Not Yet

07.30.14

Isaiah 62.4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.

Saint Peter wrote: But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2 Peter 3.8) Peter wrote to people who were scattered from their homes and living amidst a culture that suspected them of some kind of subversion because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. (Cf. 1 Peter 1.6) Peter wrote to remind them that God wasn’t far away and He was aware of what they were going through; and His promises transcend time… a day like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day – think of the possibilities.

Saint Isaiah wrote the above about Israel’s restoration – a restoration that hasn’t come to pass just yet. Isaiah wrote that God will call them, “my delight is in her” (Hephzibah). And He will call their land Beulah (married). All this will happen but hasn’t quite happened yet. A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. It hasn’t happened yet but it is coming.

Isaiah wrote to tell his people that God hadn’t forgotten them and the rockets of Hamas are futile attempts to derail His glory. Fire away boys, you’re not gonna get the desired result – you cannot kill the one whom God calls, My delight, or take over their land that He calls, Married. That’s like trying to take another man’s wife. Ain’t gonna happen. Though there are those who try.

The promises from God are faithful – To God: Beulah is already Beulah; Hephzibah is already Hephzibah. God isn’t concerned with time, His concern is for people – the people He loves and came to save. And it will happen, but not yet.

Paul, do you mean God hasn’t saved!? No, not at all; what I mean is the restoration of Israel is waiting in the wings for His people to recognize Him and accept Him as their Husband. Enter: the Gospel of John: He came to that which was his own [His land], but his own [people] did not receive him. (John 1.11) Rejected and repulsed the Groom awaits too – for the day His own will recognize Him for Who He is and Whose they are: His delight. A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day.

Paul, dude, you’ve mixed so many metaphors, I'm confused! Well, oh confused one, I am too, but the reality is this: all of what God has said and done is pointing toward that day when the wall of separation will come down (in reality) and His people, Jew and Gentile alike will be His delight and their land will be married. For some it’s already happened, for they are His and their hearts are His home; for the rest it’s, not yet.

Father God, the time is coming for us for Hephzibah and Beulah. Yet to all who did receive Jesus, to those who’ve believed in His name, You given the right [for them] to become Your children, Hephzibah. Thank You! I pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Come O Lord who waits in eager expectation for the day when the rockets will be no more and the words will ring true though spoken in days of yore. Maranatha! It’ll be just like day after tomorrow…

They Are Safe

07.29.14

Isaiah 57.1-2 1 The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. 2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the flowers gone?

Young girls picked them, ev'ry one.

When will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn?*

It’s funny what pops into your head after 40 or so years; haven’t heard or thought about this song in a long, long time. This morning, as I considered Isaiah’s words, I thought about where have all the righteous gone? Isaiah thought that too, he wrote and told us about it.

A society or culture caught up in itself hasn’t the time or the feelings for those who pass on. It’ll say things like, our thoughts and prayers are with them, but their hearts are quickly onto more pressing matters. Because pressing matters are all that matters. Thank you, citizen, for your service.

When my dad died in 1995 (in August, on the 10th) I felt broken. I felt like someone had done surgery on me and left a big hole. For the longest time, every time I went back to his hometown I felt like someone had done surgery there too – and left a big hole. I mourned his passing. Still do.

Isaiah wrote (and preached) to a culture caught up in pressing matters and they hadn’t the time nor the feelings for everyday stuff like funerals, and what happened to Joe down the street. They were caught up in survival – something God was supposed to be in charge of, but they had taken upon themselves. When we take God’s responsibilities away from Him then we’ve no time to consider where the righteous have gone, or the flowers for that matter. All that matters is one less mouth to feed, one less space filled; one less concern. (Sounds like America to me...)

Isaiah said the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. There’s a concept. Who’d a-thunk it in the middle of all this fussing and carrying on about Assyrian invasion and big bruthuh Babylon? Who’d you say died? Oh, that’s too bad. My thoughts and prayers are with them. Well, sorry, gotta get back to work! See ya.

My job is not survival; it’s worship. I heard this on the radio the other day: worship is better than wonder. I thought about that. I thought about how many times I’ve wondered where God is in all this. I’ve wondered about the flowers. God says, Paul, I’ve never gone anywhere and your problem is you’re trying to take My Job upon yourself – don’t do that. You be you, and let Me be Me. And by the way son, the righteous always end up with Me.

Father, as disjointed as this is today, I see what Isaiah was saying: I’ll let You be You,  and me be me. I’ll not wonder but worship. Your job is to take care of me as You’ve promised, and my job is to thank You for it in worship! Thank You for Your word today and thank You, they are safe with You… Amen.

