Zechariah 13:1 On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
Monday morning's run started late, at about 10. The mercury had already hit 89 and the humidity form the gulf was kicking pretty good. By mile three, I was really starting to feel the effects of the heat, as my body was sweating out a lot of water. After a not so fast fourth mile, I made it back to the condo complex and made a bee line for the water fountain. The one inside that was cool. Cool, crisp water on a partially dehydrated tongue is semi-majestic. Most of you know what I am talking about.
Zechariah, in looking forward to the reign of Christ, speaks of a fountain that cleanses from all sin and unrighteousness. What a picture of Christ washing over His bride, with pure clear waters. The bible speaks of living water continuously as a life source from the throne of God made available to us by the grace of God, through Christ.
Big question? Right now do you view communion with Christ as you would a cold water fountain after a four mile run in heat index over 100? Is the word of God your daily diet?
If not, there is a large chance that you do not recognize your need for hydrating yourself with living water, because you are drinking water from another well.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Beach Feast
Zechariah 7: 5-6 " Say to all the people in the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?"
We just got back from a great week at Blue Mountain Beach, Florida. One thing that you can bank on is watching people "live life to the fullest" at the beach. Especially the first day, when excitement abounds and hangovers have not set in yet. It is truly amazing to watch entire families joyfully sprint to the beach, crank up cozy tunes and start cracking cold ones or drinking "boat drinks". It is easy to see that for many families this is the pinnacle time of relaxation and togetherness. As the week goes by tensions mount, but that first burst of joy on day one is an interesting thing to watch.
I catch myself wondering: why can we not be this way towards God? Shouldn't we anticipate each day with Him, with intensity?
The scripture from Zecahariah says many things. The biggest two are these:
1) We are heavily focused on ourselves.
2) Our natural tendency is to find fun and joy in the things of this world, and sorrow and gloom in the things of God. Notice how the eating and drinking was done to themselves, but their mourning and fasting was assigned to God yet both were done to serve themselves?
If this does not describe us as a culture, I am not quite sure what else does. What would it be like if we ran towards God each day with the anticipation of the first cannon ball in the pool? What if our kids saw us as satisfied with Christ as we are when beach umbrellas, white sand and adult beverages totally satisfy our senses? What if the world saw us in a joyous fast and mistook our Godly contentment for a coconut scented, ultra-relaxed beach partier?
God would change the world through us.
I got a feeling that is what He is after. Us filled with Him. Us rightly satisfied with Him. Others puzzled at Christ in Us.
How does this look in your life? Do you manufacture joy through the temporary things of this world, or do you find permanent joy in God? Do you seperate the "have to do the God things" from the "get to do the fun things in life"?
We just got back from a great week at Blue Mountain Beach, Florida. One thing that you can bank on is watching people "live life to the fullest" at the beach. Especially the first day, when excitement abounds and hangovers have not set in yet. It is truly amazing to watch entire families joyfully sprint to the beach, crank up cozy tunes and start cracking cold ones or drinking "boat drinks". It is easy to see that for many families this is the pinnacle time of relaxation and togetherness. As the week goes by tensions mount, but that first burst of joy on day one is an interesting thing to watch.
I catch myself wondering: why can we not be this way towards God? Shouldn't we anticipate each day with Him, with intensity?
The scripture from Zecahariah says many things. The biggest two are these:
1) We are heavily focused on ourselves.
2) Our natural tendency is to find fun and joy in the things of this world, and sorrow and gloom in the things of God. Notice how the eating and drinking was done to themselves, but their mourning and fasting was assigned to God yet both were done to serve themselves?
If this does not describe us as a culture, I am not quite sure what else does. What would it be like if we ran towards God each day with the anticipation of the first cannon ball in the pool? What if our kids saw us as satisfied with Christ as we are when beach umbrellas, white sand and adult beverages totally satisfy our senses? What if the world saw us in a joyous fast and mistook our Godly contentment for a coconut scented, ultra-relaxed beach partier?
God would change the world through us.
I got a feeling that is what He is after. Us filled with Him. Us rightly satisfied with Him. Others puzzled at Christ in Us.
How does this look in your life? Do you manufacture joy through the temporary things of this world, or do you find permanent joy in God? Do you seperate the "have to do the God things" from the "get to do the fun things in life"?
Monday, July 19, 2010
The great offense
Galatians 5:11b In that case the offense of the cross....
My son Cal is a football fanatic. He is an animal in the trenches, but let's just say that his throwing motion has a lot to be desired. A lot. In working with him yesterday, there was a moment when his commitment to not listening and learning how to do it right, crushed him in crying frustration. Even he could see his performance left much to be desired. It was only until Cal was willing to acknowledge he was wrong, that he needed to give up his way and accept help from a loving father, and would leave his old failing habits behind and use the new, that he was able to improve his passing ability.
