What got into you? That's such an important question. Because so many times in our lives we let things get into us. We go through things, yes. In this world there WILL be tribulation. But we don't have to let things go through us. Let me quote my passage of Scripture, "He said, "Come ahead." Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!" Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, "Faint-heat, what got into you?"" (Matthew 14:29-31 MSG). And we can see that the fear got into Peter. He replaced--in a sense--his faith in Jesus with faith (or unbelief, or sin) in his circumstances. Because I believe when Peter walked "on water" he was really walking on the Word of God. Jesus said, "Come." It wasn't the water, it was Jesus saying, "You'll be ok." And as long as Peter had his eyes on Jesus, as long as the Word of the Lord was the only thing he was focused on, all was well. The waves were churning beneath his feet the whole time. But it wasn't until he looked at them that he lost his nerve. Things are always going to be going on all around us. But if you notice, the waves were under his feet. He was above it all when he was in Christ, if I can say it that way. We WILL have tribulation. But we can be of good cheer because Jesus already overcame the world. And He's in us. And we're in Him. If we know what's in us--Jesus, God, love--then we don't have to let anything get into us. Now before I go too far I want to say one thing real quick: When Peter stumbled... Jesus didn't condemn him. He reached out, grabbed him, and helped him back up. Which is to say, we can always--ALWAYS--run to God. Even in the midst of our mistakes. Especially in the midst of our mistakes. I think we'd make a lot less mistakes if we included God (love) in the whole process, but what I'm trying to say is He's not some petty, petulant child who refuses to play if He isn't picked first. God is there for us. All the time. He lives IN us. And while I think God is too much of a gentleman to force His will or His ways on us, I also believe that those who call on His name will be saved. And I'm not talking about being saved from some eternal hell. I'm talking about, "I'm in hell right now and I need help!" I was walking, but now I'm drowning. "Well, you should have just believed harder." That's what religious folk would have you believe. When in fact, Jesus just reached down and pulled Peter up out of his mess. "Faint-heart, what got into you?" He wasn't necessarily happy that Peter stumbled, but instead of punishing him, or judging him, or condemning him... Jesus just helped him up. Jesus always helps us up. He HOLDS us up. So that we don't HAVE to stumble and fall. We don't have to let things get into us. Even as we go through things. We can learn and grow instead of letting things wreck us. Maturity is a process. Love will carry us through!

Let me drop my memory verse right at the top and then dive into it. "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (John 14:20). Its knowing who we are in. Who is in us. That's the key. Knowing and believing. The truth is the truth no matter what. Always has been. Always will be. And the truth HAS set us free. But it is only in the knowing and believing of the truth that we can experience that freedom. Knowing that we are in God because He is in us. We are in love because love is in us! Remember, God is love. Its all about love. Remember, to live is to love and to love is to live. No love, no life. Know love, know life! What you know is what you do. When you know better, you can do better. Revelation. The uncovering of the hidden truth. At that day, right? What day? The New Day. The day when we received the Holy Spirit. The love receptor. And I say "received" because it was given to all of humanity when Jesus ascended. He went "up" and the Holy Spirit came "down" if I can say it that way. He left us the Comforter. So that we might know (and believe) that we are who God says we are. So that we can stop trying to be someone we're not and just be who we are. I speak quite frequently about "living" Jesus' life by letting HIM live it in us, and through us, and as us. Nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. We aren't supposed to try to mimic Him. But when we understand that He is in the Father, and we are in Him, and He is in us... then we can begin to experience His life. We can let what's inside come out, by knowing and believing that its in there. We can let the love that's inside come out. Not by faking it until we make it, but simply by filling ourselves up to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. What's in you WILL come out--or, more accurately, what you BELIEVE is in you will come out. It has to. Its too big to stay inside. So knowing what's REALLY in there ALLOWS it to come out. Naturally. Living from the inside out. Letting what's inside come out. That's what this life is all about. That's what this life is for. What's in you coming out as you know WHO is in you. Who you are in. I think tomorrow I'm going to focus on Jesus asking one of His disciples "What's gotten into you?" Because that's such an important question. Its kind of the idea of checking yourself before wrecking yourself. But I'll leave that for tomorrow. For tonight I want to just focus on the glorious truth that there is no separation between us and God. No separation between us and love. Love is in us and we are in love. And because its in us (because we're in it) it can come out of us. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. That's why its so important to KNOW (and believe) what you do have. Letting the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of Truth--lead and guide us into all truth is the key to the Kingdom. Letting the love inside come out by knowing and believing that its in there. Letting Jesus live His life of love in you, and through you, and as you by doing things because they are in your heart to do it!

