A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. When you're pulled in two different directions, always stuck in the middle, you need to choose a side. My memory verse for today is Philippians 2:2, "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." Think about it for a minute: If you're a parent with more than one child--or even with a child that is in proximity with another child--you want your kids to get along. You want there to be peace and harmony. You don't want fussing and fighting. I remember in a movie one time some kids were going a little wild and the dad goes, "Keep it to a dull roar." Just deadpan. Because at that point, that was the best he could hope for. But being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of mind, makes your heavenly Father happy. Why wouldn't it. I believe that God's Word for us is, "You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Because when God looks at you, He sees Jesus. And when God looks at Jesus, He sees you. But the only way that we can have that unity with each other--the only way we can get rid of the schism, the divide--is to let the mind of Christ that is already in us BE in us. The only way that we can be at peace (with ourselves or with each other) is to let God's love fill us up to the point that what we are already full of comes out. Naturally. And, listen, there are people out there that you don't get along with. That's just life. That's just how things are. There's an old wrestling manager, Brother Love, who would always say, "I love you... but that doesn't mean I like you." Now I believe that loving people--truly giving them everything you are and everything you have--really blurs the line between liking and not liking them. Its hard not to like someone that you love. Because loving people is all about giving. It's not about getting. If your goal is to get something from someone, then your goal is twisted around. Backwards. The best way to feel love is to give love. Love is what brings us and binds us and keeps us together. Love is the bridge that crosses the divide. And its not about making people think the way we think. Or act the way we act. Its about me lining up with Jesus, and you lining up with Jesus, and in that, us lining up with each other. In the only way that really matters. We don't have to look the same, sound the same, BE the same. Love is what matters. Loving each other is the only way to connect on a real level. If we want to make God happy... its pretty simple: Let Him love you and love people with that same love. Let God fill you up with His love and let it out. Love Him back by loving people. Receive and release God's love. That's the secret. The key to life. Because living is loving. Loving is living. They aren't just connected. They are the same thing. You can't have one without the other, and you can't do one without the other. Love is the only thing that we can ALL agree on. Because love is the only thing we ALL want, and need, and desire. So, in having it, we must share it. Love is giving. Give yourself the opportunity and the ability to be stable. Let love stabilize you!

The way to get rid of the schism, the divide, is to let the (one, single) mind of Christ (that's already in you... BE in you. To use the mind you've been given. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." We HAVE the mind of Christ. Right now. Whether we realize it or not. Whether we use it or not. But since we have it, we ought to use it, right? Look at Romans 15:5-6, "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." In order to get rid of the schism is to be likeminded ACCORDING to Christ Jesus. We all have that same mind of Christ. That mind that knows the thoughts that it thinks toward us. Thoughts of peace and not of evil. Thoughts of love. Because if you notice, what you think in your mind is what comes out your mouth. With one mind and one mouth we glorify God. Being on the same page with what it really going on. Seeing it, being it, and saying it. Your words are so powerful. You can't just saying anything you want. Look at Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." What you say, what you do, is so important. Actions, and words, have consequences. And like my grandpa always says, "You can do anything you want, as long as you're willing to pay the consequences." Let me say it another way: "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). Basically, "Keep your words soft and sweet, because you might have to eat them." If there's love in your heart, it will come out in what you say and do. And that's the only way we can truly line up with each other. Its not about individual differences. Variety is the spice of life. We don't need to be robots. But if I line up with Jesus, and you line up with Jesus, we will automatically line up with each other. In the only way that matters. Major on the major and minor on the minors, right? Let love cover THE multitude of sins. Take people as they are. Let people BE who they are. And I'm not saying you have to be ok with everything and everybody. There are some things in life that you should not tolerate. Period. But that doesn't mean its your responsibility to change people. People are going to be who they're going to be. Sometimes all you can do is excuse yourself from a situation. If you do what you can do--and that's literally all you can do. Give it everything you have and everything you are and then its either enough... or its not--if you do what you can do, that's the limit. Turning the other cheek isn't about standing there and getting slapped over and over and over again. Its about not retaliating. Knowing your limits. Setting boundaries. Loving people, yes, but even if that means loving them from a distance. We have the mind of Christ in us. In order to get rid of the schism, the divide, all we have to do is let that mind that's already in us BE in us!

