The Bare Soul - It Is Well With My Soul - June 1, 2008

Job 1:21b - ... The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.

Recently, a friend of mine wrote to me, describing an encounter he had with a man and his family. According to my friend, this man is angry with God because of seemingly unjust calamities that have plagued their household. Last year, they lost their four month old to SIDS, a negligent driver caused an accident that totaled their car, their house burned down and he recently broke his leg as a sub-contractor. He wants to know what else God wants from him. They're presently living in a motel. My friend and his wife listened and gave little advice. He said they felt like Job's friends with little ability to console. I wrote my friend back stating, "Yeah, what do you say to a guy who has gone through all that?". I told him that I would pray for the family, that they would ultimately understand God's love even when it seems that He has forgotten them.

Later in the day I was reflecting on this situation and I started humming and singing "It is Well With My Soul". I first thought, this is a curious thing to be singing this particular song while meditating on the woes of these unfortunate folks. Then, I remembered. It as if God allowed me to sing that song to be transported back to the time when I originally read the circumstances behind the writing of that powerful hymn. The following is from Wikipedia regarding the man behind the lyrics:

It Is Well with My Soul is a very influential hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss.

This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the S.S. Ville Du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business. While crossing the At­lan­tic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with another ship, and all four of Spafford's daugh­ters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone." Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.

Many times misconceptions can form in the minds of those who do not know the Lord. Some churches have fostered the delusion that once a person accepts Christ into their lives, they will have continual prosperity and no harm will befall them. If it does, it is because they have allowed Satan to come and rob them. A simple rebuke of the evil one is all that it should take to get the blessings flowing once again, they would say. This is not the case, in most instances. True, God does give to those who give their lives to Him. However, there can be those times of misunderstanding and confusion when the Lord begins to move contrary to what we consider the "blessed life". Look at Job. The man Job was a righteous soul, yet God had allowed his family and life to be ruined for no apparent reason. Was God making sport of him? Was he creating some "grand game" in the heavenlies so that He could get His chuckles at Job's expense? God forbid! Instead, He was proving to all that Job was a man of character and integrity. In the end, he would be more prosperous and closer to God BECAUSE of the calamities.

So what do you tell someone who does not know God, or if they do, they are so wrapped up in anger that they can't see any purpose in their dire predicaments? Nothing. Unless you have lived through similar heartaches and disappointments, you don't have counsel that will comfort someone when they encounter supreme loss. The best to do is to listen thoughtfully. However, there is an exception. If one understands and feels the heart of the Father for that individual, then yes, words of consolation will be received. These are truly words of life that have been grown in the garden of the Father's heart and are full of compassion and love. Horatio Spafford understood. God gave the man and his wife more children and he went on to create a mission to the poor in Jerusalem because of the heart that the Father gifted him with after his traumatic ordeal. It is all about perception, my friends. We can take on the bitter heart of an isolated soul that is angry for God dealing us a bad hand in life. Conversely, there is an opportunity to take and embrace our losses and watch our Heavenly Father turn them into mighty gains. As the old adage suggests: We all have the opportunity to grow bitter or better. Can you say with the hymnist today ... It is well, with my soul?

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Perseverance Through Love - May 25, 2008

Romans 5:3-5 - And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Most of us have never experienced what the apostle Paul speaks of in this scripture. God has not put many of us in situations where we are literally suffering for the sake of Christ as the Roman Christians suffered. Even today, most that are able to read this devotional are in countries that allow and actually celebrate freedom of belief and religion. However, there are many who don't have computers let alone electricity who are in violent, Christ-hating regions where their very testimony is an act of extraordinary faith. Nonetheless, God meets us where we are and gives to us the measure that we need in our present circumstances. These in distant countries exult in their tribulations, knowing they bring about proven character. Circumspectly, those of us who do not know or understand true Godly tribulation may still understand with measure what it means to persevere through our day to day trials. God has us all exactly where we are to be at this exact moment. Therefore, we must take every opportunity the Lord gives us to practice the instances of character building the Lord brings our way.

