Break glass in case of emergency. Something to help you out that is only used as a last resort. Isn't it terrible that this is how we treat God? I always find it funny that we blame God for the bad stuff that happens, but we want Him to bail us out of any mess we make? We treat Him as last chance. And look, I'm not saying we shouldn't turn to God when things go wrong. Of course we should. In fact, "...whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). And the word, "saved" there is number 4982 in Strong's Greek Concordance. It means, "safe; to save, that is, deliver or protect: - heal, preserve, do well, be (make) whole." God DOES protect and deliver us. But more importantly He makes (has made) us whole. And because He has made us whole, we don't always need to come to Him with our hands out like beggars. I'm convinced that Daddy has already given us everything we need. He gave us everything when He gave us Himself. When He gave His life for us and gave His life to us on the cross. So why are we living from this mindset of lack? Why are we living like slaves when we are kings and priests equipped and empowered to rule and reign on this earth? Why do we treat God like last chance when we should be treating Him like first choice? Why do we only call on Him when we feel like we need to be saved? Why not enjoy everything that is available to us? Let me say it like this, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). See, God doesn't just want to be a PART of your life. He wants to BE your life, because He IS life! I've kind of been stuck on the idea of all-in-all lately. Really coming to the understanding that there is nowhere that God isn't. I saw a movie once where the main character was going on a mission of vengeance and his friend said, "Go with God." And the main character said, "God's gonna sit this one out." The whole scene really kind of bothered me. This is how we think of God... if we're doing something "holy" then God's there. Or if we dig ourselves a big enough hole and then say the right things MAYBE He'll bail us out of it. But the truth of the matter is... wherever you go, there you are. And since God lives in you, wherever you go... there He is! That's what I was trying to say in the last Rant series. We have to break this mindset where we think sometimes God's around and sometimes He's not. We are His expression... all the time. He's not hiding behind the glass, waiting for an emergency. He's all-in-all. He's literally every breath we take and every move we make. So, again, I'm not saying don't call on God in an emergency. He's there if you need Him. Absolutely. I'm saying, if you include Him in everything you might just avoid that emergency altogether! If you acknoweldge Him in all your ways, He'll direct your paths. Then He'll be first choice and not last chance!

I started this Rant series talking about Logan and I making funny faces at each other. About what's inside being expressed on the outside. And I think that's a pretty accurate picture of how this "Christian" life works. What's inside--love--comes out naturally. God lives in us, and expresses Himself through us. But then I was thinking... we have lots of different expressions. And I used the example of Jesus weeping when His friend Lazarus died. And that's kind of where I want to end this series. Love is God's expression. God IS love. That's not just what He does, that's who He is. But love comes in lots of shapes and sizes. I was preaching this last week, talking about how I believe there is only ONE fruit of the Spirit--love. And all of those other things Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23 (joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance), those aren't different fruits. Those are just different varieties of the ONE fruit. Sometimes love looks like joy. But joy isn't appropriate for every situation. Ecclesiasties chapter three details a time for may different expressions. And I heard a message once that I absolutely loved about how the time to kill was before the cross and the time to heal was at the cross. How that chapter is simply detailing the two covenants--Old and New. But I can also see that every situation is unique. So while love IS always the answer, you have to be sensitive enough to understand what EXPRESSION of love is needed. When someone dies, gentleness might be the better expression. When someone gets good news, joy will probably hit the spot. And when we understand that love doesn't look like one certain thing--that in Him we live and move and have our being, and in us He lives and moves and has His being--when we understand that Jesus upholds EVERYTHING by His Word (which is love), then we can begin to experience that love in every situation. Then love AS the answer will be our first choice and not our last chance. Then we will be able to understand that Jesus did NOTHING apart from the Father. And we will understand that WE can do nothing apart from Him. We will be able to stop condemning ourselves when we "mess up" or "express something else" because we will be able to see the bigger picture. We will be able to see that ALL THINGS work together for good, to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. That was the difference between Joseph and his brothers. They thought they were expressing anger and jealousy. Joseph knew that it was all part of the plan. Joseph knew--and trusted, and loved--God. So he wasn't freaking out every time the trip hit a bump in the road. He knew he was going to get where God wanted him to go. He knew Daddy had his back. So even when the expression doesn't look like, or feel like, whatever our idea of "holiness" is (again, usually our culture) we can rest assured that God (love) is in us, and God (love) is coming out through us!

"Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (John 5:19). We are God's expression. What He does... He does through us. And it's not, "I see Daddy do it and then I try to do it in my own power." It's, "I see Daddy do it IN me, and then it comes out THROUGH me." And look at what Jesus said, "The Son can do NOTHING of himself." He didn't say, "The Son can do evil all by Himself, but when it's good then it's God." He said there's NOTHING He does that isn't an expression of God. And listen, I'm not saying God does evil things. We know He is light and there is no darkness in Him at all. What I'm saying is that we are judging things wrong. I used the example of Joseph where it LOOKED like a lot of "evil" was happening to him--sold into slavery, thrown into prison--but it was all part of God's plan to save lots of people. This same story is fulfilled in Jesus. Being betrayed and tortured and crucified seems like a lot of "evil" right? But in actually it was all part of the plan. That's why Jesus didn't fight against it. He said He could call a legion of angels to fight for Him. But He didn't. Because He knew--and trusted--the plan. He knew that the human experience--highs an lows, ups and downs--is not something to simply survive, but something to thrive in. Something to express the Father's love in. And watch this: People need love the most when things look bad. So when things look bad, that's our biggest opportunity to really be who we are. But what if we don't? What if something "bad," or "evil" happens and we react like human beings? Like... for example... if our friend dies. Two words show us what Jesus did when His friend died. "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). And for some reason we think this kind of emotion is unholy, or something like that. We think we need to keep a stiff upper lip and not let anything effect us in order to express God. We have to "be strong." (And I know I just covered that in the Weakness Rant series.) See, Jesus came to give us life, and that more abundantly. He didn't come to strip us of our humanity. He came to show us what it means to truly be human. To truly be alive. When Jesus wept He was expressing the Father. He was expressing love. When Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple He was expressing the Father. He was expressing love. When Jesus turned water into wine in order to keep the party going He was expressing the Father. He was expressing love. But we've made things like this--sadness, or righteous anger, or (heaven forbid) drinking--unholy. We've drawn lines that fit our culture and instead of letting God express Himself through us, we've made it out that if it doesn't fit OUR expression then it can't be God. That's backwards. That's man making God in HIS image instead of understading that we are made in GOD'S image. We are God's expression, not the other way around. His expression of love!

It's kind of a two part deal: Before the cross Jesus came and expressed the Father TO us. And then through the cross--and now, after the cross--Jesus expresses the Father THROUGH us! Hebrews 1:3 says it like this, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." And this is such an important verse because it explains the finished work and it explains how we are able to express God. He purged our sins. He showed us what God looks like--Jesus, God in the flesh, love in a body--and then He filled us with God. He filled us with love. But before He could fill us with love He had to empty us of everything else. The Old had to pass away before the New could come forth. When we express something it is simply what's inside coming out. And that's what the cross did. It showed us what was (and is) really inside. The Holy Spirit--our love receptor--is not what makes God love us. God always has and always will love us. The Holy Spirit--our love receptor--is what equips and empowers us to know and believe that He loves us! Being filled with the Holy Spirit is what equips and empowers us to express that love. To receive and release it! The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. The Spirit that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that Daddy loves us. The truth that Jesus IS. The truth that we are NOT sinners. We are God's expression of Himself in this dimension. Jesus was the brightness of His glory--the light of the world that shined into the darkness and made the darkness flee--and the express image of His person. If you want to know what God looks like you have to look at Jesus. And if you want to know what Jesus looks like you have to look in the mirror! But you have to look in the mirror with an unveiled face. You can't look through the veil of the Law, because the Law does nothing but condemn you. It does nothing but point out everything you do wrong. And in this New Covenant it's not about good and evil. It's about life. It's about Jesus living His own abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life in and through and as you! In Him we live and move and have our being. Not some of the time... all of the time. Not when we're doing good and not doing evil... but with every breath we take and with every move we make. Jesus is upholding ALL THINGS by the power of His Word. And His Word is love. Here and now, in the Messianic rebirth of the world, everything that's not love has passed away and ALL THINGS are made new. All things--all of creation--are the expression of the Creator. And it's grace that allows us to see things the way they really are. Grace that allows to understand that our sins have been purged, and taken away, and forgiven, and forgotten about. Grace that lets us see that only love remains. It's all about love because love is all there is!

