Our Fire-tending God

I had a hurried time in the Word one day this week, catching just a few snatches, a short Psalm, but even a few snatches are powerful when the Spirit applies them to the heart.  I read Psalm 93:

“The LORD reigns…the world is established; it shall never be moved…The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods lift up their roaring!! 
Mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!  Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.” 

And I scribbled these words in my journal before scooting off to breakfast and on with the day: How will this truth live in my thoughts and actions today and bring life to damaged belief systems?

I struggle with varied nagging fears.  It is my nature not to trust completely and to feel instead that it’s up to me to insure my well-being, and that of those I love.  This is problematic when circumstances are clearly outside my control!  I have been thinking about these things and on this particular day I got a little object lesson in how senseless and peace-robbing my fears are, and how trustworthy and holy-making is God’s Word at work in my heart.

Jim was burning brush in the backyard—a great mound of it left from his landscaping work… It has been so very dry here this summer. Fire bans were in effect while forest fires raged in record breaking ways nearby. But the rain has returned and cooler temperatures allow for burning once again. Still there is always a risk. And the crackling of fire, the smoke, the consciousness of its heat and potential make me wary... Well, so I took lunch out to Jim as he stood sentinel by his blazing inferno.  And we sat together at a short distance to eat. But I could not relax, could not enter into our usual discussion of life and faith… I kept straining to see if the fire was within its parameters and had not reached to lick up dry grass and spread out of control...It wasn't my job. Jim was in charge. He was mindful. (And he is after all a trained fire fighter!)  But I felt an undue responsibility and it robbed me of a peaceful lunch and  meaningful conversation. But I recognized it, and that’s a start. 

Well, the day was too lovely to be holed up indoors so after lunch I brought my current project out to sit and keep Jim company--stitching a pine needle basket. There’s nothing quite so peaceful and therapeutic, especially on such a day when there’s  just enough sun to be warm and enough cool to feel refreshed, enough autumn in the air to luxuriate in the remains of summer!  A perfectly restful idea, EXCEPT for the presence of that crackling blazing fire. 

Could I actually relax and attend to MY business and let Jim attend to his as if there were no fire crackling nearby, no smoke lazily rising, no threat of catching the world on fire! I almost chose to stay inside rather than wrestle with my fears. 

It seems a silly example but for my heart it was a moment to rest in  a bigger reality. God is the Fire-tender. (He is Himself a consuming fire!). His domain reaches infinitely beyond my own. He has given me a calling within it along with its attendant duties; these are my domain. He intends for me to carry them out at peace with the world--to stay calm and carry on, so to speak, to mind my own business, looking to Him for the wherewithal to do so and let Him mind His. When I do my task with inner peace and quiet joy, confident in His superintending care, I honor Him as a very good King. I am a subject; He the King. How blessed are the subjects of a wise King, as Queen Sheba commented in observing King Solomon’s impressive court.   And what  glory contented subjects bring to their King.

And with these thoughts fed by the morning’s reading of the Word, I sat and stitched…and let the fire be somebody else’s business.  The LORD reigns.  Forever.  Period.  The noise of a flood (or a fire!) may be in my ears, but HE reigns.  It can do no harm but what He allows.  This was a relevant object lesson for me.  I can trust Him to manage the fires in my life—the burning away of dross, the disciplining of His children for the sake of our holiness.  My response?  I can REJOICE in GOD even as I tremble at His Word.  Abiding in Him I can ask, knock, and seek,  confident that He hears, that He knows, and that He will grant what is in line with His purposes.  There is great peace in such an arrangement.

If you were to ask Jim whether I have fully learned this lesson of trust, he would let you know I’m still querying him about the smoke drifting past the window as the roots continue to burn day and night…I still remind him to check on things (as if he needed my reminder), and to be honest, I’m still a little on edge about this fire business in the back yard. I’ll be relieved when it has burned itself out completely.   But there it is, my object lesson about needless fears.  Were God only a consuming fire and not perfect LOVE, were I not His by means of a covenant He established and I have entered into by faith, I would do well to fear the FIRE.  But as it is, He is committed to my good, bringing all that He is to the task, for His glory’s sake.  He is a covenant keeping God.  I can rest in this… and go on stitching my little pine needle baskets to His glory…

So whatever you are doing today, do it to the glory of God—with quiet confidence that He reigns in all the raging world around, as you fulfill His purposes for you in the here and now.

