The Color Blue and Peanut Butter Pancakes

05.31.14

Romans 12.6-8 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. NIV

All of us are going to approach our relationship with the Father differently. That’s why we are the Church Unified, not the church uniform. As it is in life with our humanness, our preferences, and our personalities, so it is and will be in the Spirit and the Church.

All of us are God’s children, but none of us were glopped out of the same mold – no, we were formed and crafted in God’s perfect will. We are not all the same but we are all uniquely brought by God to minister uniquely within the Church and to the communities around us. Those who love the color blue and eat pancakes with peanut butter will probably remain partial to blue and favorable to their preferred method of pancakes and their ministry in the Lord will be likewise unique.

That’s why Paul says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” If there is one thing the same in all of our lives, it is this: we are all given grace by God. That grace enables us to minister according to our preferences and personality. It isn’t a right or wrong thing; it’s just the way God has chosen for His people. It’s just the way the Church is to work.

Now that doesn’t mean if one isn’t particularly gifted in one way or another that he or she can’t minister that way, but it does mean that we will all express our faith according to the uniquely special way that God has deemed. God knows all about the color blue and pancakes with peanut butter.

With that, I think the biggest impression on me in this reading is this: if your gifting is mercy, then show mercy cheerfully. Talk about slamming on the brakes in the middle of rush hour! Cheerfully!? Showing mercy is perhaps easier on wee ones who don’t know any better. But handing out swats cheerfully? And showing cheerful mercy on one who has shown himself to be incorrigible, recalcitrant, willful, and mean? Now we’re talking a whole nuhther ballgame. Mercy in my mind’s eye is anything but cheerful. But the question remains how has God shown mercy to me?

If anyone is gifted to show mercy cheerfully, I don’t think I’ve ever met them. The one shown mercy may be cheerful, but the giver of mercy on the one who deserves the worst? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that. Ever! But that is what is expected in God’s Kingdom and among His people. Even with people like me who think mercy and cheerful don’t belong in the same sentence. Such is the wisdom and power of God. Cheerful mercy: there’s hope for an old recalcitrant like me. Who wants mercy without heart?

Father, today I am surprised by grace and surprised that a gift like mercy could even be colored a color like blue, or eaten like peanut butter pancakes. But cheerful mercy is what You desire from Your kids because You have shown us cheerful mercy when we deserve vicious wrath. Lord, in all the things I think I would ask for, I think I’d like to learn how to love the blue of this grace of Yours and how to eat it like peanut butter pancakes. May I be cheerful in mercy regardless of what I think it looks like – in Your Name, amen.

What If

05.28.14

Romans 9.22-23 22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (NIV)

If there is one thing that confounds most men with God, it is their angst over God’s patience; men want revenge and they want it now. God’s patience is immense and that fact doesn’t satisfy men who, although they would never ask for it, seem to want God to take away their freewill and in one final great act of sovereignty, fix this world for good. Of course good to them means getting rid of what they deem bad, not realizing that all of us are bad and no one deserves the mercy that God shows in His great patience.

It is my firm belief that most people have some sort of troubling issue in life that really bugs them and they can’t seem to get rid of it, and they long for someone or something to take it away. Their, ‘what if’, revolves around getting rid of the thing that bothers them the most.

Paul addresses the ‘what if’ with the two questions above: What if God… bore with great patience the object of His wrath…? And, what if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy…?

Paul isn’t asking the questions in the same way we men ask the questions. Paul states, in question form, the answer to most people’s issue with the what if; Paul states that we men (and women) must trust God that He knows what He is doing in our lives and in the lives of the people we deem most worthy for destruction. Our solution to the problem is get rid of it right now: life would be better if ______________ (fill in the blank) wasn’t around. God’s solution is to exercise great patience (perhaps in divine desire that the object of His wrath may repent and become an object of His mercy.)

What I get from this is to trust God and give over to Him, no matter how many times I must, the issues of my life trusting that He will either see me through them, or somehow will change my attitude toward them. I just might learn some patience in the process as well.

And my belief will be tested. So will yours. The end-result of God’s testing is this: “… In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1.3-9) There is a reason for our season and the result is glorious peace. Father, may it be so in my life. Amen.

Rightly Applying

05.27.14

Proverbs 4.7 7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. (NIV)

Wisdom is the combination (or result) of the procurement of knowledge, and proper application of such knowledge procured. I am a learner. Learning is easy when you realize you don’t know as much as you think you do, and the pursuit of knowledge, helps fill in the gaps of what you think you know, and what you really know.

Now, the pursuit of knowledge isn’t the end in itself, the right application of knowledge in moral and spiritual matters, is what we’re shooting for (or what we’re supposed to be shooting for). Knowledge without proper application is just a pile for more information. By rightly applying knowledge is wisdom, and that leads to a successful and prosperous life.

Well, what is rightly applying? When we use knowledge for the benefit of success and prosperity in others, that could be considered the right application. When we heed the principles in Scripture and use them for the benefit of others and ourselves that could be considered rightly applying them. What’s the use in having knowledge if it doesn’t help others and us individually?

Practicing what we preach is also rightly applying knowledge. Rightly applying could be safely considered in this statement: Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11.1) Only a true leader, only a true believer, only a right apply-er can make a statement like that. Leadership is learning and then rightly applying learning for the sake and benefit of others. Only true believers understand how important it is to have wisdom and live a submitted and wise life.

There are no shortcuts. To say, “We have the mind of Christ” is true; but it does us no good if we don’t use His mind and invite others to follow us as we follow His example Who said: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5.19) Jesus wisely understood and faithfully implemented His mission; He did what God told Him to do.

God tells us what to do through His word. It isn’t osmosis; it isn’t hypnosis; it isn’t astrology or biology; it’s applying His word to our lives and then acting accordingly. Get wisdom, it’s as plentiful dandelions in the spring to those who go after it and live by it. Application. Application. Application. Without it, it’s just that much more information and information without personal acceptance and application is worthless.