Before knowing the Lord Jesus, I ran away from and quit everything of significance that I ever started in life. I quit high school to join the Navy. I quit the Navy to be out on my own and to go to college. Quitting college after one semester, I quit innumerable jobs and relationships for many years until I came to the end of myself and I just couldn't run away from life anymore. I was physically, mentally, and spiritually bankrupt. Once I re-committed my life to the Lord, I began to understand the importance of finishing what I had started. Enrolling and attending college, I gained more and more confidence as the semesters began piling up with high marks. The perseverance that I learned in college in my late 30s and early 40s were things most learned as youths and teenagers. Nonetheless, those were the days when I "grew up" and started acting like a man. The disciplines that I learned in those first few years of sobriety and re-commitment to the Lord carried over when I took up running once again in 1998. Sure, I had trained and ran a marathon a few years earlier. However, this was different than when I started running 8 years earlier. This was a commitment to a lifestyle -- a "life hobby" as my brother so appropriately called it.

Self-imposed tribulation as I experienced is never the ideal way to learn one's lessons and to "grow up". However, self-imposed discipline is CHOSEN and embraced to develop various physical as well as mental and spiritual attributes. I bore up under the pain through my own failings before Christ, and now I am continually learning how to deal with pain through disciplines that lead to success after success. Rather than look at our tribulations or trials as a catalyst to develop perseverance and ultimately proven character, hope, and love, we too often look at these perceived hindrances as nuisances and bothers. "Well, I'm just a little annoyed today" one might say with disdain and a gloomy countenance. Or, one might conversely say "I have the opportunity to be shaped more like my Lord through this ordeal". Perspective is the key. When running up hills during marathons I love shouting out "Hills are our FRIENDS!" Other runners look at me like I'm nuts (usually those who are walking UP the hill), but some nod in approval. They know that hills really show what a runner is truly made of -- they are to be conquered and not acquiesced to.

Winning attitudes toward life's respective "hills" aren't automatic on our proverbial "race days". Nothing has taught me more about tenacity and perseverance than running on a daily basis -- some days trudging away when no one but myself and God are there to acknowledge it. This simple commitment is a constant reminder to me of the lost soul that I was for so many years -- how doing something consistently reconfirms to me the mercy of the Lord to bring me out of a life of dogged failure and disappointment. My former self-imposed life of tribulation created the willingness in me to do something different which ultimately began molding the "character" I am today. Metaphorically speaking, when we finally get tired of running away from God, we can begin to run toward Him and to embrace the obstacles along the way as those which will save us and not enslave us to hopelessness and despair. This is only possible as we trust in the Lord and rejoice when the hard times come. Most assuredly, they will because He loves us too much to leave us as we are and desires us to be perfected through perseverance in His love.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Radical Obedience - May 18, 2008

Mark 9:7 - Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, " This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"

Barefoot running is the most radical thing I have ever done in my life on a consistent basis. What started as a "fun" thing to do has turned into something much more. It has become a point of obedience from the Lord. To be honest, I might not be doing what I am doing with BF running if it weren't for the Lord taking over this ministry. I have been pretty content the past couple of years to just run and not make a big deal out of it. However, He keeps wanting to throw me into situations where I have the opportunity to be obedient to Him. Recently, I ran in an event with several thousand people in attendance. As the race wove through neighborhoods, there I was busily handing out flyers and information on the Free Wheelchair Mission. People were surprised and shocked when I would run into their front yards and hand them a piece of literature. To be truthful, I felt somewhat embarrassed both during and after the race for doing so, but I knew that it was a point of obedience for me.

The word "radical" has its origins from the Middle Ages. Derived from the word rādīcālis it literally means "having roots". The implication of "radical obedience" means a type of obedience that is rooted in the very fundamentals of obedience to God's holy commands. For truly as the root IS, so IS the tree. (No where is this stated clearer than John the Baptist's admonition regarding the axe being laid to the root [Matthew 3:10]). In the same way that a tree "having roots" is descriptive of radical obedience, adversely the roots can be just as radical toward toward selfishness and disobedience resulting in the displeasure and judgment of the Father.

