At What Cost?

At what cost can I pray,
       and stand before Grace?
At what cost am I heard,
       in splendor above?
At what cost can I bow,
       and in worship adore,
              Majesties Self in Glory unknown?
At what cost can I live,
       my own life as I wish?
At what cost am I free,
       to live a life that is real?
At what cost is there joy,
       in the midst of hard trial?
At what cost am I fed,
       as the birds of the air?
At what cost will this world,
       be made fresh and new?
At what cost am I destined,
       to the wide gates of heaven?
The cost let me tell you,
       is not yours to pay.
With the blood of His Son,
       the price has been paid.
The price wasn’t paid,
       for stained glass and four walls.
The price wasn’t paid,
       for our possessions so dear.
But by the blood of His own Son,
        Our destiny is sure,
       Everlasting splendors,
              as someone once said.
We are being transformed,
       from glory to glory,
              just like the Son.
Next time that we think,
       a price must be paid,
              or count our own cost, so very dear.
Let us ponder and think,
       At what cost am I here,
              to spell out these words?
Every last drop of His very Own Son.
-M. Matheson 2010

Arise Let Us Go From Here –Jesus

“Let not your heart be troubled” John 14:1, if taken only ankle deep, and not looking into the depths of what is really under it’s placid surface, is nothing more than a nice fluffy scripture to pacify our aching heart in troubling times. It “feels” even nicer and fluffier knowing that Jesus said it. It looks great on a nice wooden plaque or one of a thousand similarly cheesy greeting cards, maybe even July fifth’s verse for the day. If we only take a very shallow look at this big fluffy verse, it means our hearts can be at rest because Jesus said it. How nice!
Frankly, I don’t get much comfort from looking at it like that. My heart doesn’t become restful just because I read that verse. Now, barring all the Greek exegesis that we know, and trying to take it in the context that it was said, as we should, we may find that it goes way deeper than a fluffy little scripture spoken by an inert and plastic little Jesus. We may find instead that the scripture was spoken by a Man who was a carpenter in the first century and used a whip of cords to single handedly drive the crooked sellers out of the temple courts, and Who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords Who was and Who is and Who is to come, returning at the end of the age on a white horse with His robe dipped in blood. This makes a world of difference in the power, significance and usefulness of this little six-worded verse.
If the verse was uttered by a nice fluffy, flaccid and friendly Jesus, we can just tell our hearts not to be troubled when our financial world is crashing down around us or our health is failing us, and we will “feel” better instantly. If we just pray the words “Jesus don’t let my heart be troubled” will it actually make my wife love me even if I’m a cruel, evil jerk? Will it cause our kids to get off drugs, get a job, and come to their senses, and finally come back to the Lord? Who are we kidding, besides ourselves? If we try holding on to that weak-kneed and limp-wristed theology, we will find ourselves without the intended result, making excuses why it didn’t work and trying to “cover for” a nice fluffy, easily managed and contained Jesus. Jesus isn’t some genie, wizard or Dr. Phil and He certainly doesn’t need “covering for”. He is the Creator of the universe and He upholds all things by the word of His power. If we would be willing to take a rough and raw view of the surrounding context, history, and verses, we may find what Jesus was really trying to say to you and me.
The verse just before “Let not your heart be troubled” is actually quite troubling. Peter swears his undying allegiance, even to the death, for Jesus, and then, Jesus asks if he “really” will lay down his life for Him, and Jesus goes on to tell him that he will actually deny Him three times before morning comes. Does the old expression “liar, liar” come to mind?
But hey Peter, “let not your heart be troubled, “trust me”. So if you would allow me a little liberty with this verse John 13:38, Peter, you are going to fail me, big time. Everyone is going to see it and know it, and people will preach about it till the end of time. Every one of the people that hears the story will think “I would never do that”. You are all alone Peter, the biggest screw up in history, and to top it all off, Jesus tells Peter “don’t let your heart be troubled”.
