My younger readers (as in, not senior citizens) probably won’t get the joke here, so I’ll let you know there’s a song from the late 60’s called “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.” It’s been awhile since God made me laugh. I guess it’s part of my realignment (see New Years Chiropractic post). No one is funnier than God, and I miss His jokes when I don’t hear them.
I was lamenting to God my burdensome nature of repeating the same cycle of sin in a particular area. It seemed He always has to do the ‘heavy-lifting’ in my life for anything to change, despite my
best intentions. Brother Lawrence once said, “O Lord, this is what you may expect of me if you leave me to myself.” Not that God did leave me to myself, per se. He prompted me before I spoke that critical word about an associate; I just ignored the prompting...repeatedly. Daily repenting and heading into the day, I determined to put duct tape over my mouth but found it wasn’t quite as strong as touted, even with those fibers woven through it.
Finally admitting complete defeat, I lay myself down in despair of ever changing. That’s when He told me, “It’s ok...you aren’t heavy; I’m your Father.” Breaking into a loud guffaw followed by repeated outbreaks of laughter, I realized that He had used humor, once again, to break through my attempts at serious, teeth-gritting self-sufficiency.
In this partnership we have, He does all the heavy-lifting, His yoke easy and His burden light. It’s only an illusion on our part that we are holding up our end. Just as our fathers once let us ‘help’ them with a heavy object and we proudly assisted, thinking our strength was contributing to their success. As our fathers hopefully did, He is looking at us in tender love, encouraging us to give our very best in this partnership with the Creator of the universe. He doesn’t condescend or demean our efforts. Yet when our meager strength gives out and we fall down exhausted in our tracks trying to be good, He bends down and lifts us up and whispers, “It’s ok, I have you; you’re not heavy...”
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Saturday, January 27, 2018
“He is not a tame lion...”
My fellow Narnia fans will recognize the above quote. I was reminded of it as I read this morning’s entry from my A.W. Tozer devotional: “Illumined hearts are sure to agree at the point where the light falls. Our only real danger is that we may grieve the blessed Spirit into silence and so be left at the mercy of our intellects....We’ll have the bush pruned and trimmed and properly cultivated, but in the bush there will be no fire.”
Sometimes no matter how powerfully our churches may have been birthed from fire, our tendency is to eventually ‘bulletinize’ our worship times into submission. Otherwise, they can become much too messy, too unpredictable, too much out of our control and careful planning. We may even say we’re open and flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but when push comes to shove (or an order of service turns to Power), we are reluctant to live what we promised.
How will this ‘outbreak’ of God’s manifest Presence affect the schedule? Will some be offended? Will some leave and never come back? What about the usual order of things on which we’ve come to depend? What about our lunch date after church? What if some people 'become emotional' in response to what the Holy Spirit is working in them? What if time begins to lose it’s structure in response to the appearance of the One who created it? What if the only thing He’s calling us into at the moment is silence before His palpable Presence? Will this drive someone (the pastor, the music worship leader, a parishioner) to feel compelled to fill the ‘void’...the Spirit-filled silence which is actually the antithesis of ‘void’?
I am blessed to be part of a tiny congregation meeting in a manger of a building, where the best part
of our ‘service,’ in my eyes, involves sitting, standing, kneeling, lying...in the Presence of God, bathed only in quiet, anointed, instrumental music...where often no one speaks aloud unless praying for another at the altar. Sometimes not a word is spoken. God appears to like this, because He manifests Himself both powerfully and tenderly, in ways I’ve rarely experienced elsewhere. We couldn’t be worshiping Him in a more humble setting. But in a similar fashion, isn’t the humblest setting of our hearts the place He delights to dwell?
Many believers and unbelievers alike have yet to experience the manifest Presence of God. Their belief (or unbelief) comes from intellectual assent. This foundation can crack with the winds of circumstance and the prevailing philosophies of our culture. Yet once any of us actually ‘meet’ the Lion of Judah through His manifest, oh-so-real Holy Spirit, we are stopped in our tracks. There is no denying His existence or His love for us.
Let Aslan move wherever and however He desires, in the biggest to the smallest congregations and see what He will do. Be fearless and let go of the reins. Stop the program...get off the scheduled train and wait on Him. He will not disappoint, and we and our churches will never be the same.
***********************
“Farther up and further in...!”
—The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
Sometimes no matter how powerfully our churches may have been birthed from fire, our tendency is to eventually ‘bulletinize’ our worship times into submission. Otherwise, they can become much too messy, too unpredictable, too much out of our control and careful planning. We may even say we’re open and flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but when push comes to shove (or an order of service turns to Power), we are reluctant to live what we promised.
How will this ‘outbreak’ of God’s manifest Presence affect the schedule? Will some be offended? Will some leave and never come back? What about the usual order of things on which we’ve come to depend? What about our lunch date after church? What if some people 'become emotional' in response to what the Holy Spirit is working in them? What if time begins to lose it’s structure in response to the appearance of the One who created it? What if the only thing He’s calling us into at the moment is silence before His palpable Presence? Will this drive someone (the pastor, the music worship leader, a parishioner) to feel compelled to fill the ‘void’...the Spirit-filled silence which is actually the antithesis of ‘void’?