*Pete Seeger, circa 1955

Escape Plan

07.27.14

2 Peter 1.19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (NIV)

Completely reliable is one thing – completely understandable is another. I’ve been reading the majestic prophecy of Isaiah these days. Isaiah was called by God in a pivotal time in Israel’s history. One author I’ve read compares the days of Isaiah to those of the Kennedy presidency and the times that befell our nation during and after those days. What a difference fifty years can make. We’ve never recovered.

In Isaiah’s day the northern tribes were carried off into captivity and the territories of the northern tribes were resettled by pagan peoples from the east. There was great turmoil in the nation and a desperate sense of self-preservation; a fearful grabbing at whatever they thought would restore some semblance of what was lost. It didn’t work; things were changed forever. To the two remaining tribes, Judah and Benjamin, God sent His prophet, Isaiah to help them to do what was necessary to return to some kind of normalcy: to return to God; even that didn’t work. The people were too far gone by that time.

Peter, in his second letter, makes this statement: “We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it…” It is worth our while to look at Isaiah and the other prophets who answered God’s call to go to an apathetic and uncaring people and try to get them to reconnect with God. Our nation’s biggest need today is to do precisely that. The prophetic message contains the truth and the truth will set us free. Congress won’t. The president won’t. Americanism won’t. Isaiah (and his fellow prophets) called them to repent; and that call to repentance is still active and viable today: we might call it completely reliable.

Living for God, in part, means living by His word. That doesn’t mean making it a set of rules but it does mean understanding that its message is completely reliable – we can count on it in our everyday living. We use God’s word to learn about His interactions with the peoples of long ago and, because He never changes, how He interacts with us today. We read God’s word and hopefully learn to avoid the mistakes they made; and when we do, we’ll find that everything we learn in His word is completely reliable and relevant to our lives today.

Peter reminded the believers of his day to rely on the reliability of God’s word; and I suppose I must heed his advice today: God is completely reliable yesterday, today, and forever. Those who believe that will find God’s peace and provision in the worst of times, which if allowed to do their perfect work, will become the best of times that draw us closer to Him… I’m in.

Father, today I realize how much I long for an escape plan. I look here and there for safety and shelter amid the storms around me and I’m reminded today – through Your word, Your completely reliable word – that the escape plan is not fleeing from the storms but finding You within them. May I be strong to believe that You are in the storms, and that I am safe because You are – Amen.

Stand Fast Stand Firm Stand True

07.26.14

1 Peter 5.12 12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

A friend of mine, Gerry, is one of the most exuberant people I know. Whenever we cross paths he always has a firm (near bone-crushing) handshake, a winner’s smile, an encouraging word, and, wait for it, always a slug on the arm or a rough smack on the back. Gerry, for the most part (that I’ve ever seen) loves God, His people and life in general. To call him exuberant may be an understatement.

What impresses me with Gerry, other than I know he’d jump in front of a bullet for me, is that whenever we part company, the last thing he always says is: Stand firm! I like that, stand firm! Gerry ain’t no dummy – he’s well aware of the world, the flesh, and the devil. He’s been around and knows all of us are susceptible to the ways of the world, the weakness of our flesh, and the deceit of our great and sneaky enemy. He always says: Stand firm!

St. Peter said, Stand firm. In the NIV, he said, Stand fast in it. In what Pete; stand fast in what? In God’s grace, that’s what. Peter wrote what we call his First Epistle and ended it with these words: “…I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.”

St. Peter and St. Gerry are two peas in a pod – stand fast, stand firm.

Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we go to church? Why do we go to men’s group? We are challenged every moment we do those things to remember why, and stand fast. Why do we work and live in a community? Why do we shop in particular stores and buy gas at particular gas stations? Why do we lean over the fence, or shout good words across the street to our neighbors? Why do we give the other guy the parking space first? Why do we do what we do?

This is the true grace of God – stand fast in it! Really Paul, God’s grace is about a parking space? Really!? Well, yes, I suppose it is if I approach the parking space in the right frame of mind. It’s all about God’s grace and especially when no one seems to be looking or no one seems to care. That is, of course, except God. And He invites you and me to stand fast in His grace which permeates every part of our lives.

Why do we monitor what we watch on TV? Why do we avoid certain sites on the internet? Why do we avoid drooling over the beauty of another? Why do we use self-control, respect, and courtesy? Those things help remind of us this true grace (and friends, it is true!) and why it is that we stand so firm in it. The other choice I guess is to ignore it and miss out on its majesty. I don’t want to do that? Do you?

Father God, thank You for Your true grace. Thank You for Your matchless love and for Your unmovable and unchanging friendship with me, and with we, who don’t deserve it. Help me, help us, as Kingdom kids, to walk in it and stand firm in it being constantly reminded of why we do what we do. In Christ’s holy Name – Amen. (And bless Gerry today!)