Radical obedience does not come without both a price and a reward. The price is most people not understanding what you are up to and judging you accordingly. The reward is a transfiguration only the Lord can cause. This is sanctification, pure and simple. In the Old Testament, prophets were often told to do seemingly absurd things such as walk barefoot and naked (Isaiah 20), wear an oxen yoke around their necks (Jeremiah 27), or marry a harlot knowing that she would be unfaithful (Hosea 1) just to name a few. God is noticeably silent regarding the prophets and their obedience. There is a stark lack of commentary from the Lord regarding their following the Lord's commands. No where in the Old Testament have I found where God says to the prophets "Good job for being obedient and looking like a fool so I could get my point across". Radical obedience seldom has God's demonstrative commentary attached. However, we do find certain other notables in the Old Testament that don't lack God's testimony of favor. These are men that walked with God and gained His favor through obedience that spanned their lifetimes, not necessarily just through a time of prophetic calling. Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). Moses was the friend of God and the most humble man on earth (Numbers 12:3). David was a man after God's own heart (I Samuel 16:7). These were men who knew the Lord through faith and righteousness through years of walking with Him in radical obedience.

To the degree that we know the Lord through faith and righteousness, will be the degree that we are walking in obedience to His word. Just because we are working out our salvation through obeying His promptings and through His written word, this does not necessarily mean that we are always going to be receiving an "Atta boy or girl" from the Lord. The instances of the audible voice of God commending His Son in the New Testament scriptures are very few. Probably, the greatest commentary to radical obedience was given on the Mount of Transfiguration when God the Father said "This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!" Not only do we hear the Father stating that Jesus was the perfect embodiment of Himself by his proclamation of His love for Him (for He saw no sin in His Son, but a life being lived in purity), but we hear the commandment of the Father to LISTEN TO HIM! This is the Divine Testimony that the Father concurred that Jesus His Son was LIVING a radically obedient life and that ALL should heed what He says. In the Father's summation, it could not be any better or purer!

While we may never hear the audible voice of God, we will surely experience His peace and His still, small voice as we turn toward Him in all instances of our respective lives. Those of us who have served the Lord for a while know how easy it is to grieve His Spirit away and feel absent of His presence. However, when we begin to turn back to the Lord with an attitude of extravagant or radical obedience, then we begin to sense the Lord rejoicing in us and over us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Thank you for your wonderful example of obedience. May we learn the secret of abiding in your love and life that we would truly be pleasing to the Father in all things. In Christ's name, Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Barefoot Rick

The Bare Soul - The Prodigal Son - May 11, 2008

The following is part of a sermon I delivered at the Kansas City Rescue Mission on May 8, 2008. To listen to the entire message, click the following link or the one at the end of the sermon text.

The Prodigal Son - May 8, 2008

I believe many of us in this room this evening can identify with the words of Jesus' parable. Let's face it – we're not high rollers if we ended up here tonight. I will wager that not one of us said, "I think I'll leave the comfort of my luxurious home and family to come down and spend a night at the mission. I need to come down and eat and sleep with 50 other guys because I am just getting quite sick of all this comfort and love that I’ve been accustomed to." The truth of the matter is this: Those of us who have spent night after night in missions are there out of necessity and not out of choice. For some of us, this is the “last house on the block”, because all have given up on us. We can relate to the prodigal as he hires himself out to the farmer at the time of famine because he has no other place to go. He is very much like some of you in this room tonight that have exhausted all of your resources. Some of you get monthly checks where you live "high on the hog" for the first few days of the month and then are like the prodigal and are forced to humiliate yourself by relying on missions for a meal and a covering over your head. Others have alienated every friend that you have in regular society because you have used them up like you have “used” throughout your lives with alcohol and drugs. And so, for whatever reason, here you sit once again because you don't have any other option but to rely on the mercy of Christian brothers and sisters that will reach out a hand. Of course there is another option. Every one here has the option of "coming to your senses" like the prodigal did. As I have a finger pointed out at you in the audience tonight, I have three fingers pointed back at myself. I too have sat where you sit. I have heard the appeal of God through someone who has stood where I am standing tonight. The only difference between you and me is that I made a choice to do things differently. This evening, we are going to see how to “do things differently” through the example of the prodigal.