Who we are "in," or what (WHO) we know and believe is in us, is so so so important. It defines us. Because what's inside comes out. It has to. Its too big not to. Whether it be good, bad, or ugly. We are not meant to hold things in. Think about it. When you bottle up your anger... it eventually explodes. That's just the way we're built. That's why we need healthy, positive ways to express ourselves. Emotions are too big. They need room. And I think a huge part of that is simply acknowledging them. I always tell people, "Feel how you feel, but don't let it control you." Because if you're mad... you're mad. It doesn't really matter if you "should" be mad or not. What matters is what you do with that anger. Or that hurt. Or that happiness. Whatever it is that you're feeling. We're supposed to feel things. The key is to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves. I think Ephesians 4:26 says it best, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath." Be angry. But be in control. Self control is a fruit of the Spirit. And don't let it fester. Don't let the sun go down on it. Deal with it. Release it--again, in a positive, healthy way--and be done with it. Let what's REALLY inside trump what you sometimes FEEL inside. There's a song lyric--y'all know I like to quote song lyrics--that says, "I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like." Well, Spiritually speaking its the exact opposite. I can't always tell you what it feels like--and I WON'T tell you how you're "supposed" to feel about it--but I CAN tell you what it really is. Because what it really is... is love. That's 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. We are the Son, because we are IN the Son. Because the Son is in us. That's our true identity--Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. We live in Him because He lives in us. When Jesus was lifted up from the cross He drew all men into Himself. He planted Himself in all men. When we know that Jesus lives in us--that LOVE lives in us--that's when we can rise above whatever we may be feeling. Now don't get it twisted, I'm not saying we should try to not feel it. I'm saying that no matter what it feels like... we know what it really is. "I'm upset. But I know my heavenly Father has my back. So no matter what, I'm going to be ok." Casting our cares on Him, right? Because He cares for us. Letting go and letting God, as they say. One more song lyric for tonight: "I'm madly in anger with you." That's a problem. If we're in anger, its because anger is in us. Because we haven't let it go. We haven't dealt with it. Sometimes even just venting. Talking about it. Letting it out so it doesn't fester and build and then explode. What we are in is what is in us. You are what you love, not who loves you. What you give defines who you are. How people treat you says more about them than it does about you. So know what's in there. Know it, believe it, and let it out!

I try to touch on this truth every once in a while to keep it fresh in our minds, because I think its really important. Who you are "in" defines who you are. Look at Romans 5:18 in the Message Bible, "Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us into all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!" So we can see this concept of two men. I wrote a whole book about this--Identity Crisis. About how there are only two men who have ever lived. Adam and Jesus. About how we either identify with one or the other. Adam, of the earth, earthy... or Jesus, the Lord from heaven. Before the cross we were all "in" Adam. He stood as humanity's representative. Whatever he did, we--in a sense--did. Whatever happened to him happened to us. When Adam ate from the tree of knowledge and good and evil he died. And we died in him. Spiritual death. He got us into trouble with sin and death by sinning (unbelieving) and dying. Before the cross we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Because of Adam. Because we were IN Adam. Now look at John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto men." He drew us out of Adam and into Himself. He took up that position of representation. No longer did Adam define us. No longer did what happened to him happen to us. From that point on what happened to JESUS happened to us. When JESUS died--the second death, the death OF death--we died. Crucified with Him, yet alive in Him. Because when Jesus was judged by the Father, He was given a life sentence. An abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life sentence! When Jesus was raised from death and brought back to life... so were we. He got us out of trouble. Yes. But more than that, He got us into life. HIS life. We can experience that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection life of love by letting Jesus live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. We can stop living according to what the world tells us and we can start living according to what our heavenly Father tells us. Because we are "in" the world, but we are not OF the world. We are Spiritual creatures--new creations, a New Man. And we can (and should) act accordingly. We can (and should) set our affections on things above and not on the earth. We don't have to drag around that corpse of the old man anymore. He died when he ate of the tree of death--not a punishment from God, but simply the natural consequences of his action--but at the cross we were able to let go of that dead old man. Drown him in the watery grave of baptism. Let go and let God, as they say. Because we're not in Adam anymore. We're in Christ. Christ is in us. He lives in us. He isn't just visiting. He dwells in us. He's right where He wants to be. So when we need something--anything--we can look inside. Look into our hearts. That's where love is. And love is what we need. We're in Christ. Love is in us. Its not what's outside... its what's in!