--LS

“…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God…” Rom. 5:1,2

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Rom.5:11

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” Rom.5:17

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,  keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Jude 1:20-21

Manna for now

The sheets are swishing in the washing machine. Toast and tea, ‘Honey Bunches’ and blueberries fill my belly. Friday’s newspaper is strewn on the living room floor. Remnants of school work--civics papers, a life science text-- are plunked about the room. All awaiting clean-up. Here it is, Saturday and I’ve missed my self-imposed deadline for posting.  I’ve been thinking about manna all week… wrestling with its implications.  Considering what happens when manna is not enough. Likening that to the craze for ‘more’ that so often parades as spirituality…and studying this allegory of desert living vs. entering the Promised Land.  I haven’t resolved all the questions in my mind but I’ll offer you my thoughts for what they’re worth… (and please know, I welcome yours in return!)*

What got me thinking about manna in the first place?  It was this question of what do we hope for and where these hopes can take us that got me thinking about the Israelites in the desert.  Their hearts were set on things they did not have, giving rise to cravings that were not in keeping with God’s agenda for them at that time.  They always seemed to want more than what God had given.

Take for example the manna.  It was a miraculous daily provision perfectly suited to sustain them for their temporary travel through the wilderness.  It was tasty. It came when they needed it, in just the right quantity. It was never stale, always fresh.  But it got boring, ‘same old’. Instead of gathering it each morning in grateful awe they succumbed to craving more. "Oh that we had meat to eat!" they complained.

Is this so very different from the modern distaste for the written Word of God?  In liberal teaching it’s received with skepticism as the ‘product of human culture’ that must be rightly interpreted by those ‘in the know’ and never taken too seriously or held too dearly. Those who do are thought superstitious ignoramouses.  In hyper-charismatic teaching God’s written Word has become passé, not meriting serious study.  What’s needed is new revelation, something different, something more powerful, more relevant, more meaningful to me, today. Those who study and  rely on the written Word with zeal are called ‘Pharisees’.

But getting back to the wilderness story...why this propensity to want more?  I suppose the roots lie in our natures.  Firstly, we were made for ‘more than this’.  We were designed to live in Eden, walking and talking with God.  Instead we live in an accursed world, the realm of a wicked prince… But secondly, this craving for more is inherent in us as fallen creatures. Wanting more is part of possessing a carnal nature.  We shan’t shake it till we truly live in Paradise.  But we can deny it its desires.  We can short-circuit its cravings. 

The ‘children of Israel’ demonstrate how NOT to do this.  They entertained thoughts of the ‘good old days’ in Egypt—of the melons and cucumbers…They looked back to bondage instead of forward to the promised land flowing with milk and honey and they decided they were being treated badly.  Their discontent matured into whining and the results were disastrous.

Fire fell, consuming many. Meat was granted, but with it 'leanness of soul'. (Ps.106:15) God saw their attitudes as 'rejecting the Lord who is among you'. They were not merely disdaining the 'same old thing' for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they were rejecting the sufficiency of God's provision. So He granted them their carnal desires. They got meat, till it made them sick! And with it came a great plague. The place became known as Kibroth-hattaavah, "graves of craving". And their story was written down for all posterity to heed.

What if instead of bemoaning their misfortunes they had actually believed better things were coming and then set their minds on them, in patient hope?  What if they had chosen to live as if this wilderness lifestyle was short-term? What if they had set their eyes on the place God was leading them instead of the here and now?  Our desires will be fueled or controlled according to our mindsets.  “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom. 8:6 What we have our hearts set on as needful for happiness will determine whether we find satisfaction or discontent in this lifetime. Fulfillment or futility.

The deep significance of this manna that God provided becomes clearer in the New Testament when Jesus likens HIMSELF to the manna that came down from Heaven. (Jn.6) He invites his followers to eat of him and find life. The manna is a type of Christ's life given for our sustenance. No wonder rejecting it was so significant! Jesus is God's answer to man's need, still. There is no other source of life. There is nothing more.  What are we saying when we demand more than this? When we clamor for heaven on earth? When we pout over temporary trials? When we bank on satisfaction in this lifetime. We have already been given eternal life! This life is in the Son and it is abundant though not in the way the world defines.  We may live in poverty, traipsing about in sheepskins, hated and jeered (imagine!) but we will still be loved, indwelt by God Himself, provided everything needed for godliness.  Is this enough or must we have… physical comfort? happiness? prosperity? plenty? Something MORE?! What do we treasure most? That's where our hearts will be.

It’s popular Christian thinking that we can ‘have it all’,  but Esau underlines the trade-off we make in so thinking.  You remember, he came in hungry from the hunt and smelled that savory pot of stew cooking.  He told himself he’d died if he didn’t have some.  There was no patient waiting for him.  He must have it now.  And he traded his future hope, his very birthright, for a pot of soup, thus meriting the description of ‘immoral and godless’, since he ‘for one morsel of meat sold his birthright’.  So silly he seems from our vantage point.  But do I too suffer from this same short-sightedness?  What do I really want?  It will show in the little choices I make day to day.

