0:00:00 - 0:00:31 So, um I'm deep into writing and uh I've been up since about midnight and so I've covered a lot of ground. But as the poem goes, I have miles to go before I sleep. And uh I just have a bit more time before work starts. But I got consumed by um a thought of feeling, an idea that I wanted to share with 0:00:30 - 0:00:55 you, um roll it off my shoulders and then I can keep going often I use the word success and I'll say something like, and no one gets to tell you what that means. You have to define it for yourself. Well, the funny thing about words is that we do necessarily need to create or adopt is a better way of 0:00:55 - 0:01:26 saying I'd say adopt or discover, let's go with adopt for now. We need to adopt a meaning for a word because otherwise, what, what do we mean? What's the point? A, a word is a placeholder for an idea. It's a finite approximation of an infinite process. Actually, an idea is a process anyway. Um I try 0:01:26 - 0:01:55 to limit the depth, not the point of what I wanted to say today. Um So, so God has definitions for words. And even though those are also infinite, they have a finite bound. That is the fullness of what this world, the bounds of this world because this is a finite world we live in. Um So what does he 0:01:55 - 0:02:25 mean when he uses the word success? That's a really good question to ask. And I'm not going to answer that for you today. Um I, I want to um exercise the power of flexibility in focusing on a single facet of that word success. And I wanna do that by telling a story. But first I want to relate another 0:02:25 - 0:02:47 story, which was the other day for the life of me. I cannot remember what device we were talking about. But one of we're just sitting in the living room, me and some of my kids and one of them said men, whatever, whatever. Well, we were talking about some device and I stopped and it was this um this 0:02:47 - 0:03:13 very obvious instantaneous diversion from the normal flow because um in in this flow of conversation, you know, there's a vibe to that, you know, like a frequency or something. Um As I thought about this thing, which for the life of me, I cannot remember what it, what it was. And I think that's intentional 0:03:13 - 0:03:41 . I think the Lord wants to avoid me derailing the conversation by mentioning the specific thing um because it'd be a distraction. In this case, I thought of that thing. And I was just moved by how excellent it is for its purpose. And no time passed, it wasn't like I had this uh profound expression on 0:03:41 - 0:04:08 my face or paused for effect for 10 minutes or something. But I just immediately I had a different vibe and I said, whoever invented that he is a genius. And then I just kind of rattled off a few ways that um whatever this thing is, is amazing and, and so fit for purpose. And my son noticed this, one 0:04:08 - 0:04:33 of my sons was there. He noticed this and he said, he said, um wow, that it must really be something because you don't say that very often, that's high praise from you and is really interesting because he wasn't, you know, people could say something like that in a mocking way. I think most, most often 0:04:33 - 0:05:02 it would, it would be intended that way. But my son was sincere and what, what he was conveying was that he was going to look for the value in that thing that he hadn't seen before because um someone greater than him was seeing greater value than he had seen and something. So he was going to pay more 0:05:02 - 0:05:30 attention to it, which means that he'll see it. If, if that perception is correct, he'll see it and then he'll have it, he'll have greater value than he had before through that conduit of one who came before. So what does success mean uh define it yourself. But here's one facet when I think of success 0:05:29 - 0:05:57 , this is what I think of just a few days ago was um talking with the Lord. And I said, said, Lord, there's this guy and I'm I find great value in the things he does. And again, I'm asking who this is because it doesn't matter for the sake of the story. All you need to know is it wasn't me. And uh I 0:05:57 - 0:06:32 said, I've been impressed with these specific things that this person has done. I found value in it, I think gives value to the world. What do you think of him? Because I wanted to pray for the Lord to help this man feel joy in what he does because I have the feeling that um people are getting a lot 0:06:31 - 0:06:56 more out of what he has sacrificed for and then he does, but I don't pray lightly um because I want to pray in the name of Jesus or in accord with his will. And so usually, uh if I'm gonna pray about something, I spend a lot more time doing my homework to figure out what Jesus thinks about it or about 0:06:55 - 0:07:26 the person or the situation, whatever it is. And so I said, Lord, what do you think about him? And instantly I saw I was in a different place is, is the day of judgment. May I should say it was a time of judgment restoration which means it doesn't mean to bring something back to how it was. That's how 0:07:26 - 0:07:53 we use it in English. I mean, it, it does mean that, but in scripture, the uh the more common meaning is