I talked with JR on Friday evening, and then again after church today. Every time we talk I feel like I get a broader perspective on things. (Maybe that’s because we’ve only talked a handful of times in 17+ years of acquaintanceship.) We discussed some stuff going on in our lives, and in church, things we struggle with, etc. and then we got on the subject of dreams. I told him I felt like my dreams and aspirations had been washed away by the relentless waves of life.
He asked me what I think I was put here on earth to do. He said, “What could you do for hours and hours and not even realize time is passing?”
My first thought was, Make love. But I quickly moved on to the next thing, Writing. I was mulling it around in my head without really saying anything when he said, “Whatever that thing is, that’s a passion or gifting that God’s put in you.” He paused, then said, “I’d like to see you writing.”
It was kind of strange, the way he said it.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The Lion and the Bear (1 Samuel 17:36)
The Lord doesn’t just thrust David into a battle. He brings a time of preparation first, circumstances and encounters that build his confidence in God. David learns something about the Lord before He arranges travel plans down into a valley to confront the bristling enemy.
This is what David learned: “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands.”
David’s confidence was not in his own ability to do exploits, or in any wisdom, strength or “confidence in the flesh.” What he really needed to know to make a public display of Goliath, he learned in the wilderness, in isolation, in unglamourous matters of tending lambs, where no one could see or testify how terrific he was, or even how awesome the Lord was through him.
This is what David learned: “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands.”
David’s confidence was not in his own ability to do exploits, or in any wisdom, strength or “confidence in the flesh.” What he really needed to know to make a public display of Goliath, he learned in the wilderness, in isolation, in unglamourous matters of tending lambs, where no one could see or testify how terrific he was, or even how awesome the Lord was through him.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Samson
The last judge listed in Judges is Samson, who was unique not because of his character flaws, but because he had no support from the people of God. He had no army behind him to rout the enemy and “clean up” after his exploits.
Samson’s another guy you couldn’t let speak in church because of his taste for tattooed, pierced, bad Philistine girls. But here’s the weird thing: without that “fatal flaw” for those femme fatales, there would have been no battles, no rushing of the Spirit of the Lord upon him, no mighty exploits. His parents tried to detract him from his evil course, but the text says, “However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines.”
Because there was no help from the Hebrew populace, there had to be a point of contact with the Philistines in order for Samson to kill them. If he’d been a law-abiding, clean-shaven nice guy, he wouldn’t have “gone down” to those cities to break the Philistine choke.
Samson was a special guy. He was born to a barren woman. God foretold his coming, like he did other (more admirable) characters. From before his conception, God knew him and designated him for a unique calling, which he fulfilled.
God. Go figure. He’s not going to rain fire from heaven on those Philistines, or send some choice locusts or a famine their way. No. He’s going to have a weird-looking dude go down there and engage in multiple dysfunctional relationships, get him good and pissed off, and then rush into him to strike the enemies of God and deliver the nation.
Even his death was unlike anything else in the Bible.
And this guy, this maverick that no good woman in her right mind would even hardly stand to be around, this fornicating, lecherous creep, is going to be listed in Hebrews 11 because his trust was in the Almighty.
Samson’s another guy you couldn’t let speak in church because of his taste for tattooed, pierced, bad Philistine girls. But here’s the weird thing: without that “fatal flaw” for those femme fatales, there would have been no battles, no rushing of the Spirit of the Lord upon him, no mighty exploits. His parents tried to detract him from his evil course, but the text says, “However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines.”
Because there was no help from the Hebrew populace, there had to be a point of contact with the Philistines in order for Samson to kill them. If he’d been a law-abiding, clean-shaven nice guy, he wouldn’t have “gone down” to those cities to break the Philistine choke.
Samson was a special guy. He was born to a barren woman. God foretold his coming, like he did other (more admirable) characters. From before his conception, God knew him and designated him for a unique calling, which he fulfilled.
God. Go figure. He’s not going to rain fire from heaven on those Philistines, or send some choice locusts or a famine their way. No. He’s going to have a weird-looking dude go down there and engage in multiple dysfunctional relationships, get him good and pissed off, and then rush into him to strike the enemies of God and deliver the nation.