All analogies of the Christian life have holes, but there is a core dynamic in what happened to Cal yesterday, and all of those who accept or reject the offense of the cross. Now you might say," what is the offense of the cross? I thought that was all a happy point for us, it is an easy thing to accept and move on." That would miss the point of Gospel. The cross is offensive because we have to admit that we are in desperate need of God's rescue and leap into His design for our lives. We have to eat our pride, our individualism, and our own self desire and we just don't like to do that if we are honest. It is an offense to us because we are deceived that we are cosmic-like wise and important in our little 2010 bubbles. We aren't. We are in deep trouble. That is until you embrace the instrument of torture that slits the throat of the rebellious Adam that is living inside of you.
The Bible, history and common sense tell us that we all will die. The Bible and the future will attest that Christ is the the only one to have power over death. Do you want that? Do you want Jesus' death and life in the place of yours because yours is not worthy? That is the offense of the cross. Admitting that you and I are unworthy until we follow, submit and cherish the finished work of Christ.
Beware of being sold a synthetic gospel, a man made one that leaves out dying unto self. Until we do this no matter our church attendance or service records we are walking in our own death, not Christ's life. There is no blending of the offense into other half baked truths. It is loud and it is bold.
He is the Yes and Amen!
My son Cal is a football fanatic. He is an animal in the trenches, but let's just say that his throwing motion has a lot to be desired. A lot. In working with him yesterday, there was a moment when his commitment to not listening and learning how to do it right, crushed him in crying frustration. Even he could see his performance left much to be desired. It was only until Cal was willing to acknowledge he was wrong, that he needed to give up his way and accept help from a loving father, and would leave his old failing habits behind and use the new, that he was able to improve his passing ability.
All analogies of the Christian life have holes, but there is a core dynamic in what happened to Cal yesterday, and all of those who accept or reject the offense of the cross. Now you might say," what is the offense of the cross? I thought that was all a happy point for us, it is an easy thing to accept and move on." That would miss the point of Gospel. The cross is offensive because we have to admit that we are in desperate need of God's rescue and leap into His design for our lives. We have to eat our pride, our individualism, and our own self desire and we just don't like to do that if we are honest. It is an offense to us because we are deceived that we are cosmic-like wise and important in our little 2010 bubbles. We aren't. We are in deep trouble. That is until you embrace the instrument of torture that slits the throat of the rebellious Adam that is living inside of you.
The Bible, history and common sense tell us that we all will die. The Bible and the future will attest that Christ is the the only one to have power over death. Do you want that? Do you want Jesus' death and life in the place of yours because yours is not worthy? That is the offense of the cross. Admitting that you and I are unworthy until we follow, submit and cherish the finished work of Christ.
Beware of being sold a synthetic gospel, a man made one that leaves out dying unto self. Until we do this no matter our church attendance or service records we are walking in our own death, not Christ's life. There is no blending of the offense into other half baked truths. It is loud and it is bold.
He is the Yes and Amen!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Idol Failure
Isaiah 44:9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
The stories are everywhere and range from sad to haunting. My friends account of a neighbor who took a Tuesday afternoon off to play golf by himself, only to blow the back of his head off on the fourth tee box is deeply disturbing. Why did this golfer take his on life? His business was failing, he was buried in debt of all kinds and his pride fed conscious convinced him that life was not worth living if it wasn't a prosperous one of self made success. You could say his god let him down. More clearly you could say the god of this age, money driven power, let him down. Pick up a paper and read the stories. The money god that everyone sacrifices so much of their time efforts and life to has collapsed. It had to. Only Christ is true and powerful enough to continually support the weight of men's hopes, passion, and lives permanently. All other gods will be raised and worshipped by man, but will end with utter disappointment and brokenness. The created can never create anything of permanance.
Look at what Isaiah says in the verses above and what he continues to say in verses 18-19 of the same chapter. It is the exact same thing Paul says in Romans 1. When our heart's desire is for a false god, it leads us to be dominated by that false god. The only True God allows us to be "given us up to those lusts and we are blind and deaf to truth". We are in effect lost in idolatry.
Without any question we all should stop and access this possible idol in our lives. How much of your life is dominated by money making and spending? How much of your thought life is focused on what you desire to buy or wish you had what your neighbors have? How much of your security is found in constantly checking your 401(k) balance and stock market news? Are you more intimate with economic information and your plans to get your slice of pie than the calling of your life by your creator? Do you long for the day when "every thing will be ok and we have enough to make it"? How much of your daily life is spent seeking intimacy with God as compared to seeking material satisfaction.