I am blessed to be part of a tiny congregation meeting in a manger of a building, where the best part
of our ‘service,’ in my eyes, involves sitting, standing, kneeling, lying...in the Presence of God, bathed only in quiet, anointed, instrumental music...where often no one speaks aloud unless praying for another at the altar. Sometimes not a word is spoken. God appears to like this, because He manifests Himself both powerfully and tenderly, in ways I’ve rarely experienced elsewhere. We couldn’t be worshiping Him in a more humble setting. But in a similar fashion, isn’t the humblest setting of our hearts the place He delights to dwell?
Many believers and unbelievers alike have yet to experience the manifest Presence of God. Their belief (or unbelief) comes from intellectual assent. This foundation can crack with the winds of circumstance and the prevailing philosophies of our culture. Yet once any of us actually ‘meet’ the Lion of Judah through His manifest, oh-so-real Holy Spirit, we are stopped in our tracks. There is no denying His existence or His love for us.
Let Aslan move wherever and however He desires, in the biggest to the smallest congregations and see what He will do. Be fearless and let go of the reins. Stop the program...get off the scheduled train and wait on Him. He will not disappoint, and we and our churches will never be the same.
***********************
“Farther up and further in...!”
—The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Drifting out of Lane
After my faithful Prius was flooded in a storm, I spent days attempting to resurrect it. Finally, I admitted defeat to the Insurance company and purchased a newer Toyota Corolla. Although we weren’t planning on taking on car payments at this time, we were grateful God led us to an otherwise inexplicably good deal. [Even the salesman, a wonderful Christian man, wasn’t sure how it had been priced the way it was.]
With one of the standard features, you can set up a warning, should you start drifting out of your lane. [It also has an emergency stop feature if you get too close to another car.] It’s easy to get distracted when you’re driving, as we all know. If you’re driving at night after a long day or on a long trip, it’s also common to get sleepy. I’m delighted to have these warnings available on my car.
I wish it were so in the rest of our lives. What if we had built-in antennae which beeped when we started drifting away from God? It’s not the radical turns but the slow drifts that are the problem for most of us. Our minds are elsewhere, not focused on the road. Perhaps we’re fiddling with the entertainment possibilities, or we’re picturing in our mind’s eye what our next step should be to find success at work. Maybe we’re pondering pursuing a relationship (possibly one God’s Word has warned us about). There are a myriad of physical, mental, and spiritual distractions which can draw us off the road God designed to truly fulfill us and accomplish the purposes and plans He has for us.
The good news is that He does, indeed, give us spiritual antennae....the Voice of His Holy Spirit within us. He lovingly prompts and warns, guides and directs. The problem comes when we choose to ignore those inner promptings. If the warnings are directly stated in His written word, we’re just
being rebellious in order to get what we think we want. However, there are so many situations in our lives that are not as clear cut. We sense there’s danger, but the area is grey enough for us to keep moving in that direction anyway, because that’s where our ‘flesh’ wants to go. Or perhaps the intellectual appeal is great or our own logic so compelling that we find ourselves in a whole other lane than we planned.
That lane is a comfortable one because it is the road most travelled, if I can borrow a turn of phrase from Frost. Everyone seems to be going that way. It is not strange and challenging territory. No one is staring at us wondering what in the world we’re doing and why. GPS is happy with us. She doesn’t keep telling us to make a legal U-turn and go back the other way.
Staying in God’s lane will ultimately and absolutely prove the best road, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to travel. There seem to be more potholes and things lying in the road that must be avoided. In fact, sometimes the way ahead has only one lane, and it is foggy up ahead. Don’t worry. Be assured that when we set our destination in line with His, He will send His own special form of alert when we’re starting to drift. We just have to heed it quickly to avoid a crash.
With one of the standard features, you can set up a warning, should you start drifting out of your lane. [It also has an emergency stop feature if you get too close to another car.] It’s easy to get distracted when you’re driving, as we all know. If you’re driving at night after a long day or on a long trip, it’s also common to get sleepy. I’m delighted to have these warnings available on my car.
I wish it were so in the rest of our lives. What if we had built-in antennae which beeped when we started drifting away from God? It’s not the radical turns but the slow drifts that are the problem for most of us. Our minds are elsewhere, not focused on the road. Perhaps we’re fiddling with the entertainment possibilities, or we’re picturing in our mind’s eye what our next step should be to find success at work. Maybe we’re pondering pursuing a relationship (possibly one God’s Word has warned us about). There are a myriad of physical, mental, and spiritual distractions which can draw us off the road God designed to truly fulfill us and accomplish the purposes and plans He has for us.
The good news is that He does, indeed, give us spiritual antennae....the Voice of His Holy Spirit within us. He lovingly prompts and warns, guides and directs. The problem comes when we choose to ignore those inner promptings. If the warnings are directly stated in His written word, we’re just
being rebellious in order to get what we think we want. However, there are so many situations in our lives that are not as clear cut. We sense there’s danger, but the area is grey enough for us to keep moving in that direction anyway, because that’s where our ‘flesh’ wants to go. Or perhaps the intellectual appeal is great or our own logic so compelling that we find ourselves in a whole other lane than we planned.
That lane is a comfortable one because it is the road most travelled, if I can borrow a turn of phrase from Frost. Everyone seems to be going that way. It is not strange and challenging territory. No one is staring at us wondering what in the world we’re doing and why. GPS is happy with us. She doesn’t keep telling us to make a legal U-turn and go back the other way.
