True Justice

A blog from my Hubby:

It’s hard to see injustice all around us and not get angry. But it is comforting to know that, ultimately, no one escapes justice.

(Mat 12:18-21) Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust.

Jesus is coming again, and will see to it that every man, woman and child receives justice, except one.

(Acts 8:32-33) He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.

Jesus is the only man who will never receive justice. Throughout eternity the one great injustice will stand, an innocent man killed for the sins of others, and they will never be called to account for it. He chose to sacrifice His own justice to become a gift to us.

Romans 5:8 calls this the demonstration of His incredible love. The next time you feel you’ve been treated unjustly, think about this.

Why Do We Fast?

Excellent words and insight from Hubby on fasting! I'm exhorted.

I am fasting today, and it’s helpful to know others have joined me in this commitment. I don’t like fasting; it isn’t easy, and I’m not always successful in my attempts, so I really appreciate your willingness to make such a sacrifice.

That being said, "Why are we doing this? What does it accomplish?" We can fast just because the bible says to, and accept by faith there are some intangible spiritual benefits, but that doesn’t motivate me much. The bible does give us some clues that I hope will encourage you.

As we look at a few verses, keep in mind the bible links fasting with prayer. It is assumed that both are working together in these passages.

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Mat 9:14-15)

Jesus equates fasting with mourning, and specifically mourning His absence.

Fasting expresses our longing for Jesus just rule in the earth, our lamentation over sin and darkness that oppresses His creation.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

When we pray with fasting, we’re partnering with Jesus, the great intercessor, who continually makes intercession for us. (Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25) We enter into mourning over the things that concern Him, and receive the comfort of intimacy with Him.

Contrast this attitude with the one we see in the world, both before God judged the earth with a flood, and again before His second coming to judge the earth again.

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Mat 24:37-39)

In the last days the world will be satisfying their physical desires, unaware of what’s coming, but the church will be fasting and praying “come Lord Jesus,” longing for Christ’s righteous reign.

Fasting is a cry for justice.

In John chapter four, where Jesus meets the woman at the well, He tells His disciples His “food” is to do God’s will and finish the work. He was choosing to focus on the eternal over the merely earthly.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17) When we fast, we’re voluntarily choosing the surpassing pleasures of the Kingdom.

Fasting is a cry for the manifestation of the Kingdom.

Above all, returning to the first passage we read:

Fasting is a cry for the presence of Jesus, longing for the one we love!

Learning from the Queen of Sheba

You know the classic, sarcastic saying, "I wasn't born yesterday." Most of us have said it at least once in our life.

But the truth is we live like we were born yesterday. I've been in conversations with twenty and thirty-somethings who espouse values and "wisdom" based on observations and lessons learned in their short life span.

Cold war? To a twenty-something? Never heard of it. Never lived with the idea of the USSR pushing the big button to blow us up.

Herb Meyer of American Thinker wrote this:

History had three turning point. During the Crusades, there was a battle between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The Christians and Jews lost and experienced the Dark Ages when their societies did not thrive. Muslim society grew and thrived. Things were discovered there, and not in Europe. The key was learning how to reconcile their faith in the modern world.

A huge battle happened outside Vienna on SEPTEMBER 11, 1683 where Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe. The Muslims lost, and then they stopped developing and adapting. The Jews and Christians went on from there and developed their civilizations and we had the Renaissance and a growing society. Since our 9/11 we are now in a new phases of an old war.

One of the greatest sorrows of the world is the inventions and creativity that was not allowed to occur in the Muslim world for centuries.Their society does not encourage creative, free thought and so…they were stuck in the past. The problem now is that we are playing defense in the world. And when you play defense you have to win 100% of the time. We can’t do that.

The good news is that the moderate people of every country are the majority. The bad news is that the minority is louder.

History didn't begin the day we were born. We may think the world began with our first newborn cry, but it didn't. We must learn from history. We must live free to discover the past to determine our future.

