In the story of David in the Bible, young David does everything he can to support King Saul and his family. He fights and slays the giant Goliath even though he is a youth. He fights for Israel in the name of God and becomes its most famous general. He serves Saul with all his heart and supports whatever his king commands.
His reward? The king throws a spear at him trying to pin him to the wall. He is persecuted and hunted. He is driven out of his home and even his country to live like a madman at times. He is surrounded by a group of malcontents and misfits who look to him as their model and leader.
Life, at times, just doesn't seem fair. We give and give, we serve and serve, we even obey to the best of our abilities, and the world, instead of applauding, throws a spear at us.
Jesus experienced this and in a much greater way than any of us can begin to understand. We celebrate His "cross-death" for us, but rarely stop to thank Him for HIs "cross-life".
Richard Foster says, "The most radical social teaching of Jesus was his total reversal of the contemporary notion of greatness. Leadership is found in becoming the servant of all. Power is discovered in submission....Christ not only died a 'cross-death', he lived a 'cross-life'...Jesus called his followers to live the cross-life. 'If any man would come after me,...' 'If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all'...The cross-life is the life of voluntary submission. The cross-life is the life of freely accepted servanthood."
A couple of thousand years before God came to earth in the form of Jesus, David showed us the way of the cross-life. He was obedient to his king, never even thinking about raising his hand against God's anointed. He had every opportunity to do so. He had the hearts of the people who would have followed him. But you see, David was a man after God's own heart and he chose God's way even though it meant becoming the spear-throwing target of a madman.
I am often willing (at least ideally in my mind) to think that I can accept the cross-death...to be a martyr if needed. What I struggle to do is to be able to live the cross-life. I am finding that the cross-life is far more difficult to choose than the cross-death.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Our Strength; God's Strength...
The stories of the Old Testament always seem to speak to me simple and obvious truths. Where I find myself struggling is trying to apply those truths practically to my own life and in most cases, it is a struggle with my will and pride.
Take the story of Gideon and how one day, God leads him to select an army to fight against Midian. The Midianites were as numerous as a swarm of locust. They had oppressed Israel for several years and had so laid waste to the land that Israel, "became poverty stricken...and cried out to the Lord."
God calls out Gideon to lead Israel against Midian. Gideon puts together an impressive army. Then, the Lord tells Gideon, "You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you..."
Gideon had amassed 32,000 warriors and God said that this was too many to fight a people who were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. God instructs Gideon to give a "go home free" card to those afraid of battle. Twenty-two thousand left leaving 10,000. God said, "There are still too many people." So God had them separated by the way they drank water. He instructed Gideon to choose only 300. God took what looked like an impressive army and whittled it down to 300 to face the Midianite hordes. And He did it all because, "...or else Israel might brag: I did it myself."
There is no math, no military strategy, no earthly reasoning that would say 300 is better than 32,000 when it comes to war. It is only in God's economy and in God's plan does this even begin to make a little sense.
Relinquishing our plans and our strategies to God and His way is no easy task. I do find it easy to champion "God's will" and even to fight passionately for it when it conveniently aligns with my interpretations. But when God's will becomes perpendicular to mine, that's when I struggle with, "Not my will but Yours..."
I think Gideon had to experience doubts when God left him with 300 men. I admire his willingness to follow God's way no matter how counterintuitive it was to all of his natural inclinations.
Foster says that through His prayer in Gethsemane, "Jesus shows us a more excellent way. The way of helplessness. The way of abandonment. The way of relinquishment. 'My will be done' is conquered by 'Not my will.'"
Lord, today and forevermore, may it be, "Not my will, but Yours."
Take the story of Gideon and how one day, God leads him to select an army to fight against Midian. The Midianites were as numerous as a swarm of locust. They had oppressed Israel for several years and had so laid waste to the land that Israel, "became poverty stricken...and cried out to the Lord."
God calls out Gideon to lead Israel against Midian. Gideon puts together an impressive army. Then, the Lord tells Gideon, "You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you..."
Gideon had amassed 32,000 warriors and God said that this was too many to fight a people who were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. God instructs Gideon to give a "go home free" card to those afraid of battle. Twenty-two thousand left leaving 10,000. God said, "There are still too many people." So God had them separated by the way they drank water. He instructed Gideon to choose only 300. God took what looked like an impressive army and whittled it down to 300 to face the Midianite hordes. And He did it all because, "...or else Israel might brag: I did it myself."
There is no math, no military strategy, no earthly reasoning that would say 300 is better than 32,000 when it comes to war. It is only in God's economy and in God's plan does this even begin to make a little sense.
Relinquishing our plans and our strategies to God and His way is no easy task. I do find it easy to champion "God's will" and even to fight passionately for it when it conveniently aligns with my interpretations. But when God's will becomes perpendicular to mine, that's when I struggle with, "Not my will but Yours..."
