Instead of going with the obligatory title or content for any blog written on Mother's Day, I decided to try a little shock value and talk a bit about fathers - why fathers need mothers. I am writing this for fathers and guys who are first and foremost problem solvers and logic thinkers and who are attempting to lead their families well. I am writing this for guys who have been told that they are to be the "leader of the home" and who find themselves attempting to lead a family the way they think it should be lead and are finding it messy and a mess. I am writing this for men who have children who they don't understand and are finding that there is more and more conflict in the home instead of peace. I am writing this for every male that does not fully appreciate what your mother and the mother of your children brings to the table.
I have to confess that it took me a few years of marriage and child rearing to begin to move toward admitting that I did not have all the answers and admitting that leadership of the home was not totally centered on me and my way of doing things. It took friction between my wife and I and a few sleepless nights for me to BEGIN the journey of understanding why God created man AND woman and brought them together to form a family.
Let me start by stating the conclusion: I needed my mother. I need my wife.
I needed my mother to model to me nurturing; to show me what grace was. I needed her to show me love when my heart was broken and my plans were messed up - I needed that model to understand that I need to do that for others when they are broken and messed up. I needed my mother to be faithful to me when I broke windows, when I hid my boots (long story...), when I broke dishes instead of drying them, when I was depressed after a basketball game; when the stuff of life hit me. I needed her to be there, not just with me, but for me. I needed her to model that for me so that I can pass that onto my children. I was blessed to have a mother who did just that for me. My job was, and is, to note that faithfulness, that tenderness, that nurture, so that I can move it from what was done for me to what I do for my children.
I need the mother of my children to continue to teach me how to be a better father and person. I need her to challenge me, to raise and eyebrow every once and a while, to talk to me about my short comings so that I can grow and change. I need her to balance my personality with hers so that TOGETHER, we can raise children that get the best of both of us and not the worse. I need to listen to her, watch her, appreciate her and try and emulate her nurturing and loving nature as I seek to fulfill the calling of dad.
Say thanks to your mom and mother of your children today. Do more than just say thanks - tell God thank you for bring them into your life and really seek to learn from them how to be a better man and a better person!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Weeds #2
It was a while ago, but I think that I wrote about weeds. I mean, I like my lawn to be weed free and I especially like my garden weed free. As I stated before, there are some funny tings about weeds. You never plant them - they just show up. Some of them are very hardy and don't need a ton of water to live (when your yard is brown in August, there are still nice green spots of weeds!). They tend to grow faster than what you are trying to grow. They spread.
My daughter is having a graduation open house this summer so the I have a project list to accomplish around the house. One of the projects is to clean up some of the landscape beds - in particular one that is really weed infested. As I examined the area a couple of weeks ago, I sighed - TONS of weeds have overtaken the ornamental grasses that I had planted there a few years ago - in particular quack grass. The problem with quack grass is that the roots go every where. When I tried to weed it, I found the roots of the quack grass had wrapped itself around the roots of the ornamental grasses so I could not remove the weed without damaging the plant. I finally decided that the only option I had was to spray Round Up on the whole area, kill everything and then start over.
Life lesson - don't let the weeds grow. Get rid of the root of bitterness EARLY (Heb. 12:15) before it consumes you. Get rid of the weeds in your life that are keeping you from experiencing the fullness of God - the weeds of disobedience, the weeds of a bad habit, the weeds of anger, the weeds of - pick your favorite sin.
I am afraid if we don't get rid of the weeds in our lives, they will consume us - even Christians! They will continue to grow until we find the fruitfulness of our lives overcome by the weeds of sin. The lesson of this year was that if I don't take care of the weeds, there might be whole areas of my life that needs to be killed so that something good can grow. Frankly, it seems a whole lot easier to pluck a few weeds in the short term then it is for God to have to wreak havoc in an area of my life because I allow the weeds to grow and consume me. (Did you hear who's responsibility it is to remove the weed? Mine. Yes I have the Spirit of God to help. Yes the power of change comes from God, but I have to take the step to WANT to get rid of it.)
Start pulling those weeds today!!!
My daughter is having a graduation open house this summer so the I have a project list to accomplish around the house. One of the projects is to clean up some of the landscape beds - in particular one that is really weed infested. As I examined the area a couple of weeks ago, I sighed - TONS of weeds have overtaken the ornamental grasses that I had planted there a few years ago - in particular quack grass. The problem with quack grass is that the roots go every where. When I tried to weed it, I found the roots of the quack grass had wrapped itself around the roots of the ornamental grasses so I could not remove the weed without damaging the plant. I finally decided that the only option I had was to spray Round Up on the whole area, kill everything and then start over.
Life lesson - don't let the weeds grow. Get rid of the root of bitterness EARLY (Heb. 12:15) before it consumes you. Get rid of the weeds in your life that are keeping you from experiencing the fullness of God - the weeds of disobedience, the weeds of a bad habit, the weeds of anger, the weeds of - pick your favorite sin.
I am afraid if we don't get rid of the weeds in our lives, they will consume us - even Christians! They will continue to grow until we find the fruitfulness of our lives overcome by the weeds of sin. The lesson of this year was that if I don't take care of the weeds, there might be whole areas of my life that needs to be killed so that something good can grow. Frankly, it seems a whole lot easier to pluck a few weeds in the short term then it is for God to have to wreak havoc in an area of my life because I allow the weeds to grow and consume me. (Did you hear who's responsibility it is to remove the weed? Mine. Yes I have the Spirit of God to help. Yes the power of change comes from God, but I have to take the step to WANT to get rid of it.)
Start pulling those weeds today!!!
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Been thinking more about complacency and how it impacts my spiritual life. It is amazing to me how easily I slide into not doing the work that I know I need to do to maintain a relationship. This is true not only with my relationship with God, but also in my other key relationships. I find this is true with my wife, my kids, etc. I forget that relationships take work - time, thought focus, prayer, action, communication - relationships, good ones, long lasting ones - don't just "happen".
From a spiritual sense, the work is on my end - God never moves away from a relationship with me; I move away from my relationship with Him. One problem I is that I have an enemy that is relentless; who is, along with his forces, constantly working on moving me away from God (see Ephesians 6:12). He is bent on ruining my relationship with God. The other problem I have is me. The human tendency, my tendency, is toward complacency, toward "resting on my laurels", toward moving away from God instead of toward Him, toward wanting something (a relationship) for nothing (no work), toward self centeredness and feeding my flesh, instead of being centered on God. For sure the Spirit is working to maintain that relationship, but MYwork is to follow the Spirit and DO the things that I know I need to do.
I have to make conscious decisions, I have to consciously work,to maintain or I will slide. If I let my guard down, if I coast, if I become complacent, if I rest on my laurels - my relationship with slide.
I guess that is why I wrote this. I have to remind myself that I have to be diligent.
From a spiritual sense, the work is on my end - God never moves away from a relationship with me; I move away from my relationship with Him. One problem I is that I have an enemy that is relentless; who is, along with his forces, constantly working on moving me away from God (see Ephesians 6:12). He is bent on ruining my relationship with God. The other problem I have is me. The human tendency, my tendency, is toward complacency, toward "resting on my laurels", toward moving away from God instead of toward Him, toward wanting something (a relationship) for nothing (no work), toward self centeredness and feeding my flesh, instead of being centered on God. For sure the Spirit is working to maintain that relationship, but MYwork is to follow the Spirit and DO the things that I know I need to do.
I have to make conscious decisions, I have to consciously work,to maintain or I will slide. If I let my guard down, if I coast, if I become complacent, if I rest on my laurels - my relationship with slide.
