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MY TEN FOUNDATION STONES First, God put me here and I belong to Him. Every breath is a reminder that he is keeping me alive for a reason. I am his problem and he has to do the fixing. Bills, family, lodging, food, weight, jobs, provision and even America are all his problem. My favorite prayer is, “Lord, how are you going to get yourself out of this one?” When I reach an impasse, I tell the Lord, “I can’t handle this, I am not going to try to handle it, You handle it.” He has answered this request every time. Second, the truth is still true. It doesn’t matter if I don’t feel good, if there is a dark cloud over my head, if God seems far away, if I have a different opinion, if I forget the truth, if I don’t believe the truth, or even if the whole world says it is a lie – the truth is still true. “For after all we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.” (II Cor. 13:8) I have to adjust to the truth, because it will not change for me. It is a comfort to me to know that no matter how deep we bury the truth, it will always come to the surface. It may take time, but if I wait for it, it will come and bring light and peace. Third, the kingdom of God will outlast all of man’s failed utopias. The kingdom is permanent and filling the whole loaf. Everything outside the kingdom will destroy itself, and everything within the kingdom will last. Despite the acrimonious elections, foolish leaders, deceptive politicians, America’s decline, greedy CEO’s, false philosophies, religious legalist, tragedies, and evil intentions; all history is moving toward the establishment of the kingdom of God. The kingdom will come by the process of elimination of everything in the individual, society, culture, nation, world, history and universe that is contrary to its order. The world is in the process of eliminating every way that is not “The Way.” When evil seems to get the upper hand, it will not last, because nature will not support evil. Forth, He is the center, not me. The opening line of Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” says it all, “It’s not about you.” The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God… The purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point – ourselves.” “The impulse to make oneself the center, to shrewdly, or bullyingly manipulate things and people (even God) to the service of self is what we, at least in our theology textbooks, call sin. ‘Incurvatus se’ was Augustine’s phrase for it, life curved in on itself. We are created to be open. To be open to God, to open outwards to our neighbors. We can only be whole and healthy in so far as we do this.” (Eugene Peterson) I have learned go where God gives me favor. When I have manipulated to get my way, it felt empty and unfulfilling. When I waited for his favor, there as joy and purpose in what I did. Fifth, no matter how bad a jerk I have been, He still wants me to be with Him. Jesus prayed that we would be with Him in John 17:24: “Father, I desire that those whom you have given me be with me where I am.” He submitted to horrible torture and death by crucifixion to make a way for us to always come back His heart. We are always welcome at His place, and the invitation is always “come as you are, not as what you should be.” Some of my greatest times of intimacy with God have come out of being “real” with Him and letting Him know how I really feel. I have shaken my fist and cussed at him, and felt closer to Him than ever. I found out that God loves “real” just as much as we do. He is drawn to our honesty and repulsed by our phony attempts at appearing religious. Sixth, everything starts with one. Life is best navigated one step at a time. God broke down time to one day—twenty-four hours—because that is all we can handle. And eight of the twenty-four are for sleep! Taking life one day at a time and one step at a time allows us to live in the present, which is the only time we have. The past is gone and the future hasn’t come. The only time we can walk with the Lord is now. Someone asked me how to write a book. I said, “You start.” One word, one sentence, one paragraph, one chapter and it becomes one book. And so it is with any task in life. Closely related to starting with one, I am learning “to do it now.” This is especially helpful the older I get, because I forget things more. If I do it now, I don’t waste time looking for the note on the back of envelope long buried in the pile. Seventh, all my sin is forgiven for all my life. He took away the sins of the world “once and for all.” What freedom. Even when I sin he has already forgiven. This is one of the greatest deterrents to sin in life, because it frees me from resisting sin, which makes it worse. I think that is why Jesus said, “Resist not evil” in the Sermon on the Mount. What we resist persists. Evil is overcome by good, not resisting it. Eighth, the law is cancelled. The religious systems have piled on so many laws, I can’t even remember them, let alone do them. It was a bright new day when I realized that Jesus cancelled the law and wrote the next thing to do on my heart. I did not need a list. Now I can walkin the freedom from religious control freaks. Ninth, it is finished. I already have been given everything I need for life. It is not a matter of getting “new stuff,” but of having the eyes of my heart opened to what I already have. “All things become new” by changing our perspective, not by trying to get something we don’t have. When Jesus died on the cross the sins of the whole world were forgiven. (I Jn. 2:2) When Jesus was raised from the dead, He took all of humanity with Him. (Jn. 12:32) The only thing left is to see it. Tenth, I read the Word for myself daily and keep a journal and keep asking questions. Since 1963, I have kept a journal of my thoughts from the Word and from experiences in life. My journal is the beginning source of all I have taught and written. It has kept me from going stale in a religious box and shoved me outside into the gentle breeze. True, asking questions that take me outside the box has excommunicated me from some groups stuck in traditions, but the breath of life has been worth the pain. When truth takes us outside the box of our group, we may have to walk alone. Loneliness is hard but necessary to endure to reach the goal. Kingsmill said, “Those who set out for the kingdom alone will reach it together and those who seek it in company will perish by themselves.” Lanyon says, "Do you see why "He that travels alone travels far? And why the command, "salute no man as you pass along the highway," is not unfriendliness, but the essence of wisdom? Proverbs says, "The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy." Even among friends, there are few who can share or understand our longings and aspirations, and it can get lonely. But I have found "a Friend who sticks closer than a brother" who is also outside the camp. (Heb. 13) He understands the deepest parts of our hearts and will never leave us or forsake us. So these are some of the bedrock truths that have kept me from falling off the edge of life. |