I am literally quite short-sighted, and even this part of my vision is failing with age.  This makes it hard to appreciate things far-off (without corrective lenses).  Life can become very small when we see this way.  I think this is what has happened to the Body of Christ as well.  With, post-War prosperity came a satisfaction with this world’s things.  And talk of the soon return of Jesus and of Heaven was supplanted by strategies to be whole and happy in this lifetime.  Varying strains of Christianity took this up to varying degrees and with differing emphases, but overall, we stopped seeing death as an entrance into Life and we stopped singing songs about heaven and eagerly waiting for Jesus to come back…

By contrast Jesus lived consciously to fulfill God’s plan for Him on this earth but never as if it were his only chance at life.  Then he submitted to  an ‘untimely’ death (think of all the people he could have healed had he prolonged his ministry years!).  He endured the deprivations of this lifetime and the tortures of dying ‘for the joy set before Him’. Heb.12:2 There was purpose in it all.  He learned obedience through the things He suffered. He postponed the taste of glory for the cross, humbling himself even to death. In the same way, we are called to live purposefully and faithfully now in the midst of thwarted desires and inevitable misfortunes with a mind set on the hopes of eternity.  Only with such a mindset can we hope to escape the allurements for ‘more’ that creep in on every side, even masquerading as spiritual notions.  Only in this way will we avoid falling for deceptions that always appeal to our unmet desires.

Think about it, this is the lethal draw of illicit romance, of cults, and of every false teaching. Each in its own way tells us what we wanted to hear, leads us to believe things that we want to be true, and in so doing distracts or even derails us from the purposes of God for our life in the here and now, with a view to the hereafter. 

Deception is deceptive. It looks good, sounds true, makes us feel alive—but it has nothing to offer the one who’s satisfied in Jesus. God’s provision of His Son, the Word made flesh, and His written Word, the revelation and record of His Son, will get us through the wilderness of this lifetime.  It is enough.  When the Israelites saw the flakes of manna like snow fallen from heaven they asked, ‘What is it?’  Jesus answers… ‘This is my body, broken for you.’  Take eat. Lk 22:19 ‘Whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.’ (Jn.6:57)  Here’s a hope we can count on.  And oh the places we will go!

--LS

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. I Pet.1:13

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

So, dear brothers and sisters,  work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
II Pet.1:3-11

"But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” II Peter3:13

[* Your comments are always welcomed, and always read  ]

High Hopes

I find myself some days lately feeling unaccountably glum. The sun may be shining, the birds calling in search of mates, buds blooming and everything running otherwise smoothly in my little world, but there's this underlying glumness… How come?

As Rachel counts down the days till she can fly this nest for greater things, I take stock of my purpose in life! I wonder what cause there will be to get out of bed when homeschooling no longer calls us to be up and at it… What is the purpose of life without kids? That question too crosses my mind and I voice it to Jim, my voice quavering…

We're doing a study these days on applying the Gospel to life. This week's lesson is on idolatry. There are statements here to shake me out of just picturing gold-covered Hindu gods, into considering whether I have set my heart on idols—anything besides Jesus that I feel I must have in order to be happy, whether a thing or a person, a role or an ability. Where have I set my hopes?

Could this glum sagging of joy mean that I've been counting on something other than Jesus for my joy? Have I let my calling become my God?

Take this statement for instance:

"Every self exists in relation to values perceived as making life worth living. A value is anything good in the created order—any idea, relation, object or person in which one has an interest, from which one derives significance…These values compete…in time one is prone to choose a center of value by which other values are judged. When a finite value has been elevated to centrality and imagined as a final source of meaning, then one has chosen…a god…One has a god when a finite value is…viewed as that without which one cannot receive life joyfully." Thomas Oden, Two Worlds: Notes on the Death of Modernity in America and Russia, IVP,1992, 94-96

Over all these years I've found significance and life purpose in my calling as a mother schooling her own children at home. I've found great satisfaction in it despite the overwhelming challenge at times. That's all about to change. The sense of loss leaves me feeling glum some days. The unknown prospects looming seem alternately intimidating and exciting. Today, I'm excited. New ideas are brewing…new hopes.

But that's just it, my point. Hopes. What are my hopes? Must I really just scramble for another temporary job description in order to restore my joy? Or is this my opportunity to make sure my hope is ultimately set in God and whatever His calling and purposes are for my life at any given stage. If I'm counting on anything else, there is reason to feel deflated!

What do I want, besides 'just' God? And how badly do I want it? Health, 'successful' children, a comfortable income, freedom from pain, longevity, eternal youth?! Are these my expectations? If my hope is set on any of these, as needful for joy, it's misplaced.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick," Solomon said. False hopes, like false gods, will never satisfy. They're all temporary. They will always leave us heart-sick. Change comes and knocks them out from under us. Then what? Only God is a rock unchanging. David points us in the right direction as he confronts his own glumness:

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Ps.42:11

As believers we are people destined in this lifetime to live on hope, to set our minds on things above, not the stuff of here and now (Col.3:2). Our salvation itself is vested in a future hope, not yet seen. We don't have it all now. We aren't intended to. I've been memorizing Romans 8 little by little with Rachel and we've come to the verses on hope—strong reminders that the best is yet to come—the glory, the Kingdom, the redemption of our bodies—these are all future tense. Meanwhile creation groans, we groan, and even the Spirit groans on our behalf. And we wait, eagerly, and patiently, sustained by the inseparable love of God.