You see, the prodigal was much like many of you when you were younger. Many of you were once part of society before giving yourselves over to alcohol and drugs and then finally to the streets. Back then, you could still give yourself to others and be part of your community because you weren't a total "taker and User". However, drugs and alcohol kept taking from you every bit of selfless living that you once possessed. Addiction is a cruel taskmaster. It bleeds us of every bit of selfless living and makes us demand of ourselves and others to do what is best for "self". It made you a person where all you could think about was your next drink or drug. In so doing, you began using up those people around you where you ended up totally isolated. The "inheritance" of good morals and thinking of others, other than yourself, that your parents or others taught you had gone by the wayside. No longer did you care for anyone but yourself. The time had come where all your inheritance or all that you once had as a self-respecting person of the community had been spent up and now you had hired your self out to your own self destructive behavior. You are no longer your own master, but Satan and your own fleshly alcoholic and addictive nature now rules you. You have given yourself up to the streets just as the prodigal gave himself up to feed swine.

All of us have different “tops” before we hit our respective “bottoms. Some of us had everything at one time – families, good jobs, beautiful homes, fine cars. Others had some of this or maybe none of this. It doesn’t matter. We all had a “high point” in our respective lives before we started the plummet into selfishness, addiction, and sin. Sin is patient and waits for us and grabs hold of our lives at our most vulnerable point, dragging us down to a place of hopelessness. That’s where I was 16 years ago. Years before, I had experienced the streets and was probably closer to going back on the streets than I had been in a long time. Through years of binge drinking and living off of others, I had hit bottom. I had fallen from my own “high point” in life and had wasted the years of love and care that my family instilled in me. It was the beginning of my end.

We have all wandered away from God and man. Your case is just more evident than most, as it was in my case. Other than a brief encounter with God in 1976, my life was a continual running away to that “distant land” as it talks about in the reading. Sure, I had times when I could put together some sobriety, but there were more painful times when I had less than what I see many of you possess. There were times when everything I had was stolen because I was living on the streets and the clothes I wore were filthy. For me, the best thing to do was to keep moving from town to town and city to city, sleeping wherever I was offered a place to sleep. I stayed in several missions and Salvation Army locations throughout those years. Many times I huddled in a covered area in a vacant lot or any other place where I could be out of sight and out of the weather.

So what does it take to come to one's senses like the prodigal? As many of you know, it is not something you can automatically turn on just when you want it. It is not like saying, "Well, that was a pretty horrible experience living on the streets so now I think I will go back to what I had before and become a respectable person once again." If it was as easy as that, many of you would have gone back to respectability long ago. But what you have found is that you are trapped and do not have the will power or the understanding of how to return. I am going to challenge you tonight that very possible the prodigal did not know how to return either, but he made a crucial decision and started on that journey. The scripture states that "he came to his senses". This implies to me that he had not yet come to a place of total repentance, but yet he knew that he must start toward a different live. His senses were convincing him that he had made wrong decisions and now he must remedy his decisions. First of all, he was probably appalled that his clothes were rags. (As I look out in the audience tonight I see that most are dressed quite nice. I am always amazed about this country’s so called "poor". Our street people and poor dress nicer than most of the rest of the world.) Next, he felt the hunger in his stomach knowing that his father's servants were fed much better than what he was presently experiencing. And, lastly but probably even more important, he felt the utter loneliness of being isolated -- isolated from all his former life of family and friends. He was all alone because of the choices he had made and he began to understand this. It wasn't anything anyone did to him. He had a good upbringing as many of you did. Even those of you who did not, it doesn't matter. It was still your choice and the sooner you recognize that you are responsible for the choices you made in life the better. I don't care if your mother and father beat you with barbed wire every Sunday and rammed your heads into the refrigerator on Mondays, it was still you who made the choices that have brought you here tonight. Sure, you may be disadvantaged more than others, but that doesn't mean that God's hand was not there to pull you up if you but have asked and insisted that He do so.

