Watch for the Curve...

Life throws us many curves. As we attempt to navigate the turbulent waters we run up against the rocky shores and shoals of conflict, disappointment, individuals who discredit us, our own inadequacies, weariness, etc. 

We contemplate an out. We want to win the lottery, discover the cure, beat our opposition either verbally, physically or competitively, throw in the towel, escape to a deserted island in the tropics or a cabin in the woods. We consider comprising our principles just to make it fair or get even, just this once.

Faced with invading forces and contemplating an alliance with an even worse enemy, Ahaz was met by Isaiah as he inspected the water source in preparation for war. Isaiah proclaimed to him, “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of… (these enemies).”  (Isaiah 7:4) 

Be careful  – Consider your contemplated path and the consequences of that decision. Observe God’s history in taking care of you. 

Be quiet  –  Calm yourself. While out of your control, it is not out of God’s control. 

Do not fear – Fear reflects a doubt in the One who completely loved you and continues to love you well. 

Do not let your heart be faint because of….. (you fill in the blank) -  Our weariness and faint heart comes from the conflict of our own inadequacies and struggles to resolve the problem. We contemplate one set of actions only to see their imminent failure or impossibility and bounce to our next solution, only to discover the same results.  Our only solution is to throw ourselves on the goodness of God and His plan and provision for us. 

…thus says the Lord GOD: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass….If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’” (Isaiah 7:9)

Let the sea ROAR!

Walking along the beach in San Diego with my wife, we began discussing the beauty of the ocean and comparing it to the mountains. A native of Colorado, and a little squeamish about water, Cindi prefers the mountains. I love them both. The mountains speak to me of majestic splendor, a quiet, peaceful awesomeness, an unmovable strength. The great oceans communicate a wild unpredictability, an untamable strength, a consistent activity of breaking waves that lulls you into a cautious comfort with nearby danger.

Sunrise over El Capitan

Every time I witness the beauty of Creation,  I reflect on how it speaks to the personality of the Creator.  I still remember taking the picture of El Capitan early one morning in the Sawtooths. It was a beautiful, clear quiet, morning and I had wandered to the shoreline. Words such as Strength, Eternal, Unchanging, Persistent Presence and Beauty, all spoke to me of God's character. The mountains remind me of a verse that Cindi and I embraced during a difficult time of health and occupation issues years ago.

You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. 
(Is 26:3,4)

Oregon Coast - Summer 2014

Every time I watch the ocean and it's endless waves, I am reminded of a quote from C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,  "'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver; 'don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.'"

God is not safe. He is not controlled by our emotions or attempted manipulations. We can't bargain with Him.  But in a dangerous, evil world, I don't want a 'safe' God. Witnessing the wildness of the ocean does not make me restless but peaceful. I know behind the wild waves is a God who is Good, who has '...plans to prosper (me) and not to harm (me), plans to give (me) hope and a future. 

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
...Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together (Ps 98:4-8)

Marvel at the Mystery

Walking in to work from the parking lot yesterday, my attention was caught by three elementary boys huddled around a leaf seemingly suspended in midair. An errant spider web attached to a dry, fall leaf dangled right at their eye level. And such wonderment in their big brown eyes as they looked to see this mystery. It was gone in a moment as they recognized the source of the mystery and batted it down in a playful reaction. But I had caught the brief wonderment in their eyes, the marveling at a mystery, the joy of discovery.

I shared the story with my staff that morning and asked them, as they waded through their normal difficulties that day, to look for those moments of marvel. Perhaps in the spontaneous interaction with an individual, a compassionate gesture, a small token of appreciation. But to stop and marvel....

 I was surprised at how a simple story made an impression as person after person stopped later that day to relate their simple 'marveling of mysteries'. For me, it was a divinely ordained, serendipitous moment as I have been wading through a wall of discouragement, frustration, self-doubt and challenges to my faith. A recognition that God is in control and that He is not absent...and how this idea of God's Presence has been reinforced just today in all of my readings.

• “The God of Israel, the Savior, is sometimes a God who hides himself, but never a God who absents himself. Sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance." (Matthew Henry)
• If you’re sinking, it may be because you are looking at the waves of your health, finances, or relationships. Or maybe you’ve been listening to the howling wind of the culture, taking your cues from what others are saying and doing instead of keeping your mind stayed on Christ (Isaiah 26:3). But you don’t have to go under. Like Peter, if you get distracted and start to sink, it’s time to call out, “Lord, save me!”(James McDonald)
• And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.  And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”  When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  (Exodus 3:2-6)

So today, I am going to look for the mysteries around me, to marvel at them, and perhaps there, I will see God, ‘sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance.”

Betrayed

Tonight is our Good Friday Service. During our choral presentation, I play Judas and have one line, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" I receive the thirty pieces of silver, betraying Jesus.

I hope our director wasn’t typecasting because Judas is a villain we view with disdain. How could he? BETRAY the CHRIST... I’m not a betrayer, a JUDAS. 

Betray – “to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty; to be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling (Online Dictionary).  Hmmm. What’s my price? Pride. Saving face. Just getting along. Have I ever bypassed the truth to avoid conflict or an awkward moment? Have I been loyal to Christ’s teaching and example in my everyday life?

Perhaps it won’t be too much of an act. 

 

But there is hope... Sunday's a'comin...

 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13,14)

…Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

You are what you eat...

