Ongoing Investigation into "Going Off the Rails"

 Beautiful night with some very humble, very honest men in a little men's group in a big gathering. 

i think

maybe

i was given some insight into my recent "off the rails" behavior.

Early on, very early on, in my relationship with my wife, it was made clear that my style of humor was not really going to fly, or be appreciated and maybe even have led to misunderstanding and sorrow.

SOOOoooooo....

I buried it and kept it under wraps except for occasionally leaving it out to roam and play sometimes at work or one on one, with my friend Steve.

Now I feel 24 years of God enabled faithfulness, totally due to His mercy and the fear of the Lord, has purchased for me, the grace to let my humor flow.

So it flows and not to surprisingly, it is still not very appreciated.

Oh to only say what the Father is saying.

Oh to only do what the Father is doing. 

John 5:44  No fear of man, seeking to be led by God, impossible without the mercy of God.

Exile

 Read this line from Stephanie Quick, "Thus our wandering in this age of exile bears a witness to the world of the better love of obedience, the fragrance of Him who forsook comfort and reputation to be abused and reviled."

What a powerful change in perspective it would be to see our time here as simply a sojourner, one who is passing through. One who is in exile from his true home.

Imagine following God with Him as your only concern.  Set free from the expectations of men, set free from both their applause and their ridicule.

Seeking Him, loving truth, and letting the chips fall where they may.

 

How Can You...Part 3

"How can you believe [in Me], when you [seek and] receive glory and approval from one another, and yet you do not seek the glory and approval which comes from the one and only God?" Amplified God's approval is the only approval that is reality. "23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person." John 2:23-25 So there is a place where you know God and you know people and you become aware that only His approval is real, and the approval of men is not important. That is the place of the freedom of a slave. A willing, loving, servant of the Most High.

How Can You Part 2

“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" Yeshua in John 5:44 How can you believe, when you...It appears Yeshua is saying believing must be single-eyed. To believe in the truest sense is an act of putting your trust, hope, and desire wholly on God alone. To be looking at another human and setting their opinion higher than God is a subtle form of idol worship. Praise God for the grace that reveals the height, the width, the depth, the breadth of the Father's love for us. To know that we are a people chosen, holy and beloved by God enlivens us to be a people of kindness, gentleness, humility, patience and love.

How can you...?

"That’s why it is hard to see how true faith is even possible for you: you are consumed by the approval of other men, longing to look good in their eyes; and yet you disregard the approval of the one true God." John 5:44 Voice version. Believe? How can you, when you are busy seeking the approval of men. Do we really believe these two things are so completely opposed that one can cancel out the other? Yeshua is the one who said it, so we should pause and see what He is saying.