PARTICIPATE in it--I don't think you should ever intentionally put yourself into a bad situation--but at the same time I don't have to condemn it either. Drinking, for example. I don't drink. But if somebody was drunk and called me for a ride... I can accept them as someone who drinks, and I can accept them as someone who needs help. And I always say, "I can't do everything, but what I can do I will do." So would I pick them up? I have, and probably will again. Will I try to get them to stop drinking? That's not my job. My job is to love people, not change people. To accept them and embrance them. To help them. But sometimes "help" looks a lot like "enabling" so we'll discuss that tomorrow.

To be understood, accepted, and loved, I think, is the most basic human desire. It is the desire of our hearts. And it can only be "gotten" or satisfied, by delighting ourselves in the Lord. Because He IS love. He created us. He knows every part of us. God told Jeremiah, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT). Nothing we do takes God by surprise. He understands us. He knows WHY we do what we do... before we even do it. And He has offered us a more excellent way. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:13 in the NLT, "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." This is so glorious to me. Because first of all, we know that we're not alone. God is with us, and we're with each other! You're not going through something that nobody else has ever gone through. This human existence, the human condition, is so universal, even while at the same time it's so individual. When we go through things we think we ARE the only ones who have ever had to deal with... whatever it is. But I'm convinced that one of the reasons we go through things is so that we can help others get through those same things. So we can dig a well, and help out the next person who comes by and thirsts. So we can say, "I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and I can help you do the same." So we can UNDERSTAND. It's kind of like saying, "Let him who is without sin throw the first stone." We need to realize that we're all in this together. We're all facing the same challenges. And we all want the same things--again: understanding, acceptance, and love. I believe people do what they do for one of two reasons: Either they don't know they're loved and they're trying to GET love, or they DO know and believe the love of Christ and they're sharing what they've got. Either way, the love of Christ controls us. And that makes things easy to understand, if we stop looking at the surface and dig a little deeper. If we hear the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) with the ear and understand it with the heart. If I can look at you and SEE you--if I can look IN you and see the inner man, the hidden man of the heart--then I can understand you. I can even understand the stuff you do that I don't like or don't agree with. And that's where true acceptance comes in. Not merely tolerating someone--"I love you because I have to love everybody, but I really don't like you so keep your distance"--but embracing someone. Affirming them. Celebrating them. And that's what our next Rant series is going to focus on; what it means to truly BE accepted, and what it means to truly accept someone. Embracing them BECAUSE of their faults and weaknesses, not in spite of them. Loving them unconditionally, as we are loved unconditionally. Accepting... and understanding... and loving!

You can't love something you don't accept. And you can't accept something you don't understand. If we can stop looking AT each other and look IN each other we can connect on that love level. The deep calls out to the deep. We are all one body. The body of Christ. We are, in a very real sense, all the same. Because we're all controlled by love. Either we don't know we have it and we're trying to get it, or we know (and believe) that we have it and we share it with everyone around us. No matter who they are or what they're doing. Because we're not judging, we're EXECUTING righteous judgment. We're not condemning, we're affirming. Look at 1 John 5:20, "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." To me, this is the definition of understanding. We have an unction from the Holy One and we know all things. We know the ultimate truth of the universe--that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. We know Daddy loves us. But there's a step that goes further than knowing. UNDERSTANDING. Knowing (head knowledge) vs understanding (heart knowledge). And here's the key: We don't NEED understanding. In the Old Testament we were told to get understanding with all our getting. In the New Testament the Son of God IS come and HATH given us an understanding. Everything we need... we have. The work is done. It is finished. And look at WHY we were given this understanding--so that we may KNOW him that is true. So that we may, "...know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that (we) might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). So that we might RECEIVE (and release) the truth that we know. The love that we have. The love that we ARE. Because the truth is, we're in Him. Just as He's in us. And that's what eternal life is. Not trying to live Jesus' life--nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus--but letting Him live His own life in and through and as us. Living in the context of the unconditional Father/Son relationship. Knowing the Father and the One whom He sent. Not living "for" God, as if He's our boss, and by definition telling us what to do or else, but living BY Him. Living by His love. Which is what living is. Life is for living. And to live is to love. To love is to live. He who doesn't love his brother abides in death. He who judges his brother, because he is only looking at the surface and doesn't understand what's going on inside, rejects his brother. Love isn't rejection. It's connection. It's acceptance. Not merely tolerating others but embracing them. Celebrating them. Laying your life down for them. Not because they "deserve" it... but because you're so full of it that it overflows naturally. Love is too big to be contained. That's why God--who IS love--created us in the first place: so that He would have more objects of love. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So in the beginning there was the Father/Son bond of love. That's what the Word is. The Word is Jesus. The Word is love. But love is so much bigger than we think it is. So God created the heaven and earth. The mind and the body. YOU. Me. Us. He wanted to express Himself, so He made something dark and void and without form and then spoke the Word. He said let there be light. Which brings me to Psalm 119:130, "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." Understanding comes from the heart. We hear with the ear and understand with the heart. We hear the WORD. Love. The heart loves because the heart understands love. God gave love to us when He gave Himself to us. When He gave His life for us, and gave His life to us. And now we receive and release. We fill ourselves with the fulness. We share what we've got because it's too good to keep to ourselves!