If your body could talk what would it say about you?
We’ve all heard the old adage ‘you are what you eat’, but have you ever stopped to think exactly how true that is? Put simply, healthy eating is the key to well-being. 

How about spiritually? A portion of Psalms 115 caught my eye this morning in reference to idol worshipers:

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.

They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.

They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk;

and they do not make a sound in their throat. 

Those who make them become like them; 

so do all who trust in them. (Psalms 115:2-8)

The spiritual principle presents itself: "You are what you trust." The idol worshipers of old trusted in a speechless, vision-less, deaf, odorless, unemotional, aimless, voiceless gods. And so they became what they trusted in....without a voice, sightless, deaf to the truth, without aroma, without passion, without purpose. Not too much different today. 

• Those who trust in wealth become greedy. 
• Those who trust in strength become bullies. 
• Those who trust in the government become political. 

And the list goes on, each 'idol' worshiped transforms the worshiping individual into a miniature representation of itself.

Conversely, the principle is evident as we learn to trust our Heavenly Father.

• As I trust in the faithfulness of our Father, I become faithful...
• As I trust in a compassionate Father, I become compassionate...
• As I trust in a patient Father, I become patient...
• As I trust in a providing Father, I become generous...

Lord, 
In this wonderfully difficult walk of trusting YOU, increase my faith...I want to become what YOU are to me every day. Amen.
________________________________________________________________________________

 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. (2 Cor. 3:17,18)

A Few Words About Grace

Back in college days, I remember a dorm-mate (David McDonald) sharing his excitement regarding a book he had been studying. I was so intrigued by his passion that I read the material myself and was likewise impressed. Yesterday morning, during a conversation, I was prompted to remember this material and able to locate it on the internet. It made a deep impact on me then and even more so today. The book is "Romans Verse by Verse" by William R. Newell and is available in its entirety here. And now from Mr. Newell (pages 171-173)

A FEW WORDS ABOUT GRACE

I

The Nature of Grace

1. Grace is God acting freely, according to His own nature as Love; with no promises or obligations to fulfil; and acting of course, righteously-in view of the cross.
2. Grace, therefore, is uncaused in the recipient: its cause lies wholly in the GIVER, in GOD.
3. Grace, also is sovereign. Not having debts to pay, or fulfilled conditions on man's part to wait for, it can act toward whom, and how, it pleases. It can, and does, often, place the worst deservers in the highest favors.
4. Grace cannot act where there is either desert or ability: Grace does not help-it is absolute, it does all.
5. There being no cause in the creature why Grace should be shown, the creature must be brought off from trying to give cause to God for His Grace.
6. The discovery by the creature that he is truly the object of Divine grace, works the utmost humility: for the receiver of grace is brought to know his own absolute unworthiness, and his complete inability to attain worthiness: yet he finds himself blessed,--on another principle, outside of himself!
7. Therefore, flesh has no place in the plan of Grace. This is the great reason why Grace is hated by the proud natural mind of man. But for this very reason, the true believer rejoices! For he knows that "in him, that is, in his flesh, is no good thing"; and yet he finds God glad to bless him, just as he is!

II

The Place of Man under Grace

1. He has been accepted in Christ, who is his standing!
2. He is not "on probation."
3. As to his life past, it does not exist before God: he died at the Cross, and Christ is his life.
4. Grace, once bestowed, is not withdrawn: for God knew all the human exigencies beforehand: His action was independent of them, not dependent upon them.
5. The failure of devotion does not cause the withdrawal of bestowed grace (as it would under law). For example: the man in I Cor. 5:1-5; and also those in 11:30-32, who did not "judge" themselves, and so were "judged by the Lord,-that they might not be condemned with the world"!

III

The Proper Attitude of Man under Grace

1. To believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great secret.
2. To refuse to make "resolutions" and "vows"; for that is to trust in the flesh.
3. To expect to be blessed, though realizing more and more lack of worth
4. To testify of God's goodness, at all times.
5. To be certain of God's future favor; yet to be ever more tender in conscience toward Him.
6. To rely on God's chastening hand as a mark of His kindness.
7. A man under grace, if like Paul, has no burdens regarding himself; but many about others.

IV

Things Which Gracious Souls Discover

1. To "hope to be better" is to fail to see yourself in Christ only.
2. To be disappointed with yourself, is to have believed in yourself.
3. To be discouraged is unbelief,-as to God's purpose and plan of blessing for you.
4. To be proud, is to be blind! For we have no standing before God, in ourselves.
5. The lack of Divine blessing, therefore, comes from unbelief, and not from failure or devotion.
6. Real devotion to God arises, not from man's will to show it; but from the discovery that blessing has been received from God while we were yet unworthy and undevoted.
7. To preach devotion first, and blessing second, is to reverse God's order, and preach law, not grace. The Law made man's blessing depend on devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional blessing: our devotion may follow, but does not always do so,-in proper measure.

Added Note: 4/1/2019

This article continues to impact me and I add a conversation from Brother Lawrence "The Practice of the Presence of God"

That when an occasion of practising some virtue offered, he addressed himself to GOD, saying, LORD, I cannot do this unless Thou enablest me; and that then he received strength more than sufficient.
That when he had failed in his duty, he only confessed his fault, saying to GOD, I shall never do otherwise, if You leave me to myself; ’tis You must hinder my falling, and mend what is amiss. That after this, he gave himself no further uneasiness about it. (p. 4) emphasis added.