Jesus is slowly getting through to the retard writing this blog. I love theory and hate application – that’s probably why I struggle so much in my Christianity. But I am learning that I won’t get far in the Kingdom on information only; I have to learn to apply it.

Teach me and I will be taught O Lord! Help me and I will be helped my God. May I resist the urge to know and replace it with the passion to do. For You. May it be so in Christ. Amen.

Respectful Belief

05.26.14

Proverbs 1.7 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (NIV)

More often these days as I find there is more sand in the bottom of the hourglass than there used to be, I also find I am more interested in taking care of my body and watching the things I put into it: mentally and physically. I find I am really wondering, just what the (bleep) are GMO’s? So I want to learn more about them and why I have to go to an organization like Greenpeace to learn what I need to know… I need knowledge and I need the science behind it.

“Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. In an older and closely related meaning, "science" also refers to a body of knowledge itself, of the type that can be rationally explained and reliably applied.” (Wikipeadia) There is a science of GMO’s and I want to know more about it. I want to fill up my scientia and figure out what to do when I do.

The classical sense of the word science includes knowledge that is testable. In other words, if one knows something to be true, one can, through various means, test and prove the veracity of such knowledge. One must be careful not to draw imprudent and premature conclusions without the test of a test. And one must use a testable test to test the knowledge.

The test in Proverbs 1.7 is this: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So, the test is the volitional respect given to God because He says: try Me and test Me and see if what I say is true. To the one who does I will show him wisdom and knowledge. (Knowledge being the knowing, and wisdom, the application of such knowledge.) There is a science to belief but like everything else in the world of science, there must be a test. The first test in the knowledge of God is respectful belief that He exists: if I believe in Him, He will show Himself to me.

The difference between science and expert-ism is that science is proveable and expert-ism falls along the lines of believe as I say, not as I do. There is no proof in expertism or science (falsely so called) if it cannot be proved. Some would have us believe by the use of trickery and deceit that what they say is true. God says, respectfully believe Me and I will show you the truth. God’s veracity is proved in respectful belief.

Of course, there are consequences to ignorance, both in the sense of ignoring, and in the sense of lack of knowledge. There are dire consequences to willful ignorance: ignorance with an agenda. God calls that foolishness, (the fool says, I just ain’t gonna believe.)

At my age I also see the need to know and the need to apply what I know. I think application is one of my biggest downfalls. But God doesn’t just ask me to believe in Him, He also asks me to try Him (apply what He teaches); and I’ll find when I do, He is as right as rain. Proveable. Verity.

Father, the application of Your truth is where I struggle, so today, I ask for not only wisdom and instruction, but also a heart to apply what You reveal. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise the tests… Help me I pray. Amen.

Slave

05.25.14

Romans 6.15-18 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (NIV)

Slave is a powerful word but it completely encapsulates the thought Paul brought us in Romans 6 (yes, I know, in the original writing there wasn’t a Romans 6; somebody did all that later to help dullards like us to figure out where we were and what we needed to know…).

A slave is someone who is owned by someone else to do that someone else’s bidding. A slave has very few rights and is in the complete control of someone else. We could use the word, servant, but servant connotes a wee bit higher status than slave. Not much, but enough to let the slave-argument off the hook. Paul said we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness; there is no middle ground of servant.

I think the argument here is one that is more of a filter or gauge of what is really going on in our lives: to whom or to what we are slaves, really speaks volumes about who we really are and what our relationship with the Father is really all about. Where we need to be careful is when we overanalyze our lives by our actions. That’s why slave is so important. A slave simply says yes when asked to do something by his owner. Paul, however, cautions us here about ownership: whose are we?

Most of us look for a divine hall-pass in our Christian lives. We have pet sins but we excuse them by declaring ourselves “hip” and in touch with the culture around us; we’re not about to let our beliefs be a turn-off to those around us: see, we can be normal too! But it isn’t about hip or cool or normal, it’s about ownership. It’s not even about relevance because our culture wouldn’t know divine relevance if it hit them on the head. It’s about ownership. Slaves are owned. And the Bible sees us as owned: either by God, or by something (or something) else. And the worst day in the Kingdom is light-years better than the best day on earth owned by someone or something other than God.

Paul makes us think. He uses terms that help us to really understand that with God it’s all in…or not. As a slave of righteousness, I must be all in. Any time I am halfhearted I am of no use to my Master or His Kingdom. The demand of Scripture is slave: harsh word, harsh term; but it is the best way to explain what the expectation is upon my life by my Owner.

Father, I am not called to be hip or cool; I’m called to serve You, As. A. Slave. It’s not a miserable calling because Jesus tells me His burden is easy and His yoke is light. So, I recommit today that I am all in with this slavery thing. I pray that Your divine light and nature shine through me because I am Your slave and You treat Your slaves well. Thank You. Amen.

How Many Times

05.24.14

1 Kings 9.1-2 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. NIV

Recently a young woman I know told me about a struggle she and her young husband were having and after trying to iron things out amicably, the venom of frustration floated to the surface and she demanded of him: HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS!!!??? That floated into my mind as I read of God’s appearing to Solomon in 1 Kings 9.

The Lord appeared to Solomon on two different occasions – first at Gibeon, at the outset of Solomon’s reign; and then in Jerusalem, at the completion of Temple that he built for the Lord.

In the first vision God said to Solomon: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (1 Kings 3.5) Solomon asked for wisdom and God replied (something to the effect of): Since you’ve asked for wisdom I will give it to you and I will also give you all you didn’t ask for: wealth and honor. And then as a footnote of sorts, God said: “…And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3.15)

In the next appearance God said: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” And then God said: “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness... I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever...” (1 Kings 9.4,5) And then God said:

“But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.” (1 Kings 9.6-7) No mention of wealth, no mention of honor; no mention of power.

We know what happens: Solomon does exactly what the Lord told him not to do.

I always wonder what went through the minds of these people (there are numerous examples of this throughout Scripture) when they went through a visit from the Lord and were given specific information about His expectations for their lives. And then they failed.

