I think human beings are very adaptable. We can get used to just about anything. And while this can be a good thing, it can also lead to some problems. Because oftentimes it means we are willing to settle. Rather than pressing forward, sometimes we look around and sigh and say, "I guess this is as good as it gets." Sometimes we're okay with the least of it. Look how this even comes out in our language: "It's the least I could do." And we say this like it's an accomplishment. We did just barely enough. Hooray! (Sarcarsm.) Or, "At least I did blah blah blah." Again, settling for the bare minimun. Can I tell you something? Jesus came to give us life, and that more abundantly. He came right down into the human condition--working for everything we have and getting just enough to scrape by--and He showed us a more excellent way. He showed us what it really means to live. To live is to love and to love is to live. To love is to give. To LIVE is to give. He showed us that a life of just trying to get what we want is the least kind of life you can live. But it's become the norm. Guys, if you win the rat race (if it's even possible to win it...) all you are is king rat. You might get that piece of cheese, but when it's gone you'll have to start all over again. Jesus said it like this, "...Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:13-14). A couple of things here: First, the water is a GIFT. We don't have to earn a gift. And in fact, we CAN'T earn a gift. If you have to earn it it's wages. And when the Bible speaks of wages it tells us that the wages of sin is death. We're not here to try to earn anything. We're here to receive and release the gift of God. And the gift of God is eternal life. And eternal life is knowing the Father and the One whom the Father sent. Which is what the gift of the living water springs up into us! A well of everlasting life! Something that we can draw from--now watch this--when other people are thirsty. Because we aren't thirsty anymore. We're filled to overflowing with the only thing that can satisfy us. And since we are now satisfied--we've come to the source and are no longer looking for love in all the wrong places--now we can turn our attention to others. The Tree of Life has leaves that are for the healing of the nations. We are the branches that carry the fruit (which is love) and the leaves TO the nations! We take what we've got and we share it. And by sharing it we experience it to an abundant degree! By sharing what we have we move out of the realm of "least" and into the realm of "abundant!" By releasing it, we truly receive it. Let me say it like this: If someone is lost in outer darkness, they don't need condemnation; they need to see the light. WE are the light of the world because HE is the light of the world IN us. And when what's in us comes out of us (flowing like that river of living water) that's when we can really start to reach people. That's when we can baptize (or immerse) people in the name (or nature, or character) of Jesus. Not necessarily by preaching to them... but simply by loving them! (It's the least we can do...)

What you sow is what you reap. What you do is what you get. (And, listen, I believe when the Bible talks about reaping and sowing it's talking about Jesus who sowed Himself on the cross and reaped a glorious harvest, but there's also an individual aspect of it.) Here's what I'm trying to say: If all you care about is getting and getting and getting then you will miss out on the joy of truly living. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. And to love... is to give. This life is not about what you can get. It's about what you do with what you already have. And what we already have... is everything. We have been blessed with ALL Spiritual blessings. We have been given ALL things that pertain to life and godliness. We have it all, because we have Jesus, and He is the all-in-all. So instead of approaching life from a place a lack, where we feel empty and will do anything to try and fill that God-shaped, love-shaped hole inside of us, we need to understand that on the cross that hole was filled when we were filled with the Holy Spirit! Jesus came that we might have life and have it more ABUNDANTLY. He came to show us that there is a more excellent way, and He came to show us that He IS that Way, the Truth, and the Life. Look at what Jesus said in Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Jesus didn't come for what He could GET. He came for what He could GIVE. And what He could give... was Himself. He gave His life for us and He gave His life to us. He did it all so we could get it all. And that all that He did was the cross. And the all that we got was Him. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body--is what we have. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body--is who we are! So now, instead of working in order to get, get, get, we can start resting and enjoy what we have, have, have! And the best way to enjoy something is to share it. Things are real when they are shared. We are blessed... to be a blessing. We are loved (in large part) so that we can love. And I'm not saying you can't enjoy God's love for you without sharing it. To some degree I think you can. Sometimes I like to just dwell in His love. To just enjoy that one-on-one relationship between me and my Daddy. But as good as that is... there's a more excellent way. Because people are desperate for that feeling of love and acceptance. And, as my pastor always says, "If you know it, throw it." We have whate everybody wants. And when we share it we experience it to an even greater degree. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. It starts with receiving, but it doesn't end there. In fact, it doesn't END at all. It just goes and goes and grows and grows. Love never fails. It never fades. It never stops. So when you sow love (because you have received love), that's when you reap it to an even greater degree. And that's excellent!