I'm going to start this Rant with the bottom line. With finally. "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you" (2 Corinthians 13:11). Lots of talking. Lots of things to say. And then, when we get to the end of it, be perfect. Be of good comfort. Be of one mind. Live in peace. These, to me, are all the same thing. When you get past all of the surface stuff, all of the crap that gets piled up on you by the world... by mistakes... or bad choices... when we can get past all of that stuff we are left with only thing: God. Love. The God of love and peace. With us, and in us, and through us, and as us. Peace is priceless. I'll just say that. And sometimes you have to let go of a lot of stuff that you've been carrying around for a long time to find peace. Its like the picture of a hand holding a rope. The harder you hold on, the more damage you do to yourself. Rope burn. Sometimes its better to just let go. Healthier. If you feel like you're stuck in the middle... pick a side. Pick a side and give that choice everything you have. Don't half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing. If you can pardon my French. If there's a schism, a division, the only way to have peace is to be of one mind. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. You can't get anywhere if you're being pulled in two directions. But on the other hand, even baby steps forward is making progress. If we're all of one mind... there can't be anything BUT peace. And I'm not saying we all need to be robots. Like the same things, say the same things, do the same things. Variety is the spice of life. We don't have to agree about everything. We just need to major on the majors and minor on the minors. Let people be who they are. But don't let people abuse you. Draw boundaries. That's ok. That's healthy. That's appropriate. Turning the other cheek means don't retaliate, not stand there and let people hit you over and over and over again. Love everybody, yes. Of course. But some people you have to love from a distance. Some people aren't for you. So focus on what you CAN do. Focus on those you CAN reach. God puts people in your life for a reason. Usually either a blessin' or a lesson, right? But you need to be focused on the things that are truly important in life. Setting your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Be perfect. That doesn't mean never make any mistakes. Perfection is about maturity. Perfection is about knowing that you are immaculately loved. Knowing that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. And then loving Him back by loving people. Receiving and releasing the love of God. You can't always bring two opposing sides together. Jesus did that on the cross. But its the truth you know that lets you enjoy the freedom you've been given. Not everybody knows. Not everybody can experience that. So you have to take things as they come. Some people aren't ready for what you have to give. And that's ok. If you can't be in fellowship with someone, you can stay away from them. If you're caught in the middle... pick a side. And give it everything you've got!

There's too much war going on. Internally, I mean. "Head vs heart" or whatever you want to call it. Paul wrote of it when describing being under the Law; doing what he didn't want to to do and not doing what he wanted to do. Being pulled in one direction but wanting to go in another. James 1:8 says, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." That's the problem. Here's the solution: "And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another " (1 Corinthians 12:23-25). We see things as black and white. I'm over here and you're over there. Members Only. Or we see ourselves as one thing, but trying to be something else. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to try to be someone you're not. Because at the end of the day, you are who you are. You are who God made you. And that's all you'll ever need to be. That's who you're supposed to be. But here's what I'm trying to say: God hath tempered the body together. We have no lack because our God has no lack, right? But that doesn't mean I can do it all on my own. Its not good that man should be alone. Having no lack might mean that I have people in my life that can pick up the slack for me. People that I am tempered together with. People that I am in relationship with. That, of course, means that we have to HAVE relationship with people though. I believe the only time we should ever look down on people is when we are reaching down to hold them up. I believe that if both sides want to, there is no reason we can't get along. And if we just plain can't... well, its a big world. We don't need to interact with everybody. Sometimes you just shrug your shoulders and move on down the road. Here's my focus for this Rant series though, because as important as our relationships one with another is... we need to get right with OURSELVES. We need to get rid of the schism in our own minds. In our own hearts. And just so we know for sure what we're talking about here, the word "schism" in 1 Corinthians is number 4978 in Strong's Greek Concordance. It means, "a split or gap, division, rent." Two different sides. Disharmony. Things not lining up. And, as I've been Ranting about, I think the best way to "line" things up... is to let God shine His light and show us that things ARE lined up. Things are in Divine Order. Right now. We don't need to put them there, we simply need to see them there. Our passage says there should be NO schism in the body. Again, getting along with your fellow man, yes. But also in OUR body. Individually. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. But a man who knows who he is... can BE who he is. A man who knows that he is loved... can love. Love is the thing that connects us. Love is the thing that lines everything up. Love is the thing that gets rid of the schism!

