The Bare Soul - "Go Therefore ..." - December 28, 2008

Matthew 28:19a - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations ...

The prerequisite of making disciples will always imply "going". As we step out in faith, God is able to disciple others through us as we also have been taught. On the 19th of December, 140 of us from around the United States converged on Reynosa Mexico for five days of outreach to the Mexican people. We came well-equipped with gifts for the 60 children of Josiah and Bethany's Children's Home as well as many Christmas gifts for the poorest folks of Reynosa. Throughout this Calvary Commission outreach, we distributed hundreds of pounds of beans and rice along with clothes and toys to the children. Of even greater importance than the material items we distributed was the love of Jesus through full gospel worship, testimony, preaching, puppet and drama shows. There was a real excitement and anticipation of what Christ was doing through the people of Reynosa as our teams (with the help of our translators) swept through the neighborhoods and invited the locals to our rallies.

Personally, I have been on outreaches within the U.S., but this was the first time beyond the American border. I was taken aback how accepting these folks were of the Gospel. Several of us made the comment that they were like "sponges", absorbing the words of our testimonials with eagerness and conviction. Typically, both outdoor and indoor services throughout the outreach attracted several hundred people. Without fail, dozens of folks would come forward during the altar calls to give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of us personally prayed with scores of people to receive the Lord into their hearts. (Note: Those who accepted the Lord as their Savior will be followed up by the church in Reynosa to help with their Christian development). Many who were in need of physical healing experienced God's restorative power as we anointed them with oil and prayed for miracles in their lives. The working of the Holy Spirit was apparent as some expressed gratitude to the Lord with tears. Others would kneel in reverence while others would be overcome by the power of the Spirit and would lie prostrate before Him.
During these days of constant ministry, friendships were galvanized among us by the Holy Spirit. Joe and Charlotte Fauss, founders and directors of Calvary Commission told us at orientation that the bonds of friendship would become evident in this short space of time by the hugs and tears as we went our separate ways at the conclusion of the outreach. They were right. As Joe Fauss and Marty Thomas led our teams throughout the five day outreach, it was evident that they were sowing seeds of love among us as they led us with a spirit of humility. This spirit of love and brotherhood permeated down from all the leadership, creating a loving cohesiveness among all the team members.

Some might think it extraordinary to give up a few days of their Christmas holiday to spend time with some of the poorest people in the western hemisphere. However, the Lord Jesus Christ never considered whether it was heroic or sacrificial or noble to give of ourselves at Christmas time or any time throughout the year -- He merely told us to "go" and make disciples . The only thing really worth mentioning regarding missionary work is that it is "normal" Christianity. It is not any more remarkable than merely living the normal Christian life on a daily basis. Those who know the Lord have all been called to "go". To not go should be the exception. Few He has called to "stay" and the vast majority of us He has ordained to carry what we have been so richly given to those who are most in need.

Postscript: Calvary Commission has been leading teams for nearly 30 years into Mexico. Every Easter and Christmas, they lead groups into Reynosa to minister the love of Jesus. If you feel called to help the poor of Mexico, or possibly other areas of the world (e.g. Romania, Peru, Israel), please explore the possibilities at http://calvarycommission.org. May the Lord bless you!

For more pictures of the outreach, go to
http://barefootrunner.org/reflections/baresoul_12-28-08.htm

The following message was delivered on Sunday morning December 21, 2008 at the Calvary Commission Church in Reynosa Mexico during the Christmas Outreach. (Thank you once again, Pastor Alejandro, for your superb translation assistance!)

Whose Fool Are You? - Calvary Commission Church, Reynosa Mexico - December 21, 2008

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Precious Possessions - December 21, 2008

Psalm 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones.

When reading this verse, one must be careful to remove all morbidity from what God is seeking to reveal. David's theme throughout this psalm is thanksgiving for deliverance from death. On one hand, he is grateful to the Lord that his life has been spared. Yet, on the other, he also knows that God welcomes the godly man or woman into the heavenly realms with arms outstretched in love. Physical death is not be sought in this life as a Christian, but it is to welcomed when we know our life has been spent for Him. There is a deep sense of knowing in the heart of the redeemed that God the Father looks upon His children that pass from one life to the next as His most precious possession. The scriptures tell us in Luke 15:10 that ... "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents". The love, joy, and expectation is just beginning when a sinner turns from sin and believes. The climactic eternal conclusion will be when the Father says, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:23)

While it is unfitting and morbid to actually long for physical death, God puts a yearning within the heart of every true believer to experience another type of death even as he or she lives upon this earth. When one dies to carnality and the deeds of the flesh, then the rebirth of the Holy Spirit within our spirits can truly manifest. To be truly free from sin is nothing less than having dealt a death blow to all that controlled our lives before accepting Christ as our Savior. Even as His godly one's physical deaths are precious in His sight, so also does He delight when those who are called by His name renounce the things of this world and seek His face and His glory. This "living-death" while on this earth that brings true joy to the soul (and also to the Father's) is only a prelude to what we will experience in the life to come. For only to the degree of sanctification or "setting ourselves apart for the Lord", will we truly experience the depths of His love and joy.

Paul experienced such a depth of sanctification and oneness with Christ on this earth that He longed for the ultimate experience of oneness with Christ by giving up his life on earth to be with Him. Paul stated in Philippians 1:22-23 that he was hard-pressed from two different directions -- one, to stay and help build up the church, and two, that he might depart to be with the Lord. Paul was one of those unique believers that had experienced so much death to self on this earth that his spirit and soul longed with an intense fervor to be with His Lord. The apostle had become so much "one" with Jesus Christ that it seemed totally unnatural to be partakers of the earthly body any longer. Everything within him cried out for his own mortality to take on immortality and to be with the Love of his soul. For truly, that which we love will have all of our thought and desire. As our passions for things on this earth endure, we become more and more identified with our longings. The longer I am married to Rebecca, the more I love her and wish to please her. In retrospect, the more someone is "married" to lust or greed or pride or any any number of other things, the more they become like their object of affection. (One may look no further than J.R.R. Tolkien's example in the "Lord of the Rings" series as a fitting example. Gollum was consumed in body, soul, and spirit for his love of the ring of power which he named "his precious"!).

God's will for each and everyone of us is quite simple. As stated in I Thessalonians 4:3, Paul writes that "... This is the will of God; your sanctification ...". Only by death to ourselves and our old nature can we truly experience the Lord's will for our lives. As long as we continue to play around the periphery of sinful behavior, we will never experience the depth's of love and joy in this lifetime that He desires for us. Why would we want to wait for physical death and immortality with the Father to experience this wonderful life that He has for all who would but humble themselves in this lifetime? The pursuit of sin will continue to leave that "God-shaped" vacuum in all that would consider their rebellion against God as their privilege and right. There is only One that can give true life in this age and the age to come. He gave His life nearly 2,000 years ago that we might have life and have it more abundantly. All we need to is accept and identify with His death, burial, and resurrection, for Paul stated in Galatians 5:24 that "... we who belong to Christ have crucified the the flesh with its passions and desires". Once we accept Him and His marvelous gift, our death to sin becomes a wonderful expression of His life through us. It is only a foreshadowing of when we step beyond the veil of this earthly life into the presence of His glory. The "precious possession" that we have cared for in this life will only bring delight and joy as our Father welcomes us into His heavenly realm.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - His Servants - December 14, 2008

The following is the message text and audio recording of a sermon titled "His Servants" delivered to the homeless at the Kansas City Rescue Mission Chapel on December 11, 2008.

His Servants - December 11, 2008

"Gotta Serve Somebody"

by Bob Dylan
(Courtesy of YouTube)

Psalm 119:91 - They [heaven and earth] stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants.

