August 23, 2013

Nothing highlights how quickly times flies than having a "daily" blog and discovering it has been three days since the last post and it seeming as if it was just one, maybe two.

While the individual days may crawl, the years race.

² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  1 John 3:2a

In the verse above, John is speaking of our eternity, but the January 26 entry from Daily Strength for Daily Needs applies the verse to our preeternity selves.  The "us" of here and now.

Johannes Tauler, Catholic preacher and theologian, wrote of 1 John 3:2:

  "St. Bernard of Clairvaux has said: 'Man, if thou desirest a noble and holy life, and unceasingly prayest to God for it, if thou continue constant in this thy desire, it will be granted unto thee without fail, even if only in the day or hour of thy death; and if God should not give it to thee then, thou shalt find it in Him in eternity: of this be assured.' Therefore do not relinquish your desire, though it be not fulfilled immediately, or though ye may swerve from your aspirations, or even forget them for a time…. The love and aspiration which once really existed live forever before God, and in Him ye shall find the fruit thereof; that is, to all eternity it shall be better for you than if you had never felt them."

As one gets older and reflects on previous years, a danger is to focus on the mistakes and missteps.  Wasted years and missed opportunities loom large.  But John reminds the Christian "what we will be has not been made known."  

No one is free from a past of sin and missed opportunities.  The best of the best have had thoughts, made statements and performed acts for which God will hold them accountable.  But if a person has accepted Christ as personal Lord and Savior, none of that "accountability" will result in eternal punishment.  God's adopted children are forgiven, lock, stock and barrel.  Allowing yesterday's mistakes to cause today's inactivity is just what the Enemy would have for each Christian. 

If John 3:16 is the totality of your memory verse repertoire, what is keeping you from tackling the 23rd Psalm?  If you have never had a quiet time, why not start with 10 minutes a day?  Don't allow the "I nevers" and "I didn'ts" keep you from the "I cans" and "I wills".

"What we will be has not yet been made known."

August 20, 2013

<sup>Some times hearing God's still small voice is like trying to hear a whisper at a NASCAR event.  Other times He is a bullhorn in a library.  Most generally the determining factor is my willingness to place myself in a position to hear Him.  But I believe there are times when He intentionally withholds His voice to force me into a more fervent, intentional prayer place.  Then when I am there, He speaks with unmistakable clarity.

For the past few weeks I have reevaluated whether God still wanted me involved with the Gathering Tree ministry.  Because of this uncertainty I have been more faithful in my prayers life and more focused on seeking His will in this area.</sup>   

Refer to yesterday's blog entry as God's first clear response to my dilemma and today's "Daily Strength for Daily Needs" (January 24) reading reinforces God's answer to my prayers.


⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me. Psalm 16:7

The French Roman Catholic writer Jean Nicolas Grou (1731-1803)wrote, "Nothing is small or great in God's sight; whatever He wills becomes great to us, however seemingly trifling, and if once the voice of conscience tells us that He requires anything of us, we have no right to measure its importance. On the other hand, whatever He would not have us do, however important we may think it, is as nought to us.

How do you know what you may lose by neglecting this duty, which you think so trifling, or the blessing which its faithful performance may bring? Be sure that if you do your very best in that which is laid upon you daily, you will not be left without sufficient help when some weightier occasion arises. Give yourself to Him, trust Him, fix your eye upon Him, listen to His voice, and then go on bravely and cheerfully."

"Whatever He wills becomes great to us. . ."  Were that written on the heart of every Christian!  The two mites of the widow.  A kind word to a coworker.  A short letter to a friend.  A week of service in VBS.  Two hours of pancake cooking 2-3 times each month.  If God wills it, it becomes great to me.

August 19, 2013

First Monday of the school year.  Let's see what God has chosen for me out of the Daily Strength for Daily Needs*.

As usual, Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you", has proven true.