Let me declare very boldly Jesus is more than enough. Jesus is the only true security available. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of intimacy. Jesus is so beautifully worthy of giving our lives to.
Where does all of this leave you? Remember this: Jesus will not share His throne in your heart. Jesus will not be a second place God in your life. It is impossible for Him as he is only capable of supremacy in every way.
So if your life feels like a heavy weight boxing match to make enough money and is strangling under a burden of debt, there is only one way out. Burn the idol. Praise Jesus. This will take more than a five minute emotional exchange. It will take giving your life away to follow Christ. You will have ups and downs, but you will have a peace that surpasses all understanding, because the one who framed the universe will be your God, and he will under gird you with His strength that never fails.
The stories are everywhere and range from sad to haunting. My friends account of a neighbor who took a Tuesday afternoon off to play golf by himself, only to blow the back of his head off on the fourth tee box is deeply disturbing. Why did this golfer take his on life? His business was failing, he was buried in debt of all kinds and his pride fed conscious convinced him that life was not worth living if it wasn't a prosperous one of self made success. You could say his god let him down. More clearly you could say the god of this age, money driven power, let him down. Pick up a paper and read the stories. The money god that everyone sacrifices so much of their time efforts and life to has collapsed. It had to. Only Christ is true and powerful enough to continually support the weight of men's hopes, passion, and lives permanently. All other gods will be raised and worshipped by man, but will end with utter disappointment and brokenness. The created can never create anything of permanance.
Look at what Isaiah says in the verses above and what he continues to say in verses 18-19 of the same chapter. It is the exact same thing Paul says in Romans 1. When our heart's desire is for a false god, it leads us to be dominated by that false god. The only True God allows us to be "given us up to those lusts and we are blind and deaf to truth". We are in effect lost in idolatry.
Without any question we all should stop and access this possible idol in our lives. How much of your life is dominated by money making and spending? How much of your thought life is focused on what you desire to buy or wish you had what your neighbors have? How much of your security is found in constantly checking your 401(k) balance and stock market news? Are you more intimate with economic information and your plans to get your slice of pie than the calling of your life by your creator? Do you long for the day when "every thing will be ok and we have enough to make it"? How much of your daily life is spent seeking intimacy with God as compared to seeking material satisfaction.
Let me declare very boldly Jesus is more than enough. Jesus is the only true security available. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of intimacy. Jesus is so beautifully worthy of giving our lives to.
Where does all of this leave you? Remember this: Jesus will not share His throne in your heart. Jesus will not be a second place God in your life. It is impossible for Him as he is only capable of supremacy in every way.
So if your life feels like a heavy weight boxing match to make enough money and is strangling under a burden of debt, there is only one way out. Burn the idol. Praise Jesus. This will take more than a five minute emotional exchange. It will take giving your life away to follow Christ. You will have ups and downs, but you will have a peace that surpasses all understanding, because the one who framed the universe will be your God, and he will under gird you with His strength that never fails.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Active Worklesness
Isaiah 26:12 O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all of our works.
Sunday afternoon at the Stubbs' house usually means that Cal and I break out the roundball and sweat it out to the latest Christian rap songs for an hour or so. To me there are few things more fun than playing with Cal, and I must say He is becoming a decent ball player. The brakes are usually applied to our game when Cal's little brother Eli comes storming out on the court. Eli is only three, yet he really thinks he is capable of competing with anyone on any level. Of course, his successful shots occur only when I pick him up and he drops the ball in the basket. After this he feels extremely confident in his ability to score and wants to do it again! Kind of weird how he thinks he is a great player when someone else is really doing all the work don't you think?
The clarity at which Isaiah looks forward to Christ is astounding. If you read through the book of Isaiah it is impossible to miss Jesus. He and His works are every where. In 26:12 above, Isaiah is looking forward to "that day" when Christ reigns and his understanding surpasses that of many Christians today, and he was prophesying almost 750 years before Christ set foot in the manger. What Isaiah is saying is a critical building block to a fruitful life in Christ. We all know that Jesus died the death due for us on the cross and we praise Him for His work. Do we understand that He also lived the perfect sinless life that we can never live, and we need to praise Him for that as well?
He literally has done all of our work for us, work that we could never do. As we walk through this life as a Christ follower, we are much like my son Eli thinking we are a good basketball player when Christ is the one ordaining, providing and directing the work we have to do at hand. Now there can be a dangerous thought process that occurs on the back side of this understanding which looks like total inactive self absorption in the world. We could logically say well if Jesus has done it all then we can just party on and do our thing. The big problem with this type of mentality is that it misses the core understanding of what a Christ follower does. He follows Christ, the head of the Church as he redeems the lost and restores the oppressed, and he does it with the same simple joy that my Eli does by dropping the ball in the basket.