I think Gideon had to experience doubts when God left him with 300 men. I admire his willingness to follow God's way no matter how counterintuitive it was to all of his natural inclinations.
Foster says that through His prayer in Gethsemane, "Jesus shows us a more excellent way. The way of helplessness. The way of abandonment. The way of relinquishment. 'My will be done' is conquered by 'Not my will.'"
Lord, today and forevermore, may it be, "Not my will, but Yours."
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Why Am I Afraid to Go to God?
In Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, there is a loving father waiting anxiously for the son to return home.
This is how I picture God looking and even longing for us day in and day out. Standing with eager anticipation of His children returning to Him with a broken and contrite heart. And even though I know deep down that God never turns away a broken and contrite heart, I constantly find it hard to next to impossible to make that first step back towards the Father when I have strayed.
I don't know about you, but I constantly fail and constantly stray much like the prodigal. It may not be as dramatic and it may not be as visible to the world, but my heart has a tendency to wander.
Oftentimes it wanders into busy-ness and good deeds. I can get so busy for God that I forget that He wants my heart and my companionship above all service.
Sometimes it wanders into complacency and boredom. The 'same old, same old' becomes the standard of the day and I go through the motions looking good on the outside but dry and barren on the inside.
More often, it wanders into pride and self-sufficiency when my heart tells me to trust in my own understanding and abilities.
So how do we continually walk in a way that we carry this broken and contrite heart? Richard Foster says,...
"We begin by asking. I wish that did not sound so trite, for it is the deepest truth we can ever know about our turning towards God. We simply cannot make heart repentance happen. It is not something that we cause to come about by creating a certain kind of mood with a certain kind of atmosphere and a certain kind of music. It is a gift from God, pure and simple. But it is a gift that God loves to bestow upon all who ask."
Lord, please grant to me today a broken and contrite heart. May all of my senses be in tune with You. And may I have the courage to take the first step back home to you like the prodigal that I am.
This is how I picture God looking and even longing for us day in and day out. Standing with eager anticipation of His children returning to Him with a broken and contrite heart. And even though I know deep down that God never turns away a broken and contrite heart, I constantly find it hard to next to impossible to make that first step back towards the Father when I have strayed.
I don't know about you, but I constantly fail and constantly stray much like the prodigal. It may not be as dramatic and it may not be as visible to the world, but my heart has a tendency to wander.
Oftentimes it wanders into busy-ness and good deeds. I can get so busy for God that I forget that He wants my heart and my companionship above all service.
Sometimes it wanders into complacency and boredom. The 'same old, same old' becomes the standard of the day and I go through the motions looking good on the outside but dry and barren on the inside.
More often, it wanders into pride and self-sufficiency when my heart tells me to trust in my own understanding and abilities.
So how do we continually walk in a way that we carry this broken and contrite heart? Richard Foster says,...
"We begin by asking. I wish that did not sound so trite, for it is the deepest truth we can ever know about our turning towards God. We simply cannot make heart repentance happen. It is not something that we cause to come about by creating a certain kind of mood with a certain kind of atmosphere and a certain kind of music. It is a gift from God, pure and simple. But it is a gift that God loves to bestow upon all who ask."
Lord, please grant to me today a broken and contrite heart. May all of my senses be in tune with You. And may I have the courage to take the first step back home to you like the prodigal that I am.
Monday, August 8, 2011
I Wish I Were Better at Praying...
Reading the Bible fervently? No problem. Reading good devotional material? A snap. Service to others? It's one of my gifts. Preaching and proclaiming? I can do that.
These are the things that come fairly natural after years of being in love with and serving King Jesus. And while there are many, many areas in need of improvement (including those listed above), the one area I constantly struggle with prayer. I try. I determinedly set my mind to do it. I set aside time. I try spontaneous prayer. But I always seem, to myself, to come up short for what I think is a dynamic, vibrant prayer life.
I recently re-read a statement made by Richard Foster on prayer where he says...
"The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives - altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. But what I have come to see is that God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. We do not have to be bright, or pure, or filled with faith, or anything That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live by it as well. And we pray by it."
I long to be that person who "prays without ceasing." But maybe I have to learn to accept that my attempts at prayer are always going to be messy, short of my ideals, and just not perfect.
I pray that I give myself, like Christ has given me, the grace to pray. He does receive us with "all our mixture."
Amen...
These are the things that come fairly natural after years of being in love with and serving King Jesus. And while there are many, many areas in need of improvement (including those listed above), the one area I constantly struggle with prayer. I try. I determinedly set my mind to do it. I set aside time. I try spontaneous prayer. But I always seem, to myself, to come up short for what I think is a dynamic, vibrant prayer life.
