I'm stuck on Galatians 4:6. "And becasue we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father"" (NLT). This picture--this truth--about God (a Father loving His Son) is so powerful and so important that even though we ARE His Son(s), He sent us the Spirit of His only begotten Son (Jesus) so that we might KNOW ourselves as His Son(s), and in that way experience His love as it was always intended. Experience His love in its fulness. Know Him as loving heavenly Father and ourselves as beloved Son(s) in whom He is well pleased. Look at Romans 8:29 (NLT), "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." The KJV says it like this, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." This is my favorite verse to compare and contrast against Romans 12:2, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Don't be conformed to this world. But be transformed. Transformed into what? Jesus. Conformed to the image of God's Son. WE ARE His Son(s). Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body... God in OUR flesh, love in OUR body--is our true identity. But it takes a transformation. Being transformed into what we have already been transformed into. How? By the renewing of our minds. By the Spirit of His Son taking up abode, or dwelling, in our hearts. And this transformation--USING the mind of Christ that is already in us--is what prompts us to BE who we are. We ARE His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. When we KNOW and BELIEVE that we are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased... we can behave as His Son. We can cry out, "Abba, Father." We can know and experiene the Father's love. Look: Adam and Jesus were both sons of God. The only two men who have ever lived. The difference is that Jesus is the BELOVED Son of God. Not because God loved Jesus and not Adam. Of course God loved Adam. God IS love. That's not just what He does, that's who He is. But because Jesus let Himself be loved by God. He knew who His Father was. He knew He didn't have to (and couldn't) earn Daddy's love. He knew that God loving Jesus (and us) is not about what we do. It's about who we are. And who God is. It's about the ultimate truth of the universe--God is love and He loves you. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. It's all about love. Relating to God in the way that HE wants us to relate to Him. Knowing and being known. Loving and being loved. Loving BECAUSE we are loved. Receiving and releasing the love of God. Breathing it in and breathing it out. Experiencing God's love with every breath we take and every move we make. Living His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love by letting HIM live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. Not trying to be like Jesus, but letting the Spirit of God's Son transform us into who we truly are. Into who we have always been. Letting the light of the world--the light of life... the light of love--shine on us, and into us, and out of us, and through us, so that we can see clearly. See who we are by seeing who He is. A Son who is loved by His Father!

Here it is in a nutshell: "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16 NLT). God loved us so much that He gave us His Son... so that we might know that we ARE His Son... and not perish... but enjoy the (abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection) life of the Son! He wanted the best for us--as any true Father does for His Son--so He gave the best to us! He gave us everything we need when He gave us Jesus. When He said, 'Let there be light." The key is not getting anything. It's knowing you have everything. The ultimate truth of the universe: The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. God is love and He loves you. The Father loves the Son. God loves you. And because He loves us... we can love Him back. By loving each other. That's what this life is all about. It's all about love. Letting God love you and loving Him back by loving the people God puts in your path. That's what righteousness is. And that's what holiness is. It's all love. Because it's all God. On the cross Jesus inacted the Messianic Rebirth of the world. God, the consuming fire, got rid of everything except Himself. And He is love. Only love remains. It's available to us right now because it was given to us more than 2,000 years ago! All we have to do is believe. Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold of the gift we've been given. Which doesn't mean get it (by hook or by crook), and which doesn't mean earn it (you can't earn a gift). It simply means to know and believe that you have it. Receive it and release it. Breath it in and breath it out. Let God love you, and love Him back by loving people. We love because He first loved us. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So you have to first have something. And KNOW that you have something. You have to first receive. Then you can release. That's the key to all of this: Knowing God as your loving heavenly Father. Knowing yourself as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Understanding that His love and affirmation and affection equips and empowers you to be who you really are! It's not about being beaten down and "whipped into shape." Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Train him up in the way he SHOULD go. Stop always focusing on what's wrong with people. Stop piling on or kicking them when they're down. Start telling people what's RIGHT with them and watch them manifest that rightness (righteousness) in their lives. Building someone up is easier than fixing them after they've been broken down. But so often it seems that it is easiest to break rather than build. It may be "easier," but building is worth it. Good things take time. When we understand God's master plan--His grand scheme--we won't be in such a hurry. Because the journey is what is important. When we're talking about everlasting life, the journey is the whole deal! There is no end! So we need to enjoy the ride. We need to stop trying to hard to fit in to what the world tells us we should be and we need to start listening to the words of our Father. The LOVE of our Father. And this is what the Father says, "And a voice from heaven said, "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy"" (Mark 1:11). That's how God feels... about US. Because when He looks at us He sees Jesus, and when He looks at Jesus He sees us. WE are His dearly loved Son. WE bring Him great joy. And we bring that joy by letting the love HE put inside us come out!