Jesus does not prescribe to us a life we must live to please Him. He filled that prescription and sacrificed back to the Father. True freedom is found when we understand that His life and death are substituted in our place and that there is no other person, place or object that can permanently fill our hearts desires. When those truths are firmly planted in the core of our hearts, we are then set free to passionately minister with Joy unto the Lord. When that occurs God alone receives Glory and we are stoked to just be a part of it all.
If you want to see what active worklessnes looks like in person, come on over about 3:30 Sunday and watch Eli dunk in his simple joy, accomplishing his goal powered by one stronger than him that is doing all the work.
Sunday afternoon at the Stubbs' house usually means that Cal and I break out the roundball and sweat it out to the latest Christian rap songs for an hour or so. To me there are few things more fun than playing with Cal, and I must say He is becoming a decent ball player. The brakes are usually applied to our game when Cal's little brother Eli comes storming out on the court. Eli is only three, yet he really thinks he is capable of competing with anyone on any level. Of course, his successful shots occur only when I pick him up and he drops the ball in the basket. After this he feels extremely confident in his ability to score and wants to do it again! Kind of weird how he thinks he is a great player when someone else is really doing all the work don't you think?
The clarity at which Isaiah looks forward to Christ is astounding. If you read through the book of Isaiah it is impossible to miss Jesus. He and His works are every where. In 26:12 above, Isaiah is looking forward to "that day" when Christ reigns and his understanding surpasses that of many Christians today, and he was prophesying almost 750 years before Christ set foot in the manger. What Isaiah is saying is a critical building block to a fruitful life in Christ. We all know that Jesus died the death due for us on the cross and we praise Him for His work. Do we understand that He also lived the perfect sinless life that we can never live, and we need to praise Him for that as well?
He literally has done all of our work for us, work that we could never do. As we walk through this life as a Christ follower, we are much like my son Eli thinking we are a good basketball player when Christ is the one ordaining, providing and directing the work we have to do at hand. Now there can be a dangerous thought process that occurs on the back side of this understanding which looks like total inactive self absorption in the world. We could logically say well if Jesus has done it all then we can just party on and do our thing. The big problem with this type of mentality is that it misses the core understanding of what a Christ follower does. He follows Christ, the head of the Church as he redeems the lost and restores the oppressed, and he does it with the same simple joy that my Eli does by dropping the ball in the basket.
Jesus does not prescribe to us a life we must live to please Him. He filled that prescription and sacrificed back to the Father. True freedom is found when we understand that His life and death are substituted in our place and that there is no other person, place or object that can permanently fill our hearts desires. When those truths are firmly planted in the core of our hearts, we are then set free to passionately minister with Joy unto the Lord. When that occurs God alone receives Glory and we are stoked to just be a part of it all.
If you want to see what active worklessnes looks like in person, come on over about 3:30 Sunday and watch Eli dunk in his simple joy, accomplishing his goal powered by one stronger than him that is doing all the work.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Joined at the hip
Amos 3:3 Do two walk together , unless they have agreed to meet?
My kids love to come to my office. I love them to come too, sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love being around my family and playing with my children. The problem occurs when the kids hit the scene with a totally different agenda than what is going on at the office. We have a very lax culture, but even the laxest business cultures have their limits when kids run around loudly playing and having fun. The kid's agenda is to have as much fun as they can with as many people in as many places as possible. The main agenda at the office is Glorifying God with our work product, and that requires diligence and good stewardship of our time. So when the kids enforce their agenda into the existing agenda at the office, there is a clash of agendas and in turn a lot of disruption. Two separate agendas can not exist in peace for very long before they either must separate or yield to a mutual agenda.
When you look at the context of what God is saying through His prophet Amos, He is very clearly telling the Israelites of His steadfast love and mercy. Through His prophets He is heralding the opportunity to walk with Him, instead of straying away form Him in the human led path of sin. God is saying to His people, " I have made this clear to you. Fear me, love me and walk with me, or judgement will be last stop on the path you walk. I have great depths of mercy and perseverance, but I allow you to choose to walk with me or rebel against me and blaze your own trail".
Now when you look at that in the context of the Gospel of Christ, it mirrors Jesus invitation to "Follow ME". That is what is so incredible about the bible and our God. Through millenniums of time, and myriads of cultures and languages, the Heart and principles of God do not change, even though the way he revealed His love certainly changed on the Cross . We need to walk this out in our lives (no pun intended). Ask yourself this question: The things that I plan on doing today, tomorrow and next year, will a Holy God walk down that path?
If the road that we intend to walk down is filled with sin, we are fools to think that Jesus will come with us. Why? He has already finished that battle on the Cross. He will not accept an invitation from us to "follow ME". It just does not work that way.
