Close to Grace, we can live gainfully in a true garden state

Magical, whimsical, enrapturing are the words that capture the bliss felt around a couple, who live in true union each day. God created man to spill over with the joy close union with Him brings. Somehow in Eden Adam and Eve disdained the gain God gifted them in His rich grace by their carnal curiosity, tasting of the wrong tree, a mistake, which damned man to eternal  loss "were it not for Grace." Glee and innocent sheen radiated from Adam and Eve as they traversed the garden living true to God's goodness; but when they failed to treasure their true union with God failure quickly followed. Grace provides us the privilege of gain, life in the true garden state. It's a state where intimacy with Christ shows itself in innocence-pure, uninhibited freedom. Adam and Eve's fail in the garden was not true reality; it was anything but God's design for man. Thankfully, Grace wasn't trumped by their failure and grace flowed from the Second Adam, Christ, Who redeemed us; restoring us the possibility of intimacy with God. As Adam and Eve lived loss, when they got away from living overtaken by the gift, the game-changer Grace is; we too need to treasure God's grace and live in the garden state that is Grace. The garden state is a place of intimate union with Christ, where close to Him love, purity, and strength permeates through us. As a close couple lives unashamed, fulfilled, and free in their mutual union; our call is to live changed by the innocence knowing God brings. Our lives too can be a garden and wellspring of enrichment to others as we feature Grace
daily, allowing it to be the guidepost in all we are. Live in the true garden state today.

There's a secret to strengthening your witness

      
An eye-opening reality has overwhelmed me lately. After served for years in contexts, where your first focus in interacting with others was finding out where they'd spend their eternity; I often lost sight of how needy the world was around me. In my passion to "save men from the burning"; I often glossed over their need, believing their placing their trust in Christ was first and foundational to their needs being met. But is this so? A close look at the ministries of Jesus and Paul shows how easily we get the cart before the horse. Their ministries were geared to the needs-material, emotional, and spiritual- of the people around them. The reality is that people generally need to feel our compassion first before they can be gripped with the cold truth that they are in jeopardy of eternal judgement. As we feel the compassion of Christ-healing and helping-the heartbeat of Paul to-not neglecting the poor and needy-our hearts are turned toward the needy masses, who flock our society. Helpless widows; homeless former successes, and unloved children roam our roadways-sheep needing to feel the touch of us, His hands and feet. I'm all for the Gospel message spilling out of us regularly and clearly, for many times, accepted, it helps people climb out of their crises; but just giving the Gospel proves many times the easy way. The challenge of Christian living is not telling the Gospel message but radiating it in ways, which stir others to trust its truth and go on to radiate the reality of its truth. Our challenge is to assume a posture of surrender to the way of the Master, meeting the needs of those around us, Who was inclined to first touch others with the Gospel before He talk about its potential impact.
He picks up the poor from out of the dirt, rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash, Seats them among the honored guests, a place of honor among the brightest and best.  Ps. 113:7,8 (The Message)
"I would rather feel compassion than know the meaning of it." ~ Thomas Aquinas

Are you a "God-chaser" or just plain elusive

As Christians we've been given freedom at great cost. The cross was nothing short of guaranteed liberty to please God. However in intentionally seeking to please God, many set unreasonable standards by which they and others will please God, leading an unbelieving world to see Christianity as cold religion and not life-changing relationship. Brought into freedom in Christ, it is tempting to not see freedom in Christ for how full-orbed it is. It's not just freedom to fulfill Christ's demands but freedom to relish life in its beauty and fulness, freedom to know blessing and bless others as we live "under rank," in allegiance to our Master. Many Christians cross the line of faith having endured hard lives in unbelief, where they craved the drunk state, gambled till they lost much, and lived for fallen fantasies. On getting saved, these people are candidates for lives defined by their personal preferences. Instead of being advocates for godly balance, they tend to impose strict codes on themselves and others. Though their life rules may be reasonable for them because of their personal weaknesses, those life rules may  not be best for everyone. Too often people in the world look at the fabricated codes of believers, which may frown on social drinking, fun dancing, light gambling and wonder who wrote the rules, us or God. Our featuring our brand of Christianity and our powerlessness to Scripturally excoriate these practices make us law-givers in the minds of unbelievers or attune young Christians. The time has come for discipleship to be more organic. It's high time people are led to God rather than "accepted Christian norms." Our focus needs to be compelling people in our sphere of their appointment with Christ beyond the grave. The reality of seeing Christ after death and His grand design to make hearts His home are real time catalysts, stirring people to ponder their relationship with God. Our lives need to effervesce "truth,  beauty, justice, community." If we're to win others to faith in Christ; it'll not be by our rigid code of conduct; rather it'll be by living lives enlivened by active relationship with Christ. People don't care for your code, they care for your fulfillment Source. Our faith is the envy of our neighbors, when it makes us more neighborly, not elusive. My neighbor, who lives for drugs won't be drawn to Christ by what I do or don't do but by how the Christ I possess changes my way with him. Too often we placate others by our commitment to our own "right regimen," which many times is of our own making, not God's. People out there have a misconstrued concept of what Christianity is many times because Christianity is often misrepresented as a list of "do's" and "dont's." We have a responsibility as Christians to represent the true heart change Christ brings when He enters the heart at salvation. He enlivens the heart filling it with heavenly desires and a built-in Control, His Spirit, Who moves us down paths best for us. In love with Christ, we'll have no heart for fallen addictions; we'll be the story of hearts with crowded space, hearts full of who Christ is and beating with Kingdom desire, hearts which enjoy responsibly things in this world, for while they relish this world's good they wait longingly for another World. Don't force your rules for living onto others; instead lead them into the good life, the life which embraces in trust the work Christ did on Calvary with a spirit of love and personal duty. The love of Christ and what it does in one's heart has a way of leading people into lives which live to honor it. Transformation by Christ's selfless work on Calvary alone is the way to lead a life holy, alive and transported, in His eyes.