After his conversion to Christianity in the late 1970s, Bob Dylan recorded his 19th studio album titled Slow Train Coming. After the album's release in 1979, many long time fans were horrified. What happened to their free-thinking, political and social activist? Had he really lost his mind by giving his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ? Believers (including myself) praised God that He had delivered yet another from the narcissistic "me" generation of the 1960s and 70s Side one of this controversial recording featured a song named "Gotta Serve Somebody". It won Dylan the Grammy for the best rock vocal performance by a male in 1980. Probably the most striking and gut-honest words in this song are in the refrain. Clearly, these lyrics speak about how none of our lives are our own:

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes, indeed
Serve somebody
It might be the devil or it might be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

In response to "Gotta Serve Somebody", John Lennon wrote the song "Serve Yourself" shortly before his untimely death in December of 1980. This irreverent composition was Lennon's statement against all organized religion, especially Christianity. These two songs were testaments to whom and what controlled the destiny of these two men. Ironically, both were so-called seekers after truth, yet only one attained to a true understanding of what life is really all about. Only one of these two singer/songwriters found out the truth, and that is ... IT'S NOT ABOUT US!

We have been placed on this earth not to fulfill our own self-centered destinies, but to bring glory to the One that created us in His image. Psalm 119:91 places the center of the universe and all of creation back on the Creator. Additionally, it deemphasizes the creation as existing to be subservient to its Maker. It is a glorious revelation of who God is -- and who He is not. If you're not the Creator (which none of us are, of course!) than we are the created and we have a role in that creation, which is to serve the One who created us. This twists and turns and upsets the minds and hearts of those who cannot wrap their minds around the idea that God is who He said He is. These are folks that are unregenerate, lost and without hope of salvation unless they turn and repent of their lawless lives. Of all His creation, we are the only created things with free will that can lay our dark, depraved hearts before Calvary's Cross and accept His free gift of redemption. Likewise, we can spit in God's eye and continue on in our rebellious state to the gates of hell. All things in creation know their place -- except humankind. The irony of finding our place of servitude before Him on this earth equates to ultimately reigning with Him forever in the age to come. Even if others (such as Lennon) do not seemingly find that place of servitude toward God on this earth, they will still serve God's purposes in other tragic ways.

God's Holy Word tells us that certain scriptures were written as an admonition, or as a warning to us that we might not sin (Hebrews 3:12-19). The Word is full of examples of disobedience that God uses to instruct others in the fear of the Lord, not to do similarly and likewise perish. Just as the prophets and the holy men and women of the Old and New Testament are examples of servants of righteousness, in like manner those who have disobeyed and served themselves and their own sinful passions have become servants of destruction. These continue to instruct and serve us through their past wickedness, how not to behave. They may be servants of Satan and the flesh, but in the grand scheme of things they are serving God's ultimate purposes of showing His longsuffering and patience toward these vessels of wrath (Romans 9:22). We can never truly know His grace unless we know the power of sin. There are multitudes of the servants of darkness filling up the bowl of God's wrath. In reality, they are actually the catalysts for Him to release to us more of His grace. The fifth and sixth chapters of Romans tell us that "... where sin abounds, graces does abound all the more". God is not willing for any to perish but that all would come to repentance. Unfortunately, we know that many will not make that decision for God. (However, those who know His saving grace should continue to pray and seek the Lord for His mercy for others.)

As Dylan so simply stated, we WILL serve the devil or we WILL serve the Lord. It's all about OUR choice, at least in the beginning. In the end -- when all has been said and done -- we will see how God was just and loving to call all to repentance yet not all heeded the call. Those "without ears to hear" the loving invitation of the Father will continue to think they are serving themselves, living so-called lives of self-sufficiency. They are horribly deceived. The devil believes that these who live for themselves are truly his and he has robbed God of His precious possession. To some degree this is true, but only for the time being. On that last day, we shall all witness how even the self-serving really served no other purpose but to justify the righteous actions of the Lord Most High as He condemns them to their lifelong desire of isolation with "self". There will be no defiance on that day when He passes judgment, for all will know that His judgment is true. For we know from the scripture (Philippians 2:10-11) "... that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." To bend not the knee to Him in this life will only mean bent knees and a lost soul in the life to come. Oh, to be a gloriously redeemed servant in this life rather than a tragic, hopeless slave in the life to come! Should we not be living lives as His Servants now and serving Him and others in righteousness? For all will serve Him, one way or the other throughout eternity.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

"Gotta Serve Somebody"

by Bob Dylan(Courtesy of YouTube)

His Servants - December 11, 2008

The Bare Soul - An Enlarged Heart - December 7, 2008

Psalm 119:32 - I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.

When we are saved from sin, many of us can ever imagine having the capacity to follow the first commandment in its fullness: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Though we are in love with Jesus and His wonderful gift of salvation, doubts appear when our fleshly natures start to rear their ugly head. Our lives seem desperately selfish and focused on our own interests once the spotlight of the Holy Spirit illumines our true nature. However, as we grow in the Lord, and are obedient to His leadings we also find our capacity to love increases and broadens. There really is no correlation to the broadening of our capacity to love with how we "feel" about our sin or how we react and languish about it. Rather it is a direct result of how our faith is released by obedience (to a greater degree), thereby helping us recognize the glorious gift of salvation that the Lord Jesus has bestowed on us. It is just something that we accept with gratitude. As our faith grows, our love grows also -- not just for the Lord but for his creation -- namely His greatest creation, humankind.

The Psalmist spoke deliberately in the opening verse regarding his desire to please the Lord in obedience. In many instances throughout the Word of God, the metaphor of "walking" is used to signify the way of one's spiritual traversing. Either the humble and upright will follow the path of righteousness, or conversely, the naive and simple will stumble down the road to destruction. However, running is a different matter as outlined in several scriptures throughout the Word, both in a positive and negative light. In Isaiah 59:7 it states that Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood; while Solomon declared in Proverbs 18:10 ... The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe. As these scriptures suggest, there is a certain expediency in regards to running. It implies that there is an urgency to get to a desired location or end, as if there is a constraint that would be pushing the runner on to finish his or her course within an acceptable time. Solomon understood running toward the Lord as well as running away from Him. He is the quintessential example of someone spiritually "running" in extreme, diametric directions. In his younger life, he gave himself to the Lord and "ran" the way of His commandments to the point that his soul was "hyper-enlarged" with a heart of wisdom unparalleled in the annals of humankind. In later years, he allowed his heart and mind to become vacant of God's wisdom as he gave himself to "running" after the excesses of depravity. Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, we find a man that had filled up an enormously large vacuum with the pleasures of this world. His conclusion, after he had turned back to God, was that "all is vanity" and that the wisest choice is: ... fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

In reality, we will all pursue our passions at one pace or another. Some of us prefer to walk, while others of us are compelled to run. I have always been a "runner", but not in the literal sense. My running began years before I ever ran my first mile in 1990. Years before, I too was like Solomon and "sprinted" after carnality and the lust of my own flesh. I ran with such riotous ruin, honing and practicing disobedience with such vigor that if there were a priesthood for the damned I was certainly a tenured minister. My heart had become superfluously enlarged with every evil known to man. I was doomed, until I met Jesus. When the Lord gave me a new heart, he made it right-sized again. But then an amazing thing began to occur. With every victory, He increased both my faith and love for Him as he began His glorious work as the Author and Perfecter of my faith in Him. As time passed, He continued to bless me with more faith, more hope, and the crown jewel, His Love. In time, my heart once again started enlarging, but not with the excesses of disobedience. This time it was with His grace and the very fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Let us ask ourselves: What is my pursuit in life today? Am I walking after the "god of this world" and the lust of my flesh, or am I walking with the Lord God Almighty who is able to give me love, hope, and joy? I am convinced that if we are merely walking after the flesh and the devil or after the Lord and His righteousness, that we should be "running" in one direction or the other. For if a man or woman is running from God, they are more likely to fall as they run in darkness. THEN, there is hope that they will turn to the Most High. Conversely, if one is running with the Lord and with His commandments, there can only be one outcome -- a life and a heart that will be so enlarged with the goodness of God that they won't be able to contain it.

Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, help us to run the way of your commandments ... this day. Help us to surrender to you that you may do the work of the Master Surgeon and enlarge our hearts to give more, to live more, and to love more. In Christ Jesus' Holy Name, Amen!

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Lasting Impressions - November 30, 2008

Deuteronomy 11:18 - You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

When something is touched, it is never the same. We may touch hundreds or thousands of things throughout a normal day. The change might be as slight as our fingerprint, or it might be much more profound. When we touch people, either literally or figuratively, we always leave an impression. Whether it is sub-conscious or consciously overt, we are continually changing those around us by our presence, by our words, and by our deeds. When we touch those we encounter with our words, we are either building them up or pulling them down. There is really no neutrality in what we say, for as Solomon states through the Holy Spirit in Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue ...". There really isn't gray area in our speech -- either we are bringing healing or harm to those lives we speak into. Something that may appear neutral in our minds will always be perceived as positive or negative in either the conscious or the sub-conscious of the hearer. To explain it at a spiritual level; if our words are not born of the Spirit of God then they are born of our flesh.