Staying in God’s lane will ultimately and absolutely prove the best road, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to travel. There seem to be more potholes and things lying in the road that must be avoided. In fact, sometimes the way ahead has only one lane, and it is foggy up ahead. Don’t worry. Be assured that when we set our destination in line with His, He will send His own special form of alert when we’re starting to drift. We just have to heed it quickly to avoid a crash.
Monday, January 1, 2018
New Year Chiropractic Adjustment
A few months ago I finally followed through on visiting a chiropractor. I have known things weren’t right for quite awhile, not the least of my symptoms involving bones rubbing together when I bent over or turned from side to side. Sciatica had become my regulator visitor, as it has for many senior citizens. In addition to pain, there was just an overriding sense that things weren’t right, including my being easily fatigued and out of whack, so to speak. I was amazed at how much of a difference my first treatment made. Sometimes when you’ve been feeling poorly for a long time, you forget what it is like to feel good. My second visit, however, with a different chiropractor from the same office, was a completely different experience. The treatment was painful, and I felt ‘all wrong’ afterwards. I determined to afterwards only see the original chiropractor. I also knew that my back initially needed frequent, regular treatment so the muscles wouldn’t keep returning to their previous state, as your body tends to do.
This morning, God brought these experiences to mind related to our spiritual condition. We begin to realize that things aren’t right, that something is out of alignment and has been for awhile. However, we have become so used to this subtly and gradually changing state, that it has become our new normal. We have forgotten what it feels like to be healthy in our souls and spirits. We’ve lost the joy and delight, that natural, free flowing relationship with the Lord in which we were once carried along in His grace, enjoying the sweetness of His friendship. Our spiritual muscles have set themselves in new, unhealthy patterns.
Perhaps we’ve turned to other ‘chiropractors,’ to solve our problems. We’ve pursued other avenues to make ourselves feels better. We’ve been lured by the glittering promises of happiness from mere imitators of our Great Physician. Although they had the appearance of offering relief, our experience with them only ended in dissatisfaction or even pain.
On this New Year’s Day, let’s turn our faces to the light of His benevolent one and confess that we need His chiropractic adjustment. We cannot fix ourselves, but we know He can, and that He is not only willing but delighted by our request for help. Just looking at His smile changes everything right from the start. We know it cannot be a one-time visit, but rather an ongoing interchange that will ultimately transform us. If our discs have slipped or our vertebrae have begun to fuse, if we’ve forgotten to make and keep our appointments with Him, let’s make this our most important resolution for 2018 and for all the years we’re blessed to have on this earth.
*****************
“”Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus..”
“...not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God”
“Lift your heart and let it rest upon Jesus and you are instantly in a sanctuary.”
—A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
This morning, God brought these experiences to mind related to our spiritual condition. We begin to realize that things aren’t right, that something is out of alignment and has been for awhile. However, we have become so used to this subtly and gradually changing state, that it has become our new normal. We have forgotten what it feels like to be healthy in our souls and spirits. We’ve lost the joy and delight, that natural, free flowing relationship with the Lord in which we were once carried along in His grace, enjoying the sweetness of His friendship. Our spiritual muscles have set themselves in new, unhealthy patterns.
Perhaps we’ve turned to other ‘chiropractors,’ to solve our problems. We’ve pursued other avenues to make ourselves feels better. We’ve been lured by the glittering promises of happiness from mere imitators of our Great Physician. Although they had the appearance of offering relief, our experience with them only ended in dissatisfaction or even pain.
On this New Year’s Day, let’s turn our faces to the light of His benevolent one and confess that we need His chiropractic adjustment. We cannot fix ourselves, but we know He can, and that He is not only willing but delighted by our request for help. Just looking at His smile changes everything right from the start. We know it cannot be a one-time visit, but rather an ongoing interchange that will ultimately transform us. If our discs have slipped or our vertebrae have begun to fuse, if we’ve forgotten to make and keep our appointments with Him, let’s make this our most important resolution for 2018 and for all the years we’re blessed to have on this earth.
*****************
“”Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus..”
“...not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God”
“Lift your heart and let it rest upon Jesus and you are instantly in a sanctuary.”
—A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
Saturday, December 30, 2017
The Other Side of the Door
“Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.” How many times have we recited or sung this quote from Jesus? Yet have we ever really thought about where that door leads? Salvation? Heaven? Certainly....Absolutely. But is there something more? Was Jesus talking about walking through Himself as the entrance to Heaven? Certainly. Yet does that Open Door offer even more than eternal life insurance? Certainly His ultimate gift born of agonizing sacrifice is something to be intensely grateful for every day of our existence here. Yet is there even more in His invitation? To what is He inviting us?
As He often does, God keeps giving me images of parenting and grandparenting to help me understand who He is and what He desires. This morning, after continuing my reading in Tozer’s The Pursuit of God, I was struck by his reference to time and space in our relationship with the Trinity of God. We only pursue God in response to His pursuit of us. When we respond to that pursuit, we find Him right there with us, as near as our breath. He has been waiting there all along, hoping we’ll ‘knock’ so He can fling wide the door of His heart to us. Right now, in the present moment, His immanence scoops us into His waiting arms.