Actions are important. I don't want anybody to think that I don't agree with that statement. When I say, "It's not what you DO, it's what you BELIEVE," I'm simply trying to get our focus off of the external and onto the internal. Because what you do FLOWS from what you believe. Behavior modification doesn't work. Works don't work. True change is effortless. Now you may be asking yourself what this has to do with a Rant series about the more excellent way of giving--of loving. Look at Isaiah 30:21, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Ok. There's a Word behind you. Something happened in the past. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. Jesus finished the work 2,000 years ago. And the Word says, "This is the way." Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Word speaks of Himself. The Word reveals Jesus to us. And the Word says, "Walk IN it." We spend so much time and energy trying to walk things out in our own strength. We waste time trying to finish a work that is already finished. Let me say it like this, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the fiath of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2:16). It's not what you DO, it's what you BELIEVE. Because what you BELIEVE is what JESUS did! And what Jesus did He did both for us and as us. HE is the more excellent way. He is the Word made flesh. He IS love. And this part is so beautiful to me: When we stray to the left or to the right, the Word doesn't punish us. He doesn't condemn us. He points us back to the Way. He shows us the finished work. He shows us who we really are. He builds our faith by testifying of Himself. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. The more you see your true self, the more you BE your true self. But so many times we try to BE it in order to SEE it. That doesn't work. You can't perform your way into this thing. Nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. And that's the truth about rest: It's not us living Jesus' life. It's Jesus living His own life in and through and as us. It's not us following in Jesus' foot steps, it's Jesus making foot steps in our feet. It's not us walking this thing out in our own power. It's not us keeping the Law. It's us walking IN the Way, even as He walks IN us. It's Jesus carrying us, and it's us simply enjoying the journey. When you believe right, you'll do right. Period. But it all starts with what you see and what you hear. Again, faith comes from hearing. And seeing is believing. That's why Jesus revealed Himself TO us, and continues to reveal Himself THROUGH us. This is the Way. Walk ye in it!

The carnal mind thinks getting is the way to go. But there's a more excellent way. And His name is Jesus. His name is love. His name is giving. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. And I absolutely believe that because I've experienced it. But here's my focus for today: While it IS more blessed to give than receive, you can't give UNTIL you receive. The economy of the Kingdom is, "Receive it and release it." Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. The Apostle Paul said it like this, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3). He delivered what he had received. That's how it works. We don't deliver IN ORDER to receive. We deliver because we HAVE received. Remember the New Commandment? Love one another as Jesus loves us. We are only expected to love... as we are loved of Him. That's so excellent because it takes all of the emphasis off of us and puts it squarely where it belongs: On Jesus. It's not what we do, it's what He did on the cross. And on the cross Jesus gave the greatest expression of love that a man can give; He laid down His life for us. So that's our reasonable service. To present our bodies as living sacrifices and to lay down our lives for each other. And I'm not saying you have to physically die like Jesus did. It may come to that, there are lots of martyrs in history that have given their lives for the Gospel, but there are lots of ways to lay down your life. To me it comes down to simply putting the needs (and wants) of others before your own. Loving people means giving yourself to them. That's what God did. He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son FOR the world and TO the world. He gave HIMSELF to us. He gave LOVE to us. That's the more excellent way. Not taking, but giving. Jesus preached a lot about taking care of the poor. And I think He was trying to show us a practical way to love. Give something to someone who has nothing. Give to someone that could never repay you. And understand that it's not about being repaid. Understand that when you give... it isn't lost. It's shared. And when something is shared that's when it really becomes powerful. Let me say it like this: It's not the truth that sets you free. It's the truth you KNOW that sets you free. So if you know it... throw it. Don't be afraid to lose what you've got by giving it away. Because we are connected to the source. God's love is never ending. You can't lose it by using it. But on the other hand, if you just horde it up and keep it to yourself, then you never really get to experience it at all. It's better to give than to receive, because by giving you share the love. By giving you make others happy, and that's where true happiness comes from. It's IN you, and when you let it out it gets in OTHERS too. And then THEY can let it out. And so on and so on forever and ever amen!