I guess that is why I wrote this. I have to remind myself that I have to be diligent.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Complacent Grace
What is the third thing you do when you are driving in the winter and you start sliding around on a slippery road? (The first thing you do is correct the problem. The second thing you do is take a couple of deep breaths and let your heart settle down.) You slow down. You pay more attention to the road conditions and to the cars around you. You begin to believe that YOU can have an accident. You are shaken from your complacency; shaken from thinking that nothing will happen to you because nothing has.
Complacency seems to be a human characteristic. There are so many areas of our lives that we just settle into and become complacent. Parenting - until one day we wake up and our child is suspended from school. Marriage - until one day we are told by our spouse that she doesn't really love us any more. Work - until we find our selves on the receiving end of a pink slip.
Spiritually..... Our relationship with God. When we do receive a wake up call? When are we shaken from complacency? I think there are three times when we can be shaken. First, at funerals - when we are faced with the fact that we are going to die one day. Secondly, when we die and stand before our creator and the events of our lives are reviewed. Thirdly, when we look at scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to work within our soul.
The first, funerals, typically are few an far between when we are young and really have the energy to change. The second, death - well, then it is too late to do anything. The last is something that we can control. We can pick up the scriptures and be challenged. We have the ability to read. We have the ability to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us.
So why don't we choose to shake ourselves out of complacency? Why don't we pick up the scriptures? Because we are complacent. Vicious circle isn't it.
I find myself too often content, complacent. I have been saved from sin and from eternal damnation, isn't that enough? I mean, why is it important for me not to be complacent. I will write more about this in my next post. Stay tuned.....
Complacency seems to be a human characteristic. There are so many areas of our lives that we just settle into and become complacent. Parenting - until one day we wake up and our child is suspended from school. Marriage - until one day we are told by our spouse that she doesn't really love us any more. Work - until we find our selves on the receiving end of a pink slip.
Spiritually..... Our relationship with God. When we do receive a wake up call? When are we shaken from complacency? I think there are three times when we can be shaken. First, at funerals - when we are faced with the fact that we are going to die one day. Secondly, when we die and stand before our creator and the events of our lives are reviewed. Thirdly, when we look at scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to work within our soul.
The first, funerals, typically are few an far between when we are young and really have the energy to change. The second, death - well, then it is too late to do anything. The last is something that we can control. We can pick up the scriptures and be challenged. We have the ability to read. We have the ability to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us.
So why don't we choose to shake ourselves out of complacency? Why don't we pick up the scriptures? Because we are complacent. Vicious circle isn't it.
I find myself too often content, complacent. I have been saved from sin and from eternal damnation, isn't that enough? I mean, why is it important for me not to be complacent. I will write more about this in my next post. Stay tuned.....
Monday, March 26, 2012
I have read a two books and watched a management series by Henry Cloud. I have been impressed with his action orientated teaching. When I received an email about a series of Webinars from Dr Cloud and Dr Townsend, I thought I would sign up. I got a little more than I bargained for.
The first webinar was about the barriers to change. Nothing earth shattering or convicting here. It was good information, but I didn't see any of "afraid to change" factors present in me. (I will come back to this - maybe not the best conclusion on my part.)
The second webinar started by a challenge to write down the goal that you have for your life; the reason that you started watching these webinars in the first place. This is where the trouble started. I was unable to come up with a goal. I mean, I have goals, but they seem kind of trivial and really short term - get this project done, wrap up this project, etc.; not the kind of goal that requires life change or a more radical movement. I really could not come up with anything that seemed like a worthwhile goal. That was really disheartening to me - so disheartening I stopped watching the webinar.
Then the questioning started. Have I become so complacent and content in my life that I have no aspirations anymore? Have I achieved everything that I am supposed to achieve? Am I afraid to step out? Have I closed my mind to the possibility of larger goals because I am comfortable? Am I just too tired to aspire? Positive answers to any of these questions is depressing.
Here is the problem. I am a mountain climber. I love to dream and make those dreams reality. I love to move forward. I love to change. I love to be a change agent. This is how I am wired and one of the contributions that I believe I bring to this world. I think this is where the "depression" set in: the gap between were I am (no goals) and who I believe I am (action orientated).
OK, so I have to do some work. I have to make sure that there are no personal barriers to me changing or moving - that I am not lying to myself when I thought that I got a passing grade on all the reasons why people don't change. Secondly, I believe that I need to listen more to the Spirit. I cannot believe that He is done with me - that I have no other mountains to climb. I just need to listen, clearly listen to what He would have me do.
One of my driving passions has been to spend/invest my life - not to waste it. Being sedentary is wasting it......
I guess the reason I wrote this is so that you do not become complacent either. Do not waste your life. Keep moving and don't be content with the status quo.
The first webinar was about the barriers to change. Nothing earth shattering or convicting here. It was good information, but I didn't see any of "afraid to change" factors present in me. (I will come back to this - maybe not the best conclusion on my part.)
The second webinar started by a challenge to write down the goal that you have for your life; the reason that you started watching these webinars in the first place. This is where the trouble started. I was unable to come up with a goal. I mean, I have goals, but they seem kind of trivial and really short term - get this project done, wrap up this project, etc.; not the kind of goal that requires life change or a more radical movement. I really could not come up with anything that seemed like a worthwhile goal. That was really disheartening to me - so disheartening I stopped watching the webinar.
Then the questioning started. Have I become so complacent and content in my life that I have no aspirations anymore? Have I achieved everything that I am supposed to achieve? Am I afraid to step out? Have I closed my mind to the possibility of larger goals because I am comfortable? Am I just too tired to aspire? Positive answers to any of these questions is depressing.
Here is the problem. I am a mountain climber. I love to dream and make those dreams reality. I love to move forward. I love to change. I love to be a change agent. This is how I am wired and one of the contributions that I believe I bring to this world. I think this is where the "depression" set in: the gap between were I am (no goals) and who I believe I am (action orientated).
OK, so I have to do some work. I have to make sure that there are no personal barriers to me changing or moving - that I am not lying to myself when I thought that I got a passing grade on all the reasons why people don't change. Secondly, I believe that I need to listen more to the Spirit. I cannot believe that He is done with me - that I have no other mountains to climb. I just need to listen, clearly listen to what He would have me do.
One of my driving passions has been to spend/invest my life - not to waste it. Being sedentary is wasting it......
I guess the reason I wrote this is so that you do not become complacent either. Do not waste your life. Keep moving and don't be content with the status quo.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
I say this every time I have a gap in my blog - it has been a while and I have not taken the time to write. In reality, I guess that I have had nothing to say of any value. (Of course one could argue that I never have any thing valuable to say!)
I have had a fascination with war - not the carnage and killing - that would be morbid - but the fact that humans can be so evil and so inhumane. And frankly, human stupidity.
For example, in World War II the conquer of France by Germany was not by direct frontal attack through the fortified Siegfried line which was along the France-German border, but through Belgium; around the Siegfried line. Guess what plan had been proposed by a German general in World War I? Guess what strategy the Germans used in World War I to avoid the French forts along the France-German border? You guessed it - they attacked through Belgium.
I look at this and ask myself - how can people be so incredibly stupid? How can the brightest military minds spend millions and millions of dollars to establish fortifications along a line that 30 years before had simply been bypassed? Seriously? Did they not see this coming? Did they not understand the strategic deficiency of not protecting the France-Belgium border?
What is it about the human condition that causes our minds to bypass things like this? It is arrogance? Is it complacency or laziness of mind? It is simple ignorance? It is a failure to believe that the past can and will repeat itself?
Whatever it is, it is dangerous human trait. The Bible speaks of our enemy being smart. He is seeking to devour us and he will use whatever means he deems necessary to gain victory. It is our charge to be wise to his schemes. It is necessary that we not become complacent or routine in our lives so as to give the enemy an opening. If he has used a scheme in the past and found success - guess what - he will probably use it again. Be diligent, but wise, be looking for subtle attacks of the evil one. Don't let him repeat his old attacks on you!
