Got Grace?

06.30.13

Titus 2.11-14 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (ESV)

How does one comment or blog about something as wonderful as this? We try so hard to be good and impress the Lord with our goodness and efforts but it seems He says: children why do you work so hard to impress Me – I love you! And He does, He loves us. End of blog.

Beginning of Commentary: But if we’re looking for some cure, some medication, some relief, some salvation, something to do, somewhere to go; we’re to look no further than His grace, for there we find the answer to everything in our lives that causes us to want to do better despite the fact, we can’t.

Enter Grace. It trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passion, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. We need to be trained and we need to be trained over and over until we finally pass on to our eternity with Him. Why? Because the magnitude of our fall was so great that we need something greater to enable us to live and cooperate with the King of Creation. He calls it His grace, His favor. He favors us; we’re His favorites.

But we don’t necessarily see it that way. Part of who we are demands we amount to something so we can boast to God how good we are. We feel we need to show and tell God that we are worth something and He ought to be impressed. It doesn’t work that way. His grace is a free gift with no strings attached. There is no score card; there is no grade; there is no trophy ceremony for the good-est and the best-est.

And that is the humbling part of grace. We have to humble ourselves to receive it and we have to humble ourselves to come to terms with: it is all Him and none of us. Oh so hard, yet oh so freeing. We saints need to be trained and retrained to accept it’s all Him and none of us.

So then what!? Are we left to float around in a sea of favor and try to accept its flavor? Well, sort of – we’re to live life free from the burden of performance and in the freedom of love. I need grace. You need grace. And that person over there needs grace. But grace is only good for the one who wants to say no to the pull of ungodliness and worldly passions. And to say no, one has to be trained to say it.

For those who’ve had children, one of the biggest things we desired for our children early on was that they learn (or be trained, if you will) to quit pooping in their diapers and learn to use the toilet. How freeing that is for parent and child. (Questionable analogy but effective, no?)

Saint, friend, are we tired of poopy diapers? Have we tried grace and found it wanting? Have we allowed the favor of God to train us to say no to what is hurtful or unimportant so that we can focus on living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives as we await the blesses arrival of our Lord? Life a mess? Christianity confusing? Scorecard looking bleak? Got Grace?

Words Not My Own

06.29.13

Amos 6.1-8 1“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!

2 Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory,

3 O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence?

4 “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,

5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,

6 who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

8 The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

“I abhor the pride of Jacob

and hate his strongholds,

and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” (ESV)

Psalm 88 1-7 1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.

4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.

7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. (ESV)

Words not my own that speak to me today on the level of: If God didn’t forgive their apathy who says He won’t judge mine.

Lord, incline Your ear to Your servant this day that I may live on purpose and with intention. May my heart break for what breaks Yours, and may my life not be wasted apathetically on self and idleness while others are perishing... Use me I pray – amen.

Bad to Worse

06.27.13

2 Timothy 3.12-13 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (ESV)

Events of our day cause me to wonder just what is going on. It seems the godless agendas of men just keep succeeding and advancing. It’s easy for me to get dismayed because there seems to be no stopping it. But according to this little place in the little book of 2 Timothy it’s going to get bad and then get worse. It’s supposed to be this way.

Again, it’s easy for me to get distracted and dismayed…unless. Unless, I simply accept that right is right and wrong is wrong and the two will never ever get along. Wrong will have its day and it seems it has been having that day for centuries. But this world was never meant to be the end, and man has proven over and over that his bent toward evil is nearly unstoppable.

And those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It’s supposed to be this way. Wrong is a mean little bully that will stop at nothing to get its way…

The only salve for what my eyes see is Christ. The only peace to calm my distracted and dismayed mind is Christ. My only refuge is His presence and it’s worth pushing through the persecution because there is the other side of persecution: Christ.

So, men will do what men will do but my refuge and purpose in life is to live a godly life in Christ Jesus who took this world as it was not how He wanted it to be. Bad will go to worse but I am to remain steadfast in my position with Him no matter how worse it gets…

And my prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next. Amen.

Father, from the bad You only ever bring good and from the good You always bring life. Help me to keep my eye focused on the prize remembering no matter how bad things seem to be, You are not worried or dismayed or caught off guard. May Your will be done and may Your children stand strong in You. Amen. Again.

What We All Need

06.26.13

Jonah 4.1-4 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

The prophecy of Jonah is meant to be read in one sitting. The issue of Jonah is God’s love for and salvation extended to the city of Nineveh. The result of Jonah is a man with a calloused heart who gripes to God for even including him in the first place. The lesson of Jonah is when God calls: go quickly and with a happy heart.

Apparently Jonah, the prophet, had had former conversations with the Lord about a missions trip to Nineveh. Nineveh, by the way, was a great city of the Assyrian Empire and the Jews had much trouble from the Assyrians and the enmity between Jew and Assyrian was palpable.

Jonah had probably witnessed raids by the Assyrians into his homeland and had seen the brutality of these raids. The Assyrians, I believe, were the ones who came up with crucifixion. Jonah apparently had no use for these people. And apparently Jonah had told the Lord as much (see verse 2 above).

Jonah’s problem was God reaching out to other peoples who weren’t Jews and who weren’t very nice to the Jews. Jonah may have been insulted that God would even do such a thing. Jonah’s attitude was basically: “God, do what You have to do but leave me out of this!”

I find myself having those same kinds of thoughts as I watch certain people live like hell and then expect the church to be their meal-ticket; patch them up, and send them back into the fray with no intention of changing their loser-lifestyle at all. I see the selfishness of the prophet in my own life and experience: God do what You’re going to do, just don’t expect a whole lot of cooperation from me… I’ve got family, I’ve got the weekend, I’ve got a bike to ride…

Jonah suffered from a cynicism that wouldn’t allow him to see how vast and wonderful the love of God is for others who were different from him. Jonah’s cynicism kept him from telling others about God. And when he finally broke down and obeyed it wasn’t gladly, it was grudgingly.