"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). There's a way that seems right to a man. And that way is getting getting getting, earning everything we have by the sweat of our brow. But the end of that way is death. It's literally a dead end. And then there's a more excellent way. And His name is Jesus. His name is love. See, it feels like there's a hole inside of us. It feels like something is missing. And most of us spend all of our lives trying to fill that hole. Trying to GET something, because we are always operating from a place of lack. But here's the situation: the hole is God-shaped. Love shaped. And that hole was filled on the cross when we were filled with the Holy Spirit. And listen, I'm not saying God all of a sudden started to love us after Jesus finished the work on the cross. He always has loved us and He always will love us. He IS love. What I'm saying is that because of the Holy Spirit (our love receptor) we can now receive the love that was always there. Once we were blind, but now we can see. Once God's love seemed too good to be true, but now we know that it is so good it must be true. But here's the rub: The Kingdom economy is not about what you have. It's about what you DO with what you have. God blessed us... to be a blessing. He loves us (in large part) so that we can love one another. That's how we love God; by loving one another. And that's why Jesus said it's better to give than to receive. Because as important as it is to receive--and don't get me wrong, it's vitally important--that's not the be-all, end-all. We don't receive simply to receive. We receive so that we can release. We are the spout where the glory comes out. God poures it into us, and then it flows out of us. Love is giving. I've heard it said that you can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. Love isn't about what you're trying to get. Love is about sharing what you have. And that's excellent. Because if you're sharing what you have then you KNOW what you have. See, I'm convinced that the most real way to receive the love of God is to release it. Rather than waiting until we "feel" loved and then going from there, we ought to focus on others and not on ourselves. And watch this: If I'm focused on you and you're focused on me then neither one of us have to focus on ourselves! And, again, that's excellent. Love is all about what you can do for others. It's all about supporting the weak. Bearing one another's burdens. Esteeming others higher than yourself. But that's impossible to do if you're trying to get something. You can't give what you don't have. You have to know that you ARE loved before you CAN love. But in order to really know that you are loved... you have to love. That's what faith is. It's believing what is true. And faith without works is dead. So in order to really believe that we are loved... we love. In order to receive... we release. We love each other with the love that we are loved with!

Proverbs 14:12 tells us that, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." And then the Apostle Paul tells us to "...covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31). So there's a way that SEEMS right and then there's a more excellent way. Now watch this: Right after Paul announces a more excellent way he launches into 1 Corinthians chapter 13. The love chapter. Love is the more excellent way. And the amazing thing about the love chapter is that it's a personality profile of Jesus. Which means--since we ARE Jesus--it's a personality profile of US! If you want to know what you're really like you have to look in the mirro with an unveiled face (without the Law causing a sense of separation). You have to look into the perfect law of liberty. Colossians 3:3 says, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." So let me say it like this: If you want to find your life you have to look in the right place. There's so much Scripture about knowing no man (including yourself) after the flesh. About not judging by appearance by judging righteous judgment. About measuring the temple (we are the temple) with the rod (Jesus is the rod) and about not measuring the outer court. But all we seem to be able to focus on is the outward appearance. We judge people by their actions. And, as always, I'm not saying actions aren't important, because they are, but I'm saying if we focus on actions we miss the point. What you do doesn't define who you are. Who you are--or rather, who you BELIEVE you are--defines what you do. If you're trying to fix actions you're not getting to the root of the problem. Behavior modification, while it might have some limited success in the beginning, cannot bring about real change. Real change is effortless. Real change doesn't come from fear of punishment. It comes from love of people. There's a more excellent way. The Old Covenant was all about us trying to fit into a box, trying to keep the Law, trying to live Jesus' life. But all of that is impossible. Because the only thing the Law can produce is lawbreakers. The Law demands perfection without being able to produce it. We were not created to be servants under bondage trying to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow. We were created to have an intimate relationship with our Creator. We were created to be loved and to love one another with that same love. Adam and Eve wanted so badly to be like God that they swallowed the serpents lie and ate from the tree of death. Doing in order to be SEEMED RIGHT, but wasn't. And here's why--and here's the whole idea for this Rant series--Adam and Eve were trying to do something for themselves. They were trying to get. And while that seems right to a man, that selfish mindset leads only to death. For God so loved the world He GAVE His only begotten Son. Love is giving. The more excellent way (which is love, which is Jesus) is not about getting. It's about giving. And when that's our focus--giving, not recieving--that's when we experience the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life!