I have had a fascination with war - not the carnage and killing - that would be morbid - but the fact that humans can be so evil and so inhumane. And frankly, human stupidity.
For example, in World War II the conquer of France by Germany was not by direct frontal attack through the fortified Siegfried line which was along the France-German border, but through Belgium; around the Siegfried line. Guess what plan had been proposed by a German general in World War I? Guess what strategy the Germans used in World War I to avoid the French forts along the France-German border? You guessed it - they attacked through Belgium.
I look at this and ask myself - how can people be so incredibly stupid? How can the brightest military minds spend millions and millions of dollars to establish fortifications along a line that 30 years before had simply been bypassed? Seriously? Did they not see this coming? Did they not understand the strategic deficiency of not protecting the France-Belgium border?
What is it about the human condition that causes our minds to bypass things like this? It is arrogance? Is it complacency or laziness of mind? It is simple ignorance? It is a failure to believe that the past can and will repeat itself?
Whatever it is, it is dangerous human trait. The Bible speaks of our enemy being smart. He is seeking to devour us and he will use whatever means he deems necessary to gain victory. It is our charge to be wise to his schemes. It is necessary that we not become complacent or routine in our lives so as to give the enemy an opening. If he has used a scheme in the past and found success - guess what - he will probably use it again. Be diligent, but wise, be looking for subtle attacks of the evil one. Don't let him repeat his old attacks on you!
Sunday, February 05, 2012
This week in our couple's group we were looking a bit into the writings of the prophet Isaiah who spoke during the last days of the kingdom of the northern part of Israel and a resurgence of the spiritual life of the southern part. The open scene in the book of Isaiah is King Uzziah dying. Uzziah was a good king, a king that followed God and led the nation toward God. His son, who reigned for 16 years after him was also good. Then the wheels feel. Ahaz moved the nation to idol worship and made alliances with the Assyrians for protection - bad decision that led them down the path of worshiping idols with him in the lead. This was the beginning of the end for the southern tribes.
Isaiah was a prophet of hope though. I the last part of his writings, he spoke of the coming Messiah, the suffering Savior how was to be the salvation of the world. He also spoke of the restoration of Israel in the future. After recounting the re-establishment of that nation in chapter 49, he makes this statement:
23....Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.
This is an amazing statement about the character of God. It reminds me about God's challenge about tithing in Malachi 3 - test me on this and see if I am not faithful. Test me. Try me out. See if what I say is not true. See if I am truthful to my word.
As I thought about this, I wondered about what I put my hope in and why. There are times when my hope is displaced - I hope in other things. I put my hope in things or people or position or money - I want them to deliver me happiness, contentment, joy, peace - they never do (at least not for long enough duration). They disappoint. I try them and they disappoint. I try them over and over again and am disappointed over and over again - that's the problem.
My challenge to the group and to myself was - root out those things in my life that I put my hope in (another word for this would be "idol") and put my trust totally in the Lord. Then, and only then, I will not be disappointed.
Isaiah was a prophet of hope though. I the last part of his writings, he spoke of the coming Messiah, the suffering Savior how was to be the salvation of the world. He also spoke of the restoration of Israel in the future. After recounting the re-establishment of that nation in chapter 49, he makes this statement:
23....Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.
This is an amazing statement about the character of God. It reminds me about God's challenge about tithing in Malachi 3 - test me on this and see if I am not faithful. Test me. Try me out. See if what I say is not true. See if I am truthful to my word.
As I thought about this, I wondered about what I put my hope in and why. There are times when my hope is displaced - I hope in other things. I put my hope in things or people or position or money - I want them to deliver me happiness, contentment, joy, peace - they never do (at least not for long enough duration). They disappoint. I try them and they disappoint. I try them over and over again and am disappointed over and over again - that's the problem.
My challenge to the group and to myself was - root out those things in my life that I put my hope in (another word for this would be "idol") and put my trust totally in the Lord. Then, and only then, I will not be disappointed.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Growing Up and Out
We traveled to Iowa last weekend to visit my daughter who is working for a consulting company out there. She has been living in an apartment, come home of holidays, etc. - emotionally it felt like she was still in college.
One of the purposes of this visit was to look at a house she is buying. Emotionally that DIDN'T feel like she was in college. This had and has a feeling of permanence, of "OK, I am staying out here". It didn't hit me too hard during the weekend because we were running around and trying to get a bunch of things done. However, as I settled in last night to my weekly routine, I began to emotionally understand that my daughter has not only moved out, she has grown up.
This did not come as a surprise for me, but it sure sneaked up on me. Part of why this is challenging is that you always wonder if you have done enough as a parent to prepare them to live in the world; to live successfully in the world. Did you show them love enough, did you teach them enough, did you spend enough time with them, did you release them appropriately, did they know that you loved them, did you mess them up too bad, etc.
This is the hard thing about parenting. There is no coasting. Coasting means slowing down and coming to a stop. You never speed up when you are coasting. You never get to your destination if you just coast. You have to drive; intentionally set a direction and put energy toward it.
I hope that I did that enough; I hope that I am doing that enough (I still have three more to go through this phase).
One of the purposes of this visit was to look at a house she is buying. Emotionally that DIDN'T feel like she was in college. This had and has a feeling of permanence, of "OK, I am staying out here". It didn't hit me too hard during the weekend because we were running around and trying to get a bunch of things done. However, as I settled in last night to my weekly routine, I began to emotionally understand that my daughter has not only moved out, she has grown up.
This did not come as a surprise for me, but it sure sneaked up on me. Part of why this is challenging is that you always wonder if you have done enough as a parent to prepare them to live in the world; to live successfully in the world. Did you show them love enough, did you teach them enough, did you spend enough time with them, did you release them appropriately, did they know that you loved them, did you mess them up too bad, etc.
This is the hard thing about parenting. There is no coasting. Coasting means slowing down and coming to a stop. You never speed up when you are coasting. You never get to your destination if you just coast. You have to drive; intentionally set a direction and put energy toward it.
I hope that I did that enough; I hope that I am doing that enough (I still have three more to go through this phase).
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Does God ever give up? Does He ever just throw up His hands and say "I'm done". At first glance, when I ask myself this question, if feels wrong. Isn't God patient? Doesn't He model the perfection of forbearance? It doesn't feel very loving for God to give up on us.
In one sense, God never gives up. He pursues us, attempts to bring us to Him, invites us, and desires us. His love for us drives Him to pursue us.
Having said that, I do believe that there is a time when God gives up - a better way of saying that would be "lets us go our own way".
In my study of Judges, this section popped up in chapter 2:
20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did.” 23 The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
He had promised to drive out the nations that lived in Canaan. He promised that the Israelites would have victory over their enemies. What changed?
These statements were given right after the summary of how the Israelites moved into the Canaanite culture and, instead of conquering it, adopted it. They settled into the towns that they had conquered - they set up house, arranged their furniture in the rooms, put the rugs down, hung curtains and settled in. They didn't move toward removing the nations from among them. They settled in.
The problem of settling instead of conquering was that they adopted the worship practices of the idols of these nations. Judges 2 records that they abandoned God and worshiped the idols. From a 3500 years later perspective, it is hard for me to believe that this only took one generation to happen. They knew the stories of God; how He brought them from Egypt, how He carried them for 40 years in the dessert, how He subdued the enemies in Canaan, but they chose to abandon God.
That is the operative word - they chose to abandon God. God pursued them by allowing nations to conquer them and by giving them judges, but they still chose to abandon him. Pursuit after pursuit after pursuit failed - they chose to move away from God instead of move toward Him. After many attempts to pursue, God allowed them to continue in their path and removed the barriers that were in front of them. He didn't give up, He just allowed them to move in the direction that they wanted to move in: in spite of the consequences. (Also see Romans1.)
