"Moses my Servant is Dead ...!!!!

The first interaction that Joshua has with God after the death of Moses appears in Joshua, Chapter 1 v 2 where God says to Joshua:

“Moses my servant is dead.  Now then you and all these people get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites”  Joshua C1 v 2 (NIV).

As the encounter continues God promises that nobody will be able to stand against Joshua and then twice in verses 6 & 9 tells him to be strong and of good courage.  In fact in verse 9 God goes further and tells Joshua to also not be terrified and not to be discouraged for He (God) will be with you wherever you go.

I suspect that these were just not platitudes that God was providing, but rather needed words as Joshua was looking at what lay before him and was probably feeling overwhelmed.  From a human perspective one can certainly understand why; Moses was going to be a hard act to follow.  Although Joshua had exhibited faith of his own went sent to spy out the Promised Land, even when others doubted God’s promise (Numbers 13 & 14), there had always been Moses around to mentor and to guide him.  Moses who was revered by the people Joshua was now meant to lead, Moses whom God had affirmed on so many occasions and now he was gone.  What is more, not only was Moses gone but God was directing them to move forward into the new land that He had promised them.  Change was about to take place.  Although the wilderness had been hard it was what the people knew and in a perverse way felt comfortable in, a place where they could survive.  It must have been very tempting for Joshua to say:

“Look Lord, you want me to lead these people.  They are going through change, a new leader.  Let’s not pile on too much in one go, let’s not make a precipitous or hasty decisions.  How about we stay in the desert for another year or so to facilitate an easy transition?  Then, when things have settled down and stabilized we can look at crossing the Jordan.  The last thing they need now is more conflict, more turmoil and to be upsetting people as we move into new territory”

Yet as far as we know he didn’t.  Joshua mobilized the people as God had commanded (verses 10 & 11) despite any fears, or concerns He might have had.  He was prepared to trust the God he knew regardless of whether he could see how things might turn out.  That trust was soon to be tested at Jericho were God’s plan for taking the city involved marching around it.  Not the most conventional military tactic!  I suspect that there must have been some who as they marched around the city must have been thinking or saying, “What is Joshua doing?  How are we meant to take a city just by walking around it?  Moses wouldn’t have done it this way … Oh if only Moses were here”.

In hindsight as we read through the book of Joshua, His leadership is seen to be exemplary even though it appears it was a role about which he had some trepidation.  Interestingly enough, Joshua’s starting point was not too dissimilar from that of his mentor, Moses (Exodus C3 v 1-12).  Both of them started from the place of fear and inadequacy of having to face the fact that in their own strength what they were being asked to do seemed impossible.  In God’s plan such a starting point is not uncommon. For example, in Judges 6 v 13-15  and 7 v2, Gideon finds himself in much the same position. 

This model of leadership is almost completely foreign to what we in our culture, and dare I say even in our churches, promote.  We seem to get caught up in the idea that leaders are innately strong in character, have been trained at all the right educational institutions, have been successful in everything they have attempted etc.  With such an inaccurate picture, it is no wonder that many of us find it hard to believe that God can be calling us to exercise His leadership in our families, in our homes, in our churches in our communities.  We know we are not strong, that we are struggling to survive in the desserts we are in.  While we often long and pray to leave those desserts, we feel secure in them, after all “better the devil you know …..right?”.

So what is the secret behind leadership?  There are many facets, but I think we get a good sense for what it involves in Joshua C1 v 7-8:

“Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or left that you may be successful wherever you go.  Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful”  Joshua C1 v 7-8 (NIV).

At first glance this may seem to simply be an admonishment to keep God’s laws and read His word.  While keeping God’s laws and reading His Word is something we should all be doing, I would suggest that this passage goes far beyond those actions alone.  This passage is really imploring Joshua to spend time getting to know and fellowship with God, to understand His ways and as a result be successful.  It is encouraging a commitment to relationship that as it grows and is nurtured will allow Joshua to understand God’s perfect ways and be successful because he is walking in God’s light and understanding seeing things as the truly are, not as they appear to be.  It is an approach that is encouraged many times in the Bible.  For example see:

·        Proverbs C3 v 5-8;

·        Matthew C7 v 7 -12; and

·        James C1 v 2-8

All of these passages encourage us to seek out God’s understanding of situations not our own.  As we do, so we will be brought to a place where God directs us to act.  While our nature is to want to know the outcome before we act, God’s way is to get us to act based on who we know (God) as opposed to what we know.   This is the definition of faith (Hebrews C11 v1).

