Ascending The Hill...With A Bossy Dog

I sat outside this morning, on my spiritual mom's patio, with my Papa God waiting to hear from Him as to what He wants to speak to his kids this evening. He was quiet and so was I....just enjoying our time together in the silence. 

Words are overrated at times. 

Sometimes we just need to BE with Him...

And thennnnn.....

 Riley. 

See, my "mama" has this dog.

He's quite a character. 

He's grumpy and a tad bossy, lol. 

He's an opportunist. Do NOT leave your food close to the edge of the table...or unattended.

PERIOD.

He's a sneak and he's completely adorable in all his spoiled-rottenness. 

He's Riley.

And he taught me something. 

On this morning, he insisted to come out with me, so I obliged him.

(If you know Riley at all, you will know that, oblige or not, he tends to have his way, haha. )

I sat there, soaking in the cool morning breeze...loving the embrace of my Father, and I noticed Riley doing a normal dog thing. 

He was running all around with his nose dragging the ground. 

I assumed he was looking for a place to do his business, but nope. 

He was looking for a rock. 

It wasn't long before he found the right one and brought it over and set it beside me on the metal patio chair.  He sat down and looked at me. No wagging,  no whining...

Just... 

Staring at me with these 

big, droopy, brown eyes.

At a loss for what he wanted me to do, I chuckled and said, "Well, thank you, Riley." 

Serious butt-wagging happened and off he went. 

This process happened several times...about 6 or 8 is more accurate, lol, and with each new rock, he would line it up beside the last one and wait for the "Thank you, Riley!" It was really quite impressive!

 I mean he legit lined them up, and it really seemed that he needed to hear thank you before he would go get another. 

 Eventually he finally stopped going to get them and sat there looking at me. 

"Thank you, Riley!" Had no more effect. 

So I got this bright idea to throw one. 

Bingo. That's what he wanted all along, lol. Sneaky little thing.  Here I was thinking he was being sweet and bringing me presents and he was just bringing me the tools to entertain him. 

But isn't that how we are too? Kindnesses with an agenda? We will find those who we feel can give us what we need or want...or maybe can get us somewhere..or that their talents and gifgts will benefit us...and we shower them with kindnesses and opportunities, but

 there is no honesty in it.  

"Here! Have this (fill-in-the-blank)!" 

And we wait for recognition.

Then we get bored with it and the real agenda begins to rear its ugly, manipulative head...

"Entertain me...I did this for you...now you do this for me." 

And when our "toy" gets wise and stops playing our game, we get grumpy and bossy...

like Riley.

We will cover you and support you as long as:

         -you are doing what we want you to do

         -we can directly benefit from what you do

         -we can take credit or receive recognition for what you do or 

          what we've done for you

But we will get pretty darn grumpy if:

         -you stop doing what we want and begin to do what SomeOne Else says

         -people begin to see that we aren't really responsible for what you are doing

         -we can't duplicate what you are doing and people begin to notice

Heaven help us...forgive us...

And still yet, Our wonderful Father thrills in showing mercy and mercy is victorious over judgement. 

So if you find yourself in Riley 's position...repent with your whole heart and receive mercy.

And if you find yourself in the toy's position...mercy triumphs over judgment.

He loves, so we love.

He forgives, so we forgive.

He is unoffended, so we choose to remain unoffended.

I recently heard someone talking on the subject of Stephen...he was so misrepresented...so misunderstood...so not playing by their rules...and they were quite grumpy about it and they stoned him. 

The stoners laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 

Stephen chose to see Jesus. He saw the Lamb of God standing at the right hand of God. He lifted his eyes beyond the eminent stones and boulders that would be hurled at him and he saw Jesus. And then he uttered some of the most powerful words... Words that mirrored very nearly what Jesus, himself spoke...

"Then falling on his knees he cried out in a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them!".... (Acts 7:60)

Wow. 

What if...

What if the Damascus road experience for that young zealot named Saul...what if all the epistles and letters and miraculous signs and wonders....what if the radical way this entire world has been affected by that young zealot, could be traced back to the decision that Stephen made 

to remain unoffended...? 

What if "Lord, do not hold this sin against them..."  Led to "Saul...why are you persecuting Me?"  Led to "I, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ..." Led to a jailer's salvation....led to churches planted all over...led to your salvation...my salvation...our intimate knowledge of the love of God....?

What if?

You know? I don't find more than a few references to Jesus actually standing at the right hand of God. I've heard more than a few preachers say that Jesus was standing because of Stephen's martyr...

but...there were many, MANY martyrs...

people who were much more 'effective' if you go by exploits and time on earth...

So, what was so different about Stephen's martyr? 

I can't say that this is the Lord...it's only my opinion, but I think it had to do with Stephen's completely unoffendable heart.  In the moment of his greatest pain...he chose to let go...not only of his own claim to justice, but he released the destinies of each and every one of those responsible for his death, to the Father. 

And Jesus stood. 

Not as an "attaboy" but out of great respect for the sacrifice...not only of Stephen's life, but of his right to be offended.  

Maybe you are dealing with an offended heart? 

I offer you this simple prayer that has helped, and continues to help, me remain unoffended and pure in His sight and releases those who hurt me, betray me, misrepresent me, use me, disrespect me, attempt to stop what God is doing in and through me... and many more things, to be free to be all God intended them to be. 

"Father, I bless them. Do not hold this against them. Have mercy upon them. Make all their wildest dreams come true. I bless their finances and their households. May they be fruitful And multiply. Bless their relationships. Father would you give them peace and sweet sleep at night. Bless their dreams. May they encounter You in new ways every day. I release them to be everything You designed them to be in the womb. Father, I love them because You are love and I forgive them because, You know, how much you have forgiven me for. I do not hold onto the lies that the enemy has spoken about them or over them. I will not come into agreement with the dark agenda to destroy any area of their lives. I bless them! Now, You bless them indeed!!"

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."  -Romans 12:14

One more thing.

I've been thinking a lot about the scripture:

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

‭‭James‬ ‭4:7-9 NIV

 Wash your hands, it says. 

Purify your hearts, it says.

It reminds me of another scripture:  

“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭24:3-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A pure heart. 

You know, Acts says that when they looked at Stephen, they saw the face of an angel...the face that mirrored the purity of his unoffended heart and it infuriated them. 

Could it be that a pure heart is an unoffended heart?

 Could it be that to choose to remain unoffended frustrates our enemy and causes him to flee from us?  

I don't presume to know the answers for you, but my own personal experiences tell me, yes. 

In my own life, the kingdom of darkness has no power over an unoffended heart that refuses to retaliate, but loves deeply and blesses those who persecute it.  

Let's all ascend the mountain of the Lord together...The view is amazing