Rescue

There was man who lived near the Mississippi river. As sometimes happens, the river overflowed its banks completely flooding the town in which this man lived. There was no hope of driving or running away from the water: it eventually came as high as the second floor of his house. Fortunately, the local sheriff’s department was able to rescue him using a helicopter.

And, boy, was that cool! The helicopter took him straight up, right out of danger, away from the water – and the helicopter ride itself was maybe the best thing about whole experience.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, about five years later the mighty Miss flooded the town, once again stranding our hero on the roof of his house. For whatever reason, this time the sheriff’s helicopter was unavailable so the would-be rescuers came for him in a boat. However, the man politely declined the boat because he knew the sheriff had a helicopter and that method of rescue, he knew from first-hand experience, was much preferable to being saved by a boat. The boat wasn’t as fun or cool and besides, the boat didn’t actually take you up and away from the flood, it just brought you through it until you reached a place of safety. It also took longer. Bottom line: he would wait for the helicopter.

I’m not sure how the story ended. I don’t know if the man drowned, got wet or eventually agreed to be rescued by the boat. I still don’t know why, but I do know the helicopter never came.

If you read my earlier post (“’Innocent’ Mistakes”), you know that God sovereignly and instantaneously delivered me one day from a thirty-three year habit that I was a slave to. When He suggested recently that we get rid of another area of weakness (eating too much), I was willing and waiting. Waiting for the helicopter of instantaneous deliverance. But God chose to suggest a different path – one that wasn’t nearly as flashy, cool, or quick and one which, frankly, I was pretty sure would not work. I argued – fortunately, in this case for not too long – and then gave in, still sure it wouldn’t work.

Guess what? It did – or maybe I should say, it is – because day by day I am eating a fraction of what I had been eating. It’s not that I’ve lost all interest in food (that would not be good or God) or wouldn’t like, sometimes, to eat far more than I need to. I’m in the boat, piloted by God, making our way to the shore and away from the dangers of this latest difficulty.

A Little Parenting Secret

God is actively involved in parenting my kids. And why not? He loves them more than I do. What my kids don’t know – if I’ve told them, they probably don’t fully believe it – is that God has chosen me to be His partner in their upbringing. This means He often works through me and gives me insights, revelations and – yes – information that I would not otherwise have. You mean God tells me what my kids are up to when I need to know? Yup. Even if they don’t want me to know? Yup. Let me give you an example. Nothing bad and my daughter wasn’t trying to hide things from me – but it was something that God wanted to give me a heads-up about.

When my oldest daughter wanted a Facebook account I agreed because she had proven herself trustworthy, obedient and careful in other areas. Nevertheless, I sat her down (probably multiple times), explained the dangers and went over some hard-and-fast ground rules. In addition, I signed up for Facebook myself and insisted that she “friend” me. I was sure I wouldn’t need to read her every post but I wanted to have at least some idea of what was going on.

Well, one day late last year, one of her friends commented or posted or some such thing and, in the ways of Facebook, this item appeared on my page. Nothing unusual about that. The friend was a guy. Nothing unusual about that either.

But God tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a nudge to check out this particular guy. Okay, I thought, suspecting the nudge might be because there might be some romantic interest brewing with one or both of them. I read his blog and became somewhat acquainted with the young man. And wouldn’t you know it? Three months later, my daughter asked if she could go on a date with him. Boy was she shocked when I laughed and, instead of giving her the third degree, told her I already knew who he was and was comfortable with her going out with him.

Isn’t God good? If I had been surprised, I could have had a less-than-wonderful reaction. I might have felt I needed to insist that he come for dinner first so I could grill him (I did that later!). My daughter might have thought I was being unreasonable about a guy that she had thoroughly checked out. And if he had turned out be a clunker, I would have been ready with real reasons for counseling my daughter away from him.

God continues to give me insights and information. I don’t always share it with my kids right away. Sometimes He’s preparing me and sometimes He’s letting me keep watch while he’s preparing them. Either way, it’s nice to know He’s someone I can count on.

