The Lion Is At Your Side

Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed."
There He stands. He is terrible, fierce, powerful, and mighty. His head is held straight and tall, His mane a crown of golden glory. He is lithe, His muscles taut and toned. His claws gleam like swords. He is King, of that, there can be no question. For Who could stand like that and not be?

He is regal without effort, His royalty evident in His mighty roar. His tail, swishes back and forth with patient agitation. The source of which is you. Does this surprise you? Who are you that you could cause such a feeling in such as this? Who are you, O Son of Adam? Who are you, Daughter of Eve, to cause such consternation in the King?

Who am I?

Yes, who am I to cause agitation in this King? And why do I cause it? Is it my very presence? He--the King--looks at me as I think the question. If I didn't know better, I would swear I saw Him smile. And the King shakes His mighty head, His glorious mane swishing back and forth with His answer. If it is not my presence that bothers Him, then what? The clothes I wear? The music to which I listen...the images at which I look? The friends with whom I associate? The words which issue forth from my mouth? What is it?

The King looks at me intently. Those eyes...those deep, azure eyes bore into my thoughts, searching for the answer. As He looks, He raises His chin slightly. The word dignity comes to mind when I look at Him. But this word is not my answer. He knows I know. And I think I do, but I do not want to say. For to utter it, would make it so.

I ask if it is my clothes, my music, my friends, my speech. The King, this Lion of Judah, nods once, and then cocks His head to one side, as if He's saying, "And?" His tail is still twitching. I can see that He is still agitated.

Ah, but remember, the agitation is patient. I realize He is agitated for me, not with me. And that is why He is also patient. He wants me to know what He knows. He wants me to know...

Realization dawns upon my consciousness. And I am ashamed. Yes, my clothes bother Him when they proclaim Self...when they proclaim Pride. He is agitated for He wants to clothe me with Righteousness, for Righteousness' sake.

My music is a source of irritation when it proclaims the false glory of this world and denies the Glory of the Kingdom which He has prepared for us. The images I view are idols which can never equal His glory. Yes, He--our King---this Lion of Judah has prepared a Kingdom for you and for me. Those mighty talons have carved a mansion in a City of Gold with special places--places of royalty, for we are His heirs. Did you know that? Son of Adam, Daughter of Eve, you are Princes and Princesses in the Kingdom? Do you walk that way? Do you talk that way? Do you carry yourself regally or as one condemned? As His heirs, the music to which we listen should warrant His ear...the images we view, His eyes. Are these things worthy of His attention? Often...yes. Sometimes, and sadly, no.

I realize also, that it is not the friends with whom I associate that bother Him. Rather, it is the fact that I fall into their patterns of behavior, abdicating my royal inheritance. My King asks simply that I be a Prince in His Kingdom so that others will hearken to His call. So very often, I act like a vagabond peasant beggar in the Kingdom, scraping the scraps from the garbage heap when I could be a Prince, dining at the Royal Banquet.

My words also, cause this irritation in My King. The words give false directions to those around me. So often, they give directions to the Enemy's Realm, and not the Kingdom of Heaven. How often have I been responsible for misguiding others? How often have my words pointed them in the wrong direction.

More and more, I understand the agitation of my King. The cause is simply this: He is my King whether or not I acknowledge it...and more often than not, I do not.

I fail to acknowledge His royalty, thus abdicating my own.

Our King wants only to walk at our side. Wherever we go, He goes. This is what He desires. And so often, we turn away. It is not our King who forsakes us. Rather, we forsake our King.

Would we act differently if we knew the Lion of Judah, the King of Heaven and Earth walked at our side? How would we approach a situation if we knew there was a Lion at our side? Would there be any room for fear? No way. I refuse to believe it possible. If we were to face an intimidating situation with the knowledge that our King, the Lion of Judah, with those fierce eyes and mighty talon-tipped paws walked by our side, I dare believe we would be smiling!

The Lion of Judah has triumphed! Our King is victorious and we are heirs to His victory and to His Kingdom. Daughter of Eve, you are a Princess in His Kingdom. Wear your crown knowing your King walks at your side. Son of Adam, you are a Prince in the Kingdom of Heaven, stand tall and walk with the royalty that is inherent in the crown you wear.

Fear not, dear friends, there is a Lion at your side.

Now live like it.

Be WILD For Christ!

