The Reader For Leaders Seminars, articles, and musings by Paul D. Casey

Deuteronomy 5:29 “What I wouldn’t give if they would always feel this way, continuing to revere Me and always keep all My commands; they’d have a good life forever, they and their children!”

Deut. 5:32 “Don’t veer off to the right or left”

I was digging hole for some shrub-planting alongside my new bride this morning, and our property is full of rocks. I dread digging because of this. Whenever I try to dig where I want to dig, hitting a rock makes my shovel veer off-line and gives me a jolt in the arms.  Isn’t that just like life? I want to make good choices and obey all God’s commands to get the “good life” promised by God, but I often let obstacles/temptations/busyness veer me off track. I still hit dirt, but not the sweet spot of a life in the center of God’s will. Like in my rocky soil, I have to then get down on my knees and root out the rock before continuing to go deeper. Great imagery! What’s your rock that prevents you from going deeper today?

Deuteronomy 4:29 “If you seek God, your God, you’ll be able to find Him, if you’re serious, looking for Him with all your heart and soul…”

God doesn’t play mindless games with us. “If you’d just look harder….” “If you’d just attend church more often…” ”If you’d cry more….”  He is pretty clear in this verse that a singular-focused, unrelenting search for Him nets a result of His attention.  Granted, we have to DO something, we have to play a role: the serious seeking in prayer for His presence. But He’s not a God afar off; He’s really close and connected, waiting to commune with us, to guide, us comfort us, display yet another amazing dose of His unexplainable, unconditional love to us. Not sure why I try to seek every other resource I have before seeking the key Player in the game of life!

Deuteronomy 4:9 “…Stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant….”

It’s so easy to let your guard down.  Obstacles to alertness/vigilance are busyness, complacency, pride, improper focus on others, fatigue, etc. So we are swimming upstream to stay battle-ready in this journey of serving God day-in and day-out. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as they say.  Alertness means examining myself for any weeds growing through the cracks in my heart, any strongholds starting to get a grip, any “idols” that are taking more priority over my love for God.  While it’s fun to take the road less traveled or explore new adventures, the one kind of wandering we must never do is heart-wandering away from our Lord and Savior into any destination apart from Him. Fellow soldiers, let’s stay sharp today!

In the hands of God,
We stand tall
Hands that are mighty, to deliver
Givin’ us freedom
–In the Hands of God (Newsboys)

Can’t think of a more secure place to live my life than in the hands of God. It allows me to be God-confident instead of self-confident. I know He’ll come through for me, even if it’s not how I imagined. I know He’ll protect me, even if some shrapnel of life still stings me on occasion. I know He’ll cut any chains that I’ve allowed to shackle me with His boltcutters, even if those chains have gotten rusty and comfortable.  And, why do I jump out of His hands–ever??

“Any single relationship that is expected to fulfill every need will become claustrophobic, cloying, and swampy.” –Sam Keene

The answer to the question above is “God.” I know, that’s always the “spiritual”, unromantic answer, but I’m serious!  As I head into week 2 of being married to Laura Dyan, I am reminded by this quote that she is not my all-in-all. She enhances my life, she brings me incredible joy, she stands beside me in ministry and life in general, she is my #1 human priority! However, she does not have the capability to meet my every need like all-powerful, all-caring God can. Laura is a gift from Him to me–personally–and I am forever grateful.  His unconditional love for me is my most beloved gift. And I guess that makes a pretty cool triangle of love to rest in and give back to!

Deuteronomy 1:29-33 “…to relieve your fears. Don’t be terrified…God, your God, is leading the way; He’s fighting for you. You saw what He did for you…how God, your God, carried you as a father carries His child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here…This same God Who goes ahead of you…”

I lapse in my trust of God sometimes. Have no reason to, really. He’s fully trustworthy. I just look too long at the crud in my circumstances, and doubt floods in. But at any time, He can swoop my fear and doubt away if I yield to His leadership in my life. He can take down all obstacles–anything I cannot handle along the way. And He’s got quite the track record in my life for doing so. So today I humbly ask Him to be my Balm, my Bandage, my Physician, my Wheelchair when I get beat up by life.  In His care, I can truly say “no worries.”

Numbers 33:55 “But if you don’t drive out the native population, everyone you let stay there will become a cinder in your eye and a splinter in your foot. They’ll give you trouble right in your own backyards.”

While in the times of the Bible, this was a literal directive from God to His people when He was instructing them what to do as they enter the Promised Land, for us today, it’s a symbolic principle: God wants us to drive out junk/fleshly pursuits from our lives, or else they will cloud our vision (which is His vision for our futures) and cause us pain in our spiritual journeys toward fruitfulness on this planet. And it will continue to hit close to home if we continue in unhealthy patterns. The best way to be aware of “slow death” in our lives is to ask Him to point it out to us, using His gentlest methods; then listening and responding when they are revealed.

“Persistence is having the same goal over and over.” –Seth Godin

I suppose we could be regularly lazy or regularly a pest or exhibit some other negative recurring habit in our lives. But true persistence, as a virtue, comes from setting a goal of self- or organizational-improvement, and pursuing that goal day-in and day-out until it is accomplished.  Which makes Goal-setting so important. Picking the right goal, one that’s specific, measurable, achieveable, time-sensitive, and relevant (SMART). Then committing to its achievement–otherwise, what’s the point of setting one? It would just be time-spent setting one’s self up for failure.  Goals should be written down and shared with safe people who can hold us accountable because there is power in the written word and in accountability.

Numbers 31:23 “….anything else that can survive fire–must be passed through the fire; then it will be ritually purified.”

God must think we are valuable in order to spend His “energy” on putting us individually through the fire of testing. That’s amazing in itself that He cares that much about us! God must also think we can survive the fire of testing because His love for us prevents that fire from burning us up. So, knowing that fire refines our character to make us more like Him, and knowing He only gives us what we can handle, it’s then up to us to put ourselves into the right frame of mind to receive the pruning/refining process so that it can be a learning experience. Only then will we be even more valuable to Him and His kingdom on earth.

“To get through the world alive we have to care until our hearts break, and cram our lives full of enjoyment….Only enjoyment and gratitude for our lives create a spontaneous impulse to care for others…..We will gain the desire and wisdom to create a more compassionate society only when we learn to take our time and find compassionate enjoyment in elemental pleasures.”  –Sam Keene

Some of us need permission to have fun. For some reason, we’ve been taught as responsible adults with a myriad of roles to play, we must stay stoic and grind away at our tasks day-in, day-out without cracking a smile. That doesn’t sound like abundant life to me. A local church in my area is called Cathedral of Joy, and it’s icon is a laughing Jesus. At first, I was taken aback. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I picture such a serious Jesus, that I couldn’t comprehend Him laughing with His friends. Yet I know He went to parties and weddings, and I just know He wasn’t a killjoy at them–except to the stoic rule-worshippers who simply couldn’t have any fun without making up another rule to debate about. I digress. Basically, one of the many nuggets in the quote above hits home to me when I realize that I most overflow love and joy onto the people in the world around me, when I am most filled with love and joy. And that must be an intentional pursuit in our lives: to love well by going to the Source of Love daily, and to overflow joy by staying with the Joy-giver throughout the day. He created all things for our enjoyment, the Bible says, so maybe it’s time to watch a clean comedy, to lighten up at work with playful banter, to delve in a bit into our hobbies, into exploring His creation, into deeper communion with His people–simply to crack a smile, emote a belly-laugh, or to express our appreciation back to our Creator of His gracious gifts. And impact our world…