What More

I've been sitting here looking up some of the psalms. I think my favorite psalm is psalm 73.

In verse 22, Asaph says, "I was like a beast before You." I like that phrase. It creates such a great image in my mind. I see my dogs looking at me when I talk to them. They don't have the first clue.

I suppose it's that way for me much of the time when I try to lean on my own understanding. I am as a beast before Him.

My desire is for understanding. A meaningful understanding of the deeper things of God.

God is AWESOME!

Bad Things

My wife and I were talking the other night about why bad things sometimes happen, even when we are trying to be good.
We have been having some minor financial problems. Who hasn't, right?
We made some bad decisions, and are now suffering the consequences.
We were saying that it kind of sucks to be so broke.
I was asked why God would allow this kind of thing to happen.
I thought about how we have been invited to call Him Abba Father (Abba, literally translated is 'Daddy'). A cool metaphor formed in my mind. That of a loving father who, instead of shooing his child away from the hot stove, does not intervene and allows the child touch it once. The pain teaches the child to never do that again. Much more effective than just saying "No, no! Hot!"
Our wise and loving Father teaches us valuable life lessons through sometimes painful means. But sometimes that is the only way we can learn.

Changes

Life is weird. Here I am...a middle aged man. My life didn't turn out quite the way I had hoped it would.
But that doesn't really matter. I have a wife that I love and who loves me. I have a family that I love. I like my job and the people that I work with.
I have friends that I love and that I regret not keeping in touch with.
Most important, I have Jesus. With Him, no matter how turbulent life becomes, no matter who hurts me or who I hurt...He is there. The One that I know I can trust in all things. The only unshakable constant, a firm foundation.
Many of the people who lived the lives that we read about in the bible referred to Him as their fortress or their hiding place.
I've never been through what a lot of people in the world have. I've never been beaten for my faith or imprisoned for it. I've never even been threatened for it. I don't have to be in fear of my life to be afraid, or running from intense persecution to feel alone and small. Life happens.
My point is that I have experienced the peace that Jesus offers. The hope that He holds out. Pain and sorrow are a part of life. But Jesus gives me a place to run to. Somewhere to let the tears fall in peace.

Heroes

I love super heroes. I'm a Superman fan. Ask anyone who knows me.
Sometimes I even day dream about what it would be like to be able to do all the things that Superman can do. What it would be like to go soaring over the clouds, or travel faster than a fighter jet, or have that kind of strength.
I think about what I would do with that kind of power, how many people I could help. Wow.
I know a few people who wouldn't mind knowing Superman right now.

But that isn't reality. I understand that. (dang it)

It's fun to think about sometimes. But my focus should be on the real Superman. My Savior. King Jesus.

A lot of people are suffering. Going through unimaginable abuses. Children and women kidnapped and forced into a life of slavery or prostitution, people living under the cruelty of some crazy dictator, people caught in the middle of warring factions. Or maybe it's a woman married to an abusive husband, or children with abusive parents. The list goes on.

Thinking that if I were Superman, I could do something, that is just pride talking. It is sin against a Holy God. His sovereignty is absolute. He will handle the situation in His time. To think otherwise is to make the same mistake the enemy did. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

God asks us to do a hard thing. In Romans 12:18-20, we are asked to do what seems impossible. This is why humility is stressed throughout the bible.

Lord, thank You that You are Who You are. Thank You that You are in absolute control. Please help me to resist the temptation to take things into my own hands, and to not give the enemy a foot hold in my heart and mind. Thank you for the lesson You tried to get Cain to learn in Genesis 4:7. Help me to learn that very lesson.

Soul Scream

I saw one of those reality shows on TV. There was a part at the scene of an accident. Someone died.

I wasn't really paying that much attention, just kind of channel surfing....then I heard the screaming.

Someone who loved the person who died arrived. She must have loved him very much. She screamed. It startled me. I've heard screams before, but there was something about this one. It came from somewhere deep down inside...from the soul.

It was heart breaking. Then it struck me. Was that what the angels heard that day in the Garden?

Was it the same mournful screaming of the soul that was heard when Jesus knew His Father turned His back?

We all know pain and sadness. Those who have lost loved ones know it intimately. They have heard their own soul's screaming into the dark.

Another thought struck me. We cannot imagine the overwhelming joy of the great reunion. The day every tear will be wiped away.

The day we will see our loved ones again. The day we get to see with our own eyes....The King.

On that day,the air will be filled with laughter and songs of great joy! And the echoes of that horrible scream will cease.

Cotraversial Thoughts

Just a list of things I think about life.

1. Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven.

2. Alcoholism, drug addiction and the multitude of 'disorders' are called 'diseases' to excuse unacceptable behavior.

3. Abortion is wrong. It is not 'your body'. It is a whole other human being who has rights.

4. God does exist. Nature screams it. The heaven's declare His glory.

5. I am not better than anyone else. Neither are you.

6. It is not hypocritical to be against abortion and for the death penalty. An unborn baby hasn't hurt anyone yet. A murderer has. An unborn baby hasn't violated anyone's rights. A murderer/rapist/child molester has.