And in this waiting we seek the interests of the Kingdom first and we seek God's heart, in hopes that He will make His desires our own and conform our desires to His. And this mother's heart imagines what it would be to have the grandkids near enough to pop by Grandmom's house and feed the chickens, pet the dog, have a cookie from that never-empty tin atop the fridge, or make some "Heavenly Biscuits" together… Wouldn't it be great to make an alphabet book together and have first reading lessons, or just to sit and read beautiful picture books…* and I share with God my hopes, but refuse to set my heart upon them. I will trust Him with whatever my future holds. Herein is peace, and purpose. Yes, and joy! Because cultivating a patient, meek and thankful heart, deeply contented with whatever God provides is likely the best prophylactic for idolatry.

I close with Martin Luther's thoughts on idolatry:

"All those who do not at all times trust God and do not in all their works or sufferings, life and death, trust in his favor, grace and good-will, but seek His favor in other things or in themselves, do not keep this [First] Commandment, and practice real idolatry…" from A Treatise on Good Works, PartX,18

--LS

"…we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in his hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Rom.8:22-26

P.S. I still regularly check out picture books from the library, a habit I can’t quite give up. For those of you blessed with children near at hand, don’t miss reading this week’s find:The Gardener, by Sarah Stewart. illus. by David Small. It’s  a perfect story for springtime. See more here.

A Peace of My Mind

The morning fire wards off night’s chill, as I sit all nestled in my blankies, with tea and toast, chewing on morsels of the Word.  I’m reflecting on this peace Jesus came to bring, this peace that seems more elusive than ever at the very season that celebrates ‘peace on earth, good will to men’. 

You know the fluster, the pressure—presents to buy, cards to send (which hopefully will include a re-cap of the whole year and a picture of the whole family, right?), parties to attend (or host!), baking to do, meals to plan, shopping and more shopping for that other ingredient, that little extra, that perfect stocking stuffer—These are the surface things.  That’s not to mention the underlying loneliness, grief and sadness that the memories of Christmases past may evoke for those whose dear ones won’t be coming home this year or others with no home to come to…

It’s a season in desperate need of peace.  At my house too.  So I sit here morning by morning, determined not to be too busy for this—and I chew on the Word, beautiful words-- Zechariah’s prophecy over his son, for example, who will

‘give knowledge of salvation to his people, in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ Lk.1:79 

My feet need such guidance! 

I know, ultimately the peace Jesus came to offer is reconciliation to a Holy God, a removal of enmity between us, a bringing us near, adoption, Sonship. These are awesome realities we are never meant to take for granted. But do they percolate through the way I live from day-to-day, especially in the pressure-cooker seasons of life? Am I at peace in my scurryings around to ‘make Christmas’? Must I even scurry?  Just the sound of the word makes me feel rushed!

There are so many things Christmas ends up meaning: the party, the baking, the music, the pressure of gifts not yet bought, not yet thought of!  All these things vie to outdo the one thing that is needful—O come let us adore Him, Jesus Christ the Lord.  I get this when I’m quiet in the mornings and the day’s cares aren’t yet on my plate, but in the hustle and bustle? in the middle of the ‘to do' list?  How do I maintain that peace?  This is what I want for Christmas, the whole season through, this peace that passes human understanding, that guards my heart like a nutcracker sentry. 

How does that happen? What does the Word tell me? “Keep in step with the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”  I hadn’t thought of anxiety and irritability as lusts of the flesh. And that demanding everything to be ‘just right’ may be an unruly desire… These may be part of the ‘spirit of Christmas’ but they’re certainly not fruits of the Spirit! 

Love, joy, peace…ahhh these are the things I truly want.  Mary sat at Jesus feet adoring, attentive to His Words.  Martha scurried about preparing, heedless of the moments she was missing.  Too rushed to listen in on the conversation. Petulant that Mary wouldn’t help her.  It wasn’t wrong of her to fix a meal, to serve, or even to plan a party. It was wrong to lose sight of what would most please her Guest of honor.  Most of all He wanted to spend time with her. Jesus always had time for people.

Every year at this time I tread this fine edge between imitating Mary and Martha.  But I see now the advantage I have over Martha. She did not possess the indwelling Spirit of God.  Being a God of order, not confusion; of peace, not pandemonium, (I Cor.14:33) I can rest assured that he will guide my steps in the way of peace. He will give direct in all the planning and doing of what is really needful, as I keep an ear open for His direction and re-direction!  As I keep my eyes open for the people in my path who need the peace He would exude through me, or perhaps just a ride into town?! Or a visit over lunch?!  These are opportunities I have already missed in my hurrying. (I’m grateful for forgiveness and fresh chances) So  I press on, intent on ‘keeping the peace’ for the rest of the season. 