“You believe in God Peter? Believe also in Me.” And then, Jesus just moves on into the famous passage of scripture that tells us that there is lots of room in heaven and Jesus is leaving to prepare a place for us and that the disciples already knew the way.
This is not meant to be some super-doctrinal exegesis on the passage, but a good faith-filled look at what is really going on here. An untroubled and peaceful heart is what we all desire, and Jesus said not to let our heart be unsettled, or stirred up like a swirling muddy river. He says not to let it, which means we can control it and should be in control. If we believe God we should trust that Jesus has things under control. This is actually how we are suppose to do it, actually, trust that Jesus has our backs. Trust Him to be who he said He was and is, and who He is to come. We should read this scripture in a perspective of the moments surrounding Peter’s life and the end of days Jesus Himself is speaking of. It is always hard to keep the end of the world in perspective as it seems so far off, but it could in all reality be only the blink of an eye or a millisecond away. The end of the world may come even as I am typing this and you may not get to read it.
So, in reality, we only have to trust Jesus for the next second, and the next, and the next. Like the Alcoholics Anonymous saying “One Day at a Time”. If we can just TRUST Jesus for a second, we can trust Him for a lifetime. Gone are the worries over the huge troubling events in our lives, for we only need a second’s worth of faith and trust.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Peter’s world is crashing down around His ears and Jesus tells Him “let not your heart be troubled”. I think that would just tick me off. I would be saying to Jesus, “you’re not a lot of help here, I am not very encouraged”, but just this small little idea, that Jesus speaks this to him at this time should give us courage to face the day head on.
Again, I ask you to give me a little liberty with the scriptures. Peter, no matter how bad you could possibly screw this all up, you can be at peace knowing who I am. Knowing that I am going to the cross for you, Peter, to make it all better literally. To give you a way out of this mess, so you won’t have to live your life in bitterness, sorrow and misery. Instead, with just a little slice of trust in me, the real living Son of God, there is even more than hope. There is an expected end that is good and not evil. The rest of what Jesus said that is recorded in John the fourteenth chapter is meant as a sinners guide to a life of peace, chock full of hardcore truths, promises and divine directives. Like, we will do greater things than Jesus, ask whatever we want in His name and He will do it. If you really love me, and do what I say, I will send the Holy Spirit to live in and through you. Huge promises that are hard for me to wrap my mind around. I don’t quite understand all of what they really mean, but I am willing to try. Peace I leave with you, Peace I give to you. And back by popular demand, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Then Jesus said “Arise, let us go from here.” Wow, this just may be the key to the church, no pun intended. If all we have is the next blink of an eye, and the next millisecond. We cannot waste our time stuck on warm and fuzzy platitudes that make us feel all warm and fuzzy. We need to walk the next moments out with the true and living Jesus.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.- Jesus the Christ
Arise Let Us Go From Here

What's in your toolbox?

From Donny Marion at Shark Bites discipleship class- Praise Chapel Sacramento, CA-

The mark of a good tradesman are his tools and how well he takes care of them. A finish carpenter is going to have different types of tools than a framer even though their trades are in the same area of work.
An electrician and an electronics tech both work with electricity but with a whole lot of different tools . The same goes with a house painter and someone who paints a car . They both paint but their tools differ .
Each knows how to use their tools and each should know what is needed to take care of their tools . They always told me the first sign of a good mechanic was how clean he kept his tools .
We need to think of being a disciple as a trade, and think of our life as a toolbox. What’s in our toolbox? If it is filthy and filled with trash not much good is going to come out . Remember the old proverb, garbage in garbage out . We need to clean out the toolbox and fill it with clean fresh tools.

Are we really PRESENT with the Lord?