It is easy to write others off when we see them persist in destructive life choices. It’s hard to love them when they’ve (apparently intentionally) used our goodness and love as a club against us. It’s easy to turn our backs on the unrepentant and just let them go on their merry destructive way.

It is godly to keep reaching out to them with the tireless loving passion of God as He kept reaching out to us. How else are they ever going to change and how else are we going to demonstrate the unfailing love of God if we so easily or eventually quit? I think that is why God is so big on forgiveness. I think that’s why to persist in pursuit of the unlovely and the undeserving is so important because it shows God’s grace at work in my heart… And grace is what we all need…

Then What

06.25.13

Joel 2.10 10 The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. (ESV)

Judgment is a fearsome thing. The prophet Joel prophesied a coming judgment on Israel that he proclaim was going to be an awesome event. (Awesome in this context means dreadful.) And that day is coming.

As with most Old Testament prophesies, Joel’s message is a mixture of the immediate, the intermediate, and the future; some of it had already come to pass and some of it remains to be. He talks about an infestation of locusts which will come and devour the land. They will destroy crops and grasses and trees; the land will be wiped clean of vegetation and left desolate. I think that happened. I think it was a wake-up call to the people of Judah, HEY! Get your act together, you’re doomed!

The other part of it was the military invasions of the Babylonians and the Assyrians. The locusts were going to destroy their means of economy: their agriculture. The military invasions were going to destroy them as a nation: they would simply become another vanquished people.

And then there is the part that is yet to come: the Day of the Lord when all the wrangling and jockeying for position of the nations of earth will cease and all will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ, to which all nature will attest: the sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining. It is one thing for our star, the sun, to grow dark. What a dreadful time that will be – talk about climate change! And it follows that the moon will darken as well because it merely reflects our sun’s light. But to have the stars withdraw their light – oh, that’s gonna be a tough time.

God is incessant in His pursuit of us – His plan for mankind has never altered or ceased. God made us in His image that we may become His sons and daughters and enjoy His company forever. He has never changed His mind about that. There does appear however, when time will have run its course and the party will be over: the sun and the moon will darken and the stars will withdraw their shining. Then what?

Then Joel says: “…it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Those who are not foiled or spoiled by the light of the sun darkening and the moon reflecting its light will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Saved from what? Saved from what those who cower and fear will receive because they refused – even in the face of extraordinary natural events to humble themselves and give God glory.

Despite the whirling and swirling madness of all that is abounding around me today: God is God and He won’t be foiled in His pursuit of those who call upon His Name and be saved. And I won’t cower or back down.

“I will bless the Lord forever. I will trust Him at all times… I will not be moved, and I’ll say of the Lord, You are my strength, my shield, my portion, Deliverer; my shelter, strong tower. My very present help in time of need.” – Miriam Webster

It Only Matters

06.24.13

2 Kings 11.14 14 And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” (ESV)

Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah and Ahaziah was the grandson of Jehoshaphat, one of the great kings of Judah. But Ahaziah didn’t walk with the Lord, he decided it was better to follow the religious interests of the northern kingdom. As a result he was assassinated by Jehu, the king of the northern kingdom who was anointed to wipe out Baal worship among the people of Israel. When Athalia saw her son was dead she nabbed the throne for herself and out of revenge started to kill off the entire royal family of Judah.

What she didn’t count on was Jehoash surviving the slaughter and when he was seven years old he was crowned king in place of Ahaziah and that didn’t sit well with Athalia who’d used her power and influence to cement the rulership of the Kingdom of Judah as her own. Now she had competition and the competition had protection. So when she saw her gig was up she cried, “Treason! Treason!” And the competition took her out and cut her down with the sword…

Two observations:

1.    Royalty isn’t always what it is made out to be. Power isn’t always that easy to come by or to hold onto.

2.    It only matters when you cry, “Treason! Treason!” if God is listening.

Athaliah was an evil, ambitious person, and she grabbed the throne against the promise of God. Her dad was Omri, king of Israel, and he was an idolatrous piece of work. The nut didn’t fall far from the tree in this instance. Having the crown doesn’t mean having the blessing of God. Crying treason means nothing is God isn’t listening.

The child of God has this promise: God is listening… always. Probably one of my greastest gaffes of omission is simply not praying. I will say I’m learning more and more to open my mouth and my heart and let it fly toward heaven. My homeland is in as big a mess as ancient Israel and at the rate we’re declining it’s hard to tell where it will all end. Not a big deal until one remembers children and grandchildren who are growing up into such an evil time as ours. (This new grandson of mine causes me to be concerned about the godlessness that is around him…)

Athaliah thought her power and position would protect her. Wrong. I forget God’s power will protect me and he promises to protect my children’s children. How stupid can I get not to pray?

Father God, it is all in Your hands: my life, my kid’s lives, and the lives of their kids. So I am crying out to You for their blessing and protection according to Your word; because of Your promise. I know You’re listening. Help me to not fear, but to pray – and not to procrastinate, but to pray today – amen.

Oh, And By the Way

06.23.13

1 Timothy 5.23 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) (ESV)

Paul later wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (Cf. 2 Timothy 3.16-17) My firm conviction is if we fail to see the humanness of Scripture, we’ll fail to see the God-ness of it all. All Scripture is God breathed – it comes from the breath of God’s mouth. It is holy and good and right to help us teach, rebuke, correct, and train. Everything we need to live life spiritually successful is in the Bible. Even what Paul told Timothy regarding water and wine.