I recently re-read a statement made by Richard Foster on prayer where he says...
"The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives - altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. But what I have come to see is that God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. We do not have to be bright, or pure, or filled with faith, or anything That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live by it as well. And we pray by it."
I long to be that person who "prays without ceasing." But maybe I have to learn to accept that my attempts at prayer are always going to be messy, short of my ideals, and just not perfect.
I pray that I give myself, like Christ has given me, the grace to pray. He does receive us with "all our mixture."
Amen...
Saturday, August 6, 2011
There But For the Grace of God Go I...
As I continue to read through the Bible two times per year as one of my spiritual disciplines, today I am finishing up time in Joshua and moving into Judges. As I reflect back on Exodus, Deuteronomy and Joshua, one of the things that jumps out at me is the continual encouragement from God that He is on the side of the Israelites.
As they were coming out of Egypt and being pursued by Pharaoh and his army, God told them, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. He will fight for you today."
In Deuteronomy, over and over, the Israelites are reminded and continually being taught that it is the Lord who is their helper and He is with them, goes before them and will deal with their enemies. (Deuteronomy 1:29; 7:18; 20:1; 31:26). And in Joshua, when the Israelites were setting about conquering the tribes in the promised land, the Lord says to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel..."
When I look at these wonderful promises from God, I often think, "How could the Israelites see such provisions from God and in one or two generations be totally rebellious to Him who has provided so much for them?" He took them out of captivity. He provided for them throughout the wilderness experience. He took them to a land promised to their forefathers. He went with them and even prepared the way before them by taking care of their enemies. How could they in a few short years forget about God's goodness and provisions for them?
And then I think, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."
How often to I let the problems of my life cloud my ability to see God's goodness and grace? How many times do I take my eyes off God and focus on my problems or either rely on my abilities and wisdom to address the issues in my life? How frequently do I forget to acknowledge that our God is awesome, powerful and has His best intentions for my life? In short, like the Israelites, He is constantly fighting for me.
It is easy to judge others' actions and reactions. It is hard to acknowledge that we are not much different than the things we judge in others.
My prayer for today is that I will not be afraid. I will stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. And I will rest in the comfort, knowledge, and assurance that God will fight for me today.
Selah!
As they were coming out of Egypt and being pursued by Pharaoh and his army, God told them, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. He will fight for you today."
In Deuteronomy, over and over, the Israelites are reminded and continually being taught that it is the Lord who is their helper and He is with them, goes before them and will deal with their enemies. (Deuteronomy 1:29; 7:18; 20:1; 31:26). And in Joshua, when the Israelites were setting about conquering the tribes in the promised land, the Lord says to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel..."
When I look at these wonderful promises from God, I often think, "How could the Israelites see such provisions from God and in one or two generations be totally rebellious to Him who has provided so much for them?" He took them out of captivity. He provided for them throughout the wilderness experience. He took them to a land promised to their forefathers. He went with them and even prepared the way before them by taking care of their enemies. How could they in a few short years forget about God's goodness and provisions for them?
And then I think, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."
How often to I let the problems of my life cloud my ability to see God's goodness and grace? How many times do I take my eyes off God and focus on my problems or either rely on my abilities and wisdom to address the issues in my life? How frequently do I forget to acknowledge that our God is awesome, powerful and has His best intentions for my life? In short, like the Israelites, He is constantly fighting for me.
It is easy to judge others' actions and reactions. It is hard to acknowledge that we are not much different than the things we judge in others.
My prayer for today is that I will not be afraid. I will stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. And I will rest in the comfort, knowledge, and assurance that God will fight for me today.
Selah!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Participating in the Divine Nature...
The Apostle Peter says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:3-4).
These are a loaded two verses so let me try and unpack them.
First of all, Peter says that God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. This is good news to a lost and dying world. It is good news to a fallen world that needs a fresh touch of God's divine power. We see that this divine power comes from God through Jesus by faith (verse 1, previously). Isn't it nice to know that even though "fallen", we can experience the power that gives us all we need for life and godliness?
And we know this to be true through, "..the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." God wants to display his great and awesome power through our lives not necessarily or solely for our benefit but for His own glory and goodness. What I glean from this is that I have to constantly remind myself that it is not about me; it is all about God and His glory, His goodness.
What really excites me about this short passage is what Peter says next in verse 3. "Through these...you may participate in the divine nature (of God) and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil." I don't know about you, but I grieve to see how much of a grasp that evil has on our world. When I see hunger, poverty, war, exploitation, etc., I wonder, "where is the hope?"
In this short verse, Peter says that the hope is in His (God's) divine power and that through the promise of that power to followers of His Son, Jesus, we can "participate" in the divine nature...
