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- Written by: Don Goulding
Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Our family paddled a canoe in the Canadian wilderness. The lonely call of loons passed a primal connection to nature through our chests. Glaciers in the Caribou Mountains peeked over conifers to view their reflection in the Bowron Lakes. Best of all, coho salmon raced through the liquid universe beneath our boat.
After living three years in the Pacific Ocean, a drive for perpetuating life overtakes the coho. From the tidal Strait of Georgia, the silver heroes swim a thousand miles into mountain tributaries. By the time they passed under us, they were transformed into red for mating, and their bodies were battered from jumping up cascades. After releasing eggs and sperm in the shallows of their birth, the valiant cohos die, giving everything for the great exchange.
I want the attitude of a salmon. My body has a far greater purpose than comfort or temporary thrills. It was not given to me to spend on whatever feels good. It is to be nourished, but not idolized with obsessive fashions, or desperate healthcare. Using my body for earthly gain is sacrilege, akin to a salmon refusing to spawn so it won’t be injured.
The purpose of my body is to carry my spirit to the stream of eternal life, where I can make the great exchange. The sacrifice requires swimming against the world’s current. It’s a suicide mission, but what a glorious spending, and what a noble purpose, freely given for the praise of Jesus, only to share in his reward.
Prayer: Lord, I choose to exchange my body for life in you.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
After preaching in Ivory Coast, I was invited to the pastor’s house for the Sunday meal. He led me into a Liberian refugee settlement. We ducked through the doorway into his shack made from scraps of wood and tin. The impoverished people of the earth are often the most generous.
The pastor’s wife served the West African staple of garri. It’s made of cassava roots that are ground, dried, and later boiled into a mush thick as Play-Doh. Garri is tasteless and hard to swallow unless there’s something to dip it into.
My hosts also served a stew of greens with morsels of meat. We pinched off each bite of garri, dipped it in the delicious sauce, and gulp, down it went.
The kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace, and joy, but these staples must be dipped in an anointing of the Holy Spirit. Righteousness is never satisfied with my performance, it sticks in my throat and won’t go down. The peace and joy I generate are so tasteless they never touch me inside. Without the Holy Spirit, the Christian life is impossible.
The reason Jesus cleansed us by his sacrifice was to fill us with the Holy Spirit. We get tangled up over the signs and gifts of the Spirit, but the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—can’t be counterfeited. They are living proof that Spirit filling isn’t an optional Christian add-on, it is Christianity.
When I dip righteousness under the Spirit’s leading, doing good tastes marvelous. I crave helping others and practicing honesty. I grow insatiable for truth and self-sacrifice. Without warning, peace and joy fill my mouth.
The kingdom of God is not about food and drink, but it is about staples that taste delicious with the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Spirit of God, flood my heart with your righteousness, peace, and joy.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
… his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)
Dani and I had to leave Zimbabwe for at least forty-eight hours to obtain new visas. We planned on driving north, two hundred and fifty kilometers, and staying in neighboring Zambia. The Zimbabwean government wouldn’t let their currency out of the country, so we drove to a lonely road near the border and, at the Lord’s prompting, buried the Zims we’d need on return.
After driving through the no-mans-land separating the countries, the Zambian guards examined our American passports with eager whispers. They demanded high fees in US cash, that we refused to pay.
Wondering if God was still with us, we drove back to the mango tree that marked the Zimbabwean border. A guard took pity on us and exchanged our Zambian money for Zims, so we could pay to reenter Zimbabwe. We’d only been gone an hour but, contrary to normal policy, he stamped our passports for the new visas we needed.
We dug up our money, bought dried fish for the mission station, then prayed for fuel. All the petrol stations were dry. After a half dozen inquiries, we were directed to the back of a hotel that still had some fuel in barrels. We filled up, but now our Zims were nearly spent.
God warned against staying at the hotel, so we drove to an intersection and prayed again. We felt the Spirit say, “Go left,” and followed a barely discernible gravel road. We arrived at some beautiful chalets on the Zambezi River, but without food.
A butcher weighed his smallest chicken, sliced off one leg, then the other, then a wing until it was affordable with our remaining Zims. The Africans in the local shop laughed with me at the impoverished white man.
Sunset turned the sky burnt-orange as fireflies zipped across the midnight-blue river. And our three-quarters chicken was a gourmet meal. Life doesn't get any richer.
Navigating with Jesus is a fun adventure, because he provides everything necessary for life and godliness.
Prayer: Lord, I’ll seek your provision to do your will.