Names of God

If you have been in a Christian Bookstore, you, no doubt, at some time have seen some variation of a poster that has the various names of God.  Here is one of them.  I love this poster!  I can stare at this poster and just onder who God is. 

Our church is walking through the Experiencing God Bible study.  One thing we recently learned is that when God reveals His nature, reflected in His names, His purpose is not to create some pithy saying or plaque to hang on the wall.  Instead, what we know about God should build our faith in Him.  Faith does not come out of nothing.  Faith is birthed out of what we know about who God is-- both in His word, as well as, our experiences with Him.

Therefore, if I say that I believe that God is Almighty, and yet I have trouble trusting Him with my problems, do I really believe who He is?  If I say that is He is my Wonderful Counselor, but get depressed when the world comes crashing down on me, do I really believe who He is?  If I say He is Lord of Lords, and yet fight to maintain control of my own life, is He really my Lord?  As I look at the names of God, I am challenged to evaluate what I really believe.

And yet, He is merciful, and He is gracious.  He continues to reveal Himself to me and allow me the grace to grow in my love for Him.  In just a few days we celebrate one more demonstration of who He is... He is our Savior and our Redeemer.  Now, who do you believe He is?

Faith Under Construction

There is one area of my life that has been under construction for a couple of years now. That is in the area of faith. Specifically, I am learning to answer the question, do I REALLY trust God. That is in essence what faith really is, trusting God to do what He says He will do. If you looked into the "hall of faith" in Hebrews 11, you will find a litany of individuals that believed what God told them and acted on it. This wasn't what we would call "blind faith" where someone randomly believes something and then go move into the mountains and drink tainted punch. They first got a word from God, and then even though it may have gone against "their better judgement;" they acted on it.

One of these men I read about this morning is Noah. Beginning in chapter 6 of Genesis is the account of this man. We really know very little about him beyond that he stood out to God in the midst of unprecedented evil on the earth, "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD." (vs. 8) and in the next verse, Noah is described as a righteous man who walked with God. Noah didn't have a Bible like we do today, but God spoke to him directly... I believe audibly. Verses 11-21 detail specific instructions God gave Noah about building a huge boat that would keep he and his family alive in a pending flood. Noah's response? Verse 22 says that he did "all that God had commanded him."

Even though Noah was not perfect (cf. Gen. 9:20-21), this was an established pattern for him. God told him, he believed God, and he acted. Even when it didn't make sense. Remember, up until this point they had never even seen rain! (cf. Gen. 2:5). And yet, he is outside building a boat. What did the neighbors think?

In Hebrews 11, God's word says in the midst of the list of "faith-full" people, that without faith it is impossible to please God (vs 6). Today, we have been blessed with a completed Canon of scripture chalk full of promises and descriptions of God's character. We have the task of walking with God, and believing what He has revealed, and acting on it. Even when it doesn't make sense to us. Even when it runs counter cultural. If we desire to please God, we must trust Him.

If God's word tells me He will provide for me if I seek first His kingdom, then I shouldn't worry about my needs. If I trust God, do the last thing he told me, be faithful with what He gives me and He will take care of the rest. When I feel alone, I remember that God told me that He would never leave me nor forsake me. If I want to please God, I must first trust Him. Until He is finished with me, I will press on, knowing that although my faith is still under construction, "...He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Walking with the Good Shepherd, pt 2

So, if we shall not be in want or shall not lack anything, what kinds of things is David writing about? I think He captures in verse two the heart of what God desires for us. "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters." The first part of this verse talks of God causing us to rest, not just in pastures, but green pastures, some Bible versions use the word "lush." God desires not just a restless night, but desires that we experience peaceful refreshment. But where does this come from? Is it posh surroundings, deluxe accommodations and a sleep-number bed? I don't think so. God Himself is our supply. It comes from resting in Him. He is the green pasture.

Look back at John 10, verse 9. Jesus describes Himself as the door. What ever comes at us, must first go through Him! That gives me incredible peace of mind, and no pricey mattress can offer that-- regardless of what the adds say. Ever wonder why so many of us have trouble sleeping at night? We, and I do include myself, too often allow ourselves to not rest in the fact that Christ Himself is at the doorway of the sheep fold.

