Squishy

It has been rainy and cold here. God has blessed us with an abundance of rain in recent months, and coming out of a drought, that is a very good thing. The ground is now so saturated with water, our yard squishes when you walk on it. Now, while it lends it self to messy shoes, I know that it is really good for the land which has been so thirsty.

I don't think it is any coincidence that I found myself in Psalm 42 this morning. The first couple verses really speak to where I am these days, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" I am okay, but just the busyness of life and being pulled in so many different directions and much on my mind, I am feeling very dry and barren. My "deep" calls to the Lord's depth again.

David records in Psalm 23 that when we walk with the Lord, He fills our cup to overflowing. If you have ever tried to walk with a full cup to the brim, it splashes out, on the floor. Just the motions of walking slowly causes the fluid to swirl and spill out. That is God's desire for us. To be so filled with Him, that we are squishy and spill on to everything and everyone around us with the simple slow motions of life.

That was my prayer today, that he make me squishy again.

A Tale of Two Mornings – Nothing Significant?

God is forever using the ignoble for noble purposes. Take me for instance. I have the honor of leading His people in worship, teaching His Word and proclaiming God’s love to those he puts in my path.

This morning I found myself thinking about how God used two insignificant mornings to make a huge difference in life as we know it. The first came in a small insignificant town called Bethlehem, to two insignificant people named Mary and Joseph. The news of the Savior’s birth came to a group of insignificant shepherds—the lowliest of the low. This Savior was wrapped in strips of cloth and later given burial spices as a birthday present. Who would have guessed that which we celebrate this insignificant morning would have been so significant.

Some thirty-three years later, on another insignificant morning, just a few days after the tragic execution of an innocent man, this Savior, who had been, once again, been wrapped in strips of cloth, was again brought a present of burial spices. However, He was no longer in that grave! And once again, the good news was once again announced by an angel to a group of insignificant men and women.

So, here we are, over 2000 years later, and we still celebrate those two “insignificant” mornings. May this time with family and friends be shared and richly enjoyed, not because we have much under the tree, but rather because we who were once insignificant are now heirs of God.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:16-17

May you and yours have a Significant Christmas!

Christmas Lifesongs - part 2

This past weekend, our church did had Christmas program. It wasn’t a large fancy production, just something simple to walk through the Christmas story in Word and in song. I got to sing one of my favorite Christmas carols as a solo, “O Holy Night.” I love this song. It is such a powerful song both musically and lyrically I still get goose bumps when I hear a powerful voice like Phelps sing it, especially when you know they understand the meaning. I especially love the second verse. It declares some of the most powerful truths. “Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace… Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother and in His name all oppression shall cease.”

I haven’t had the misfortune of spending any time in jail nor chains, but I have come to love freedom nonetheless. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Rom. 8:2) We have been set free! That is tremendous reason to celebrate. “Let all that is within us praise His Holy name!!!!” He has taught us to love. That in a nutshell is the Christian life-- love God, love people.

What is within you? Is it bursting out in celebration to His Holy name or are we just celebrating with our leftovers? Christmas is a great time to start anew.

Who's Granny Are You?

I subscribe to a daily clean funny, and I got this one today. Although it is cute, it has some toe stomping elements too...

The little boy came home from his first day at Sunday School. He told his mother that his Sunday school teacher was Jesus' granny.

"How did you reach that conclusion?" his mother asked.

"Well, she never stops talking about Jesus," he replied.

I am not a grandparent, but there is definitely a common denominator that connects most. They love to talk about their grandkids. You walk into my in-laws home and you would have thought they wallpapered their home (which is usually museum like) with snaps of my kids. But the reality is we talk about most that which we value to most. God thinks so too! Consider this passage from Hebrews 13:15-16: "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

So, who's granny are you?

In a Class By Himself

As most of you know, we have a new addition in our home. Our new foreign exchange student from Italy, Federico, has blessed us and has begun to challenge me in many ways. He is teenager in every sense of the word, but he is insightful and thinks heavily about life and the things we experience therein. He is often taking in things, things that we see and experience daily without thought, in wonder and amazement. He is frequently asking hard questions about life and politics. These questions are not so hard because I don’t understand my convictions, but because I have to break it down in manageable terms that he can understand in his limited but growing mastery of the English language.

In our discussions, he often has shown that his opinions on America and its ways have been shaped not from personal experience, but by exposure to the media in Italy. He is young and shares many opinions that are consistent with his peers on both sides of the ocean, but he is teachable and open to discussion which is encouraging. I have found that we are all at a disadvantage when we look at things from a limited point of view. This is especially true when it comes to our experience with God.

