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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."

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)

Home Sick

It has been a while since I have written anything, I find my life allowing not much more than short Facebook blurbs on how life is going, and yet there is so much more to my life than that.

We are awaiting the arrival of our new exchange student and family member, Federico from Italy. He arrives Tuesday. So, I find myself thinking about traveling. I think about some of the travels I have made over the years. Road trips alone and with family. An insanely long flight to Thailand. One thing that all travels have in common is that point in them that you get the desire to get home.

I sit for extended periods of time, and my body cries out to be set free from the shackles of my bucket-seat prison. I desire to get out and stretch, but more than that, I just want to get home. The closer you get, the more you want to get there even quicker and flirt with the vertical pedal on the right. Then, finally you pull into the driveway, turn off the ignition and begin unloading the car. The kids run and play with all the toys they haven't seen in days as if the toys were missing them too. Then, when the kids are in bed, you take a quick shower to rinse off the road grime and then crawl into your own bed... ahhh! Nothing beats the feeling when you are finally in your own bed after you've been gone.

This weekend I hit the wall. You know the wall don't you? That invisible place you get to when you have run and run and then you just don't want to do anymore. You just need a break. You just want to go home. You begin to cling to verses like John 14:1-3.

My pastor has been preaching on faith. Tonight he continued from this morning, talking about faith's hope-- our ultimate destination. I don't remember much about what he said as I was lost in being home sick for my eternal home. Where I truly belong. No, I am not feeling suicidal. But there are times like right now, when I long for the rest that is promised in Hebrews.

Paul wrestled with the same feelings, when he said to "live is Christ, and to die is gain." Maybe I need to go crawl under a tree by a stream, and let the ravens feed me meat and bread. I am just homesick. I will a picture of our new son in a few days. I am going to bed. I pray the Lord will give me visions of my place he has gone to prepare for me...