The next part of the verse reinforces this. He leads me beside quiet waters. Life apart from Christ is a rushing river and to step into it without His leading can destroy us. His leading, rather, is beside quiet, calming, peaceful waters. Waters that refresh. Waters that are clear and pure. You see, God has our best in mind. Contrary to cultural norms, we don't achieve this through having no pain and all comfort. We get this by abiding in Him, hearing His voice, and following him. I am just as guilty as anyone. I pursue things that are counterfeits and don't satisfy. David wrote in Psalm 37, that is when our delight is in the LORD, He gives us the desires of our heart. Again, David uses YHWH here for LORD.

Are you resting well? My prescription is to take a nap in a lush pasture beside quiet waters of the peace of God. Then, call upon the LORD in the morning.

Play the Fool

When I was a child, I had a traumatic experience. My sisters sang frequently for churches, and I was added to the trio. It was my solo debut and I was five or six. I looked out into the crowd at our church, sang one note and ran off the stage in tears right to my mother who was standing in the choir behind us. I froze up.

For weeks, my little friends picked on me and made fun of me. I was ashamed. I had made a fool of myself. That event scarred me in such a way that I refused to sing in front of people for a decade.

Nobody likes to make a fool of themselves. And yet, there is a certain degree of foolishness that is required for us to really be followers of Christ, isn't there? I mean think about it, God becoming a man, dying on a cross because He believed He was fact in the flesh, and much more. Still more, we are called to lives our lives drastically different in response to this.

I read a really cool quote this morning. Madeleine L'Engle wrote, "We try to be too reasonable about what we believe. What I believe is not reasonable at all. In fact, it's hilariously impossible. Possible things aren't worth much. These crazy impossible things keep us going." The Apostle Paul echoed this same sentiment when he wrote to the Corinthian church, "but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong," (1 Cor. 1:27) You see God's economy is opposite of our own. So how should we as the church function as a result?

I have been thinking about this today, how much emphasis do we place on conformity. Mark Batterson says often we measure spiritual maturity by how well we can get others to look and talk like us. But when you look at the church, at least as God designed it, we should use our diversity to make us stronger since we all have different gifts and functions. Perhaps we are missing out on some really awesome impact we could be having on the world around us.

Of course the other extreme is being so different we needless draw attention to ourselves. I think the balance is that we live and talk and act so differently that we draw attention to God! Are we willing to make fools of ourselves for God? If we are wrong, what do we lose? We help people, love each other, etc. But if we are right, and they are wrong. . . now who's the fool? I'll take my chances.

GPS (God's Protection System)

My oldest sister, Sheryl, is coming for a visit! I have been looking forward to her coming. She is working very hard these days as she has a high-responsibility job at a university; plus, she is working on her PhD. So, she has taken some much needed time off and is coming for a visit today.

Before coming here, she ran out to Georgia to see her daughter who lives in a rural community (a.k.a. the sticks) north of Atlanta. I asked her about her trip out there. Sheryl had told me earlier that she had purchased one of those GPS systems for her car that tells you, not only how to get from point "A" to point "B," but also tells when there are traffic issues ahead and how to route around them. She explained that she hadn't quite figured it all out and on her trip she ran into a lot of construction, traffic jams, etc. that prevented her arriving being earlier. I told her it would be wise to get it set so it would help her avoid that stuff when she headed this way.

When I spoke with her this morning, I asked whether she got it working for her. She said it was. Then I asked what she had to do adjust, and she told me, "my attitude." She went on to explain that it had been working right, she just didn't trust it. She placed her faith in it this morning; and lo and behold, it worked and she was able to avoid some traffic jams. Hmmm. I told her that sounded like a good spiritual lesson. She agreed.

She had called while I was spending time in the Word, when we were done talking, I got back to it. In typical fashion, God's Word was very appropriate this morning... what a "coincident!" I am working through the Gospel of John and was in chapter 12 this morning. Following the triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the donkey, verses 35-36 had this to say, "So Jesus said to them, 'For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.'" This is a lesson that God has been teaching me lately. So often, I am heading in a direction in life and want to stay on the straight and narrow, but sometimes life's path gets rocky, and I gets scared, but God's Word tells me to trust and obey. But oftentimes, I don't trust Him, and try to go my own way. Consequently, things end up a big mess. Had I listened to God's GPS, I would have been protected from a lot of pain.

God's Word is always true and will always guide us in the paths around destruction. It is not because God doesn't want us to have fun, but rather He knows what is best, as He has a much broader perspective. I was reminded of a famialiar Proverb that also speaks this very issue, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (14:12) At times we don't understand God's directions, but we need to follow our GPS, He loves us and He always knows the best way!