God's words always bring life. Even when we may think that God is harsh and critical it is only our perception as tainted through our own flesh. If he wounds, it is only to ultimately heal. The Greek word "rhema", meaning the spoken word of God is literally a Divine Utterance that is given to provide specific direction to any given situation that an individual or an entire nation might need to hear. When God speaks, people listen, right? The Bible is full of examples including every prophet in the Old Testament that spoke forth the message of God. These are dramatic examples that might give the appearance that God only speaks in demonstrative ways to an "ancient people". In reality, God speaks daily to humans in our contemporary times and with the same clarity that He did to the patriarchs. We just need ears to hear.One example might be when a man or woman learns of their sin and its remedy. In John 16:8, Jesus said that He would send the Holy Spirit into the world to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment. When conviction comes to a human life (which in itself is a gift from God), there is a stirring from this first impression that the Lord God through His Holy Spirit has begun to work in this soul. From this time forward, it is a matter of Divine Course that God will continue to impress on a man or woman's soul regarding their sin until there is a decision one way or the other. If the subject initially rejects the prodding of the Lord, He will continue to convict or "convince" this person of their need of Him. (Of course, there does come a time when the Holy Spirit can be "grieved away" from any further confrontation toward a human heart.) For those who surrender to the conviction of the Lord and who agree that they are indeed a sinner in need of salvation, then the Spirit can begin to have His way with this respective soul.

When a mortal accepts the grace of redemption and puts on immortality, the expression of the Divine Life should be manifested by the working of sanctification. To be "set apart for God's purposes" or to be sanctified is not the action or the responsibility of the believer. Sanctification, just like justification is merely something that only the Holy Spirit can perform in the human soul. Just as a person initially surrenders and obeys to His first impressions of sin's conviction, thereby resulting in salvation, so must we continue to surrender daily to the voice of the Lord as He woos us away from our own self-centered lives. The result is a glorious salvation -- our sanctification -- the opportunity to draw closer to Him every day. There is NO other fuel for this daily journey than obedience and surrender. Jesus said that "... if you love Me you will keep My words [commandments]" (John 14:23). Beloved, let us all follow His impressions to first love Him above all things. This manner of abandonment to the Person of the Lord Jesus will ultimately lead to His Divine Life expressed through our lives of obedience.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you speak to us daily. Thank you that you are leading us by Your impressions through the Holy Spirit. Continue to make and break us daily from our own ways and allow your Divine Life to be expressed in ours. In Jesus Christ's Precious Name, Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Hide and Seek - November 23, 2008

Colossians 2:3 - [Christ] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

It is often painful for new believers to one day experience the seeming absence of the Lord in their lives. Everyday, up to this point had been filled with His closeness and His presence. There had been a rich fellowship between the child of God and their Creator. On that particular day when the Lord seemed to vanish out of their heart and mind, it left the believer gasping for spiritual air. They had been blind-sided by something that had never occurred to them -- that their sweet fellowship would end. The irony of this situation is that God has never been closer to the believer than at this time, and He is desirous to show His child the deeper meaning of the purpose of this seeming isolation.

God never withdraws his presence without reason. Once we have deliberated that it is not sin and that we are walking in obedience to Him, then it is our privilege and honor to seek Him out once again. God will often withdraw in order to see how much we desire Him and how far we will go to seek His presence. God knows that if He leaves us in a state of sublime love and fellowship with Him that we will never grow beyond this depth of love and will most likely begin to take for granted what love we know in Him. He has given each of us the desire, along with the tools, to become "treasure hunters" of the divine order. There is nothing God wants more than when we "feel" isolated from Him but to "dig" for the treasures of His Son. Simple prayers such as in Colossians 1:9 allow us to "mine out" the true riches: "... to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding ...". I challenge all who are reading this and who are feeling isolated from God to pray Colossians 1:9-10 several times daily for a month. I assure you, God will open up a truer understanding of who He is and His divine will for those who seek Him. I cannot promise that you will have greater comprehension of God's wisdom in how He plays a game of hide and seek with us. However, I will say that there will more peace and joy around understanding that it is God's way of dealing with those He loves.

There is not a book in the entire Bible that better illustrates this coming and going, this ebbing and flowing of the bride and the bridegroom's love then the Song of Solomon. Although this book is the story of Solomon and his Shulammite bride, it is clearly the celebration in metaphor of Christ and his bride, the church. This short poetic book of eight chapters embodies the heart of the Lover, the Lord Jesus Christ, as He woos his bride in a series of comings and goings that culminates in a secure and lasting relationship that is enthralled in mutual love. At one point, the bride (the church) becomes complacent when the bridegroom (Christ) is seeking her fellowship (Song of Solomon 5:1-9). She refuses to arise from her bed when he is calling. To her horror, she next finds that her lover has departed and she must then seek him out. In her seeking, she encounters the watchmen (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) who actually buffet her and appear to abuse her. However, when one truly understands the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, we know that He is the one who disciplines us "as sons" (Hebrews 12:6) and wounds us faithfully as "friends" (Proverbs 27:6); (Job 5:17-18).

As believers, we must never be alarmed if the Lord is hiding His presence from us. As long as we know we are doing His will, then it should be accepted and embraced just as when we are basking in His presence and sensing His fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). The Lord will continually draw us near, for a season, and then retreat where we feel isolated and without His constant presence. Rejoice, when that happens my beloved! It is your Father in heaven, who having carefully selected and called you, has begun the beautification process that will create an eternal bride for His Son. Count yourself worthy that He has first shown His love to you and then has "seemingly" withdrawn it. Know, then, that you are truly blessed of the Lord!

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that you are making us beautiful in spirit, soul, and body to become Your Son's Holy Bride. We totally surrender to You Lord, as You continue to show Yourself through your presence and more importantly Your "seeming" lack of presence in our lives. For only as you hide and we seek, do we learn the depths of Your Son's greatest treasure -- His love for us! In Jesus Christ's precious name, Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Seeing Jesus - November 16, 2008

The following is the message text and audio recording of a sermon titled "Seeing Jesus" delivered to the homeless at the Kansas City Rescue Mission Chapel on November 13, 2008.
Seeing Jesus - November 13, 2008

John 12:20-21 - Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

Seeing something whereas just hearing about it can totally change one's perspective. Most of us have undoubtedly heard the analogy of attempting to explain the Gospel to someone that doesn't have "ears to hear or eyes to see" -- that it is like trying to describe a sunset to a person that was born blind. Hearing about it is totally inadequate to the visual experience. While we can truly experience sensory delights through our hearing such as a loving voice of a mother or a melodic cantata performed by an accomplished ensemble, the visual experience coupled with the auditory enhances the experience ten-fold.

No other malady in the New Testament drew more derision as did blindness. In John 9:1-3, Jesus' disciples question Him regarding being born without sight. The disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." Later in this chapter (John 9:34), we find the Pharisees mocking this man who received his sight from Jesus saying, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?" There was a clear understanding from these texts that those born blind were considered as outcasts from the grace of God and excluded from His love. Undoubtedly, that is why John the Apostle dedicated an entire chapter to this important life lesson regarding who was truly blind and who truly could see. Jesus told the Pharisees that were following Him, at the end of this chapter (John 9:41), that ... "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains." However, there is an important distinction to make regarding who truly sees and who doesn't.

In Isaiah 6:1, the prophet had a vision that would forever change his life. "In the year of King Uzziah's death, I [Isaiah] saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple." The first words out of the prophets mouth were not, "Wow, this is incredible, God! I need to go tell that corrupt and rebellious nation Israel what an awesome and glorious God you are because I have truly seen who You are. Maybe I should start a TV ministry or write a book?" No, the first thing that Isaiah dealt with was his own understanding of his utter sinfulness: "Then I said, Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5) A few verses later, we hear from the prophet again when he volunteers for the prophetic ministry that the Lord God has destined for Isaiah. A true vision of who God is will inevitably change the beholder, for God will never reveal Himself to someone who is not ready for the revelation and for the calling to follow. (Even Jonah, although he at first resisted, heeded the calling after the revelation of who God wanted him to fulfill to the city of Nineveh [see the Book of Jonah]).