We're all in this together. That's what I've been trying to say in this Rant series. We're not the same, and that's ok. That's on purpose. We're different. Because we're supposed to be different. But we fit together in a way that my strengths can cover your weaknesses and vice versa. 1 Corinthians 12:13-15, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?" We need each other. I need what you bring to the table and you need what I bring to the table. The hand AND the foot are both equally important. Both are needed. Both are necessary. Its not good that man should be alone. We are connected by the one Spirit. The Spirit of truth that leads and guides us into all truth; the truth that God is love and He loves you. Love is what binds us together. Love is what connects us. We need each other. We need that connection. Its ok for me to be a hand and you to be a foot. And, think about this, we can be part of the same body without bumping into each other. The elbow is massively important, but it doesn't really interact with the knee too much. Both are joints that give flexiblity to the body. But we can be working together without tripping over each other. If you do your part and I do my part everything will get done. I guess I'm trying to say sometimes you can love someone from distance. Sometimes less is more. You don't always have to BE together to be together. If you can pick up what I'm laying down. Helping or hurting, right? As long as we're all pulling in the same direction we'll get where we want to go. Its the idea of speaking with the same voice--speaking the same Word. Not being robots. Not needing everything to be exactly the same in every case. But having that same Spirit. Having that same foundation of love. Knowing that, at the end of the day, its all about love. Finding common ground. Looking for reasons to get along instead of reasons not to. I think we makes things a lot harder than they have to be sometimes. By demanding, or expect, to get our own way. Demanding that people do what WE want instead of letting people do what they're gonna do and be who they are. That's a recipe for disaster. That's no way to make a connection or have a relationship. And that's what life is all about--connecting with people and having relationships. Again, its all about love. So we need to understand that differences are ok. Differences need to be celebrated instead of squashed. Its not a bad thing to be unique. God made you the way you are... on purpose. He made you the way He wanted you to be. The trick is finding out who you really are instead of trying to be someone you're not. The trick is being together, but still being yourself... and letting other people be themselves. Loving people without expectations. Living and letting live. We HAVE to learn to coexist with each other... because we're all in this together!

Let me throw my memory verse down and then spend the rest of the Rant trying to explain it. Because it takes a little explaining. Ok? Good. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). Now, on the surface, it may seem like this verse is advocating that we all be religious robots. That we all fit into one little box. Drink the preacher's kool-aid and nobody step out of line. But I don't think that's what's what. At all. If you're in place where you have to believe or else... that's not the right place to be. God isn't about rules and regulations and do this or else. God is love. THAT'S the same thing that we're supposed to speak. That's why (and how) there are to be no divisions among us. That's how we join together in the same mind (of Christ) and (righteous) judgment of God. Its not about everybody being exactly the same. Variety is the spice of life. Our differences are what keeps things interesting. And, listen, having things in common is great. Truly. Being able to share things like music, movies, whatever. Common ground is important. But the goal is not for us (for anybody!) to be exactly the same. Again, God doesn't want robots. He made you... YOU. Specifically. On purpose. For purpose. By purpose. You are the you that you're supposed to be. The key is not to be someone you're not. The key is to be who you really are, by knowing who you really are. Who you are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in you. So when we come together, its not about everybody being exactly the same. One of the pastors at my old church would always say, "Major on the majors and minor on the minors." Which means, if its not important... just let it go. FIND that common ground. I believe that if you want to, you can always find a way to connect with someone. On the other hand, I believe that if you're looking for reasons to NOT like someone, you'll be able to find them. It all depends on that mind and that judgment. Because the mind of Christ only thinks good thoughts. Thoughts of peace and not of evil. That righteous judgment of God is not condemning people for doing things we don't like, but loving people no matter what. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if you want to be in a relationship with someone... you probably can. And I'm not talking 100%, because there are times that things just don't work out no matter how hard you try. But I'm saying, once you give it all you've got that's either enough, or its not. You have to give it your all though. You have to try. Find that common ground, if you can. Don't expect people to be what you think they should be. Let people be what (and who) they are. Line up with love. That's literally all you can do. Speak love. Let love cover the multitude of sins. Be perfectly joined together--not because we're necessarily exactly the same--but because we have the same foundation. That common ground. Love. Let love be our point of connection. Our point of commonality. Its all about love!