When I visit my new granddaughter, I try to wait patiently in the wings, hoping for the opportunity to scoop her into my arms and hold her against my heart. I know there are many wanting time with her, desiring her attention. So I wait, aching to hold her close, to comfort her when she cries, to make her smile, to help her fall asleep when she’s taken in so much ‘input’ that she has trouble finding that place of peace. When she hears her father’s voice, she immediately stills and listens for him. It is sometimes he alone who can comfort her.
I have come to understand, though I know that understanding is only partial, how much God longs for us to turn our face to Him, to realize how near He is, how He waits there longing for us to choose to respond to His overtures of love. How He longs for us to hear His voice whispering our name and fling ourselves into His arms.
I remember one evening Emma fell asleep over my heart as I rocked her. I could have happily held her all night long, my heart nearly bursting its confines, like the Grinch of the Christmas tale. And I remember rocking her mother and her two brothers and feeling the same way. I didn’t love one child more than the others; I loved each one as if he or she was an only child. With each one, it was as if my heart would explode with love (and that love has never diminished). Our tender-hearted Father loves us more than this. There is so much more beyond the door than we can imagine...not just in Heaven, but right now. Don’t leave Him waiting with unrequited love. Pursue Him and you will find that you don’t have to take a single step; you will bump right into Him.
***************
"You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek..." [Psalm 27:8]
"Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened." [Matthew 7:7-8]
"...always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures."
"It is not a sovereign and irresistible force which comes upon us as a seizure from above. It is a gift of God, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any other gift..."
[Tozer, The Pursuit of God]
As He often does, God keeps giving me images of parenting and grandparenting to help me understand who He is and what He desires. This morning, after continuing my reading in Tozer’s The Pursuit of God, I was struck by his reference to time and space in our relationship with the Trinity of God. We only pursue God in response to His pursuit of us. When we respond to that pursuit, we find Him right there with us, as near as our breath. He has been waiting there all along, hoping we’ll ‘knock’ so He can fling wide the door of His heart to us. Right now, in the present moment, His immanence scoops us into His waiting arms.
When I visit my new granddaughter, I try to wait patiently in the wings, hoping for the opportunity to scoop her into my arms and hold her against my heart. I know there are many wanting time with her, desiring her attention. So I wait, aching to hold her close, to comfort her when she cries, to make her smile, to help her fall asleep when she’s taken in so much ‘input’ that she has trouble finding that place of peace. When she hears her father’s voice, she immediately stills and listens for him. It is sometimes he alone who can comfort her.
I have come to understand, though I know that understanding is only partial, how much God longs for us to turn our face to Him, to realize how near He is, how He waits there longing for us to choose to respond to His overtures of love. How He longs for us to hear His voice whispering our name and fling ourselves into His arms.
I remember one evening Emma fell asleep over my heart as I rocked her. I could have happily held her all night long, my heart nearly bursting its confines, like the Grinch of the Christmas tale. And I remember rocking her mother and her two brothers and feeling the same way. I didn’t love one child more than the others; I loved each one as if he or she was an only child. With each one, it was as if my heart would explode with love (and that love has never diminished). Our tender-hearted Father loves us more than this. There is so much more beyond the door than we can imagine...not just in Heaven, but right now. Don’t leave Him waiting with unrequited love. Pursue Him and you will find that you don’t have to take a single step; you will bump right into Him.
***************
"You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek..." [Psalm 27:8]
"Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened." [Matthew 7:7-8]
"...always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures."
"It is not a sovereign and irresistible force which comes upon us as a seizure from above. It is a gift of God, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any other gift..."
[Tozer, The Pursuit of God]
Friday, December 8, 2017
Don’t Shoot the Messenger
This week my Vipre security software on my phone came up with a malware warning, but it was for Google Play, which operates all the Android apps. What do I do with that, I thought. Vipre proceeded in an endless loop of not being able to clean by uninstalling (of course) and I could not get it out of the loop to do another scan. Vipre has a reputation for trustworthiness. I finally just turned off my phone until I could figure out what to do (to the distress of my family who couldn’t get hold of me). The people at the AT&T store couldn’t really help me except to advise removing Vipre, which I did. My phone then seemed happy again.
Immediately God showed me the analogy to our current culture...and all the way back to Israel’s history with the prophets. When your prophetic watchmen begin to annoy you with their warnings, you find a way to either ignore them or get rid of them. That way you can have a false sense of security that all is well and you don’t have to change anything in your life. All the while, something insidious is eating away at your foundation. You go blithely on your merry way like Scarlet O’Hara, setting aside dealing with any serious issues for ‘another day.’ Isaiah 28:15 says, “...for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood have we taken refuge.”
Sometimes we choose false prophets because we like what they have to say. Your computer sometimes pops up a virus warning, via some unheard of security application, advising you to take instant action to solve the virus problem they say you have. However, what they're really trying to do is download spyware on your computer. The very program that is offering to solve your problem is trying to rob you. So with the false prophets, who are really self-serving wolves in sheep's clothing. Isaiah 28: 16-17, however, leads us back to the Cornerstone and the Plumbline for all truth. We musn't be deceived by gladly receiving something 'our itchy ears want to hear.' [2 Timothy 4:3]
If you find yourself spending less ‘real’ time in quiet with the Father, search your heart to see if
you’re ignoring Him because you’re afraid of what He might have to say to you. If we turn off or delete the prophetic because it makes us uncomfortable, we’re still walking down the same dangerous road, whether we admit it to ourselves or not. Been there, done that. In the end, we always need to come back, knowing every course correction He gives us is out of love. He’s not trying to spoil our fun, He’s trying to keep us from spoiling our lives, the lives of those we love, and, ultimately, our entire nation and world. I guess the phrase, “Don’t shoot the messenger” is applicable here. If the messenger is a trustworthy, untainted one, he’ll always alert us to danger and point us back to the Cornerstone. Our spiritual antennae should start beeping when we realize we have appeased our consciences by removing the source of the warning from our visual screens, instead of addressing its content.