Seeing God or Jesus is paramount in order to become truly His in this lifetime. Many will be in heaven who have never truly experienced seeing God as Isaiah did, or as those who walked with Jesus in His lifetime. However, even as the Greeks who desired to see Him (as stated in the opening scripture), we should all desire to see Jesus in this lifetime for that is the thing that will truly change us for the life to come. God is overjoyed when a sinner comes to salvation and embraces the justification that His Son bought for the entire world by His shed blood. Luke 15:7-10 states that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that turns to the Lord and accepts His free gift of salvation. Beloved, there is so much more than merely accepting His wonderful gift and hoping that this takes care of our "fire insurance" premiums! There is so much more than merely escaping hell and waiting for Glory in the "sweet by and by"! The writer of Hebrews tells us to ... "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14) Sanctification or "to be set apart for His purposes" is not implicit of just the life to come, but is available to us all here on earth. There is opportunity for us all, through obedience to His Spirit, to be set apart for His pleasure while we wait for His appearing (whether we die or see Him in the sky!). We should all desire to give ourselves totally to Him in this lifetime, not only to partake of His nature (see the fruits of the spirit, Galatians 5:22,23) but for no other reason than He is worthy of our love and adoration because He gave us everything -- that is, the death of His Son for our redemption. Our utmost desire should be that of those who sought Jesus in ancient Jerusalem, "Lord, we desire to see you!" Only as we truly see Him will our lives be changed and readied for Glory in the "sweet here and now"!

Lord Jesus, we want to see you ... to be changed by You in Your magnificent presence. Even as Isaiah was changed in a moment of revelation, give us the "spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You". Enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we may truly behold your majesty. Then, send us forth to change the world for which you died. In your glorious Name, Amen!

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

Seeing Jesus - November 13, 2008

The Bare Soul - God's Allowances - November 9, 2008

John 14:1 - Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

As a child, there were certain tasks or chores I was expected to do around the house. Sometimes, if household finances were good, I would receive an allowance. Most of the time, it was thirty-five cents a week or if times were good my father would give me a half dollar piece. Mind you, this was in the 1960s when a family of four could live modestly on an income of $150 a week. Many weeks, we lived on half that much which made allowances a luxury and something my parents couldn't afford. However, I was still expected to do my chores and my dad and mom would treat my brother and I with an occasional treat when they could. In reality, allowances in our family weren't earned, they were just an expression of my parents' thoughtfulness when they COULD afford it. To "allow" us the money each week was a treat and I appreciated it when I did receive it. Many children today don't understand how to give back to the family unit without believing they should be compensated. I was one of the fortunate ones to know that my parents didn't owe me anything beyond their providing me the basic needs in addition to their love, which was always abundantly supplied.

Some may consider allowances as merely monetary expressions, however there are other meanings. We grant allowances, daily, with probably little thought. We "let" or "allow" others our time, especially if they are our friends. We allow others, such as telemarketers to go through their entire spiel before we say, "No thank you, not today". We also allow or let the worries of the day encroach upon us to the point where concerns and constant thinking on a particular matter can last well into the evening and haunt us as we retire to toss and turn. Everyone is a candidate for providing this type of allowance to occupy -- literally to take up residence in our minds and hearts. Jesus understood the concept of "allowing" or letting something consume the mind and heart to such a point that the life was paralyzed with fear. He understood that a bad "allowance" of fear and worry would ultimately take over the entire being. In the opening scripture, Jesus gives his disciples a command -- a life command that would allow them to be hopeful rather than consumed with fear and heartache. The Worldwide English Translation puts it this way: Jesus said, Do not let anything trouble your heart. You believe in God and you must believe in me also. Jesus implies not letting or allowing the mind and the heart to be overwhelmed, but to refuse this wasteful pre-occupation by turning over our anxieties to the Lord.

We are not ruled by committee, if we know the Lord Jesus. We don't have to listen to the constant banter back and forth in our minds and hearts of differing opinions, or this idea or that. We don't have to listen to the "committee in our heads" that is run by the flesh and the devil, seeking to distract us from God's holy purposes. When all we hear is the cacophony of one competing voice after another, we can merely silence the madness by allowing the Lord Jesus to take control of the situation. In the beginning it will be difficult, but in time we will begin to trust more and more that He will put everything at peace and rest in our soul. He will not compete with these other "committee voices". However, when we allow Him to have the floor, He will silence all and will not allow them to usurp His rightful place, as long as we insist that He does so.

My childhood allowances were something not necessarily earned, but they were accepted with gratitude when offered. They were expressions of my parent's love by giving us a small token of their love. Likewise, God only gives good allowances of righteousness, peace, and joy. We don't need to allow or let others rule over our hearts or minds. As sons and daughters of God, He has given us the power to accept his peace into our hearts: "Let not your hearts by troubled ..."

Lord Jesus, we allow you to once again rule over our fretful minds and hearts. Give us peace as we give ourselves to You. For only You give us true rest from this world and the demands we place upon ourselves, We thank You for allowing us your holy presence to dwell within. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Mighty Weak - November 2, 2008

Deuteronomy 32:36 - For the LORD will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their strength is gone,

God's promises to His people always include stipulations that require a response and ultimately an action. In the instance of Deuteronomy 32:36, God promises to not only vindicate (or show Himself strong) on behalf of His people, but He also states that He will have compassion on His servants. The operative word in this verse determining God's timeline to bestow these marvelous gifts is WHEN -- or rather "... when He sees that their strength is gone, ... ." While a simple acknowledgement of weakness is an important first step, God desires to SEE an abating of strength and a true resignation to rely on Him for all things.

Some of us may have heard the analogy of the drowning swimmer as he or she relates to the lost sinner. The following not only typifies the sinner as lost and dying but it also shows how the Lord Jesus through His Father desires to save us from ourselves:

Although there were dangerous rip tide signs posted, a lone swimmer was in peril of being swept out to sea. As he began to drown, he screamed for help. Onlookers watched as a life guard flew into action and swam out to the drowning man. The small crowd that had gathered on the beach were all dumbfounded as the life guard circled the man several times, watching as the man bobbed up and down in the waves. Finally, the life guard swooped him up from behind and began dragging the helpless man toward the beach. The life guard brought the man out of harms way, administered CPR, and turned him over to paramedics that took the recovering man to a local hospital for observation. Finally, someone in the small crowd asked the question they all wanted to know: "Why did you circle the man several times before rescuing him?" The life guard replied, "The man was much bigger than me. I needed him to exhaust himself of trying to save himself, otherwise he might have pulled both of us under". Only when he was spent, was I sure that we both could make it back safely".

To continue with this analogy, the majority of the world will continue to play it safe in the tranquil waters around the beach. Many will only venture in ankle or knee deep. They don't consider themselves "sinners" needing salvation. We see these folks around us everyday. Many of these folks go to church every Sunday, they pay tithes, and some may even sing in the choir. They judge themselves by others stating, "I'm a pretty good person that doesn't do a whole lot of wrong!". These are not the people that the Lord can easily help. They are self-sufficient and have relied on themselves for years and years. Then, there are others who, for whatever reason, venture out from the safe confines of the tranquil waters around the beach. Before long, they feel the currents of this world wooing them into deeper waters. Around them they see the playful waves of sin that entice them to continue out where there is more and more excitement. Soon, however, they find themselves overcome by the surf as it pounds down around them. The foam and the mist that was playfully enticing a few moments earlier has now become a force to be reckoned with as it covers their heads and draws on their bodies to carry them further and further out to sea.