It’s not often easy when we get to the point where we are sat in the desert knowing and feeling comfortable with what is behind us while at the same time looking at the Jordan in front of us not necessarily knowing what lies ahead.  While we may have been praying about our situation for a long time during which God may have blessed us with mentors, a comfortable lifestyle, good health, little or no conflict for a season, He now challenges us:

“Moses my servant is dead ….Now you and all these people get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites”

It is now between you and God as He calls you to move on and be His leader in a new area with which you may not be familiar or feel qualified; to move beyond the Jordan, often beyond your comfort zone, even though you might not feel equipped/ready to go.  His plan is for you to know and live life in all its fullness lies beyond the wilderness in which you have resided for so long, it lies in ways you have not even seen or begun to comprehend beyond the Jordan!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”

Inadequate as you feel, the Jordan lies ahead of you.  You will not be asked to cross it alone, but you will be asked to cross it.  As you take those first steps to cross, God will go before and with you, strengthen you and provide for you, even though you might not presently understand how.  The only question is, if God is calling you are you prepared to leave the “comfort and security” of the familiar and walk towards your Jordan?

“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and the gospel will save it.” Mark C8 v 34b-35 (NIV).

 

Living in Uncertain Times

A combination of  bad economic forecasts, job security or lack thereof, sensless acts of violence and and other things have contributed to many of us facing uncertain times and the assocaited stress /anxiety that goes with it.  As a Christian I am often left with this nagging feeling that I should have more faith and not be impacted by all of this, yet in truth find I too often get drageed into anxiety/panic in uncertain times.  In addition to the adverse physical/emotional drain that such anxiety can cause, I also end up feeling more defeated and feeling I should have a stronger faith..

Recently, I have been looking at some Psalms and if you get chance today compare and contrast Psalm 44 and 46.  Psalm 44 is a Psalm of despair/realization/frustration.  Despair, as at that time it appears hard for the Psalmist to see God.  Realization, in that the Psalmist appears to begin to understand that the resolution of tempestuouds circumstance lies not  with the guile/agility of men (see v 3-8).  However,even with this head knowledge you stiill see frustration and despair creeping in as he struggles to understand why things are still going "wrong" even though he apparently has done everything right (v 17-18).  Yet, two Psalms later in Psalm 46, although things still seem to be tempestuous as ever the Psalmist appears to have gained a new perspective (See verses 1-3).  It appears that as the Psalmist works through the uncertain circumstances in which he finds himself, it strikes him that it is God who will solve the problem, his role is to testify to just how great and caring God is, even during adversity (see v8 -9).

I can relate to this guy!  So often I am tempted to get  anxious, frustrated and despairing about a situation that I can do little or anything about and quite frankly has overwhelmed me.  I have done everything I know to do the right thing and yet still everything seems in turmoil and not working out and I ahven't been able to so"solve" it.  Thankfully, at times like these a small voice reminds me that the battle is God's and my role is just to bear testimony to those around me; to my family and others whom God has placed in my path; as to  how God is working and caring for each person even when it seems our world is turned upside down!

So at times when I feel I have no insight or control as to i how things will work out or what will happen in a given set of circumstances, what I can do is let God know that my desire is to focus beyond the turmoil and bear witness to God in a gentle way to those He puts in my path.   As I choose this over the temptation to panic or fear, time and time again God shows himself to be faithful. 

My next challenge, to remember to give things over to God as my first course of action as oppossed to my last .... something with which it seems I am still struggling!.

In Jesus Precious Name.

Steve

The Bread of Adversity

There is nothing more fundamental to the sustainment of life in our thinking than bread (or a similar staple such as rice) and water. Providing these elements are present we can live and grow; without them we die. While in the western world we consider only having access to such elements to represent a life of hardship, in many places in the world they constitute the provision of sustenance for which people are continually thankful; a lesson that we in the western world so often loose sight of.

In Isaiah Chapter 30 and verses 15-21 there is a reference to bread and water which we probably would prefer not to think of too often.