My reminders:

Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Gal.5:16)

“…but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom.8:5,6

Rejoice in the Lord always…(He’s is the Lord after all. Not I. Relax!) Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil.4:4-6

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Is.26:3

These verses embody my Christmas wish for you and me:

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Col.3:14-17

May all we do be wrapped up in love,
flowing from a heart at peace (regulated by Jesus, our Pace-maker) and saturated with His Word. 
Then our souls will sing as we go.   
And may everything we do and say reflect Jesus’ rule in our hearts as Prince of Peace and God with us.

Then we will overflow with thanksgiving for God’s love, God’s peace and God’s Word--all gifts to us at Christmas.

“For God so loved the world that He gave us his Son…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...for He Himself is our Peace.” Jn.3:16,Jn.1:14,Eph.2:14

Peace be with you and yours this Christmas time.

--LS

Why You are Discouraged

I 'tuned in' online to a short sound-bite on "Wretched TV" * which has kept me ruminating all week. It had the innocuous title: "Why You are Discouraged". I don't know what explanation I was expecting. But this wasn't it. Have you ever considered the connection between discouragement and idolatry?! I hadn't either. But consider this…

Cutting right to the point, Todd Friel posed the question: "Are you discouraged because your idol has not come to fruition." Huh? My idol? I may be a little discouraged because I want to see certain things happen/or not, in my church, or in my family, or in my own life but…idolatry?! He explained it this way: When the things that we desire move beyond wants to needs, demands, "I gotta' have it!", our desires--legitimate though they may be, have become idols…

Then came this sermon clip by Rev. J.Ligon Duncan:

"In disappointment and discouragement we are tempted to succumb to idolatry". Why? Because "we are tempted to think that there is a greater treasure that has been withheld or taken from us than what God has or can give to us."

Oh. Wow. Sounds like the Garden--luscious fruit, strong desire, subtle temptation to doubt God's intent and goodness, and Zammo! I think I wanna' be in charge! Red Flag—who's going to be god here? Is that what is happening when things don't seem to be working out just as I'd like to see? But they're good things, 'right' things, surely God wants them too… However, I reveal my heart's loyalties when the deferment or denial of my longings plunges me into deep disappointment and discouragement. When what I want (and I think God wants) becomes what I must have to be happy. When I withhold whole-hearted joy-filled worship of God because I'm just not quite satisfied with what He's doing/not doing for me…well something's up. And that something may just be called idolatry!

Todd put it something like this: How is discouragement related to idolatry? If you are worshiping God with all your heart, soul and mind, it doesn't matter if you get x,y, or z you already have the best thing that there is! But when we practically forget the Gospel, we will set up other things as idols and take Jesus off the throne…

Hmm… it’s worth thinking about.  You can view the whole 2 minute clip for yourself HERE.

Peter too reminds us that an effective and fruitful faith is contingent on remembering what we have been saved from, while not losing sight of the hope we are called to. (II Pet.1:8-11) We have after all, been brought into fellowship with the Creator of the universe who supplies our every need and lives His life through us…When we hang onto this LIVING God, by faith, idols lose their luster. They can't deliver the comfort, the significance, the security, or the HELP!! we need. They weren't designed to. When we forget this we will end up discouraged.

Have we succumbed to that original temptation to believe that God's holding out on us? Not giving us what we most want and need? Withholding the best from us…and it’s up to us to ‘get a life’ as best we can? Billy Joel gives this impression of God in his catchy tune: "Only the Good Die Young" as if to do things God's way were to miss out on life. Does that make sense?

If God is the author of life and the giver of every good gift (Ja.1:17), can we not trust that He will do for us all that is best and in the perfect timing? Can we not trust that the boundaries He sets, the 'good things' He denies, the race and its pace that He sets for each of us (Heb.12:1) is ALL for our greatest good and His highest glory? Billy Joel is wrong.

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." (Ps.84:11) He is the one who "satisfies with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."(Ps.103:5)

To believe otherwise sets us up to fall for idols--to grasp at straws in search of a more effective strategy for getting our will done, (or His will done our way!?). These idols won't be carved statues probably. Others may not recognize them. But when we go searching for 'something more' than what God has provided for life and godliness in the knowledge of Him, (II Pet.1) whether it be a more dynamic 'spirituality' or a magic key to success and favor, we are following in the error of the Israelites who could never rest content for long with their own God and were always looking to gain something by following the customs of the nations around them. They had the same problem we do. They wanted something they could see. They wanted worship that felt good. They exchanged the glory of their immortal, invisible, holy God for man-made images. (Rom.1:23) They worshiped in ways that were an abomination to their God. And they missed out on the worship they were created for.