Many of us can relate to this dire situation. When all seems lost, we are now at the place where God can truly save us. We are over our heads in sin and without the power to resolve our own rescue. Then, our Savior can truly have His way with us, for He SEES that we are spent and despairing of any salvation other than what He can afford us. Until we are in that most untenable situation, there is little He can do. For truly, God is calling to the weak, not to the strong. He desires a person, a church, and a people that have despaired of living by their own power and have relinquished all thoughts of their own salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ's greatest desire is to pull all of us on to that proverbial beach and resuscitate us, giving us life once again that we had lost hope of ever enjoying. He seeks to REVIVE His people, first as individuals and then as the Body of Christ to send us forth as witnesses of God's saving power from the Ocean of Despair. Have you been resuscitated and revived by the Lord Jesus Christ? Or are you one that has never seen your own need of rescue? May those of us who find ourselves in the throes of the Sea of Despair, may we cry out to Him who SEES when our strength is gone. For only then, can we truly be saved!

Lord Jesus, You are the hope of our salvation from the tempest of sin. For truly, when our strength is gone, we need Your salvation. Have mercy on us and bring us safely to Your Shore of Deliverance. For only when we are weak are we truly strengthened by the might of your loving arms to carry us safely home. In Your Precious Name, Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Faith By Obedience - October 26, 2008

Luke 17:5-10 - The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you. Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'? But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done."

This particular passage can be confusing unless one knows what the Lord is driving at. The apostles initially asked the Lord Jesus: "Increase our faith!" Jesus explains to them that they don't lack faith but only the wisdom and the understanding to apply it. The Lord uses an extreme, unbelievable example of commanding a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea. What He is really getting at is His desire to show us how to listen and obey what the Heavenly Father is speaking so that we will be able to discern the most simple commands as well as what might be the most seemingly outlandish commands which He would give us.

At first glance, it would appear that Jesus has launched into a whole new topic when he begins relating the analogy of the servant and his master. However, understand that the Lord is detailing a particular way to relate to His Father, in order for the disciples to "increase their faith". One might say that there is no mention of faith in this passage except in the apostles plea to Jesus. What IS mentioned is the relationship between a servant and his master and how they interact. Jesus points out that a servant does not look out for his own interests first, but those of his master. The master does not say to the servant, "Come immediately and sit down and eat". Instead, the servant is taught day in and out that his purpose on this earth is first to satisfy the needs and desires of his master. Jesus' example gives explicit directions from the master to first "Prepare something for me to eat, and then properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink". Finally, after the needs of the master are fulfilled, then the servant can satisfy his own needs. Day after day the servant hears his master's commands. He listens for his voice and learns more and more about his master as the months and years go by. The servant learns the small nuances in his meal preparation that please his master. He learns how to serve his master in just the way that his master would desire. Within time, there is an unspoken fellowship of love and respect between the servant and his master. This only comes through time -- by listening and then obeying. The master in turn does not need to thank his servant. However, the servant knows the joy of his master and merely comments, "We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we have ought to have done".

Jesus knew that His apostles didn't need more faith. What they needed was to continue to listen and to obey what Jesus was teaching them about His Father. They needed ears to hear and hearts to believe when Jesus gave them a command. Whether it was their unquestioning trudging along after Jesus as He went from city to city, or His direction when feeding the multitudes, or even simple commands such as how to prepare for the Passover, his disciples were learning how to HEAR and to OBEY. They didn't need more faith -- they were learning that faith is the offspring of its mother obedience. What they were lacking was the assurance that they were incubating rich veins of faith in the deep caverns of their hearts through their habitual walking and talking with their Lord through loving obedience.

The dilemma for many of us when we feel that we have no faith is that we have not been walking with our Lord in an attitude of obedient surrender. If we had been walking in obedience to His still, small voice than we would hear and obey when He spoke. The situation might call for a laying on of hands and prayer for the healing of a loved one, or to offer a word of encouragement and love to one that is at the end of their rope. Or, possibly to even to do something as outlandish as to tell a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea. The opportunity the Lord offers and the response to His voice will not matter because we have been following Him both explicitly and intimately. Only with this kind of relationship, will true faith be manifest through obedient love.

Father, give us hearts of obedience so that we might grow in faith. Help us to know that we can move mountains only if we have truly known the Mountain Mover of men's souls. Teach us to hear and obey, that Your faith would abound to those whom You desire to touch. In Jesus Christ's precious name, Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - His Mercy - October 19, 2008

Luke 18:9-14 - And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Jesus' desire is that we never forget where we came from, regarding our sin. Many of us can relate to the tax collector in Luke 18 and his feeling of utter shame and bankruptcy as he cried out to God for mercy. Conversely, we hear a different message from the Pharisee -- one of self-righteousness and judgment against his fellow man. The scripture tells us nothing of this particular Pharisee up until this point in time. Possibly he began as a true seeker after God, yet through time he became arrogant and conceited regarding his so-called relationship with God. As he became more and more consumed in his own self-interest of an outwardly righteous life, more and more he died within, divorcing himself from any relationship that he might have started with God in days gone by. Today, this Pharisee might be any one in the church that seeks to set themselves above their brother or sister in so-called spirituality. Not only has their self-righteousness driven them away from God but it has also isolated them from any understanding of loving their spiritual siblings. As stated in I John 4:20, it is impossible to love God and to hate your brother. In the instance of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, the former had long ago lost any affection toward the latter thereby nullifying any relationship with the Father.

Jesus told parables for very clear reasons and purposes. His desire was for the hearers to relate themselves to the particular circumstances of the life lesson. In this case, He is beckoning for the hearer to either take one or two positions -- to understand that they are related to eeither the Pharisee or the tax-gatherer. God is telling us that it is good to be related to one or the other. It is actually a travesty if one can not relate themselves to either. (As Jesus stated in Revelations 3:16, He wished that the church at Laodicea were either hot or cold but because of their indifference that they were in peril of God's rejection.) If one identifies themselves as one that has been self-righteous and judgmental of others, then there is the grace and mercy of God that he extends to all that would but humble themselves. That is the first step toward understanding that we all truly are no better than a tax-gatherer.

However, for those who might not believe or understand that they are plagued by self-righteous destruction, here are a couple of clues that should work as a litmus test to determine whether one regards themselves as "righteous":

1) God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. -- The Pharisee (or the self-righteous church-goer) prays to God, masquerading their contempt for others with thanksgiving that he or she is not like "other" people. They can easily mask their inner disdain and hatred for others in "religious" contexts. Rather than "praying the Word" over others in secrecy, the hypocrite would choose to "pray their gossip" over others! They justify this sort of behavior by their "concern" for the church body and its need to "get right with God".

2) I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get. -- Outward forms of so-called spirituality give carnal license for others to be hateful of those they judge. After all, fasting and giving tithes gives a so-called believer the "right" to talk about others since they are such a integral part of the church. In their reasoning, if "Aunt Betty" is cooking for every social that is on the church calendar, doesn't that give her the right to voice her opinion? With an attitude of concern about the "sinner", of course!

It's interesting to note that those who truly know they are wrong and needing God's mercy confer with no one nor judge anyone. They don't go to the self-righteous and make their case with them, seeking pardon. They don't even have the confidence to lift their eyes toward heaven, but they cry out to God saying, "Have mercy on me, O God, a sinner!". Without fail, this person will go up to their house justified as they pour out their hearts to God, where those who self-righteously attest to their own goodness have only deceived themselves. These await nothing but loneliness and eternal isolation, the very things they have created for themselves here on earth.

Jesus states that whoever shall humble themselves shall be exalted and whomever exalts themselves will be humbled. These are our choices, in the time that we have here with one another, which will decide how we will live or die throughout eternity.

Your Barefoot Servant,


Rick

The Bare Soul - The Nature of Things - October 12, 2008

The following is the message text and audio recording of a sermon titled "The Nature of Things ..." delivered to the homeless at the Kansas City Rescue Mission Chapel on October 9, 2008.
The Nature of Things ... - October 9, 2008

2 Peter 2:20-22 - For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."

Through the years I have had several pets, including dogs. Some of these dogs were extremely smart and others, well, what they lacked in smarts they made up for in loyalty. Back in the 1980s, we owned a small farm in east-central Kansas. One of our dogs was a Golden Labrador Retriever named Princess. She was a loyal, good friend to the family, but she wasn’t the smartest animal on the premises. I raised a couple of hogs during our two years on the farm, and without a doubt, these barnyard animals were the smartest four-footed creatures on the homestead. The first one was an escape artist and learned how to open the gate of the pen to get out to choice grazing in the vegetable garden. The other hog had a sense of his impending doom when it was time for butchering. When I went to lead him up the chute into the bed of the pick-up, he wanted nothing to do with “taking a ride” to the slaughterhouse. After much prodding and goading, I finally got him loaded, but not before he had turned around and bitten me a couple of times to show his displeasure with the situation.