Would you think about this with me for a moment or two.
We that are followers of Jesus the Christ, desire and even crave the presence of the Lord in our lives.
At a minimum we believe that His presence is with us always, and the truth of God is that He is present everywhere, always, and at all times. David said he could not go anywhere that God’s presence was not. So, how could we not be present with Him? Follow me for just a little bit, and it will be worth your while, or you can have your money back.
Have you ever been in a conversation with a friend, relative or especially a spouse, and you were not fully present with them? If you haven’t already caught on, perhaps you are not really present with me as I write this short exposition. Your eyes are taking in the words, and part of your brain is processing the thoughts, but the top level part of your mind is busy sorting your grocery list. Perhaps it is already critiquing the upcoming ball game or rehashing the “conversation” you had with the boss today, whether that boss was your boss or your wife. Maybe, your worrying about your weight, the kid’s grades or whether Uncle Elmo will really come to visit next spring.
The most obvious illustration I can give is from a husbands point of view, but I guess in one out of a million it may work the other way. The woman is a very verbal creation that needs to talk to someone, especially her mate, about anything and everything. She needs to know that the husband is present not only in body but in soul. This feeds the woman’s voracious appetite for security. The husband part of this equation simply put is, we are apes. We only have a few basic needs and if you are over fourteen and reading this I don’t need to explain, you already know what they are. Real listening is being present, our wives know when we are present and when we are not. This dynamic is very similar in all relationships we are a party to and even extends to our relationship and interactions with God.
In all our earnestness to have the manifest presence of God, we often leave out one half of the equation, ourselves. We are praying “to” God instead of with God, we are giving Him our laundry list of how He should change the world, and, all the while, we are trying to figure out in our heads the next church service, how I am going to beat the traffic Monday morning, or what I’m going to have for lunch. Perhaps it is real important stuff like how will I pay the rent, but then we are not really present with God. He is surely present with us, but He might in fact, feel left out in the cold.
We can be present with God, but it will be a fight, a fight for the mastery of our very own soul. The risks are minimal, and the payoff is huge. The only cost is our whole life, but remember, Jesus said we would gain it for losing.
The first line of battle is to recognize that we are even not present at all. Next time you pray, next time you worship, the next time you read God’s word, pay attention to where your soul is really at. Is it at the grocery store, the ball game, at work or in the presence of the Lord?
It will take quite an effort to bring ourselves in, and to bring every thought captive and make it obey. But the weapons we have are mighty in God to pull down these strongholds.
I don’t have three steps to being present with God. What it really boils down to is a battle of wills, His or ours. If we give up our self-will to His-will, we will win the war.
Imagine with me if you can, what will it be like, when God has your soul, intertwined with His own. Where else would you rather be? What habits would drop off? What worries would fade? The fears would all fall off, and the possibilities arise, of what God could do with a man or a woman who was fully present with Him.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV) Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)

God cares more for us than anyone does or can. It is not within our ability to care for people even one small fraction as much as Jesus does. The same goes for people that care for us, mothers, fathers and, yes, believe it or not pastors!
If we could get this fact down in us, we would stop worrying about what others think of us, or how much we are loved or cared for by acquaintances, friends, and family. If we could just get a good grasp on “Jesus cares for me”, we would stop analyzing every action made by others in the microscope of our small world.
Paul the apostle said his reason for praying was, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; Ephesians 3:16-19 (NKJV)
In other words, if we would spend more time thinking on the incredible love and care of God for us, than thinking about what God or others should currently be doing for us, our lives would be powerful beyond our current comprehension. We would then be more concerned about how we treat the world around us than how we are treated.
Then the message of the cross, which truly is, that Jesus cared more for us than we could possibly care for others, would have a greater impact in today’s consumed with self world.
So, instead of trying so hard to care more, let’s get a better vision of just exactly how much Jesus Christ truly cares for us. Then we could say, Jesus loves you, and it would ring true and with power.
Peace- Mike Matheson

The Time of my LIFE (Leg 2)

My two new best phrases "cuanto cuesta?" and “Puede hablar mas despacio por favor”.
How much does it cost? And, Can you speak more slowly please? Will get you a long ways as long as you have some more Spanish in your bag (bolsa). The rest I butcher pretty badly with no room for bragging left over, but it gets done.