Jesus said, "...he that hath seen me that seen the Father..." (John 14:9). That was one of the biggest parts of His earth-walk ministry. He didn't come to change God's mind about humanity. He came to change humanity's mind about God. He came to show us who the Father really is. And how did He do that? By letting what was inside of Him (the Holy Spirit... love) come out of Him. By expressing God to us. Jesus even went so far as to say, "...Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (John 5:19). Here's the trick though--I don't believe Jesus was "watching" the Father and then trying to emulate Him. I think the Father was doing what He wanted to do... in Jesus. The same way that in Him we live and move and have our being... and in us HE lives and moves and has His being! It's not a "following in Jesus' foot steps," deal. It's a, "Jesus making His own foot steps with our feet," deal. It's not us trying to copy God's expression. It's God expressing Himself to us and in us and through us and as us! It's the body following the head, if it's anything. But the body and the head aren't separate. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). There's no separation. It's not Jesus AND me, it's Jesus AS me. It's the Spirit--God is a Spirit, not a man--expressing Himself THROUGH man. Remember my example of making funny faces with Logan? Bringing the joy that's inside... out. The manifestation. The love. The love inside coming out. And we don't force it out. We simply know and believe how full of love we are and it overflows naturally. It comes out naturally. It's not "fake it 'til you make it." It, "I AM loved... and that means I am LOVE!" It's a new nature. Not a beast nature, but a love nature. Not a selfish nature, but a selfless nature. It's showing other people God--not by quoting scripture, and trying to force Jesus down their throats and making them choke on Him--showing people God by showing them love. Expressing God--not by "trying" to act like Him--but by letting Him express Himself through you! That's what it means to offer your body as a living sacrifice. Stop trying to do stuff yourself. Stop trying to make stuff happen. Stop trying... and start resting! Give your body... give your soul (mind, will, and emotions) to God and let Him do what He wants to do. And it's not secret what He wants to do! Jesus said, "If you've seen me you've seen the Father." And what did Jesus do? He went around and interacted with people. He healed people wherever He was. He met needs. If you were hungry... Jesus fed you. He kept the party going. He accepted people. He made people feel better. He loved people. See, if God IS love, then love is the expression of God! And like I said yesteday, it's not about, "I have to do good and not do evil or I'm not expressing God." That's the wrong tree. The tree of death. Because the number one things Jesus did... the thing that He explicitly said He was here to give us... is that He lived. He gave us LIFE, and that more abundantly. And what is abundant life if it's not a life full of love? To live is to love and to love is to live! God's expression... His life... is love!

Logan and I like to make funny faces at each other. It cracks us up. Brings us both a lot of joy. In fact, the lock-screen on my phone is a picture of Logan pulling on the sides of his mouth and sticking his tongue out. It makes me smile every time I see it. Because he's expressing himself. The fun inside is coming out in a visible, tangible way. Guys... that's who we are for God. Look at John 4:24 and let me try to explain what I mean, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Let me say it this way: God ISN'T a man, but He LIVES in man. "For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring" (Acts 17:28). When I was meditating on this verse one time God told me that in Him WE live and move and have our being... and in US HE lives and moves and has his being. That's what it means to be the body of Christ. Whatever God does... He does it in and through and as US! We are His expression in this dimension. We are the vehicle in which He does what He does. And what does the God who is love do? He loves! Now listen, I'm not trying to say that when we love one another we are expressing God and when we don't love one another we're not. Because, believe it or not, wherever we are and whatever we're doing... we're expressing Him. Or rather, He's expressing Himself through us. In Him we LIVE. In Him we MOVE. In Him we HAVE OUR BEING. Every breath we take and every move we make. The word Spirit in the Bible literally means breath. The name of God, "Yaweh," is the sound of breathing. Jesus said it like this, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). Which I guess begs the question: What about when I mess up? What about when I don't do what I'm supposed to do? What about when, instead of expressing "good" I express "evil"? And my answer is two-fold. A. STOP JUDGING BY APPEARANCE! Good and evil were on the SAME tree. The tree of death. The fig tree of human effort that Jesus cursed, and caused to wither and die. Look at the story of Joseph: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). Joseph was sold into slavery. Clearly evil, right? Well... not if you understand the bigger picture. In the bigger picture it was all part of the plan. So, again, stop judging by appearance and judge righteous judgment. And B. THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION IN CHRIST! Failing doesn't make you a failure. Mistakes don't define you. This life-long journey of discovering who we are (in Christ) as Christ reveals Himself to us and in us and through us is not a straight-line journey. It's got twists and turns. A good friend of mine says it like this, "A setback is really just a set up for a comeback." God is expressing Himself through His creation. He has filled us with Himself. With His Holy Spirit. And that Spirit is manifesting. What's inside is coming out. The LOVE inside is coming out. Jesus expressed His love to us when He laid His life down for us. But He didn't just give His life FOR us, He gave it TO us. He picked it back up again. And now HE can live HIS life through HIS body!