A Heavenly Preview

Jill & I are in the habit of previewing all the movies that our girls watch since there is so much garbage out there that teach a plethora of worldly messages. There is a movie that came out recently on DVD that I have been wondering about, so I rented it and previewed it this weekend. I am not sure of the intention, but not only did I find it to be pretty safe, but even saw some really cool lessons that I could use to teach about Christ.

The movie is Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. At first, I found the main character, Mr. Magorium, a little weird, but as the story unveils, I saw that one of the primary plots was about facing death. Magorium, played by Dustin Hoffman, knows he is about to die, and trying to get Maloney, played by Natalie Portman, prepared to take over the toy store. Maloney is a would-be concert pianist who is stuck writing her first concerto. And although everyone believes in here talent, she can't seem to break through and finish it. I don't want to ruin the story for you, but Maloney learns that she really comes alive once the one she believes in dies and she takes over his work. Not did she believe in herself, but did she believe in this mysterious man who brings toys to life. This immediately reminded me of the verse where Christ is foretelling of His own death and the life that results. "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.'" John 12:24.

Unless we embrace who we are in Christ, we can never truly come alive to see all that we were created to be and do. If we do, wonderful things can happen! Enjoy the movie. I did.

Lame Duck Faith

In the light of a political climate like ours, there is a phrase that becomes increasingly popular and relevant. I haven't done any research on the term "lame duck" and where it comes from or how long it has been around, but it most often used in describing a politician who is on their last term and because of term limits they can not run again for the same office. It refers to the tendency of this individual who, in seeing the final days nearing, begins to give up the passion that once put them in office. I think many of us do this even on smaller scales when we see the end coming in a job or school change. It is easy to do really. The thought is, "What's the point? We are leaving soon anyway. No one is listening."

I began reading Paul's letters to the church in Thessalonica recently, and I noted one theme in chapter one of the first letter that followers of Christ of today would do well to implement. "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." (vs. 3) As I unpacked this verse, the rest of the chapter developed what I was seeing. Any time I see a list in scripture, it makes me stop. Paul commends the church on three things: their work produced by faith, their labor prompted by love, and their endurance inspired by hope.

The work produced by their faith refers to the repentance that resulted. They were not just saying that they believed in Jesus, but they were turning form the idol worship they were so heavily entrenched in their old lives. True faith, as James discusses in his letter, produces good works and repentance.

Then Paul talks about their labor of love. At first, I thought he was just repeating himself, but I don't think so, because he uses two different Greek words here and this one refers more to a work done with intensity and sorrow. This church, as we see described later in the letters, is experiencing persecution. They were buckling down when it was getting hard, and possibly getting toward their end, and their love for Christ was the motivating force. Paul himself describes this in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians when he said that Christ's love compelled them.

Finally, he mentions steadfastness or endurance that results from having a source of true hope. This is no milk-toast hope. It is rooted in a deep-hearted trust in a returning Savior King based on the powerful work that has already been done in their midst. They were facing persecution, and folks they knew were being killed for their faith in Christ, and yet Paul commended them for not giving up and finishing the race.

In these final days, we are living in what my friend refers in his blog as shadow days. We cannot become lame ducks in our faith. We must buckle down, turn our heads toward the wind and keep marching. As long as we remain, God is not done with us. Unfortunately, many in the church today have given up. Their mindset is the same as a lame duck politician. "What's the point? We are leaving soon anyway. No one is listening." We must press on. We must encourage one another. We must not grow weary. For He is faithful, and we will be united with Him soon.

Does our faith produce real life change? Does our love for Christ compels us to do good deeds? Does our hope in Christ keep us moving forward? Or have we become lame duck in our faith? I hope you are challenged as much as I have been.

Who's Got Your Back?

Recently, as elders and staff, we concluded a weekend retreat by forming a circle facing outward and praying together as a symbol that we have each others back. It was meaningful, and I cherish the time we had together as men leading the church where I serve. We, as the church, should do just that. However, if you have ever be on the receiving end of betrayal as I have, you learn that even the most trusted people can fail you or let you down. This week, I read a little verse that really jumped off the page at me as I had never read it before, but I love what it says:

"Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard." (Isaiah 58:8)

The context of that verse is that God, through the prophet, just rebuked the Israelites for going through the motions of religion and that if they wanted to truly find what they seek, they needed to draw near to the LORD. Verse tells them (and us) that if we draw near to God, His glory will be our rear guard. We all need each other, there is no doubt, but when push comes to shove, who's got your back?