Even his death was unlike anything else in the Bible.
And this guy, this maverick that no good woman in her right mind would even hardly stand to be around, this fornicating, lecherous creep, is going to be listed in Hebrews 11 because his trust was in the Almighty.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Wars of Canaan
So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it as their fathers did, or not." So the LORD allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). ~ Judges 2:20-3:2
Today Inscrutable Girl called my cell phone while I was pitching sodas in Seaford, ostensibly to inform me that one of my favorite clients at my old job died this week and the funeral is Tuesday. After that bit of bad news, we talked for about twenty minutes, playing catch-up. Eventually she asked if there was some way she could contact me that wouldn’t “cause controversy,” which being interpreted means, “without your wife knowing.”
Of course there are ways. There are always ways to be secretive and live out miserably long days and sleepless nights filled with lying and tortured guilt.
I was having a bad day at work anyway. Her call came around 11ish and all morning I had been thinking and praying about a situation at church, a major situation that is being downplayed and not being faced head-on. All morning this Scripture was on my lips, both for myself and for the church:
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ~ Psalm 51:6
The temptation is there. The temptation may always be there, because I may always have strong feelings for her. Even on the phone, I felt torn between telling her not to call again and trying to get together for lunch. The worst kind of misery is to love someone you can never be with: that kind of pain is beyond human endurance. In time it just splinters you.
I cannot fall headlong again into that sort of agony. And more important, the timing of the thing: that I was alone, feeling sad, feeling overwhelmed, hungry, tired, grieved, angry--and then the phone rang.
I came home and told Jessica about what had happened, because quick confession takes the teeth out of temptation. (Keeping it secret amplifies it.)
People pray for quick and total deliverance, but God doesn’t always grant it. He didn’t relieve Paul of his thorn, whatever it was. We need things to remind us of why we need a Savior, the life of Another. And you just cannot learn warfare in the absence of an enemy.
The wars of Canaan are being waged.
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. ~ Matthew 11:12
Today Inscrutable Girl called my cell phone while I was pitching sodas in Seaford, ostensibly to inform me that one of my favorite clients at my old job died this week and the funeral is Tuesday. After that bit of bad news, we talked for about twenty minutes, playing catch-up. Eventually she asked if there was some way she could contact me that wouldn’t “cause controversy,” which being interpreted means, “without your wife knowing.”
Of course there are ways. There are always ways to be secretive and live out miserably long days and sleepless nights filled with lying and tortured guilt.
I was having a bad day at work anyway. Her call came around 11ish and all morning I had been thinking and praying about a situation at church, a major situation that is being downplayed and not being faced head-on. All morning this Scripture was on my lips, both for myself and for the church:
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ~ Psalm 51:6
The temptation is there. The temptation may always be there, because I may always have strong feelings for her. Even on the phone, I felt torn between telling her not to call again and trying to get together for lunch. The worst kind of misery is to love someone you can never be with: that kind of pain is beyond human endurance. In time it just splinters you.
I cannot fall headlong again into that sort of agony. And more important, the timing of the thing: that I was alone, feeling sad, feeling overwhelmed, hungry, tired, grieved, angry--and then the phone rang.
I came home and told Jessica about what had happened, because quick confession takes the teeth out of temptation. (Keeping it secret amplifies it.)
People pray for quick and total deliverance, but God doesn’t always grant it. He didn’t relieve Paul of his thorn, whatever it was. We need things to remind us of why we need a Savior, the life of Another. And you just cannot learn warfare in the absence of an enemy.
The wars of Canaan are being waged.
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. ~ Matthew 11:12
Jephthah
Sometimes men of faith are easy to envision yourself sitting down with to share a beer and a laugh, and maybe even a fight. We couldn’t possibly let them speak in church because of their generally loose and torrid ways, but if we could, it’d be so interesting. Take Jephthah, for example. What a pip.
The sons of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day." So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer. Then the sons of Ammon were summoned and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in Mizpah. The people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman." So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him. ~ Judges 10:15-11:3
Oh, yeah. Here’s your model of faith, your paradigm of hope, your answer to prayer. The son of a whore, driven from his home, is coming back surrounded by a lot of reprobate worthless losers to deliver the people of God. And he ends up making a rash vow and sacrificing his daughter.
