Minneapolis

We love this city a lot.
Fall/Winter or Falter has arrived. Gone are the unusually warm days of late October/early November.
Snow. Ice. Sleet. Freezing Temperatures.

I love Falter. In Arkansas or Missouri you experience a kind of Falter, but not quite the same as Minneapolis. Here the leaves change, Fall is present and beautiful. Then a few days later the temperature drops quickly and it begins to snow. And is stays this way, only getting colder, until March, April or May.

The temptation is to withdraw inside yourself and inside your house. The temptation is to not interact, go outside or do much of anything. But this is not good. We need to be outside. We need to be with people. All the same, I feel this is a season for solitude. I hear God speaking to the depth of my soul to come be with him and only him. I awaken earlier in the mornings naturally because i go to bed earlier. It is dark here by 5:30pm. Rather than being down about this i choose to embrace the natural season changes.

I am reading John 15 a lot lately. Along with it i am reading Andrew Murray's Abide in Christ. If you have not read this book, or any book by Andrew Murray, i strongly recommend it. This particular book is broken up into 31 short chapters. The idea is that you read one a day for a month. This is what i am hoping to do. The chapters are short but profoundly deep. One thing is for sure, Jesus never called us to a one-time 'salvation prayer.' He called us to a life of deepening abiding in him. It has to be constant! If we stop abiding for a second we die because as the True Vine, he is our only life source.


So, this winter, or Falter, as we have right now in Minneapolis, listen for God's voice calling you away from busyness, distractions and lesser loves. Respond by setting aside time each day to be still, to pray, to reflect, to read. He will meet with you. He will strengthen you. He will break you. He will set you free.

Peace be with you.

Did you vote today?

no, i am not mistaken on what day it is. the question i am asking you is did you vote today? you see, voting is not some right or entitlement that you use once a year and are free of your duties. voting is something you do every day. you vote with your wallet, you vote with your clothes, with your time and resources. you vote by what your allegiance is to. who or what are you voting for today?

me? i'm voting for Jesus. why? because he is the only hope we have for change in this earth. why? because he is both God and man, he is the only Mediator. if he were only a man, no matter how great of a man, he would not be able to be our only hope for change. he would be great, but he would be man, he would fail, he would let us down. But he is both fully God and fully man. Because of this he is our only hope. Because of this he is the only true King.

So, what does it mean to vote for Jesus?
It means our allegiance and obedience is to him. It means we look to him for leadership, peace, joy, hope and freedom. To have him as our president/king is to give all honor, glory, power, tribute to him and him alone. To vote for Jesus means our lives are fully dedicated to him. It means laying down our rights and entitlements for his sake. Voting for Jesus means dignity, equality and compassion for all our fellow humans. It means a cross on which we die rather than by which we kill others. It means eradicating competition with generous compassion. It means 'Election Day' is every day of the year. It means being peacemakers and those who hunger for righteousness. Jesus as our King means the works of evil are being destroyed. So, November 5th is just as important as November 4th. Go to the 'polls' tomorrow, the next day and each day. Go to the throne of grace boldly to receive mercy and grace in your time of need.

Today, tomorrow, each day 'vote' for Jesus as King. He already is so 'voting' really means complete submission to him as your only Lord. The more people who 'vote' for Jesus, the more peace, hope, change and freedom there will be.

I hope this provokes you to thought. if you disagree please let me know, let's talk and pray about these things. Now is the time to arise. Now is the time for the body of Christ to stop hiding behind the governments but actually be the body of Christ. Jesus' plan was never for the state to take care of the poor, sick, homeless and needy. It has always been his plan that his children would do what he did. Wake up, O bride of Christ! Arise, for your light has come!

Peace be with you all.