Right Thoughts

07.25.14

1 Peter 4.12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Peter was addressing what he sensed might be a problem for his readers: they might've be thinking something was wrong, that they'd screwed up, or worse, God was punishing them for being less than the people He’d called them to be. Peter was addressing their thinking and what their thoughts may be telling them.

Last night, I was at a meeting with some friends and one of the friends, a beautifully gifted 17-year old woman, was expressing her frustration or angst, or disappointment that she wasn’t becoming the person, in her mind, that she thinks she needs to be for the Lord. I thought: Darlin’, you don’t see what we see, and what a remarkable person you already are. Before I said a word the team leader said gently, “You’ll be the person God is creating you to be.”

It’s not that her thoughts weren’t forbidden, it’s just that she thought (and expressed) that she felt like it was all up to her – more effort, more Bible reading, more prayer; more, more, more. I think she represents many of us who cannot shake the self-imposed performance factor in our relationship with God and in our approach to our spirituality. It ain’t up to us. It’s all God. When will we get it?

Sometimes our thoughts – as noble as they may sound or appear – are just plain old wrong. We think the wrong thing or jump (all too quickly) to the wrong conclusion. Peter counsels us: Don’t do that. Think it out, trust in God, and remember above all, remember He’s in control…of everything. Trials come to make us better, not bitter. The choice is up to us to accept them as from God’s hand, and to realize there isn’t anything in our lives that hasn’t passed through the Father’s hands for our good.

Isaiah confronted Israel’s wrong thinking when he addressed the stupidity of their viewpoint of idolatry: "No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” (Isaiah 44.19) In other words: guys are ya that stupid? Is that what you really think!? As my former pastor used to say: Stinkin’ thinkin’ will leave you sinkin’. Cute. Clever. True.

Dear friends, do not be fooled into thinking that somehow it’s your fault and that this fiery ordeal that has come on you to punish you, because you did something to deserve a beating at the hand of God. Don’t fall into that trap. The trap is real. And the trap in ever-present in life…

Father, for me and my friends today I pray You help us in our thinking about You, about trials, and in the way we think about You and trials. You are on our side. When we pass through the waters, You will be with us; and when we pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over us.

When we walk through the fire, we will not be burned; the flames will not set us ablaze. For You are the Holy One of the Church, our Savior! May we remember that and walk in that today – Amen.

Er, Reverence

07.24.14

1 Peter 3.2 2 ...when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 1 Peter 3.15 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect... (NIV)

I don’t know what it is about Facebook, call me a junkie I guess; I need an FB fix several times a day. Maybe, I’m the one (or better the kind of one) they made Facebook for: I show up.

Usually in the morning, in that groggy, foggy time between awaken and engage, I sign into Facebook (and a couple other apps as well) and I read for a few minutes. I check out most of the new postings until I reach yesterday’s last, then I shut it off and go on with my day. Coffee required.

So, today I read a post by Jamie The Very Worst Missionary (I follow her on Facebook – she makes me laugh, cringe, and think.) She posted a link to the Huff Post about religion. I’m also a junkie for religion, so I put the link here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cindy-brandt/irreverence-is-the-new-reverent_b_5608381.html?utm_hp_ref=religion And then, I turn to the Scripture and just happen to read 1 Peter 3 and see the above … and then I think.

I think there is a Biblical call to be reverent. I think there is a call on our lives to respect God (yea verily, to fear Him); but I think we need to be careful lest our reverence become some kind of Merit Badge or ranking amongst the Kids. I know some who are very reverent, and I also know some who are very good at wearing reverence.

Much of life here in the western world is very irreverent; our culture is, more often than not, very irreverent. We’re irreverent about all kinds of stuff, not the least of which is God (and certainly His children, and His Church). The gist of the article is that irreverence (when representing God) ain’t all that bad and may actually be helpful. I think the point is, some irreverence on the part of God’s followers shows that underneath (all the charade) is a real human evidenced by his willingness to drop the show of religion and just let out a, “Damn it! That hurt!!” (Can you still be a Christian and say things like that?) Some might respond, “No you can’t! Damn it!” (Wow.)

Oh yes, 1 Peter 3. Twice in 1 Peter 3 (verses 2 and 15) I read references to reverence showing the need for it (amidst our plentiful irreverence), and the beauty of it, which oft sets apart, in a necessary separation, the ain’t’s, from the saints. (If there ain’t no separation, then who knows who’s who?) Call it a response to a mindset, but I think we need to make sure there ain’t a baby in that bath water. Whatever we do, whether word or deed, let's do all for God’s glory. Okay?