Obvious question - when will this happen to us? When will God stop putting up guard rails and let us go our own way (which will never result in a life giving result.....)? You never know. You never know when your rebellion will result in God saying "OK, I will let you go your own way; I will not stop you". Read the rest of Judges and see what happens when He allows us to move in our own direction. (And yet He still was waiting to take them back!)
In one sense, God never gives up. He pursues us, attempts to bring us to Him, invites us, and desires us. His love for us drives Him to pursue us.
Having said that, I do believe that there is a time when God gives up - a better way of saying that would be "lets us go our own way".
In my study of Judges, this section popped up in chapter 2:
20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did.” 23 The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
He had promised to drive out the nations that lived in Canaan. He promised that the Israelites would have victory over their enemies. What changed?
These statements were given right after the summary of how the Israelites moved into the Canaanite culture and, instead of conquering it, adopted it. They settled into the towns that they had conquered - they set up house, arranged their furniture in the rooms, put the rugs down, hung curtains and settled in. They didn't move toward removing the nations from among them. They settled in.
The problem of settling instead of conquering was that they adopted the worship practices of the idols of these nations. Judges 2 records that they abandoned God and worshiped the idols. From a 3500 years later perspective, it is hard for me to believe that this only took one generation to happen. They knew the stories of God; how He brought them from Egypt, how He carried them for 40 years in the dessert, how He subdued the enemies in Canaan, but they chose to abandon God.
That is the operative word - they chose to abandon God. God pursued them by allowing nations to conquer them and by giving them judges, but they still chose to abandon him. Pursuit after pursuit after pursuit failed - they chose to move away from God instead of move toward Him. After many attempts to pursue, God allowed them to continue in their path and removed the barriers that were in front of them. He didn't give up, He just allowed them to move in the direction that they wanted to move in: in spite of the consequences. (Also see Romans1.)
Obvious question - when will this happen to us? When will God stop putting up guard rails and let us go our own way (which will never result in a life giving result.....)? You never know. You never know when your rebellion will result in God saying "OK, I will let you go your own way; I will not stop you". Read the rest of Judges and see what happens when He allows us to move in our own direction. (And yet He still was waiting to take them back!)
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Light of the World
Happy New Year! The new year is already one week old - hard to believe. Have been reading Judges in preparation for our Wednesday morning men's group. Some pretty interesting history here. The book of the Judges covers a period of history from about 1350 BC to 1000 BC when Saul was anointed the first king.
There are two things that jumped out to me as I began this study. First, how fast the people forsook God. Notice these words in the second chapter of the book of Judges:
7The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel. ....10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them.
Although the stories of how God had defeated the Israelites was known, told, retold and told again; even though the nations around Israel trembled when they heard what God had done 400 YEARS BEFORE with Egypt, the generation after Joshua faded. They forgot that it was God that delivered them. They doubted the goodness, testimony and word of God and started worshiping the carved poles and sculpted idols of the nations around them. Instead of being a light to the nations around them, they became like them. Their light went out.
The obvious question that I must ask myself is about my light to the world. Is my candle under a bushel? Is the light within me hidden because I am too much like the world? Am I about showing the world what a life obedient to God can look like or do I just look like everyone else - in every area of my life? Do my finances show that priority? Does the use of my time? Do the things that I put into my mind?
Enough to think about. Will go an to the second thing later.......
There are two things that jumped out to me as I began this study. First, how fast the people forsook God. Notice these words in the second chapter of the book of Judges:
7The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel. ....10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them.
Although the stories of how God had defeated the Israelites was known, told, retold and told again; even though the nations around Israel trembled when they heard what God had done 400 YEARS BEFORE with Egypt, the generation after Joshua faded. They forgot that it was God that delivered them. They doubted the goodness, testimony and word of God and started worshiping the carved poles and sculpted idols of the nations around them. Instead of being a light to the nations around them, they became like them. Their light went out.
The obvious question that I must ask myself is about my light to the world. Is my candle under a bushel? Is the light within me hidden because I am too much like the world? Am I about showing the world what a life obedient to God can look like or do I just look like everyone else - in every area of my life? Do my finances show that priority? Does the use of my time? Do the things that I put into my mind?
Enough to think about. Will go an to the second thing later.......
Sunday, January 01, 2012
The beginning of a new year - wow! This is always the time of year when you take stock of life and see what changes need to happen. It is funny how God brings things into your life to give you a push in that direction. Had a opportunity to visit a man named Carl yesterday. Carl found out 3 weeks ago that he had a brain tumor - the fastest growing brain tumor this is currently known to man. I visited him in hospice yesterday and took this picture. He is very close to death - the experts give him about a week or so. This is a picture of Carl in his hospice bed.
Carl is a unique man. The most unique thing is that Carl loves Jesus. He has committed his life to pastoring, being a missionary and being a counselor. I have been impressed with his relationship with Christ. The testimony of his life and the words from his lips always speak of Jesus. It seemed as if every other word out of his mouth was about Jesus.
The thing that simply amazed me in my conversation with Carl yesterday was his worship of God. He statement to me was "God is so gracious to me. I could have had this tumor and illness for years; God is being gracious to me by taking me soon." I really was astonished at his statement. Normally I hear complaint and groaning - not from Carl. He gave glory to God and His abundant grace toward him.
I was reminded of the words of Paul in his last letter to his friend and protege Timothy: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness (II Tim. 4:7-8). Well done, good and faithful servant (Matt. 25:21).
How does this tie into new years? I want to be like Carl. I want to me a man of God like he is. I want to finish my life well and grace filled. I know what I need to do in order to accomplish this. I know that this is not going to happen automatically; without work and focus on my part. I know that there are things that I have to start doing and things that I have to stop doing. I know that if I am ever going to be the kind of man I have to work at it. That is my charge for this new year.
Carl is a unique man. The most unique thing is that Carl loves Jesus. He has committed his life to pastoring, being a missionary and being a counselor. I have been impressed with his relationship with Christ. The testimony of his life and the words from his lips always speak of Jesus. It seemed as if every other word out of his mouth was about Jesus.The thing that simply amazed me in my conversation with Carl yesterday was his worship of God. He statement to me was "God is so gracious to me. I could have had this tumor and illness for years; God is being gracious to me by taking me soon." I really was astonished at his statement. Normally I hear complaint and groaning - not from Carl. He gave glory to God and His abundant grace toward him.
I was reminded of the words of Paul in his last letter to his friend and protege Timothy: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness (II Tim. 4:7-8). Well done, good and faithful servant (Matt. 25:21).
How does this tie into new years? I want to be like Carl. I want to me a man of God like he is. I want to finish my life well and grace filled. I know what I need to do in order to accomplish this. I know that this is not going to happen automatically; without work and focus on my part. I know that there are things that I have to start doing and things that I have to stop doing. I know that if I am ever going to be the kind of man I have to work at it. That is my charge for this new year.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Very early on Christmas Eve morning; still trying to adjust to the huge time change from my visit to China. Can't sleep so watched a few WWII documentaries (among other things...). One of the documentaries I watched was on the fall of France in 1940. It took the Germans only five weeks to conquer the country; a country that they were not able to conquer during the whole of WWI.
The documentary presented a few explanations as to the speed of this conquest.
1. Misplaced defenses. The French had spent tons of money and tons of time creating the Maginot line (named after the defense minister who initiated the concept). This was a series of tunnels and pill boxes along the 85 mile French-German border. The problem was, the Germans attacked through the Ardenne Forest and through Belgium - neither of which were protected by the Maginot Line. In addition, the French placed their weakest and least experienced army divisions along the Belgium border and Ardenne forest.
2. Complacency. The French figured that the Maginot Line was impregnable. Although they judiciously maintained and practiced, the feeling was that the Germans could not defeat them.
3. Internal fighting. The French government was in disarray. There was a fight between factions within the cultural that created instability within the leadership of the county.