In verses 20 & 21 we find the following:

"Although the Lord gives you the bread a of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying 'this is the way, walk in it'"

The concept that adversity & affliction can be the elements through which our life is sustained and probably even grow is something that we would rather not contemplate. Moreover, the passage also suggests that they also an integral part of our learning process and guidance (verse 22). While in hindsight many Christians will acknowledge that times of significant growth most often occur during times of adversity/affliction, it is not a state they relish nor a state in which they desire to stay. In fact, generally speaking, affliction and adversity are states to which we devote significant time and energy trying to avoid and/or exit as soon as possible. Consequently, we are left with a dilemma; the situations during which we grow the most and learn a lot are the very situations which scare us the most and in which we want to spend the least possible time! Why is this? Does God have some perverse characteristic that enjoys putting us through spiritual boot camp? Is it a way by which we are meant to show what we are made of; a proving ground if you like? This is a question that many before me appear to have struggled with, as evidenced in books such as the Psalms (eg: Psalm 38) and in the New Testament letters of apostles such as Peter to the church which by this time has been scattered all over the place as a result of persecution (1 Peter C5 v 6 - 11).

Today you only have to visit your local Christian bookstore to find a plaethora of books dealing with suffering. The explanations/ exortations provided in them are extensive ranging from "we are to expect it, so bring it on so we can grow", "God causes suffering so that we can grow", "our need to be broken/crushed before God can use us", "spiritual warfare", "there must be something wrong you haven't dealt with ( along the lines of Job's comforters)" and "trying to survive as best you can until the trials have passed". While there may be some elements of truth in some of these explanations, they offer little consolation while we are passing through adversity. Furthermore, many of these explanations leave me struggling with how this is consistent with a God who right from Genesis through to the death and resurrection of Christ has consistently demonstrated how he loves each one of us, desires to have a relationship with us and sacrificed His Son to make this possible.

Some insight into these issues can be found in the beginning of Isaiah 30. If you go back to the beginning of the Chapter you discover that God's chosen people are at a stage where they are trying to solve their problems by consulting with and/or making alliances with everything and everyone but God. In fact by the time you reach verse 10 they have reached the stage where they no longer wish to hear what God has to say as they no longer want to look at what is actually facing them, but rather "pleasant things (NIV)". In verse 12 it becomes more apparent that they have been bound and determined to solve problems in their own way, using their own resources. This ultimately leads to the statement in verse 15 where God says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of if (NIV)"

As a result of God's children choosing not to follow God's direction we see that they become fearful( verses 16 & 17).

It strikes me that this so often resembles my own walk. God points me towards a path that I can see requires me to face adversity and affliction and my first instinct is to run the other way, to use my own guile to develop solutions which I perceive will minimize my own pain anything to try and avoid the direction in which I am being pointed. Why do I do this? If I am truthful I think it is most often because I realize that the situation is too hard for me to handle, something about which I feel too vulnerable to handle or something which previously caused me a lot of pain and which I vowed I would never deal with again. What I have forgotten to factor into my assessment at this point is Paul's observation that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens me (Philippians C4 v 13). You would think that such a promise would excite me, but too often it makes me start to realize that my life in Christ involves becoming dependant on him and giving up any pretence of personal control; a pretence that although in my heart-of-hearts I know is false and ultimately leads to failure I for some reason still choose to stubbornly cling to. Instead, of following God's direction to return to Him and His way and rely on and trust Him to address adversity (paraphrase of verse 15), I panic, start flayling around and end up in a constant state of fear as I alternate between gingerly approaching and rapidly retreating from the adversity/affliction that I perceive lies ahead. All the time I am asking, or probably more accurately yelling, at God about why I need to face such adversity/affliction in the first place?