Father, my life is a gift from You and when I think about what You’ve really done, I am truly amazed at what You’ve really done. In my mind, that calls for reverence. My relationship with You ought to show in my living with others that: It. Is. Really. Important. My prayer this day is that I not use reverence as a weapon but as a calling card of Who You are and what You mean to me. And in the meantime, may the words of my mouth, colorful at times, and the meditations of my heart (cloudy, with a chance of rain) be acceptable in Your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer…

Momentary

07.23.14

Isaiah 38.5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.’”

Okay, let’s imagine – God sends a close friend and confidant to you and he/she says: This is what the Lord says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. What do you do? How do you feel? How long is it before you notice the clocking ticking? What will you do under the specter of finality?

I think, today, I saw something that made me think. (Ya think, Paul?) I’m not sure it’s good for us to know the times or the seasons. I think our lives were made to be lived out in moments with no concern as to when or how those moments will come to an end. I wonder how many times Hezekiah looked up and said, “Oh crap! Where’d the time go!? How much is left on the royal clock!?” I wonder how many times he thought, “How much is left in the account?”

Perhaps one of the most unpleasant things I can think of is hearing: “I will add fifteen years to your life.” Does that mean, from today? Does that mean, give or take? Does that mean, I’ll see it coming; or does it mean it’ll catch me by surprise? I think there’s more of a measure of uncertainty in knowing than there is in not knowing.

Maybe I’m just reading things into this – maybe there was way more to the conversation I don’t get to “hear”. But here’s the deal – at least for me: I am way better off mentally and spiritually when I am allowed to simply seek God. For today. For this moment.

When I went to Africa and went through all the travel delays, the waiting in line, the dealing with people, I got into the habit of saying to myself: Jesus, I invite you into this moment. And when I did, things (at least for me) began to change. I seemed to feel a tangible change in the atmosphere around me. I certainly felt a change in my perspective. It changed my moments.

I think if someone gave me the sentence of life ( i.e. I’ll give you fifteen years) I think I’d have to invited Jesus into those days moment by moment. The only way to finish well is to live well. And the only way to live well is to invite Jesus into as many of my moments as possible and live them out with Him right alongside.

Funny, Jesus said: I am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14.6) Funny, Jesus said: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15.4) Maybe we made for us to live, not looking to when the moments run out, but for how much Jesus is in them if we invite Him…

Lord Jesus, in all I have to do today, tomorrow and the days after that, I invite You into my moments right now – they are truly all I have. Help me to live in the present and trust You’ve got the future taken care of. Help me not to watch the clock but to live for You and watch for You in everything I undertake. Thank You for Your presence. Thank You for Your power. I love You Lord! Amen.

How Stuff Gets Done

07.22.14

Isaiah 37.32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

What has the zeal of the Lord Almighty done for you these days? You see, in Hezekiah’s day the nation was being threatened by nations stronger than them militarily. Assyria was a vast and powerful enemy bent on subduing all of Israel and Egypt and wherever else. They had armies, resources, and great power to do just about whatever they wanted – they were the champs.

Champs are good and they usually have a plan – a carefully thought out strategy of how they’re going to accomplish their goals, be they sports, medicine, politics, religion, money or what have you. You can bet there is a plan; it’s a mankind thing.

The problem with man’s schemes, dreams, reasons, or seasons is they are, for all their glamor and cleverness, no match for God: despite their apparent successes. We read in Isaiah that Sennacherib, the great monarch of Assyria was assassinated by two of his sons (apparently premeditated); where’d that come from!? Who calls that success?

At fifty-something (or whatever age I am these days) I am attempting a new career launch; you’re never too old to try something new... My schemes and dreams are not for empire-building. But I am exercising a plan and trying to follow it. It includes the Lord. He is the Plan, I am the participant. If I think I’m getting anywhere without Him, then I must carefully rethink.

I think what got to me today, as I read about Hezekiah’s struggles, was the phrase: The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. God had plans for them that superseded the plans of a power-hungry mad man wanting to take something that wasn’t his to take (they’re a dime-a-dozen these days, aren’t they). And God promised them: For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. No kingdom on earth would be able to stand against them. God’s zeal for them (and for His own Kingdom) was going to make that happen. (I wonder what went through Hezekiah’s mind the day he heard Sennacherib had been killed.)

I have offered this new gig to the Lord. I have planned and worked and set up some boundaries for myself. I have zeal to see it through. But I needed to be reminded today of a Zeal that infinitely surpasses my own: His zeal; the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this! (His zeal for me and for everyone else He calls child.)

So I ask, what has the zeal of the Lord Almighty done for you these days? It might surprise you.