4. There was an attitude of defeatism within the population. WWI, which had only been over for 20 years, loomed large in the French population's mind. They did not want another long drawn out affair. As soon as it became apparent that the Germans were overwhelming the French army, there was talk of capitulation and armistice.
Does any of this cause you concern as you read it; concerns about the church? Are our defenses misplaced? Are we fighting the right enemy? Do we understand that our adversary is the Devil who is seeking to devour us? Do we understand that the people are held captive by him and do his bidding are not our enemy? Do we gently instruct as Paul taught Timothy (II Tim 2:25; read this verse, it is an incredible verse)? Do we know that our enemy is wise and will attack us on many fronts? Are we looking for our weak spots and moving to reinforce them through study, confession, repentance and reliance on God?
Are we complacent? Are we just trolling along in our spiritual walk, thinking that nothing is going to harm us? Do we understand that the enemy is still active and that he is just waiting for us to put our guard down so he can attack?
Are we putting our energies into fighting among ourselves instead of fighting the enemy? When the world looks at the church, do they see in fighting instead of fighting against the enemy?
Have we given up? Do we have a conqueror attitude (Rom 8:37, I John 4:4)? Have we given up that God will work in us and through us? Have we given up on God?
Lots of questions to think through. Let's not let history repeat itself in the church. I am challenged in a few of these areas, as it is very easy for me to let my guard down, very easy to cost along on the past; forgetting that Satan changes his schemes and I must stay diligent. Think through some of these questions yourself and allow them to challenge you.
The documentary presented a few explanations as to the speed of this conquest.
1. Misplaced defenses. The French had spent tons of money and tons of time creating the Maginot line (named after the defense minister who initiated the concept). This was a series of tunnels and pill boxes along the 85 mile French-German border. The problem was, the Germans attacked through the Ardenne Forest and through Belgium - neither of which were protected by the Maginot Line. In addition, the French placed their weakest and least experienced army divisions along the Belgium border and Ardenne forest.
2. Complacency. The French figured that the Maginot Line was impregnable. Although they judiciously maintained and practiced, the feeling was that the Germans could not defeat them.
3. Internal fighting. The French government was in disarray. There was a fight between factions within the cultural that created instability within the leadership of the county.
4. There was an attitude of defeatism within the population. WWI, which had only been over for 20 years, loomed large in the French population's mind. They did not want another long drawn out affair. As soon as it became apparent that the Germans were overwhelming the French army, there was talk of capitulation and armistice.
Does any of this cause you concern as you read it; concerns about the church? Are our defenses misplaced? Are we fighting the right enemy? Do we understand that our adversary is the Devil who is seeking to devour us? Do we understand that the people are held captive by him and do his bidding are not our enemy? Do we gently instruct as Paul taught Timothy (II Tim 2:25; read this verse, it is an incredible verse)? Do we know that our enemy is wise and will attack us on many fronts? Are we looking for our weak spots and moving to reinforce them through study, confession, repentance and reliance on God?
Are we complacent? Are we just trolling along in our spiritual walk, thinking that nothing is going to harm us? Do we understand that the enemy is still active and that he is just waiting for us to put our guard down so he can attack?
Are we putting our energies into fighting among ourselves instead of fighting the enemy? When the world looks at the church, do they see in fighting instead of fighting against the enemy?
Have we given up? Do we have a conqueror attitude (Rom 8:37, I John 4:4)? Have we given up that God will work in us and through us? Have we given up on God?
Lots of questions to think through. Let's not let history repeat itself in the church. I am challenged in a few of these areas, as it is very easy for me to let my guard down, very easy to cost along on the past; forgetting that Satan changes his schemes and I must stay diligent. Think through some of these questions yourself and allow them to challenge you.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Tomorrow morning I am leaving for a trip to China to check out a potential ministry partner for our missions team. We are going to a place 2 hours outside of Kunming (if anybody knows where that it) - an ancient Yi Town. As I am mentally preparing for this trip, the thing that has been running over and over in my mind is the number of people that live in China. 1.3 billion people. This is more than four times the size of the United States.
The thing that is striking me about this large number is that their history is not one of a Christian heritage, but of communism and atheism. A history devoid of God and the story of Jesus. A history of worshiping fire and other gods. A history that by design, designed by the government and Satan, is meant to keep them away from discovering THE God of the universe.
Yet out of this is growing a church. A massive amount of people are turning to Jesus. The church is growing in spite of sometimes harsh and brutal treatment of believers. A passion to know God and build his church is infecting the lives of millions of people - regardless of the cost. (In fact, the number of people accepting Christ is outpacing the number of church leaders that are developing, leaving somewhat of a leadership void.)
I am contrasting this with the state of the church in America - a country that has a rich history of Christianity. Church attendance is declining. Christianity is in decline and is tepid at best. We seem to be more concerned about being grace filled and tolerant than standing on truth and we are loosing our effectiveness to be salt and light to a nation because no one sees any difference between those who are committed to Christ and those that aren't.
Another telling thing that is playing into my thoughts: I was asked last week by some friends from Ukraine "why don't people in the American church read their Bibles and seek after God". A very telling question about how, at least a corner of the world, views our form of Christianity. I gave them this answer - we don't understand the value of having a relationship with God, we value other things more than we value God and therefore we don't pursue God. It seems to me like, as a community of believers, we have been lulled into complacency; content to dabble in religion and really denying the power of it (hummmm.... see II Timothy 3 if you want to see what this says about our culture).
Bottom line - we have a job to do. We have been charged by our Lord and Master to go and make disciples; people who are committed to obedience. Pray for revival in our nation. Pray that the church will begin to expand like the church in China is.
The thing that is striking me about this large number is that their history is not one of a Christian heritage, but of communism and atheism. A history devoid of God and the story of Jesus. A history of worshiping fire and other gods. A history that by design, designed by the government and Satan, is meant to keep them away from discovering THE God of the universe.
Yet out of this is growing a church. A massive amount of people are turning to Jesus. The church is growing in spite of sometimes harsh and brutal treatment of believers. A passion to know God and build his church is infecting the lives of millions of people - regardless of the cost. (In fact, the number of people accepting Christ is outpacing the number of church leaders that are developing, leaving somewhat of a leadership void.)
I am contrasting this with the state of the church in America - a country that has a rich history of Christianity. Church attendance is declining. Christianity is in decline and is tepid at best. We seem to be more concerned about being grace filled and tolerant than standing on truth and we are loosing our effectiveness to be salt and light to a nation because no one sees any difference between those who are committed to Christ and those that aren't.
Another telling thing that is playing into my thoughts: I was asked last week by some friends from Ukraine "why don't people in the American church read their Bibles and seek after God". A very telling question about how, at least a corner of the world, views our form of Christianity. I gave them this answer - we don't understand the value of having a relationship with God, we value other things more than we value God and therefore we don't pursue God. It seems to me like, as a community of believers, we have been lulled into complacency; content to dabble in religion and really denying the power of it (hummmm.... see II Timothy 3 if you want to see what this says about our culture).
Bottom line - we have a job to do. We have been charged by our Lord and Master to go and make disciples; people who are committed to obedience. Pray for revival in our nation. Pray that the church will begin to expand like the church in China is.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Nazi Collaborators
Have a vacation day today and started it off watching a couple of episodes of "Nazi Collaborators" on the Military Channel (which I only have for two more day and then the free trial goes away - rats). One episode was titled "Beast of the Balkans". It was the recounting of an early "ethnic cleansing" of Serbs in the old Yugoslavia during World War II.