We're better together. Different pieces of the puzzle that make the whole picture. Look at Matthew 18:19 in the Message Bible, "When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action." To me that's powerful. To me that completely reinforces the idea of how its not good for man to be alone. It completely reinforces the idea of how a three-braided cord is near unbreakable (Me, you, and God. Three braids). So its not me trying to do it (whatever it is) on my own. Its not me trying to make something happen. Its US giving what WE'VE got to the Lord. Getting together and making a prayer of it. Letting the Word (Jesus, love) be a lamp unto OUR feet and a light unto OUR path. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We're better together. We're all in this together. And that includes God. Do EVERYTHING you do with love. Because of love. For love. By love. Make a prayer of whatever you do. Do it heartily--to the best of your ability, and because its in your heart to do it. But don't do it alone. Love is about relationship. Connection. And, like the old saying says, "It taks two to tango." Love requires at least two people. Someone loving and someone being loved. That's why the God who is love created us--He wanted to express Himself. He wanted to express His love. But He needed someone to express Himself TO. That's where we came in. And in the same way, in order to truly experience this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love that is the gift of God... we need each other. We can't love without someone TO love. There's a song lyric that says, "You are what you love, not who love you." Because we can't control how other people treat us. We can only control how we treat other people. And how you treat people says more about you than it does about them. Giving what you've got, rather than trying to get something you think you haven't got, is the key to life. Because love is giving. And to live is to love. To love is to live. I guess what I'm trying to say tonight is: There are three elements of "together." You. Me. God. And, of course, by "God," I mean LOVE. Love is what binds us and keeps us together. Love is what makes it all worth it. Love is when God gets involved, if I can say it that way. Love--or charity, love in action--is when God goes into action. I heard a preacher once say, "When you work, God will rest. But when you rest God will work." God shows up--and shows out--when we move in love. Because He IS love. When we get together and make a prayer of things... that's when things get real. That's when love lights things up and we can see clearly. That's when we can see that things ARE in Divine Order. We don't have to PUT things in Divine Order, we just need to love so that we can SEE things in Divine Order. The old song says, "It takes two, baby, me and you." But in this case... let's not forget God. Let's not forget love. He is the glue that helps us stick together. That binds us when everything and everyone else tries to tear us apart. Alone... we are ok. Sometimes. But together we are better. Always!

This is all I'm trying to say in this Rant series: "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Romans 12:5). We're all in this together. We're different--and that's a good thing. Because while there are some things I can't do, those might just be the very things that you can. And then, together, we can do it all. Its not good that man should be alone, because we are better together. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. I always say, "I can do anything... but I can't do everything." Which is to say, I try to take things one thing at a time. But, in reality, while the Bible DOES say we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us... I'm a man who knows my limits. I know there are things I am good at, and things I'm not good at. I know there are things I've been called to do, and things I haven't been called to do. So when I try to do those things that I haven't been called to do... it doesn't go very well. Sometimes I inadvertantly make things worse instead of better. Even though my intentions are good. (But you know what they say about good intentions, right? Something about the road to hell being paved on them?) What I ought to do is do what I CAN do to the best of my ability. Do your best and forget the rest. Because, look, if something is not for me to do and I try to do it anyway... chances are I'm robbing you of you being able to do your part. And that's a disservice to both of us. That means I'm doing your part poorly, and you don't get to do your part. None good. So instead of trying to pretend like we're not different, or trying to get people to be just like us, we should CELEBRATE each others' differences. We should get it into our heads that we are, every one, members one of another. We're all connected. Even if we're as different as could be. That's ok. That's a good thing. Its the differences that make things interesting. God doesn't want robots. Or clones. He wants individuality. I always call my son "Mini-me." Because in a lot of ways we're very similar. But in a lot of ways we're very different too. And I don't EVER try to squash that. He doesn't like my music. I don't like his. That's ok. Sometimes we listen to his, sometimes we listen to mine. Sometimes we find something, like the Beatles, that we DO both like. And while that commonality is special... its not something you can force. You have to let people be who they  are. You have to live and let live. We can be connected without being identical. We're one body--the body of Christ--but we're all different parts of that body. And every part of that body is important. We are all, in our own ways, very important. So don't discount somebody just because they are different than you. We need to partake of one another. Celebrate one another. Because we are members one of another. We're all in this together. We need each other. And we need each other to BE each other. Don't try to be anybody. Not even Jesus. Let Jesus be Himself in you, and you will be yourself in Him!