I learned a universal truth on this leg of my journey. If you suddenly find yourself without any available assistance, you will be amazed at how well you can get by and how much life you will find along the way.

Without a ride or any assistance to get me to the bus station, I plunged out into the semi-controlled madness that is Mexico City, the largest metropolitan area in the Americas and the third largest agglomeration(huh) in the world.

Ah!, this is living! Did I say living? Yes I did! If you have not stretched yourself out into something foreign or ventured into the unknown, then you have not experienced life in its fullest. Guided tours are nice, but landing in the unknown with no available help gives you something fresh coursing through your system that you can’t buy on a street corner or in a pharmacy. You can’t watch it on TV, play it on a video game or ride it at Disneyland. It is not some momentary rush or buzz from too much coffee. It’s not that feeling in the base of our spine we get when we think we are going to die a sudden tragic death. It is the real life that Jesus talked about. Out of our heart flow the issues of life.

When we stretch out into the unknown, where we can’t control the outcome or bail out anytime we want, with no exit stage left or parachute, some too long unused part of our heart starts to whir and click and spring to life.

This same part of our heart stopped functioning long ago from disuse, much like our appendix did, when it once protected us from unclean food, the wild part of our heart has gone into hibernation from a too safe world that no longer sees a need for adventurers or heroes, except on a movie screen.

I was indeed fortunate to feel my heart come alive with the same vigor that was very much alive when men sailed the seas in large wooden boats and climbed the rigging to adjust the sails in the middle of an unknown and raging sea. Men’s hearts were big then, hearts that took them across barren uncharted lands and seas, conquered cities and gave it’s life in the face of overwhelming odds. I was blessed and fortunate to just have a taste of that and hear a little whir as my heart spun to life.

That’s my opinion anyway and I am sticking to it. You know what they say about opinions don’t you? They are like armpits, everybody has got at least two and they all stink, ha-ha.

Ah! Real life smells like smog, sounds like not one person speaking English and I am plop down in the middle of it without a life preserver, no 911 no guide just me and Jesus. This is living!

There was no more tiredness even after the red Bull had worn off.

Fourth Missionary Journey to Mexico

First leg, just getting there…..
Perhaps, Mexico is not the destination that may come to mind when missionaries are thought of, but surely missionaries are needed in Mexico as well as the United States, all nations as Jesus said.

Almost twenty years ago Mexico had taken up residence in my heart and to the depth of my bowels or bosom in the biblical sense. Unexplainable in the language of men, my desire for Mexico has been much like a lust, albeit a much more healthy dose.

This fourth trip was unique in the fact that I spent the first week visiting one of my oldest daughters, Teri, her husband Andres and their four children, two of whom I had not met before this trip. That week also turned into a missionary journey, for I was invited to speak at two different churches in the little “pueblito” of Santa Rosa, where my daughter lives. That one week visit alone gave me enough experiences and material to spend the next year writing.

I will try and do the trip and the experience justice, and I will try not to bore you to tears with the minutiae of daily events. I love minutiae, but I am pretty sure that not all people share my love of the minor details of life’s experience.

The flight into Mexico city via Houston was uneventful and without fanfare, without dogs, customs agents or soldiers disturbing my burnt out brain that was trying to squeeze itself out through my bulging bloodshot eyes. I was pushed out some big doors by some unseen force I have yet to define, and I began my wandering back and forth in my sub-catatonic state with a cardboard sign that read “Templo de Alabanza”, Spanish for Praise Chapel, desperately hoping that my ride would see it.
They didn't and so I went in search of the nearest Starbucks or a store that had "Sugar Free Red Bull". Red Bull won.
My two new best phrases "cuanto cuesta?" and “Puede hablar mas despacio por favor”.