When God speaks we may have to be told over and over – just like little kids being trained how to discern right from wrong. Solomon, the recipient of two (that we know of) very powerful conversations with God, fell flat on his nose in failure despite these conversations. I wonder what he thought. I wonder how he felt when his kingdom was wrenched from his hands.

Lord God, my visions have been few. I can only think of a time or two that it might’ve been You. But I live because of the fact that You do (and have) appear to men to get their attention. I pray for wisdom and discernment today. I pray forgiveness for all the moments I have fallen flat on my nose in disobedience. I pray for eyes to see and ears to hear as You move within my life and sphere that I may serve You, and represent You honorably. I pray for spiritual strength to submit every area of my life and being to Your control. Lord, You needn’t ask me: HOW MANY TIMES? I ask that You help me to get it and get it good. I pray for Your help – Amen.

Comforting and Frightening

05.22.14

1 Kings 8.39 39 ...then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart)... (NIV)

Kind of comforting and kind of frightening all at the same time – God’s knowing our hearts, that is. How can someone know every human heart? I don’t know but I know it is true. We must not consider God as some elevated human – He alone is far above that. And God has the capacity to know our hearts: each and every one of them. He alone.

The comfort is if He knows, then He’ll act. The fright is if He knows, then He’ll act. The comfort is He acts on behalf of His people. I tend to believe that He acts faithfully even when I’ve been unfaithful. There is something comforting and frightening about that as well. I need to know and need to tell myself over and over and over again, that He is faithful and He desires only good for me.

God desires that place in my heart where He is free to rule without my unruliness. And that freedom comes when I submit to His presence and will. And as much as I believe in freewill, I stop short of thinking it some kind of Kryptonite that will disable God in His efforts. Unruly freewill is a Kryptonite that kills my relationship with Someone who so desires goodness and perfection in my being and life. I lose when I let my freewill off its leash.

God knows my heart and knows what it will take to transform a broken, fallen creature like me. And I think what God really desires is just my cooperation; my complete, total, and fearless cooperation. I think it boils down to that. I think it boils down to my cooperating with One who is so infinitely beyond me but so infinitely desires to be my Friend. What a Friend we have in Jesus.

I seem to be into motivational thoughts these days. I’ve happened across the Zig Ziglar Facebook page and find myself thinking about the motivational thoughts and sayings that are displayed there. I have a slideshow on my desktop that shows each thought in a picture that flashes on my monitor for 15 seconds. I watch them and think about them and try to act upon them. One favorite thought is this: Today is a Good Day to have a Good Day.

Since God knows my heart and has chosen to live there, it is a good day. It’s a comforting day and also a frightening one all at the same time: God, what are You up to today?

Another favorite thought is this: Tomorrow is another chance. Tomorrow is what comes after today; and though it never really comes, it morphs into today as each moment passes. It is another opportunity to live with the One who knows my heart and has chosen it as His home. Kind of comforting and frightening – all at the same time.

Father, may I live in Your presence today as You live in mine. Help me to cooperate with You and to value the thought that You know all my thoughts. May I live in faithfully and fearlessly in the balance of comfort and fear; and live submissively to You in the process. You alone know every human heart. Amen.

Not What I Thought

05.21.14

Romans 2.4 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (NIV)

Why doesn’t God just whup the crap out of us and make us all come into line? Why does He have to be kind and forbearing and patient? Why can’t He just be the God we all want Him to be: my God can kick the crap out of your god after He’s done with me?

Well, He doesn’t have to be kind – He just is. He doesn’t have to be patient but His patience is pointed toward who we can become, not who we are. It doesn’t take too much convincing to get us to believe that humans are the strangest creatures. We are fickle and unreliable. We lie, we cheat; we steal. We pretend. We play at life and don’t take it too seriously. We accept all of God’s providence and then complain about how He administers it. We’re greedy, selfish, and truly worthy of being smacked around. And yet, God puts up with us. Kindly, gently, patiently.

God doesn’t seem to be into cowering (ours, not His; He doesn’t cower). God seems to understand just how wretched and needy we are and He seems to want to come to our rescue, not our demise. The Bible says, Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 18:23; Ezekiel 33:11) God is into life, not death.

And Peter told us, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3.9) So why does everyone have to blame God for being such a meany? Sadly, it is because if we can find anything to accuse God of, we’ll do it – that’s just how wicked and adolescent our hearts are. Repentance is a dirty word to even the most foul individual on the planet – it is an affront to human self-sufficiency. God! Who needs God!? (You do my friend…you do.)

God’s kindness is misunderstood because we believe we are entitled to a happy life. A friend of mine said this: “When you think you deserve something specific to happen, you are setting yourself up for the inability to embrace what actually happens.”* He then went on to say, “You will be happier and much closer to the truth, to the moment, and to God—when you realize you are not in control of your life.”* Too many of us cannot accept our lack of control over what happens to us; and we cannot accept that what happens to us is God’s kindness.

Lord, for too many years I thought You were out to get me and club me a good one. How wrong I was for entertaining such thought. I realize now just how kind You’ve been, and how focused You are on my future, not my past. Help me to live this day knowing that whatever happens, You are fully at work in my life; and You are graciously making me into the man You’ve always intended for me to be. You are kind. You are patient. You accept me. And You put up with me. Thank You. Amen.

*Jim Stephens

At the Quarry

05.20.14

1 Kings 6.7 7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. (NIV)

I’m gonna try to make an analogy today with this verse and our lives in Christ. Right now we are at the quarry where we are being dressed and fitted for use in the Temple then – in heaven. Our lives today are a work in progress – we must never forget that. In our lives today are the sounds of hammering, drilling, sanding, chiseling – we are being fitted for the Master and for our place in His presence – we must never forget that.

But one day all of that noise of fitting and shaping and polishing will cease. And the exact place of our destiny will receive us as those blocks were prepared and received in that temple so long ago.

Nothing lasts forever apart from eternal friendship with God. And God is shaping our lives now for the benefit of that friendship forever with Him.

