The Blending

08.10.14

John 12.50 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” – Jesus (NIV)

“Yesterday was my birthday; I hung on more year on the line…”* It was a quiet day, I worked for a friend of mine. My wife went to an all-weekend girl-fest. My son stayed the night at a friend’s house; so last night, it was just me, the dog, and the cat after that. In my quiet moments after dinner, I thought about life, the middle east, the culture around me. I thought about the church; I thought about ministry. And this morning, I read the above.

What kind of a life is it that is lived out only doing what God commands (by, and because of His divine, regal authority)? Jesus said here in the text, “So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” That isn’t my reality. I don’t say what God commands me to say. (I mean not always, or maybe better, not very often.) Francis Chan is reported as having said of people, it isn’t that they don’t like Jesus, they just don’t want to be like Jesus. I think I got some of that in me.

I wonder what life would look like if I started off each day asking: Father, today may I say what You tell me to say, and do what You tell me to do. I think it’s worth attempting.

As I look at the Bible it appears there are only a select few folk throughout its narrative that took the time to get to know God on such a level as to: say what He said to say, and do what He said to do. Jesus did it flawlessly.

I don’t think I’m called to flawless perfection. I do think I’m called to put forth some effort. I do think I’m called to seek Him earnestly, listen carefully, and obey Him entirely. Where I run into trouble is in blending my agenda (the family, the church, the job, the bills, and the…) with His. I think my solution is to learn/accept that my agenda really is His agenda, and if I would but acknowledge Him in my agenda I might find meaning and purpose in everything else I do.

Today I feel a sense of maybe drawing closer to God and saying:

Father, whatever it is that You have for me to say and to do, may I be willing to do (as Jesus said: just) that. Find me willing to include You in all my doings and sayings and may I live my life out seeking You earnestly, listening carefully, and obeying You entirely. Help me God. Amen

Father and Friend

08/09/14

Jeremiah 3.4-5 Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, 5 will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?’  This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.” - God

How do you respond to this? Jeremiah's words were not the beginning of the end; they were the end. It was just a few short years until the invading horde of Babylon was going to swoop down upon Judah and carry her off to a place she didn't want to go. (Jesus once said to St. Peter: Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Peter hadn't a clue but when Jesus says you're going somewhere you don't want to go, then be sure, you'll not want to go...)

God's complaint was His people had the audacity to call Him Father and Friend but that was as far as it went - their hearts weren't in it. They wanted to live the way they wanted to live and have God place His approval on it as long as they called Him: Father and Friend. God said in essence, sorry guys, it don't work that way!

The relationship God had with His people then (and still has today) was one of covenant - i.e. contractual: If you do your part, I'll do mine. But because God's heart is so loving and compassionate, the contract has an emotional side to it that one wouldn't find, say at the bank with a car loan, or a mortgage, or some other kind of contract. (I think that is one of the hardest things in understanding God's interaction with the Jews - He loved them dearly but He stood by the covenant. It was more than a contract, but it was a contract nonetheless.

With the Church, there is no contract; just love. More actually, it's love, intention, and will. With Israel, God demanded obedience to the rules. With the Church God demands love. Well, how do you do that? Simply by lovingly, obediently, loving in return. Jesus said, If you love Me; you'll obey me. It isn't keeping laws, it's trusting His way is the best way; and it is a surrendering of my will to do exactly what He says to do. There is no covenant; there is no law - there is just a loving relationship expressed in my willing submission to His commands (not His commandments...)

But, this is the deal: can we call God, Father and Friend and then go live however the hell we like? We can, but there isn't much (if any) heart in it and that is where the truth of the reality of the relationship is: the heart, and its place in the relationship.

This verse smacked me around a bit today. It's not about behavior or performance - it's about heart. If the heart is right, the obedience and the behavior will follow. If not, there's some soul-searching needing to be done. God, where is my heart in all this? A careful read through Psalm 139 might be helpful, if we aren't sure where our heart is in all this.

Father and Friend, You do know me - You know all about me. There's nothing about me You don't know. That's good and bad...to me. But despite how I feel about what You know I pray You draw me close. I pray You help me to see Your heart. I pray that I somehow respond to Your love and reciprocate in my words, but more importantly with my heart, doing what You ask me to do... Through Him, Amen.