A partial answer to this may lie in an example from my profession. I am trained as a aircraft structures engineer. Part of my job involves helping to evaluate structures through both analysis and test to ensure they will not fail in flight. How is this accomplished?; by loading up the structures beyond the anticipated worse loads they will see in service to validate that they are indeed capable of taking those loads. The general public expects that such testing will have been carried out and verified before they get on a plane. Can you imagine what would happen if you and I were traveling together on a plane and upon finding out what I do for a living you ask me is this plane safe? If I replied "I expect so, but we haven't really tested it out but it will probably be OK", you would probably have some serious reservations upon getting on the plane. Furthermore, if after further reflection, I then turned to you and said "hmm .... as we haven't actually tested the plane I will skip this flight so that I can observe what happens. When you land safely you will know that the plane was OK", you probably wouldn't want to get on the flight at all! Conversely, if I explained all the testing that had been done to substantiate that the aircraft could survive all conditions it was anticipated to encounter in service, you would feel a lot more cmfortable getting on the plane, regardless of whether you had a detailed understanding of the engineering or not.

If you compare verses 15 and 18 & 19, I think that in a similar way to my description of aircraft testing God might be trying to show us that although in this life we will be confronted with adversity and affliction we only have to call out to Him, He will provide all the help and resources to deal with whatever we are facing whether we understand the "Engineering" behind it or not. The net result is that at the end of the day we know that we can totally rely on God as oppossed to our own "Egyptian Alliances" (guile and resourcefulness). This is something that the apostle Paul discovered as evidenced by passages such as Romans C8 v 26-38. So perhaps what we are seeing in Isaiah C30 is God encouraging us not to flee in fear from adversity and affliction when it presents itself to us but rather to approach it in God's strength so we can truely see it for what it is, see that God can deal with it and subsequently be freed from any fear or other hold it might otherwise have over us. This also helps us to atart making more sense of the passage in 1 Peter C5 v 6-11 alluded to earlier in this article. As we allow God to teach us with the bread of adversity and the water of affliction and not rely on our own guile and resourcefulness, so we humble ourselves before God, cast our fears to Him who is able to resolve them. This allows us to resist the Devil and not giving him a foothold of fear. Ultimately this will lead to is being restored, strong and steadfast (Compare Isaiah C30 v 15 with 1 Peter C5 v 6 & 10).

Maybe what we most need to learn is that the bread of adversity and the water of affliction are only something we need to fear if we attempt to face or deal with them by ourselves as opposed to realizing that our salvation lies in giving up our self-reliance, turning to Him and seeing our strength come from trusting Him as He works in our lives(Isaiah C30 v 15). While I am starting to realize that this is the way we need to go, I for one am certainly not there! In that regard the prayers of those of you who read this would certainly be appreciated!

Steve

Faith and Fear

It has taken me a long time to realize that the opposite of faith is fear. I base this observation on the effect that each one of these actions has on my daily life. Whereas faith draws me closer to God, fear tends to drive me away from Him, almost shy away and go into myself. A much worse version of being somehow caught with one's hand in the cookie jar.

While I often talk about faith and living in faith, if I am honest I often catch myself configuring my life and how I live my life around fear. Such thoughts as "what happens if I didn't pray out of the right motives and God doesn't come through" or " I cannot just sit here and pray" continually dog me. This puzzles me as time and time again God has shown me that He is faithful and yet, despite this I still find myself waiting for the other shoe to drop. Some of this angst seems to be rooted in a sense that I am not strong enough or good enough to be blessed and cared for by God. This is in total contradiction to what is in the Bible in passages like Matthew C5 - C7, and I know that; so why do I let this stuff keep hanging around?

Consistently throughout the bible there are admonishments not to fear but to trust in God. Joshua is a prime example where in the first Chapter of Joshua, as he prepares to take over from Moses, he is told to be strong, courageous and not to be afraid (Joshua C 1 v 6-9). I guess I can take some comfort from the fact that as God emphasized to Joshua this was something not to do, presumably it was something that Joshua was struggling with .......... although taking comfort in that manner is somewhat akin to one passenger on the Titanic saying to another passenger on the Titanic " never mind were all in the same boat!". The Psalms also seem to contain a lot about fear and overcoming fear as do Proverbs. Perhaps the most telling verse though occurs in 1 John C4 v 16 -18:

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love, because perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love" (NIV).

Not being made perfect in love as a reason for being fearful is perhaps not the most intuitive explanation that springs to my mind and something that has given me cause to ponder. However, upon reflection, there maybe some merit in it........