I nodded in agreement when I read a 1976 article from the New York Times regarding the intellect of barnyard animals, in particular pigs. The following is a short extract from the article:

The pig's intellect is clear and strong. What has been mistakenly called his "obstinacy" is only his intense individuality. ... Before blaming the pig for refusing to be dragged in a given direction by a string tied to his hind leg, his critics should ask themselves whether in like circumstances they too would not protest with equal shrillness against so indecent an outrage.

Those of us who are dog owners, or have been dog owners, undoubtedly love our pets. Whether they are smart or just loyal, they capture a piece of our hearts. While few of us can say that we have loved pigs, we can certainly understand that they are a smart animal that is prized in many cultures throughout the world for both their intellect and their food factor. Yet, it is somewhat unnerving to watch both these animals revert to what seems to us as totally unintelligent behavior. A dog after regurgitating their food will often turn around and consume it again! A pig, which seems so smart in other areas, will find the most grotesque slop heap filled with decaying vegetation, animal life, and feces and will roll around in it without a care! While it is easy to be horrified at such behaviors, we see similar actions taken by so-called believers everyday. Many will “make a decision” for Jesus Christ and then return to the very things that were despicable and degrading in their lives as if they didn’t have a care in the world to do otherwise! However, it doesn’t surprise those of us who know that we are not dealing with a behavior problem, but with a nature problem.

No matter how smart our four-footed friends might be, it is in their nature to do disgusting things that don’t make good sense to us. In the same way, we should not be surprised when we see a sinner sinning. It is the most natural thing for them to do! As a practicing alcoholic, the most natural thing for me to do was drink. Today, after many years of sobriety it is still a miracle that I am not drinking because that was then a part of my nature. The miracle today is that my nature has been exchanged with the divine nature of Jesus Christ who gives me the will and the way not to drink. Often, many get lost at this point and don’t understand that it’s not just about changing their behavior. It’s not good enough to stop drinking, to stop stealing, to stop lying, or even to stop sinning. We don’t have a sinning problem but a sin problem. Our very nature is corrupt and we need a replacement.

Many years ago, when I was still in my teens, I knew that I was in terrible need of something to fix me. That’s why I experimented and became hooked on drugs and alcohol early in life. When I tried to dig myself out of that mess, I tried different religions -- Christianity, Hinduism, Tantric Yoga, Transcendental Meditation to name a few. The problem was that I was trying to fix myself not knowing that Someone had already put the "fix" in for me and I was too blind to see. I didn’t realize that I was trying to reach heaven and bring it down to my experience on earth. Little did I know that God had already done so by bringing heaven to earth through His Son.

Years went by, as I battled my alcoholism and drug addiction. Desperately I was still tying to get better from the outside/in and couldn’t understand that I needed salvation from myself. On one occasion, I was just released from jail. I was a mess from the night before and I was on foot. Walking from the court and police station in a busy downtown area of St. Louis, I encountered a little old lady of probably 80 years. She looked at me, pointed her finger and said “There goes the chosen of God who desires to live in the filth of sin”. I was totally taken aback and convicted to the heart by her words. She didn’t say anything about “sins” but she did say that I wanted to continue living in sin. However, like a pig that returns to its wallowing and a dog to its vomit, it would still be years before I truly knew that Jesus Christ had become sin on my behalf and that I didn’t need to live this way.

For several years after, I would continue to “try” to do better. I would “decide” that I would follow the Lord and attempt to live the way He wanted me to live. However, it’s not good enough to make a decision for Jesus. Jesus doesn’t want our decisions, but He wants everything we are -- our dope possessed bodies, our alcohol polluted souls, our angry hateful minds. He wants it all in order to replace it with His nature. Making a decision to follow Jesus without turning one’s life over to Him is about the same as saying you’re going to fly to the moon in a Cessna -- it’s not going to happen! It’s aerodynamically impossible to do so because it would break all the laws of physics. In the same way, it is impossible to “decide” to follow Jesus without a new heart that has replaced a heart of sin.

Paul the Apostle made a glorious statement giving us all hope in this regard. In II Corinthians 5:21 he states through the Holy Spirit that “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." According to this verse, I no longer have to “try” to be good because Jesus Christ says I don’t have to be good. He tells me that He became sin FOR US in order that we might trade in our sinful nature for God’s nature. Then, and only then, will we truly have the power to change. Then, we can truly be right with God and be empowered by His righteousness. Then, can we truly be children of God!

None of us are exempt from failure no matter how much we might believe we are in control of our lives. Romans 3:23 tells us that “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. That one verse qualifies us all for hell and an eternity of separation from God. If this was the last word, then we would all be doomed. But God loved us, even while we were sinners He sent His Son to die for us becoming sin on our behalf. Three chapters later in the book of Romans, Paul writes with a synopsis of our predicament but with the glorious hope of our salvation. In Romans 6:23 he states: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God does not expect any of us to become “better”. If we don’t know His Son and have not exchanged our sinful nature with His glorious nature, He only expects us to continue to fail -- to return to the wallowing in sin that befits our nature. There is always hope for us as long as we are alive and able to turn to Him. Ecclesiastes 9:4 states: "For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion." Friends, I would rather be a live dog that has the ability to exchange natures with the Living God and live again, rather than a prideful, dead lion that is regal only in its death with no hope to ever be anything else. We all have the opportunity to exchange lives of sinful repetition with the divine life that will qualify each and every one of us for a glorious eternity with our Maker!

Lord Jesus, thank you for becoming sin for us that we might become the righteous of God by the new nature You have given us. We give You our sin-soaked natures and accept Your free gift of life. May God be glorified for His wonderful gift to us. In Your precious Name, Amen!

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Nature of Things ... - October 9, 2008

The Bare Soul - Awakening - October 5, 2008

Psalm 139:18b - When I awake, I am still with You.

I vividly remember particular mornings after I recommitted my life to the Lord. Having struggled with alcohol for years, it was such a relief to sense the presence of the Lord when I awoke. Many days I defined the presence of God by merely the absence of craving alcohol when I opened my eyes from a night's sleep. Ask any recovering alcoholic or addict -- it is truly a miracle to not want to use or abuse substances. For truly, the most natural thing for an addict to do is otherwise than to stay sober. I remember in the early days, weeks, and months of my sobriety that I would sometimes be disconcerted about going to sleep, thinking that God's presence in my life was an illusion and that it might disappear as a vapor come morning. The glorious truth is that He has been there as my Comforter and Friend, every morning, for the past 16 years. He has never let me down in all that time.

Of course, God is with us all in some manner regardless whether we are committed to His Son, the Lord Jesus. He will always be there beckoning us no matter if we are walking with Him or away from Him. He will be there every morning whether we realize it or not. For many of us who have fought to avoid God, mornings are not always that pleasant. There can certainly be a feeling of impending despair when one awakens and they sense a loss of hope. Oftentimes, we can wake up with the same things swimming in our brains from the previous night's tossing and turning. It is quite certain that worry and despair over a situation has never changed the outcome of any such predicament, yet we too often yield to its negative power. Proverbs 13:12 tells us that when hopes are dashed or there seems no reason to continue on, then it can literally make the heart sick with sorrow. Conversely, however, the same verse tells us that when our desire is fulfilled it can be a tree of life. It is a wonderful thing to wake up with an optimistic understanding that the Lord has good intentions for those who trust in Him.

Has God put one of those dear souls in your life that seems to be one of the cheeriest folks on the planet, morning after morning without fail? They can roll out of bed and even without a jolt of caffeine they can greet the day with a smile and a joyous attitude. Before I knew the Lord, I thought these type of people were "put-ons", that no one could be that hopeful and cheery at 6 a.m. in the morning! However, the more I grew in the Lord and realized that He desired good for those who love Him, my attitude began changing. I began to understand that one can choose their attitude, especially if they are empowered by the Lord. Many years ago, I read a very simple quotation from a man that I respected greatly. His name is Moishe Rosen, founder and leader of Jews For Jesus. I was reading through one of his newsletters and these words jumped off the page: "Those who love life rise early". This concept astounded me; that if someone loved life and desired to do all they could for the Lord and His Kingdom, then their day should start with a heart full of hope that would propel them to welcome the morning. Before I go much further with this, I will confess that I am not always an early riser (especially on the weekends). However, the deeper meaning of this implies that those who love "Life" will ensure that they will meet their Savior when they do awaken and that they will do all for His glory throughout their respective day.