This weekend my pastor taught on prayer and used the Queen of Sheba as a reference point. As I looked into the scripture myself, I learned something from the past. In 1 Kings 10, the Queen travels to visit Israel's King Solomon, the wisest man in the world. She wanted to see with her own ears his wisdom, see his riches.

"So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her."

The Queen of Sheba came to Solomon with an open, teachable heart. She brought gifts and richest with her. She came to worship and to gaze on his beauty.

Like the queen, we are to come to Jesus with an open, teachable heart bringing all that we have in adoration and worship. To gaze upon His beauty and splendor.

If Solomon, being a mere man, revealed himself and his splendor to the queen, how will Jesus, being God and man, hold back from us, His Beloved? The ones He died for? He won't. He can't. He longs to reveal Himself to us.

'King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested, besides what he gave her according to his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land together with her servants."

Solomon gave to the queen ALL HER DESIRE WHICH SHE REQUESTED besides WHAT HE GAVE HER ACCORDING TO HIS ROYAL BOUNTY! That's incredible. Solomon already had a royal bounty set up for her. I'm sure it was unimaginable knowing Solomon. But on top of that gift, he GAVE her all she requested of him.

Jesus has already given us an amazing gift: life abundantly, life forever more. But on top of that He gives us what we request. Like the queen with Solomon, we must first sit at His feet and learn, see His splendor and majesty and marvel at Him.

Can we be bold like the queen and go to our King and ask our heart's desire? Yes, we can and we should. But first we must be found in Him. We must learn to adore Him and worship, be taught and instructed by Him.

As we learn, we run. As we mature, we learn to ask. I'm not talking name-it-claim-it gospel. I'm not talking ungrounded faith. But as we move into Jesus, as we make Him our aim, our obsession, He reveals to us His heart.

In John 4, Jesus runs into the Samaritan woman at the well. First, He talks to a Samaritan. Second, He talks to a woman. He willingly broke societal traditions. Look what He does when she asks Him about the Messiah and worship.

"The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us. Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

Jesus clearly reveals Himself as the Messiah. Until now, when asked if He was "the One" He merely answered, "What do you think?"

Jesus longs to reveal Himself to true worshippers. Are you one? Can you learn from your past, from those who've gone before us?

In our natural history, we must learn about the past and mistakes to ensure our future. Our spiritual history is the same. What and who has gone before you? What image of God and Christ do they mold on your heart?

If you don't have Christian family members, can you look to history to fine flaming examples of love? Start with Jesus. His love for you nailed Him to the Cross. And when they taunted Him, jeering for Him to come down and save Himself, He refused. "No, I'm purchasing the one I love."

You. Me.

Hi, my name is Rachel Hauck and I. . .

. . . am a rule bender.

Yes, I bend rules. Not major ones now. I'm a stickler for integrity and honesty, but yeah, I bend a few rules. Mostly personal ones.

But I've bent universal rules like, "no drinks in the sanctuary but water." I mean, my Diet Coke isn't going to hurt anything, is it?

Yes, I plan on getting up for exercise. . . bend, bend.

I did put down for two hours of prayer today. . . bend, bend.

But the truth is, bending rules can go too far. And, if someone were to confront me, "what are doing in here with a soda?" I'd back out of the room with an apology.

Most of us are rule benders in some way. Though I know a few of you who are not. You're my friends and I love you. You remind us all rules have a purpose.

How does this apply to our faith? We start bending God's rules. Is homosexuality a sin? Is God's Word really true? "I mean, do I have to do all it says?"

We've started to let people bend the spiritual rules. There's a church movement doing this. They're questioning if it matters Jesus was born of the virgin, Mary, of the line of David. They ask, "Why does it matter?"

It matter's a lot. If he's not born of a virgin in the line of David, then He's not God. Prophesy is not fulfill and we are without hope.

We have to confront the rule benders. Not in a harsh or judgmental way, but in love and truth. "You many struggle with homosexuality, but God calls it sin. We are to turn from sin, hate what He hates. Let me help you walk through this toward truth."

To say your sin is okay is to call God a liar.

For some, sin isn't call out sin anymore. They're trying to fold lies into the gospel. The good news is God is able to redeem His name and reputation. I just don't want it to be because of me, my action, my sin. I don't want to sully His name.