Second Peter chapter 1 lists a whole litany of things that should give diligence to and add to. I'm not going to quote the whole passage, or list all of them here. But its all those things like faith, virtue, knowledge, etc. What I want to quote, and focus on today, is 2 Peter 1:8-9, "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." When the light shines we can see things clearly. That's why Jesus came to blind those who thought they could see--those who thought they had it all figured out--and then give sight to us all. See, when we "add" things to ourselves, its really just us receiving what He has already given us. Where does faith, virtue, knowledge, forgiveness, mercy, love come from? James 1:17 tells us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Its all God. All love. That's what we need to see. THINKING we can see is thinking we can do things ourselves. Knowing we're blind is knowing that we need God. He is our life. Because He is life. To live is to love and to love is to live. Seeing love in every situation is the best--the only?--way to live. But if you lack (if you think, or believe you lack) all of those things that GOD has added to you... that's when you're truly blind and cannot see. That's when you've forgotten the finished work of the cross. Forgotten what God has done for you and as you. Forgotten who you really are. Looking in the mirror is so vitally important. Because when you do you see the glory of the Lord, and you are changed into that image from glory to glory. What you see is what you be. What you feed is what will grow. What you magnify in your life is what will manifest in your life. So I guess what I'm trying to say--tonight, and in this Rant series--is that seeing is believing. Walking by faith and not by sight is what's important. Letting God reveal Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us is the key. He came to make us all blind so that He could make us all see. He gave us everything we need to get rid of those blind spots. To spot excusing behavior (in other people and in ourselves) that isn't ok. But not by punishing us. Simply by showing us what's what. You can love people from a distance. You don't have to change them, but you don't need to enable them either. Turning the other cheek is not about letting someone keep slapping you. Its about simply not retaliating. Letting people be who they are, but setting boundaries so that you don't put yourself (or keep yourself) in a bad situation. If you fill yourself with all of the goodness that you've already been filled with, you won't have room for anything else. In the Father of lights there is no variableness or shadow of turning. In light there is no darkness. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Its all about love, love, love!

Everybody has blind spots. Either things that they feel justified in doing--even though they are not the right things to do--or people that they let get away with murder because "That's just how they are." We all have those things and people that we just can't see correctly. That's why Jesus spoke of making those who could see... blind. And making the blind to see. Look at Galatians 3:22, "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the pormise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." Jesus leveled the playing field. He took the "power" out of religious hands. He kicked the money changers' tables over because they has set themselves above the regular folk. And that's not ok. Let me say it like this, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We're all in this together. Is what I'm trying to say. Nobody is higher, or lower, than anybody else. We're all in this together. I'm gonna keep saying it. But being in this together doesn't mean we have to be ok with everything that everybody says or does. Boundaries are a good thing. Turning the other cheek isn't about standing there and letting someone slap you over and over again. Its simply about not retaliating when someone does slap you. The hard part is, if someone's in your blind spot, you might not even realize you're getting slapped. You think control, and manipulation, and abuse... is love. Because that's all you've ever known. Maybe your not "blind" to it, but you've accepted it as normal. The problem with that, of course, is that what you allow is what will continue. You have to respect yourself enough to stop people from hurting you. Not by hurting them back. Or punishing them for what they've done. But perhaps simply by excusing yourself from that situation. There's a quote about being the CEO of your own life, hiring and firing and promoting people. Your three t's (time, talent, treasure) are your most valuable assets. How you choose to spend them defines, in large part, how your life will go. What you feed is what will grow. What you give your attention to is what becomes important in your life. So what I'm saying is, everybody has blind spots. But once the light shines, and you begin to see clearly, that's when you have to choose what's ok for you and what's not. Paul said, "All things are lawful, but not all things are expedient." Basically, "I can do anything, but that doesn't mean I should." Not everything is good for you. Not every BODY is good for you. And its up to you to make sure that you're, in a sense, protecting yourself. I truly believe that God does NOT want us to put, or keep, ourselves in a bad situation. Yes we go through things. But the key there is going THROUGH them. Not staying stuck in them. You are not stuck. You don't have to stay where you are just because its where you are. What's that other quote? Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a long time making it. God allows U-turns. When you've been blinded, and then had your eyes TRULY opened, you can see the right path. The straight and narrow path that leads to life. And then its just a matte of walking by faith (true sight). Trusting your gut. Following your heart. Letting love guide the way!