*********************
2 Timothy 4:3
Isaiah 30:10
They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.’
Immediately God showed me the analogy to our current culture...and all the way back to Israel’s history with the prophets. When your prophetic watchmen begin to annoy you with their warnings, you find a way to either ignore them or get rid of them. That way you can have a false sense of security that all is well and you don’t have to change anything in your life. All the while, something insidious is eating away at your foundation. You go blithely on your merry way like Scarlet O’Hara, setting aside dealing with any serious issues for ‘another day.’ Isaiah 28:15 says, “...for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood have we taken refuge.”
Sometimes we choose false prophets because we like what they have to say. Your computer sometimes pops up a virus warning, via some unheard of security application, advising you to take instant action to solve the virus problem they say you have. However, what they're really trying to do is download spyware on your computer. The very program that is offering to solve your problem is trying to rob you. So with the false prophets, who are really self-serving wolves in sheep's clothing. Isaiah 28: 16-17, however, leads us back to the Cornerstone and the Plumbline for all truth. We musn't be deceived by gladly receiving something 'our itchy ears want to hear.' [2 Timothy 4:3]
If you find yourself spending less ‘real’ time in quiet with the Father, search your heart to see if
you’re ignoring Him because you’re afraid of what He might have to say to you. If we turn off or delete the prophetic because it makes us uncomfortable, we’re still walking down the same dangerous road, whether we admit it to ourselves or not. Been there, done that. In the end, we always need to come back, knowing every course correction He gives us is out of love. He’s not trying to spoil our fun, He’s trying to keep us from spoiling our lives, the lives of those we love, and, ultimately, our entire nation and world. I guess the phrase, “Don’t shoot the messenger” is applicable here. If the messenger is a trustworthy, untainted one, he’ll always alert us to danger and point us back to the Cornerstone. Our spiritual antennae should start beeping when we realize we have appeased our consciences by removing the source of the warning from our visual screens, instead of addressing its content.
*********************
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time is coming when people will not have patience for sound teaching, but will cater to their passions and gather around themselves teachers who say whatever their ears itch to hear.
They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.’
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Lessons from Emma
Just after returning from helping to care for my newborn granddaughter, I sat in my prayer chair once again and saw before me her tiny trusting face, looking intently into my eyes as if to say, “I am entrusting myself to you without fear, for I know you hold me securely and you love me. I am content to go wherever you take me.” She later fell asleep, resting against my heart and I thought mine might break with love for her.
God reminded me upon my return that this is how He loves us: “Emma doesn’t work for her food or work to be loved. She doesn’t strive to be successful. She is loved. She is...and she is loved....You are to be like her, looking into My eyes, knowing I have you secure in My Arms. Trust Me to have chosen—and to choose—what is best...Remaining humble will help keep you tethered to My Peace.”
This is how He cares for us. This is how He longs for us to trust Him...abandoned entirely and absolutely to His tender, loving care. I would never have allowed little Emma to fall from my arms, even if I had to allow myself to be broken to prevent it. (Isaiah 53:5)
We trust man and distrust God. How ironic. We look to other humans for our fulfillment, our help, our contentment, yet we say, “Why did God let this happen? Why did He do this to me? He must not love me. I must not be important to Him. He doesn’t care about me. He cares about others, but not me. He is unjust and unequal in His treatment of us. Or He is not powerful or wise enough to intervene.
How we malign Him, if we think He doesn’t love us as I love baby Emma...and so very much more. How interesting that Emma's middle name is Grace. God doesn’t require us to comprehend, only to trust. Emma cannot see clearly beyond the borders of her mother’s face. The rest of the world exists like an Impressionist painting. Her mother and father are her world...their voices known from the womb. May it be so with us. May our Father be our world, our reality...and the world dim and hazy beyond His face, as we hear His voice singing over us.
God reminded me upon my return that this is how He loves us: “Emma doesn’t work for her food or work to be loved. She doesn’t strive to be successful. She is loved. She is...and she is loved....You are to be like her, looking into My eyes, knowing I have you secure in My Arms. Trust Me to have chosen—and to choose—what is best...Remaining humble will help keep you tethered to My Peace.”
This is how He cares for us. This is how He longs for us to trust Him...abandoned entirely and absolutely to His tender, loving care. I would never have allowed little Emma to fall from my arms, even if I had to allow myself to be broken to prevent it. (Isaiah 53:5)
We trust man and distrust God. How ironic. We look to other humans for our fulfillment, our help, our contentment, yet we say, “Why did God let this happen? Why did He do this to me? He must not love me. I must not be important to Him. He doesn’t care about me. He cares about others, but not me. He is unjust and unequal in His treatment of us. Or He is not powerful or wise enough to intervene.