Now as we choose to follow Him, on His road and by His plans, sin will still be a battle until we shuffle off of this planet, but there will unquestionably be victories over sin as we walk that path. That is what Jesus does: puts sin and death to death.
So analyze the mental road that lies ahead for you in your life. Whose path is it and who is leading the way? It is either us following Christ down a path that leads to life, or us wandering down a path to darkness....
It is amazing how patient Jesus is with me, as he has pulled me back from a "Godless path" countless times in my life. What a savior we have in Jesus Christ.
My kids love to come to my office. I love them to come too, sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love being around my family and playing with my children. The problem occurs when the kids hit the scene with a totally different agenda than what is going on at the office. We have a very lax culture, but even the laxest business cultures have their limits when kids run around loudly playing and having fun. The kid's agenda is to have as much fun as they can with as many people in as many places as possible. The main agenda at the office is Glorifying God with our work product, and that requires diligence and good stewardship of our time. So when the kids enforce their agenda into the existing agenda at the office, there is a clash of agendas and in turn a lot of disruption. Two separate agendas can not exist in peace for very long before they either must separate or yield to a mutual agenda.
When you look at the context of what God is saying through His prophet Amos, He is very clearly telling the Israelites of His steadfast love and mercy. Through His prophets He is heralding the opportunity to walk with Him, instead of straying away form Him in the human led path of sin. God is saying to His people, " I have made this clear to you. Fear me, love me and walk with me, or judgement will be last stop on the path you walk. I have great depths of mercy and perseverance, but I allow you to choose to walk with me or rebel against me and blaze your own trail".
Now when you look at that in the context of the Gospel of Christ, it mirrors Jesus invitation to "Follow ME". That is what is so incredible about the bible and our God. Through millenniums of time, and myriads of cultures and languages, the Heart and principles of God do not change, even though the way he revealed His love certainly changed on the Cross . We need to walk this out in our lives (no pun intended). Ask yourself this question: The things that I plan on doing today, tomorrow and next year, will a Holy God walk down that path?
If the road that we intend to walk down is filled with sin, we are fools to think that Jesus will come with us. Why? He has already finished that battle on the Cross. He will not accept an invitation from us to "follow ME". It just does not work that way.
Now as we choose to follow Him, on His road and by His plans, sin will still be a battle until we shuffle off of this planet, but there will unquestionably be victories over sin as we walk that path. That is what Jesus does: puts sin and death to death.
So analyze the mental road that lies ahead for you in your life. Whose path is it and who is leading the way? It is either us following Christ down a path that leads to life, or us wandering down a path to darkness....
It is amazing how patient Jesus is with me, as he has pulled me back from a "Godless path" countless times in my life. What a savior we have in Jesus Christ.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Cash Craving
Amos 8:4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, 5 saying, “When will the new moon be over,
that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
and deal deceitfully with false balances, 6 that we may buy the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
An ugly but honest confession from childhood: My favorite part of a church worship service was when it was over. I loved the run to Morrison's Cafeteria that followed the service and playing or fishing on a Sunday afternoon. I was a good boy and kept quiet through the service (most of the time), but the truth was that my mind and heart had seemingly more attractive longings to attend to after 12:00. I was present physically, but my desires were outside of the sanctuary and God. What an awful picture of religion.
The book of Amos is Not a great book to read if you are looking for an atta boy! The hard truths of Amos 8:4-6 above, are that the Jews had one big longing and it was not worshipping God. Look at what the text says: They could not wait for the new moon festival or the sabbath to get over with. Why? So they could get back to their love of making money and most of that was done by dishonest measure. In fact, they were going through the religious motions with an "I have to do this" attitude while all of the time their hearts and souls longed to get back to their lust for "stuff". Some of the most vivid and graphic descriptions of God's wrath and judgement surround this verdict on the people of Israel. Verses 9-10 describe a vivid misery who truly worship stuff in the place of God, no matter how religious their outer actions may seem. God promises to "turn your feasts into mourning and our songs into Lamentations" and it only gets worse from there.
So how do we apply this back into our lives in 2010? Pretty simple: Ask yourself if you long for God while you are worshipping, whether at church, home or at work. Do you have a lust for God and His Love? A tough and ugly truth may be the honest answer of this question: Do I simply do the "God thing" when I feel like I have to so that I will be "recharged" to get back to the "High Life"?
A longing for God and a thirst for His love are a luxury NOT a task......
that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
and deal deceitfully with false balances, 6 that we may buy the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
An ugly but honest confession from childhood: My favorite part of a church worship service was when it was over. I loved the run to Morrison's Cafeteria that followed the service and playing or fishing on a Sunday afternoon. I was a good boy and kept quiet through the service (most of the time), but the truth was that my mind and heart had seemingly more attractive longings to attend to after 12:00. I was present physically, but my desires were outside of the sanctuary and God. What an awful picture of religion.