Father, in the struggles and fears and momentary setbacks that I’ve experienced I am reminded today that the zeal of the Lord Almighty (that’d be You) has seen me thus far. Help me today to lay my fears, and struggles, and momentary defeats at Your feet (along with my plans) and watch as Your zeal for me (which I rarely think of) accomplishes above and beyond what I can ask or imagine. Help me today – Your zeal will accomplish this. Amen.

When I’m King

07.20.14

2 Chronicles 29.3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them.

2 Chronicles 29 opens with these words: Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. (V.1) And the first thing the young king did was to reopen the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. (Apparently, the place had been closed for a while, so Hezekiah reopened it and hung a sign that read: UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT)

Hezekiah is not my favorite king but he ranks right up there – he tried hard to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. It makes me wonder what kind of conversations Hezekiah had as a younger man (how stinking young could he have been, Paul? Twenty-five is just a kid!) But somewhere along the line this young man, a kid barely out of college decided that the status quo (what was going on in his pre-king days) was wrong. Who thinks like that? What happened to Hezekiah that made him say, “When I’m king, I’m going to change all this and do things right!”?

Short answer: I dunno. Speculative answer: God. Real answer: everybody sees things differently. When I was in Africa, I bumped into a young man who could be a modern equivalent of Hezekiah to his own country someday. He isn’t royalty (except in God’s eyes) and lives as an orphan with his grandparents. But this young man has a special calling and “anointing” on his life that I believe God allowed me to see. And now, we’ll see what happens.

Where are those who want to see change? Well, really, they’re all around us. When I was in the airport in Brussels awaiting our next leg home, I talked with three young men who were headed to Israel to participate in something called “Birthright”. Having, admittedly eavesdropped on their conversation, I charmingly chatted them up for a few minutes and encouraged them that life usually doesn’t come together without some kind of strategy to make it happen: If you aim at nothing you’ll hit it every time.

We need Hezekiahs today. We need young people who will look at the spiritual status quo and proclaim, I’m going to do something about this! I think of Nick Mastrude. I think of Kristian Krohn. I think of Braden Phillips, Jasmine Fillebrown, and Hayley Lemmon; I think of Anna Payton – young people whose lives are making a difference. I think about the conversations they’ve had, and their relationship to God. My prayer for them is courage: courage to stay the course and walk with God in bringing about desperately needed change in our world.

Of course, God touched Hezekiah. Of course God is just as much at work today as He was when a new king showed up and said: Reopen the doors of this Temple letting the Spirit of God out, and lettung His people in! Wow! What a guy. Somewhere along the line he saw something.

Father, may we never forget the importance of teaching our young to trust in You and follow You. May I be graced to have conversations with the young(er) that they may be encouraged to follow You wherever You lead in making a difference in this world. If You permit, help me to help them; and maybe, if only in attitude alone, they say, “When I’m king, here’s what we’re going to do…! Father, help them – Amen.

Life-Changing

07.16.14

Isaiah 25.1 1 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.

Recently a young man I know went on a four-day adventure and when he came home he said the adventure was (I quote) life-changing. Hmmm, life-changing – what does that mean?

The prophet Isaiah was called to call Israel (specifically tribe-nation, Judah) back to faithfulness with God. Isaiah’s assignment was to call out the crimes of the times, the societal sickness that had infected his people and point them back to the Source of their salvation: God Himself. It was a difficult task because, like with us, when you try to tell someone just how badly they’ve missed the mark and the results of their choices are the cause of their calamity – well, they’re usually not too prone to listen. What the (bleep) do you know about me!? If you only knew about me, you’d understand rather than judge me!! Been there. Done that.

But in the midst of all Isaiah went through, there were moments of absolute encouragement because of his faith in God – it was life-changing. It wasn’t just a feel-good; it was God reminding him of the magnitude of His calling and the heavenly joy of at least one hearing and repenting – that’s life-change.

I have been counseled in my life; I have counseled others. The result of counseling may be negligible; but when the Holy Spirit comes along and brings those counseling sessions to the minds of the hearer, well the life-change is remarkable. Isaiah knew what he was saying; knew what he was doing and the proof of that is this: Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.

Say what you will, Isaiah knew God’s heart for his people and knew that despite what was happening in the world around them: Enemies, famin, etc. God hadn’t forgotten about them and hadn’t diminished His love for them not even a smidgen. (Smidgen is true when it’s true.)

Life-change can happen as a result of an adventure. Life-change can happen as a result of a chance meeting, reading an important book, going to a foreign country. But those life changes are more centered on experience and aren’t lasting in the sense of bumping into God’s presence joyfully in the midst of tremendous trial (like trying to tell a recalcitrant nation if they didn’t repent, they were going to be severely treated…) Hmmm, life-change.