I can just see the scene: Paul dictating this letter to someone who scribes for him and right in the middle of 1 Timothy 5.17-25 he has an “oh-by-the-way moment”: Timothy, by the way, quit drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and frequent ailments. Paul needed to remind Timothy of that, and it popped into his mind, and he inserted it in the Script. That was the humanness of it.

Recently I had the privilege of praying for a woman at church who complained of feeling light-headed and dizzy, and I felt like the Spirit of God wanted me to tell her: drink more water. I’m not a doctor nor a dietician but I do know the benefit of drinking water and I felt like the Holy Spirit wanted me to tell her that, so I did. (I also don't think I'm some spiritual grandee dispensing wisdom like candy.)

There is a practical side to our religion I think many miss because it’s not clothed in mystery, mystique, or the miraculous. Drink some wine Timothy and quit making this all into some grand spiritual story of God’s miraculous divine intervention with angels and realms of glory: drink some wine for crying out loud. Paul wasn’t advocating alcohol abuse, just living practically.

I don’t want to dismiss or down play the miraculous but I do want to say that sometimes life is quietly more practical and if we quit trying to dismiss that then we’ll find the answers to our problems may be as simple as drinking more water – or in this instance, drinking less. Truly there is a deeper side to Scripture, but there is also a shallower side. Not everyone can swim in the deep end of the pool and the shallow end is there for learning and practice for the newbie.

Today I am reminded of the simplicity of life, which is not exclusive from Scripture, but inclusive within. Timothy, son, there is a simple remedy which I truly believe will help you and here is what it is...

Many of us (yours truly included) need to remember that by trying to make it all grand and glorious is somewhat the same as trying to put God into a box in order to convince ourselves that our faith is really real. We needn’t do that – sometimes it’s as simple as simple advice and knowing that God knows and cares about our stomach and frequent ailments and doesn’t need for us to seek a miraculous cure; He just needs us to use our heads, have a little wine to help or increase our intake of fluids to make life better. Amen? I think I need a glass of water... 

Axe-Head Room

06.21.13

2 Kings 6.5-7 5 But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. 7 And he said, “Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it. (ESV)

I also love (see my post from 6-20-13) the presence of Elijah and Elisha in the apostasy of Israel. These “miracles” of Elisha help me to remember and rejoice in the presence and power of God. Elisha seems to be a bit more focused than Elijah and his personality seems a little less personable. How would you be if you had to follow in Elijah’s footsteps?

Elisha helps me remember as well the providence of God even in the least worst of times. The story above (found in 2 Kings 6) is how God comes through in the midst of the oddly annoying circumstances of life: lost keys or wallet; lost cell phone; etcetera.

God is with us in the everyday-ness of life: the hangnail, the zit, fender-bender, whatever; these are annoying things that remind us of our limitations and the frustration of good old everyday life: the stuff-happens kind of life. The question is what we do with what we experience? A couple weeks ago I drove through the drive-thru at the local convenience store to buy myself some quick mountain bike riding energy (a 20 oz. Mountain Dew; fortunately  Mayor Dumberg wasn’t around…) and I gave the gal at the window a couple bucks and told her to keep the change (big tipper, me). She brightened and thanked me as I drove away.

Later that same day, I couldn’t find a ten-dollar bill I had and thought: Crap! No wonder she was so friendly I gave her flippin’ eleven bucks instead of two! I then thought glumly, Oh well… So, last Sunday I went out for a Father’s Day jaunt on the old bike and because it was warm I had the windows down on the pickup as I drove to my bike-riding spot and as the wind swirled around in the cab, out from under the seat came a ten-dollar bill. I thought, Huh! It’s that everyday-ness stuff that God doesn’t forget about.

God cares for us at a level we can easily dismiss or disregard; or write off to coincidence. God cares about axe heads and ten-dollar bills. Built into God’s plan for us is a place, if you’ll pardon the word-play, called: Axe-Head room. Borrowed, broken, overlooked, over-paid, God is still with us. And He cares for us and provides a way for us. I wonder in heaven how many times we’ll exclaim: “Oh! So that’s where that went!”

Elisha reminds me of how much we need God in the everyday stuff. Elisha reminds me of how much God cares about the minute details that we’d rather try to solve on our own or just write off to bad luck or whatever. There is no such thing in my life as coincidence – at least not if God is involved.

Father, I’m glad for Your presence and providence in all of the small stuff, borrowed and blue or with a sixpence or a dime in my shoe. You care, and Your word tells me over and over You do! Thank You for Your word this day and for Your presence on that riverside that day when someone found You faithful in relieving their fret – may I walk relieved in that same manner – amen.

Laughing Like a Little Kid

06.20.13

2 Kings 5.14 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. (ESV)

I love the story of Naaman! You have to read 2 Kings 5.1-13 to get the gist of it, but it is a wonderful story of a man who bumps into the power and presence of God. It is the story of repentance and obedience. It is the story of redemption.

Naaman was the commander of the army of the Syrians, a group unfriendly to Israel. They were, if you will, the empire next-door. When you abandon God like Israel did in those days, it’s no surprise to wake up one morning and find an unfriendly empire right next-door. So, Naaman was great and powerful and full of authority but he had leprosy. Leprosy in those days was a lot like AIDS is today, people didn’t understand it, and it was incurable.

For Naaman to get healed of leprosy would be a big, big deal. Not only would he be great and powerful and full of authority, but he would be relieved of the disgust and social stigma of his physical affliction. He’d score some chicks then! And all he had to do was obey – just obey.

