Losing A Bearing

A few weeks ago while in a worship service at church, the Lord "spoke to me" and said; “You will find your bearings; I promise you; you will find them."

For the past two years I felt that I was out of place, lost, displaced, uprooted, removed (and (luxated and ectopic for those of you who read your dictionary on a regular basis). Some of it started a over two years ago when I had sensed that it was time to leave both the place where I was working (for five years) and the church that we had been attending (for over twenty years).

I had spent the season seeking the Lord's face for direction. I had also sought counsel from Cathy, my friends, counselors, therapists, and my board of directors and board of advisers. And now it was time to step out into a place that was uncharted territory.

Simply put, I had lost my bearings and I couldn't find my true north.

To 'lose one's bearings' means to lose sight of or become unable to determine one's orientation, position, or abilities relative to one's surroundings or situation. 

I knew that I was still called to be a father to my children and their spouses and a grandfather to their children. I knew that I was called to be a pastor and to preach and equip others and to write; but where and to whom? 

On a side note, when a bearing is going out on a car, usually there is a loud noise coming from the tire or wheel of the vehicle. And, if a wheel bearing is missing, it is not recommended you drive the vehicle at all as the wheel can fall off entirely while the vehicle is in motion.

That sounded a lot like me, at least on the inside. And at times on the outside as my anguish came out in short reactions to bad drivers or misunderstandings with Cathy and other minor irritants.

So I filled my time with playing hockey and making guitars and walking and picking up pucks and praying and crying and wandering (seemingly) aimlessly. I worked on projects and traveled and drank a lot of coffee. I applied for many too many jobs; only to get no response...which fed into my sense of lostness.

But I came to realize that I was still seeking identity, validation, and affirmation from circumstances, places, accomplishments, and people; which can lead to a false identity.

Then, while my hands were lifted up in worship of a God who calls Himself Father, I heard His voice deep in my soul; “You will find your bearings; I promise you; you will find them."

Hope arose, for I knew that voice and I had confidence because of His faithfulness to me in the past. I KNEW that somehow I would get to where I needed to be and I could be quiet and not make a loud noise as the lostness of the bearing ground against my soul.

He has been and will be faithful.

In time, at unplanned places (many times and many places) such as at a wedding or while working with a friend, the Lord spoke to me through many voices to encourage me to keep doing what I was doing. To remind me that HE had called me and that HE would get me to where He wanted me to be. 

His gifts were without repentance:

"For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn." (Romans 11:29 NLT)

When did I forget that He is the One who holds it all? When did I forget that He is still holding me? He's a Good, Good Father who is still is Lord of All.

I Don’t Understand

We all been there. Someone is trying to explain something to you and after going through an explanation you respond with; “I don’t get it.”

And, so, with all of the confidence of an American Ninja Warrior trying to run up the “warped-wall” one more time, they take another shot at it.

And you respond once again; “I still don’t get it.”

And they respond by trying to explain it to you again and you end up being even more confused and dazed; or was it the other way around…

So how do you feel? Lost, confused, ashamed, stupid, wondering what is wrong with me…all the above?

The problem is that much like anything else that is explained to us, we don’t always grasp what is being said simply because we don’t always have the same vantage point as the one who is trying to teach us or explain something to us.

In Luke 18:31-33, we read a story when Jesus is telling His disciples for the third time how He is going to die and then be resurrected.

These are men who had been with for three or more years. These are men who were with the greatest Teacher to have ever walked the earth. These are men who at any time could ask Him anything! These are men who were hand selected to be a part of His team…

 

And Jesus is trying to make another attempt to get them to understand something very important.

“Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

And yet, as we will read, after all the teachings and all of the time that they spent with Him, they still don’t understand what He is talking about.

V.34 “But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.”

After all of the teachings and all of the time that they spent with Him, even they still don’t understand.

I guess that means that we also are qualified to be a disciple of Jesus Christ; right?

Yes….But, let me remind you, the problem is that much like anything else that is explained to us, we don’t always grasp what is being said simply because we don’t always have the same vantage point as the one who is trying to teach us or explain something to us.

I like how Oswald Chambers puts it:

God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken.

His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s.

But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.

This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature.

The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes.

Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.

If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are.

As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose.

A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities.

If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.

So the next time that you find yourself in a quandary because you don’t understand, remind yourself that you may not be seeing the fuller picture.

Remind yourself that you are in great company and let the Lord take you to place of retelling you what you need to know as you once again say; “I don’t understand.”

God, Where Are You?

How many of you have had a really close friend?

How many of you have had a friend move away?

How many of you sought their new address?

 

Did you ever wish they could be there in a moment when you needed them? Did you long to see them face to face? To sit down and ask them questions you faced? Have you ever cried, longing for them right now?

How about God? How many of you feel as though He moved away? How many of you have sought His address?

Did you ever wish He could be there in a moment when you needed Him? Did you long to see Him face to face? To sit down and ask Him questions you faced? Have you ever cried, longing for Him right now?

Don’t you wish you could sit down with Him and know what He really thinks about things: What He wants you to do ,or to get answers to decisions that you need to make?

Jeremiah 33:3 is God’s Phone Number:

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know “.

God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit in our spirit and I am grateful for that. But this week I wanted to meet with Him face to face. I wanted to know where He lives so that I could be with Him, not just to hear from Him. 