The nearest thing I can liken it to are some of my exploits as a child. When I had done something I shouldn't (which unfortunately was not that an infrequent occurrence!) any elation that might be associated with the act was fairly quickly replaced with a slowly growing concern with what would happen if I was found out and had to face my parents. The first alternative was to lie and I tried that periodically, but generally I was not to good at that. So it seemed that my only alternative was to try and bury it and hope I wasn't found out. There then followed an uneasy period when I was in the presence of my parents wondering whether they would find out, whether they already knew or whether I was going to betray to them something had happened by not acting "normal". In essence, regardless of whether or not I was found out, our relationship was severed as I wasn't at all at peace because I was constantly worried that what I had done would come to the surface. I n addition to a feeling of guilt there was also the associated sense of shame of having let people down, of failing to meet expectations, of breaking trust and a whole host of other things. Later on I realized that I wasn't the first person to go through this cycle, one only has to read the biblical account of the fall in the early Chapters of Genesis to realize that Adam and Eve went through the same thing.

Inevitably, many of the things that I had done wrong did come to light and I was faced with standing before my parents. When I think back there were two things I feared. The first was the immediate consequences which were invariably not that pleasant. The second, possibly more subconscious fear, was this the act that would have blown it, that my parents would finally give up on me and justifiably (in my mind) abandon me and I would be left alone, unloved and out of options. Thankfully, while the immediate consequences, usually involving some form of restitution were never too pleasant, the second series of consequences that I feared the most never came about.

Fast forward to adult life and the childhood example above has not changed that much in concept just in application. It now has to do with fear related to times I have hurt others by doing what is expedient either personally or professionally rather than what was right; of the fear of having deceived myself and my family that I really could provide all the things I thought they had to have immediately, and racking up so much debt in the process to the point of it being unbearable; of the fear of the consequences engaging in occupations and pastimes that were often focused on personal gratification without a thought for the consequences on those around me; of the fear of being found out of being patronizing and uncompassionate to others who had been caught doing what I had not yet been caught doing; and/or the fear of loosing the love and respect of those I love the most. The list can go on and on and I guess we all could substitute similar or different incidents in our lives. As with the childhood example they cause a severing of relationship, but this time we discover to our horror that this severing of relationship extends beyond our earthly circle of friends and acquaintances to God; whatever our concept of God maybe. The thought that we might have contravened/severed a relationship with a heavenly being who probably knows everything we have done anyway is daunting in itself. It becomes even more terrifying when we are faced with the possibility that while we might be able to attempt some earthly restitution, we do not even know how to begin reconciling ourselves to God and obtaining some heavenly restitution.

The bad news about this predicament is that we in and of ourselves cannot make restitution to God. The really good news is that we don't have to; as a Christian I understand that is what Jesus Christ did on my behalf, even though I didn't deserve it (You can read about this in Romans C3 v 9 -30). Christians commonly term this as "Grace" which boils down to us being reconciled to God purely on the merits of what Christ did through His life, death and resurrection ( if you would like to talk more about this aspect E-Mail me and I will do my best to share and explain how I understand this fits together). In other words, Christians believe they have been given an amazing free gift they don't really deserve and through that they have a personal relationship with God. For those of you who are reading this that are Christians you are probably thinking that this is Christianity 101, so what is his point! I guess my point is, if so many of ustruely believe this, why do we find it so hard to live in grace in practice?

Based on my limited observations it would appear that a lot of Christians, myself included, struggle to live in the light of the Grace we proclaim. We live fearful lives where we just seem to be surviving day-to-day and if the truth be known, we don't act that much differently from our non-Christian friends. We are consumed with fears about health, inadequacy in our jobs or roles as parents, lack of money, retaining jobs, having to remain strong and deal with everything life throws at us by ourselves because if we don't we are somehow incomplete. In this environment we become subject to the same struggles with depression, marriage breakdown, addictions etc. and our victorious Christian life degenerates to one of pleading in the hope that maybe we can convince/coerce God into doing something. At this juncture I should state that I am not suggesting that as Christians we will not be assailed with some of these things and that sometimes they just seem so huge, so overbearing and or painful we buckle as we try to sustain pressure which God never intended us to sustain alone.