Impending Doom

Been thinking about the Israelites as they crossed the Red Sea on dry land. Forget, for a moment, the Egyptian army chasing them – that was just reason they were in the middle of the Red Sea, in the middle of a miracle. The Egyptian Army and the parting of the water were in the past. Right now, they are walking where there should rightfully be very deep water with that very same water piled up like a wall on either side of them.

Ready to come crashing down at any moment.

I mean, fine, God did a great and wonderful thing by parting the water but couldn’t He have made it just go away?? The water’s still here and it looks none too stable and if I mess up or step out of line or bump into it I know, I just know, that water is going to come crashing down killing me and wiping out everything that’s important to me.

It’s like Psalm 91:7: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but the danger will not come near you.” Not come near me? Not come near me?? People are dropping like flies to my left and to my right and the danger will not come near me?

But it doesn’t. God promises. He is faithful. It just looks scary. Yes, very scary. But he takes us through the flood, through the fire, through the really scary bad times. It’s what refines us into pure gold, makes real our faith and conforms us into the likeness of Jesus. After all, He was saved through death, not from it.

When you think about it, it’s the Good News.

It’s Obvious (now)!

In my last post (“Contradictions?”) I told how the Holy Spirit had taught me something from the Bible by suggesting that I look up the meaning of the original language using Strong’s Concordance. Now you need to understand that my Strong’s is well-worn and often used. So when I received this gentle nudge one of my first thoughts was “Why didn’t I think of that before??” It should have been obvious.

I think the answer lies with my eyesight. I think I am sufficiently aware of my surroundings and I even think I have fairly decent spiritual discernment. But the fact of the matter is that I am blind – blind as if as I had no eyes – without the Holy Spirit guiding me and letting me see through His eyes.

God tells us in His Word (the Bible) that the spiritual is more real than the chair that I’m sitting on. That His ways are more real than the bills I have waiting to be paid, the unreasonable and angry coworker, and the difficult family situation that no amount of trying seems to be able to fix.

I just can’t see it unless He opens my eyes.

So I can continue to worry about the bills, plot confrontation with my coworker or decide to lay down the law at home. I can even try to understand the Bible and seek out those more knowledgeable than I for debates on the meaning of this or that passage of Scripture. But it’s all for naught since I am, at best, stumbling around in the dark. But when I have the eyes of the Holy Spirit, the obstruction I just I tripped over is seen for what it really is: a stepping stool to be used to reach the solution sitting in plain sight on the top shelf. I need to ask Him for His sight and then rely on His view.

It’s obvious!

Contradictions?

It is often more-or-less an article of faith among most people I run into that the Bible is full of self-contradictions. I thought so too early in my Christian walk. To the casual or beginning student of the Bible, such inconsistencies are both obvious and numerous.

But one at a time, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the missing perspective that, once obtained, caused the two seemingly opposing thoughts to be joined as one. For example:

When I first started reading the Gospels, I noticed that Jesus says that “he who is not with me is against me” (Matt. 12:30) but in Luke 9:50 and Mark 9:40 He is recorded as saying “he that is not against us is for us.” How can this be? Clearly someone made a mistake in writing the Bible. But then God showed me that the two statements are simultaneously true once one understand that there is no middle ground – either you are with Him or you’re not (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).

I long had difficulty with the statement that we are not to judge (e.g. Matt. 7:1) knowing that other passages (e.g. 1 Cor. 2, 5 and 6) clearly admonish us to judge. Then yesterday the Holy Spirit chose to suggest that I look up the meaning of the original Greek words for judging. And wouldn’t you know it? The contradiction evaporated. It turns out that we are to discern (and share that discernment with fellow believers who have gone astray) but are not to condemn.

These are but two examples. There have been so many over the years that now I have faith that the things that I still don’t understand, those apparent contradictions and other seemingly impossible passages, will all be made clear in good time by my Teacher, the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).

Fitting It Together

I’ve noticed that, when God wants to emphasize something, He often speaks to me in a number of different ways, For example, it is pretty much a given that the topic of the pastor’s sermon on Sunday will be exactly what God has been speaking to me during the week. Or my favorite Christian blogger will echo what God had been saying to me during my morning devotional. This morning, our youth pastor’s blogs reinforced a nudge God has been giving me over the past week or two.