Some of you here tonight would love to get free. You just don't think you know how. The key is to start on the journey back to the Father. Even as the prodigal did not necessarily have all that he wanted when he came to his senses, he knew that in order to get back a portion of what he had lost that he must start the journey back. The scripture says when the prodigal left that he went to a distant country to squander his wealth. The journey back to his father was undoubtedly tough. He had no food, no shelter, and it probably took weeks or months. However, he kept on going knowing that he had no other choice. Was it tough? Of course it was but the alternative was intolerable in the mind of the prodigal. Has the alternative of the streets become intolerable in your minds tonight? It had in mine that is why I can stand before you tonight as a recovering alcoholic of 16 years. When I put the plug in the jug it was just the beginning of my journey back. There are some here tonight that will always scoff at “returning to God”. There are some here who laugh behind the backs of those who have made a decision to enter the Christian Development Program here at KCRM and start the journey back. These are those who have not come to the end of themselves. Possibly, they never will. They will succumb to hopelessness and give themselves to the “swine” of their own circumstances because they don’t have the sense to do otherwise. However, some of you here tonight are on the brink of a decision. You feel yourself on the precipice of hopelessness and you don’t want to fall in, but you desperately want to start to a repentant life with the Lord. How do I start back? Well, like the prodigal you start by starting. You come to your senses and you first tell God that you are ready to start back. Then, you tell everyone in this room that you’re ready to start the journey back. Will it be easy? I guarantee it won’t. Will there be those that will help you? Undeniably! Paul stated in the book of Romans, “Where sin abounds, grace does abound all that much more!!” He is waiting for you tonight to first come to your senses. Understand that you have done a horrible job of steering your life up to this point and that you are ready to begin to have God steer your life back to a life centered on Jesus rather than self.

Lord Jesus, help those that are wanting a changed life to come to their senses tonight and make a decision for you. Let them know that You will be with them every step of the way as they start their journey back to the Father of Mercy. In Jesus name, amen.

The Prodigal Son - May 8, 2008

Your Barefoot Servant,

Barefoot Rick

The Bare Soul - Our Hiding Place - May 4, 2008

Psalm 32:7 - You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

I am so grateful to the Almighty for my life. My days are full of His presence, which makes times with those I love even more special. I am a fortunate man to be so blessed. I am equally grateful for the gift of running that He allows me to enjoy. For me, barefoot running allows me a feeling of closeness with my God and the ability to share my experiences with others through this unusual gift. It is as if God has given me two instruments of worship -- my bare feet -- that allow me the privilege of entering into His presence through a "secret door" where only I know the way. It is like a personalized place that seems to be full of His presence and His joy! (He will never have to say to me "Remove your shoes, for the place where you tread is holy".) I know that when I kick off my daily runs that the Lord Jesus will be there to run and pray and worship and praise with me, all along the way. Although I am out on busy roads and sidewalks during my runs, I feel hidden away and quite isolated with my Lord. It is a wonderful thing to be able to run, uninhibited, and to drink in His presence.

Have you ever considered what are the "spiritual tools" that the Lord has given you that allow you quick access to His presence? Some have told me that they have a special "hiding place" where they go and seek the Lord. This may be a small room or closet within their house that feels secure and welcoming to the Holy Spirit as He descends in a time of communion. Others have told me that they feel and sense this hiding place in the midst of a great woods or a pastoral setting. Guys often tell me that they feel the closeness of God while hunting or fishing where they are surrounded by God's beauty in nature. It really does not matter where we meet God, but that we meet Him! There needs to be a sense of longing and urgency to get to that special place with the Lord as often as possible. This can literally be our very own chapel of devotion. While some meet God on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings in a church setting, others know that there is so much more if they will but take the time to find their own hiding place with God where they can worship Him with abandon. The remarkable thing about worship is that if it is true, Godly worship then it will lead us to thanksgiving and praise of the Eternal One! Worship is the very soil that praise will grow and flourish. Think about this the next time you are drawn into His presence in a place of worship. Thank Him for drawing you and praise Him unabashedly. It will truly be life changing.

No matter what we may be experiencing when coming to a place of worship can be made "right-sized" by our attitude to the Lord. Psalm 32:7 is a remarkable verse in that it does not say that the Lord gives us hiding places from trouble, but that we must be hidden with Him from all life's turmoil. Paul stated this profoundly in Colossians 3:3 "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." This does not imply that we have to necessarily hide ourselves away in a cubby hole or a closet or to even be lost in the beauty of nature (or even a barefoot run!) It truly states that as New Testament believers that we can KNOW that we have died with Christ on Calvary's tree and that we are now alive with Christ in God. Not only are we sharers of Christ's life but we are "hidden" in Christ where the enemy or our souls can not touch us if we choose to remain within our Fortress of Love. Christ does give us stalwart protection to isolate us from the world, but also to identify us in His life behind the strong walls of His powerful life to make us true disciples.