How we malign Him, if we think He doesn’t love us as I love baby Emma...and so very much more. How interesting that Emma's middle name is Grace. God doesn’t require us to comprehend, only to trust. Emma cannot see clearly beyond the borders of her mother’s face. The rest of the world exists like an Impressionist painting. Her mother and father are her world...their voices known from the womb. May it be so with us. May our Father be our world, our reality...and the world dim and hazy beyond His face, as we hear His voice singing over us.
“And a little child shall lead them...” (Isaiah 11:6)
“Unless you become like one of these, you shall not enter the kingdom...” (Matthew 18:3)
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Seeds
I always receive so much by listening to Andrew Wommack (Gospel Truth, Nov. 9). He always challenges me out of any complacency I consider accepting. He also makes me laugh. This week he was discussing the concept of the Seed. Since I am also awaiting with great anticipation the ‘outside’ arrival of my granddaughter (she actually arrived 9 months ago), it seemed especially poignant to consider the beauty and strength God creates from a seed.
Interestingly enough, my daily Bible reading simultaneously landed upon Jesus’ reference to the mustard seed and all the potential the Father placed within it, though it is so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable. I remember decades ago reading a wonderful book called Poustinia, from which I retained a strong visual image of an extremely large tree, solid and firmly rooted, with birds and other animals resting in its branches and humans doing likewise underneath. Catherine Dougherty challenged us to become such trees, having developed fruitfully throughout our lives in both the stillness and friendship of God’s presence.
Some of us lament our age; others rejoice in it. I believe we should always choose the latter, whether we are in the first few decades or the final quarter. Young, middle-aged, or seniors, we can aspire to be such trees. We seniors should exult in what God has wrought in us through the decades. We should offer respite to others of any age. Let's give that solace, peace and hope which result from keeping company, through trials and triumphs, with the One who created us...the One who has gradually taught us wisdom and humility through the years.
The seeds He gave man at the Creation held within them the life of future plants similar to themselves, yet never exactly the same; He is such an artistic Creator. The unique secrets and potential he encased within all of us only develop into the beauty He planned, when we allow Him to tend, guide, and prune us along the way.
We don’t have to understand and foresee it all; we just have to trust Him that He will cause everything to flower in its time, if we cooperate with Him. Things which seem impossible, inconceivable, and even ludicrous, become reality when we trust in Him with a pure heart and allow Him to transform us and others near us in the garden. One plant sends seeds drifting onto others and onto ready soil, where it springs up to in turn bear fruit, bringing life and health with it.
Unfortunately, seeds not planted by God can also follow the same pattern, bringing forth evil, which we thoughtlessly spew forth in the form of criticism, judgment, and negativity. Bitterness is a tare with deep roots.
Let's be awe-inspiring mustard trees, pointing upward. Let's invite others to rest under your branches, no matter how old you are. Ask God to help you rid the ground beneath you of any tares which might lead others astray. Don't let them be confused by the uncomfortable, lumpy ground beneath them. Don’t let them come for rest and find discord. Be the kind of tree whose branches remind them of the Everlasting Arms. And while you’re planted there, grab his hands and pull those arms about yourself, too. You’ll make Him smile.
******************************************
Interestingly enough, my daily Bible reading simultaneously landed upon Jesus’ reference to the mustard seed and all the potential the Father placed within it, though it is so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable. I remember decades ago reading a wonderful book called Poustinia, from which I retained a strong visual image of an extremely large tree, solid and firmly rooted, with birds and other animals resting in its branches and humans doing likewise underneath. Catherine Dougherty challenged us to become such trees, having developed fruitfully throughout our lives in both the stillness and friendship of God’s presence.
Some of us lament our age; others rejoice in it. I believe we should always choose the latter, whether we are in the first few decades or the final quarter. Young, middle-aged, or seniors, we can aspire to be such trees. We seniors should exult in what God has wrought in us through the decades. We should offer respite to others of any age. Let's give that solace, peace and hope which result from keeping company, through trials and triumphs, with the One who created us...the One who has gradually taught us wisdom and humility through the years.
The seeds He gave man at the Creation held within them the life of future plants similar to themselves, yet never exactly the same; He is such an artistic Creator. The unique secrets and potential he encased within all of us only develop into the beauty He planned, when we allow Him to tend, guide, and prune us along the way.
We don’t have to understand and foresee it all; we just have to trust Him that He will cause everything to flower in its time, if we cooperate with Him. Things which seem impossible, inconceivable, and even ludicrous, become reality when we trust in Him with a pure heart and allow Him to transform us and others near us in the garden. One plant sends seeds drifting onto others and onto ready soil, where it springs up to in turn bear fruit, bringing life and health with it.
Unfortunately, seeds not planted by God can also follow the same pattern, bringing forth evil, which we thoughtlessly spew forth in the form of criticism, judgment, and negativity. Bitterness is a tare with deep roots.
Let's be awe-inspiring mustard trees, pointing upward. Let's invite others to rest under your branches, no matter how old you are. Ask God to help you rid the ground beneath you of any tares which might lead others astray. Don't let them be confused by the uncomfortable, lumpy ground beneath them. Don’t let them come for rest and find discord. Be the kind of tree whose branches remind them of the Everlasting Arms. And while you’re planted there, grab his hands and pull those arms about yourself, too. You’ll make Him smile.
******************************************
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32.
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. -1 Peter 1:23 (unlike verse 24)
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Home
This morning as I write from my tiny place in this tiny town, I know I have settled into Home. He has blessed us with multiple places to live, according to our needs, as He is wont to do. With each successive fit of worrying, He has patiently reminded me that He has always cared for me, for us, and always will. And where He is, is always home.