Try leading a church; a men’s group, or helping a young person see into his future and counseling him to turn around and follow God. You might as well be trying to tell them to walk to Mars, unless God shows up… and does things in perfect faithfulness planned from long ago.

Father, I ask for Your life-changing help today. I ask not only for me but for my family members in Christ and especially for my other family members. I pray for a divine visitation which will evoke praise from our lips that You Lord, are God; and we can exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. What a prayer for Wednesday. Amen.

Trinketry

07.13.14

Isaiah 17.7-8

7 In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

8 They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers have made.

In 2 Kings 16 is the account of Ahaz, king of Judah (the southern kingdom). Ahaz went to Assyria one day and saw an altar whose design and pattern were very cool – to him. Ahaz pulled out his smart phone, snapped a photo and emailed it to Uriah the priest and said, “We gotta have one of these!” And Uriah built the altar and when the king came home, there was a brand new Assyrian model in the courtyard and, well, you get the rest. Happy, happy; joy, joy!!

It seems the people around Isaiah’s time took great care in building religious images, symbols, and tools (if you will) to please God and themselves. People were in serious trouble morally and mentally with respect to the rule of God, but man o man, they had some stuff to look at and feel good about: it was stuff they had made to show God how committed they were.

Isaiah said, “Guys, there’ll come a day when all this religious trinketry won’t mean much to you. All the things you’ve made will be just stuff ready for the garage sale. You’ll seek God and you’ll leave the things of your hands, the thing of which you were so proud, behind. They won’t fill the void in your life for God and you’ll know it. Then things will change. But for now, they’re just so much wasted energy and time.”

Other than our elaborate church buildings, our earth-toned paint and the Jesus pictures on the walls, we’re not that much different. We think our lives are somehow closer to God when our surroundings are neat, clean, and well appointed. The sconce lighting, the nice carpet, the lettering on the signs, the well-watered and mowed lawns, the nicely paved parking lots all promise us a rich and better experience Christian experience.

We fill our Christianity with mission statements, web sites, purpose statements and pod-casts. The tablets of stone have been replaced with Venues, Ipads; the Galaxies, and the applications. It’s all the work of our fingers. And to us, it says, “Look God, see how committed we are!” There’ll come a day when most all of that will mean nothing and the only thing that will satisfy our fickle and frail little hearts will be Him. Maranatha!

Lord, today I am guilty of loving my religious trinketry, the work of my hands. I am guilty of checking out Facebook while I’m supposed to be listening to the pastor. I am guilty of being proud of this blog and my insistence that others be proud of it too. What I hope for is the wasted days of worshiping the works of my fingers and hands will come to an end, and the only thing of value I can offer is bowing at Your feet in humility, and need, and worship. Help me God! Ahaz kept up with the Jonses. I’m trying to do the same thing. Forgive me. May my heart be Yours and Yours alone.

He Alone

07.12.14

Isaiah 12.2 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” NIV

There seems to be a perspective that is very rare: the perspective that the Lord is very real and the Lord is mine; and He alone is my salvation. I think I can say this because I struggle with that concept, that perspective; and I often go somewhere else in my mind before I go to: The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my Strength and my Defense; He [Alone] has become my salvation.

In the days of Isaiah, there was a lack of this perspective toward God. In Isaiah’s day there was a smorgasbord of options for God, god, or someone else’s deity. Yes, Israel had the “Lord” but He was not their Lord in the sense that He alone had become their salvation. He was just Another out there. Sound familiar?

To get to the place where one admits (and sings praise about): The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation, one has to have experienced Him in a completely different way than just another option or choice on life’s big menu-board. God will never be God to us until we are desperate for Him alone and can say emphatically, He alone has become my salvation; He alone is my Help and my Guide and without Him, I’m undone!

We only get that perspective through suffering. We only get that perspective when through the incompleteness and confusion of human life where we reach that point where we are through with our own way. At that point, maybe, we find the song, the chord, the chorus ringing in our hearts and ears: The Lord Himself is my Strength and my Defense; He has become, above and beyond every other stunt, trick, or scheme I’ve tried – my Salvation. I don’t want anything or anyone else.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me, all the days, all the days of my life. Goodness and Mercy, said one author, are God’s sheepdogs. Goodness and Mercy are the gifts of God’s grace when one is sitting in a wheel chair, paralyzed from the neck down. Goodness and Mercy wag their tails at us and lick our faces when our bodies are invaded with ALS. Goodness and Mercy urge us to go and play fetch when the job ended abruptly and unexpectedly.

Goodness and Mercy guide us to that place of praise, that when all seems to have gone wrong and not according to our plan; they bark excitedly when the praise breaks forth on our lips: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation! “ Their tails wag like they’re going to fall off.