God saw and ached for their return. I’ve been reading Jeremiah lately with its poignant passages on idolatry, from God's point of view:

"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jer.2:13

Thus says the LORD: "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after (vanity) worthlessness, and became worthless?" Jer.2:5

Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?" Jer.8:19

"…they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart and after Baalim" Jer.9:14

What a grief idolatry brings, to our hearts and God’s.

More next time, on spotting the culprit, and by God’s grace being done with it!

--LS

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. I Jn.5:20,21

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Have you met Todd Friel of Wretched TV?

This conservative Christian radio/TV talk show host always has something provocative/ witty/ insightful to say.  Defending the Word of God and the unadulterated Gospel is his passion. Short daily blurbs cover a range of issues—sample his sound bites at YouTube.

Not for Keeps

Listen to this sound reasoning. (I’m still reading in Judges)  Here the Ammonites are, itching to go to war against Israel to reclaim some lost territory, and Jephthah runs them through a short history lesson, reminding them of their defeat many years before and concluding with these words… “Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.” (Judges 11:24) I like that! 

I’ve been thinking lately that contentment is the very safest place to be, contentment with whatever the Lord chooses to provide. After all, He knows me better than I know me. He loves me better too. He knows the desires of my heart when I’m not sure I even know what I want. And He’s committed to my best good all my days. What He gives me I’ll possess. And in truth, we have inherited a FORTUNE! We are of all people most fortunate:

And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O LORD, became their God. I Chr.17:21,22

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? Deut.4:7

The tricky part is when the possession is not ‘for keeps’. Few things are in this lifetime. We had a pastor years back who always reminded us to hold everything God gives in an open hand. Receive it with gratitude, enjoy it to the full, but don’t demand that it be yours for keeps. We are managers. God is the rightful owner. He would hold out his hand with an open palm to illustrate.

I’m holding out mine this morning… returning a gift I’ve enjoyed immensely for 8 years—a gift that has opened up my world to endless retreats and vistas, to unforgettable moments with God in His creation, enabling me to get beyond the self-conscious insecurity of being ‘out there’ alone and to enjoy the quiet-- listening for God’s still small voice and giving no thought to my ‘alone-ness’. What a gift. What a Gift-giver! His was more than the gift of a mere dog; in giving me Louie He has taken my heart on a journey to Himself with every trail we’ve walked together. This has been a sweet season of fellowship with the Giver Himself.

And now, I must trust Him for the next leg of my journey. Today is but a bend in the trail I cannot see beyond. But mine is the Good Shepherd—he never grows old or debilitated, never changes, never fails.

He is the God who sees. Jehovah-jireh, which I’ve always understood to mean God Provides, literally means “Jehovah SEES”. He ‘looks after’ what concerns me. He takes note of everything—whether Abraham about to sacrifice his only son,(Gen.22:14) or Ishmael’s mother-to-be banished to the desert, (Gen.16:13,14)…or little old me bereft of my hiking companion and feeling that my big wide world has suddenly become restricted territory, my most delightful freedom lost…

I am reminding myself today of God’s good Hand—

For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Ps.84:11

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Mt.7:11) This is not talking about hiking companions but the ultimate Companion, the person of the Holy Spirit himself, mine for the asking, mine forever. How a dog’s death pales in comparison to the privilege of being in the care of such a One…

My God shall supply all Your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil.4:19) It’s not about my needs for my pleasure, but my needs for His service. What new direction does God intend to turn me. What’s beyond this bend in the trail? I can’t say; but His supply will be there.

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Ps. 34:9,10 Well, that covers just about everything. What more could I want? Should I want more?

So…as I vacuum up last dog hairs, and collect my thoughts and all the dog things—the brush, the leash, the blanket, the memories…I will hope through the tears for good things yet to come, for new seasons, new growth, new trails with my Good Shepherd. And I will thank Him for all his good gifts--the forever ones and the ones that are so very sweet, but not for keeps. He is my Father. He knows what’s best.

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.” (Ps. 36:7-9)



--LS


“So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” (Gen.16:13)

Fresh Joy!

“The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord.” Is.29:19

Fresh Joy-- I love those words.  Fresh--like doughnuts fresh-baked first thing in the morning, after working an all-night shift... [thanks to my son for that word picture].  Or if you prefer, fresh home-baked bread hot from the oven...Fresh!  I have found fresh joy repeatedly this week and each time it has come upon me rather unexpectedly.  Joy is like that I think--like a butterfly that eludes capture but then when you least expect it may come to light on your shoulder.  A curious sparrow came flitting up to me just that way as I was having a quiet sit in the sunshine one day this week.  Unexpected. And just as quickly it flitted away when I  reacted to it startling me!  Joy is not so flighty thankfully but it does take me by surprise sometimes.