Staying with kind and generous friends for the better part of a year has been a great blessing, where I was offered lovely and hospitable homes, as a guest.. There He was, in the midst of them. Now He has helped me nest into this home, seemingly of my own. Yet, I realize, I am still a guest. A guest of My Father. It is nice to have a corner on this coast to call our own, but truly nothing is our own. Everything comes from His generous hand and belongs to Him. He lets us enjoy it; He wants us to enjoy it; but it isn’t ours.
What makes this home is that He has offered it to us out of His goodness and that He dwells here with us. He makes the humble places...and people...beautiful. He invites us in to rest. He offers His hospitality to the weary traveler, saying, “Stop awhile and enter into the habitat of My heart. You’ll find rest here, and if you choose to stay, a Home for eternity.”
Staying with kind and generous friends for the better part of a year has been a great blessing, where I was offered lovely and hospitable homes, as a guest.. There He was, in the midst of them. Now He has helped me nest into this home, seemingly of my own. Yet, I realize, I am still a guest. A guest of My Father. It is nice to have a corner on this coast to call our own, but truly nothing is our own. Everything comes from His generous hand and belongs to Him. He lets us enjoy it; He wants us to enjoy it; but it isn’t ours.
What makes this home is that He has offered it to us out of His goodness and that He dwells here with us. He makes the humble places...and people...beautiful. He invites us in to rest. He offers His hospitality to the weary traveler, saying, “Stop awhile and enter into the habitat of My heart. You’ll find rest here, and if you choose to stay, a Home for eternity.”
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Turtledoves
I've recently discovered reruns of Touched by an Angel on our cable network. At the end of each episode, a dove usually comes to represent God's presence in the resolution of the conflict. Did you ever wonder why the dove is used to symbolize the Holy Spirit? Of course we know that at Jesus' baptism "the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove...."*. That alone is reason enough. However, I've come to understand how much more symbolism is packed into that image. (Plumbing the depths of God's imagery in Scripture is definitely a lifetime process.)
I was unaware that in the time of Abraham a contract was ratified between two people when they walked together over the blood between the halves of the animal sacrifice. 10 witnesses stood on either side to serve as 'enforcers' of the agreement in the future, should either side renege. However, when God made the covenant with Abraham, only He passed between the halves of the sacrifice. He already knew we wouldn't keep our side of the covenant and that He Himself, through His Son, would have to pay our penalty for us.
The dove** was not divided, however, as were the other animals. It remained whole. Chaim explains that the word for dove or pigeon (tsiphar) in the Hebrew carries a second meaning of a humble or soft voice bringing the presence of the Holy Spirit. The second word used for bird in this passage is gozel, which can mean 'to pass over.' Hmmmm, where have I heard that passover thing mentioned before in Scripture? Ah yes, the angel of death passed over the Hebrews when they put the blood on their doorposts in Egypt. Yeshua, Himself, was the Lamb at the Great Passover. Wow, the whole Trinity of God was represented in the Covenant ADONAI made with Abraham. (Why am I surprised?)
Another meaning for the word tavar, whose first meaning is turtledove, is to search out one's heart to discover the truth, which, indeed, is a function of The Holy Spirit according to Scripture. The wonderful thing is that ADONAI knows it all, every beautiful and ugly detail within our hearts, and yet has provided Himself to stand in the gap between who we are and who we should be. He made the Walk through the sacrifice, and He is the Sacrifice. He presents us with one of two interlinking turtledove ornaments as a remembrance and presses the other close to His heart. May we do the same.
*Luke 3:22
**Chaim explains why the singular, versus the plural, of the word(s) for bird might be more correctly used, in his Study 68 of Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God. The chapter includes other insights as well.
I was unaware that in the time of Abraham a contract was ratified between two people when they walked together over the blood between the halves of the animal sacrifice. 10 witnesses stood on either side to serve as 'enforcers' of the agreement in the future, should either side renege. However, when God made the covenant with Abraham, only He passed between the halves of the sacrifice. He already knew we wouldn't keep our side of the covenant and that He Himself, through His Son, would have to pay our penalty for us.
The dove** was not divided, however, as were the other animals. It remained whole. Chaim explains that the word for dove or pigeon (tsiphar) in the Hebrew carries a second meaning of a humble or soft voice bringing the presence of the Holy Spirit. The second word used for bird in this passage is gozel, which can mean 'to pass over.' Hmmmm, where have I heard that passover thing mentioned before in Scripture? Ah yes, the angel of death passed over the Hebrews when they put the blood on their doorposts in Egypt. Yeshua, Himself, was the Lamb at the Great Passover. Wow, the whole Trinity of God was represented in the Covenant ADONAI made with Abraham. (Why am I surprised?)
Another meaning for the word tavar, whose first meaning is turtledove, is to search out one's heart to discover the truth, which, indeed, is a function of The Holy Spirit according to Scripture. The wonderful thing is that ADONAI knows it all, every beautiful and ugly detail within our hearts, and yet has provided Himself to stand in the gap between who we are and who we should be. He made the Walk through the sacrifice, and He is the Sacrifice. He presents us with one of two interlinking turtledove ornaments as a remembrance and presses the other close to His heart. May we do the same.