Is there anything worse than doing something from the goodness of your heart and being totally misunderstood? Someone thinking that your love has an agenda? Guys... love doesn't HAVE an agenda, love IS the agenda! I'm convinced that everything we do comes down to either one of two reasons: Either we're trying to get love because we don't know and believe that we have it, or we're sharing the love we have becasue it's too good to keep to ourselves. Either way, Christ's love controls us. It's the reason we do what we do. Which is why we SHOULD be able to understand each other. We SHOULD be able to see that what someone does has more to do with THEM than it does with us. Judging someone reveals nothing about them, but everything about you. Because judging--by appearance--has to do only with the actions of the outer man. The surface stuff. The "what" but not the "why." So we find ourselves operating from "an eye for an eye" sort of Covenant. "He hurt me, so I'll hurt him back." But what we don't understand is WHY he hurt me. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So if he hurt me, it's because he's hurting. Again, it has more to do with HIM than it does with me. Why do you think Jesus instructed us to turn the other cheek? Because He wanted us to be doormats and let people walk all over us? I don't think so. I think it had more to do with Proverbs 10:12, "Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love coverth all sins." I think it had more to do with Jesus' own words in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." I think it was more about compassion and understanding than "weakness." The MEEK will inherit the earth, right? And meekness is not weakness. It's strength under control. If you can take a hit from someone and not react in kind, that's being under control. That's showing them something they maybe haven't seen before. Something different. Something better. A more excellent way. And even more than just "wanting to hit them back but not doing it" is UNDERSTANDING why they hit you in the first place. Digging a little deeper and getting to the bottom of things. Getting to the heart of the matter; which is the heart of God beating with love. If you can love someone who is really hard to love--and I mean really understand, and accept, and LOVE them--then you've probably just changed their entire life. Because people who are hard to love probably aren't getting much love. And they probably need it pretty desperately. I think we can all understand that. Because understanding was given to us from the Lord when He gave us His Spirit. The Holy Spirit. Our love receptor. The Spirit of truth. And because we HAVE this understanding, we can extend it to others. We can give it, because we have it. We can release it, because we've received it. We don't have to worry about people understanding US and we can focus on understanding them. People think you have an ulterior motive for loving them? Love them anyway. Not because THEY understand, but because YOU do!

"I understand." Besides, "I love you," I can't think of a more important phrase in the English language. (Maybe "I AM") But really I'm just saying the same thing over and over. Because love comes from understanding. Love comes from acceptance. And you can't accept something you don't understand. You can't love something you don't accept. Isn't it funny that we share this "human experience" but we always seem to feel so isolated and alone? We always feel like nobody could possibly understand what we've been through or what we're going through. All of the "bad stuff" we've done? How could anybody understand? How could anybody love someone like me? But that right there is the key to God's love. He doesn't love us because of what we've done (or what we're doing right now, or what we're going to do). He loves us for who we are, and who He is! 1 John 4:19 in the NLT says it like this, "We love each other because he loved us first."  Love comes from the source. From the God who IS love. It comes from the heart. And as we saw yesterday, that's where understanding comes from too. You hear (the Word, which is Jesus, which is love) with the ear and you understand with the heart. I'm convinced that there is no greater--no OTHER--desire in the human heart than to be loved. To be accepted for who we are. To be understood wholly and completely. If you're anything like me you're sick and tired of hiding who you really are. Trying to be someone you're not in order to be accepted. Trying to fit into a box that even the people you're trying to impress don't fit into. It's a struggle. It's exhausting. And it never gets you what you want. The only way to "get" the desire of your heart is to delight yourself in the Lord. Because He IS the desire of your heart. And He has already given Himself to you. So rather than trying to get something you (think you) don't have by being someone you're not... Jesus finished the work and moved us into a dimension of rest. He did all the work and we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. We get to experience love because we have the Holy Spirit--the love receptor. The Spirit of truth that leads and guides us into all truth. Because, according to 1 John 2:20, "...ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." It's not about getting knowledge. It's about getting understanding. That's where I ended yesterday's Rant, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7). But here's the key: It's not about "getting" something you don't have. We already have it all. Look at 2 Timothy 2:7, "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." Old Testament--GET understanding. New Testament--the Lord has GIVEN you understanding in all things. We know all things, and when we look through the eyes of grace we understand all things. We understand LOVE. We understand each other. I'll end with the verse I want to begin with tomorrow, "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). We know Him, we understand Him, because we're IN Him! We know love, we understand love, because we're IN love!