This weekend I had sort of crisis of ministry.  Over the past year, a majority of my Sunday mornings have been spent helping prepare and serve lunches at the Gathering Tree to a segment of Springfield's homeless/hard luck population.  Saturday I realized that for this time period many of the people I have met are are still exactly where they were 15 months ago.  Still living in homeless camps, still struggling with alcohol addiction, still flying a sign just to get money for a hotel room for the night.  I began to wonder if my time at the Gathering Tree was really benefiting anyone other than fulfilling my sense of self-righteousness.

As approached this morning's Bible study, this "crisis" was in the back of my mind.  Then God showed me Isaiah 58:10.
¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.

God is calling me to obedience.  He is calling me to service.  The results (or lack thereof) are not my concern.  My responsibility is to go when He says, "Go."  Do when He says, "Do."  Feed when He says, "Feed." 

I may not know this side of heaven what effect my time at the Gathering Tree has had.  How lives have been changed as a result of pancakes and conversation might never be revealed to me.  But I do know that God promises blessings for obedience.  Perhaps the hot flapjacks, kind word and sincere smile are making a difference.  I am called to sow, so I will.



*http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8534/pg8534.html

August 14, 2013

³ Let us acknowledge the Lord;
    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 6:3

I know I have touched on this before, and most likely will again, but Christianity is not passive.  While our salvation is based on a change in our hearts and minds, the Christian life is one of activity and intentionality.

"Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him."  Hosea 6:3

Merriam-Webster has 4 main definitions for "acknowledge".  All four require an active, intentional mental process:  "to recognize the authority of", "to disclose agreement with", "to express", and "to recognize as genuine".  All four of these require us to make an intellectual decision.  We can choose to acknowledge or refuse to acknowledge.  

The second half of the first sentence of verse 3, "let us press on to acknowledge him" speaks of a on-going desire to acknowledge him.  When I played and coached basketball there would be times when a full-court press was the defensive strategy of choice.  This was a defense where the offensive players were guarded all over the court.  No matter where the opposing team was, a defender was close by.  It was relentless.  It was tiring.  But more times than not, it was effective.

Our desire to acknowledge God in our lives should be just as relentless.  Constant.  Intentional.

I believe that too often we go to God just wanting good feelings.  Happy, happy.  Joy, joy.  But Christ prayed with such intensity "his sweat was like drops of blood".

Do we "press" to know God better?  Is our prayer life physically draining?  Perhaps not every time, but frequently?

"Let us PRESS on to acknowledge him."

  

August 12, 2013

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:30,31


The verse above was the January 21 entry from Daily Strength for Daily Needs.  Its author included the following quote from Henry More (1614-1687) as part of the devotion.

"By persisting in a habit of self-denial, we shall, beyond what I can express, increase the inward powers of the mind, and shall produce that cheerfulness and greatness of spirit as will fit us for all good purposes; and shall not have lost pleasure, but changed it; the soul being then filled with its own intrinsic pleasures."

The last line is what struck me.  If we practice self-denial in favor of what God desires for our lives we "shall not have lost pleasure, but changed it."

Too often both nonChristians and Christians view giving up some destructive habit, thought pattern or relationship as a kill-joy requirement of our faith.  "I enjoy smoking, but can't not because my body is a temple."  "The Bible teaches against gossip, so I guess I should quit even though it makes lunch breaks at work a lot more fun."  

If obedience to God is seen as a loss of pleasure, then we will view God as a cosmic killjoy.  But Henry More puts a positive spin on self-denial.  The  pleasure is not lost, but changed.  Our pleasure comes from the knowledge that we have been obedient to God.  Our happiness comes not from the habit, but from knowing that we have pleased our Heavenly Father and that He is pleased with us.

Giving up a habit or vice or particular sin is gaining pleasure, not losing it.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8534/pg8534.html

August 11, 2013

Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee.  Psalm 63:3

"Loving-kindness".  New translations use "love" or "mercy" as a replacement, but I prefer good ol' King James' use of "loving-kindness".