It was pointed out to me--correctly--that what we consider "weakness" doesn't need to be focused on at all. Especially with the realization that in our "weakness" He is strong. Look at Colossians 2:10, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." And look at Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." So I say to you, "Weakness? What weakness?" And this isn't pretending we don't have them. This isn't trying to hide them. This is embracing who we are. And more importantly, embracing who we REALLY are! Who we are in Christ! Even though there are some things that I'm good at (some strengths, if you will), and some things I'm not good at (call them weaknesses if you will), I am COMPLETE in Him! I can do ALL things. Moses's "weakness" of not being a good speaker is the very thing that God called him to do. And God didn't call Him to do it in SPITE of his "weakness." He called him to do it BECAUSE of his weakness. God didn't want Moses to express Moses to Pharoah. God wanted Moses to express GOD to Pharoah. Guys... that's who we are. We are God's expression of Himself in this dimension. (That's the next Rant series, so I won't go into it too much today, but...) His strength is made perfect in weakness. We can't (and won't) rely on God if we think we can do it ourselves. Remember, that's why the Law was given. Not so that we could follow it--we CAN'T follow it--but so that we would KNOW we can't follow it. It was the schoolmaster given to bring us to Christ. To bring us to the end of ourselves. To show us that all of our so-called "strength" was insufficient. And that was the problem with the Law. It demanded perfection (or maturity, or completeness) without being able to produce it. All the Law could do was point out our failures. It couldn't do anything to help us succeed. And that's where Jesus came in. Our savior. The One who did what we couldn't do. The One who finished the work. And He didn't just do it FOR us, He did it AS us. He became weak so that we could be made strong. He became poor so that we could be made rich. He gave His life FOR us, and He gave His life TO us. In the moment of Jesus' biggest (perceived) weakness on the cross... when He laid His life down and died a brutal, painful, shameful death... it was really His moment of biggest strength. Earth-shattering strength. Death defying strength. And in the same way, we are strongest when we are weakest. When we stop fighting and working and laboring... and start resting. When we stop trying to GET--because we know and believe that we already have it all--and begin to give. When we lay down OUR lives for our friends. When we're real, and vulnerable. When we ask for help. When we connect with each other and work together. That's when HIS strength is made perfect in OUR weakness. Not when we ignore it or try to hide it. But when we embrace it. When we stop trying to be somebody we're not and just be who we are. Let Him be who He is in us!

I guess I'm just tired of pretending that I'm strong. Tired of pretending that I don't have weakness. Tired of pretending. Listen: there are things I'm good at, and there are things I'm not good at. The rub is that I think I can do the things I'm good at all on my own. And that doesn't leave any room for God. I know I always use this example, but I'm going to use it again... I think I'm a pretty good writer. I've been writing all my life. But it wasn't until I started writing, "Jesus books" that things actually started to go anywhere. It wasn't until I offered up my life as a living sacrifice, if I can say it that way. And then, when I gave my strength to the Lord, He was able to use it. When I'm writing... I really feel like I know why I'm here. But there's something that is in some ways even better than that. Giving your strength to the Lord is magnificent. But giving your WEAKNESS to the Lord... that's supernatural. That's when you start to do things you never thought you could do. Moses has been our example of this. God told him to talk to Pharaoh. Moses said he wasn't a good talker (speaker? whatever). God said, "Who do you think made you that way? I didn't pick the 'best' speaker I could find. I picked someone who I could speak through. Someone who KNOWS he can't do it himself. Someone who needs to trust in me to do it in and as and through them." Let me say it another way: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). I'm convinced that if we want to try to do "it," whatever it is, on our own... God will let us try. And He'll be waiting with open arms when we fail. Because He doesn't love us IN SPITE of our weaknesses. He loves us BECAUSE of our weaknesses. Daddy loves to help, and if you don't need any help--if you THINK you don't need any help--then there's nothing for Daddy to do. And, listen, I'm not talking about being babies, naturally or Spiritually. I'm simply saying that with man it is impossible, and with God all things are possible. I'm simply saying you don't need to disqualify yourself because of your weaknesses. You don't need to try to hide them, or pretend that they don't exist. Guys... asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of wisdom. We are all one body, and if one part of the body can't do something, chances are another part of the body can. That's what love does--it unites us. It draws us together and keeps us together. It allows us to use our strengths for and with each other, so that our strengths are made perfect in weakness. We can't (and won't) work together if I think I can do it all by myself. But if I glory in my infirmities... that's when the power of Christ rests upon me. That's when God can work in and through and as me. That's when we can work together and that's when we can love each other. (Because you know it's all about love, right?) Strength is good--especially when you give it to the Lord--but weakness can be even better because that's when HIS strength steps in!