I am currently reading a refreshing easy read by Chip Ingram called God As He Longs for You to See Him. I love Ingram’s teaching as he tends to, as Hendricks puts it, “put the cookies on the bottom shelf.” In his chapter on the holiness of God, he makes this statement, “God’s holiness, like His other attributes, is in a category by itself. He isn’t six or ten or one hundred times more holy than the best person you know. God himself is an entirely different category in which he is the only member.” WOW! That is humbling, because that means I am sinning just in how I am thinking about how holy God is, because I am thinking differently than He is. Often I think of God in terms of being more holy than I am, but he is so much more than that, he is in a class all by Himself. He is, as the angels declared, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.”

Ingram goes on to say, “When we get a high view of God, we stop comparing ourselves to others because we understand how much we fail to measure up to Him. Instead of trying to figure out how close we can get to sin without actually sinning, we begin trying to figure out how we can get as close to his purity as possible.” That is when we cry out in the same manner that Isaiah did, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah. 6:5)

May God today expand your knowledge of who He is as He has me, and then worship Him for who he truly is!

"Thus says the LORD, 'Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?'” (Isaiah 66:1)

Shadowboxing

I love movies about boxing. One of my favorites is Cinderella Man, with Russell Crowe. I would even admit that I have watched my share of the infamous Rocky movies. I love how these movies portray great comebacks and I get inspired. I am no boxer, but one of the things I know about boxing is that a boxer, if he is going to be great, must train his body. So, they undergo months and years of exercises that fine tune the fighter to do one thing... box! One of these exercises is called shadow boxing. Shadow boxing is kind of a funny thing to do. It is simply when a boxer practices throwing punches at nothing to refine his technique and warm up the muscles to avoid injury. However, if he never gets in the ring, all his efforts are in vain.

I, recently, reading through the "pastoral epistles" of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. I like to visit these passages at least once a year to remind and refresh what it takes to be a shepherd of people. In these letters, in particular those to Timothy, Paul uses an interesting phrase 3 times. "Fight the good fight." The first two are instructional, the last is himself reflecting on his own life. Something that stands out to me when I look at this command is that it assumes that there is a bad or no-so-good fight. He doesn't just say fight the fight, but rather fight the good fight. In the 1 Tim. 6:12, he further describes it as the "good fight of faith."

He is telling Timothy to give himself to that which matters most. I began to think about this and was reminded that we ALL give ourselves to something. But is it the right thing. We are all fighting a fight... but is it the GOOD fight. If I am not giving myself to Jesus daily, I am just shadowboxing. I can chase all sorts of good things (money, stuff, people, family, health, church, etc.) but I will come up wanting every time, because only Jesus truly satisfies. What do we spend our time pursuing? Jesus said where our treasure is, that is where we will find our heart. It's time to stop shadowboxing and to get in the ring... the right ring... and fight the good fight.

Don't Come Empty Handed

Have you ever come to a party that was given in someone's honor, and when you arrived everyone but you is carrying presents? It is a feeling that can only be described as shame and embarrassment. Yes, you have the honor of having been invited, and yes you can wish the person well, but when you are empty-handed, you miss out on the joy of showering this person with gifts to whom honor is deserved.

I recently began reading the Revelation of John the Apostle. It has been a while and since I have been reading John's gospel and epistles, I decided to spend some more time with the Lord's earthly best friend. Beginning in chapter 4, there is a description of the throne room of heaven that defies the imagination. It is obvious that John struggles to adequately describe what he sees, as the beauty is just amazing.

In verse 4, he mentions that the throne of God is surrounded by 24 other thrones, and seated on those were 24 elders, whom I believe to be or represent the 12 Apostles and 12 tribes of Israel. These Elders were all wearing crowns. The bible uses two different words that we translate as "crown" John uses the Greek word "stephanos" for these crowns. A stephanos is a wreath-like crown used to honor one for their victory or accomplishment- much like the medals we see being given in the Olympics. These are crowns that are described in passages like 2 Timothy 4:8 that the saints are rewarded with for their obedience and faithfulness. These Elders then take these crowns that they earned with their lives, and then lay them at the feet of the One seated at the throne in the center.