So what lies at the root of our struggles to live in the Grace which we have been freely given? In my own case I am drawn back to the little boy that stood in front of his parents knowing that some restitution that was inevitable but desperately hoping that he had not blown it and thankfully they never did stop ;loving me. However, this time around I realize that I am now stood in front of God and despite what it says in the Bible, despite the assurances I have received I am having a hard time believing/living that I haven't blown it that despite the mistake I have made I can come before Him and know that through Christ I am loved, will not be rejected and can seek and obtain forgiveness as He is determined that in Christ we will not be seperated (You can read about this bit in Romans C8 v 26 -39). I don't have to stay in the background desperately trying to patch things up by myself to salavage some level of "respectability"; fearful, because as the verse from 1 John ( way back at the beginning of this entry) says, there is no fear in love as fear has to do punishment. So perhaps what I should be striving for is not so much related to being freed from fear but rather being perfected in love ........... because if that happens I should end up being freed from fear.

All great theory, but the question then arises as to how do I become perfected in love. That is something I am still learning, but I think some of that has to do with taking God at His word even when I doubt that somehow he hadn't anticipated the things I have done when those words were spoken and consequently they don't really apply to me. Therefore, the best I can hope for is to try my best and just hope I scrape into heaven in at the end! This is where the faith that counters the fear comes in .... am I prepared to trust God at his word, to claim the promises about asking, seeking, finding and being provided for that it talks about in the well known passages of Matthew Chapters 5 -7? One part of me says that it can't be that straightforward, it has to be more complicated than that, yes I am sure God means what he says ........ but.............? Within that "but" perhaps lies my biggest fear in this whole faith vs fear dilemma that it might actually just be that simple and straightforward and that it involves total commitment with no holding back (Hebrews C11 v 1 -2; Matthew C16 v 24-28) .............. I think sometimes I would actually prefer it to be more complicated as that way I could sort of test things out while maintaining a Veto ............ but that is another story!

Steve

Finding Direction

There are numerous books and advice on how to find God's will for life. Many offer compelling arguments which eventually manifest themselves as formula and/or rules; while some can be helpful, I still find periods in my life when I am basically confused.

Of late, the thing which I keep coming back to is Jesus' encouragement to:

"Seek first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" - Matthew C6 v 33-34 (NIV).

In the past I have so often seem to have attempted to work it the other way around, ie: Seek first all the things (usually trying to do "g0od" things) and the kingdom will be given to you. This is really backwards and in my head I know it is; so the question remains why do I continually approach faith and Christian growth in this manner? For me there is probably no one answer. Maybe its a desire to be in control, to maintain some sort of independence. Could I be scared about what God might do if I really let go .........am I truely not too sure or rather am I sure but am not ready to deal with it?

It is probably not by accident that this encouragement to seek first the kingdom of heaven is surrounded by passages that talk about not being anxious ( Matt C 25 v 25 -34) ......... that is something that I certainly learn more about. I guess when you come down to it it all boils down to trust, faith if you like, and that in turn really comes down to relationship. When things get tough, confusing or even just down-right unpleasant where am I going to turn .......... to my own resources or to God? In other words who am I going to trust my own wisdom, insight and resourcefulness (perhaps not such a good idea if you look at Proverbs C3 v 5-8) or God's? A no-brainer some might think, and in many instances at an intellectual level it is. The problem is that so often my life doesn't reflect what I know in my head ......... where that leaves me I am still pondering!! Perhaps if I am finding it hard to go to God then I need to look a little closer at my own relationship with Him ...... A whole topic in and of itself!

These verses can almost seem like God is saying make sure you do things my way because that is the way it is. While I think there is truth in that, it has started to dawn on me that it is not necessarily being conveyed in the harsh way I have always imagined. It seems like it may be more along the lines of "seek my perspective on things, see them for what they truely are and then you can start to understand the way I want you to respond". This starts to tie in with other passages I know about the truth setting you free (john C8 v 31 -32). I guess such a passage assumes that I want to know the truth or maybe that's the rub, in some areas of my life where I have been hurt or been the purveyor of hurt, I really am not willing to go there ...... hmmm yet something else to ponder.

One thing is for sure is that although I have been a Christian for many years, I am starting to realize I have some really messed up ideas about who God is, truely living in God's forgiveness (grace) and a whole host of other things......

Some further walking, understanding and insight is definitely required!

Steve