 “Let Everything Else Go” by Phil Keaggy speaks to this desire:

 “Oh I can't wait to see you Jesus, face to face,
Nothing in this world can take Your place.
All the pride of man laid low,
And all his works of gold,
Nothing can compare with what You are,
Let everything else go…”

The cry of my heart this last week has been to see God face to face. I had some decisions to make, areas I need Him to change; and I found myself literally crying wanting God to be with me, to answer me. 

And then I realized that hearing from Him is our agenda; but being with Him is His agenda. He, too, wants to meet with me.

So, where does God live? How do we really get in touch with Him? First; let’s look at God’s past address.

In Exodus 29:42-46 we read that the tabernacle in the wilderness was the dwelling place of the Most High God. In it we see a physical picture (type) of the spiritual reality.

But, because God has perfect order and man messed up, God moved to a new address. Fortunately, He has left a forwarding address: It is Isaiah 7:14 and John 1:14

“So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a Son and name Him Immanuel (God-With-Us). (Isaiah 7:14 MSG)

“The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish.” (John 1:14 MSG)

Where is God’s perfect address? He dwells FULLY in Jesus

 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9 NKJV)

Even though God lived in a perfect home in Jesus, He wanted His estate to be distributed. He wants to dwell in more than One. 

For that to take place, there had to be death. The death of Jesus assured an inheritance for the Sons of God. God had to once again give up His home.

Fortunately, He has left a forwarding address:

“If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”

Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.” (John 14:17-23 MSG)

                                                                                                        

Where is God’s address now? He resides in the hearts of those who have received Him by faith and have been born again.

 “Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20 MSG)

He resides in Christians. The Apostle John wrote:

 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12 NKJV)

Considering that, how do people see God reflected in you? Can they find Him in your life? The world is stumbling in the darkness trying to find God and we are the light (Matthew 5:14-16).

If we answer honestly, we must admit that our lives don’t always show that He lives in us. So much as it is dependent on us, some people may have trouble seeing who God is when they come to our “house”.

                                                                                                      

Fortunately, God is building a new home. He is going to move again, only this time it will be a permanent residence with NO FORWARDING ADDRESS And, He will take His family with Him. 

Where is God’s permanent address going to be?

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

Isn’t that exciting? Some day we will live with God face to face.

When all the world we know has passed away we will be able to get up each day and say: “Good Morning, Dad”

How do we know it is for all of us? Jesus said to His disciples:

“There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live.” (John 14:2-3 MSG)

You might be thinking; “That’s great for the future, but what about today? Where can I go today to hear from Him TODAY?”  

Well, He has taken of that. He has given His Holy Spirit who is a member of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). He is available to meet with you wherever and whenever you need Him because He, through the Holy Spirit, dwells in you!

And He will talk as a representative of the Heavenly Father:

 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13 NKJV)

It is exciting that He wants to dwell in EACH of us through His Holy Spirit and ALL we have to do is ASK Him:

“This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!” Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.” (Romans 10:9-13 MSG)

We can know that God dwells in us if we have asked Him to dwell inside of us. He will never move away. We won’t have to look for His address. He will be there when you need Him.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

I need A Laugh!

The following letters are taken from an actual incident between a London hotel and one of its guests.  The Hotel ended up submitting the letters to the London Sunday Times!

 

Dear Maid,

Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial.  Please remove the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and the other three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.

Thank you, S. Berman

 

Dear Room 635,

I am not your regular maid.  She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her day off.  I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you requested.  The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind.  This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from the management are to leave 3 soaps daily.  I hope this is satisfactory.

Kathy, relief maid.

 

Dear Maid -

I hope you are my regular maid.  Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet.  I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf.  They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Please remove them.

S. Berman

 

Dear Mr. Berman,

My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management.  I took the 6 soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was.  I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience.  I didn't remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to when you checked in last Monday.  Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. 

Your regular maid, Dotty

 

 

Dear Mr. Berman,

The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this morning that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid service.   I have assigned a new girl to your room.  I hope you will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience.  If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.  Thank you.

Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper

 

Dear Miss Carmen,

It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before 5:30 or 6PM.  That's the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night.  You were already off duty.  I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap.  The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bathroom shelf.  In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap.  Why are you doing this to me?

S. Berman

 

Dear Mr. Berman,

Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps.  if I can be of further assistance, please call ext. 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.

Thank you,

Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper

 

Dear Mr. Kensedder,

My bath-size Dial is missing.  Every bar of soap was taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial.  I came in late last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.

S. Berman

 

Dear Mr. Berman,

I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen of your soap problem.  I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room.  The situation will be rectified immediately.  Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.

Martin L. Kensedder, Assistant Manager

 

Dear Mrs. Carmen,

Who the left 54 little bars of Camay in my room?  I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap.  I don't want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my own bar of bath-size Dial.  Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in here?! All I want is my bath size Dial.  Please give me back my bath-size Dial.

S. Berman

 

Dear Mr. Berman,

First you complained that you had too much soap.  Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I personally returned them.  The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily.  I don't know anything about the 4 Cashemere Bouquets.  Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays.  I don't know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.

Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper

 

Dear Mrs. Carmen,

Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory. As of today I possess: On the shelf under the medicine cabinet - 18 Camays in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2. On the Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3. On the bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1 stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.  Inside the medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2. In the shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist.   On the northeast corner of the tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.  On the northwest corner of the tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3. Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted.  Also please advise her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip.  May I suggest that my bedroom windowsill is not in use and would make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries. One more item:  I have purchased another bar of bath-size Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further misunderstandings.

S. Berman