In our society, culture tells us, "hey, you deserve the best!" or "you worked hard for it; treat yourself!" This picture is opposite. Here are those who suffered and died and followed Christ, and yet they are laying their crowns at the feet of the Lamb. John hears the words, “Worthy is the lamb who was killed to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise!” (Rev. 5:12)

I was then convicted by these thoughts. How often do I do things for my own pleasure and reward? When I do obey, is my motivation for His ultimate glory or my own. Scripture teaches that when our motives for obedience are impure, we get our reward here on earth and will have nothing to lay at His feet. When I stand before this King of kings, will I be empty handed or will I have gifts to express my gratitude for how He saved me? He definitely deserves it, and after all, it is His party!

Come to the Table

Kids, I think by design, have vivid imaginations. They love pretending to be something or someone else. As a matter of fact, my current blog profile picture shows both of my daughters doing just that. At least once a week, when I arrive home from work, I am received with not squeals of glee and shouts that daddy is home but rather with barks and meows. The thing is, I don't have any pets. My girls will crawl to me on their hands and knees pretending they are in fact puppies and kitties. They however, are still learning when to stop pretending and become little girls again when it is time to come to the table for dinner. We have to tell them that puppies and kitties don't belong at the table. The people of Israel had the same problem.

It is interesting that right after what the prophet Isaiah recorded right after chapter 57's extension of mercy to God's people. The LORD begins to address an issue with His people that we would do well to heed. Having been in Babylonian exile for 70 years pretty much cured the people of idolatry; however, they would embark on another sin that would intensify over the next 400 years that many of them missed the arrival of the promised Messiah. They began to pretend, and they did not when to stop.

You see the people had begun to go through the motions of ritual fast and legalism. But they were missing the point. The purpose of fasting, as God describes it, is to draw near to Him, not just to do it and check it off the "to-do" list. Their fasting wasn't affecting their lives. Notice what He says:

6"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
7"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8"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.
9"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; (Isaiah 58:6-9)

They were pretending to be what they were not, they were acting like they were being holy, and yet they were not drawing near to the One who could make them holy and consequently, they were not ministering to those around them. We can easily do the same thing. Only now, our rituals are different. We can do inherently good things, but do them for the wrong reasons and totally miss the point. We can lift our hands in worship but only be enamored with the music and the emotion of the moment, but then after the service, we do not live like it means something.

So what is the point? He wants us first to draw near to Him, and as He takes over every corner of our lives, He will begin to penetrate everything that we do and we will do things not to make ourselves feel better or out of empty ritual, but rather we will do the things for the glory of God as He manifests Himself in us.

It's time for supper, let's come to the table!

Where's the Party?

I am not a real sentimental person, and haven't been for sometime. Most holidays, save anniversaries and birthdays, have been pretty nonchalant celebrations in our home. I really haven't been content with my stance on this, but haven't really known what to do about it. This morning, the Lord corrected my attitude on the matter, and I have begun reconsidering what to do about it.

In Leviticus 23, we see that the LORD instituted various festivals and celebrations that the Israelites were to follow, and each festival had specific days and things that were required. Without getting bogged down in following the Law, I began thinking about the LORD's intent behind the festivals-- He wanted them to remember. Really, that is why we have holidays. We have forgotten to remember.

I think the bulk of my response, or lack thereof, to holidays is rooted in rebellion to the over-commercialization of them and the focus on just the fun part of the holiday. Now, there is nothing wrong with having fun, but the reason we have holidays is to commemorate an event or person. I think we have lost the whole idea behind true celebration or memorial events and turned them into a time to eat a meal with our families and exchange gifts and allowed that to be an end in itself. It's not that those things are wrong, but it can't end there.

I am rethinking my attitude about holidays, and I may even come up with a few on my own, just special days that we as a family set aside to remember God's goodness or provision in our individual lives. I have thrown out the baby with the bathwater on the subject of holidays. It is should be a good thing to celebrate what God has done in our lives.

I am going to bake a cake, and I am gonna make a wish and blow out the candles and celebrate God's goodness. We're having a party, wanna come?

Blood Bath

I want to ask you the same question I asked the church congregation as we started our worship service yesterday. Before you entered into worship, how many of you made sure that you offered up your sacrifices before you left the house? I asked the folks to raise their hands showing which ones followed through on that biblical command, but there were no takers.

