Every Stream Has A Source

James 3:9-11

"With the tounge we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?"

I've always had a compartmentalized view of sin. Sin has been an entity outside myself that lurking in the shadows waiting for me to randomly stumble across it much like I would a pile of dog poop. Forgive the humor in the analogy I just thought it was so good. At the time its unpleasant a little irritating and depending on the size of the dog and size of his/her leftovers determines the stank and messiness factor. BUT none the less still random. I can be on the look out but never sure when it will happen.

Reading James this morning I made a connection. Most of us Church goers would believe... or I hope should believe that we are depraved. inherently sinful. As Christ followers we are actively engaged in a relationship with the Holy Spirit of God "working out our salvation through fear and trembling" or to put it to theologically "sanctification". Grace is free, but after our receiving grace we begin the life long task of diligently allowing God's Holy Spirit to sanctify us and make us "Christ-like" thus the name Christ-ian.

Sin starts in the heart. Today I realized an aspect of scriptures beautiful analogy of "living water" Jesus often talked about streams of living water and James picks up on it in the form of springs in Ch. 3.

Every stream or spring has a source. A source that yields a product and sends it on its marry way winding across the earth watering it and providing life for all. The source of our spring is our heart. The beauty of the Gospel is Jesus' purification of that spring through his death on the cross and the indwelling of his Holy Spirit in the lives of his people.

The picture above is of the Amazon Basin. Beginning as just a few small streams the Amazon grows into the largest river in the world by the time it empties into the ocean. (not longest, Nile still beats it). This river is fed. Our hearts and lives are the same. Jesus renews us and flows out streams of living water, but we are able to pollute it with all kinds of habits, idols, ideas, selfish ambition, greed, immorality, sin.

I got angry at my wife yesterday. I raised my voice at her and it was something I vowed I would never do in my life. Its affects are damaging and is something you never get back. "...with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father an with it we curse men". While repenting about it this morning God showed me that my anger was not a product of my frustration with my current circumstance but a product of what was flowing from my heart. I didn't spend time with God yesterday, I didn't read the word, I didn't allow Jesus to cleanse all my "tributaries" to use the stream analogy.

Brothers and Sisters the fruit of our days and our actions are litmus tests to what is inside. Sin is NOT random isolated choices but a reflection of our hearts pollution. Jesus is a source of living water that yields life to those we pour into, including those most dear to us. How can we praise God and curse our brother? The answer is you cant. As I read the Gospels I see a savior who is concerned with the heart. God doesn't want our lip service. He doesn't want our "Christian Checklists", our Church attendance, or facebook religious status or the occassional post of worship lyrics. While all good things they are incomplete. He wants our hearts. Psalm 24:3-4 "who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." When our hearts are on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, out of our hearts, out of our minds, out of our mouths come living water for a thirsty generation. For a thirsty friend. For a thirsty spouse. For a thirsty world.

As you go about today ask yourself what is polluting your stream? Is Jesus present? One in the same, is his WORD present? You cant know him if you don't seek him.

In John ch. 4 Jesus answered the Samaritan women "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life."

Whose your source?

Go be a spring of Living Water today.

Blessings

Reconciliation

Colossians 1:19-20

"For God was pleased to have all of his fullness dwell in him (Jesus), and through him to reconcile to himself all thing, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

In the garden man was created to commune with God. God walked with Adam in the garden and creation existed in the fullness of its creators presence. Holy. Perfect. Good. Man rebelled against Gods only command to not eat of the tree which possessed the knowledge of good and evil. A thought I had while reflecting on this was that God's creation already knew "good". Thus making the "opportunity" to know evil as one that inherently was corrupting in nature. This rebellion tainted and distorted God's full Holy presence with his people. This separated himself from his creation in very real ways.

Romans 8:20-21 Says that creation itself is groaning for restoration, harmony, shalom and completeness with its God. It was waiting. We were waiting. Waiting for reconciliation. Reconciliation offered only through the blood of one who lived our life and chose God in every situation. Over the entire story of the Hebrew scriptures we see the building anticipation of a king, a messiah who will not lie, who will not cheat, who will not kill, loose faith, sin.

Jesus came to reconcile to himself all things. In heaven or on earth. The human desire for beauty, justice, peace, restoration, reconciliation and acceptance are echos of a need created long ago, that was met in a man, Jesus of Nazareth.

Reconciliation is found in Jesus. Now as God's people we wait for his return. Waiting to experience this reconciliation in fullness.

Now---You know o man what is good. What does the Lord ask of you? Act Justly. Love Mercy. Walk humbly with your God.

Be a part of God's reconciling work. Pursue the Kingdom.

Cheap Grace.

I have begun leading a small group for my Church where we are studying the book of 1 John. Reading and taking the text for its face value puts a lot of cracks in my traditional understanding of "saved by grace". One could consult a myriad of various texts to build the "magic" formula for salvation. Is it a prayer? is it a lifestyle? or somewhere in between? My Calvinist bend pushes me in the direction of saying its a null issue due to God's predestination of our hearts, since he is in complete control its not our job to worry, he does all the judging right? The problem then lies with the issue of maturing in our faith and in discipleship. I can say I "repented" and accepted Jesus when I was 11 at some church gathering.... but if I'm 22 and living in sin, with my life for the most part unaffected by the Gospel... then what exactly am I buying into as a faith system...fire insurance?? After all Christ commands us to pick up our cross and follow him... There will be sacrifice on the way, and one thing is for sure... HIS sacrifice was not cheap. So this idea of cheap grace almost seems offensive.

Martin Luther is one of my favorite Church fathers. Luther Struggled with the book of James because of its "works based" nature claiming that faith without works is dead. Luther went as far as calling James "the book of straw" wanting to throw it out of Biblical cannon. Its hard to accept the idea we need to DO something for our grace. The protestant Church as we have branched out from the reformation has shy'd very far away from the works based salvation idea... but too far perhaps?

When someone professes in something, their belief is always backed up by a behavior. I get out of bed in the morning and set my feet on the ground because I understand and believe in gravity to keep me there. Jesus is inviting us into a relationship of experience. Not a revival gathering "spiritual high" experience. But one that matures as we choose to put faith and trust in him everyday we get out of bed. One that tests him and allows him to show himself to you in your life. When was the last time you allowed God to show himself in your life? When was the last time you were willing to lay down your life for him? Following is an action, and Jesus claimed to be the way. So maybe its just one of those healthy paradoxes. God's grace covering our sin as we whole heartedly begin to follow him. I'll end with a quote from the Psalms... "Taste and see that the LORD is good"

Have we tasted him?

Need to start writing.

I need to start writing in a public area again. many journals filled with ideas and concepts that require to be fleshed out into intelligent coherent thoughts. Here goes....