Days

08.07.14

Zephaniah 1.7 Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.  – Zephaniah the Prophet (NIV)

When I read through the Old Testament prophecies I run across the term often: The Day of the Lord. I used to think the Day of the Lord was singular and sometime time off in the distance; eventually arriving when things would then be different. Today, I realize there is more than one day of the Lord.

When Zephaniah (Zeff-on-ee-ah) taught, the end was right around the corner – we would say imminent, or present. Now, by the end, I don’t think it was the end of Israel (Judah). It was the end of the way things were; eventually the nation returned from exile in Babylon. (It seems to me that Babylon must mean: You want the world baby, you got it!) The Day of the Lord was soon going to be His presence through the invading armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the siege, the captivity, and the deportation. The Day to Zephaniah was right around the corner, and it happened.

There is reference in the Old Testament to another Day of the Lord. It wasn’t to come for another 700 years or so, but it came. That Day showed up with a Baby born in obscurity and poverty bringing light and wealth of God’s presence into the world, indicating that things again had changed, and the way we used to do things was gone forever.

In that day the Lord said: As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. (John 9.4) I’ve tried to work through that sentence and can’t; but I can say this: there is yet another Day of the Lord coming – a day when all things will change, forever.

Now, where ya goin’ with all this, Paulie? Only here: the Days of the Lord are the moments of His visitation and there have been plenty of them throughout History. (He never leaves – He is omnipresent – but on/in those days, His presence is more obvious than at others\ times.) And here’s the dealio: the Day of the Lord, for the one who believes, is every day. Now that isn’t to say that every day is Christmas, or every day is Children’s Day; but it is to say that God is more obvious at some times than at others; we’re rolling up on 9-11 and we might be mindful that that day could’ve been (and ultimately was) a day of the Lord for some. Our choice is how we choose to look at it.

Today, is a day of the Lord for me because I accept His presence in all I do and seek His presence in all I do. I think there’s a Day of the Lord coming for America that she isn’t going to relish. I think that day will be the loss of her power and relevance. But that is all the more reason to be ready for the Day of the Lord today. I think our readiness today and every day will be what gets us through the next Day of the Lord when it happens. And it’s coming.

Father, my thought today is this: as I live today, I live in the presence and power of the Kingdom. Today, is a day from You and I’m to rejoice and be happy in it – that is what I will do. Help me to see the days properly and to live each day appropriately: depending upon You obediently. Father, help me to see You this day in all I do – amen!

God Thoughts

08.06.14

John 8.56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” – Jesus

In the middle of a dark and brooding statement in Habbakuk 2 are these words: “— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness” (Habbakuk 2.4-5). It may be tempting to read that statement incorrectly because at first glance it appears that the object of the statement is a person of evil and wickedness. But the phrase doesn’t match with anything else in the verse and because it is God speaking, how can God say that a wicked terrorist lives by faithfulness? Faithfulness to what?

The faithfulness of which Habbakuk speaks is the same kind of faithfulness that is attributed to Abraham, that father of the faithful. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. The faithful who walk in faithfulness are not like the deluded who cling to a belief as a way of living; the faithful cling to God in the midst of a world full of terrorism. Abraham was faithful in his day.

Jesus made a statement about Abraham one day in the temple (see John 8.48 ff.). Jesus said the above. We get, by this statement, a little insight into Abraham’s worldview and his thoughts about God. Abraham, in a world full of terrorism, believed God, believed in God, and thought about God. Thoughts about God ought to be present in the lives of the faithful – they ought to think about Him, His ways, His words, and His salvation. (Salvation isn’t an invitation to be ‘churchy’; salvation is an invitation to know God, and become His friend.)

That’s what Abraham was all about; he wasn’t about living in the midst of terrorists; he was about being the friend of God. That’s why Jesus said, “…Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” Abraham thought about God. Abraham thought God thoughts. Abraham knew that salvation was more than just an invitation to be churchy. Abraham thought about the day of salvation and because he did, he saw it – he saw it by the eyes of faith.

What are our thoughts? What do we think about? Do we allow our thoughts to be about God or are they influenced by other things? The faithful live by their faithfulness, and their faithfulness includes thinking about God and His ways and salvation in the midst of a world full of terrorism.