Naaman was used to people bowing before him and he was used to the king’s favor, and his scorecard in battle was impressive. So, when he showed up at Elisha’s house and wasn’t even greeted by the great prophet and was told to go wash in the Jordan seven times, well let’s just say he was less than impressed. He was treated like the outsider he was in a foreign land by some big-shot, no-name preacher who wouldn’t even come to the door! What a ­­­­________! (You fill in the blank.)

But Naaman was talked into repenting by some loyal and trustworthy underlings who said, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” You see, the underlings shared the disgust and social stigma of their leader. They wanted him clean and they wisely reasoned: Here’s your chance big-boy!

And when Naaman washed and came out of that water, he was clean. And not just clean but clean with the skin tone and health of a child’s skin! Wow! And his heart was changed because not even the formidable gods of his homeland could pull off results like that – and believe me, he tried! Like Taylor Swift sings: he threw his head back laughing like a little kid! Sheer joy!

God just wants me to believe and He wants me to believe without all of the fanfare my flesh demands. No, I’m not suffering from leprosy, but I do suffer with bouts of selfishness, small-ness, self-pity and all the other garbage associated with self-focus. God faithfully and graciously lets me read stories like Naaman’s and remember it isn’t about me – it’s about Him.

Father, help me again today to simply believe and obey in all I struggle against that is so un-important and non-essential. May my faith be renewed and washed clean today so I may in joy in Your presence throw my head back laughing like a happy little child who know his Dad is present and in charge and there’ll be no shortage or lack – just abundance, purpose, and meaning. Thanks for the reminder today. Pardon me for being such an idiot at times… Amen.

A Crisis of Belief

06.19.13

2 Kings 1.10 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. (ESV)

There is in Christian circles what is referred to as a crisis of belief. According to 2 Kings 1, an ailing king sent three companies of soldiers to arrest the prophet Elijah and two of the companies were consumed by fire at the prophet’s command: “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

It’s one thing to believe because someone else tells you to, or to reach a place where you believe on your own. Two companies of unbelievers were consumed by fire and the third company was led by a much wiser man – a man who believed: “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” (2 Kings 1.13b-14 ESV) Elijah could have called fire down until the entire army was consumed.

Do we believe because someone else tells us to or do we reach a point of crisis of faith. And a crisis of faith is a crisis, not some petty matter. What does it take to get us to believe? What does it take to pierce our hard heart?

For some it may be sickness. For others it may be heartbreak. For someone else it may be the loss of a loved one. Whatever the case, there is a crisis of faith: do I believe…or don’t I?

For sure some believe – the circumstances cause them to seek God. For others they are hardened all the more and refuse to accept God on any terms. The question for us is: do we believe? Would we come to God and ask: O God, let my life be precious in your sight! The humble ask such a question; the arrogant continue on their way.

Lord, may I be humble and accept Your rule in every aspect of my life. May I remember that I am Your son, but also Your servant and I am to believe. I can believe because of what others say or I can believe because I know for myself. Help me to believe for myself and to walk submissively at Your side. Thank You for Your grace and the crises of belief that have done their work in my life – amen.

God’s Grace and Our Chains

06.18.13

Colossians 4.18 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. (ESV)

I think it worth noting that Paul is/was in jail. I think it worth noting that perhaps his life has hit the place of that hot and dry August of wondering just what in the world was happening to him as it appeared jail-time was not a momentary derailment but more of a long-term deal. I don’t think Paul was wallowing in self-pity but I do think he might’ve viewed his situation as a nuisance.

Sometimes, as the great poet Robert Burns so aptly wrote:

“But little Mouse, you are not alone,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often awry,

And leave us nothing but grief and pain,

For promised joy!”*

I don’t think Paul felt forgotten but I do think he might’ve toyed with the idea he’d been benched. Always the optimist though he faithfully understood God’s place in annoyance and nuisance.

But Paul said, “Remember my chains.” Why? Did he want his chains removed? Did he desire to be free to move about freely? Well, certainly there was that, but to say it to a group of people he’d never met was more: Remember God, the God who knows about my chains…and yours. All of us are going to go through places in life where our only garments are God’s grace – and our chains.

That’s why Paul went on to say: Grace be with you. They needed His grace too. We all do no matter what we’re going through and no matter how awry go the plans of mice and men. His grace is worth remembering in the best of times when we see it the least; and the worst of times when we feel we need it the most.

What do you need to remember today? A missionary in a foreign land? Someone who is hurting? Whose chains are on your mind? As He has remembered us, so God calls us to remember them. He’s in control but it’s also nice to know that when you’re bound up by this or that, that someone else cares and is praying for you.

Father, today I remember those in chains and ask that You ease their pains. I pray for Sterns, Potters, Larsons and a whole host of others – touch them and help them today – amen.

* To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough - Robert Burns 1785

Have You Noticed

06.17.13

1 Kings 21.29 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.” (ESV)

When God asks questions He already has the answer. Ahab, as vile as he was (Cf. 1 Kings 21.25) repented; he sought the Lord’s forgiveness after the scathing rebuke level at him by Elijah. Ahab did an evil thing by killing Naboth and then seizing his vineyard, but he understood (and accepted) the rebuke of the Lord for doing so.

“Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before Me?” Great question. Do others notice when we get our act together? Do others notice when we set the example in serving the Lord; in giving Him praise and thanksgiving? God sure notices.

It’s not that we obey to score points but as Paul said in Colossians, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” God notices and others do as well. A life lived in Christ is a life lived for Christ. It’s a willful decision to live as a citizen of Heaven rather than a squatter on earth. And it gets noticed.