*Luke 3:22
**Chaim explains why the singular, versus the plural, of the word(s) for bird might be more correctly used, in his Study 68 of Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God. The chapter includes other insights as well.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good
Loving rereading my favorite modern author Jan Karon's Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good* in anticipation of her newest book coming out next week. Here's a sampling:
"I ask you to give Timothy your words, and to anoint all that he says and does to draw Sammy into the circle of your astonishing grace. May it be a tender time, somehow transforming in ways we can't know." [p. 226]
"At the altar of defeat, he laid the stick of grace. Then he turned and went home to the yellow house where he had been given everything and more, none of it especially deserved." [p. 228]
"He wept face forward, then, into the gale of those aghast at what was happening, wept for the wounds of any clergy gone out into a darkness of self-loathing and beguilement; for the loss and sorrow of those who could not believe, or who had once believed but lost all sense of shield and buckler and any notion of God's radical tenderness, for the ceaseless besettings of the flesh, for the worthless idols of his own and of others; for those sidetracked, stumped, frozen, flung away, for those both false and true, the just and the unjust, the quick and the dead....
He wept for himself, for the pain of long years and the exquisite satisfactions of the faith, for the holiness of the mundane, for the thrashing exhaustions and the endless dyings and resurrectings that malign the soul incarnate...."
"...And the people wept with him, most of them. Some turned away, and a few got up and left in a hurry, fearful of the swift and astounding movement of the Holy Spirit among them..." [p. 252]
*from her Mitford series, beginning with At Home in Mitford
"I ask you to give Timothy your words, and to anoint all that he says and does to draw Sammy into the circle of your astonishing grace. May it be a tender time, somehow transforming in ways we can't know." [p. 226]
"At the altar of defeat, he laid the stick of grace. Then he turned and went home to the yellow house where he had been given everything and more, none of it especially deserved." [p. 228]
"He wept face forward, then, into the gale of those aghast at what was happening, wept for the wounds of any clergy gone out into a darkness of self-loathing and beguilement; for the loss and sorrow of those who could not believe, or who had once believed but lost all sense of shield and buckler and any notion of God's radical tenderness, for the ceaseless besettings of the flesh, for the worthless idols of his own and of others; for those sidetracked, stumped, frozen, flung away, for those both false and true, the just and the unjust, the quick and the dead....
He wept for himself, for the pain of long years and the exquisite satisfactions of the faith, for the holiness of the mundane, for the thrashing exhaustions and the endless dyings and resurrectings that malign the soul incarnate...."
"...And the people wept with him, most of them. Some turned away, and a few got up and left in a hurry, fearful of the swift and astounding movement of the Holy Spirit among them..." [p. 252]
*from her Mitford series, beginning with At Home in Mitford
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Frog in the pool
Some might think I'm a little daft, but this morning I went for a swim in the housing development pool. Right now there is only a gentle rain falling, and the pool water is still warm from the summer's heat. No one else was swimming (of course), so I enjoyed the peace of the moment, with the trees gently swaying (calm before the storm). It turned out to be a great place to talk some things over with the Love and Lord of my life.
Along with the leaves blown into the pool, there was also a small frog, swimming and floating, swimming and floating around the perimeter. I wanted to rescue him, but the question arose in my mind, 'Was he better off in the pool than on land tonight?' What if, in trying to rescue him, I was actually sending him to his doom? Maybe the instinct God put in him sent him to the pool for safety. Perhaps the seeming water danger was not as bad as the greater danger on land? Yet he was working so hard, I couldn't imagine him doing that all day and all night without drowning. Finally, I went to get my flip flop to lift him out, only to completely lose sight of him in the pool. Perhaps he went into one of the drain vents as I went on my rescue mission.
Does God ever refrain from rescuing us from the smaller danger because He knows a much greater danger is at hand should He save us from the first? The worst an earthly danger can do is kill the body. An eternity without God is a much bigger danger than a 5+ hurricane. If we don't even recognize the eternal danger of refusing His salvation, what good will it do to save our homes and possessions for the moment? It could actually be, like my frog rescue, a harmful decision.
Only He knows what's best for frogs in a storm, but I know for sure that nothing is more important than gratefully gripping His outstretched carpenter's hand and being pulled to safety for all time.
Along with the leaves blown into the pool, there was also a small frog, swimming and floating, swimming and floating around the perimeter. I wanted to rescue him, but the question arose in my mind, 'Was he better off in the pool than on land tonight?' What if, in trying to rescue him, I was actually sending him to his doom? Maybe the instinct God put in him sent him to the pool for safety. Perhaps the seeming water danger was not as bad as the greater danger on land? Yet he was working so hard, I couldn't imagine him doing that all day and all night without drowning. Finally, I went to get my flip flop to lift him out, only to completely lose sight of him in the pool. Perhaps he went into one of the drain vents as I went on my rescue mission.
Does God ever refrain from rescuing us from the smaller danger because He knows a much greater danger is at hand should He save us from the first? The worst an earthly danger can do is kill the body. An eternity without God is a much bigger danger than a 5+ hurricane. If we don't even recognize the eternal danger of refusing His salvation, what good will it do to save our homes and possessions for the moment? It could actually be, like my frog rescue, a harmful decision.
Only He knows what's best for frogs in a storm, but I know for sure that nothing is more important than gratefully gripping His outstretched carpenter's hand and being pulled to safety for all time.
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