The "church" does need to reach out to the poor and hurting. I agree we've let doctrine hinder our methodology. We're so comfortable in our churches, with our preaching and fellowshipping among ourselves. (It's the way of most sects of society.)

Getting outside the church walls is messy. It's not always successful. It's hard work. But we can't lower the bar to make it easy for ourselves. Sin is sin and we have to call it. Otherwise, how will the world know to repent and change. We leave them in worse bondage by not speaking out the truth.

My name is Rachel Hauck, a recovering rule bender.

Bearing His Fragrance

I'm at my mom's in Tennessee for Thanksgiving. My older brother is here, my youngest brother lives here with his family. Of course, I brought hubby with my.

Oh, and my 94 year old Grandma lives here, too.

This evening, my sister-in-law and I ran errands. Target, Krogers, a mom and pop pizza joint. About an hour after we brought the pizza's home, I had to move my mom's car for my sister-in-law.

Sliding behind the wheel, I was hit with the fragrance of pizza. Just a few minutes in the car, the pizza aroma still permeated the car.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

Like the pizza, the fragrance of Jesus on us lingers long after we've come and gone. A few minutes in the car left over an hours worth of pizza aroma.

What would thirty minutes, or an hour, in the Lord's presence leave on us? Then, wherever we go, His fragrance lingers.

If another person had gotten in the car, they would've wanted pizza. So, what would happen to someone walking into our presence after we've been with Jesus.

Maybe they would crave Him? Or their hunger for spiritual truth would be awakened.

Hang out with Jesus then look at what happens to those around you.

Matthew 22

Jesus tells a story in Matthew 22 about a King who threw a wedding feast for His son. On the exact day, He sent out His servants to gather the invited guests.

But they were busy, on their way home from work, eager to stop by the pub for a pint, or kick back at home with the remote.

Disappointed, the Kings said, "Bump 'em," and sent His servants to invite strangers passing on the highway, those who would be honored to sit at the King's table. The servants brought both upstanding citizens as well as the undesirables. Both good and evil.

Among the merriment, the King strolled, observing the guests at His son's party. Suddenly, he saw a man in unfit attire. He wasn't dressed in wedding clothes.

"And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

This guest came to the feast in his own clothes, in other words, his own righteousness. He'd not taken on the garments of his host, his "groom." He wanted to wear his own deeds, works, and self-righteousness.

We cannot come to Jesus in our own religiousness and righteousness. Our entrance to the wedding feast (Rev 19:9) is not based on what we do or what we think, or how we define faith, or right thinking, but how HE defines it.

We live in a culture where "what you believe is what you believe" is a popular, accepted concept. But is what you believe what He believes? It's His wedding feast. He has the final say.

Recently some friends were discussing abortion. One said, "upstanding, moral people are pro-choice, for abortion."

Moral according to whom, to what? From where do they derive their morals? Are you living according to your own righteousness or His?

To be honest, from what I read in the Word, I cannot see me asking Jesus, "So, you're cool with me being for abortion, right? I mean, pregnancy may come at a time when it's just not right for some women."

I imagine He'd not say a word, but turn and show me His whipped, torn and deeply wounded back.

"Ah, yeah, right. Maybe not."

Or, for the one who thinks adultery or sex out of marriage is fine and dandy, or homosexuality. Or adheres to white lies, or subtle cheating.

Look, I know mistakes are made. I've made them. Still do. I know people struggle. But if we are in Christ, we are not alone. We have a GREAT High Priest who prays for us!

We do not give Him and His Cross enough power and faith. He can take our worst situations and some how make them right. Or give us grace to endure.

We cannot show up at the wedding feast in our own works and righteousness. So why do we continually try? We have to put on His garments of faith, salvation and peace. He's given them to us by the Cross.

If you ever doubt His love or availability to you, close your eyes and gaze at the Cross. Don't let lies and doubt win.

See you soon, Kristy

Friend and author Kristy Dykes graduated to the next life yesterday. Her husband blogs about it here.