Loving-kindness-"God's persistent and unconditional tenderness, kindness, and mercy, a relationship in which he seeks after man with love and mercy.  Loving-kindness expresses both God's loyalty to his covenant and his love for his people along with a faithfulness to keep His promises." *

Frequently I lose sight of the tender, merciful side of God.  My relationship with God is often defined by the get-out-of-Eden-you-sinned, righteous-anger God.  If I "A" then a painful "B" is headed my way from on high.

While God does reserve the right to discipline, correct and punish, He is not gleeful rubbing His hands together ready to drop a cosmic piano on my head.

When I get into the God as punisher mindset, Psalm 63:3 would remind me of His "loving-kindness".  His tenderness, kindness and mercy.

For many years my life was fraught with willful, consistent disobedience yet God continued to protect me.  His mercy kept me from the punishment I oh so greatly deserved.  His loving-kindness provided me the time and opportunities I needed to return to Him.

Perfection, while a goal, is not something to be attained this side of heaven.  I still sin daily, but my life is so different from those years of rebellion.  If God didn't abandon me during my 20's, why would He wait thirty years to smite me?  He forgives.  He loves.  He is faithful to His covenant, even when we are not.

Because of His loving-kindness, He seeks after me with love and mercy.  He kindness and tenderness for me are active and intentional.  They are not a passive emotion.

How much sweeter a relationship with God if defined by His loving-kindness rather than His rod of correction.  How much easier to spend time with Him if the focus is on mercy and kindness not rebuke. 

 *http://preceptaustin.org/lovingkindness-definition_of_hesed.htm

August 8, 2013

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Gratitude consists in a watchful, minute attention to the particulars of our state, and to the multitude of God's gifts, taken one by one. It fills us with a consciousness that God loves and cares for us, even to the least event and smallest need of life. It is a blessed thought, that from our childhood God has been laying His fatherly hands upon us, . .  When this feeling is awakened, the heart beats with a pulse of thankfulness. Every gift has its return of praise. It awakens an unceasing daily converse with our Father,—He speaking to us by the descent of blessings, we to Him by the ascent of thanksgiving. And all our whole life is thereby . . .filled with a gladness, serenity, and peace which only thankful hearts can know.

H. E. MANNING. (1808-1892)

"Daily Strength for Daily Needs", Tilson, January 18.
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8534/pg8534.html

August 5, 2013

Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.  Psalm 105:3
The joy of the Lord is your strength.  Nehemiah 8:10


Netflix.  Redbox.  Dish Network.  Facebook.  Candy Crush.  Sirius XM.  Idevices (pods, pads, phones).  With little effort, a person living in American can receive outside input every waking moment.  Whether it is music, information, movies or games, a person's senses are constantly being assailed.  God's still small voice is lost.  Crushed.  Drowned out.

The 18th century words of an unknown "poor Methodist woman" should challenge each Christian living in today's world of sights and sounds.*

"I do not know when I have had happier times in my soul, than when I have been sitting at work, with nothing before me but a candle and a white cloth, and hearing no sound but that of my own breath, with God in my soul and heaven in my eye… I rejoice in being exactly what I am,—a creature capable of loving God, and who, as long as God lives, must be happy. I get up and look for a while out of the window, and gaze at the moon and stars, the work of an Almighty hand. I think of the grandeur of the universe, and then sit down, and think myself one of the happiest beings in it."*

When was the last time you turned out all the lights, lite a candle and stared out the window or took a drive to a dark country road just to sit and rejoice in being a child of God?  No phone, no radio, not even any praise music.  God is present in nature- the night song of the frogs, the twinkling of the stars, the whisper of the wind.  

Think of the hours of communion Christians of yesteryear must have had.  Buggy rides with no satellite radio.  A walk into town sans cell phone.  Fishing on the banks of the river with nature's top 10 the only music around.  The mind was free to think of things eternal.  Thoughts, ideas, wonderments, all unencumbered by outside noise and distractions.

Not all alone time with God has to be about supplication, prayer and memory verses.  I believe sometimes God wants His children just to enjoy sitting quietly and rejoice in His works. 

Go to God just to be with God.

*Taken from the January 19 entry: Daily Strength for Daily Needs, Tileson, 1884.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8534/pg8534.html