A couple of things jumped out at me as I listened to this episode. First, the magnitude. It was estimated that between 330,000 and 1,000,000 Serbs were killed. No one knows for sure because all the records were destroyed before the Allies recaptured the area from the Germans. Secondly, the brutality. It was reported that even the Germans were a bit queasy about how the Croats were "disposing" of the Serbs. They preferred more brutal methods of killing (slitting throats, shooting to death, etc.) than gassing like the Nazi's did. This upset even the Nazi's "tender sensitivities" (HEAVY sarcasm there). Third, the church was complicit in this cleansing (Orthodox Christians were "forced" to convert to Catholicism or else). The last thing was that one of the prime conspirators in this cleansing, fled Europe at the end of the war and lived "peaceably" in Argentina for 50 years - raising a family and working in a factory - no remorse, no sadness, no "I am sorry" (in fact, he laughed at his trial when evidence was presented against him).
Mind you, this was 1941. This was NOT the dark ages. This was not the Huns hacking and slashing their way across Europe. This was in a "civilized" state. Right...............
Two things strike me and scare me about situations like this. First, the severe hatred it would take to treat someone as subhuman, as a piece of garbage to be thrown away like a used napkin. I cannot fathom how much hatred existed between these two groups (refer to the start of WW I also....) that would drive them to think that it was OK to kill that many people - men, women, children, old people. Second, how defiled their consciences must have been to allow them to do such a thing and not sense, feel or exhibit ANY remorse.
Funny how this happens isn't it. The scriptures speaks of the contrast between living at peace and allowing a root of bitterness to grow up (Hebews 12):
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
The "root of bitterness" that grew up in the Croats defiled their consciences as a nation and allowed them to murder hundreds of thousands of people. Their consciences were seared closed because they did not feel any pain, any remorse, any sorrow in doing what they did.
OK, so why is this important. This will not happen today, will it? Oh yes it will. If we do not take care of those little roots of bitterness, if we do not confess our sin and keep our conscience clean and pure, roots grow and cause us to "dehumanize" people and treat them like objects. If we can look at someone in our life with spite and anger, we are on the road to having our life consumed by the root of bitterness and our consciences seared.
My advice? Take care of these things when they are small. Do NOT let your heart become hardened in the course of your day. Do not allow your conscience to be seared. Root out the roots of bitterness. Keep watch on your soul so this does not happen. Make EVERY effort, as the writer of Hebrews says, to live at peace.
A couple of things jumped out at me as I listened to this episode. First, the magnitude. It was estimated that between 330,000 and 1,000,000 Serbs were killed. No one knows for sure because all the records were destroyed before the Allies recaptured the area from the Germans. Secondly, the brutality. It was reported that even the Germans were a bit queasy about how the Croats were "disposing" of the Serbs. They preferred more brutal methods of killing (slitting throats, shooting to death, etc.) than gassing like the Nazi's did. This upset even the Nazi's "tender sensitivities" (HEAVY sarcasm there). Third, the church was complicit in this cleansing (Orthodox Christians were "forced" to convert to Catholicism or else). The last thing was that one of the prime conspirators in this cleansing, fled Europe at the end of the war and lived "peaceably" in Argentina for 50 years - raising a family and working in a factory - no remorse, no sadness, no "I am sorry" (in fact, he laughed at his trial when evidence was presented against him).
Mind you, this was 1941. This was NOT the dark ages. This was not the Huns hacking and slashing their way across Europe. This was in a "civilized" state. Right...............
Two things strike me and scare me about situations like this. First, the severe hatred it would take to treat someone as subhuman, as a piece of garbage to be thrown away like a used napkin. I cannot fathom how much hatred existed between these two groups (refer to the start of WW I also....) that would drive them to think that it was OK to kill that many people - men, women, children, old people. Second, how defiled their consciences must have been to allow them to do such a thing and not sense, feel or exhibit ANY remorse.
Funny how this happens isn't it. The scriptures speaks of the contrast between living at peace and allowing a root of bitterness to grow up (Hebews 12):
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
The "root of bitterness" that grew up in the Croats defiled their consciences as a nation and allowed them to murder hundreds of thousands of people. Their consciences were seared closed because they did not feel any pain, any remorse, any sorrow in doing what they did.
OK, so why is this important. This will not happen today, will it? Oh yes it will. If we do not take care of those little roots of bitterness, if we do not confess our sin and keep our conscience clean and pure, roots grow and cause us to "dehumanize" people and treat them like objects. If we can look at someone in our life with spite and anger, we are on the road to having our life consumed by the root of bitterness and our consciences seared.
My advice? Take care of these things when they are small. Do NOT let your heart become hardened in the course of your day. Do not allow your conscience to be seared. Root out the roots of bitterness. Keep watch on your soul so this does not happen. Make EVERY effort, as the writer of Hebrews says, to live at peace.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wow. There are just certain parts of scriptures that scare me. I was reading Amos last night, a shorter book in the Old Testament that was written by a shepherd from a town near Bethlehem. He starts his letter by telling us this so my expectation is that his writing is going to be on the "pastoral" side of things. Not!
Amos, who was a prophet if only for a short while, wrote about the pending destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel and the destruction of other surrounding kingdoms (Moab, Philistia, Edom). In the first few sentences of his letter, he paints the historical context of when he spoke these words - when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel, two years before an earthquake that hit the land. I did a little research and found that this was 50-70 years before Israel was actually destroyed and taken away into captivity.
In the grand scheme of history, 50-70 years does not seem like a long time to me. However, if you were there, listening to his words, 50-70 years would feel like what he was saying was never going to come true. I believe that this is a tool of the devil in humanity - scoffing at the future, knowing that there is righteous judgement, but saying and really believing that it is never going to happen to us and therefore what we are doing must be OK in God's eyes. We mistake the patience of God for his approval. We mistake his forbearance for lack of judgment.
I love what Peter says about this in his second letter (II Peter 3:9):
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
His heart is bent on our redemption. His heart is set on grace. His heart is set on bring us to himself, not on judgement. He is patient. He is loving. He desire is that EVERYONE comes to him, but he will have to judge or he is a liar.
God gave the nation of Israel men like Amos to warn of impending judgement. God gave them plenty of time to repent, to turn around, to follow him. Through guys like Amos, he gave specific behaviors that they needed to repent from. The unfortunate thing is that they did not repent and eventually all the things that Amos prophesied came true.
So I ask myself this question - what behaviors do I need to change? What areas of my life am I practicing sinful patterns and since things are going OK, I think that I am OK. What are areas that, as a nation, we are practicing and since things seem to be OK, we think that we are OK. What things are we as believers passively tolerating even though God is not. What areas are you practicing that need to be changed?
There is another verse that strikes me as I think of this - Do not be deceived, God will NOT be mocked, whatever a man sows, he will reap. If he sows to the flesh, he will from the flesh reap destruction. If he sows to the Spirit, he will from the Spirit reap life. God will NOT be mocked. He will judge. He desires repentance and redemption, but if that does not happen, he will judge. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it will come. Make sure you are on the blessing side and not the judging side; please.
Amos, who was a prophet if only for a short while, wrote about the pending destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel and the destruction of other surrounding kingdoms (Moab, Philistia, Edom). In the first few sentences of his letter, he paints the historical context of when he spoke these words - when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel, two years before an earthquake that hit the land. I did a little research and found that this was 50-70 years before Israel was actually destroyed and taken away into captivity.
In the grand scheme of history, 50-70 years does not seem like a long time to me. However, if you were there, listening to his words, 50-70 years would feel like what he was saying was never going to come true. I believe that this is a tool of the devil in humanity - scoffing at the future, knowing that there is righteous judgement, but saying and really believing that it is never going to happen to us and therefore what we are doing must be OK in God's eyes. We mistake the patience of God for his approval. We mistake his forbearance for lack of judgment.
I love what Peter says about this in his second letter (II Peter 3:9):
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
His heart is bent on our redemption. His heart is set on grace. His heart is set on bring us to himself, not on judgement. He is patient. He is loving. He desire is that EVERYONE comes to him, but he will have to judge or he is a liar.