to bring things um into how they should be based on merit. It's, it's the fulfillment of justice. That's what restoration means in scriptures. So is the time of justice. But I saw the Lord and I was 0:07:53 - 0:08:38 , I was right there and I saw this man and a he put his hand on the man's shoulder. They were very close and he said his name, which it wasn't the name he has here, which shouldn't surprise you if you know anything about heaven. And he said, I am so proud of you. And it was who is the richest, most profound 0:08:37 - 0:09:22 way I've ever heard those words. Then the vision closed. And that's uh that's how I found out what God thinks of this man. So I think however we define success, it's not a bad thing to aim for that. What I just described, you know, a lot of times we get um so familiar with scriptural phrases and that's 0:09:22 - 0:09:44 a good problem to have, you know, we're building a vocabulary of um scriptural phrases, little handles that attach us to really big ideas, but they're little handles so we can grab onto them. They're like uh words and phrases are like those oversized toothbrush handles for little toddlers. So that they 0:09:44 - 0:10:10 can grab them with their funky little hands, their awkward little hands and, uh, but, but it's, it's a double edged sword because we can become so familiar with them that we can more readily repeat them without the associated depth of meaning. And that too has a positive purpose because, um, it, it's 0:10:10 - 0:10:32 kind of like passing money through the tube at the bank that soon to be a thing of the past. But um you know that the, the tube doesn't know what the money is. It's just passing it along. It's just doing what it's built to do. And sometimes we share phrases or words or ideas that we don't even understand 0:10:31 - 0:10:55 the, the true value of. Do we really understand the true value of anything? So, but it has a purpose because it gets to someone who needs that value right now or at least more of it than we do. Um So we can pass along ideas that way and that, that's a powerful blessing. Anyway, the Lord uses all things 0:10:55 - 0:11:30 to his purpose and that's just one. Uh But we can get overly used to phrases like well done, my good and faithful servant. But what is the meaning of that? How would Jesus say that if he were a modern man? He'd say I'm so proud of you and uh tying together what I was saying before about this guy is a 0:11:29 - 0:12:05 genius. Whoever designed this thing is a genius, um standards when standards are low value must also be low and anything, it's like a hurdle, anything that clears the bar just falls into the category of whatever cleared the bar that's good enough, but good enough is not the same as good. So how good 0:12:05 - 0:12:44 is it? The highest standard measures the greatest value? And it's not easy to impress God. And I, you know, again, I'm just exercising the flexibility of language here. Don't take it too far. But when the Lord says, my joy is full, that is not a light thing. It's not an easy thing to uh have a part in 0:12:44 - 0:13:12 . I don't wanna say cause you know, we're not causing anything with God. Uh But to be a part of that experience is not a light thing nor would you want it to be because otherwise it would have less value. And for me, this just comes as a confluence of thought and feeling because they are layers of existence 0:13:12 - 0:13:56 , their layers of law and glory and light and truth and darkness and light and joy and sorrow and pleasure and pain and those who shy away from the intensity that's available, possible that exists. I'm not sure that they understand that any time you turn away from intensity, the greater part of that 0:13:56 - 0:14:25 intensity is good. So the intensity of things is always in equal and opposite pairs. But through the, the grace of God, the duration of those things are not equal and that's a great mystery. But I mean, look at this beautiful sunrise. I, you can't really see but it's, it's all misty behind me. So there's 0:14:25 - 0:14:59 a mountain back there but you can't see it. But you have to go to a certain place to experience wonderful things, extraordinary events or feelings or ideas or people they're not revealed in common places. You have to go to extraordinary places to have extraordinary experiences or to recognize extraordinary 0:14:58 - 0:15:24 people or to think extraordinary ideas or to feel extraordinary things, feelings. So that's enough. I'm gonna cap this off. I'm gonna cap off this well and go back into the mine, um finish my work for the morning so I can move on to my work for the day. But I hope this finds you well and I hope it gives 0:15:23 - 0:15:49 you just a little more gas in the tank to stretch a little further than you have. So that one day when we all find ourselves in the day of restoration or restitution, if you want to think about it that way, see, restoration is positive and negative. It depends on what you've chosen. Restitution is always 0:15:49 - 0:16:04 positive. Anyway, that we might all find ourselves in a state of restitution and disqualified for at least disqualified for at least the same experience as the Lord showed me about that guy.