Playing By The Rules Series

I discovered, after carrying around the jar of rice with the walnut, that the walnut moved from the edge of the bottle – where you could see it – to the center. What a picture of putting Jesus first and having everything move around Him. The moments frame our days also in serving as reminders that Jesus wants to be involved in every moment of our day and give Him the chance to do so. As the Epperlys put it, “...our attentiveness to God, even in the smallest details of daily life, transforms our world from a series of unrelated events to a unified, albeit open-ended, holy adventure in which God guides and inspires every encounter.” (7) If we give God space throughout our days, we will discover we are part of a great, holy adventure. The Rule of Life, the trellis, keeps us grounded in Jesus.

Expectation number two: you will DEVELOP SPIRITUAL MUSCLE. Taking time to spend with Jesus is like plugging an appliance into the socket and receiving power. A Rule of Life connects us with a reality deeper and more powerful than ourselves; it connects us to Jesus and the life that flows only from Him. Physical exercise develops flesh muscles – spiritual exercises develop spiritual muscles.

In an issue of Meat & Poultry magazine, the editors reported on a device used by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to test the strength of windshields on airplanes. The device launches a dead chicken at a plane's windshield at approximately the speed the planes fly. This indicates if the windshield could withstand a real collision with a bird during flight. The British railway authorities were so impressed they borrowed the FAA's chicken launcher to test the windshield of one of their new high-speed train engines. In their test, however, the chicken not only went through the windshield but also the engineer's chair and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab. Stunned, the British asked the FAA to recheck everything to see if they had done anything wrong. After thoroughly checking it out, the FAA had one recommendation: "Next time, don't use a frozen chicken." (8) A Rule of Life, building a trellis, establishing daily disciplines develop spiritual muscles that enable us to withstand even the frozen chickens that are launched our way.

A third expectation you can have is DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE FOR LIVING. Even just a few moments set aside each day gives God the opportunity to be your GPS for your days’ journey. In Isaiah 30:21-22 we read, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”” God will

speak and we can act.

Robert Smith’s recollection puts a helpful spin on this guidance. He wrote, “When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person, and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to the word Guidance. When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God, "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.” (9)