Pastor Shane

Juggling Confidence

1 Corinthians 10:12
"Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence."

About 12 years ago, I went to the Renaissance Festival with my family. While there, I came upon a booth where they had a large barrel filled with different colored tennis balls and several people juggling. They invited passers-by to stop and learn to juggle with them. I took them up on their invitation.

An hour later, I was juggling pretty well.

I practiced and practiced until the point where I could do several tricks. At one point, I could even juggle 6 balls in between two people. It was pretty cool.

With the basic juggling pattern of juggling three balls, I don't even have to think about it anymore. It is just so natural. I can even juggle without looking directly at the balls...I can look past them and walk around while juggling. I am very confident in my ability to juggle these three balls, even when I am not directly focusing on them.

I remember a day when I was juggling and I thought to myself: "Self, since you can juggle these here balls and look past them...not focusing on them at all...why, don't you think you can juggle these here balls without even lookin' at all? Self, why don't you just close your eyes and juggle these here balls." And so I thought back to myself, "Hey, that's a good idea!"

And so I began my basic juggling pattern...1...2...3...1...2...3...and I closed my eyes...1...2...bounce, bounce, bounce...

When I closed my eyes and placed my full trust in my ability to keep the three balls aloft, I failed miserably.

Placing our full trust in ourselves is not a good idea. Because when we do, we preclude the power of God in our lives.

Paul, in his first letter to the people at Corinth, tells them to place their confidence...their trust, in God. He names the outcome of putting your confidence in your self as falling flat on your face.

It's a classic if/then statement...cause and effect...if you trust in yourself, then you will fall flat on your face. And if you've ever fallen flat on your face, you will understand this to be a painful option...get some ice!

But, placing our trust and confidence in God is not as easy as it sounds. Because it means giving up control...of every aspect of our lives.

Have you given up control to God...are you God-confident or are you still self-confident?

Have you given up control of your finances? Or are you still self-confident about them...God can't REALLY be serious about giving 10% of the first fruits of our labor, can He?

Have you given up control of your career or job? Or are you still self-confident about it...God doesn't REALLY expect me to share His Good News while I'm at work...does He?

Have you given up control of your marriage? Or are you still self-confident about it...God doesn't REALLY expect me to serve my spouse as Jesus served His disciples...does He?

Have you given up control of your talents? Or are you still self-confident about them...God can't REALLY expect me to use my talents only to further His Kingdom, can He?

Have you given up control of the music you listen to? Or are you still self-confident about it...God can't REALLY expect me to not listen to music which does not honor Him...can He?

We can go on with this inventory...there are so many aspects of our lives...and God wants for us to submit each and every area of our lives to Him...to place our entire trust and confidence in Him and His power...not in ourselves and our own power.

And why does God want this? Because He loves us...and yes, like my parents used to say to me when i was little: "Because I know what's best for you." God knows what's best for us and His power is unlimited.

When we hold onto even one area of our lives, we basically tell God: "No thanks, I've got this one. I'm pretty sure I can do a better job at handling this than You can." And by claiming self-confidence as opposed to God-confidence in even one area of our lives, we exhibit the deadly sin of pride.

Pride...remember what happened when some of the angels exhibited pride? If not, read Revelation 12:7-12. Or maybe you remember your Greek mythology a little better...do you remember what happened to young Icarus whose pride caused him to want to fly to the sun like the great Apollo?

Once upon a time
On a day like today,
Your pride was cashin' checks
That your Spirit couldn't pay.

You better watch out.
You better not cry,
If you take a fall,
When you're tryin' to fly.

Do you want to be God?
Do you want to touch the sun?
Your wings will melt
& that ain't no fun.

Your pride will make you fly.
And be your downfall too.
And many have tried.
Just like Icarus & you.

My dear friends, examine your lives today...every aspect of them: relationships, money, career, social activities, hobbies, entertainment...all of it...and remember what Paul said: "Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence."

Lay it all at the feet of Jesus and ask Him to lead your life. Place your complete and total trust in Him.

Refiner Of Silver

Psalm 66:10
"For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver."

Zechariah 13:9
"This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.'"

Once upon a time, the Lord was out walking on the side of a mountain. He looked out over the land and sighed at its beauty. He contemplated things not remotely understood by His children. He knew the nature and identity of every pebble beneath His feet...every atom of oxygen...every photon of light.