This is so amazing to me. Our key verse for this Rant series is Psalm 25:14, "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant." The word, "secret," is number 5475 in Strong's Hebrew Concordance and it means, "a session, that is, company of persons (in close deliberation); by implication intimacy, consulation, a secret: - assembly, counsel, inward." The secret of life is the intimate relationship between our heavenly Father and His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased! This is what it's all about. It's not about religion... it's about relationship. It's not about servitude, it's about fellowship. It's not about the Old Covenant, it's about the New Covenant. And this is what He SHEWS us. As in, Isaiah 43:21, "This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise." The "natural order of things" goes like this: What's in you comes out of you. And the secret is what's in you! It is the mystery that was kept secret since the world began. The mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory. And now the secret is out! Now the secret is shown TO us, and shews forth out of us! We are the spout where the glory comes out. Because when you know that secret--that Daddy loves you--then you know what's inside you. And when you know (and believe) what's inside you... it comes out of you. And you don't have to force it out either. It comes out naturally. The nature of the Old Man was the beast nature. It was selfish and self-centered. Our new nature (as new creations) is the love nature. It is selfless and Christ-centered. And by "Christ-centered" I don't mean we ignore people in order to focus on God. Because God is focused on people. His mind is full of us. We are the apple of His eye. So truly being Christ-centered means we love one another with the love that He loves us with. We are God's love letter to the world... and that's how the secret GETS out. The Word (Jesus, love) is made flesh when WE manifest HIM. When the love that He IS comes out of us. That's the secret (and I think I'm going to really expand on this concept in the next Rant series: It's better to give than to receive. But you can't give UNTIL you receive. You can't give what you don't have. So until you hear the Holy Spirit whispering the secret (in a still, small voice) in your heart... the best you'll be able to do is, "fake it 'til you make it." And that's not love. Love isn't, "Love or else." Love is, "Love because you ARE loved." Love isn't, "Love in order to get something." Love is, "Love because you HAVE something." Because love is giving. God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son. And by giving us His Son, He conformed us into that same image. We were created in His image, but we didn't know it. We needed to be CONFORMED into His image. And that's what the cross accomplished. That's what the Holy Spirit does as He leads and guides us into all truth; as He reveals the secret to us. As He brings us into that intimate relationship of unconditional love between a Father and His Son.

"Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen" (Romans 16:25-27). The mystery that was kept secret since the world began is now made manifest to us and in us and through us. It is the secret of life; the secret that God has always, and will always, love us. The secret that we don't have to DO in order to BE, but rather we do BECAUSE we be. The secret of our true identity in Christ. Kept secret until the appointed time, until the Holy Spirit stopped striving WITH men and took up abode IN men. Kept secret until the Holy Spriit stopped coming ON men in power and FILLED men WITH power! The power of revelation. The power to BE transformed (into what we have already been transformed into) by the renewing of our mind. The power to stop working and start resting. And I always like to point out when speaking of work and rest, it's Spiritual work I'm talking about. Because a "Christian" at rest looks a whole lot like a "Christian" who is working. It's simply the difference between working to GET something, and working because you HAVE something. If you already have it (and we already do have it) then the work isn't work at all. It's not trying to get Jesus' life, or live Jesus' life. It's resting in the work that He did and enjoying the fruit (love) of His labor. It's letting Jesus live His life in and through and as us. And that's the secret. It's not us doing anything at all. It's the power of God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. He's the river of life, and we just flow wherever He goes--because He's going there in us. Now let's hit on "obedience of faith." I really like that term, because New Covenant obedience IS faith. Jesus said if you want to work the work of God you must believe. And faith isn't hoping that something will happen. Faith is believing in what HAS happened. There was a mystery called Christ in you the hope of glory. And that mystery was kept secret since the world began. But now the secret is out. Now we know who we are, and where we are, and why we're here. Now we know that God is our heavenly Father and we are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Now we can offer our bodies as a living sacrifice because we know what Daddy is going to use them for. He's going to use them for love! The love in us flows out of us. When we know that secret (that Daddy loves us), then we can SHARE that secret. When we know the work is finished we can stop working and start living! And by "living" I mean we can let Jesus live HIS abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life in us. We can stop trying to be somebody else because we know the secret of who we really are. We can BE who we really are by letting Jesus be Himself in us!