The book of Amos is Not a great book to read if you are looking for an atta boy! The hard truths of Amos 8:4-6 above, are that the Jews had one big longing and it was not worshipping God. Look at what the text says: They could not wait for the new moon festival or the sabbath to get over with. Why? So they could get back to their love of making money and most of that was done by dishonest measure. In fact, they were going through the religious motions with an "I have to do this" attitude while all of the time their hearts and souls longed to get back to their lust for "stuff". Some of the most vivid and graphic descriptions of God's wrath and judgement surround this verdict on the people of Israel. Verses 9-10 describe a vivid misery who truly worship stuff in the place of God, no matter how religious their outer actions may seem. God promises to "turn your feasts into mourning and our songs into Lamentations" and it only gets worse from there.
So how do we apply this back into our lives in 2010? Pretty simple: Ask yourself if you long for God while you are worshipping, whether at church, home or at work. Do you have a lust for God and His Love? A tough and ugly truth may be the honest answer of this question: Do I simply do the "God thing" when I feel like I have to so that I will be "recharged" to get back to the "High Life"?
A longing for God and a thirst for His love are a luxury NOT a task......
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Thirst Quencher
Psalms 42:1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
Jeremiah 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
The only time slot for me to run yesterday was at 3:00 in the afternoon. It was about 90 degrees, and the humidity in the 60's which is relatively cool for a day in July down here in the great state of Alabama. Again I say, relatively cool. About 40 minutes into it, I was gassed, and in large need of some water. As I neared the finish of the run, my thoughts strayed to the cool A/C and ice water that awaited me back inside the comfy confines of my office. I did finish pretty well, but not before the burn of thirst and muscle fatigue produced parched lips and a inner demanding of some replenishment. I needed a thirst quencher.
When you look at David's psalm above, His heart to worship God was deeply thirsty for a drink of Living Water. This came to him from His communion with God. Just like my body was screaming at me yesterday to get some water, David's heart was screaming at Him, "you better get your desires quenched in God. " There is a word in there for all of us.
When you look at Jeremiah chapter two it further spells out our "drinking options" if you will. Jeremiah is heralding two sins of Israel: They had forsaken God, the fountain of living water and they had made their own cisterns, empty idols that lead to death.
Have you ever thought about your communion with God as a submerging the bucket of your soul into truth and life and Holiness? That is exactly what it is. It is a submersion in all things Good.
Now, here comes the hard part for us all: what are we really lowering the bucket of our souls into this day? Where are we getting fulfilled? In What or Who is our identity being defined? Wherever we are being defined, satisfied and fulfilled that is the well that we are lowering our bucket into to be fulfilled. You see, we are all born with a God sized hole in our hearts that only He can replace. We will all either be fulfilled by His love, or spend our lives and eternity drinking from wells that temporarily seem to quench our thirst. Those "man made cisterns" can not hold water that quenches our thirsts, but only make us more thirsty as we have not been fulfilled by God. They actually deliver the reverse effect that they seem to offer as thirst quenchers. This is why sin habits end up dominating people in the form of addictions, as thirst is actually increased as the empty cisterns that have the illusion of fulfillment, dehydrate us even further. These cisterns of idolatry truly blind us to our true thirst for Holy, Living water. Only He can put a stop to our thirst. Until that time, we will be striving unceasingly with the wind in our face.
Where is your thirst being quenched today? If it is not in communion with God, then you are dehydrating yourself and your soul is withering on the vine. Only Christ promises and delivers Living water for our souls.
Jeremiah 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
The only time slot for me to run yesterday was at 3:00 in the afternoon. It was about 90 degrees, and the humidity in the 60's which is relatively cool for a day in July down here in the great state of Alabama. Again I say, relatively cool. About 40 minutes into it, I was gassed, and in large need of some water. As I neared the finish of the run, my thoughts strayed to the cool A/C and ice water that awaited me back inside the comfy confines of my office. I did finish pretty well, but not before the burn of thirst and muscle fatigue produced parched lips and a inner demanding of some replenishment. I needed a thirst quencher.
When you look at David's psalm above, His heart to worship God was deeply thirsty for a drink of Living Water. This came to him from His communion with God. Just like my body was screaming at me yesterday to get some water, David's heart was screaming at Him, "you better get your desires quenched in God. " There is a word in there for all of us.
When you look at Jeremiah chapter two it further spells out our "drinking options" if you will. Jeremiah is heralding two sins of Israel: They had forsaken God, the fountain of living water and they had made their own cisterns, empty idols that lead to death.