A Father's love for His Son. That, to me, is the best picture of God. The best way to understand and experience Him. But therein is the rub. You have to believe you are His Son in order to believe that He is your Father. And that can only come by and through the Holy Spirit. Look at Galatians 4:6 (NLT), "And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father."" And look at 1 John 3:1 (NLT), "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him." We are His children. So He gave us the Spirit of His Son... that we might KNOW and BELIEVE that we are His children. Why? Because He loves us. Because He wants us to be able to experience that Father/Son relationship. Why? Because the love and affirmation of a Father will always equip and empower His Son to be who He is. Jesus knew, right from jump street, that He had to be about His Father's business. He was in the temple "learning." And I say that with quotation marks because, in all honesty, He was teaching more than He was learning. The teachers marvelled at His wisdom and understanding. It's the truth that we have an unction from the Holy Ghost and know all things. The key is understanding what we know. Jesus understood. And yet it wasn't until He was baptized and His Father publicly declared His love for the Son that Jesus started doing miracles. I'm not saying He COULDN'T before that, but I'm saying it's important that WE understand the Divine Order of things. When we know who we are--Jesus, God in the flesh, love in a body... God in OUR flesh, love in OUR body--through the indwelling Holy Spirit... that's when we can truly BE who we are. It is the Spirit of the Son in our hearts that equips and empowers us to cry out, "Abba, Father." To know as we are known. To experience that Father/Son relationship. And that's so powerful because when you know who you are you can BE who you are instead of trying to be someone you're not in order to try to get something you think you haven't got. It's all about identity. The first "Jesus book" I ever wrote is called, "Identity Crisis." It's all about the truth that while there are only two men who have ever lived--Jesus and Adam--we are NOT Adam. Both men died on the cross. Only one rose again. We are Jesus. The Father's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That is our true identity. That is who we are. And when we understand who we are--expecially in the context of who God is--that's when we can stop merely surviving this life and we can begin to thrive in this life! Not life as we have always known it, but the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God! His life of love! Look at John 16:27 (NLT), "For the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God." The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. God is love and He loves you. That's the ultimate truth of the universe. And it comes through Jesus. Not quite like He's a middleman between us and God (because He IS God), but more as a way for us to fully realize and understand the relationship between God and man. Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of man. Again, God in the flesh. His Spirit in us is how we participate in and experience and enjoy the love of the Father. You can't know the Father's love until and unless you know yourself as the Father's Son. But when you do... oh, man! It's everything this life was created to be!

There are a lot of pictures of God in the Bible. That's kind of the point of the book--showing us who He is. But the one that seems to be used the most--and used by Jesus, especially--is the picture of a loving Father. Even in the parable of the Prodigal Son, that's what we see... a father who loves his son no matter what. So that's the picture I always go back to. I like the picture of God as the light of the world. Of Jesus' life being the light of men. And I like the picture of God as a consuming fire--being totally consumed with His love so that there is nothing left besides that love. All such good pictures. Different aspects of the love that is God. But, again (and especially as a father myself), my very favorite, and I believe the very best, picture is the Father who loves His Son. That's so easy to understand. So relatable. Look at John 15:9 (NLT), "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love." To me, it's that simple. And that powerful. To me the ultimate truth of the universe is that God is love and He loves you. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. It's the idea of the family business, right? Which, even from a young age, was what Jesus concerned Himself with. When Jesus was a boy, his parents lost Him. And I say it that way because Jesus wasn't lost. He knew exactly where He was and He wsa exactly where He was supposed to be. Which is what He said when His parents found Him. "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). And here's the key: Jesus always knew who He was. Because He always knew who His Father was. The love and approval and acceptance of a Father will always equip and empower a Son. When Jesus was baptized this came to fulfillment. "And a voice from heaven said, "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy"" (Mark 1:11 NLT). Those Words propelled Jesus into His earthly ministry. Because before being baptized, there are no recorded events of Jesus doing any miracles. AFTER His Father publically approved and accepted Him... that's when things started to happen. Walking on water. Turning water to wine. Healing people everywhere He went. Multiplying fish and loaves of bread. From that point on Jesus did whatever needed to be done. And I'm of the opinion that a lot of the things we are blown away at, Jesus almost just took for granted. Like walking on water. I think, to Him, it was just the quickest way to get to where He was going. Multiplying the food... there were lots of people that were hungry, so He fed them. Problem solved. Because it seemed that Jesus was very matter of fact about His "miracles." He didn't stress out, or make a big deal out of things. He simply went about His Father's business. Because He knew who He was, He knew who His Father was, and He knew that His Father loved Him. Even when He spoke about loving people, it came back to His Father's love. "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me." Receiving and releasing. That's how Jesus lived His life. And that's how we can experience that same abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. All we have to do is remain in His love. Understand and accept that as He is, so are we in this world. Jesus is our true identity. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. WE are the Father's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. WE have been equipped and empowered to love God (by loving people) because He first loved us! Everything flows from the Father's love to His Son!