There is a hiding place for all who would but believe in Him. Physical things such as running, or nature, or whatever location are only shadows of eternal things, and the animate tools he gives us should ultimately lead to the spiritual hiding place of the Most High. If we are only finding this place, arbitrarily and sporadically, at our respective churches then we have horribly missed the mark. God is calling us to places of worship all day long. He desires to hide us away in His presence through simple acts of worship that will lead ultimately to praise and thanksgiving. A lost and dying world is looking and longing to see true examples of those that are lost in His presence, simply hidden in Christ Jesus and living a life that is sanctified and holy for the Lord.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Rick

The Bare Soul - Remember! - April 27, 2008

Revelations 2:4-5a - But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first;

I have taken a few spills when running, but probably far less since I started my barefoot running journey. As I have said in some of my earlier writings, eye/foot coordination becomes a highly developed skill when running sans shoes. It has to be, otherwise the consequences might be dire. Occasionally, however, I will still fall from this place of "grace" when my feet don't do exactly what I expect of them. I have probably stubbed one of my toes only 2 or 3 times since running barefoot. When I do, it is a shock back to reality that I am only human when it comes to proper foot placement. I was keenly aware of this a couple of months ago when I whacked a curb with my left foot, not bringing it up high enough to clear. The black toenail was a reminder for the next several weeks of my error.

Sometimes we need reminders not to make the same mistakes whether the result is a stubbed toe or wounding our relationship with Jesus. As believers, we can lose form and spiritual technique long before the proverbial "black toenail" manifests. Subtle divergences off the spiritual path will always be the greatest enemy of the vigilant pilgrim, and compromise will often seek to be the substitute for the diligent soul. It is quite easy to get lackadaisical in our spiritual "form" as we begin to take our walk with the Lord for granted. At times, it may be general laziness or contentment with where we are with God. Then, it can also be a general disassociation with godly things and a new fascination with the things of the world. One might defend their position in this regard and state that they are as busy as ever for Jesus and are stalwart in their devotion. However, it is one thing to be busy with the things of the Lord and quite another to be ministering along side of Him.

When Jesus initially swept us off our feet and we felt such closeness and love, we would do anything for Him and would shun all suspects seeking to interfere with our intimate relationship. We did not need any reminders of His love, peace, and joy. Conversely, when we venture away from God's love and embrace our own way then we are faced with the barrenness of a fruitless life. As the bride states in Song of Solomon 2:16, "My beloved is mine, and I am his". However, before this in verse 15 the bride says to the bridegroom, "Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom." The bride is aware and mindful that enough "little foxes" can destroy an entire vineyard if they are left to eat the grape blossoms. The same thing is true of developing "spiritual fruit" within our lives. We must be vigilant to protect what the Lord has given us to tend and to bring forth His fruit in due season.

However, what is the outcome if one day we "wake up" and find that that our proverbial vineyard has been destroyed? What if the "little foxes" of sin have taken over, little by little, until one day we realize that they have destroyed much of the relationship that we have with the Lord? From this point of clarity we can DO the following:

• Remember or realize where we have fallen.
• Repent of our failings and ask God to forgive us.
• Restore our affections to Jesus through His grace.
• Rejoice in the Lord and give Him thanks!

The Divine Memory of the Almighty is always there for us to draw upon to remind us of who we were, who we are (in Christ), and who He desires us to be. His reminders are not those of condescending rebukes when we fall from a place of grace, but those of loving memorials to His loving-kindness and mercy. He will most certainly set us once again on the path of righteousness and then with loving direction will correct us with His subtle reminders to cultivate our spiritual "form" and to tend to the way that He has laid out. The most important thing is to remember from whence we have fallen and to quickly ask for His grace to be once again restored!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we give ourselves afresh to You. Keep us in Your grace, steadfast in our affection to You. For You are the One that keeps us mindful of the way in which we should go. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Barefoot Rick

The Bare Soul - What is Jesus Doing? - April 20, 2008

John 5:19 - Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

Recently, I once again had the privilege of sharing the Word of God with the men at the Kansas City Rescue Mission Chapel. After my message and when I was getting ready to leave, a gentleman that I have gotten to know over the months had a request of me. He held out a tiny cross with the initials WWJD on it. Most of us know the acronym and its meaning -- What would Jesus do? He then asked me if I would accept it and wear it at one of my upcoming races. I assured him I would and gladly accepted the small gift, knowing that the exchange had meant a lot to both of us.