One of the saddest things in this life (probably) is how little we appreciate what God is doing to us, for us, and through us as the day approaches for our fitted reception there. One of the verses of the old Christmas song, Away in a Manger goes:

Be with me Lord Jesus

I ask Thee to stay

Close by me forever

And help me I pray

Bless all the dear children

In Thy tender care

And fit us for Heaven

To live with Thee there

That is what is happening now and one day that happening will cease and all will be finished. And what a day that will be!

God is not done

The Temple’s not finished

His workmanship is in process

His skill not diminished

Now, at the quarry, is loud with hammering and drilling

But the Hand of the Master is deftly fulfilling

Every promise He’s made under Heaven’s great dome

Bestowed upon His kids as He waits for them – completed – at home

O Father, help me remember what it is You’re up to in the process of bringing me to my new home; and how the work will continue noisily until that day when You look at me and once again proclaim: It is finished! Help me to trust You Jesus in the process – Amen.

About and To Be About

05.18.14

Psalm 78.1-8

1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

3 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

8 They would not be like their ancestors—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him. (NIV)

In building a mission statement it’s important to consider what we’re about and what we’re to be about – this brief passage in Psalm 78.1-8 is a great place to start when thinking about what we’re about and what we’re to be about.

We’re to believe in God and we’re to believe God. We’re to remember what we believe and why we believe. We’re to be eager to tell the next generation about God so that they may forge a faith of their own built upon the foundation of the faith of those that went before them. We’re to help them and encourage them with our own trials and triumphs and also prepare them for trials and triumphs of their own.

We’re to help them learn from their mistakes as we learned from ours being fully open and honest about the things we learned and how we learned them. Part of the mission of the Church is to bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ but among those brought ought to be our kids and their friends.

I love the psalms of Asaph because they smack me around a little and make me think about why I believe what I believe. And part of the what and why, is teaching the what and why to the next generation whose problems and issues, though different in appearance than mine, will still revolve around the same question: can I truly trust God in every part and season of my life?

Father, You never intended for our faith to be so private that it never gets shared. I think about the kids I minister to and pray for them that their faith may be forged like mine: built upon the accounts of those who’ve gone before us. I thank You for the privilege of serving them and pray for courage and creativity to share the message with them in a way they’ll find understandable and acceptable. Help me God. Amen.

The Nakedness of Death

05.17.14

1 Kings 2.2 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said.

These are a few of the last words David spoke as he was about to pass away. David had lived a long life and had a very storied and often troubled career as the greatest king of Israel. And now on the doorsteps of the Great Beyond, he said to his son Solomon, “I am about to go the way of all the earth.” The next leg of the journey was about to begin.

Job, the great Sufferer said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1.21) All the earth goes the way of David and the way of Job, and the way of every human who has passed from this life; it is the way we all will go – it is the nakedness of death.

Recently, I was exploring something on the internet (actually it was info about the artist, Anna Mary Robertson Moses a.k.a. Grandma Moses) and as I am wont to do, I looked around a bit more because of some hyperlinks in the article, and found myself looking at a picture taken sometime around December 1942 to February 1943 of three American soldiers who had been killed in battle on Buna beach on the island of Papua during WWII. The picture is quite famous for its publication as it was the first time American war dead were pictured in public media (Life Magazine).

When I looked at the picture of the three dead soldier’s bodies lying on that beach I thought: the nakedness of death. Although the bodies were fully clothed, there was as astounding emptiness to the scene and I thought: we’ll all get there someday (whether in battle or peace) the way of all mankind, the nakedness of death awaits us all.

The death that awaits us will strip us of all of the trappings of our human life upon this earth: all of our thoughts, words, and deeds. It will strip us of the laughter and tears, the great joys and deep depressions. Everything of this life will be gone and all that will be left here will be the carcasses which once held who we were. And that part of us that goes to heaven (or to judgment) will have no footing upon this planet where footing was once held so important life.

David, for all his glory, died. His body was prepared for burial and suffered decay (Acts 13.36). David was stripped in death of all he was when he was alive, and he went before God with nothing to cling to but the nakedness of his faith: God, I am all I am, and was all I was, for I believed in You and Your sovereignty over me. Accept me according to Your mercy and grace, and Your promise that those who love You will live forever. All I offer now is my faith.

And, that, in part, is all we hope for in this life – this life so full of all it has and is – that we will be accepted in the nakedness of death because of the nakedness of our faith; an imperishable faith (according to Saint Peter) more precious than gold (1 Peter 1 7-9).

Father, there is a way of all the earth which takes away everything we are and yet prepares us for that which is infinitely beyond where we are, and who we are in this life. We will stand before You naked and will account for all we have done with all You have given. And the great gift for some is that imperishable faith. May I share that faith this day so that others, in the nakedness of death may find covering in Your presence for all eternity – according to their belief in You. I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Happy Serene and Accepted

05.16.14

1 Thessalonians 5.9 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV

Here it is, Friday, May 16, 2014 at 4.42 in the morning and I read this (see above). I don’t know where you stand on the tribulation: pre-trib, post-trib, a-trib; it doesn’t matter, God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus didn’t come to this earth to beat up the lost but to save them. So why do we focus on the wrath of God on the wicked and just assume that when God does what God does, He’s also going to do what He does to His people? Pastor Cap Marks says, God isn’t coming to beat up His bride.

Now, that isn’t to say there aren’t those who think that God’s bride needs beat up. There are those who think the Bride of Christ, the Church is a bunch of hypocritical WASP’s deservng of the worst condemnation thinkable up-able. But God doesn’t think that. At all.

Wrath is something that exists, and wrath is something that is going to come upon those who reject God’s invitation. But we can’t think of wrath improperly – we must understand that wrath is God’s righteous response to those who cannot and will not accept His dinner invitation (Revelation 19.9).

One thing wrath is not, is a temper tantrum; God is not out of control. But God is also not going to go lightly on those who spurn His grace and have done despite (Hebrews 10.29 KJV) to the Spirit of God calling upon their lives. One must remember however, that wrath is not the focus of our relationship with God; it’s love. Love is not stupid, love is not blind. Love is not short-sighted to those who are kind. But God’s response to those who reject Him is real and it is the reality we term: wrath. And wrath is not pleasant.