Kristy was a shining spot to so many of us writers. A cheerleader, an exhorter. You can see from Milton's writings she was a loving, kind, spunky wife and mother.

Mostly she loved Jesus and reflected His light with a passion. Cancer took Kristy in this life, but has no power where she is now.

In juxtaposition, I occasionally follow a blog by another woman struggling with cancer. This woman does not know Jesus. In the course of her journey, her husband left her, she's sick, broke and alone. Bitter.

Watching two people struggle and die in cyberspace was a unique experience, but watching one who loves Jesus compared to one who doesn't, was sad. I feel for the latter. "Jesus, reveal yourself."

We will all miss Kristy. "Friend, see you very soon. We'll start a writing group that will last for eternity!"

Thank you Milton and family for being such a great example of Christian charity and exposing the inner heart of Kristy.

Romans 5

I love, love, love singing the Word. Get a three or four chord progression going and God's Word opens up and speaks to the human heart.

I've been super-duper busy lately and while it is NO excuse, my prayer and Word time has been scattered.

So, I sat at the keyboard this afternoon and opened to Romans 5.

I love this... starting in verse 3:

"Exalt in tribulation and trials. It brings about perseverance. Perseverance helps us develop proven character and out of that we have hope.

Hope does NOT disappoint. Look, God poured out His love within our hearts through the Holy Spirit whom He gave to us."

Isn't that amazing? God purposefully poured out His love in us, then gave us His Spirit to keep us in love.

One of the problems in American today, the Church chief among them, is we don't want to endure. We want the quick fix. We want life easy and simple, someone to fix everything for us. We don't own up to our own weaknesses and faults.

Listen, if the first thing out of your mouth when times are hard is, "Well, my mother..." Or, "My Dad..." Or, "My boss..." Substitute what you will... husband, kids, agent, editor, neighbor, pastor...

Stop pointing the finger, look inside, confess your sins and endure. Develop proven character. We need a whole lot more character in this world. We are so busy blaming and spinning the truth. Let it start within me, within my hearts.

I want proven character. I want hope. I want the love of God dwelling in me richly.

Here's the best part of this Roman passage. Verse 8.

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

I've written four books in first person present. I am. I go. I want. I say. The reason I did this was for the immediacy. It has a "now" feel.

"God demonstrates" has the same immediacy, now feel. God demonstrating His love for us is not past tense. It's every day. Current. Happening even now.

As I was singing this verse, taking a direction of Jesus dying on the Cross, singing how He faced the grave, defeated all of Hell, took the keys of death, I stopped.

Whoa. Heavy reavy.

God is life, right? Holds all of life in His hands. Adam, in the Garden, surrender his authority over death to his enemy, Satan.

Jesus came as a man, faced His enemy for all of human kinds, think David and Goliath, defeated Satan and took the authority over Death from him. Now Jesus, a Man, holds the keys. A man of love, an intercessor, who also happens to be God.

Look, I know we all know this at some level. But it hit me deeper today. Jesus. A man. Fixed what Adam screwed up. Only a human could take the keys of death away from him. So God said, "I'll do it for them by becoming one of them."

Amazing!!! There is NO other religion in the world with this kind of Hero. None. No one compares to Jesus. None. Investigate for yourself. Compare. You'll see.

Well, off  to check on my cake.

End of the Year

It's Sunday after. The late December day is warm, sunny and breezy under a blue sky. The year is ending. Feels like another day in a standard week, but the calendar turns.

I make no resolutions except to be purposeful in knowing Jesus more, and learning to love. If He increases in me, I decrease and the world becomes a better place.

A man I know died and went to heaven. He encountered the King of Kings who asked, "On earth, did you learn to love?"

What an amazing question. He loved. We are to be like Him. Love is a choice. Simple and straightforward. Choose love. It's patient, kind, forgiving, bears offense and keeps no record of wrong. It uplifts and upholds. Love believes and hopes.

Have you forgiven an offense? Then you've loved.

