Thoughts on Jeremiah

I'm currently reading in Jeremiah. There is a lot of doom predicted, and I don't claim to fully understand it. But, the basic idea is that lots of bad things are going to happen to Judah because they have turned away from God and refuse to repent. I was reading in chapter 15 this morning, and all that doom starts to get to Jeremiah. He's not a very popular guy because of what he's been saying either. Yet God tells him to stand strong, that He will make Jeremiah a bronze wall. He also tells Jeremiah that the people will fight against him, but that they won't prevail. God protects him. I find that to be very encouraging. Because there are days, weeks, when I feel like everything is falling apart. Doom, doom, doom. But what I tend to forget is that God has promised to be there. The Good thing is, He hasn't forgotten, even if I have. Even when I'm so caught up in my own little dramas and pity parties I can't see Him, He's still there. Those are my ramblings for this morning, take them as you will.

Ouch, Conviction

I worked a long desk shift last night, and did almost nothing of productive value. I watched movies and cruised around facebook. Of what value is that? Thinking about it, I could have been using that time to study my Bible. But I didn't. If I'm seeking after God, if I love Him, I should want to spend as much time as possible with Him. Yet what does last night say about my relationship with my Father? I want to be seeking Him with everything I am. Last night really brought me face to face with my own apathy. I chose to be apathetic. That's not who I want to be, how I want to live. I don't want to spend my life in a recliner, being comfortable, just drifting along, stagnant. No. I want to be on fire for my God, willing to follow where ever He leads, even though I can't see where He's going with this. That's who I want to be, completely sold out for Him. It's a choice. It's choosing God over the distractions, over everything else that fills my life. It's choosing Him over everything else.

Life Lessons from Puppets

My assignment this week was to watch some dvds to see if they would be appropriate for the junior campers. These videos are from Phil Vischer, the guy who did VeggieTales, and they involved puppets. At first, I wasn't sure what I thought of them. But, the more I watched, the more I realized how great these videos really were. The material is phenomenal. It is basically a walk through the Bible that little kids can understand. What I loved was that the focus was on the Bible all being one story, the story of God's love for humanity. They don't sugar coat things either. Lots of people die in Joshua, and instead of glossing over that, they actually tackle it. ( People die because the land was God's in the first place, everyone sins, the price of sin is death, so truthfully they got what they deserve, and a good question is why don't we? If you were curious.) I didn't get the concept that the Bible is all one story and that God is still fulfilling the promises He made to Abraham until last summer when we did a walk through the Old Testament as a staff at camp. And these videos present it in a way kids can understand. My eighteen year old brother also sat through several with me, and he liked them as well. I did a complete turn around from my initial skepticism. The title of the series is What's In The Bible, and that's what they tell you. They even pointed out the usefulness of Leviticus! (Ritual vs. Ethical laws, yet another thing I hadn't ever considered.) This is something I would want to have for my kids someday. And, quite honestly, I would watch the rest of the series if I had it.

Book of Job

Everyone knows the story of Job, but I had never read through the whole thing before. I found it really interesting. I think I like the last chapters the best, the ones where God is telling Job off. Job never turns against God, but he does get a good pity party going. (God hates me, I didn't do anything wrong, why is this happening?) But what God really calls him out on is that Job seems to think he is more righteous than God, that God is somehow unjust in letting bad things happen to Job. The last chapters are amazing, because it is this awesome glimpse into how powerful, mighty, and majestic God is. After the series of questions God asks, Job repents of his pride and near sightedness. This was one of those books that makes me go, "You can say that to God?" Job doesn't try to hide what he's feeling, he lays it all out. God never does tell Job why everything happened to him, but He does remind Job who he serves. And that's enough.

Singers

I was reading Nehemiah today and some small mention of the temple singers grabbed my attention. There was a whole group of people whose only job was to sing praises to God. How awesome is that? And how huge is music as a form of worship? Music is one of the most powerful forces I know. Sometimes I get caught up in myself though, in my ability or lack thereof, or compared to my younger brother, who is very talented, or being frustrated because I can't manage to play what I want. But, despite all that, I love music. I love to sing and play. Ultimately, it's not about me, anyway. It's about brining glory to God. It always comes back to that. Cool, huh? If music is so powerful here, imagine what it will be like in Eternity! Now that is something to look forward to.

Ordinary People

Personally, I have a tendency to view the people in the Bible as super heroes. But that's not true. Every person of faith I look up to is a normal person except for one thing: God. God is the game-changer. A couple weeks ago we were talking about powerful prayer at prayer team. I mostly listened at the time. First, how would your life read if it were in the Bible? think about the apostles. There is this tendency to think that they felt the power of God on them, then decided to go do miracles, but that's not how it worked. They saw a need, asked God to fix it, and crazy things started happening. 