Spiritual DIY

I am not the typical man. Most men, like to work with their hands, build stuff and fix things. And yet, I find that, like Tim the Toolman, the more I try to repair stuff around the house, the more expensive the damage gets. All the while I should have picked up the phone and called someone who knows how to fix the trouble. Instead, I trust in my own ability to fix the problem. I have since resigned myself to enjoying the expertise of those talented individuals on the Do-It-Yourself channels on TV.

Once again veering from my study through the Books of the Law, I find myself reading a book I haven't read very often. As a matter of fact, much of my reading has been pieced together over the years. I am reading through the prophecy of Isaiah. While only a few chapters in, there is already much richness in the text. This morning I was reading through chapter 7, and several common threads jumped out to me as I often struggle with these same issues.

Isaiah is addressing King Ahaz, the grandson of the famous King Uzziah of Judah. Ahaz finds himself surrounded by nations that are conspiring against Judah to invade and conquer them. Needless to say the nation was shaking in their boots. Facing this scenario, Ahaz begins to make plans to do something drastic... align himself with one of the then enemies... Assyria. One commentator describes the foolishness of this by likening it to a mouse asking the cat to help against two rats. Being Italian, I think of it like one neighborhood family hiring the mafia to come help with a couple of local street gangs.

So, God sends Isaiah to Ahaz to address the situation, and here are some of the things that God tells Ahaz in verse 4a, "'Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted.'" Later, in verse 9b, He says, "'If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.'"

How many times have I faced multiple hardships, gotten nervous and decided to "fix" things myself. God isn't moving at the pace that I think He should move nor in the manner in which I think it should be done, so I am going to "help" things along by taking matters into my own hands. Now while, I have learned much from the dumb things I have done, I would have been saved much sorrow had I only trusted God and waited on Him and not tried to be a spiritual do-it-yourself-er. I am sure Ahaz and I are the only ones who struggle with spiritual DIY. Sometimes, I should have followed the revised cliche, "Don't just do something, stand there!" Call on the expert who not only has the blueprints, but is the Designer Himself.

A great passage to follow up with is Psalm 37. I tried to choose one verse to post, but it's all good, read it!

Forgetting to Remember

I am a big fan of Disney-Pixar movies. Well produced and written, I find myself easily identifying with certain characters. In "Finding Nemo", by far, my favorite character is a blue fish named Dory. She suffers from short term memory loss. Now by many people's standards, I am not an old man. However, even though I am a few years shy of 40, I see glimpses of the brain damage that is on the horizon. As I have aged, one of the things that I have seen is my own faining memory. Only ten tens ago, my mind was sharp, and I could remember the most obscure details. Now I am almost at the point where I need to stick post-it notes to remember to go to the bathroom!

Probably one of the most important aspects of a believer's growth is their faith. The bigger your faith, the more peaceful your life as a Christian will be. Jesus said that pure faith the size of a mustard seed can accomplish huge things. Now, I am not talking about blind faith; that is not a biblical faith. The New Testament has this to say about faith, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. " (Hebrews 11:1) The latter part of the verse sounds like the blind-faith that you hear about with TV Evangelists, but the first part of the verse alludes to what is at the heart of real pure faith- a good memory. Where does this "assurance" come from? It comes from having seen or heard about God's work in the past and remembering it.

In Exodus 14, we see the first of many wilderness memory lapses of the Hebrew people. Probably not even weeks from witnessing first-hand God's power in the ten plagues, they find themselves backed up against the sea looking at the impending attack of the Egyptians. Here's what they say in response to Moses, "'Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.'"(v.11-12) They would have rather remained slaves than to trust God to bring them to their future inheritance.

While there is much that could be said in commentary, the lesson is simple. Do we more often remember what God has done for us in the past and trust God with the army we are currently facing, or do we call into question God's character? I think the key to a pure walk of faith begins with not forgetting to remember. How's your memory? If you are like me sometimes, you are a lot like Dory. Let's not forget to remember!

You Just Never Know

There are a hand full of phrases both cliche and scripture that are used to illustrate God's sovereignty like "God works in mysterious ways," and Isaiah quoting God tells us that God ways are not like ours. Dealing with the unknown and unforeseeable future is probably one of the hardest things to face in the walk of faith. We make decisions based on our perception of what is to come, and many times events befall us that leave us shaking our heads wondering what God is doing. Although it is seldom enjoyable at the time, when our lives seemingly careen out of control we are left fearful and confused. All the while, God in His eternal omniscience has been in control all along. Sometimes, we are blessed with knowing how a turn of events in hindsight the reason for our plights. It may take weeks, months or even years to see what God has been doing. Other times, we may never fully know.