God is love. (1 John 4) Not God is like love, He IS love, the very definition. How can we do or be less? The rock group Foreigner sang, "I wanna know what love is."

Seek Him.

Love does not mean we allow ourselves to be bullied or walked on. Love is not an ethereal concept that evades our grasp. Love is not unsanctified mercy. We show mercy when we should speak truth and call it love. No.

But always, grace, grace.

While my resolve is simple, yet difficult, I have goals. To write with grace and beauty. Frankly, the only way I know is to sit at His feet.

Be faithful to prayer and fasting.

I want to be found in His presence, to stand in His council. My good friend Susie pointed out this verse, Psalm 25:14.

The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him,
And He will make them know His covenant.
My eyes are continually toward the LORD

Goodbye 2007. You brought me good times and bad. Disappointment that stirred both anger and jealousy in my soul. But, in this I gained hope, grace, faith, the abililty to be abandoned.

I am a blank slate. Jesus, paint on my heart whatever You will. If this life is an intership for eternity, then so goes my reward.

Grace, grace.

Personal Stock

We have personal stock. Like a company. Like the Stock Market. The Dow-Jones, the SNP. Stock is our value as we see ourselves and as others see us.

In a sense, privately verse publicly held stock.

How we view ourselves is paramount to how we will survive this world. Our personal stock must be strong, solid and built on a foundation of values and character.

I've always known this, but recently a live example from college football brought it into light.

Troy Smith, star quaterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, undefeated against Michigan, lost the most critical game of his college career.

The BCS National Championship in Glendale Arizona.

Come NFL draft time, Smith's "stock" was down, the report claimed. He'd be drafted, but when, what round? To whom?

Last month we found out. Fifth round, a hundred and seventy-fourth.

A hundred and seventy-fourth.

The top quarterback in NCAA football, Heisman winner goes a hundred and seventy-fourth because he lost one game.

One very critical game.

His whole character and ability to play, command a team fell to scrutiny. Forget all the games he'd won under huge pressure, including 2006 season closer against Michigan.

His team lost when they were expected to win and Troy Smith paid the price. Not Antonio Pittman, or Anthony Gonzales.

In my teens and twenties, I worked for Publix Supermarkets. The best grocery shopping experience you'll ever have. In those days, Publix was a privately held company. Earnings and profits were shared with the employee.

It was the best gig any blue collar worker could have. Two weeks pay as a Christmas bonus. Paid vacation. Medical. Retirement. Profit sharing. Stock options.

They believed in themselves.

I wonder how Troy Smith endured the loss of a National Championship? How did he feel when all the talking-heads declared, "Smith's stock down after defeat."

Since he didn't off himself, my guess is Troy Smith took a look at his personal stock, believed in his abilities, and said yes to the Ravens when they drafted him a hundred and seventy-fourth in the fifth round. I bet he went to training camp determined to show them they made a great pick.

We have to value ourselves, and those who invest time and energy in us. Don't let "public" opinion knock you off course.

Paul writes to the Ephesians, "I pray you be rooted and grounded in love. The love that surpasses knowledge."

Being rooted and grounded means trivial winds don't uproot you. It means you are confident in His love.

Public stock fluxuates if someone on Wall Street sneezes wrong. It's almost the same with people. You can be a perfectly fine person, have a bad moment, and leave a room of people with the wrong impression.

Are you who they think you are? No. But you have to be confident enough not to let it effect you.

One year in college, I hung out with the wrong guy. Just by association, an entire fraternity formed a very wrong opinion of me. Not to say I didn't contribute a little to the opinion-forming, but I was no where near what they thought.

How sickening to have a whole frat think... well, never mind.

But, I knew they were wrong about me. I modified my behavior, stayed away from the man in question, and within a school year, my entire rep had changed with those men.

My personal stock allowed my public stock to change.

Where are you? Someone doing or saying something about you that's hurting? Then let your light shine. Let your inner character and pesonal stock hold you together until "they" see the real you.

Or, maybe like me, you have to make a half-time adjustment.

At the end of the day, all you have is your belief in yourself, and the confidence that you are indeed His favorite One.