It takes a certain faith and assurance to be able to lie down at night and to know that all is well. David's Psalm 3 is all about divorcing oneself from the onslaught of the day's wickedness and lying down to rest with the assurance that the Lord is watching over. He states in verse 3: I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. He goes on in the next verse to proclaim that it doesn't matter if tens of thousands are set against him, that the Lord is his shield and protector. Like David, we must first know that we are rightly related to Him. Then, we must learn to trust by giving Him our troubles every evening before we retire. Lastly, we must thank Him for watching over us though "the terrors would seek to stalk us by night". Every one that is a believer has the heritage to be able to awaken with a new hope and desire to serve the Lord. He is the one who gives us rest, and that rest is for a reason -- to unburden us from unnecessary worries and unreasonable demands that we place upon ourselves. For truly, Jeremiah summed it up in Lamentations 3:22-23: The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Lord, we commit our lives to You afresh. We thank You for the rest that You desire to give each and every one of us, to awaken us every morning with a joy for life, a new resolve to love You and others, and a deep gratitude for where You are bringing each and every one of us who trust in Your Son. In Jesus name, Amen!

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Recognizing Jesus - September 28, 2008

Acts 4:13 - Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

Luke's writing in Acts 4 says volumes about the past life of the disciples as well as their present relationship with the Lord. Conclusions had been drawn by the Pharisees that are really simple observations that a school child could have made (and probably did). Yet, these learned and so-called wise leaders of their religious order surmised with their earthly faculties that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Their sense of sight and understanding were certainly not impaired, but their spiritual discernment and judgment certainly was lacking. For if they truly knew who stood before them in the power of the Holy Spirit, they may have behaved differently. What they witnessed defied their Judaist upbringing and was diametric from anything they had known regarding true spirituality. They had seen it a few weeks earlier in a man they had sentenced to death, yet they were amazed at this Man's confidence and biblical understanding. However, that was not enough to change their heart toward Jesus, neither was it enough to turn their hearts by His disciples.

Have you ever recognized someone as having been with Jesus? They aren't difficult to spot. As the Pharisees witnessed, the hallmark of these folks is their immovable confidence in what they believe. How does confidence of this type manifest itself? Well, it starts in secret and spills out publicly. It oozes out of believers that truly believe their Lord and desire to spend time with Him. It comes by searching out His Word, and then living it to the best of their ability. It comes by living out the Great Commission and spreading the love of Jesus Christ to their communities, counties, states, countries, and finally to the world. Godly confidence is something that cannot be self-created but is a by-product of living and breathing the Lord Jesus Christ on a daily basis.

Education means little when one is truly imbued with the Lord's presence to change their respective world. One might say that a seminary degree will help open doors that might not be opened otherwise. My opinion, in this regard, is that possibly these doors are better off left shut if that is the case. Countless men and women since the time of these "uneducated men" of the book of Acts have turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ. All it really takes is a desire to be with Jesus and He will do the rest. As Leonard Ravenhill stated in his book "Why Revival Tarries?", You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it. I dare say that in this regard, it is not the preacher or the youth minister or any other church officer that have license to set our respective communities on fire for God. Irrespective of title, the Lord Jesus is looking for individuals that have such a hunger to be with Him that they will set their families, their communities, their churches on fire with Holy Ghost power! It doesn't take a degree to fulfill God's Great Commission, but it does take a heart and a desire to spend time with Him as He opens His word in the heart of the desirous. Then, it takes the will to take it to the streets and give away what He has so graciously given.

Do you want to provoke amazement as the Pharisees experienced? They merely acknowledged the confidence of Peter and John, that they were uneducated but yet they recognized the Lord Jesus in them. Confidence in one's standing with the Lord only comes by getting into that secret place with Him -- to pour out one's heart and to pour over His word. Then, when we come out into the public light, there will be little to mistake any of us from having been with our Risen Lord. The dilemma for most of us is this -- we either don't believe that the Lord will give us this type relationship with Him or we are spiritually lazy to come to His Light, having been distracted by the light of our TVs (or any other distraction that you would care to mention). Do you want to start living a remarkable life? Then, start doing remarkable things ... TODAY ... that will eventually equate to a remarkable life. As previously stated it is really very simple, yet the Pharisees could not understand. We become what we spend our time with. As with those of the Sanhedrin that killed the Lord of Life and accused His disciples, they spent time with their own egos, priding themselves on their puffed up educations. Yet, they truly were empty, insecure followers of a dead Law. When they recognized their very opposites in Peter and John, they were taken aback. Are we sending those that we encounter throughout our respective lives into a state of amazement, or are we allowing them to continue to slumber in their sin? It is all our responsibility -- all of us who call ourselves Christians -- to be provoking amazement and wonder in those who would recognize the Risen Savior within our own lives.

Holy Father, recommit our hearts and lives to "spending time" with our Risen Lord. In time, may all who witness our behavior and testimony be amazed as they recognize our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ as He lives and moves and has His being within us. Give us a true spiritual education that we can then take to the world. In Jesus Christ's precious name, Amen!

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Possessing Our Inheritance - September 21, 2008

Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Hebrews the eleventh chapter is one of those scripture references that shines with optimism. I question whether there is another portion of scripture containing forty verses of such uplifting hope that is modeled for the believer. As stated in verse six and throughout this section, the defining characteristic of a believer pleasing the heart of God is faith. Faith is unseen in its origin as Hebrews 11:1 shows us, otherwise it is not faith. It is evidenced by its outcomes. We are once again reminded of the "characters" of faith throughout this chapter. God can use imperfect humans that once were drunkards like Noah, murderers like Moses, and prostitutes like Rahab. Praise God that we can truly approach the Throne of Grace just as we are and receive His mercy and forgiveness!

While Hebrews 11 is a wonderful resume regarding the incredible exploits of the faithful, there is an obvious "faith gap" between verses 29 and 30. The nation of Israel's wilderness wanderings in the Sinai were obviously omitted purposely:

v29 - By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

v30 - By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been
encircled for seven days.

The silence of this "unspoken" 40 years of wanderings is deafening. Once again, we see what is NOT written in scripture can often be as powerful as what is written. An entire generation of this young Jewish nation was deliberately not spoken of in the context of faith but at the same time, their unbelief was proclaimed loud and clear by omission. The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are full of examples regarding what not to do in order to enter the promised land that God so earnestly wanted them to possess. The scripture tells us earlier in the book of Hebrews that they could not enter the land that had been promised due to their hardness of heart and lack of faith -- that God would do as He foretold. The mercy and compassion of the Lord was demonstrated time and time again through many miraculous acts following their rescue from Pharaoh. Their thirst was quenched by water from the rock, they were fed by manna from heaven, their clothes and their sandals did not wear out during this time. Not to mention the Shekinah Glory of the Lord that led them through the wilderness -- a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night. Yet, the scripture tells us that their hearts were hardened and the Lord swore in His wrath, "They shall not enter My rest!".

We all have lapses of faith. We see that in the characterizations of every one of those listed in the Hebrews "Hall of Faith". However, there need not be these times when the "silence" of unbelief is deafening. My wilderness experience lasted 14 years where I struggled in and out of homelessness, alcoholism, and addiction. Even so, during all this time, the Lord was faithful as He watched over me to finally bring me across my respective "Jordon River" to the promised land of abundance. Those of us who have crossed over through sanctification understand that the land lies before us, ready to be possessed. God is telling us that it is our inheritance and that we shouldn't fear but believe that He has given it to us all who would but believe. Why does the writer of Hebrews emphasize the walls of Jericho falling down after the nation of Israel crossed into the promised land? Because it was a further demonstration of how the Lord God Jehovah is the One who defeats our enemies if we will but believe. This is the only reference in the book of Joshua of how the Lord destroyed a city that the sons of Israel would possess in this manner. The Lord showed Joshua and the Jewish people that it was "... not by might, and not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord". The hallmark of this victory was strict obedience to the word of the Lord. In like manner, we can only please the Lord God by faith and obedience to what He is telling us to do. The power can only come through acknowledging the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us on Calvary's tree.