When you let God--love, your heart--lead, things turn out better. That's just the way it goes. Because God knows the end from the beginning. Not only does He know where we should go, but He knows the best way to get there! He brought the mountains low and the valley high and made the way straight. God isn't trying to make things hard for us. He's trying to show us our perfection--and that is a process... a maturation process that can take some time... but he's not in the business of hurting us or making us suffer. In probably the most famous Bible verse (John 3:16) Jesus tells us that God sent His only begotten Son that we might not perish but have everlasting life! He doesn't want us to just survive, He wants us to thrive! And it's only when we truly understand--and believe--that God has our best interests at heart that we can truly obey Him from a place of rest. We think obedience means doing something we don't want to do. "Well, I have to do it because my Father told me to." When, really, that's not the case. Because whatever God tells us to do... that's the best thing we could possibly do at any given time. Because the ONLY thing God EVER tells us to do... is love people. What He commands, and what we need to obey, is found in John 13:34 (NLT), "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other." That's the only thing we have to do. Because we were given life... so that we might life. Living is loving and loving is living. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. And it's not just life... it's abundant life. And what makes the abundant life abundant... is love! It's Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love! It's Jesus living His own life in us, and through us, and as us. It's obeying Him by giving Him the wheel. But in giving up the wheel, we don't bail out of the car. Co-laborers with Christ. Doing what He commands us to do by letting Him do what He wants to do (one more time) in us, and through us, and as us. That's how we operate from a posture of rest. Rest, friends, is not inactivity. It is Holy Spirit directed activity. And, once again, the only thing the Holy Spirit ever directs us to do... is love one another. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. That's the New Commandment, and that's how we obey the New Commandment AS the New Man that is Jesus. Just as Jesus loves us... that's how we are to love one another. Receive and release His love. Breathe it in and breathe it out. Let God love the hell out of us and then love Him back by loving the hell out of each other. And that's important to understand, because you can't give what you don't have, and you can only give what you do have. We love... because He first loved us. He gave us what we needed. Now we have it. Now we can use it, and share it, and give it away! Love IS giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. Here's my big ending: In order to obey God we have to know what He wants us to do (love one another... love Him BY loving one another) and we have to, you know, DO IT. Put our money where our mouth is. Charity is love in action. It's more than just an idea. It's actually LIVING life by LOVING the people that you come into contact with. To live is to love and to love is to live. If you want to live... you have to love. If you're loving people, you're obeying God. You're trusting Him that what He wants us to do (love each other) is the best thing to do!