Wrath is simply God’s response to those who reject Him and inherit the consequences of that choice. And His people, disciplined as they may be, are not recipients of His wrath. We do God a tremendous disservice, to those who don’t understand, when we blame Him for punishment, when it’s really discipline. There is a vast difference between the two. Wrath is for the deserving; discipline is for the devoted. And God did not appoint the devoted to suffer wrath.

God desires all of us to be saved and to find our place at His feast. There are those who simply won’t accept that invitation no matter how nicely it is tendered. There are those who are going to go through wrath because they chose to, not because they just didn’t know. But the Bride of Christ is not among the wrath-ed; she is appointed a place of honor at the Feast as every bride ought to be; a place of indescribable happiness, serene peace, and humble acceptance: He chose me!

Father, Help me to represent You rightly today. May I not soft-pedal the reality of wrath but may it also not be a threat to those who may come to know You because of how Your servant knows You: loving, forgiving, accepting, and eager to have as many as possible who will take their place at Your table for eternity. Amen.

Standing Firm?

05.14.14

1 Thessalonians 3.8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. (NIV)

Yesterday, while chipping away at my job I had thoughts – I usually always do. Part of my routine each day is to read the Bible, read a blog or two, and read some journalistic commentary on what’s happening in the America around me. Okay, and I Facebook as well – I like to see what others are thinking, saying, and pictures they’re posting. And then I go off to work….and think.

I thought about Christian ministry yesterday and what it is the Bible (specifically God) is asking of me and you as we claim to give our lives to Him. What does God want us to do and how well do we do what we do? That led me to think about the practice of a time study: what do I do with all of my time during a given day, a given week? How well do I use it, and how much of it do I really give to God?

There is a principle in Scripture called tithing. Tithing refers to, “giving a tenth”. It’s an ancient practice, and it is kind of the Biblical mandate (if I could use the m-word) on our usage of three things: our time, our talents, and our treasures. Usually the tithe thing is about money. That’s not to say it’s all about money but in most people’s minds when you say tithe they think money.

The reason I bring this up is because I think we (in America, land of the free, home of the brave) don’t give God much of our time. Time is a precious commodity for us here in the west and we cling to our time as if it really doesn’t matter what we do with it. For the believer, nothing could be farther from the truth. Our possession of time is something we really should be accountable to…

So, when Paul writes to the Thessalonians and says, “For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.” What do we think he meant by that; that the Thessalonians were good at church attendance? That they were good at membership? That they were good at being well behaved in their faith? Or that they devoted to God and liberal in sharing their time in with Him in godly pursuits? It seems they stood firm for something.

So, I’m thinking about a time-study and examining how well I use my time and how much of it I really give to God. My time is not my own, no matter what I think of it. And God deserves my time – not because He’s lacking, but because I am. For God so loved the world… that He gave…

In order to do a good time study I need to know what it is I’m to be doing for God (or, for you purists, being for God). I can’t do or be if I don’t really know or accept the mission given to me. So, along with a time-study, I need to have a mission statement (what do I believe) and a ministry description (and what should I be doing); what am I really all about (I mean beyond work, Facebook, and TV)?

Over the next little while, while using statements like Paul’s above, I’m going to explore this in a bit more detail and then I’m going to actually post my time-study and give an honest picture of what my time tells me and you about my claim to be a Christ follower… Lord, help me.

The Word at Work

05.13.14

1 Thessalonians 2.13 13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. (NIV)

I’m glad. I’m glad Paul and his associates prayed and thanked God continually for the Thessalonians and their acceptance of the Word. I’m glad they accepted the Word for what it was: the Word of God; and I’m glad it was at work in them because of their belief. I’m glad. I’m glad it is at work in me as well.

What do we expect the Word of God to do for us? Is it just some kind of magic potion that makes us quit doing stupid things and start doing godly things? Is it just a preventative that keeps us holy, pure, and clean? Is it a formula for success? Or is it an ongoing conversation with the Almighty?

There is a key phrase at work in this verse: in you who believe. Belief is not only a key word but also a key ingredient. Without the ingredient of belief, the Word of God is just words. Just stories. Just religious mumbo jumbo. But we must also be careful with our understanding of belief.

Just because I believe something doesn’t validate its veracity. I believe some music is really good. My belief doesn’t make it good, my belief is really just my preference dressed up in different clothing. I prefer some music over other music. What I call good music is purely subjective; you may hate it. But belief is important because belief helps shape my life and in the case of God’s word, His word shapes my heart.

It is one thing to believe God’s word; it’s another to do God’s word. Doing God’s word is living according to it. That doesn’t mean sacrificing animals or observing holidays, but it does mean loving God, and by loving Him, I am enabled to love the creatures He loves: other people. If I claim to love God but cannot love His creatures then something is wrong: I don’t really believe His Word at work in me.

His word at work in me means as I read it, and apply it, my life is changed by what His word does to me. I cannot be changed much if I don’t live by His word, and I am only fooling myself if I read it, hear it, but don’t live it. And living it really can be summed up this way: loving God and loving people. The Thessalonians got it and Paul thanked God continually for their having gotten it. Simple.

My job is to love God and love people. Not just the people I find acceptable but also (and perhaps especially) the ones I find unacceptable. True, acceptability is partially preference; but more importantly, it is obedience to the One who says, “Son, as I have loved you, now you go and love others!”

Lord, by Your word at work in me by belief, may it be so! Amen.

Fractals

05.11.14

Psalm 55.22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. (NIV)

There once was a time when I thought I was considerably smarter than I am today – ah, youth! There also once was a time when I used brainiac words like fractal and thought that just by dropping them into a conversation at the opportune moment others would be in awe of my intellect and brain capacity. There once was a time when I would use a word like fractal as if it was my own and I invented it… there once was a time.