And THIS guy the writer of Hebrews lists as a hero of the faith (Hebrews 11:32). Jephthah, the outcast, the deliverer, believed God.
The sons of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day." So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer. Then the sons of Ammon were summoned and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in Mizpah. The people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman." So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him. ~ Judges 10:15-11:3
Oh, yeah. Here’s your model of faith, your paradigm of hope, your answer to prayer. The son of a whore, driven from his home, is coming back surrounded by a lot of reprobate worthless losers to deliver the people of God. And he ends up making a rash vow and sacrificing his daughter.
And THIS guy the writer of Hebrews lists as a hero of the faith (Hebrews 11:32). Jephthah, the outcast, the deliverer, believed God.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Judges 2:10
The failure of the Hebrews after their entrance into the Promised Land was rapid: one generation.
All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.
And not really one generation, because how could that second generation not know “the work which He had done for Israel,” unless the fathers who took possession of the land did not discuss it as God commanded them? They were supposed to be talking with their children about God’s ways, God’s provision, God’s faithfulness, about God’s beautiful Torah at every opportunity. Every feast, festival, and holy day, every Sabbath, every seventh and fiftieth year, every harvest and springtime, every firstborn, every business transaction: the sum of their lives was intended to be securely bound to remembrance and worship of their God. The Lord prescribed so many interesting things in the law, hoping to inspire dialogue, to grab the hearts and attention of children and give them lifelong memories of worship that inspired and involved all their senses.
But almost from the very beginning, the people settled into the happiness and comfort the Lord provided and forgot Him, just as He said they would.
And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What is this?" then you shall say to him, "With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery." ~ Exodus 13:14
All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.
And not really one generation, because how could that second generation not know “the work which He had done for Israel,” unless the fathers who took possession of the land did not discuss it as God commanded them? They were supposed to be talking with their children about God’s ways, God’s provision, God’s faithfulness, about God’s beautiful Torah at every opportunity. Every feast, festival, and holy day, every Sabbath, every seventh and fiftieth year, every harvest and springtime, every firstborn, every business transaction: the sum of their lives was intended to be securely bound to remembrance and worship of their God. The Lord prescribed so many interesting things in the law, hoping to inspire dialogue, to grab the hearts and attention of children and give them lifelong memories of worship that inspired and involved all their senses.
But almost from the very beginning, the people settled into the happiness and comfort the Lord provided and forgot Him, just as He said they would.
And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What is this?" then you shall say to him, "With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery." ~ Exodus 13:14
Church Marathons
Yesterday church was unusual, not least notably because the service was a whopping 3.5 hours long. Several people seemed to be genuinely encouraged, so I kept my mouth shut. (I’ve noticed that’s a primary way of ensuring joy in groups of people.)
Sometimes my wife surprises me with her questions or comments about things. On the way home I asked her what she was thinking. She said, “I don’t know, you might be offended.” Oh man, that’s how to get me INTERESTED--say I’ll be offended. So I said, “C’mon.”
So she said, “How come every time there’s sharing and opportunity for Body ministry the men don’t have the balls to say anything?”
Lord, I love my wife. I love questions like that. That arrow flew right to its mark. It’s such a good question, because it shows she notices exactly what’s missing.
I had stuff to say. I suspect if other men had been there, they would’ve had things to say. But all the women and children who were floating around on Cloud 9 and even the pastor of the church don’t really want to hear what men have to say as leaders. Some of us are thinking thoughts that are controversial, mold-breaking, shocking, threatening to the status quo, and imminently dangerous in a swooping majestic Dark Cloud sort of way.
Maybe they don’t have the balls because they’ve been snipped. Or maybe they (and when I say “they,” I mean me) are just discontented and rebellious.
So something is missing. We tried to address it before: nothing came of it, especially answers. So rather than stir up trouble, I will remain silent.
Sometimes my wife surprises me with her questions or comments about things. On the way home I asked her what she was thinking. She said, “I don’t know, you might be offended.” Oh man, that’s how to get me INTERESTED--say I’ll be offended. So I said, “C’mon.”
So she said, “How come every time there’s sharing and opportunity for Body ministry the men don’t have the balls to say anything?”