OK, so having recognized that the best growth happens in a context of restful faith, (see "Calmed and Quieted"), I set out to rest this week--not to stress about my state (or that of those I feel responsible for)...but to trust that God has it all under control.  Nearly fell on my face Day 1...overwhelmed, discouraged by a tutorial on a skill I'm trying to learn.  I read too far, too fast and my new-found hope and confidence that 'I can' was quickly eroded.  A little pilot project became a daunting thing.  I was paralyzed into spending an evening opening and closing instruction books, getting out papers, prototype pictures, paints, putting them away and finally making some messy doodles that confirmed my worst fears: "I can't"... Bedtime found me journaling to myself (This is a writer's form of talking to oneself, only it doesn't make you look as crazy, if 'looks' count!).  And the Spirit seemed to blow in gently, thoughts that balanced and stabilized my own.  Practical, hopeful ideas.  And I fell asleep at peace...


Next morning I was mulling over this process of growth that seems to be a coupling of intentional practices with the provision of Divine interventions.  I am, in fact, working my way through two books right now that complement each other on this very topic.  Authentic Faith  majors on what Thomas terms the 'authentic disciplines'--things God brings into our lives to grow us.  And Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice (Willard) puts its focus on the means we can use to make growth intentional.  (One day when I have digested both, maybe I'll have more to say on the mysterious 'mechanics' of growth.) But one thing stood out as I considered this-- the necessity of faith as a starting point.  When I view myself (or my 'charges') as my responsibility to 'fix' through some application of  'discipline' it takes me right out of that 'calmed and quieted' state. I must do 'something', anything, at least keep anxious watch, sit on the alert growling...And suddenly the focus is all wrong.  Who am I watching? Who am I trusting?


One day I sat reading the incident of Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14).  He was fine until his focus turned to himself and the impossibility of this thing he was called to do: "Come."  Initially He believed and walked on water.  Then he looked around in disbelief and started sinking.  Jesus' words cut right to my heart:  "Why did you doubt?", as though he was waiting for my answer.   And I knew.  It was, "because I looked at me out here and thought, 'Who am I to be doing this?!  What am I doing out here in this?!'"


Who am I?  Wrong question. Dangerous focus.   Meanwhile, the disciples back in the boat were fixated on Jesus and had quite another reaction.  "They worshiped Him", saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."  As long as I am self-conscious and feel responsible, there will be no rest, no joy, no faith. (I think  one of the greatest joys of heaven will be self-forgetfulness!)  But when I look at who He is and trust In Him it's a whole 'nother story: "For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name." (Ps.33) Quiet joy entered in the knowing.


"Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!" (I Chronicles 16:10) 


I was re-reading Abraham's story in Romans 4 and noticed another possible reaction to this looking-at-myself business.  It was said of Abraham that  "he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead... "  Now remember, he's been waiting for literally YEARS for God to make His promise good and give him a son.  But he looks at himself and actually grows stronger in faith. How's that?! It says, "no distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as He gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised." --Rom.4:19,20  Abraham's faith wasn't hindered in considering his own weakness because it only served to highlight the incredibleness of God's promise!  Can my weakness do that?  Can I consider who I am in all my limitations and let it fuel praise to my amazing God?  Yes, I fall short of His glory and yet  "I am justified by His grace as a gift...to be received through faith." (Rom.3:23-24) And I am now clothed in His righteousness. "He made Him who knew no sin to be made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (IICor.5:21) I came away from meditating on these things with an old song dancing through my heart, fresh joy springing up. I haven't heard it in YEARS. If you know it sing along:

A Friend I have, called Jesus, Whose love is strong and true,
And never fails howe'er tis tried, No matter what I do;
I've sinned against this love of His, But when I knelt to pray,
Confessing all my guilt to Him, The sin-clouds rolled away.

[Now the wind-up for the lilting, joyful chorus...wish you could hear it sung this way...I only managed to find a you-tube piano accompaniment that is rather staid and a little slow.  It lacks the lilt of  a robust hymn sing,  but the words and tune are here.  You can sing along and add the 'spark'  yourself!

It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away,
It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day,
It's just like Jesus all along the way,
It's just like His great love.

Let me give you one more verse:

Sometimes the clouds of trouble Bedim the sky above,
I cannot see my Saviour's face, I doubt His wondrous love;
But He, from Heaven's mercy seat, Beholding my despair,
In pity bursts the clouds between, And shows me He is there.*

I love that!  Fresh joy!


Hurrying through my Bible study lesson on contentment another afternoon this week, I turned to Isaiah 29 and found this gem: "The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord." The meek.  This is the one that gets in His yoke (as per Matt.11:28-30), watches Jesus demonstrate what Kingdom living is like,  and walks confidently with Him while He takes me there .  There's joy here as well as rest.  