This morning, a partly sunny, cool morning here in the climes of NE Oregon, I think about fractals differently, and I saw a fractal today right here in good old Psalm 55. I say I think differently because fractals are not because I think I know about them or can use words like fractal and fractals, as intellectual currency – fractals existed long before I did, yea, long before the world or the universe was formed – fractals existed in the mind and heart of God and I get to share in them: they are His gift to those who’ll look for them and appreciate them.

"The term "fractal" was first used by mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975. Mandelbrot based it on the Latin frāctus meaning "broken" or "fractured", and used it to extend the concept of theoretical fractional dimensions to geometric patterns in nature." – quoth Wikipeadia… I think it would be something like dropping a ceramic plate and having it break into pieces that all look the same.

Today, I saw the above verse tucked into the poetry of David, Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. The fractal of this verse appears again in 1 Peter 5:7: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (KJV) David knew it; Peter knew it. It’s now up to you and me to know it and do it: we’re to cast all of our cares, concerns, questions, and confounds upon Him – that is upon God – because it is His nature to care about us. Each one of us and infinitely repeatably us. Fractally. Somebody up there likes us.

And I can try to create beautiful words or creative words to talk about fractals but it really doesn’t matter because fractals are what they are, and God loves me regardless of fractals – He loves me because it is His nature to love me: Infinitely. Repeatably. Fractally.

I have cares. Not only do I care about some of the others around me, but I also have cares about me – I’m concerned about stuff. Concern about stuff is human – we all do it. But knowing that Someone cares about us in the midst of our cares seems to make a difference in our lives and how much we care about things we care about. Care is a modern word much like love – we haven’t the foggiest what it really means. But there are indicators of both. But in the present conversation, care means anxiety and we all know what that means: worrying about stuff we have no control over and forgetting to take care of stuff we do have control over. Saints, preserve us! We’re funny creatures trying so desperately to carve out our niche in the world.

We’re good at attempting to carve out granite holes with plastic chisels – it doesn’t work.

What does work is casting our cares on the Lord, for He sustains those who do, and keeps them from being shaken by stuff they have absolutely no control over. The miracle and the gift of all this is He is right there with us in the midst, and keeps us, when we cast cares upon Him, free from anxiety over things that ought not bother us.

Lord, this day, I cast all my cares upon You because You care for me! Amen.

Never Mad Never Disappointed

05.10.14

Psalm 56.3 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. (NIV)

This is a statement of true faith because being afraid is real, and the only refuge from afraid is God. David was well acquainted with fear but he was well known for putting his trust in God. They don’t call David the man after [God’s] own heart for nothing (see Acts 13.22).

David did do some really dumb things, but that isn’t really what David was afraid of – he was really afraid of disappointing God. But, when surrounded by enemies and people who were out to do him in, David faithfully and routinely called upon the Name of the Lord; and put His trust in God. That was David’s M.O. and that is why he is called the man after God’s own heart. David wasn’t perfect – far from it – but David knew and loved God, and sought Him all the days of his life.

I have really done some dumb things. I have hurt people. I have lied. I have pretended (which is just another form of lying (along with deception and self-disrespect)). But I woke up one day about 31 years ago and decided that I would take God up on His offer: His life for mine. I gave Him my life, and got His in return. It hasn’t always been rosy – sometimes I tend to think that God got the raw end of the deal: I’m a lousy business partner. God smiles. He knows what He’s in for…

But God didn’t bring me into the picture because of my credentials (thankfully, I have none… other than I am His cherished possession; He tends to look at all of us that way.) And the other thing is, I cannot hurt God – He’s incapable of being hurt by dumb decisions regardless of how misguided and stupid they are. God isn’t hurt, He doesn’t cry; and with you and me He is never, ever disappointed. (We often like to play the Disappointed card in Christian circles to guilt each other into line with our preconceived notions of what it really means to be a well-behaved believer.) And isn’t that really what it boils down to: our avoidance of disappointment?

David did hold God in extremely high regard, but that regard didn’t stop David in the Bathsheba Affair – or the Absalom Affair – or any of the other affairs in which he found himself entangled. The only way God ever thought of David was: David, you’re a man after My heart, and I will always love you regardless of what you do. (I think David was a lot like us, I think he really tried to be the real deal – but he found it brought him mixed results.)

After 31 years of walking with the Lord (mostly Him with me, He knows I’ve done much of it as if He was off somewhere busy with more pressing matters) this I know today: when I am afraid, I will put my trust in Him. I need that thought that He is never ever mad at me – or disappointed, or tearing up because I’ve been so bad. I need to know that I am changing in my love for Him; and if my behavior is affected, it’s only because I love Him more than I used to.

Father, I do put my trust in You over issues that are too big for me and reveal my weakness and foolishness. I do put my trust in this: when I really screw up, You are never disappointed or mad at me – You are only ever in the process of making me into the man You’ve say I am: a man after Your own heart – because Your own heart is what I need to govern my every moment. I trust in You – Amen.

The Death of the Man

05.09.14

2 Samuel 17.1-3 1 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. 2 I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king 3 and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed.”

You know, the plan of Ahithophel wasn’t that bad – it made sense: attack David with surprise and bank on catching him weak. Not a bad plan. And then Ahithophel said this: The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed. Now there might’ve been some wisdom in Ahithophel’s approach, but I think there was something lacking in his narrative: the death of the man you seek… arrogance? A laydown? Piece of cake?

When I read this, I immediately thought of Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel: they sought to kill Jesus because they assumed He was a threat to their plans and purposes. It’s not surprising that Caiaphas (the High Priest at the time) said, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11.49-50) There seems to be a common thread here.

God never sought the death of His Son but He knew, in His foreknowledge, that His Son would be despised and rejected: He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53.3) Ahithophel despised and rejected David in much the same manner; David, he thought, needed to be removed and replaced – he bet the farm on Absalom.

For you and me it was better for us that Ahithophel’s advice was supplanted by Hushai the Arkite (See: 2 Samuel 17.14): no David, no Jesus. And we need Jesus. The nation of Israel needed Jesus and the prophecy of Caiaphas the priest was a telling prophecy indeed of the need of Israel (and the rest of the planet for that matter).