I think there's this idea out there that says, "God loves you in spite of your weaknesses." As if to say... you're pretty terrible, but God loves you anyway. And I guess I can see how that could be a comfort to some. But only if you think you're terrible. Because the truth is you're fearfully and wonderfully made. God doesn't love you IN SPITE of your weaknesses, He loves you BECAUSE of your weaknesses! If you could do everything (or anything) yourself, then there wouldn't be any room (or any need) for God to do anything. He wouldn't be able to be a part of your life. And here's the deal: God doesn't WANT to be a part of your life. He wants to BE your life... because He IS life! The relationship between heavenly Father and beloved Son in whom He is well pleased is the definition of eternal life. It's the love relationship that brought us out of death and into life! Now look at this: Moses was having a big problem with the task God had set before him. He was coming up with excuse after excuse as to why he shouldn't speak to or for the people of Israel. He even went so far as to point out his speech impediment. This was God's response, "And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say" (Exodus 4:11-12). God didn't pick Moses IN SPITE of his stutter... He picked him BECAUSE of his stutter! See, Moses had no confidence in himself. He HAD to lean on the Lord. And that's what God wanted. God was going to talk to Pharoah, He was just going to use Moses' mouth to do it. God doesn't want us to work FOR Him... He wants to work WITH us... IN us... THROUGH us... and if we think we can do it all by ourselves, then we leave God out of it. (Which isn't to say that we can actually leave Him out of anything... He's everywhere all the time... He's in all things and sustains all things... but, like Adam and Eve in the garden we CAN, in a sense, hide from his presence.) Jesus told Paul that His strength is made perfect in weakness. When we can't... He does. And that, to me, is freeing. Because the more I try to do things the more I find that I can't do anything. In fact, when I bang my head against the wall trying to make something happen... all I ever get is a headache. But when I stop trying to be strong... when I stop trying to do everything (anything) myself... that's when God has room to operate. You know the old saying, "God isn't interested in you ability, He's interested in your AVAILABLITY." All throughout the Bible God picked unlikey suspects to carry out His will. Murderers, adulterers, cowards... real people, in other words. He didn't wait until someone was "perfect" and then send them out. In fact, when He found someone like that (Enoch) He didn't send him out at all. He brought Enoch away with Himself. What I'm saying is: Our weakness doesn't define us, and it doesn't scare God. It isn't something for us to overcome, or try to ignor, or hide. It's the very place that God can do the most with us. HIS strength is made perfect in our weakness. When we can't... He will.

I can remember pretty clearly when I gave up on religion. I was sitting in a pew, and the preacher was all fired up about how we have to "act like Jesus." How, "He's our example and we have to follow in His foot steps." And I remember thinking, "I can barely handle being me. There's no way I can be Jesus." And then I learned about grace. About how it's not what I do, but who I am that defines me. Who I am in Christ. Who Christ is in me. And that's when I got out of religion and into relationship. Religion--man centered, performance based, hoops that you have to jump through in order to "get" something we already have... in order to earn something that was freely given--does it's best to hide weakness. Or, at the very least, to shine the spotlight on someone else's weakness so your own don't look so bad. Jesus kind of sums it up in Luke 18:11-12, "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not ass other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess." That religious attitude of, "I'm better than you because I go to church three times a week and I pray for four hours every day and that makes me holy." (Real quick: There's nothing wrong with going to church or with praying. The problem is when you think of those things as a way to earn something.) It's the mindset of making someone else feel small so you can feel big. But look at what Jesus followed up verse 12 with: "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." This is the attitude that John was looking for when he wrote about those that claim they have no sin are liars. He was looking for the understanding that we can't do this life on our own. That we need (or, in light of the Finished Work, needed) a savior. This is why Paul said, "...Most gladly therefore will I rather glorify in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). It's not about you. It's about Jesus. It's not about YOU living HIS life. Nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. It's about Jesus living His own life in and through and as you. And I think we're really gonna hit this idea tomorrow, but it's not about God loving you "in spite of your weakness." It's about God loving you BECAUSE of your weakness. Think about it... who gave you that weakness? God did. It doesn't surprise Him, and it doesn't scare Him. His strength is made perfect in your weakness. When you come to the place where you can admit, "I can't," that's when God has room to say, "I can, and will, and already did!" So rather than pretending we don't have weakness, or trying to hide it behind our religious calisthenics, we can stop trying so hard to be somebody we're not and we can start resting in the truth of who we really are! We can stop trying to get something, and we can simply share what we already have. We can't stop hiding ourselves and we can embrace ourselves--and each other!