Let's link two verses together: Psalm 25:14, "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant," and Psalm 91:1, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." I think these verses are really sayiing the same thing. The secret of the Lord is WITH them that fear Him. He that DWELLETH in the secret place. It's not about what you do as much as it's about who you are and where you are. And let's look at the word, "fear," for just a second. It is number 3373 in Strong's Hebrew Concordance and it means, "fearing; morally reverent: - afraid, fear (-ful)." And in the context of a God who is not mad... from whom we have nothing to fear... I submit to you that we focus on the morally reverent aspect. Because if you're afraid of God you will run FROM Him. But if you are morally reverent you will run TO Him. And that's what we're talking about today. Seeing His covenant. Abiding under His shadow. Hearing the Holy Spirit whisper the secret of life--Daddy loves you--and letting that secret, that ultimate truth of the universe, bring us out of the Old Covenant and into the New. Out of bondage and into liberty. Out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Ah. The Promised Land. The land that flows with milk (righteousness) and honey (revelation). The Promised Land of rest. The secret place. And see, KNOWING (and believing) the secret is what brings us into the secret place. Or rather, reveals to us that we are already IN the secret place. We don't need to get anywhere. We simply need to know where we already are. We don't need to get anything because we already have it all... because we already have Jesus. And we don't need to be anybody else because we have already been conformed to His image. We don't need to change, we simply need to see the change that took place on the cross when the Old Man died and was buried and the New Man came forth. That's the real secret: You don't need to get anything, or get anywhere, or be anybody else. You can dwell in His shadow. And the Lord just hit me with this: Really dwelling in His shadow--Jesus used the picture of a hen covering her chicks--really dwelling in His shadow means sitting on Daddy's lap. Not trying to follow Him, but letting Him carry you, if I can say it like that. And that's what rest is all about; not following in Jesus' foot steps (which is impossible) but letting Him make His foot steps in your feet. See, when we understand who Jesus really is, that's when we understand who WE really are because we are dead and our lives are hid in Him. The secret of life is HIS life lived in and through and as you. The secret is living BY the Father. Living OUT His love as it lives IN you. And that comes, again, from revering Him. From delighting in Him because He IS the desire of our heart. Not trying to get anything, but simply enjoying what we have.

The Holy Spirit whispers, in a still small voice, from inside of us. It is the cry of our heart. The cry of Father God's heart beating with love in our chests. And He whispers the secret of life: Daddy loves you. He takes you by the hand and leads and guides you into all truth. Because He IS life... and He IS love. To live is to love and to love is to live. Jesus said it like this, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). And then John the Revelator picked up on it and said it like this, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). No love = death. KNOW love = life. It's that simple. See, we always want to make things heaven and hell issues... we're so concerned about what happens when we die... but Jesus came that we might HAVE life and have it more abundantly. We don't seem to understand that before the cross we WERE DEAD in our trespasses and sins. Jesus wasn't concerned about "afterlife" once (if) our mortal bodies expired. He was concerned with us experiencing eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life RIGHT NOW. And I guess since "hell" is a state of death and "heaven" is a state of life, as long as you understand what you're talking about it IS a heaven and hell issue. But look at what John said, "...He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." ABIDETH in death. Not, "Love your brother or you will die." We were already dead. Adam ate from the tree of death, and on that day he surely died. That's where we already were. And then, at the appointed time, Jesus came and rescued us. He came and saved us. (Not from an eternal punishment called hell, but from the state of spiritual death called hell!) He came and saved us from our sins. From our unbelief. From believing that we had to do in order to be. From believing that we had to earn Daddy's love. And He saved us from our unbelief by giving us something to believe in. By giving us HIMSELF to believe in. By giving us LOVE to believe in. By giving us His Spirit (the love receptor) so that we could receive the love that was always present. Jesus--the light of the world--shined in our hearts so that we could see what was always true. So that we would know the secret. Remember our key verse for this Rant series: "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant" (Psalm 25:14). He SHOWED us the New Covenant. He SHOWED us His love. He brought us out of the death (that we were already in) by drawing us into Himself. By drawing us into HIS life, and by living HIS life in and through and as us. That's the secret. That's what life is all about. It's not about earning things from an angry taskmaster. And it's not about building your own kingdom. It's about being loved by the Father--by the God who IS love--and loving each other with that same love. That's what life is all about; it's all about love. The secret is out!