Over the weekend a friend of ours had to rush her son to the hospital after he sustained a serious head injury as the result of a swimming accident. She reported this morning on Facebook: Shift change, I hear his nurse in the hall briefing the oncoming team, and he is including the testimonies of other incidents with my three boys where they have been miraculously healed and protected, and telling them how we were missionaries and about all of you praying. The staff in intensive care at St Luke’s notices.

God notices and God pays attention like a proud loving Father who sees His children doing what they are supposed to do because they belong to His family. For all of his bad, ol’ Ahab did one thing good: he humbled himself before the Lord. It made a difference down the road.

Today I am to walk with God and live in Christ that I may live for Christ. I may have to make some decisions but I will have to live in Christ (because I am) so that I may live for Him. I’m not trying to garner attention but just simply trying to do what is right before my God and in the eyes of my fellow man. Everybody notices and God gets the glory.

Father, this day, may Your presence in me, and my living in You, make the difference. May I live and do what is right and good before You that others may be blessed – amen.

Proof Positive

06.16.13

1 Kings 19.36-37 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” (ESV)

Elijah seems to me to have been somewhat of an anomaly in Israel. The country by and large had left the worship of God and had turned to ungodly Baal worship and the sexually perverted worship of Asherah. What happens when a nation turns their backs on God?

Israel, in Elijah’s day under king Ahab, was a country in turmoil and a country of confusion. The people didn’t know who to worship, and my guess is they mostly didn’t worship anything. I’d guess most of them tried to simply remain unaffiliated; a lot like many do today.

But enter the Love of God; and enter God’s servant. Someone had to stand up for truth and lead, and God had His man: Elijah. Elijah’s life wasn’t easy because in the terms of the times Elijah wasn’t politically correct – he bucked the king’s religion and stood faithfully against the agenda of the king’s foreign wife; she had little love for Israel or her God. What they needed was a father to turn the hearts of the children back to their Father: back to God.

Elijah was a father (although it appears he never married); Elijah was a father for a nation helping them to turn back to God by showing them proof-positive God’s power and presence – something that neither the worship of Baal nor Asherah could ever do. The greatest calling on a man’s life is to be one who turns the hearts of his children back to God. Again.

Many times had Israel sinned and many times they had been turned back again. This time God chose Elijah the Tishbite to call them back again. Our children need to be reminded again and again where their Hope and Help come from; they need to be reminded until they get it – and Elijah did it for the children of God.

My children need to see my faith; they need to see it in action, in service, in love, in respect, and in wisdom because a father’s job is to: “… turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” A land without familial love and care is a land that is destined for destruction. With God the hearts of the children and parents both are turned. Without God it’s a train wreck.

Lord God, this Father’s Day may I, like Elijah, be used by You to help my children, grandchildren, and others turn back to You. May my faith shine faithfully apparent; and may my life be a living demonstration – proof positive – of Your power and presence, that they may see: You alone are God – in Your Name, amen.

Who I’m With

06.14.13

Philippians 4.2 2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. (ESV)

Apparently they didn’t agree. Not sure about what, but sure it was something, and it led them to not agree. Maybe it was heated – two hot-heads butting heads over theology they didn’t understand but insisted they had to protect. Maybe it was petty: God loves me more than you because you’re an idiot! Who knows? But there is such a thing as competition in the church and when personality gets mixed in with spirituality sometimes the sparks can fly.

I’m at breakfast this morning and my friend asks, “So, with all this in mind (our conversation at the moment) how’re you going to live today?” I thought about that and I realized part of it is to relax and remember I can’t add to or take away from God's grace – I have all I have, and what more do I need? And then I read about Euodia and Syntyche and thought: remember Who I’m with and Who is with me. That’s how I’m going to try to live out my day today: remembering that truth.

You see, it isn’t whether I remain focused on God or not. I want to and try to but sometimes I simply lose focus and get caught up in human life and all the baggage that comes with it. But God never loses sight of me and never wanders off somewhere. I might have a complete meltdown (humanly speaking) but God won’t, and God won’t take His eyes off of me, and won’t let go of His grip on me. I only need remember, and if only fleetingly, that He is with me and I am with Him no matter what else happens – it’s called grace; and grace never stops regardless if I remember or not.

And Euodia and Syntyche needed “loyal Syzygus’s (Greek: true yokefellow) help in that regard. Someone(s) in my life may need such help from me and it might help if I remember today Who I’m with and Who is with me in order to help them remember Who they’re with, and Who’s with them so they can iron things out amicably. (Sysygus just sounds funny to me… jus’ sayin’.)

Lord, help me to remember today You are there and I’m with You. May that remembrance guide and correct my thoughts, speech, and actions; not that I gain points with You, but that I honor You in all I do this day. I ask for Your help and I thank You I’m with You and You’re with me – amen.

Ever Optimism

06.11.13

Philippians 1.12-13 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. ESV

Most of us tend to think in terms of positive or negative. If I have positive thoughts then I seem to do better at life and things tend to not get me down. If I have negative thoughts then I seem to be bothered by the small stuff and my general outlook is dimmer and more pessimistic than if I was positive in my thinking.

I don’t think Paul was either positive or negative and I think he would puke in our day at the sight and sound of what amounts to modern pop-psychology deism. Paul understood who he was and what he was supposed to do: give himself wholeheartedly to the furtherance of the Gospel in the world around him to anyone who would listen. If Paul could’ve been labeled anything at all, he was passionate.

Paul always pointed everything back to Christ. Neither death, nor life, nor angels nor demons, nor persecution, or the sword or anything else in all creation would deter him from engaging someone in conversation and getting around to the question: do you know Jesus?

A fellow saint and friend used to say: we in Christian circles always seem to be answering questions that no one is asking. But sometimes we need to ask questions that no one wants to answer: do you know Jesus? It isn’t positivism or negativism; it’s simply reality and truth. And it’s passion and compassion for the one who’s struggling in all kinds of ways who needs, as a first step, to come to know Jesus and find their purpose and meaning in life in Him.