Lord, I love my wife. I love questions like that. That arrow flew right to its mark. It’s such a good question, because it shows she notices exactly what’s missing.
I had stuff to say. I suspect if other men had been there, they would’ve had things to say. But all the women and children who were floating around on Cloud 9 and even the pastor of the church don’t really want to hear what men have to say as leaders. Some of us are thinking thoughts that are controversial, mold-breaking, shocking, threatening to the status quo, and imminently dangerous in a swooping majestic Dark Cloud sort of way.
Maybe they don’t have the balls because they’ve been snipped. Or maybe they (and when I say “they,” I mean me) are just discontented and rebellious.
So something is missing. We tried to address it before: nothing came of it, especially answers. So rather than stir up trouble, I will remain silent.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The, uh... *cough*...Elijah List
This afternoon is the first time I ever looked at the Elijah List website, though I’ve heard of it for years. I think I may puke.
The Elijah List is a haven for a lot of charismatic screwheads who don’t think the Bible is quite sufficient as far as God’s Word goes. These shysters think we must have more. We must be current. We must be relevant. What we need here, people, is more Dr. Suess. Yes, Dr. Suess.
From the Elijah List I have just learned that Horton Hears a Who, far from being merely a clever, enjoyable children’s story, really contains God’s prophetic secret strategy for ending abortion. Now the plan is rather vague, but it has something to do with everyone screaming at the top of his lungs. It doesn’t say what we should bellow, or to whom. Whether we should scream individually or in unison is also unclear. What is clear is that Horton has big ears and a big nose. That, and Christians shouldn’t be Jo-Jos, because Jo-Jos are dubious, lazy characters, and almost as bad as Ho-Hos. Really, folks, God can't get this thing done unless we ALL yell.
Or how about this gem of a hyperlink?
CHUCK PIERCE: "The Pomegranate Represents HEALING, PROSPERITY, AND OVERCOMING!" (Get our Pomegranate Anointing Oil While Supplies Last!)
Yes, folks, if Dr. Suess ain't your thang, we can sell you some anointing oil or a painting or something.
Well-meaning prophets of Baal. Today they’re shrieking, tomorrow they’ll jump around wildly. Who knows, maybe they’ll go all the way and start cutting themselves.
What really bugs me is that I know people from my church take this crap seriously. I can’t believe it. No wonder there is no real vision or word from God. God has allowed us to suffer famine, to be destitute as we run to and fro looking for “words” on the internet and making a mockery of Theodor Geisel, trying to find something to tickle our ears and give us a little spiritual jolt. The God of all the universe loves us, but that doesn’t mean He’ll play our goofy word games or cram Himself into the graven images we've made.
I’m starting to think people would rather have miracles and prophecies and shiny pretty things than Jesus Christ Himself. We’d rather have a show than hear the unadulterated, pure Word of God. We are always looking to the next guest speaker, the next “now word,” the next mountaintop experience.
You know, the church deserves to be laughed at right now. I think Elijah would agree. He’d think his “list” is pure chicanery--he’d probably ask God to destroy the internet on its account.
Sometimes I think it serves us right to not find real satisfaction until we find it in Him, and Him alone. Sometimes I think we deserve our barrenness.
...is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? ~ 2 Kings 1:16
“Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD. People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint from thirst.” ~ Amos 8:11-13
And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. ~ Luke 1:80, of John the Baptist, the prophet who came with a word from the Lord after 400 years of Divine silence
Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. ~ Luke 3:2, of a “voice of one crying in the wilderness”
The Elijah List is a haven for a lot of charismatic screwheads who don’t think the Bible is quite sufficient as far as God’s Word goes. These shysters think we must have more. We must be current. We must be relevant. What we need here, people, is more Dr. Suess. Yes, Dr. Suess.
From the Elijah List I have just learned that Horton Hears a Who, far from being merely a clever, enjoyable children’s story, really contains God’s prophetic secret strategy for ending abortion. Now the plan is rather vague, but it has something to do with everyone screaming at the top of his lungs. It doesn’t say what we should bellow, or to whom. Whether we should scream individually or in unison is also unclear. What is clear is that Horton has big ears and a big nose. That, and Christians shouldn’t be Jo-Jos, because Jo-Jos are dubious, lazy characters, and almost as bad as Ho-Hos. Really, folks, God can't get this thing done unless we ALL yell.