I am exploring a concept that came to me which I call: the Nakedness of Death. As each of us is born naked into this world, all of us will depart naked into eternity. Nakedness is how all of us enter and leave this world. Our arrival requires covering but so does our departure. The death of David would’ve removed all possibility of our being clothed in Christ’s righteousness. The death of Jesus secured for us leaving this life clothed in His righteousness forever.

The death of the [Man] you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed. And the death of Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy and the intent of God’s heart for all of His children who’ve wandered away. Now, by His naked death they come fully clothed into the Kingdom of the presence of God safely; forever.

Father God, thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son – the death of the Man they sought – and the result of His bringing all of Your children fully clothed and safely home. Thank You that I am included in that number: when the saints come marching in… Amen.

His Plan My Plan

05.08.14

Matthew 25.16-18 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. (NIV)

I thought a little about this parable and realized (of course) there is far more to the story than what I think. First, the man going on the journey had a plan: I need to invest while I am gone so that when I return, I’ll have income to take care of my needs. Second, the man used his employees to invest for him while he was away. He knew his people and gave them seed money to invest. Third, the man knew his employees and gave them each a place in his plan according to their abilities.

And they performed accordingly.

The first man doubled his employer’s money, as did the second. These two also each had a plan: I have the boss’s money and I’m going to put it to work. And they did, and it did. The third man didn’t do so well, he struggled with coming up with something to do with his project money. I think he began with good intentions but then kept looking at his own abilities and he began to doubt and his doubt led to frustration and that led to inaction; and defeat.

The need for a plan is important for each of us. A plan helps us to define what it is we’re doing and what our preferred future will be. Each situation is different, and each year will differ from the previous. The goal however is to follow through with the plan; to do as we’ve planned to do and to adjust or revise the plan as needed.

Do you think God has a plan for our lives? Do you think you have a plan for God? What is God’s intention for our very lives here on earth? What is God’s plan for our lives in eternity? What has God given us that we are to in turn bring Him some return on His investment in us? Do you think God thinks that way about us? Do God treat us as investment partners?

What is my plan today? How am I to live investing what the Lord has given me so that I may bring Him return on His investment in me? What does that look like?

I think the simple answer for me is this: Lord, what shall I do for You this day? How can I take the things You have given me and bring You some measure of return for them? How am I to continue when I don’t see the results? Lord, what shall I do for You this day with who I am, what I know, and where You’ve placed me? It’s simply living for the Lord. It’s realizing my life is completely free to do whatever He asks of me. And then doing it. Seeking earnestly. Listening carefully. Obeying entirely.

Lord Jesus, today, show me the way. Holy Spirit, come and fill me with direction and purpose that I may be a part of Your causing the unlikely to do the unlikely. May my plans succeed as You have deemed they should, and may my life be on purpose for You. Amen.

Just a Song

05.05.14

Psalm 20.6 6 Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. (NIV)

I know it’s just a song. I know we can’t go to the Psalms and actually take them literally. I know we sing songs at our church, but there only supposed to remind us of God so that we can relax from all the stuff last week, and gird up for all this stuff this week. They’re just songs…right?

Well, I suppose that’s one way to look at them. Yes, it’s true the Psalms are there to remind us of God’s power and presence, but they’re not merely songs. They’re songs of truth.

The beauty and majesty of the Psalms are this: they were written by people whose lives were formed in the crucible of life’s trials, and they overcame because of their faith in the Lord. So, they’re not just songs – they are songs that were written in blood, and pain, and tragedy and all the other stuff that life throws at us; and they resound with this triumphant refrain: Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. They aren’t pointless songs.

Last week was a long week for me. I started a second job (long story, I’ll let you know in a couple years) and I put in some long hours between jobs. My normal routine (will somebody please explain to me what we mean by normal?) includes using a floor scrubber and buffing machine in the hardware store where I work. After I clean the floors on Thursday evenings, I go in early Friday mornings and buff out the floors to make them gleam. They gleam…

Part of that early morning perk is listening to music on my Droid with some Bluetooth headphones…janitorial ain’t your daddy’s janitorial these days. Now, I’ll admit I sort of sing along as I gleam along, and as a particular tune played, it brought up all kinds of memories and emotions of when our oldest son died. It wasn’t a religious song; it was a pop tune. But it played the melody that touched my soul and the words rung out a tear or two from my eyes. And it helped me to release some stuff I’ve been hanging on to. It was just a song.

That’s what the Psalms are supposed to do: they’re to help us remember Who God is, and (hopefully) let go of some stuff we’ve been hanging on to. If anybody ever had stuff to let go of, it was David, the Lord’s anointed who learned some tough lessons and needed God to help him let go of stuff.

The first half of Psalm 20 is blessing: May the Lord… answer you…protect you…send you help from the sanctuary…grant you support … remember all your sacrifices… give you the desire of your heart …make all your plans succeed…may the Lord grant all your requests. (vv. 1-5)

And the second half (vv. 6-9) is built upon this truth: Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. It might be just a song. But it means something when I remember who I am and Whose I am: the Lord’s anointed. And as the Lord’s anointed, this I know: the trials and troubles I encounter are there to help me grow in strength and bravery as I go through them with the Lord, trusting in the Name of my Lord. Amen.

Bearing and Sharing

05.04.14

Matthew 21.43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. (NIV)

This sentence caused me to say, “hmmm…” It also caused me to think about who “a people” are who would produce its fruit. And then I realized that people is us, the Church throughout the world. And then I realized, He was talking about me.

What does it mean to, produce its fruit?  For sure it doesn’t mean writing a blog, or attending a church, or leading a men’s group, or serving in children’s ministries. Producing fruit isn’t something I do, it’s is something that naturally happens as I fellowship with Jesus Christ and participate in His Kingdom by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Producing fruit doesn’t necessarily mean doing what Jesus did but it does mean doing what Jesus says and cooperating with Him in every moment.