But God is hardly limited to speaking through Christians or the Bible. I find that, just as often, He speaks through someone who doesn’t know Him, who doesn’t follow Him and who probably thinks that hearing from God is a lot of hooey. It might be a friend of mine, a co-worker or a “random” encounter – all are vessels used by God to speak clearly into my life.

We see this in the Bible also (and if we didn’t, I hope you’d question this post!) – perhaps most famously with Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:22-35), But look at Revelation: how many times does God work through not just unbelievers but those who actively work against Him?! Just see how often power and ability is given by God to the forces of evil to accomplish His will.

So next time I see someone clearly flouting God’s will, His way and His plans, may I remember that God has not only permitted this, He intends to use it for a greater good that I could ever imagine.

Three Letters

Dear IRS,
I have a few issues with your tax laws:
I do not understand section 525(c)(d), paragraphs 3-5.
I do not agree that you tax my investments since this stifles economic growth.
I do not think it fair that you tax the inheritance I received since taxes were already paid on that money by my grandfather.
Many portions of the income tax where designed to address problems that existed before I was born. They don’t really apply to me today.
Please be advised that I will not be paying any of the taxes that I listed above. However, please rest assured that, as a law-abiding American, I will willingly pay the full remainder of my tax bill.
Sincerely,


Dear Professor,
I enjoy your class but I should let you know that some of your course requirements will not be met:
I don’t understand why you insist that all homework should be handed in for grading. If I understand the material, why should I do the homework?
It hardly seems fair that you alone will be grading our papers. This opens the door to subjectivity. I think the whole class should be involved in determining grades.
I don’t agree with your statement that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. This seems unnecessarily limiting and I’m sure we’ll someday find a way to overcome that. I cannot, in good conscience, echo such views on tests.
You may have had a problem in previous classes or with other students who would disrupt the class by arriving late. I, however, am always quiet and considerate so I don’t believe your rule barring late arrivals should apply to me.
I look forward to getting an A since I really love your class and am doing everything I can to do well in it.
Sincerely,


Dear God,
As You are aware, I am a committed Christian who loves You and loves Your Word. Because You love me and I love You, I know You do not want me to be concerned with a few things in the Bible:
I don’t even begin to understand why You would say that women may not teach or be in authority over men. After all, in another place You say that You are not respecter of persons – male or female, etc.
I know You know it would not be fair to send my grandfather to hell. He was a very, very good man even if he never followed You. And what about those people in the Amazon rain forest? No way is that fair if they go to hell.
And please don’t take this the wrong way (I know You won’t since we love each other) but I just don’t agree with the idea that homosexuality is wrong. These are some of the nicest people who love each other a lot more than some heterosexuals. And besides, You made them that way, didn’t You?
I’m sure You won’t mind that I skip all the parts in the Bible that weren’t written for me – that were written for other people at other times. The whole Jewish law – I think we can forget about that. And of course, the aforementioned passages dealing with women and homosexuality.
One final thought: I know You hate divorce and Jesus says that no one may get divorced except for sexual infidelity. But again, I know You love me and would not want me to be unhappy. And if my spouse is mean to me, You know that’s abuse and You wouldn’t let Your child suffer, would You? So I’m sure You didn’t really mean it the way some guy thousands of years ago wrote it down.
Thank You for listening. I know that You love me and I love You so we’re still good, right?
Sincerely,

Me

Prerequisites

If someone said he had been cured, I would assume he had once been sick. If a couple told how their marriage had been restored, their relationship clearly must have been, at one time, on the rocks. And no one would say their car was fixed if it had never been broken.

If we speak of being resurrected with Christ, must we not have once been dead?

And if we have not yet died, how can we talk about being resurrected?

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:8)

Notice the "if.” If we died with Christ.

Jesus did not die for the sake of resurrecting our physical bodies (although that will happen too). He does not promise resurrection from the dead for those who have never died and who continue to live as they did before.