I think Jeremiah 42:6 (NLT) says it as simply as it can be said: "Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us." Obedience is a trust issue. If we believe that God knows the end from the beginning, and knows the best way to get us to where we need to go, we will obey Him--whether we like it or not. Whether it seems "good" or not. I think we put ourselves through a lot of pain and suffering because we always want to go our own way. Be the captain of our own ship. Be in control. When what we need to do is, "Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honeored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world" (Psalm 46:10 NLT). There's a way that seems right to a man, right? And that's the way we always think we should go, and that's the way we always try to go. But the end thereof is death. Because JESUS is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Way to the Father. The Truth about the Father. The Life of the Father. No man comes to the Father but through Him. That's our expected end--community and relationship with our heavenly Father. And we don't get it by running around like a chicken with its head cut off. We don't get it by trying really hard to get it. We get it by being still and knowing that He is God. We get it by resting in the loving arms of our heavenly Father. We get it by obeying Him. By knowing that whatever He tells us to do... that is the best possible thing to do. Especially when you consider that the only thing He ever tells us to do... is love. Love thy neighbor. Love the Lord your God with all your mind, body, soul, and strength. It's all about love. What else could the God who IS love possible expect us to do? Or want us to do? He loves us so that we can love Him back by loving each other. That's the New Commandment. That's what we're supposed to obey. And, yes, I get it. Sometimes it doesn't seem "fair" for us to treat people that way. We've referenced Jonah. He had a different idea of justice than God's idea of mercy. But when we do it God's way... it turns out right. The trick, and the key, is getting rid of our own preconceived notions. They're almost always misconceptions anyway. You very rarely know the whole story. So stop judging by appearance and start judging righteous judgment. Get off your high horse and stop thinking you know everything about everything. And, yes, we do have an unction from the Holy Spirit and we know all things (1 John 2:20). But that doesn't necessarily mean we understand everything we know. I'm telling you, what the world needs is love. What every person and every situation needs... is love. So instead of trying to jam a square peg into a round hole... we need to be able to just love people. Love them just the way they are. Obey God. And this is so key--LISTEN to God. We seem to think praying is talking to God, and convincing Him to see things--and do things--our way. It's not. It's listening to that still, small voice so that we can know how to love each other the way we need to be loved. Paying attention to people. Seeing a need and meeting it. When you get a "God idea" (from the mind of Christ that is already in you), listen to it. And don't just listen, put your money where your mouth is. Let the love that is inside you come out. That's what God commands, and that's how we obey. It's all about love. God is love. He wants us to love. That's why He first loved us. He gave us the love that we need to share with each other. All we have to do is receive it and release it. Breathe it in and breathe it out. Let God love us and love Him back by loving each other!

When you obey God, good things happen. It's that simple. Why? Because He knows the end from the beginning. Why? ""For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope"" (Jeremiah 29:11). In the King James Version it reads, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." God knows the end from the beginning. And He knows the best way to get from the end to the beginning. And consider this--what God KNOWS is more important and more powerful than what we THINK. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death. Sometimes it seems like going our own way is a good idea, but I'm here to tell you it isn't. Look at Proverbs 16:3 (NLT), "Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed." And sometimes I think that's where we miss it. We're always waiting for (or trying to avoid) God to tell us what to do. I believe more is lost by no decision than wrong decision. I believe many times we rob ourselves of the gift God has given us by either going our own way, or doing nothing at all. Looking for love in all the wrong places instead of going straight to the source. Obeying God isn't always hearing Him give an order and then following it. Now, having said that, if you hear God give an order... you should follow it. But obedience also has a large measure of simply including God in every aspect of your life. Letting love lead you, guide you, direct you, and protect you. See, God doesn't just want to be a PART of your life. He wants to BE your life because He IS life! He knows the plans and the thoughts that He has for you. He created you for a purpose. And, sadly, I don't think many of us ever experience that purpose. Certainly not to the fullest degree. But it is the pursuit that matters. David was a man after God's own heart, right? Not because he had it, but because he wanted it. Because he was AFTER it. So many times in the book of Psalms we see David cry out for God to give His heart and His spirit to us. David knew--in that timeframe and dimension before the cross--that he didn't have the fulness of God. But, man, he wanted it! And even though he made mistakes in his life, we wasn't disqualified from being one of God's favorites. That's how our heavenly Father feels about all of us! I'm God's favorite. And you are too! He is no respecter of persons. He looks at us--all of us--and sees Jesus. And He looks at Jesus and sees all of us! His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's the dynamic we live in now. Because Jesus lives in us. Now! And the key is simply the Son obeying the Father. Not trying to follow in Jesus' foot steps--nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus--but letting Him make His own foot steps with our feet. Yesterday we talked about letting go and letting God. How giving a situation into God's hands doesn't mean we don't do anything. It simply means we let Him do what He wants to do in us, and through us, and as us. We give up the wheel, but we don't jump out of the car. We commit our plans to the Lord, and HE brings them to pass. By working through us. Working through you, and the people in your life. Working from the inside out. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. Because, bottom line, the thing God wants your obedience in... is life. Living and loving. Living BY loving. Letting God love you and loving Him back by loving people. That's the New Commandment for the New Man and that's how we obey God!