While walking, He came upon a rough chunk of silver ore. It was lumpy, it's surface cold and hard. There were lines of silver all through the hunk of ore. And yet, there were so many impurities...so many irregularities. There was so little silver that there was barely a glint in the sunlight. And yet, when the Lord looked, He saw the glint. It was barely perceptible...but it was there.

The Lord looked at the hunk of silver ore and knew its nature and what had to be done. And so He chose the hunk of ore from among the other rocks. He picked you up. He brought you to His smithy. He set you upon the shelf. There were preparations yet to be made.

First, He had to ready His tools. And then, He began to stoke the fire...nurturing its heat with the mighty power of His bellows, blowing energy and power into the fire until it glowed vermilion.

And there you sat, wondering...waiting. Why did He pick you up? You were content to remain among the other rocks. You were not looking to relocate...you were not looking to be chosen...and yet...

And yet...you were. Why? Why you? Why would anyone select a hunk of raw ore? What did He see in you? What plan did He have for using you? Why did you have to wait?

Waiting is hard. Especially when you don't even know what you're waiting for. All you knew as you sat there upon that shelf was that it was getting hotter and hotter in that room and you didn't like the looks of some of those tools. You certainly didn't like the looks of that fire. What purpose did the fire have? And why were you in the same room with it?

The Lord sat patiently pumping, blowing His breath into the flames to make the vermilion change to argent white. When that happened, you saw the Lord smile. Why? you wondered. What was so special about the fire being that hot? Why did it matter? The Lord saw the argent heat, and then turned to you. He smiled reassuringly. And somehow, you knew that meant that you were in for something...that there was some connection with you and the fire. What could it possibly be? The Lord then selected a pot...one with a spout on one side. It was rough and worn with use...the outside of it crusty and black...the inside smooth as polished obsidian. He hung the pot over the fire.

You would later learn that the pot served a special purpose...smelting.

The Lord rose from tending the fire. In His place, an angel sat, tenderly, steadily working the bellows. The angel was glorious and reflected the argent white of the heat...reflected the glow of the Lord. You blinked at the brightness of the angel and then looked back to the Lord. He strode across the room to where you sat upon the shelf. Your waiting time seemed to be over. You become tense.

What's He doing? Why? You're apprehensive...afraid even. But then you notice again His smile. He KNOWS what He's doing. He's planned it. He sees what will be...even though you don't. There is reassurance there. He lifts you off the shelf. He cradles you in the palm of His hand. Even though you don't know what is to be, you know that you feel peace in His palm as His fingers enfold you in serenity. He carries you across the room. He looks to the smelting pot and then back at you.

He says, "This is going to hurt."

You ask, "Why?"

He says, "Because you must be cleansed."

"Of what?" you ask.

"Of all your impurities. They are abhorrent to Me. I want you to be pure. But don't worry, I won't do it all at once. You couldn't handle everything all at once. I will work little by little to purify you, dear one."

"But...I'm...scared." You say tentatively.

"I know...and that is okay. All trials are scary...all fires burn and cause pain. And pain is a very scary thing. But it's necessary."

"But why me? Why now? Why does it have to hurt?" you ask hurriedly, trying to divert His attention from the task at hand.

"Why you? Because I chose you. Why now...because it is time. Why does it have to hurt? Because pain and suffering cause endurance and will teach you many things." He says to you.

"Not me...not now!" you plead.

"But it is your time, dear one. And I will watch over you always." He says to you reassuringly.

And then He moves His gentle hand over the smelter...the smelter which has begun to be heated...and He gently places you there. And it is warm...hot even. And you are scared. And you look up to the Lord and you see into His eyes and you find strength waiting for you there. Maybe it will be okay...maybe.

The smelter is lowered closer and closer to the flames until it rests upon the white-hot coals.

You scream.

It is a cry from the depths of your soul. Never have you felt such pain. Never have you experienced such a loss. Never have you known such an utter scraping of each and every neuro-synapse. The pain is argent white...pure...holy...like your Lord who looks upon you with such great care as you writhe in pain. You wonder briefly what kind of sadistic Being would do such a thing...and then you begin to sense something. A change. Deep inside the core of who you are. You are beginning to flow...to melt...to surge into a new form of being. And you see the blatant impurities, the slag of your existence. And then you sense them rising to the surface.