7. Guns, in fact, do not kill people. They are inanimate objects.

8. A southern accent does not equal stupidity or racism.

9. The word 'homophobia' doesn't make any sense. A phobia is an irrational fear of something. A difference of ideology or world views is a disagreement. Disagreeing with something is not the same as being afraid of something. That would make liberals 'conservaphobes' and conservatives 'libephobes'. Non-Christians 'Christophobes' See how silly that is?

10. Global warming is not caused by man. It is a cyclical solar cycle. If it is true that there were ice ages before man existed, what in the world caused the warming process to bring the ice ages to an end?

11. Nobody cares what Madonna thinks.

12. Rocky Road is the greatest ice cream flavor on the planet.

13. Humans are omnivores. We were designed to eat veggies AND meat.

14. Evolution is still just a theory.

15. I think the chicken came first.

Hidden

The church my wife and I attend has a men's group that meets once a month. We usually gather at someone's house and eat supper together, then have a devotional which is lead by one of the guys.

I really enjoy these gatherings. The food is always good, and some of the men in the group are among those I most admire in life.

The latest meeting we had was very nice. As usual, the food was excellent, and the company even better. Our devotional was a short study from the book of Colossians. It was about putting away the old ways and putting on the new. We discussed ways we could improve and some spiritual disciplines we could practice more, or start practicing.

Of particular interest to me was a statement the Apostle Paul made in chapter 3 of Colossians. In verses 2 and 3, he said, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

My focus went directly to the word 'hidden'. ...your life is hidden with Christ in God. I kept turning that phrase over in my mind again and again.

My bible's commentary pointed to Colossians 2:3. So I checked it out.

In Colossians 2, Paul said that he wants our hearts to be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

My attention was drawn to that word again...hidden.

All these wonderful things. Understanding, assurance, love, knowledge. Hidden in Christ, hidden with Christ in God. And my life is hidden there too! Wow!

None of these things can be taken away from Christ because they are all in God! Even my/our life!

Eternal security in Christ Jesus. Our life cannot be separated from Him. It is hidden with Him in God. Along with understanding, knowledge, assurance. This makes us free to love one another and celebrate our common salvation. Celebrate the understanding of 'the mystery': Our Savior!

We are in Christ. We are part of Him, and he is part of us.

Thank you, Father, that our life is hidden in You with Christ. Help us to always remember that, and to always deny any desire or temptation to behave contrary to what we have become in You.

Shivered Timbers

When something big happens....really big...like the unexpected death of a loved one or the loss of a job in the midst of a financial crisis. Something that could shake someone's faith.

What do you say? How do you act?

I have never been good at this. I am emotionally clumsy. I have the gift of being able to fit my foot in my mouth at the most inopportune times.

I liked Job's friends initial approach. (Job 2:11-13) They just sat there with him in silence. I can do that. As long as I don't have to speak. I will have some very deep thoughts and some profound things come to mind, but I can't speak them. I can write them exactly how I think them. Something weird happens when I try to speak them. The thoughts get jumbled up and just clumsily fall out as incoherent babble.

Anyway, we are commanded to love one another (John 13:34-35/15:12-17) and to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). Thank God for His Holy Spirit. He can speak for us. He can be the one who comforts others through us when we have no idea what to say. He can also shut us up when we are about to say something that is not at all helpful.

The book of Job is one of my favorites. There are so many lessons in there. My favorite biblical quotes come from the book of Job. If you haven't read it, you should. Especially if you are going through something.

Something big happened to me once. My first wife left me. I don't have the words to describe what that felt like. It crushed my spirit. I had a long talk with my pastor. He suggested that I read Job. I did. It helped a lot!

Two of my favorite quotes come from Job: "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15a) And after Job had been through so much, on the other side of it, he told God: "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5)

I guess that is why it is so important to love one another and humble ourselves and serve one another. In doing so, we can help our friends cling to God and experience His peace (Philippians 4:6-7) instead of having them feel that they are alone in what is happening and becoming angry and bitter toward God and those who were supposed to be there for them.

Thank you, Father for Your Holy Spirit. Forgive me for not acting when I knew I should and for speaking when I knew I shouldn't. Please teach me how to love and how to obey. Teach me how to help my beloved brothers and sisters bear their burdens. And to yield to Your Holy Spirit when He wants to speak. How to, as Job did, place my hand over my mouth. And, also as Job, to bless Your name...no matter what.

Just For This Moment

We are studying some of the great Old Testament characters on Sunday evenings at church. We have so far looked at Noah, and are currently taking a look at the life of Abraham.

One thing we have seen is that when God assigns a task, He is very specific about what He wants done. Once the task is complete, God gives further instruction which is equally as specific. Some things are huge, and others are small. Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jacob were chosen for some pretty big things.

Often times, we don't know what specifically it is that God has for us until it is time to do it. We do know, generally, what God has for us to do as His church. But as for a specific individual task, we don't know until God tells us to do it.

In John 9:1-3, we see someone with a specific purpose. A purpose he is completely unaware of until just the right moment.

How awesome is it to think about? Our wise Father has thought that far in advance. He has planned that far ahead. When He created you and me, He had a specific plan for us. Might be something big, might be something small. It might even be simply to teach someone else something just for that moment in time.

God is AWESOME!