Faith and obedience. Kind of like how love and life are not just connected, but the same thing... faith and obedience are really the same thing. Look at Genesis 15:6 (NLT), "And Abram belived the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith." If you trust God, you'll do what He says. Period. Because you'll trust that He KNOWS what's best. Come on, guys, He knows the end from the beginning. He IS the beginning and the end. And He doesn't expect blind faith from us. He first (and consistently, always) proved Himself faithful. Look at Romans 10:17 (NLT), "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." It's the Divine Order of knowing and believing. Because you can't believe what you don't know. You have to know it first. Then you can believe it. Faith comes from hearing the Word. Which is Jesus, which is love. First you hear the still, small voice deep inside saying, "I love you" with every beat of God's heart in your chest... then you let that love that is inside you come out. Know it and believe it. Receive it and release it. Think about it, God counted Abraham's faith as righteousness. God told Abraham to go... and Abraham went. It's really that simple. And I have a whole podcast episode on this (The Father of Faith) if you're interested in hearing more about it. But the bottom line is trusting God and doing what He says. That, to me, is where our personal responsibility comes in. Like, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, right? God can show us what to do, or tell us what to do, but then WE have to do it. And, yes, it is the power of God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. I'm not saying we do what He says in our own power. Exactly the opposite. We AGREE to do what He says, and then HE does it in us, and through us, and as us. Giving up the wheel doesn't mean getting out of the car. Look at 1 Corinthians 3:9, "For we are labourers together wtih God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." Co-laborers with Christ. We do what we do because HE is doing it in us, adn through us, and as us. Did I already mention that? My dad taught me the best way to learn is through repetition, so I'm going to keep mentioning it. Keep saying it until somebody hears it. Faith. Obedience. Righteousness. And here's the thing--when you know God will never lead you astray or steer you wrong, it's easy to trust Him. Easy to let go and let God. Easy to do what He tells you to do. Because at that point you will understand that it is the best possible thing to do. It might not always look like, or feel like, the most FUN thing to do. But there is more to life than just having fun. And, really, when you start to experience love on that level--receiving it and releasing it--you will be able to understand what FUN really is. Some of my happiest moments in life were when I gave someone something. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. And, yes, you have to receive first so that you HAVE something to give. But the ultimate culmination and fulfillment comes in giving what you've got. Because love is giving. If you're being selfish, you're missing out on what life really has to offer. If you're being selfless, you're being obedient, and you're experiencing life to the fullest. The abundant life that Jesus came so that we might have. And what makes the abundant life abundant? Love! Love is literally the difference between life and death. And love is the reason that we CAN trust God. He loves us. That means we can trust Him. He loves us. That means we can do what He says without worrying about it!