Have you ever thought about your communion with God as a submerging the bucket of your soul into truth and life and Holiness? That is exactly what it is. It is a submersion in all things Good.
Now, here comes the hard part for us all: what are we really lowering the bucket of our souls into this day? Where are we getting fulfilled? In What or Who is our identity being defined? Wherever we are being defined, satisfied and fulfilled that is the well that we are lowering our bucket into to be fulfilled. You see, we are all born with a God sized hole in our hearts that only He can replace. We will all either be fulfilled by His love, or spend our lives and eternity drinking from wells that temporarily seem to quench our thirst. Those "man made cisterns" can not hold water that quenches our thirsts, but only make us more thirsty as we have not been fulfilled by God. They actually deliver the reverse effect that they seem to offer as thirst quenchers. This is why sin habits end up dominating people in the form of addictions, as thirst is actually increased as the empty cisterns that have the illusion of fulfillment, dehydrate us even further. These cisterns of idolatry truly blind us to our true thirst for Holy, Living water. Only He can put a stop to our thirst. Until that time, we will be striving unceasingly with the wind in our face.
Where is your thirst being quenched today? If it is not in communion with God, then you are dehydrating yourself and your soul is withering on the vine. Only Christ promises and delivers Living water for our souls.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Inch Worm
2 Corinthians 3:18 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. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
A couple of weeks back, I was in a house church near a dump in Guascaleeles, Honduras. The front area where the preacher and song leader stand is a 15 foot raised earthen porch, with a foundation of tractor tires. The rail of a porch is a 15' piece of rusted pipe that is anchored with rope between two large trees. To complete the aesthetics and reinforcement, a chicken coup serves as the base for one of the "tire foundations". Not OSHA approved I would say. The church has flourished since being planted less than a year ago, and about 100 or so folks show up to hear the Word of God. I absolutely love worshiping there as the humble praise of our Lord is very freely given by folks with absolutely nothing.
As I got ready to preach this particular Monday, I turned around to pray one last time for God to speak through me, and as I looked away from the crowd, something caught my attention. On that rusted old pipe between the two trees, there was a green inch worm. He was small though, more like a half inch worm. For the next 8 seconds or so, I was entranced by this tiny green worm ever so slowly making his way down the rusty pipe. I thought to myself, that inch worm is not ever going to make it to the other tree! Why in the world is he in the process? Well, after about an hour and a half the little worm who was seemingly going no where had made it all the way to the next tree.
After I finished preaching, God really impressed upon me the fact that His growth in me looks a whole lot like that inch worm. There are so many times when I hear a great teaching or follow God into some faith trial and I think: "Ok, we are making some warp speed headway with this sanctification deal now". But then God shows me that I have so far to go in my faith walk. Yes, God has done some truly huge things in my life and some very fast, but I believe that He is trying to show me the beauty of the voyage of life transformation itself. I have a definite destination that I will arrive at when He is ready for me to, and He has a plan for getting me there. I guess what I am trying to intimate is that I have tried to run ahead of His plans for me so many times that it is sickening. Most of those times I got frustrated with somebody else because my plans did not work out. I now see that I was not ready for the task I wanted to do, and God was slowly preparing me for what He was going to put in front of me.
Obviously God can move at any rate of speed he wants to in the sanctification process. I guess God has shown me His patience with me in that process, so that I will have some with other people. I pray that I can find a daily Joy in that "inching away" through life. That joy can only be found permanently in Jesus, as he is transforming us into His glory. What a wonderful destination that is : Christ.
So where are you in your sanctification? Confused? Mad? Off point?
Shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that we are even on it? I am....even if I am inching along.
A couple of weeks back, I was in a house church near a dump in Guascaleeles, Honduras. The front area where the preacher and song leader stand is a 15 foot raised earthen porch, with a foundation of tractor tires. The rail of a porch is a 15' piece of rusted pipe that is anchored with rope between two large trees. To complete the aesthetics and reinforcement, a chicken coup serves as the base for one of the "tire foundations". Not OSHA approved I would say. The church has flourished since being planted less than a year ago, and about 100 or so folks show up to hear the Word of God. I absolutely love worshiping there as the humble praise of our Lord is very freely given by folks with absolutely nothing.
As I got ready to preach this particular Monday, I turned around to pray one last time for God to speak through me, and as I looked away from the crowd, something caught my attention. On that rusted old pipe between the two trees, there was a green inch worm. He was small though, more like a half inch worm. For the next 8 seconds or so, I was entranced by this tiny green worm ever so slowly making his way down the rusty pipe. I thought to myself, that inch worm is not ever going to make it to the other tree! Why in the world is he in the process? Well, after about an hour and a half the little worm who was seemingly going no where had made it all the way to the next tree.