Here’s a thought: tonight watch the news and pray through it as you watch. Look for God in the midst of terrorism, tragedy and unspeakable pain. Rejoice, in the midst of the reporting, in Jesus’ Day – the Day that God came to town and invited men, in person, to become His friends. I double-dog dare ya…

Father, the old hymn sings, “our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of days; pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.” May I be granted God-thoughts today. In the middle of all I am up to, may my mind be filled with rejoicing that You are here, and You are near, and despite what the world comes up with, You have invited me to be Your friend – amen.

Lamenting

08.05.14

2 Chronicles 35.25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.

What happens when a people turns from God? Nobody laments, that’s what. (Yes, some lament, but mostly God is left aside as irrelevant, archaic, and myth.) When Josiah was king I think there was a brief flicker of hope but it was short-lived; the flicker flamed out; Josiah was killed and the nation slid off the table so to speak – the end had come.

I wonder about this great nation of ours and I wonder if there’ll ever be a return to God, and if there is, I wonder what will be the fruit of it. I don’t hold out a lot of hope. And I wonder who’ll write the laments. I wonder if it’ll even matter or if anyone will care.

Today, as a cease-fire starts in the conflict between Israel and her enemies I wonder if Israel remembers the Laments, and if anyone is bothering to cry them out to God. I wonder what would’ve happened had Josiah not gone out to confront Necho. I wonder…

It seems one laments when faced with, too little too late. I personally think this was the case with the reign and death of Josiah. Faithful and devout king he was, he couldn’t stem the tide in front of him – the aggression of Egypt or the aggression of Babylon. At least he died in battle defending his land and his God, and not in chains in cowardly defeat in some prison.

I lamented this morning (at about 3:00 am). I laid awake remembering much of the stupidity of my past and I lamented to God how sorry I was. I think He listened. I think He smiled. And I think He said something like: “Child, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride but I have it under control! Trust in Me! I’ll bring you through.” And so, a verse came into my mind: But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2.14) Lamenting or no; crying over spilled milk or no, God is God and He loves His kids – even the stupid ones.

The rest of the story in 2 Corinthians starts in verse 15: For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?  The reason for lamenting is to confess to God: I’ve missed it and I want to repent.

The consequences come but God is with us in the consequences and on the other side He is cheering us on; because we are to God the pleasing aroma of Jesus among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma that brings death – death to self, death to stupidity, death to turning from God; to the other we are an aroma that brings life – and hope and all the goodness of God that comes with it.

And so today I pray: Come Lord Jesus. Come and save me from stupid; and may my life be a ray of hope to someone who only sees darkness and death. Be merciful Lord. Be swift. Breathe life – I pray to You the Victor over death and dumb…amen.

This Pathetic Piece of Palestinian Trash?

!!Blog warning!! Long(er) length!!
08.02.14

John 4.17-18 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” NIV

It is important to know that Jesus – the Author and Perfector of our faith – was just another Guy during His days on earth – with one marked and remarkable difference: His association with, and submission to the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.

I know people can’t handle the God/man thing (I mean, really, who can?) but it is important for us to know that Jesus – fully God and fully man – had His God-ness held in escrow while He was walking along as you and I are. The difference, as I said, was His association with and submission to the Spirit (capital S).

When did Jesus ever quit being God? Never. When did Jesus put His God-ness in a trust account? During His 33 (or so) years upon Terra Firma, that’s when. He never ceased being God – you can’t unbecome who you are. He did set His divine power and glory aside for a while and let the Father, through His Spirit lead Him where He was supposed to go and talk to whom He was supposed to talk: like a woman in Samaria who’d had five husbands and the man she had presently (in the narrative) was not her husband.

So let’s ask some questions, shall we? Why does she have to be a woman of ill-repute? The story doesn’t say that but I’ve been taught (all my life) that’s what she was. Why? Because she had five husbands? Hmmm. I know people who’ve been married multiple times, and currently live with their ‘other’, and though I might question their morals, beliefs, and their motives, I wouldn’t necessarily call them folk of ill-repute. (I think we’ve been sold a bill-of-goods about the woman…)

Now, let’s factor in the fact that Jesus knew about her beyond what she thought He knew about her. (She was NOT a Jew.) She was a cursed half-breed and not held to the standards of the Jewish orthodoxy. They didn’t want nuthin’ to do with her. So why does this woman have to be held to standards that weren’t her own? Why do we do that to people: hold them to our standards that are not theirs?