The angel pumps the bellows to keep the flame pure sensing the Lord's will. And then he abates his pumping, knowing that the Lord is about to do a great work in you.

The Lord looks upon you and sees the slag covering the top of the smelter. He sees the more obvious impurities of your existence floating upon the surface of your new form. And He asks you a question:

"Will you let go of these things for Me?"

The answer seems obvious. You sense something different within yourself now...something...better...purer. You are okay with the fact that He is asking you to let go of these things.

"Yes, for You, Lord." you answer, a new confidence arising from within you.

And the Lord takes an iron rod and scrapes the slag of sin-encrusted filth from the top of your new form. You sense an immense weight and pressure lifted. You take a breath for the first time in a very long time and it comes easier.

You breathe again. Free. Yes, that's it. You feel free for the first time ever. A new joy floods your soul as you revel in this change that has overtaken you. You know your joy comes from the Lord. You know this change is His handiwork. You begin to understand new things about the universe. You see new things through new eyes. You begin to sense the great latticework of creation within all things and see the mark of its
Maker.

The smelting pot within which you sit is now being raised. And suddenly you feel yourself traveling down a chute and being poured out into a new form. You are a new creation. You have a new shape...a new identity and it is within the Lord that you find your meaning.

You sit in the mold for a time and then the Lord takes you from the mold and thrusts your cooling form into icy water. A cry of surprise escapes your lips as you feel the finality of your new form. And like refreshing rain in the morning, you sigh with contentment. You are new. You feel complete.

And the Lord turns to you with something new in His eyes. You see a look there that says this is not the end of what He has in store for you.

He lays a hand on you, caressing your surface with adoration.

"My dear one, I am refining you as silver. And yet, you are not yet ready. You are not yet pure. There are still deep-seeded impurities within you. There are still fractional amounts of sin-encrusted slag that lurk within your shiny depths. These are not pleasing to my sight. In fact, I see a new impurity forming even as we speak...it's name is pride. You are proud of your new form and want to show it off. That is good, as long as you acknowledge the Source of the goodness. However, you are feeling proud about yourself and not your Creator. I must refine you further. You are almost pure...almost pleasing to Me...almost."

"But Lord," you protest, "what else is there to do? I am a new creation in You! I am complete! I am...I am..."

"No, I AM." says your Lord.

You hang your head in shame, realizing that you have overstepped your bounds. You realize again your place within the order of all things. You are the creation...not the Creator. You are not sovereign...in fact, when you try to control your life, it ends up in a terrible mess...the purity of your silver tarnished beyond recognition. Your Lord is Sovereign. Only He reigns...only He has control...only He knows what is best for you.

Your shame turns to submission. You lay your will out before your Father. You offer Him your heart. You offer Him your every impurity.

And He accepts.

Again you are placed within the smelter. Again you are heated. You are melted. And little by little, the impurities embedded within you begin to shake free from your grasp and rise to the surface. Again, your Lord takes the iron rod and slakes the slag of sin from your surface.

And this time, the Lord looks down upon you and smiles. For there, in front of His eyes He sees Himself reflected in your surface.

The smile turns into a grin. The Lord is pleased with you. He sees what you have become. He sees what He has made you to be. And joy leaps within Him as He sees your new form. A cry escapes His lips and He does a little happy dance around the smithy. The angel working the bellows joins Him. A holy celebration!

Again you are cooled...again thrust into the water. This time, it is complete. You have been molded and shaped, heated and fired, tried and tested. You have grown. You have aged. You have matured. You have conquered. You have triumphed over sin. But you have only done this through the shaping, guiding hand of your Lord. Without Him, you would still be that old hunk of raw ore. Rough. Irregular. Ugly.

If it had not been for the Lord's eye, noticing the beauty deep within that ugly hunk of ore, you would still be stuck amongst the other rocks. But He chose you. He shaped you. He heated you and tested you. He has refined you so much that He is now able to see Himself within your surface. You belong to Him. He is your Lord.

And He loves you.

And you love Him.

And silver is a conductor...a conductor of love...a conduit of adoration which spills out to those around you...to all of the other ugly rocks, waiting to have their beauty brought forth from their depths…so they too, will reflect the face of the Father.

You have been refined...and now you are the finest silver, reflecting the Father to a world which needs to see Him.

Be WILD For Christ!

Pastor Shane