As I  sit leafing through the pages of my week I am so impressed at God's quiet interventions--through His Word mostly, bringing to life the thoughts I need to hear, injecting faith and inspiring fresh joy. It's really quite amazing how He walks with us so gently and yet so strongly.  It's not the Garden,  but it's a foretaste.  We live in the presence of a Living God who really and truly wants to live with us, to dwell with us, to be our God and have us as His own precious possessions... I saw this again in His words in Exodus: "I brought them out of Egypt that I might dwell among them." (Ex.29:46) He actually wants to live with us, to walk with us, to talk with us...  "In His presence is fullness of joy."  I've mostly thought of this as a future reality but really,  He is with us now, and as we learn to believe it and walk accordingly there will be fresh joy for the taking!

********************

Care for a slice of bread hot from the oven?  Call ahead and we'll share some fresh.


--LS


 *"It's Just Like His Great Love" --Words by: Edna Worrell,  Music by: Clarence Strouse, 19th century.

Calmed and Quieted

Chewing this week on contentment...inner contentment.  So much of my life has been energized by its opposite.  I find fault with you. I find fault with me.  I'm poised like a watchdog to sniff out error, to bark an alert (or at least to growl) when I find it.  I feel compelled to be different, to be better, to be something I am not... I struggle in the Potter's hand with 'why did you make me like this?' I've too often confused this with being 'spiritual'.   You know, aren't we to be restless pilgrims always seeking 'Higher Ground', gaining new heights every day? 

Growing up in a spiritual climate where a second distinct work of grace was pre-requisite to being really spiritual no doubt contributed to my propensity toward discontent.  It did seem there was more striving than rest, more working to look holy than to exude it from within.  We were a bunch of tee-totallers seeking the land of 'corn and wine'* earnestly.  But in that searching I learned to foster discontent as a valid motivation for growth.  Is it?
I've been challenged to re-think this (again) lately.  I came upon a sage perspective in Authentic Faith**:

“The Christian classics talk about a ‘soul sadness’ or ‘inquietude’ that comes about when we proudly demand a state of character development that we do not yet possess.  Though pursuing holiness seems to be—and, in fact, is—a noble aim, and wanting to experience greater depth in holiness appears to be—and, in fact, is—a godly pursuit, it’s possible that our desire for increased growth may be fueled by pride, ambition, and self-interest—and our attitude as we wait is often the best indicator of what our true motivation is.”

Hmm... He continues:

“True holiness is pursued with ‘patience, meekness, humility, and tranquility". [ I am reminded of Jesus' own words in inviting me to come to Him in Matthew 11:28, 'for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.']  Without these qualities in our quest we risk ‘fatiguing’ our souls, "landing us in a season of great distress and spiritual anguish.” (DeSales)

 Yes, I'm all ears at this point...

“An overzealous pursuit of character transformation can actually work against us rather than for us.” Our uneasiness and agitation “proceeds from an inordinate desire of being delivered from the evil which we feel, or of  acquiring the good which we desire: and yet there is nothing which tends more to increase evil, and to prevent the enjoyment of good, than an unquiet mind.”(Thomas,44 quoting Francis DeSales' Introduction to the Devout Life,307)

Thomas concludes by saying:

"In general, our pursuit of holiness should be a patient pursuit.  We grow best living in a pool of spiritual serenity.  Instead of a frantic and desperate clutching, we should adopt a patient waiting and a hopeful expectation: ‘Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.’ (Jude 21)”(Thomas,45)

We're given the example of the farmer who "waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains." (James 5:7)  There's no rushing this process. I think too of St Francis' prayer:
"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."

Serenity will remain illusive if my focus is on things I cannot change.  Changing the things I can will require faith and wisdom to tell the two apart.

But best of all, I'm meditating on these enticing words of David: "But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Ps.131:2) And I am drawn again to this elusive rest that is my birthright. (Heb.4:9) It starts with trust (Lord I believe. Help my unbelief!), trusting God at His Word-- that He is indeed at work in me to make me both willing and able to do his pleasure.  "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases Him." (Phil.2:13 NLT)

Will I put aside my introspective 'temperature-taking' and rest in His care, His timing, and His methods to bring me to Christlikeness?  Today he beckons: "If you hear His voice do not harden your hearts." (Heb.4:7) 'Strive to enter that rest'...'with confidence draw near to the throne of grace for mercy and grace to help in time of need'...(Heb.4:7,11,16) "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil.1:6)

And my soul answers YES! By faith I will trust my Shepherd to lead me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake (Ps.23).

And in response He whispers, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Ex.33:14)
I just love that about God's Word.  Not only do we serve a living God but His Word is living and active. He speaks still.  And I am encouraged again to trust, calmed and quiet beside Him.

Blessings to you as you make your own pilgrimage. Thanks for walking along with me.  May God grant you grace and glory along the way... "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep,...equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen! (Heb.13:20,21)

--LS

*See the hymn: "Beulah Land" by Edgar Stites
**Authentic Faith is by Gary Thomas, 2002