Oh, and the chorus?

“And I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever;

And I'll feast at the table spread for me.”

Father, it is You alone or it is nothing. I pray for myself and my friends that the place of suffering would be that joyous place where the sheepdogs bark excitedly and our hearts sing gloriously that You Alone are our strength and defense; and that You Alone are our salvation! Amen!

What They Fear

07.11.14

Isaiah 8.12 “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” NIV

There’s lots of bad news out there – the paper hold their folded faces to the floor, and every day the paperboy brings more. Perhaps we have the choice to listen to it, or to ignore it. Perhaps we are to pay prayerful attention to it – or to ignore it. God told Isaiah: don’t fall for it – you keep your eyes upon Me.

I see what appear to be dreadful warning signs on the horizon. I see times of difficulty coming on a people used to having their own way and used to looking the other way. There are, in my little sphere of influence, more and more claiming the end times. Perhaps. Maybe. Welll…

Fear has been something in my life ever since I can remember. I once really feared God and when I finally gave Him my heart, my fear of Him went away. My fear of other things has diminished, and even the thought of death isn’t really such a big deal anymore;what happens, happens. But the fear-mongers among us would have us eat from their hand and drink from their cup. And every day the paper boy brings more.

I started reading the Bible according to the S.O.A.P. method in 2002. In 2002 I read, according to my reading plan, Isaiah 8-10 and Hebrews 8. I hadn’t a clue then of the things I know now. The America then wasn’t as bizarre as it is today – at least not to me. But here we are, twelve years later and the America I see is an America is the throes of a wretched disease which appears terminal. And most folks just don’t seem to care. I care because I care about the Church in her myriad expressions – I am one of the myriad. Many church-ians I know, just don’t seem to care. I’m concerned.

But to Isaiah, who watched from the front row seats as his own country went down the drain, God said: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” In other words: Keep your eyes on Me big boy – I got the situation well in hand… I’m glad Someone does; because everyone else seems too scared to move or too moved to care…

Father, I hear Your voice loud and clear today: Relax child – I got this! I hear Your words to my soul: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” Okay, Lord, I won’t. Just help me to focus on what is important and to help others along the way. You are God and You’ve promised that You’ll take care of Your people. I’m glad. Thank You. Amen.

Where to Start

07.06.14

Hebrews 3.19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Oh, where to start…

I just got back from Africa this past Friday morning about 12:05 a.m. I have only begun the process of processing. I don’t know about you but sometimes my poor little mind gets into what I might call sensory overload. Suffice it to say, I haven’t even begun to process the data, the images, the words, the memories, the photos, the friendships… I think it’s gonna take me the rest of my life.

When my good friend, Jesse (pastor of Baker City Christian Church) invited me last year to embark on this journey I sensed that God was expressing to me: it’s time. Time to go. Time to go to another place. Time to trust in Him bigger than I maybe had to that point. So, I began to believe I was “called” to Africa; it was time to believe. It was time to conceive.

Now then, what would’ve happened had I said in my mind, “No way, impossible!” ? Well I think one of two things would’ve occurred: 1) I wouldn’t have gone; 2) God would’ve changed my mind. I had moments of pretty strong doubt in December, and as I talked with Jesse about them he said, “Hang in there, God’ll provide.” What would’ve happened had I persisted in my unbelief? See #1 above.

I’m writing to you today from the other side of belief. I went to Africa and have returned intact (at least bodily; there are other parts of me that are completely blown away.) God provided everything I needed including the money I needed to cover two week I was gone from my job. What had I not believed?

Yesterday, I had a talk with a young friend of mine and we talked about life, motivation, courage, strategic planning, and finding a job. (In order to drive dad’s car, one has to have the money to buy gas for it…) I overcame many of his objections by simply stating a Zig Ziglar quote: “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” (I think there is some Bible in there somewhere.) I think in life, we’re far too often afraid of the what if’s and conceivably blind to the what is; with God it is always what is.

Many in Israel didn’t enter God’s rest because they couldn’t believe or mentally conceive it existed. They missed out. (In their case, they died in the wilderness.) I don’t want that to happen to me. I don’t want to miss out and die in the wilderness of the doubting what if’s; I want to walk with God in the power and presence of the What Is. The results are huge either way.

Father, I am so glad and so thankful that You have called Your son (me) to live in belief of the what is and to shun the doubts of the what if’s. Unbelief is a powerful obstacle and for some it prevents them – eternally – from becoming Your friend. Help me in my unbelief…it still lingers at times; and help me to help others come to that place where they start to be great by coming to trusting in You! Where to start? O God right now, right here, with You! Amen!