I say this all the time: We're all in this together. Unfortunately, we seem to want to draw lines in the sand at every and any opportunity. Me on one side, you on the other. We--especially religious folk--always seem to want something to fight against. Like we think we're not doing our part unless we're tearing something (or someone) down. Like being on a sin hunt is something worthy of bragging about. When Jesus came to the earth and walked around in a human body, He wasn't on a sin hunt. He was on a righteousness hunt. He didn't come to show us what's wrong with us. He came to show us what's right with us. To give us life, and that more abundantly. To show us what we are truly capable of by showing us love. By showing us HOW to love. The New Commandment is for us to love one another as he loves us, right? To receive and release the love of God. To let God love the hell out of us and to love Him back by loving each other. That's the answer to the age old question, "What's this life for?". This life is for living. And to live is to love. To love is to live. But the part we seem to miss so often is that love is all about relationship. Connection. Not drawing lines with me on this side and you on the other side. Not demanding that you jump through my hoops to get over to my side. Not getting you to do anything. Because love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. Giving everything you are and everything you have. Without worrying about how it will be received. Giving it simply because you have it to give and because its the best thing going. Let me quote my memory verse for this Rant series before I get too deep. 1 Corinthians 10:17, "For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." I don't think I can say it any better than that. Different parts of the same body, right? The body of Christ. And we're not all supposed to be the same. God made us different on purpose. I think because variety is the spice of life. It would be pretty boring if we were all exactly the same, wouldn't it? Don't opposites sometimes attract? The things that you have that I don't--and vice versa--are the things that make us complete... together. The things you can do that I can't--and vice versa--are the things that ensure that everything can get done... when we work together. Its that old saying, "If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together." We're better together. Strengthened by that unbreakable bond of love. And did you catch that part of our verse? We ARE the bread, even as we are PARTAKERS of the bread! We fill ourselves up by filling each other up! I know that sounds counter intuitive, but I think its supposed to. Like how the first shall be last and the last shall be first, right? The Divine Order of things is kind of backwards and upside down from a "natural" point of view. Taking care of others is how we take care of ourselves. Because we're all in this together. The body is strongest when it is whole. Complete. When we take care of the "least" of them. Its all about unity. Connection. Relationship. Taking care of each other. Having each others' backs. Because we're all in this together!

Knowing (and believing) that God is our refuge--our hiding place, safe place--is important. But equally as important is knowing what that safe place empowers us to do. We hide behind love. Yes. But that means love goes before us. We aren't cowering. We aren't isolating ourselves. This isn't hide and seek where we kind of want to be found but we're trying not to. This is walking by faith and not by sight. Letting what's inside come out and knowing that we will be safe while we do it. Look at Hebrews 6:18-19 (this is, by the way, the only time the word "refuge" is used in the New Testament of the King James Version of the Bible), "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil." The two immutable things, of course, are the Father and the Son. With love in between, connecting them. The ultimate truth of the universe is, "God is love and He loves you." A Father's love for His Son. In whom He is well pleased. Impossible for Him to lie about that love because He IS love. So that's our foundation. That's the rock that we stand on. The refuge we dwell in and the hope we lay hold upon. God--LOVE--is the sure and steadfast anchor of our soul. That's where we run to when we're in trouble. Love. That's what equips and empowers us to live the life we've been given. We let God love us, and we love Him back by loving each other. That's the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life that we have been given. And we live it by letting HIM live it in us, and through us, and as us. By hiding in Him. Let me quote one more memory verse for this Rant series: "I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). We died. Yet we live. Because HE lives in us. Not our life--this new life is not just another chance to do it by ourselves! HIS life. With HIM living it in us, and through us, and as us. We dwell in Him even as He dwells in us. We love because He first loved us. This life "I" live is lived by the faith OF the Son of God. Not faith IN the Son of God. That's important. Because its His faith. And His faith never falters. He knows who He is. The beloved Son of God in whom He is well pleased. He knows who His Father is. He knows His Father's love. And that love equips and emopwers Him (and us IN Him) to love. Loved people love people. Knowing (and believing) that we are loved is what equips and empowers us to love. And to live is to love. To love is to live. We died. And that's important. But that's not the end of the story. We have a hiding place, but that's not the end of the story. Because a city set on a hill cannot be hid. When the light shines people see it it. And want it. They run TO it--to love, to God--instead of running FROM it. And that's the whole point of the whole thing... Relationship. Connection. Love, love, and more love!