I always talk about how obedience is a trust issue. If you trust God--if you know and believe He has your best interests at heart--you'll do what He says. And I think probably one of the best pictures of this dynamic is the story of Jonah. God told Jonah to go preach repentance in Nineveh. God wanted to save the city, and He wanted to use Jonah to do it. But Jonah thought the city ought to get what it "deserved." Jonah didn't agree with God's idea of mercy and forgiveness. And that's why he fought God every step of the way. He didn't obey, because he didn't trust that God was doing what needed to be done. I think that's how a lot of us are a lot of the time. We think we know what's best. But THINKING you "know" what's best does not, in any way, shape, or form, compare to the One who KNOWS the end from the beginning. And here's something I was talking about with my best friend today--there's such a spirit in this day and age of nobody wanting to take responsiblity for their actions. Everybody seems to have a victim mentality. We always look at things as happening to us, instead of things being the consequences of our own actions. Even to the point where when we say things like, "Jesus take the wheel!" we have kind of made that mean, "It's out of my hands. I don't have to do anything." Guys--rest is NOT inactivity. It is Holy Spirit directed activity. God told Abraham to go and Abraham went. That's the father of faith. That's what God accepted and attributed as righteousness. Faith, in other words, is obedience. If you believe God, you'll do what He says. If you trust that God knows the way--and, in fact and in truth IS the Way--you'll walk by faith and not by sight. See, God made the Way of Grace. And we respond to it with the walk of faith. It's not about abdicating our personal responsibility. It's about taking responsibility to do what God tells us to do. My son and I were just talking about censorship. I'm 100% against it. I think it's the worst. Having said that, I believe it is a parent's responsibility to make sure they are monitoring the content their children consume. Logan's position was, "That's censorship if you're not letting me watch whatever I want." And maybe by the letter of the law his Logan Logic is sound. But it's different because until he turns 18, he's my responsibility. I choose what I'M going to consume, because I am my responsibility, and until he's an adult I have that same responsibility for him. My point is--there is nothing Biblical or Spiritual about the victim mentality. There is nothing helpful or productive about saying, "I'm putting it in God's hands" and then sitting down and crossing your arms and pouting about it. Letting Jesus take the wheel means letting Him drive the car that YOU are. If I can say it that way. You're not opting out of the situation, like Jonah tried to do. You're simply letting God do what He's of a mind to do... in you, and through you, and as you. Offering yourself as a living sacrifice, as Romans 12:1 says. It's never about doing nothing. It's always about doing the right thing. When you can be still and know that HE is God... when you can hear that still, small voice deep inside and you LISTEN to that voice... you receive instructions. God shows you the way to go and the things to do in order to get there. Which, by the way, I can sum up for you in one Word--love. Holy Spirit directed activity. The Spirit of love leading and guiding us. What else could the Spirit of love possibly direct us to do BUT love? What I'm trying to say, in my roundabout way, is: if you want to obey God... love people. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. That's what it's all about. That's His New Commandment, and that's how we obey Him!

We're all in this together. I've spent the last four days really focusing on a one-on-one relationship with God. Holding on to Him and Him holding on to us. But to end this Rant series I want to shift focus a little bit. Look at Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT), "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." We're all in this together. Did I mention that? So it's important that we tie ourselves together. Embrace the togetherness. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'm not for everybody. That I can't do everything. And that's ok. Because I don't have to. I'm not supposed to. And if I'm trying to do something I'm not supposed to be doing, a couple of not great things are happening. 1. I'm not doing it as well as someone else can. And 2. I'm robbing that person of manifesting THEIR destiny. Now, having said that, there are times when you're the only one around and you gotta do what you gotta do. Do the best you can with what you've got in a given situation. But we're talking about excellence here. We're talking about the More Excellent Way that is Jesus. We're talking about each person being a different member of that one body of Christ. So just do your job. And let the other members do their job. Tie yourself to your neighbor in such a way that you're back-to-back with them. "I've got your back." And if I've got your back, and you've got mine, neither one of us has to worry about ourselves. That's a good place to be. That's a SAFE place to be. Especially when you factor in Matthew 18:20 (NLT), "For where two or three gather ogether as my followers, I am there among them." And the thing I really like about this verse is that even if you're all alone... you're not all alone. Because of the cross and through the Holy Spirit, God lives in us. So that's your two right there. You and God. The Father and the Son. So you never have to worry about being "alone." Someone--your heavenly Father, the Creator of all the world--has your back. The best way to manifest this truth is by having your neighbor's back. That's all I'm trying to say. God works in mysterious ways because God works through people, and people are mysterious. People are messy. People don't do what you think they should do all the time. But that doesn't mean you immediately give up on them, either. Sometimes getting to the end of your rope means letting your neighbor be who HE is instead of who YOU think he should be. And sometimes you need to tie a knot in your rope in order to LET him be who he is (or who he thinks he is). Shining the light of the world is the only we can show people who they REALLY are. Shining the light of love. Loving people just as they are is the only way to truly tie ourselves together. And that knot--that rope--is Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered... HE holds us together! And a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. There's strength in it. We think we have to do it all, but we really really don't. Jesus already DID it all. Holding on to Him is really HIM holding on to us. Holding on to HIM is really US holding on to each other. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. That's the key and the secret to life. It's all about love. Love is the triple-braided cord that holds us together. You... me... and Jesus. Three cords. Not easily broken. Especially when there's a knot tied in it, and ESPECIALLY when it is God who tied the knot!