God gave the nation of Israel men like Amos to warn of impending judgement. God gave them plenty of time to repent, to turn around, to follow him. Through guys like Amos, he gave specific behaviors that they needed to repent from. The unfortunate thing is that they did not repent and eventually all the things that Amos prophesied came true.
So I ask myself this question - what behaviors do I need to change? What areas of my life am I practicing sinful patterns and since things are going OK, I think that I am OK. What are areas that, as a nation, we are practicing and since things seem to be OK, we think that we are OK. What things are we as believers passively tolerating even though God is not. What areas are you practicing that need to be changed?
There is another verse that strikes me as I think of this - Do not be deceived, God will NOT be mocked, whatever a man sows, he will reap. If he sows to the flesh, he will from the flesh reap destruction. If he sows to the Spirit, he will from the Spirit reap life. God will NOT be mocked. He will judge. He desires repentance and redemption, but if that does not happen, he will judge. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it will come. Make sure you are on the blessing side and not the judging side; please.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Asking - Part Last
There are times when I simply do not know what to pray for. When I learn of a death in the family of a close friend, when I hear of a child who has cancer, when there is a tragedy in the community - thees are the situations that I simply so not have words to express a request, a thanksgiving (in everything give thanks - don't really understand how to do that sometimes), or any other kinds of prayer.
I am comforted during these times by what Paul wrote to the church in Rome -
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Rom 8:26-27)
The Spirit prays for me when I don't know what to pray. When I don't have the words, He prays for me. He has a direct line into the Father and represents us before Him.
This is one of the most profound truths of scripture - that in the midst of my weakness, in the midst of my inability to comprehend how messed up the world is and how to communicate effectively with God, the Spirit prays FOR me. He understands where my heart is and what my desires are and also understands that I do not have words to express what is going on in my heart. HE goes to the Father and intercedes for me. HE goes to the Father and expresses, requests, thanks for me. HE communicates to the Father for me. What an incredible asset in our prayer life!
Be liberated by this truth as you pray. If you don't know what to pray, ask the Spirit to pray for you. He is doing it anyway, it is just good to give Him credit!
I am comforted during these times by what Paul wrote to the church in Rome -
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Rom 8:26-27)
The Spirit prays for me when I don't know what to pray. When I don't have the words, He prays for me. He has a direct line into the Father and represents us before Him.
This is one of the most profound truths of scripture - that in the midst of my weakness, in the midst of my inability to comprehend how messed up the world is and how to communicate effectively with God, the Spirit prays FOR me. He understands where my heart is and what my desires are and also understands that I do not have words to express what is going on in my heart. HE goes to the Father and intercedes for me. HE goes to the Father and expresses, requests, thanks for me. HE communicates to the Father for me. What an incredible asset in our prayer life!
Be liberated by this truth as you pray. If you don't know what to pray, ask the Spirit to pray for you. He is doing it anyway, it is just good to give Him credit!
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Asking (praying?) Part III
I am finding that prayer and meditation are related.
Foundational premise (or maybe this is just free information....) - I cannot strictly approach prayer from an asking perspective. I cannot use solely as my mechanism to "get something" from God. If I approach prayer from this perspective, I go right back to "consume it upon my lusts" principle from James. I think that it would be awfully hard to not move into the "my lusts" category if all I ever do is ask for things from God. (In addition, there are plenty of other things that we are to do in prayer - give thanks, pray for others, etc.)
Back to meditation. I find that meditation is listening for me and prayer is talking. This is relationship - listening, talking, understanding, listening, asking, talking, seeking, questioning, listening...... I have to do both - listen and talk. My listening is meditation. My talking is prayer.
What do I meditate on? How my life and my prayers are either in agreement with or in conflict with what God is telling me. Where do I find what God is telling me? The scriptures. (This is why some people teach to pray scripture.) Reading God's word and then asking God about where and what He wants from me and then waiting for an answer from the Holy Spirit, is how I listen to God; this is meditation for me. I have to take this time to slow my mind down, to kind of empty my mind of the "stuff" of life, so I can listen to God speak to me through his Spirit.
Foundational principle #2 - God is out for my best interests and has a deep desire for relationship with me. I know that whatever he says to me, whatever he asks me to do, is for my good and ultimately will be the best thing for me!
Take time to listen and pray today. I am saying that to me. I have to slow down and do the hard work of relationship. I have to spend time with my Lord if I want to have a great relationship with him.
Foundational premise (or maybe this is just free information....) - I cannot strictly approach prayer from an asking perspective. I cannot use solely as my mechanism to "get something" from God. If I approach prayer from this perspective, I go right back to "consume it upon my lusts" principle from James. I think that it would be awfully hard to not move into the "my lusts" category if all I ever do is ask for things from God. (In addition, there are plenty of other things that we are to do in prayer - give thanks, pray for others, etc.)
Back to meditation. I find that meditation is listening for me and prayer is talking. This is relationship - listening, talking, understanding, listening, asking, talking, seeking, questioning, listening...... I have to do both - listen and talk. My listening is meditation. My talking is prayer.
What do I meditate on? How my life and my prayers are either in agreement with or in conflict with what God is telling me. Where do I find what God is telling me? The scriptures. (This is why some people teach to pray scripture.) Reading God's word and then asking God about where and what He wants from me and then waiting for an answer from the Holy Spirit, is how I listen to God; this is meditation for me. I have to take this time to slow my mind down, to kind of empty my mind of the "stuff" of life, so I can listen to God speak to me through his Spirit.
Foundational principle #2 - God is out for my best interests and has a deep desire for relationship with me. I know that whatever he says to me, whatever he asks me to do, is for my good and ultimately will be the best thing for me!
Take time to listen and pray today. I am saying that to me. I have to slow down and do the hard work of relationship. I have to spend time with my Lord if I want to have a great relationship with him.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Asking - part II
Jesus made a pretty bold statement when he was on the planet: "Ask anything in my name and I will do it" (John 14:14). A wide open statement. Ask anything. Anything. Anything at all and He will do it.
What is He trying to tell us? What did he mean? Did He really mean anything?
I really think that He meant what He said - anything. However, that "anything" has a condition on it - in my name, or as another translation puts it, "according to" my name.
One thing Jesus is NOT saying is that if we tack "in Jesus name" on before we end our prayer, He is obligated to answer that prayer. I am not sure where the tradition of adding this phrase on the end of a prayer came from, but I do know that He did not mean us to use this as a "magic" phrase that will get us what we want.
So what did He mean if He didn't mean that? I believe a part of the key is found in James 4:
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
The setting of this section of the letter from James is about fighting, being self centered and trying to get the things that you want. He makes a pretty bold statement at the end of this section: you ask for things but you don't get them because all you want to do is spend it on yourself. The statement is pretty straight forward - when I ask for something that is me centered, that is for my benefit, that is for my pleasure, that fills a worldly longing deep down in my soul - I am not going to get it.
I mean, if I pray that God will use me to serve others, do you think that God will refuse to answer that prayer? If I pray for a new car because I am not content with the one that I have or I am sick of having to repair it all the time, God might think it best to not provide me a new car to "get me out of a jam". If I pray that I will understand what the Spirit is trying to tell me to help me be more obedient, I think that God will grant that request. If I pray that God will give me a different job because I do not like the environment that I am currently working in, God probably will not honor that request.
Here is the problem. It sometimes takes a TON of work to determine the "why" for what I am asking for. Why am I asking for a new car? Why am I asking for the ability to serve? Why do I want a new job? If there is any hint of me in the request, then God is not obligated to answer us; or more appropriately the answer will probably be no. Before I ask, I have to examine my heart. I have to determine if my heart is in the right spot (me or God centered).
If it is, ask for anything!
What is He trying to tell us? What did he mean? Did He really mean anything?