No death, no resurrection. But if death, then resurrection.

It’s actually the good news.

Names

If I ever got a chance to talk to the Queen of England I imagine I would call her “Your Majesty” or “Queen Elizabeth”. I certainly cannot imagine using her given name, Elizabeth, although I suppose she must have some family members and even friends who are free to be that chummy. The ultimate intimacy, to call the Queen “Liz”, must surely be taken only by the closest of companions such as her husband, Prince Philip.

How much more the protocol surrounding the King of the Universe. One may call Him “Lord” or “God” and may append, if desired, appropriate adjectives (“Almighty God”, “Lord God”, “Creator God”, etc.). But to talk to Him as one talks to a friend? Unheard of.

But then why has He even deigned to let us know his name? His name is YHWH and He goes by that throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. I think He desires the closeness that is implied when we are free to use another’s name.

But what blows my mind is when I sing or say “Hallelu Yah” – “Praise Yah”. I get to call the King of the Universe by the shortened form of His proper name – a sign of a friendship that is as close as can be. It’s even better than calling Queen Elizabeth “Liz”.

And it’s what my God wishes me to call Him.

Coming Up Empty

Have you ever done everything right but ended up with nothing? Or, even worse, wound up with less than you started with? How can this happen? Why does this happen?

Peter knew how to fish. Peter’s father had been a fisherman and so had his grandfather. In fact, Peter’s family had probably been fishing on the Sea of Galilee ever since the tribe of Naphtali had settled there some 1500 years earlier. He knew how to fish.

On one occasion, Peter and his partners had been fishing all night. They had done everything right: night time was best, they used light to attract the fish, they new the best places, their nets were well maintained and strong – and yet they caught nothing. Frustrated and tired, they finally gave up, dragged their tired bodies back to shore and began the wearisome task of cleaning the empty nets.

A little while later, Jesus showed up and told Peter to go out again and let down the nets for a catch. Peter would have been within his rights to ignore the instructions of a wandering preacher with a background in carpentry. But Peter acceded to the nonsensical, pointless and bothersome instruction and – wouldn’t you know it – caught so many fish that there wasn’t enough room in the boats for them all.

Peter was amazed – to say the least. He immediately recognized Jesus as Lord and as Messiah.

But what would have happened if Peter’s night of fishing had been typically successful, a night as usual? Peter would not have been needful of Jesus’ direction and he would certainly not have been awed by the miraculous. He would not have subsequently left everything to follow Jesus and eventually change the world. God’s hand was as present during the night of failure as it was during the miracle in the morning. This was the hand of God’s love and it brought Peter into close friendship with Jesus and wound up making him everything that God had dreamt of Peter being.

Some people might see this as manipulative and/or mean on God’s part. Why did God have to cause failure and loss in Peter’s life and then sweep in as Peter’s rescuer? Because Peter was lost and failing long before that night and God is the only Rescuer. Peter just needed to see that and God loved Peter enough to point it out. I know Peter didn’t mind in the end.

How about you? Have you suffered any pain or loss – or just frustration – when you’ve done everything right? Is God asking you to go do something illogical, nonsensical, even bothersome and pointless? Could it be that it is actually logical, sensible and, most of all, loving? Just be prepared for more than you could ever imagine.

“Whatever you do for one of the least of these…”

I often see poor people begging for money or food. More often than not, they’re just standing at a busy intersection, holding a sign, hoping someone will stop a hand them a few dollars or maybe a cheeseburger from the nearby McDonald’s.

A long time ago I used to automatically give them something. After all, Jesus tells us to give to those who ask (Matt. 5:42). But then I heard that so many of these people use the money for alcohol or drugs. So I began to pray in each case about whether or not I should give, erring on the side of not giving. I also started to give food when I could, either taking the person into McDonald’s or buying them a meal on my own.

But then I heard someone who actually worked with the homeless tell how even gifts of food could be sold for money for drugs. So I really backed off and only gave reluctantly and if I only judged that the person was truly deserving and would use my gift for good.