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you - 1 Pet. 2:9 MSG
His inside-out difference runs deeper than what we do or don't do. Its all about the privilege of daily dates with Him, a lifestyle of true union with Him which is lifestyle transforming.

Where are you living in the "do zone" or the "done zone"

But they became anxious when they were brought into Joseph's home, thinking, "It's the money; he thinks we ran off with the money on our first trip down here. And now he's got us where he wants us-he's going to turn us into slaves and confiscate our donkeys." Genesis 43:18 (Message)
Joaeph's way with his brothers after they'd treated him as if he were an enemy pictures well the way God deals with his family. We're inclined to believe that our right versus wrong performance is our pass into God's presence; but the truth is nothing we do can guarantee access into God's presence. God is entirely holy and only the perfect can attain to lifetime privileges of His favor. Through belief in Christ to salvation though, we can be made perfect, bought and brought into a lifelong relationship with Christ, where we live not to earn favor with God but as living proof of our love for Him. As Joseph's brothers sat afraid eating at their brother's table in fear of his avenging their hurting him; many Christians sit in God's presence, fearing His holy side, living with their performance constantly in view rather than allowing God's immeasurable love to be catalyst and control in all they are and do. The call is to live in the love of God, allowing His holy devotion to us to leave us so spellbound and changed that we live to reciprocate His great love. Our concept of God has great bearing on the way we live; as Christians we may find ourselves seeking to live in the "do zone" where we do all we can to earn God's merit; or we may live in the "done zone," where we allow His love to show itself as life-changing in our experience, a love that changes inside-out. When we seek to please God, we fail; when God's love compels us we live pleasing Him.

Getting exactly what you want may carry the price tag of empty-heartedness

They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert, provoked God with their insistent demands.
He gave them exactly what they asked for-but along with it they got an empty heart. Ps. 106:15,16 (MSG)
One of our challenges as Christians is maintaining a heart selflessly devoted to God's best for us. We often live for what we want with little or no wish for what God wants. Like Israel, we live inclined to please ourselves and irk God when the only time we relate to Him personally is to tap His reserve for what we "need." God, as he did with Israel, has a way if showing us how little satisfaction gaining earthly things brings. He may grant what we crave so that we get a renewed picture of the dissatisfaction many live with though they have many things. Real meaning in  life is in relating to God selflessly through our days and taking the light Christ pours into us to others. True nirvana is in walking with Christ. May you know the true contentment of having Christ at your center today.
Live for the needs of others not your own and find unfettered joy and your own needs met as well.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. -Jackie Robinson

What if your part is key in their dream becoming reality

Without question God is the One, who facilitates the giving and realizing of dreams; but it's interesting how He fancies the worth of people helping others' dreams become reality. Joseph's time in prison was a time where he was given free rein to lead fellow prisoners as they did their prison time.  In prison, Joseph tapped God's wisdom to reveal the restoration of Pharoah's cup-bearer to his former prominence in Pharoah's presence. However, though the cupbearer was restored to his former glee; Joseph was left alone and estranged in prison for a good while, for the cup-bearer never made mention of Joseph's role in his restoration. Only after some time would Joseph too see his dreams take wing. There's a lesson here we each need to heed. In this world there is at least one person whose dream cannot become a reality without your help. Though God is God, one of his heart delights is using people to facilitate His great purpose in others' lives. As Joseph was key in revealing the eventual restoration of Pharoah's cup-bearer; He would prove key to the rescue of Egypt at large in the famine which followed. Joseph couldn't have been the blessing he was to Egypt as a nation though were the cup-bearer he helped unwilling to help him. There's a wonderful cycle of dream-reality, which we can either facilitate or impede by our willingness or unwillingness to help others in our power to influence. What you do today can make or break someone's reality. God help us be in God's place for us, where we can help more of those around us find their dreams become reality.

Connection with Christ brings with it the connections we need to succeed

We live in a world where who you know not what you do is key to promotion and favor many times. In the Christian sphere, the same proves true, ask Joseph. Transplanted in Egypt against his will, I'm sure he felt estranged from those close to him. Joseph's walk though allowed him to thrive as he served in Potiphar's place. As we walk with God, others will take notice of our transformed work ethic. Joseph's promotion would be accompanied by demotion as well. For no fault of his own; Joseph was landed in an offender's prison, though his relationship with Potiphar's wife was nothing but righteous. Through the highs and lows of Joseph's walk, he was learning how invaluable it is to not live for life's highs, but rather to live to walk with God. Knowing Him is the most enervating part of our life experience. I find it interesting that as Joseph was forced to better know God for being thrown into prison, God gave him the human connections he needed to do a greater work once more. In prison he met Pharoah's baker and Pharoah's wine-taster, who led him into Pharoah's presence, where Joseph  found favor was made second ruler in Egypt. The high call today is to weather life changing tides by growing the more close to Christ. This alone will prove a true anchor, steadying us in life's highs and lows. Our strong, growing walk with Christ will also bring with it the connections we need to realize the dreams God places in our hearts. God is all about our being interconnected with Him and He rewards those who'll seek Him with the connections they need to
succeed. Let your first step in loss not be hurry to get back up on your own, but rather rush
into His presence. He alone is the true Giver of all good things. Joseph's moving from
Potiphar's place to Pharoah's palace hinged on his willingness to know and praise God in
prison. How's your connection to Christ today?