I hadn't really thought much about his small token until a few days later while I was mowing the yard. I just happened to look up under the overhang of my roof and I noticed a robin had built a nest in the crook of the down spout. Not many years ago, my first inclination would have been to remove the nest as quickly as possible, because after all, it's my house and I don't want any bird roosting on or near it. However, this particular day I thought "It's not doing any harm ... I'm going to paint this year but I can wait until the young hatch and fly off". To most, this kind of thinking would be second nature. Many of you are kind individuals that wouldn't think about molesting this mother off of her young. To know me, however, before Christ lived in and through me is to know a person that would have been out there immediately with a broom handle knocking the nest away from the house. My rights would have superseded all thoughts of mercy toward this mother and her eggs.

Albert Schweitzer, famed physician and theologian in his 1936 article "The Ethics of Reverence for Life" writes: God does not rest content with commanding ethics. He gives it to us in our very hearts. I once remember a talk by a preacher who mentioned an incident where an old organ or piano was being moved in one of the doctor's locations in Africa, and a large habitation of cockroaches had taken up residence where the musical instrument had been situated. His helper immediately started destroying the seeming pests but Dr. Schweitzer was horrified and yelled, "STOP!" as he hurriedly corralled the remaining colony and took them outside. He had such a reverence for life that he was appalled at the thought of killing them regardless of their perception by most. This may be a little extreme for some of our own western sensibilities. However, the doctor had been changed radically through his faith and conviction for life of all forms, no matter their seeming insignificance.

The bird incident made me stop and think about the difference between What Would Jesus Do? and What is Jesus Doing (WIJD) ? The former is an ideal that folks can try to live up to -- a higher plane of living that one can try to emulate as one would a sensei or a great teacher. The latter is looking in one's heart and life and seeing the Risen Lord DOING things that can not be explained as an action or reaction that was familiar to the "old self". WWJD implies emulation, while WIJD requires identification. To identify with the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection means that we have come into a new life and that our "old self" has been totally removed from the equation. Paul correctly stated in Galatians 5:22 that it was no longer he that lived, but Christ living in him. The robin's nest is only one of a myriad of other instances that any number of us who know the Lord can testify to regarding how he has changed us radically from within. The changed or "exchanged life" manifests through simple things that are opposed to the character of who we were as when we practiced sin. Consequently, there are many things that I no longer wish to do that I once did, because a new Life has taken up residence. It is a miracle that this recovering alcoholic does not desire a drink because the most natural thing for an alcoholic to do is drink or at the very least desire to do so. It is a miracle that today I desire to be a giver and not taker -- to be faithful and not faithless to both God and those I love -- to live the holy life that my Lord desires, for truly He is there to lead with loving direction.

As believers in the Lord Jesus, our desire should not merely be to emulate our Father in heaven but to do the things He does, even as the Son said He did the things He saw His Father doing in heaven. We really don't have to ask the question What Would Jesus Do? if we are rightly related to Him. We merely have to look at our day in retrospect and how we behave toward each other (or God's creation) to know if we are doing the works of our Lord. As Dr. Schweitzer stated, God is not in the business of commanding us to be ethical, but He is in the business of living holy lives through those He resides in. As days turn into weeks, months, year and we know that He has been moving and doing and being within us, then it is truly the miracle of the exchanged life within. If we still need to ask What Would Jesus Do? then possibly we have not entered into that Living Relationship with the One who desires to live through us. Only when we are KNOWING what Jesus is doing through us are we truly living!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may I not merely emulate your holy life, but may I share in it daily by Christ living through me. May I know Him and the power of His resurrection. For truly in Him we live and move and have our being. In Jesus name. Amen.

Your Barefoot Servant,

Barefoot Rick