Two days ago I saw a neatly dressed man, probably in his thirties, clean shaven, standing mutely beside a sign that told us all that he had been robbed, had no one to call and needed $56 for a bus ticket home. But now I was wiser than in my youth and was well informed about such scams. Even the amount was calculated to be believable. Not a nice round $100 but a more realistic $56. Of course there had been no robbery, there was no need for a bus ticket, and, if I gave this man what he asked for, he would thank me profusely, ask God’s blessing on me, and be back again tomorrow hitting up other suckers.

But how did I know? And was it even my business to know? Jesus tells me to give to those who ask. Simply ask. He doesn’t tell me to do His job and do a background check and get a complete family and criminal history. Just give because they ask. Someday soon when He says to me, “You saw Me hungry and you gave Me no food, you saw Me thirsty and you gave Me no drink” (Matt. 25: 42), will He excuse me when I say, “But Lord, I knew that You would just spend anything I gave you on drugs and alcohol”?

I could end there but I’ll go further and look at how Jesus responded to those in need. When ten lepers came to Him asking to be healed (Luke 17:12-19) did He consider that only one of the ten would thank Him and give glory to God? When the multitudes crowded around Him seeking bread, looking for healings, did He dismiss them knowing full well that they would take the food and the cures and then, at best, return to their everyday lives or, at worst, seek His death shortly thereafter?

No, Jesus had compassion on them. He saw their immediate pain – that they were hungry, blind, deaf, lame, that their precious, beloved child had died – and He did whatever was within His power to relieve their suffering.

Should I do any less for Him?

Promises

Last Sunday in church we were singing a song with the refrain, “I am yours, I am yours.” I’ve always thought I was saying this to God in the way that a person says this to a person they love. Seemed right. After all, I’m the one singing and I love God.

Then there are the lyrics to another song:

I sing for joy at the work of your hands,
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand.
Nothing compares to the promise I have in you.

Pretty straightforward: I’m promising my eternal love to God. What could be better?

But I’ve come to think the real beauty in these lines is in God’s eternal love for us. Let’s put a colon at the end of the first line:

I sing for joy at the work of your hands:
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand.

You see? The work of God’s hands – which I joyously sing about – is that I will love Him forever! He is the one who makes me stand and who enables me to love Him forever. And this is the incomparable promise that I have in Him.

So when I am singing “I am yours, I am yours” now, I realize that I am not making a promise to God but am rejoicing that He has made me His. I can do nothing apart from Him: He is the one who causes me to stand, to believe, and to love Him.

Coincidence

I’m standing out in the backyard staring up at the most beautiful star-filled sky. My attention is drawn to threes stars arranged in a perfect triangle. “How neat is that?” I think.

Then God gently taps me on the shoulder and points out that these three stars, viewed from any other angle, do not form the neat little equilateral that I see. These stars are actually separated by unimaginable distances, the light from one beginning its journey to my eyes millions of years before the light from the others, with those other two stars also removed from each other in space and time by million of years and billions of billions of miles.

All of this was set in motion long before my birth just so I could look up and see this perfect triangle.

And so God could talk to me about His planning and His love for me.

If God could set things in motion 13 billion years ago at the Big Bang or 6000 years ago when He set the stars in place (you take your pick; it doesn’t really matter here which one you believe) so that the light from these three stars would reach my eyes at the right time and from just the right directions, then God can certainly set up events in our every day lives for our good. In fact, I’ll go further, everything, yes, everything, in the history of the universe has been set in motion for this very moment – to bless you and make you everything that God has dreamed about you becoming since before He created the world. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s good stuff or bad – stars being born or stars dying – it’s all for you, the apple of God’s eye.

Napoleon at Waterloo? God worked that out to bless you today. Launch of the Apollo 11 mission? God had you in mind. Tsunami in Indonesia? Terrible, terrible tragedy but God will work good from it in your life if you’ll let Him.

So, if God can set stars in motion billions of years ago to bless you, and if God had you in mind during the signing of the Declaration of Independence, then God certainly has His eye on you today and desires to bring all of your both difficult and pleasant circumstances into perfect alignment.

We need only look up and see.