This is one of my favorite progressions in all of Scripture. And it has to do with seeing things the way they really are. Which has to do with our blind spots. Which is why I'm using it here. I try to use it as often as I can. Ready? Song of Solomon 1:5, "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes." Pretty flowery language, right? But connect it to Luke 3:22, "And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased," and we really start cooking with peanut oil. Because the doves' eyes are the eyes of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our love receptor. He leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that God is love and He loves you. Having doves' eyes lets us SEE that love in our lives. And, if you notice, it comes from our love telling us how amazing we are. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) of God. The dove is so vitally important to this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love that we have been given. Beause nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. But we CAN experience His life by letting HIM live it in us, and through us, and as us. We can experience His love by knowing it and believing it. By receiving it and releasing it. Now watch this: Song of Solomon chapter 1 spoke of us having doves' eyes. Seeing with the Holy Ghost. Letting the light shine in our lives so that we can see things clearly. So things can be revealed to be in Divine Order. Listen--things have been in Divine Order--in the fulness of manifestation--ever since the cross. But what you see is what you be. The truth--again, that God is love and He loves you--has set you free and made you free. But if you don't KNOW you're free, you'll keep acting like a slave. So then we get to Song of Solomon chapter 5. "I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night" (Song 5:2). Did you catch that? First our Beloved told us that we had doves' eyes. So that we could see His love for us. Then, as we move onward, we ARE the dove. What you see is what you be. When you can see love... you can BE love. When you know and believe that God loves you, that's when you can love Him back. By loving people. That's when you can truly experience that life of love. Jesus came to make those who (thought they) could see blind. And He came to make those who were blind see. He came to show us who God is, by showing us who (and what) love is. So that we could have relationship with God and relationship with each other. We ARE doves. The Holy Ghost lives in us. Lives THROUGH us. The love inside coming out. What you see is what you be. What you believe is inside you WILL come out. You don't have to have a blind spot. You can let the light shine and see clearly. You can let God's love flow through you. Let God love the hell out of you, and love the hell out of people!

I'm gonna quote a memory verse tonight, but then I need to quote another one before I can really get into the first one. So that's at least two that we're going to talk about today. Ready? "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do no appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see" (Revelation 3:18). So that kind of seems to go right along with the religious mindset of doing things yourself. Getting things for yourself. Earning things from God. "I have to buy what I need. So I have to earn enough to buy it." But if we're talking about buying GOLD... which, usually we think of buying things WITH gold... maybe there's something else going on here. Look at Isaiah 55:1, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." So to me, BUYING is more about RECEIVING. Its about fighting the good fight of faith and laying hold of the gift we've been given. Not fighting to get something, but fighting to believe that we have something. Its the idea of putting on the whole armor of God. God already put it on us. Putting on the New Man. God already--through the cross--transformed and conformed us to the image of His Son. He put the New Man ON us when He put the New Man IN us. When Jesus was lifted up from the cross He drew all men into Himself... He planted Himself in all men. That's a done deal. That happened. This gold tried in the fire, realistically, that's us. WE are the gold that has been through the fire and is now purified. We are rich in Him. We have no lack because our God has no lack. We ARE dressed in that white raiment. Jesus prepared His bride for Himself. Clean. Without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. That wasn't our job. That was His job. That's what the cross accomplished. Now we are clothed, so we don't need to be ashamed of our nakedness. Now we are clothed in ram skin, or lamb skin. Clothed with the Son. He is our covering. Our provision. We don't have to earn from Him, or "buy" in the traditional sense of the word, from Him. He has given us everything. That's what love is: Giving everything you have and everything you are. He gave it all to us. Simply because He wanted us to have it. He wanted the best for us, so He gave the best to us. We have that. What we need is to, in a sense--because remember, this is all just us "buying" what He has already given us. This is us putting on (or sinking into, and getting comfortable in) what He has already put on us--what we need to do is annoint our eyes so we can see. Let Him make us blind, wipe the slate clean, erase that blind spot, so that HE can light up the world and show us how things really are. I think tommorrow I'm going to focus on one my favorite themes. Dove's eyes. Because seeing past the blind spot in our lives takes, quite literally, the power of the Holy Spirit. We can't do it. If we could, it wouldn't be a blind spot. It would just be an obstacle to climb. Which, by the way--mountains can teach us how to climb, yes. But God brought the valleys low and the mountains high so that we could simply walk the straight and narrow path!