If Paul was anything, he was optimistic; he knew everything in life centered on his relationship with his Redeemer. So he wasn’t fooled by imprisonment. He wasn’t baffled by objections (fierce and otherwise) to his message. Paul knew and understood the only end to every situation was its perfect place in the heart and will of God. (I know some of my Pentecostal friends might swallow hard at the thought of that…)

Today, I am thinking about a friend of mine who has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: ALS (or as it is known: Lou Gehrig’s disease). I think my friend (once an avid golfer, a family man, a devoted husband and father, and all-around good guy) would say to you if you asked him: I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. And I don’t think that because he’s a positive thinker: he’s a knower of Christ. And he knows through the difficulties of his present situation and the impending end he faces that he is in the perfect place of God’s heart and will. My friend is passionate about Jesus and compassionate that others come to know the Lord.

Today, whatever happens to me and you, matters only in this regard: if we belong to Christ, what happens to us has really served to advance the Gospel. Period. It may be a pain, but it’s pain with a purpose and it finds it’s perfect place in the heart and will and love of God. It’s that important…

Goofy Drunk in Love

06.10.13

Song of Solomon 1.2 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine…

1.4 b We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you.

4.10 10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine…

Okay, I get it. I think. Sometimes when we read the Bible we run across ancient idioms that don’t quite square with our modern way of thinking. This morning as I read the first four chapters of the Song of Solomon (or The Song of Songs) I thought: what in the world is this all about? It’s a different way of thinking and I’m not too sure I understand it.

Apparently, it’s a love song of some sort and the lovers are plain old goofy – in love… I think. Sure sounds like it to me. What caught me right out of the gate is the idiom: your love is better than wine. I thought about that and I asked myself, why? Why is “…your love…better than wine”?

Consuming wine has a physical effect: one becomes intoxicated (more or less depending on the amount consumed.) Likewise, love has an effect: the one who is affected by love is, well, weird. Not in a bad way of course, but in a different way. A person in love may act like a person on wine: drunk, crazy, out of their right mind. The powerful effect of love is more mysterious and intoxicating than wine. Wow.

And so, the question: why is this even in the Bible? I dunno. What does this have to do with my spiritual life? Not sure. Why even read it? I think we read it because there is something mysterious about God who is all almighty and all, holy and majestic and all that, and yet seems to have an affection for us humans, who, in our own right, are mysterious, fickle and captivating.

There is something about affection that affects us. We’re affected by affection the way wine affects us: goofy, dreamy, and somewhat unstable. The deeper the affection and devotion, the worse it gets. So can we attach that thought to God who is all almighty and all, holy, and majestic? We can if we understand how mysterious He is and how mysterious (and wonderful) is His love for us. If we get it just right, His love for us is better than wine because His love changes us. His love makes us do things we otherwise wouldn’t do. We’re affectionately affected.

I know there are those among us who’d rather not put God in the place of crazy ‘drunken’ love; who’d rather He remain all almighty and all. It seems God may be easier to take if we know He isn’t goofy and dreamy in love for us. But then there are those silly romantics among us who think the All Almighty and All has a softer side – an affectionate side – and loves us with a love that changes us from who we were into who we are, because He is who He is… and His love for us is in fact, better than wine. I, for one, can buy into that idiom…

Generalities and Specifics

06.09.13

Ecclesiastes 10.19 19 Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. (ESV)

As I read the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes I tend to see generalities that reveal specifics. That’s what I see above: three general statements that point toward specifics. Bread isn’t always made for laughter – I have eaten bread with a heavy, heavy heart. But I haven’t lived my whole life with a heavy heart, I’ve only experienced that kind of sadness on occasion.

And wine gladdens life. Mostly. But sometimes wine gives you a hangover and then life doesn’t feel so glad. Sometimes wine is more of a pain than it is a happy companion. And there are those who are addicted to wine in such a manner as to be absolutely miserable: les miserable.

Money does answer just about everything in the general sense but money doesn’t buy love and money can be a cruel master if we’re not careful. Generally, we want more money because we believe it answers everything; but the truth is: it doesn’t. Money can help in some situations; but money, and the pursuit of money, isn’t the point of our life.

God neither worries nor frets about what He is to eat, to wear, or to do today. The Lord never does any of that. He is above that and lives in a different reality than we do. The Lord exists apart from our reality. And it is interesting that He allows us to face the issues surrounding bread, wine, and money as a part of our reality. But He expects that we approach them the way He does: as a part of the present, but non-essentials in our future.

In the general sense, bread, wine, and money are a part of life but they aren’t the point of life. The specifics of life are more at how we treat bread, wine, and money in our relationship with God (who doesn’t use any of it) and asks us to be His friends. Bread, wine, and money are the same on sunny days as well as stormy – it’s us who change…or remain the same; it’s all in how we approach life.

The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. He doesn’t necessarily tell us how to do that in the specifics, but he does say that living life has a point and the point of life is God; and living like He does. (Theologically speaking, God doesn’t live; He exists…just to clear that up…) But we’re to imitate Him in the sense of His creativity, His sacrificial love, His compassion, His tenderness, His love, His wisdom – and things like that.

God does what God does just because He is who He is – and He expects us to know who He is and then respond accordingly. The moniker Christian originally meant: Little Christ. We’re to live up to the name by living according to His name. The general direction of our lives is to connect us into specific relationship with God. It’s who He is and how we respond to who He is.