Choices in Life

07.05.14

Hosea 3.3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.” NIV

We cannot read Hosea 3.3 without continuing on to read Hosea 3.4-5: 4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.

The prophecy of Hosea only makes sense when we understand that “Hosea” is God, and his adulterous wife Gomer is Israel – God’s beloved people who rejected His love. Now, Hosea was a real person and his adulterous wife Gomer was a real person. They lived, loved, and laughed… that is, when she wasn’t out prostituting herself with other men.

I was talking with a young man the other day and we were discussing some of his woes with a young lady in his life. He explained that “about once a month” things got really dicey in their home for about a week. We talked through the physiology of it and then I shared a trade secret with him – I said: Face it bro, women are strange creatures. We laughed but I think he got what I meant. It’s one thing to be strange because of the physiology of it, but then throw in the emotional and the mental and well, you get the picture. (Girls, I mean no disrespect at all – I don’t know if we men would handle those physiological circumstances, we’re pretty stange at times too.)

The prophet Hosea was God’s spokesperson to Israel, the chosen nation, the favored nation to bring the message of God’s frustration, anger, and sorrow at being rejected by His wife: the nation He formed and the “bride” He chose – a bride intended to love only Him and be an example of the love to the rest of the world. God’s wife chose to sleep around with other men.

I looked up the name Gomer and found these definitions: 1) (military) an inept or stupid colleague, especially a trainee. 2) (medical) A troublesome patient, especially an elderly or homeless one. 3) (Bible.com) Vanishing. It makes us think a bit differently when we put some color into the picture. Gomer was all this and more to Hosea. Israel was all that and more to God.

The message to me is simply this: beware your choices in life. I have been a Gomer to God on countless occasions. Regardless of my checkered past one thing is for sure: God has pursued me the entire way; He’s never taken His eyes off of me – not even in my worst moments. And like Hosea reconciling with his Gomer, God has helped me to know:  Paul, you are to live with Me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any thing, and I will be faithful to you. I am always faithful Paul; you be faithful as well. Our relationship with God is all about faithfulness.

Father, You have said, if we are faithful in little things when no one else is looking or cares then we will be faithful in big things and everyone will know. May I be faithful in all things in my walk with You, in my life with others, and in my choices in life. Amen.

Saving

07.04.14

Hosea 1.7  7 “Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”

Recently, like just yesterday, I came home from a mission’s trip to Nairobi, Kenya; it was one of the most life-changing events I’ve ever experienced. I saw the power and presence of God in a way I never had before, and was totally amazed at the work He is doing in that nation. Kenya is one of the most stable nations in Africa and much good is happening over there.

As I read Hosea’s prophecy today, I was impressed that God didn’t ask Judah, a miserable, unfaithful, misguided, and confused people to save themselves: Okay, if that’s the way you want it, you fix it! No, God didn’t ask them to fix it; He said, “I will save them – not by weaponry or warfare, but I, the Lord their God, will save them…all by Myself!”

My thought and hope on the way to Kenya was not to bring aid or lots of money (I have neither) but, where will I find God in Kenya? I found Him everywhere – on the way over, while I was there, and on the way home. God is saving Kenya and has been doing that for centuries (I know they haven’t always been Kenya, but God has been among those people since there’ve been people there.)

I did a lot of comparing of our cultures while I was there; I compared how Kenya looks to the US and vice versa. I saw advantages and disadvantages on both sides of the fence. I saw industry and hardworking people, and I saw laziness, sloth, and crime. I saw strategic planning and the lack thereof. And I saw lots and lots of folks just trying to get by – the comparisons between them and us were not all that different.

But what I did see there more than anything was this: “…but I, the Lord their God, will save them.” God is doing the work through the Kenyans not only to save their nation but to save His people. That’s just what God does: He uses His people to help and save His people. I have said it once, I’ll say it again: God doesn’t have enough money to fix nations…but He does have His people and His people are in place, mobilized, and equipped.

God had Hosea marry a loose-around-the-edges kind of gal in order to communicate to loose-around-the-edges Judah that when their party of their having it their own way was over and the crushing hangover had set it, He was there to receive them back and to save them. Did everyone make it? No, but some did, and that’s all that matters.

Where are we today? Are we experiencing the presence and promises of God? Are we seeing the wonders of His mighty power in places like Kenya or in our own neighborhood? I saw it in Kenya and I see it in my own land – God is here, He is now, and He is at work doing for us what we can never do for ourselves: saving.

Father, as the processing of what I just experienced continues my prayer is use me to help communicate that You are, in fact, in the business of saving nations and individuals; You are doing for us what we can never do: saving. Thank You. Thank You for a great and memorable trip and thank You that as faithless as we are at times, You never are and You will come for Your own! Amen.