After I finished preaching, God really impressed upon me the fact that His growth in me looks a whole lot like that inch worm. There are so many times when I hear a great teaching or follow God into some faith trial and I think: "Ok, we are making some warp speed headway with this sanctification deal now". But then God shows me that I have so far to go in my faith walk. Yes, God has done some truly huge things in my life and some very fast, but I believe that He is trying to show me the beauty of the voyage of life transformation itself. I have a definite destination that I will arrive at when He is ready for me to, and He has a plan for getting me there. I guess what I am trying to intimate is that I have tried to run ahead of His plans for me so many times that it is sickening. Most of those times I got frustrated with somebody else because my plans did not work out. I now see that I was not ready for the task I wanted to do, and God was slowly preparing me for what He was going to put in front of me.
Obviously God can move at any rate of speed he wants to in the sanctification process. I guess God has shown me His patience with me in that process, so that I will have some with other people. I pray that I can find a daily Joy in that "inching away" through life. That joy can only be found permanently in Jesus, as he is transforming us into His glory. What a wonderful destination that is : Christ.
So where are you in your sanctification? Confused? Mad? Off point?
Shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that we are even on it? I am....even if I am inching along.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Get Sharp
Ecclesiastes 10:10 "If the Iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed".
Do you ever get caught in a circle of pressing harder in your life's work, with limited results. I know I do. When we get trapped in these ruts, our worldly wisdom is that of the gunny Sargent or football coach, "Roll up your sleeves and work harder! You are just not putting enough effort into what you are doing!". While that instruction is certainly beneficial for the lazy teenager or undisciplined private, that may not be a fruitful word for us all, all the time.
What Solomon is heralding is a simple truth that has practical and spiritual implications. A dull effort requires more time, strength and exertion to accomplish an certain task. Wisdom can alter our approach to an effort in such a way that our energies that we put fourth are more productive, because we are more cleverly efficient in our approach. Need examples? They are literally everywhere in our lives, from engines, phones,TVs, radios, chainsaws, washing machines, the Internet, cars, computers , and on down the line. God allows us to implement sound Wisdom to increase our fruitfulness in very practical ways.
Now spiritually speaking, this carries us deeper into Solomon's wisdom as we draw near to the Heart of God. If our life, and/or ministry and worship efforts are man led, they will seem like a heavy labor, as the power of the efforts is man made and dull. They will wear us out, because we are pulling a load that is too heavy for us and thus we are fighting a battle we are unequipped to fight with our own dull bladed strength. Replace that by following Jesus into your callings and ministries, and allow His double edged sword of the Spirit which is razor sharp to lead out and KABOOM...our lives and ministry efforts have a heavenly miraculous potential.
There is much to learn from the Wisdom of God through Solomon. Practically, how can wisdom be a leverage point to your efforts today? Spiritually, are you resting in the work of Jesus or are you working your fanny off for Him? Resting in Christ allows even the tallest, most daunting work to be done in the comfort and security of God's peace. That is found by walking in His will each day. His efforts are not dull..
Do you ever get caught in a circle of pressing harder in your life's work, with limited results. I know I do. When we get trapped in these ruts, our worldly wisdom is that of the gunny Sargent or football coach, "Roll up your sleeves and work harder! You are just not putting enough effort into what you are doing!". While that instruction is certainly beneficial for the lazy teenager or undisciplined private, that may not be a fruitful word for us all, all the time.
What Solomon is heralding is a simple truth that has practical and spiritual implications. A dull effort requires more time, strength and exertion to accomplish an certain task. Wisdom can alter our approach to an effort in such a way that our energies that we put fourth are more productive, because we are more cleverly efficient in our approach. Need examples? They are literally everywhere in our lives, from engines, phones,TVs, radios, chainsaws, washing machines, the Internet, cars, computers , and on down the line. God allows us to implement sound Wisdom to increase our fruitfulness in very practical ways.
Now spiritually speaking, this carries us deeper into Solomon's wisdom as we draw near to the Heart of God. If our life, and/or ministry and worship efforts are man led, they will seem like a heavy labor, as the power of the efforts is man made and dull. They will wear us out, because we are pulling a load that is too heavy for us and thus we are fighting a battle we are unequipped to fight with our own dull bladed strength. Replace that by following Jesus into your callings and ministries, and allow His double edged sword of the Spirit which is razor sharp to lead out and KABOOM...our lives and ministry efforts have a heavenly miraculous potential.
There is much to learn from the Wisdom of God through Solomon. Practically, how can wisdom be a leverage point to your efforts today? Spiritually, are you resting in the work of Jesus or are you working your fanny off for Him? Resting in Christ allows even the tallest, most daunting work to be done in the comfort and security of God's peace. That is found by walking in His will each day. His efforts are not dull..
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