In my continuing study this morning through the life of Joseph, I read about his epiphany. Joseph, wise after decades of a litany of trials and hardships, tells his brothers what was really behind all the things that had been done to him. He explains that even though they had mistreated him, that it was all part of what God had intended for a greater purpose. "God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt." (Genesis 45:7-8)

A few months ago, having gone through a trying period of my life, once again I found myself "by coincidence" reading through the book of James. And I found myself reading, at just the right time, the verses in chapter 1 that instructs on dealing with trials of all kinds because they produce perseverance. Now this was a familiar verse to me, but one thing I zeroed in on that I hadn't before, the first part of that verse starts with "consider it pure joy." The more mature we are in Christ, we will adopt an attitude of considering the hard times "pure joy." Now while I have gotten to the point in my life where I can look back and see God's hand and the lessons He was teaching, I realized that I was not yet able to consider it pure joy. I believe that is our goal response, since it takes into account God's Love for us and that He desires the best for us. And when we experience those trials, remember that God's wants us to grow in perseverance and trust in Him. Thanks be to God who has been patient with me while I learn to adopt this attitude. I ain't there yet, and I know that He has many more things for me to learn. But because I have experienced His grace thus far, I know that He is more than worthy of my trust. You just never know what God has in store.

Tragedy

I observed a horrific tragedy in the news this week. A young mother of 4 hanged her children and herself in desparation. All but the youngest (8 months) perished. The mother was 23, her oldest child was 6. She was apparently distraught when her commonlaw husband left her. I do not know this woman beyond what the media has told, and my heart breaks over the murder of her innocent little girls. If my math adds up she was a mother at 17 years old. The sad thing is that this example is becoming increasingly more common.

What I find even more tragic is I wonder where the church is in the midst of lives that are so desparate that they feel that killing themselves and their own children is the only way out. Jesus Christ has called us to be salt and light... he has called me to be salt and light. We are to live our lives in such a way that we draw people to Jesus. Jesus said we are either gathering or scattering. I often get caught up with others in complaining about how our society has gone to pot, but I wonder if we as the church were truly being salt and light where we live and work how much of this would be going on. Now please don't misunderstand me, I understand that this world is not our home, that we are sojourners here, and that this is a fallen world. However, that does not negate the fact that we are to season and illumine our world. But instead, the world influences us.

I know that sometimes this responsibility can be overwhelming, what can I do? I am one person. True, but each one of us can make a difference in the lives of a few.

Consider the lyrics of this song, Love Them Like Jesus by Mark Hall:

The love of her life is drifting away
Their losing the fight for another day
The life that she's known is falling apart
A fatherless home, a child's broken heart
You're holding her hand, your straining for words
You trying to make - sense of it all
She's desperate for hope, darkness clouding her view
She's looking to you

Chorus
Just love her like Jesus, carry her to Him
His yoke is easy, His burden is light
You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
Just know that He loves her and stay by her side
Love her like Jesus, Love her like Jesus

The gifts lie in wait, in a room painted blue
Little blessing from heaven be there soon
Hope fades in the night, blue skies turn to gray
As a little one slips away
You're holding their hand, your straining for words
You trying to make - sense of it all
Their desperate for hope, darkness clouding their view
Their looking to you

Chorus

Lord of all creation holds our lives in His hands
The God of all the nations holds our lives in His hands
The rock of our salvation holds our lives in His hands
He cares for them just as He cares for you

Chorus

We are to love them like Jesus.

Knowing of God vs. Knowing God

"Knowledge of God can be fully given to man only in a Person, never in a doctrine. Faith is not the holding of correct doctrine, but personal fellowship with the living God."

-- William Temple

"The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God."

-- A.W. Tozer

Have Faith

This is a wise, sane Christian faith: that a man commit himself, his life, and his hopes to God; that God undertakes the special protection of that man; that therefore that man ought not to be afraid of anything.

-- George MacDonald

If God led you to it, He will lead you through it.

-- Author Unknown

The spiritual life is a stern choice. It is not a consoling retreat from the difficulties of existence, but an invitation to enter fully into that difficult existence, and there apply the Charity of God, and bear the cost.

-- Evelyn Underhill