The word "participate" here is the word "koinonea". We generally interpret this word as "fellowship". But the word usage here is much deeper than what we understand as fellowship. It is a unity of relationship where we become one in God through Christ and He becomes all that He wants to in us. When we are "in Christ" and He is "in us", we can then participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. And we can move on to be beacons of God's power to others, our neighbors and society as a whole.
Participating in the Divine Nature is the first step in not only transformation of our own selfs but of the communities and societies we live and move in. And God wants, even desires, for us as His children to experience that power in our lives. Us participating in the Divine Nature and living that nature out in the world is a way in which He receives glory and honor.
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
Radical!
These are a loaded two verses so let me try and unpack them.
First of all, Peter says that God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. This is good news to a lost and dying world. It is good news to a fallen world that needs a fresh touch of God's divine power. We see that this divine power comes from God through Jesus by faith (verse 1, previously). Isn't it nice to know that even though "fallen", we can experience the power that gives us all we need for life and godliness?
And we know this to be true through, "..the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." God wants to display his great and awesome power through our lives not necessarily or solely for our benefit but for His own glory and goodness. What I glean from this is that I have to constantly remind myself that it is not about me; it is all about God and His glory, His goodness.
What really excites me about this short passage is what Peter says next in verse 3. "Through these...you may participate in the divine nature (of God) and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil." I don't know about you, but I grieve to see how much of a grasp that evil has on our world. When I see hunger, poverty, war, exploitation, etc., I wonder, "where is the hope?"
In this short verse, Peter says that the hope is in His (God's) divine power and that through the promise of that power to followers of His Son, Jesus, we can "participate" in the divine nature...
The word "participate" here is the word "koinonea". We generally interpret this word as "fellowship". But the word usage here is much deeper than what we understand as fellowship. It is a unity of relationship where we become one in God through Christ and He becomes all that He wants to in us. When we are "in Christ" and He is "in us", we can then participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. And we can move on to be beacons of God's power to others, our neighbors and society as a whole.
Participating in the Divine Nature is the first step in not only transformation of our own selfs but of the communities and societies we live and move in. And God wants, even desires, for us as His children to experience that power in our lives. Us participating in the Divine Nature and living that nature out in the world is a way in which He receives glory and honor.
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
Radical!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Search for Significance...
Psychologists tell us that one of the deepest human needs is for us as humans to find our significance in this life. Appropriately, every person eventually struggles with the question, "do I matter" or "what difference does my life make"? This is called the search for significance.
In the greater story, God's story, we are called to step out of our small worlds and see the world and ourselves as God created us to be and to become. If we look only through our own filters, we will always come up short because we are comparing ourselves to the world's standards and we can never be enough. However, if we learn to find our significance in who God says we are and in Him, we find peace, joy and, ultimately, our significance.
Peter points this out in his first letter. In chapter 1, verse 3, he says, "In His great mercy, He (Jesus) has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never spoil or fade..." He continues in verse 9 to say, "...for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." And this is so amazing and so far fetched that God would love us so much that Peter says, "...Even angels long to look into these things." (1 Peter 1:12)
He continues to describe how significant we are to God by saying, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:19). Furthermore he states, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)
He then caps this whole reminder of our significance in God by declaring, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God..." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
In our day to day lives when we are trudging through the mundane, we should take time to remember who we are. We should also remember to realize that who we are and what makes us significant is truly found in our relationship to God through His Son Jesus Christ. If I look for my significance in the eyes of the world or men, I will always be found wanting. If I listen to God and find my significance in Him, I will delight to find that I am chosen and belong to Him.
It cannot get more significant than this. Who am I? I am God's beloved and redeemed. I belong to Him.
Amen!
In the greater story, God's story, we are called to step out of our small worlds and see the world and ourselves as God created us to be and to become. If we look only through our own filters, we will always come up short because we are comparing ourselves to the world's standards and we can never be enough. However, if we learn to find our significance in who God says we are and in Him, we find peace, joy and, ultimately, our significance.
Peter points this out in his first letter. In chapter 1, verse 3, he says, "In His great mercy, He (Jesus) has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never spoil or fade..." He continues in verse 9 to say, "...for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." And this is so amazing and so far fetched that God would love us so much that Peter says, "...Even angels long to look into these things." (1 Peter 1:12)
He continues to describe how significant we are to God by saying, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:19). Furthermore he states, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)
He then caps this whole reminder of our significance in God by declaring, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God..." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
In our day to day lives when we are trudging through the mundane, we should take time to remember who we are. We should also remember to realize that who we are and what makes us significant is truly found in our relationship to God through His Son Jesus Christ. If I look for my significance in the eyes of the world or men, I will always be found wanting. If I listen to God and find my significance in Him, I will delight to find that I am chosen and belong to Him.
It cannot get more significant than this. Who am I? I am God's beloved and redeemed. I belong to Him.
Amen!
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