Jesus had a lot to say about blindness. One of my favorites is, "...Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?" (Luke 6:39). Mostly because its a little bit cheeky and it sounds cool. But what's really interesting to me is that Jesus came to give sight to the blind... but He also came to take sight FROM those who thought they could see. Look at John 9:39, "And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they  which see might be made blind." He wanted it to go both ways. That was the judgment. A levelling of the playing field if I can say it that way. To explain, let me quote the next two verses in John chapter 9: "And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:41-42). Interesting that the Phariesees knew He was talking about them, eh? But that's the thing--if you're blind you know you need help. But if you think you know it all, if you think you can "see" then you won't accept help. You think you have it all figured out. You can see all the angles. But I think, no matter who you are, no matter how much you think you can see, you always have blind spots. You always have things that you miss. Whether its your own behavior--in which you feel justified, maybe, but don't understand the damage you're doing--or someone else's--"that's just the way they are." Well, that may be just the way they are but that doesn't make it ok. And if you turn a blind eye to it you're kind of enabling it. What you allow is what will continue. When the blind leads the blind everybody ends up in a ditch. But Jesus came to give sight to the blind. He came to shine a light so that we could see clearly. The light of the world. The light of love. When the light shines, darkness flees. When God arises, His enemies are scattered. So, to me, there's two parts to this. The judgment of God is not to punish anyone. Ever. God's judgment wasn't to kill His only begotten Son. His judgment was to raise Jesus back to life after Jesus sacrificed Himself. God's judgment is to make those who (think they can) see blind. But only so that He can TRULY open their eyes. Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we can start to climb. Sometimes we need to have NEW eyes. Like when Jesus made eyes out of clay that one time (see John chapter 9). Its like how we can't experience the new birth until we have the second death (the death OF death). A blind spot is just that--its something you're not aware of. And until someone shines some light on it... I always say, "If I don't know what the problem is, I can't fix the problem." Sometimes we need to be made blind, in a sense, so that we can be recalibrated, and made to see. Everybody has blind spots. But everybody can see clearly when the light is shining! When the light shines, things are revealed to be in Divine Order. When the light shines, the truth of the matter is revealed. The ultimate truth of the universe that God is love and He loves you!

Living your life from a place of thinking--thinking you don't have enough, or that you yourself are not enough--is the worst way to live. Because you'll always be chasing what you think you don't have. You'll always try to be someone you're not. Look at John 10:8-10, "All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Jesus speaking. The red letters. Talking about all that came before Him being thieves and robber. Talking about how trying to come into the sheepfold, the pasture, any other way but through the door is fruitless. You can't earn your way into it. You can't sneak your way into it. You can only enter through the door. Its like the tunnel of love. The straight and narrow path that leads to life. But what we fail to see in this passage--and believe you me, I've heard this preached so many times about how "The devil is the thief. And he's here to rob you, kill you, and destroy you!"--but what we fail to see in this passage is that WE are the thief, when we try to enter in through any other way but the door. We rob ourselves from what we've been given. We kill ourselves trying to get what we think we haven't got by being someone we're not. We destroy everything by trying too hard. Helping or hurting, right? Sometimes we make things worse by trying too hard. By holding on too tight. By thinking we know best. Trying to control people and events. Instead of just shining our light no matter what happens. Instead of knowing that even when it looks bad, all things work together for good. We need to really get it into our heads and hearts that we have no lack because our God has no lack. Stop trying to climb the wall, and just come in through the door. Stop making things so hard on ourselves (and each other) and just receive and release the gift we've already been given. You can't earn a gift. You simply have to receive it. Let what's already inside come out by knowing and believing that its in there. Knowing and believing that HE'S in there. That LOVE is in there! Listen: You have what you need to have. So don't rob yourself of what you've been given. You are who you need to be. So don't rob the rest of us of who you are. You are special. You are important. You have gifts, and ideas, and LOVE that only you can share in your unique way. So don't focus on what you don't have. Focus on what you can do with what you DO have! Don't focus on what's wrong, focus on what's right. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Love is what makes the abundant life abundant. So live fearlessly. LOVE fearlessly. Live out of your abundance. Let that light shine. Let that LOVE shine! Let what's inside come out. Be your best you. Do small things with great love. Do everything you do heartily--to the best of your ability, because its in your heart to do it. You have no lack, because your God has no lack... and He lives in you!