I really think that He meant what He said - anything. However, that "anything" has a condition on it - in my name, or as another translation puts it, "according to" my name.
One thing Jesus is NOT saying is that if we tack "in Jesus name" on before we end our prayer, He is obligated to answer that prayer. I am not sure where the tradition of adding this phrase on the end of a prayer came from, but I do know that He did not mean us to use this as a "magic" phrase that will get us what we want.
So what did He mean if He didn't mean that? I believe a part of the key is found in James 4:
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
The setting of this section of the letter from James is about fighting, being self centered and trying to get the things that you want. He makes a pretty bold statement at the end of this section: you ask for things but you don't get them because all you want to do is spend it on yourself. The statement is pretty straight forward - when I ask for something that is me centered, that is for my benefit, that is for my pleasure, that fills a worldly longing deep down in my soul - I am not going to get it.
I mean, if I pray that God will use me to serve others, do you think that God will refuse to answer that prayer? If I pray for a new car because I am not content with the one that I have or I am sick of having to repair it all the time, God might think it best to not provide me a new car to "get me out of a jam". If I pray that I will understand what the Spirit is trying to tell me to help me be more obedient, I think that God will grant that request. If I pray that God will give me a different job because I do not like the environment that I am currently working in, God probably will not honor that request.
Here is the problem. It sometimes takes a TON of work to determine the "why" for what I am asking for. Why am I asking for a new car? Why am I asking for the ability to serve? Why do I want a new job? If there is any hint of me in the request, then God is not obligated to answer us; or more appropriately the answer will probably be no. Before I ask, I have to examine my heart. I have to determine if my heart is in the right spot (me or God centered).
If it is, ask for anything!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Two Questions
I often struggle with my prayer life. The biggest struggle that I have is asking God to do something, asking him to intervene in a situation, asking him to provide something. Perhaps this is because my upbringing focused a ton on the sovereignty of God to the exclusion of asking him for things. I mean, if God is sovereign and he does what he wants, when he wants, why does it matter if I ask for something? I am going to get what I am going to get. Life is going to be what life is going to be.
Mind you, I am not upset by this. I totally believe that God is loving, that he cares for me and that he has my best interests in mind. I know, and believe, that whatever happens in my life is for my good - all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are called by his name (Rom. 8:28). I don't believe God is out to get me in a negative sense, like some cosmic disciplinarian. He wants me to be holy, to experience the kind of life that he designed me to experience and to worship and love him for it and I know that takes work (rooting out my sinful patterns and behaviors). I totally get this and totally believe this.
That is what makes asking God so hard for me. I know he is going to provide what I need - he promised. I know that he will care for me - he promised.
Having said all that (sorry), there is something that happens as a relationship develops that allows one to ask. I haven't really figured this on out yet, but I know something is out there. How? Take a look at Mark 10. There are two vignettes in the life of Jesus that are recorded in this chapter.
Vignette #1 - Two of the apostles come to Jesus to ask him something:
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
If you read one chapter before this, you see what there was an argument between the disciples regarding who was the greatest. This really weird question seems to be a follow-up to that whole discussion. Notice Jesus response - "What do you want me to do for you?" There response to his question was - give us a prominent place in your kingdom. We want to be the big cheeses - next to you of course. Needless to say, Jesus did not, nor could he, grant this self centered request. Frankly, they should have known better than to make this request because Jesus had just taught them about greatness in the kingdom (the greatest = the servant of all).
Vignette #2 - The blind man on the road from Jericho
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Jesus asks the same question of this man - what do you want me to do for you? Bartimaeus answer to Jesus question is self centered also - I want to see; I want MY eyes opened. Jesus grants his request and heals him. Of note though is Jesus' assessment of the man - he had faith. He had the faith to believe that this Rabbi was the Messiah (indicated by the use of the title Son of David). He had the faith to believe that Jesus could heal him. Jesus didn't say that his request healed him, but that his faith did. Period.
Ponder this for a while and I think that in my next post I will look at James 1 and see what he has to say about this asking thing. Sorry about the long post.
Mind you, I am not upset by this. I totally believe that God is loving, that he cares for me and that he has my best interests in mind. I know, and believe, that whatever happens in my life is for my good - all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are called by his name (Rom. 8:28). I don't believe God is out to get me in a negative sense, like some cosmic disciplinarian. He wants me to be holy, to experience the kind of life that he designed me to experience and to worship and love him for it and I know that takes work (rooting out my sinful patterns and behaviors). I totally get this and totally believe this.
That is what makes asking God so hard for me. I know he is going to provide what I need - he promised. I know that he will care for me - he promised.
Having said all that (sorry), there is something that happens as a relationship develops that allows one to ask. I haven't really figured this on out yet, but I know something is out there. How? Take a look at Mark 10. There are two vignettes in the life of Jesus that are recorded in this chapter.
Vignette #1 - Two of the apostles come to Jesus to ask him something:
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
If you read one chapter before this, you see what there was an argument between the disciples regarding who was the greatest. This really weird question seems to be a follow-up to that whole discussion. Notice Jesus response - "What do you want me to do for you?" There response to his question was - give us a prominent place in your kingdom. We want to be the big cheeses - next to you of course. Needless to say, Jesus did not, nor could he, grant this self centered request. Frankly, they should have known better than to make this request because Jesus had just taught them about greatness in the kingdom (the greatest = the servant of all).
Vignette #2 - The blind man on the road from Jericho
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Jesus asks the same question of this man - what do you want me to do for you? Bartimaeus answer to Jesus question is self centered also - I want to see; I want MY eyes opened. Jesus grants his request and heals him. Of note though is Jesus' assessment of the man - he had faith. He had the faith to believe that this Rabbi was the Messiah (indicated by the use of the title Son of David). He had the faith to believe that Jesus could heal him. Jesus didn't say that his request healed him, but that his faith did. Period.
Ponder this for a while and I think that in my next post I will look at James 1 and see what he has to say about this asking thing. Sorry about the long post.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Heaven
I was driving home from church this morning. I taught a class at another campus, so I had an opportunity to have a longer drive home than usual. I was looking a the many trees that are changing color along the freeway. It was a beautifully sunny day, so the colors were vibrant! The reds seemed to be more red; the yellows more yellow; the oranges - terrific. The creativity of the creator was on display for sure and my soul was moved to worship him for creating this so that I, and the others on the highway, could enjoy it.
I couldn't help but wonder if there are going to be days like this in heaven. I know that every day God's creativity is on display - the Bible speaks that what can be known of God is revealed in His creation (Romans 1:20). I also know that heaven is not going to be black and white. The Bible speaks of heaven having trees that line a river of life, it speaks of jewels and gold, it speaks of bright light of God - it speaks of God's creativity on display for His created beings. Are there going to be fall colors in heaven? I don't know for sure, but after days like today, it wouldn't surprise me!!!
Take some time to stop and enjoy the day that God has created especially for you. Appreciate the beautiful colors that he has painted for you. Thank him for the eyes that can see the trees changing, that can see the beautiful sunsets of fall, the harvest moon that soon will be coming. Worship Him for what He has created for you to enjoy!!!!
I couldn't help but wonder if there are going to be days like this in heaven. I know that every day God's creativity is on display - the Bible speaks that what can be known of God is revealed in His creation (Romans 1:20). I also know that heaven is not going to be black and white. The Bible speaks of heaven having trees that line a river of life, it speaks of jewels and gold, it speaks of bright light of God - it speaks of God's creativity on display for His created beings. Are there going to be fall colors in heaven? I don't know for sure, but after days like today, it wouldn't surprise me!!!
Take some time to stop and enjoy the day that God has created especially for you. Appreciate the beautiful colors that he has painted for you. Thank him for the eyes that can see the trees changing, that can see the beautiful sunsets of fall, the harvest moon that soon will be coming. Worship Him for what He has created for you to enjoy!!!!
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