Or how about this gem of a hyperlink?
CHUCK PIERCE: "The Pomegranate Represents HEALING, PROSPERITY, AND OVERCOMING!" (Get our Pomegranate Anointing Oil While Supplies Last!)
Yes, folks, if Dr. Suess ain't your thang, we can sell you some anointing oil or a painting or something.
Well-meaning prophets of Baal. Today they’re shrieking, tomorrow they’ll jump around wildly. Who knows, maybe they’ll go all the way and start cutting themselves.
What really bugs me is that I know people from my church take this crap seriously. I can’t believe it. No wonder there is no real vision or word from God. God has allowed us to suffer famine, to be destitute as we run to and fro looking for “words” on the internet and making a mockery of Theodor Geisel, trying to find something to tickle our ears and give us a little spiritual jolt. The God of all the universe loves us, but that doesn’t mean He’ll play our goofy word games or cram Himself into the graven images we've made.
I’m starting to think people would rather have miracles and prophecies and shiny pretty things than Jesus Christ Himself. We’d rather have a show than hear the unadulterated, pure Word of God. We are always looking to the next guest speaker, the next “now word,” the next mountaintop experience.
You know, the church deserves to be laughed at right now. I think Elijah would agree. He’d think his “list” is pure chicanery--he’d probably ask God to destroy the internet on its account.
Sometimes I think it serves us right to not find real satisfaction until we find it in Him, and Him alone. Sometimes I think we deserve our barrenness.
...is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? ~ 2 Kings 1:16
“Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD. People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint from thirst.” ~ Amos 8:11-13
And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. ~ Luke 1:80, of John the Baptist, the prophet who came with a word from the Lord after 400 years of Divine silence
Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. ~ Luke 3:2, of a “voice of one crying in the wilderness”
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Joshua 11:20
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ~ Joshua 11:20
Why didn’t God overthrow the nations Himself, as He did the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, instead of partnering with Israel over an extensive period of time?
So His chosen ones could learn to trust Him, to see that God was for them.
God calls us. God chooses us. He puts His word in our hearts and a sword in our hands. The amazing thing about the story of redemption is that God includes us in His eternal work and purposes. And it is not for His benefit or because He needs our help, but for our good, because we need help.
Why didn’t God overthrow the nations Himself, as He did the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, instead of partnering with Israel over an extensive period of time?
So His chosen ones could learn to trust Him, to see that God was for them.
God calls us. God chooses us. He puts His word in our hearts and a sword in our hands. The amazing thing about the story of redemption is that God includes us in His eternal work and purposes. And it is not for His benefit or because He needs our help, but for our good, because we need help.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Deuteronomy 30:11-15
For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.
Foreknowledge of Flimmydiddles (Deuteronomy 31:16-21)
It’s disarming. God goes to all the trouble of bringing the people out of Egypt, performing miracles and providing for them all along the way, leads them through the wilderness, and gives them this beautiful law, a torah to let them know how to live and love each other, and then at this point in the account He reveals His awareness that the people would not be faithful to Him after they were safe and settled in the blessings He provided. The Lord knew this all along, yet He still went to all the trouble.
Who can understand this? Who would marry himself to a woman he knew beforehand would be unfaithful to him?
At times like this it’s hard to know whether to be encouraged or just plain baffled. This much is clear: God works to make a habitation with mankind for His own sake, not because man is deserving or righteous or faithful.
The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ~ Deuteronomy 7:7, 8
...but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you. ~ Deuteronomy 23:5
Who can understand this? Who would marry himself to a woman he knew beforehand would be unfaithful to him?
At times like this it’s hard to know whether to be encouraged or just plain baffled. This much is clear: God works to make a habitation with mankind for His own sake, not because man is deserving or righteous or faithful.
The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ~ Deuteronomy 7:7, 8
...but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you. ~ Deuteronomy 23:5
Sunday, March 09, 2008
I’ve heard a lot of preachers compare the graven images and false idols of the Bible to modern idolatries. When I’ve considered my besetting sins, I’ve thought of myself bowing down before an Ashera figure or the Temple of Aphrodite or something. But right now I can’t think of a single Scriptural instance where it says the people hated their idolatries. There was an absence of conflict, apparently: they went a-whoring with their whole hearts.