He has given us the same boldness through the forgiveness of sins to enter into the Throne Room of Grace and to take possession of our inheritance as sons and daughters of Light. We simply must believe, confess, and possess what He has freely given for us all to claim by our birthright as sons of God. Some might say that their wilderness wanderings have become too comfortable and that they no longer know the way. He is there when we are ready to be led into the promised pastures of His delight. We just need to ask.

Heavenly Father, You are the One that has defeated all our enemies before we have even asked. You are the One wooing us to enter and possess the "eternal land" of Your promise. It's not by what we have done, but what You did on Calvary. The inheritance is ours to claim by rights of the blood of Jesus. Lord, we accept your faith and lay our lives before You as a living sacrifice that we may live to obey You. In Jesus Christ's holy name, Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Forgive and Forget - September 14, 2008

Philippians 3:13 - Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

The following is the sermon text for a message delivered at the Kansas City Rescue Mission on September 11, 2008.

When I finally put the “plug in the jug” in 1992, I knew that I needed to make amends to all those whom I had used throughout the years. While many of them were unreachable, I did the best I could and made amends, accordingly. Most people are forgiving and understanding when you tell them what you’re trying to do. Most offer a hand of reconciliation and are glad to help patch up the past. When I say most, I am thinking of one individual who would continue to be elusive and unable to pin down regarding offering and receiving his forgiveness.

That person was me.

Often, we are our own worst critic and we can be far more critical of our past than any of our peers. We can beat ourselves unmercifully for a lifetime of missed opportunities and lost chances. We can bemoan all the “could’ve, would’ve, and should’ves that haunt our memory. It took me several years of being sober and “giving back” before I actually felt whole again from the inside out. It took making restitution by giving of myself to others until I could finally feel healed and set free from the condemnation of the past.

When I drank, I didn’t care about you or anyone else. Most of all, I really didn’t care about me. I didn’t care enough to get up and go to work, so therefore I would lose my job. Money would run out since I wasn’t working, so I would steal from you to satisfy my addiction. After waking up from a black-out of the night before I would feel terrible remorse; but more terrible was the need to get drunk again to forget about the remorse. So, I would do what I needed to get some money to get drunk again – steal, sell plasma, collect aluminum cans, or whatever I could do to turn a dollar or two so I could get drunk and ease the pain. Alcohol had crippled me as a human being. However, alcohol was merely the tool Satan used to fan the flames of sin in my life. Alcohol had become the “rapacious creditor”, as it says in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, “that bleeds us of all self-sufficiency”. I was wasted of SELF, and needed to find someone bigger than myself to set me free from this body of death. (That Person, the only One that can set any of us truly free, is Jesus Christ the Almighty.)

For some of us, alcohol is the symptom of the greater malady -- sin within that seeks to kill us. Maybe your symptom is drug addiction. Maybe it is sexual lust. Maybe it is greed. Maybe it is pride. All of these and many more can be the tools that Satan uses to get us mired in sin so we would sink over our heads and be lost forever. I’d like to tell you a story about a man who nearly lost his life to pride. His name was Saul of Tarsus. Later he would be known as Paul the Apostle. Saul’s addiction or “tool” of sin was his extreme self-righteousness. If there was an up-and-comer Pharisee, Paul was certainly the most likely to succeed. In the book of Philippians, Paul gives a bit of his resume by stating how devout he was in his zeal for the Law. In Philippians 3:4-7 he states:

although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

This was his testimony years after his conversion. He understood where he had been as a sinner and where he stood with Christ. Paul stood in a much different place several years before when he witnessed the stoning of the disciple Stephen. The Pharisees were driven to insane anger by the preaching of Stephen. As they drove him off to stone him, they laid their coats at the feet of another zealous Pharisee as stated in Acts 7:58:

When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Finally, in Acts 9:1-5 we find Paul in full pursuit of what he thought was God’s calling on his life – persecuting and killing as many Christians as he could. However, the Lord Jesus had other plans for the young zealot:

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,

Many years later he writes to the church in Philippi and tells them “yes”, this is what I was but I am no longer this man. God had taken hold of Saul of Tarsus and had killed the selfish person within him, resurrecting him as Paul the Apostle. Paul would spend the rest of his life making restitution for his life of sin by pulling as many souls from the clutches of hell as the Lord would enable him through His power. Paul continues his testimony in the 8th verse of the third chapter of Philippians:

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Did Paul regret his past life? Undoubtedly he did. However, he also knew it was the key to his future. For only those who are forgiven much, can love much. Only those who have known how deep and dark and depraved their hearts were possessed by sin, only then can they know the width, and the breadth, and the depth of God’s love. The secret of Paul’s Christian life was that he never forgot where he came from but in the same token he knew he was forgiven and that it was forgotten by the One who saved his soul. That is why Paul states that he, too, can reach forward for what lies ahead, forgetting the ugliness of the past -- for truly the Father has taken his sin and thrown it in the “sea of forgetfulness”, never to be remembered or brought up again. Allow me to challenge you with this question: How is your “forgetter” today? Does it hold on to ugly images of your past life of sin or does it look forward to a life of freedom and happiness in the Lord? Is there a grateful reminiscence when you think about where God has brought you from, or is there a cloud of condemnation and despair when you consider your past?

There have been countless stories of countless men and women since the life of Paul that have experienced the life changing forgiveness of Christ. I can attest to being one of those. Another is a man named John Newton:

John Newton was born in London July 24, 1725, the son of a commander of a merchant ship which sailed the Mediterranean. In July of 1732, thirteen days before his seventh birthday, death took his saintly mother who had since his third birthday been his teacher and friend. He took the death of his mother hard. In fact, it became evident that he was bitter at God over his circumstance because he began as one author puts it, "a decline into rebellion and degradation that lasted until his 24th year." At 11 years of age he went to sea with his father and made six voyages with him before the elder Newton retired. In 1744 John was forced into service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. The conditions on board were intolerable to him, so he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged and demoted from midshipman to common seaman.

Finally, at his own request, Newton was exchanged into service on a slave ship, which took him to the coast of Sierra Leone. He then became the servant of a slave trader and was brutally abused. Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had known John's father. John Newton ultimately became captain of his own slave ship. And what kind of captain was he? Lindsay Terry writes, "It is reported that at times he was so wretched that even his crew regarded him as little more than an animal. Once he fell overboard and his ship's crew refused to drop a boat to him. Instead they threw a harpoon at him, with which they dragged him back into the ship." But God intervened in Newton's life and got his attention through a violent storm. The gale was so severe that all the livestock were washed overboard and the crew tied themselves to the ship to keep from being swept overboard. As he was attempting to steer the ship through the violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his "great deliverance." He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, "Lord, have mercy upon us." Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him. For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a God.

Several years later after John Newton was ordained a minister, he wrote the song Amazing Grace. In his own words, he describes the type of man he was and now is by the grace of God. Truly, John Newton was a man that forgot the clouded, sinful past and reached forward to the greater calling of his life. Yet, ironically, his past is what shaped him to be of most use for the Lord. Late in life, he joined William Wilberforce in the campaign for abolition of slavery. In 1787 he wrote a tract supporting the campaign, Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade. Among his greatest contributions to history was encouraging William Wilberforce, a Member of Parliament for Hull, to stay in Parliament and "serve God where he was", rather than enter the ministry. Wilberforce heeded the ex-slaveship captain's advice, and spent the next twenty years successfully working for the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.

It doesn’t matter who or what you’ve done or been – whether you have been an addict, alcoholic, a murderer as Saul of Tarsus, or slave-trader like John Newton. God has chosen to forgive us all. And, if He has chosen to forgive us of all our past, shouldn’t we? Are we not saying that we are greater than God Almighty if we choose to do differently? May we all, with Paul the Apostle forget what lies behind and choose rather to reach forward to what lies ahead. There is much to do for the Lord. Truly, his Amazing Grace is there to help us! Glory to the Lord!

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The following is a message titled "Forgive and Forget" delivered to the homeless at the Kansas City Rescue Mission Chapel on September11, 2008.

Forgive and Forget - September 11, 2008