As you might have determined, I have entered into the land of Leviticus in my readings. For years, I would avoid Old Testament books like this with much fear and trepidation. Partly because it was boring with all the specific details of law and ceremony. But today, although I do not consider myself an authority on the sacrificial system of the Hebrew people, I can take away a couple of vital lessons from this rich book. Firstly, the fact of your likely negative answer to the above mentioned question is incredible. You see, God's requirement for relating to Him was literally a blood bath. Your cleansing to be purified before a holy God came at the expense of laying your hands on an animal (bull, ram, dove, etc.) looking into its eyes and killing this innocent animal, and then splashing its blood everywhere so you could worship God. IF that were not enough it had to be done repeated, because the it was only temporary relief. The New Testament book of Hebrews 9 reaffirms Leviticus that the cost of worshipping God was blood shed. But original my question teetered on the absurd because this prerequisite of worship is completely foreign to us today. The biggest "sacrifice" most folks made to come to worship was getting out of bed "early."

Thankfully, in that same passage of Hebrews, it also describes the permanent washing of all sin came when Christ offered Himself as the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God. He, in Himself, completely satisfied God's requirement of an atonement for sin. We were able to speak the name of God and relate to Him yesterday without the required blood bath because of what Christ did. So, next time you worship, give thanks to God for what we so often take for granted that we no longer have to be repeatedly cleansed in such a violent manner before we enter into His presence.

"Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

Peek-a-Boo!

My youngest daughter has earned the nickname "Boo." She has, for months, loved playing peek-a-boo and hide-and-go-seek. Nothing seems to bring more giggles of glee as when we find her and go "Boo!" So, the name name stuck. The funny thing is she LOVES to be found... over and over again, and I must say that it is really cute when she does this. I guess part of her joy comes from knowing that her father is seeking her.

Did you know that your Father is seeking after you? Jesus testifies to this to the woman at the well when He tells her that, "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers." (John 4:23b) In Exodus, God outlines some of what this looks like. God being God, has the right describe to us what His expectations are when it comes to worship. In my reading this morning, I noticed a couple of things that seems to be prerequisites for worshiping in spirit and in truth.

The first thing I noticed is that God is seen for who He is. God himself describes some aspects of His character; He declares to Moses who He is. Moses responds IMMEDIATELY: "Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. " (Ex. 34:8) Just as Christ tells the woman, truth of who God is is part of what God seeks in our worship. How can we worship what we do not know? God has revealed Himself in so many ways in His word, in His creation, in His Son; do you know Him for who He is?

Secondly, I noticed is that God outlines for Moses and the Hebrews "HOW" they were to come to Him. The cool thing is that He not only lays out what He expects them to do or not do in order to worship Him. After He reveals Himself, He then makes provision for them to be right before Him. In verse 10 of the same chapter, God initiates the covenant with His people, so that, as the NIV renders it, "The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. " How would like to try to guess how to please God, knowing that the wrong methods would result in a non-humorous version of the cartoon I posted yesterday?

Lastly, we see that the people responded with glee. In chapter 35, their hearts were moved for God, and they gave massive amounts of money and materials to contribute to the building of the tabernacle. Over and over in scripture, we see that God is seeking those who will do what it takes to honor God not because it is something they HAVE to do, but because it is something they WANT to do. Are you worshipping Him begrudgingly, or is it something that excited you to pour out your love to Him as He deserves? The result in the end of this book was a Tabernacle was constructed to be able to meet with God, and God's Glory filled the place.

These are some of the things that God is seeking. Do we giggle with glee when He finds us, or do we run from Him and hide in shame?

I Theenk I'm Gonna Need a Beeger God

In my continuing study through the life of the Hebrew people in the Exodus, I came across a passage that has a lesson we would all do well to learn. I know I haven't mastered it yet. And it seems, the older I get, the more I realize how little I really have mastered it. Oh, when I was in my twenties, I thought I had it figured out pretty well. It is the lesson of theology proper. While there are more complicated definitions, theology is simply defined as the study of God. Not long ago, I used to think that theology was boring and only for people who sit in closed seminary offices. However, I have since changed my mind. A.W. Tozer wrote, in Knowledge of the Holy, that worship of God requires that we think rightly about Him. He says, "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." That makes sense really, how can we worship what we do not know? Jesus said the same to the woman at the well.

How great is your idea of God? In Exodus 15, the Hebrews had gotten just a few glimpses of how big a God He really is, and it caused them to worship. If you have problems having reasons to worship Him, then perhaps your concept of God is too small. The fact that we cannot begin to fathom the mysteries of all who God is, is a great place to start. My absolute all time favorite quote still remains, "If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshiped." (Evelyn Underhill) If we are not in a constant state of being awed by our God, perhaps it is time for us to take the little god out of the boxes we so often put Him in and get a bigger God!

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever!
Amen. (Romans 11:33-36 (NASB))