With me not so, Roderigo. Maybe I am a heathen, but I am a torn heathen. I hate my vices.
With me not so, Roderigo. Maybe I am a heathen, but I am a torn heathen. I hate my vices.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Deuteronomy 13:4
You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Little by Little
I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ~ Exodus 23:29
The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you. ~ Deuteronomy 7:22
“Nothing can be done except little by little.” ~ Charles Baudelaire
People want everything to be instant, but change cannot come in a moment. God calls us to cooperation in His purposes, to be yoked with Him in the work of the Kingdom, but for a long haul, for a process of transformation. I do not refer to healing or miracles, but to “possessing the land,” to moving into God’s plan and purpose in our lives–-getting to the place He has called us to be the people He desires.
The “peoples” that surround us, the “nations” He will dispossess before us, the weights and besetting sins and pains and inner idolatries are not all swept away instantly. As much as we want it to go that way, it can never be.
We enter the land step by step, moment by moment, a little at a time.
The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you. ~ Deuteronomy 7:22
“Nothing can be done except little by little.” ~ Charles Baudelaire
People want everything to be instant, but change cannot come in a moment. God calls us to cooperation in His purposes, to be yoked with Him in the work of the Kingdom, but for a long haul, for a process of transformation. I do not refer to healing or miracles, but to “possessing the land,” to moving into God’s plan and purpose in our lives–-getting to the place He has called us to be the people He desires.
The “peoples” that surround us, the “nations” He will dispossess before us, the weights and besetting sins and pains and inner idolatries are not all swept away instantly. As much as we want it to go that way, it can never be.
We enter the land step by step, moment by moment, a little at a time.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
...Wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground...
A painful evening. Tonight I ran into Inscrutable Girl, and her mother, and her boyfriend, all of whom represent an agonizing couple of pages in the history of my life. At first I was near panic, and in fact I made fast tracks out of the WalMart where the two of us made the realization and quickly looked away to avoid the awkwardness of each other’s eyes.
But I felt her like hot lead in my soul.
I went outside and got in the car and began to pray. When I got home, I went into the back field and looked up at the stars, and shook with crying, and prayed some more.
Nothing is unknown to the God of all the universe. I told Him I love Him more than my family. I told Him I love Him more than Inscrutable Girl. I told Him nothing on earth will satisfy my love for Him. And I told Him I will always love Him. I am an alien and a stranger. He has a friend in the earth.
I had a beautiful, heart-rending, awful, intimate moment with God. And maybe that was His purpose this evening.
Last night I was missing my father quite a bit while looking at a couple of photos that hang on our bedroom wall. One is very iconic in terms of how I remember Dad, and I thought I’d post it here. It was taken at his ordination; he's the one playing the guitar. The character in the center of the photo is Wade Taylor, through whom the Lord made His calling apparent in my life.
Which leads to another prayer in the field awhile ago. I prayed that God would make me a burning bush, a heart aflame through whom He can call others to His purposes, for His glory. These are important times. There are no mistakes.
But I felt her like hot lead in my soul.
I went outside and got in the car and began to pray. When I got home, I went into the back field and looked up at the stars, and shook with crying, and prayed some more.
Nothing is unknown to the God of all the universe. I told Him I love Him more than my family. I told Him I love Him more than Inscrutable Girl. I told Him nothing on earth will satisfy my love for Him. And I told Him I will always love Him. I am an alien and a stranger. He has a friend in the earth.
I had a beautiful, heart-rending, awful, intimate moment with God. And maybe that was His purpose this evening.
Last night I was missing my father quite a bit while looking at a couple of photos that hang on our bedroom wall. One is very iconic in terms of how I remember Dad, and I thought I’d post it here. It was taken at his ordination; he's the one playing the guitar. The character in the center of the photo is Wade Taylor, through whom the Lord made His calling apparent in my life.
Which leads to another prayer in the field awhile ago. I prayed that God would make me a burning bush, a heart aflame through whom He can call others to His purposes, for His glory. These are important times. There are no mistakes.
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