And Paul also tells me in the general sense to specifically make good use of my time – there isn’t a better use of my time than to get to know God. Bread, wine, and money all have their place but they aren’t to be preeminent in their place: only God gets preeminence. Father, help me to live wisely and to give the pursuit of my relationship with You the place of preeminence it deserves – I just don’t have enough time to make bread, wine, and money that important…

What Rough Weeks Need

06.08.13

Ephesians 4.25-32: 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)

Sounds like a simple life, doesn’t it; a life of peace and harmony; a life of dealing honestly, lovingly, and genuinely with others. Truth was never intended to be a club and truth must be married to kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness – or it doesn’t work; or do its work.

What is said can never be unsaid, and a broken trust is not easily mended. Truth cannot be shared without kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Be angry and do not sin – what the bleep does that mean? It means there is a time for anger but anger must be resolved in a timely manner or it becomes a monster that isn’t easily dealt with and becomes a dangerous obstacle to kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. The offended and the offender must remember this or anger will have its way - for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with (self-control) the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1.20-21 ESV)

Use the creativeness we have to do good and be productive because the effort it takes and the damage caused by theft only complicates problems, not solves them. Speech must be seasoned with favor so that our hearers may be built up, not put down; favored not flattered.

Grieving God by throwing cold water on the passion, presence, and zeal of the Holy Spirit is not smart, and only comes by being selfish. Bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander are noxious weeds which must be eradicated or else they’ll spread and take over.

For me, it’s been a rough week inside, and these words have helped me to review and regroup. None of this means anything without maintaining my focus on God and putting aside the pettiness of life, striving for kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. My Protection is Him and only when I wander off into other distractions do I find myself enmeshed in stupid stuff that robs me of peace and fills me with thoughts of performance, power, and position. My focusing only on God makes those evils go away.

Father, I pray to appropriate Your grace to accept the things I cannot change and use Your courage to change the things I can. I pray for wisdom to know the difference and for strength in my inner man to remember what is important and to stop striving for what is not. Rough weeks are what they are and I pray to learn the lessons that I may be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving as in Christ, You have been to me – amen.

So That

06.07.13

Ephesians 3.14-19 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (ESV)

I probably need to read this sentence (a long one) over and over again, so that, I get it. Whoever numbered the Scriptures, assigning chapters and verses blew it here: this is one complete thought, so that: we get it. They should have stopped at Ephesians 3.14 and let us have the whole enchilada. Sometimes what gets started, imperfect as it is, cannot be stopped.

Well, what Paul, what do we get? We get the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, length, and height of love. And we get the knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ which surpasses knowledge that we may be filled with the fullness of God. That takes divine strength – which we don’t by nature have; and it takes divine knowledge, which we’re short on as well.

So, we need to be strengthened with power from God for Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith and we need God’s strength to comprehend the incomprehensible. The fact that God loves us at all is a miracle beyond words and the fact that this is all because of His grace is simply a marvel – how could God do such a thing for people like us!?

God’s power is immense but it isn’t off limits. God desires that we catch even a glimpse of how good and great He is so that we’ll quit trying to substitute the things of this world for the things of His presence. If we all spent one whole day simply meditating on the fact that Jesus loves us this we know; for the Bible tells us so, it would make a huge difference in our lives and how we approach this old world with all its weird whackiness. It doesn’t matter what is going on in our lives – no matter how big or severe – God loves us in Christ, and that’s what makes all the difference in any and every situation.

And we can’t (or shouldn’t) take this lightly – our eternity depends on our getting it: by His grace; by His love; by His presence. All the human power and ingenuity in the world cannot compare to one whisper of His love. It’s no wonder Paul spent so much time trying to explain this to people – IT”S IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we need to know; and we can only know by God’s strength, and that’s why Paul prayed for them (and us) that the power of God open our feeble hearts and minds to the majesty of its truth.

And that is why I need to read it over and over again: so that I get it!

Father, help me, and the people I know, to get it – we need it – and You know it. 

Big Statement

06.05.13

Psalm 33.18,19 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. (ESV)

Why do we have trouble in this life? Why sickness, pain, and sorrow? If sin had never come into the world what would our lives be like? The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him; on those whose hope is in His steadfast love. That’s a pretty big statement.

Trouble comes because it is a part of this world. And trouble isn’t necessarily senseless because there is a God whose eye is on those who hope in His steadfast love. Actually, in this life, trouble isn’t senseless at all. It may appear that way to us, but it isn’t to God who said, “… take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16.33) The world in all its worldliness is no match for God – to Him it’s small potatoes.

Trouble is really only an opportunity to speak truth to ourselves about Who is in charge and where hope is – hope is in the Lord. Trouble ought to cause a spiritual reaction in us by which we say, even if I die in the process, my hope and belief is in the Lord!

And then: …that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Another big statement. But the miracle of it is: He does. Why? Why would He do that? Verse 10 of this psalm says: The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. There is an unwritten, unspoken understanding on earth – earth-talk if you will – that says stuff happens: there is sickness, there are famines and some are just destined to that and that’s all there is to it. And there’s no escaping it.

God is contrary to earth-talk – He is neither fooled by it, frightened by it, nor foiled by it. All of the earth-talk that has ever been spoken doesn’t amount to anything for the one who understands His eye is on those who hope in His steadfast love – and because they do – He delivers their soul from death and keeps them alive in famine. Contrary. Unconventional. In your face…

God is about the business of being God. He doesn’t need our permission but He does desire our friendship, and there is something to His steadfast love. Not every saint who ever lived avoided trouble – trouble is a part of life. But every saint who trusted in God found peace in the midst of trouble and called out to a God who cares. His eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

Big statement about a Big God who cares Big about His people. Big trouble is no match for Him and we bring Him glory when in the midst of our troubles when we cry out: O God, have mercy! He loves mercy and those who stand against earth-talk to the praise of His glory!