Why did Jesus tell this woman (of all women) about Himself and about His role as Messiah? And why do we hang that sad stigma on her? I don’t think Jesus did, after all, she was the one He used to share the gospel with the other accursed half-breeds (north of the border, so to speak). And Jesus, true to His mission of listening to and obeying in complete submission what the Spirit instructed Him to do, spoke to her and shared with her – HER – the love of God and the truth about all things.

And then there’s us. We tell the story of ‘Jesus and this pathetic piece of Palestinian trash’, and we try to get others to believe what we’ve been told about her; we believe it and want them to, too! Why does she have to be Palestinian trash? Why can’t she be just like the rest of us: broken and fallen and in desperate need of salvation? Why does she have to be trash – does that make the story more believable? Oh, please! Lord, have mercy we are so gullible!

What is more important: that she was a piece of trash or that she is the one the Holy One said to go and talk to, so that she’ll go and talk to others? Makes me wonder. Makes me wonder about the people I size up to be less than my standards; and it makes me wonder about the cruelty of my insisting (verbally or otherwise) that they live up to how I see things. I think I’m the one who needs a Savior if I treat people like that!

I think we need to rethink about what we think about the Samaritan woman. I think we need to think about what it would look like if Jesus came into our lives today like He did to hers that day and He told us all about living water, and Who it is who offers it, and messed up spirituality, and, oh yes, our own personal little deeds of ill-repute that we don’t want anyone else to see.

Friends, join with me in asking questions about our faith – not that its real, but how we’ve allowed others to shade our thinking and miss the point of our encounters with Jesus (Who, by the way, took back all of His God-ness out of the trust fund with interest) and sits at the right hand of Him who is enthroned above all.

Father, I pray: open the eyes of our hearts Lord, we want to see You, hear You, and by all means, obey You, as we journey through Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even to our own little uttermost parts of the globe. In His name Who offers good water, amen!

These

08.01.14

Isaiah 66.2b “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” – God

I read this verse today and somehow it disturbed me. I dare not wear it as a Pharisee’s merit badge because those are not valued in Heaven, and they are a source of immense discomfort on earth. The hunger we have is revealed by what we eat.

I can’t think of the last time I trembled at God’s word. I value it. I love it. I learn from it. I quote it. I just can’t think of a time when I was in terror of it, trembling. I haven’t opened my Bible in a long time and just simply exclaimed: Awesome! I think I tend to think of His word as a couch in the other room – nothing too awesome about that.

I know I’ve been humbled and have been humble but it takes a different measure of humility to be in such humiliation as to tremble, shaking at God’s word. The writer of Hebrews says this: “The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear." (12.21) He was quoting Moses from Deuteronomy 9.19: “I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.” That takes some kind of humility and contrition. Lots of it. I don’t have much. But I want some. There are those who have it. 

I sit humbled tonight at my lack of humility and my lack of contrition and terror of the word. (It has to be terror sometimes otherwise I won’t/don’t move.) And so, Isaiah’s words caught my eye and wrapped themselves around my heart.

I don’t want to put on a show. I don’t want to wear garments that don’t fit or look like they were made for someone else. I do want to fall on my face before Him who says: “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” I want to fall on my face pleading for mercy at my care-less-ness, cynicism, and apathy. My worship must include humility, contrition, and terror. At least in some measure.

I also remember this:

“One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard:

“Power belongs to you, God, and with You, Lord, is unfailing love”;

and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.””

Psalm 62.11-12

Father today, numb, dumb, and resting on my thumb, I plead Your mercy. I pray for a fresh encounter with You and for Your word to stir up in me – terror. I know You don’t hate me because with You is unfailing love. I just want to learn to respond with some measure of humility and contrition and I pray not to lay awake at night wondering if I’ve somehow missed it. I ask for Your help as I do what I do and to find You rewarding me for what I’ve done. Thank You for Your goodness, kindness, but thank You for Your sternness as well. I want to be one of "these" Your son. Amen.