Fellowship is a two-way street. There is give and give on both sides of the equation. But my life in Christ is not merely an equation; it’s a living, vibrant expression of the Living God through me toward others as He brings His presence and will to light in me. Producing fruit means more of me being a conduit, or channel, or a clean vessel pouring out His blessing to others.

God removed His Kingdom from those who disbelieved after they had every opportunity to believe. God presented His case and they ridiculed it because it wasn’t what they believed it to be. They wanted a king with power to overthrow the Romans and restore Israel to its former glories. What they got was a King with the power to overthrow the human heart and restore a person to the glories of God’s original intent for them. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough for them, so God turned to those who would accept His offer; and forty days after the resurrection of the King, it happened, the Church was born: a people who would produce its fruit.

Kingdom fruit isn’t about performance; it’s about relationship. And God isn’t just about getting things done; He’s about friendship and fellowship. I need to be careful that I don’t only recognize God as a Taskmaster, no matter how benevolent and loving He is. What God is really about is cooperation: my cooperation with Him in seeking out others who will bear fruit for Him – the fruit of love and goodness. It’s about relationship.

Father, You don’t give Your Kingdom to those who don’t want it – that doesn’t mean You don’t love them; it just means You won’t force it upon them. Your Kingdom isn’t about a To-Do list; it’s about love and how we mere humans can benefit from and share Your love with those who trouble over believing it exists. Two helps today Lord: help me to bear the fruit You desire; and help me to share that fruit with those You desire. May I walk with You this day bearing and sharing. Amen.

Magnitude Merely

05.03.14

2 Samuel 7.19 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! (NIV)

I wanted to change Bible versions this year each month. So far I’ve had disastrous results. The Bible study program I use seems to be stuck on one version as it’s default and though I have tried to change it, I am now finding out why they call it a default – sigh – at least I’m reading…right? Today, the NIV was where I needed to be despite my efforts otherwise.

Recently, a theme has appeared to me in my reading: the majesty of God and the mere-ness of man. I understand that man without God, despite his best efforts, cleverness, talents, creativity, and imagination, is merely man. I know that sounds kind of lame but our best efforts as a race don’t hold a candle to the magnitude of God. And we settle for what mankind does because of what we can see, rather than place our faith in God for what He has done, which we cannot see.

You can’t blame people for their sight. You can blame them however, for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe. God will hold every one of us accountable for our belief.

God revealed to David the bigger picture of what was to be and how it was going to happen, and David’s response was one of merely magnitude – as far as a human can be blown away and whatever that amounts to, David said, “…and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!” (Some translations say: You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God!) Whether for the mere-ness of David or the mere-ness of mankind the result is the same: God is vastly, eternally, infinitely over and above us and His plans for us know no bounds.

David rightly wanted to do something for God but it was only going to be of magnitude mere-ness. And when God revealed to him what He had in mind, David was undone by the sheer magnitude of what God said, and he realized that God had revealed it to him: a mere human.

So, here I sit today, a mere human trying to describe in my mere thoughts the magnitude of God’s presence in my life. I don’t know the half of it (we would say trying to say: we don’t know much). But God wants to reveal to each of us just how little we are and just how big His plans are for each of us – and He does that through accounts like this one: choosing the unlikely to do the unlikely. That’s big and that is our God.

Today, a mere human am I. Today, with the Scotch-tape of my strength, I am trying to hold together a shaky agenda of my plans for me and the direction in which my mere life should go. I think God chuckles. I don’t think He chuckles sarcastically; I think He just looks at me like I do my grandson: so full of potential, so limited by knowledge, wisdom, experience, and skill. But where I lack in these things, God is there to lead me by my faith in Him. And sometimes all I can do is just sit here as a mere human and weakly attempt to take it all in. It’s hard because I am merely human.

Father, You are God of the mere, and as a mere, I ask for Your help in understanding what You are doing in me, through me and for me; and how my plans and Yours mesh. Be gentle Lord, for I am of magnitude, merely. Amen.

Flat Nosed

05.01.14

1 Chronicles 15.12b-13 “You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” (ESV)

It sure sounds like God got His point across to David: “Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek [Him] according to the rule.” David learned in a hurry what was right and what was not.

Sometimes severe consequences are our best teachers. Sometimes utter humiliation opens our ears and hearts and minds in a way nothing else can. In Matthew 18 it says, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (V.7) The necessity of the presence of temptations should open our eyes to the consequences of giving into those temptations. Pain and suffering at the hands of our own stupidity gets our attention and teaches us to change. (Once burned, twice shy.)

So, where is God’s grace in all this? What does this have to do with my salvation and sanctification? When do I get to see some results in my life that cause me to feel better about my relationship to God and my wanting to obey Him?

God’s grace was in His giving David a second chance. God’s grace was when Uzzah touched the Ark, that the whole bunch of them (David and all) weren’t consumed by God’s wrath. Sanctification is a process and part of that process is falling flat on our nose with painful results that teach us to be more careful the next time. And the results? The results of obedience are shown when we quit looking for results and gold stars and brownie-points and simply obey in humility and reverence, doing only what God told us to do in the first place.

More often than not we’re concerned only with the results we can take credit for; that’s why the consequences have to come – to show us that God isn’t interested in anything we claim credit for; the glory is all His and none of ours.

Again, I do feel for David: humiliated, but freed, he finally did it God’s way. They buried Uzzah and then they tried again – and the Ark came triumphantly into Jerusalem.

If we’re looking for a formula I think it might be along the lines of this: Seek God earnestly, listen very carefully; and obey Him entirely. There may have to be some repentance and change of heart and direction, but not doing anything until God says to is better than blazing ahead under our own steam and schemes. Lord, help us!

Father, with everything that is coming at me today and in the weeks and months to come, may I find that place of rest where I seek You with all my heart, listen with all my mind, and obey You with everything that is in me. I’m tired of attempting to be the one who enters heaven with the flattest nose known in creation…although, if that’s what it takes then so be it! Amen.