Father, You have mine…

The Forgotten Chapter

06.03.13

Romans 15.18-21 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it is written,

“Those who have never been told of him will see,

and those who have never heard will understand.”

I seem to remember most of the book of Romans, or at least where stuff is in the book of Romans (which really isn’t a book but a lengthy letter called an epistle.) So, today I sort of mindlessly loaded up my computer and drifted through three chapters of the Proverbs (which seemed especially thorny today) and then flipped over to the Roman letter and realized, “Wow, I don’t think I remember what’s in Chapter 15!”

And so, after reading it, I said again, “Wow, I forgot all that was in here!” I forgot that Paul demonstrates what an Example Jesus was in His earthly ministry as the Middle-Man between man and God. I forgot Paul explained that Jesus was the Hope of salvation for both Jews and Gentiles. I forgot that Paul describes his ministry as exclusively to the Gentiles. And I forgot, Paul talked about going to Spain. Not sure if he made it or not, but he talked about it.

Romans 15 is like a middle child in a large family (in this instance, 16 kids so to speak.) And sometimes it’s easy to lose track of a kid or two when there are so many. The point of this is remember what you read and remember why it’s there:

·         Jesus Christ is our Example of Someone who came on orders from Another and faithfully carried out His mission without flinching.

·         Jesus Christ is the Hope of all who believe in Him – both Jew and Gentile (a continual theme of the Apostle Paul)

·         Paul’s letters are especially meaningful to Gentile (I am one) because he was God’s minister to the Gentiles “…from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum” and points beyond.

·         And Paul made it his ambition: to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”

Today, the Forgotten Chapter is my reminder that I, 2000 some years later, am a recipient of Paul’s ancient ambition. Thank You God!

Fools Rush On

06.02.13

Proverbs 22.3 3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (ESV)

I knew it was in here somewhere: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Okay, well maybe not; but how about this: the wise recognize and the simple suffer. A friend of mine posted this on Facebook: "You are the constant in all of life's changings." In every season and for every reason we remain the same in the face of danger, or a stranger; and anguish and anger. The difference is whether or not we are a prudent student of what we encounter or a simpleton.

There is much to be said for simplicity: the art of living focused on the things that are important as opposed to what society says is important. A simple life is an uncomplicated life. A simple life is one unhampered by so much strife. It is a different matter entirely when one is a simpleton. There is a willful burying of one’s head in the sand rather than intentionally accepting what is at hand and doing something about it.

The prudent sees danger and hides himself from it – he clearly sees danger as off-limits and does his best to flee to safer ground. Danger will attack whatever it is attracted to and whatever it can see, but the prudent camouflages himself against the attack of danger. The simple however, do not: Fools rush on where angels and the prudent fear to tread.

This spoke to me today because of my past experiences with simpleton-ness. There is a certain willfulness to being simple. Being simple isn’t exclusive to the non-smart: there are many very well educated, intelligent, and well-to-do people who are simple: they lack the capacity to recognize danger and from it, hide themselves . I can think of numerous occasions where I simply, willfully plunged into simple and paid a dear price for my simple-ness. Oh, that I could go back and un-do some of the mistakes I’ve made just by being simple.

The simple go on – they couldn’t care less about consequences; and they probably don’t even stop to consider them. The simple go on because they reason that by somehow doing the same thing over and over they’ll somehow achieve different results. The simple go on because they don’t want to go any other way.

I want to learn from this and from the non-biblical, but appropriate saying: fools (the simple) rush in where angels (and the prudent) fear to tread. I want to be taught to stop being simple and having to learn that simple ought to hurt. I want to quit fooling myself that danger isn't real; and ignoring it won’t make it go away.

Father, at this point there isn’t much I can do about my simple past, but there is something I can learn for the near and distant future: The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. Help me to see. Help me to realize my simple-ness and simple tendencies and to learn. I can’t erase the past but I can learn from it – and with Your help I can hide from real danger…even the kind I come up with all on my own…

Involved

06.01.13

Proverbs 19.21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 20.24 A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?

Proverbs 21.1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

Proverbs 21.30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.

Romans 13.1 13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

This morning as I read Proverbs and Romans I was overcome with a not only a sense of God’s presence, but also His involvement in our lives. It seems there is ample evidence that God is deeply involved not only in our individual lives but also in our civic and national lives. How then can we ignore His presence?

Questions:

·         Are the Proverbs to be taken literally, or are they merely principles that point in a general direction?

·         Is mankind independent of the Lord or is he merely a part of God’s overall plan and purpose?

·         Is the king God’s tool, or is there free-will in his rule?

·         Is the king’s free-will rule, and the consequences thereof, part of God’s plan?

·         Is the ‘governing authority’ of which Paul speaks in Romans 13 free to do whatever it wants, or is it limited by God’s power and presence?

God is involved in our lives and when the righteous rule the people are at peace. The opposite is true as well, when the wicked are in power, the righteous hide. But there is no time or place in life in which God is not involved; every aspect and every moment of our lives is His to do as He pleases. The difficulty may seem to be finding Him in those moments of difficulty. But that is where faithful faith says: He is in control, what worries do I have?

I was not created to give answers to why God does what He does; I was created to trust Him no matter what He decides. If God is in charge of the king, then who am I to question? If the king takes the throne by force or deceit then who am I to stop him? If I don’t like the king and my gaze is removed from God, I am left only with my own resources to live out my life on my own. However, if my gaze remains fixed upon God, then I have all of His resources with which to accept life as it comes and a hope to guide me toward my meeting Him in heaven.

Father, You are in control and with every sense of the word I pray: God, save the king! Everyone’ll be better off if You do. Amen.