Matthew 17:20-21

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

I don't know about you, but I don't claim that verse. It is so easy to separate ourselves from the Bible, say, Yeah, but that was back then, things like that don't happen now. Well, guess what. God doesn't change. The God who did miracles in the Bible is the same today as He was then. We are told that we can do all things through Christ. (Philippians 4:13) Do you actually claim that? An example was brought up in prayer team. What is you were standing in a crowed room with a match? Would you have the faith to say, "My God can light this match."? That would be absolutely life-changing. Our God is life changing. What is a match to Him? He consumed Elijah's sacrifice.(1 Kings 18:20-40) A match is nothing. I'm not saying I'm there, not by a long shot. But I want to be. In church today we talked about Esther and Nehemiah. Both were normal people, who were put in the position they were in for a reason. Esther was queen. Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer. When it came time to act, the first thing they did was pray and fast before God. And they didn't just pray, Lord, please let this work out... They prayed powerfully and they expected an answer! I know I don't always expect an answer to my prayers. Learning about that. I don't know which is more frightening, the idea that God won't come through, or that He will. Because crazy things happen when God is involved. The Bible is full of stories of normal, flawed people and miracles. God works through normal, crazy, flawed people because it brings him glory. Gideon and an army of 300 defeated the Midianite army with pitchers and torches.(Judges 7)  There is no way they did that on their own. It's so crazy it has to be God. God must love the word BUT. That's crazy, but... What would happen if we actually prayed that way, lived that way? Think on that a moment. Now, what if God is waiting for us to pray that way? Look at how many times God was going to destroy the Israelites and Moses interceded for them. Moses asked God not to destroy them, and He didn't. This isn't God changing His mind. If Moses hadn't asked, His plan was to destroy them. If Moses did ask, He would spare them. Both were His plan. It just depended on the asking. Whoa. I want that kind of faith. I want to say, For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) I want to trust my God enough to jump, not knowing what comes next. To get to the point where it doesn't matter how scary or impossible the road before me is, I know my God goes before me, so I can make it, I can tread it without fear. I want my life to read like a Bible story, where all the glory goes to God, because there is no way that can be me. 

Random ramblings

Where is the line between being sensible and building wall?
Is common sense really sensible if it keeps you from taking a leap of faith?
Whose standards of sensible are we listening to? Because Christ's and the world's are completely different.
Just some random thoughts for the evening.

Timing

I had a verse floating around in my head all day, and when I came home, a friend had posted it on facebook. God certainly has an interesting sense of humor, and timing. The verse was Philippians 1:21.
For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
That's a powerful verse. That's how I want to live my life, completely sold out for Christ. I fail at that so often. I let all kinds of other things come between me and my Adonai. What I think needs done, day to day routine, so many little things that reduce life to merely living. It's so easy to fall into a routine and forget how exciting living for Christ is. Come on! I know the cure for death! I know Christ. How can I not live in excitement? It's not comfortable and it's not an easy road. But it's worth it! I run away from a lot of things. Why? If my God is for me, who can be against me? What can man do to me? The road Christ asks me to follow is uncertain, but He goes before me! The choices are living in boredom, being comfortable, or following Christ down an unknown road I can't see. I'm tired of running away. Christ is my life. Now let's see if my actions match my words, match where my heart wants to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jgDHSLgNr8&feature=related

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes.
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say,
"I have prevailed against him";
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Fearless

"Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and fight our battles." And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. -2 Chronicles 32:7-8

This was a huge encouragement to me today. Hezekiah was up against really bad odds, but he didn't back down. He didn't run away. There was a huge army that intended to wipe Judah out, but Hezekiah trusted God to come through. He didn't scramble like crazy; he prayed. And God received glory through that. I want to be fearless in my faith, but I'm not there. It's easier to run from the tough stuff, or just stuff it under the rug and hope it goes away. That's been my method for dealing with things for a long time. But I can't keep running. I can't do it anymore. I know God will come through for me. It's not even about me, not even close. Whatever is going on in my life, it will ultimately bring God glory. That's the whole point. That's why I want to be fearless in my faith.

Don't be a Spiritual Streaker

"Don't be a spiritual streaker. Wear more than just the helmet of salvation."
Good advice.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--


Truth-girded waist
Truth is what is absolutely right, correct in all ways. Knowing who God is and what He has done is the first layer of armor.


Breastplate of righteousness
Righteousness is being morally upright. A breastplate protects the heart. I need God's perfect standards to protect my heart.


Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
I need to know where my deliverance comes from, and to go where ever the spreading of the gospel takes me. Travel requires good shoes.


Shield of faith
Faith is knowing without seeing. (Hebrews 11:1) I know my God is ruler above all even when I can't see it. Faith is protection from Satan's fiery darts.


Helmet of salvation
Salvation is when I became a member of God's family and a soldier in His army. First thing issued: a helmet. My soul is now protected by Christ's sacrifice.


Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
This is my most powerful weapon, the word of God. God speaks through His word, and there is nothing more powerful than God speaking.


Then there is prayer. A direct line to God. Communication with my General is vital to knowing where to move next and keeping my armor in peak condition. 


This is a lot of rambling, but it's something I've been thinking about. I'd love to hear other thoughts.

Snow and other four letter words

Snow: I actually love snow. And storms. On the catwalk this morning I stared out the window in fascination with the snow. Yes, I am about five. But I love being able to see God through His creation. I can see God's power so clearly through the physical storms I see, which got me thinking about the other kind of storms I face. If I stop feeling sorry for myself because I'm going through a storm, I can see God's power there too. If I don't see Him, it's not because He's not there. It's because I'm too busy having a pity party to see Him. 

Love: I've really been getting smacked with this one lately, and I don't know why. I know all these dots are appearing in my life for a reason, that there is a reason I have been hearing so much about this lately, and not just hearing but being impacted. I just don't know what that reason is. This Thursday at Cru I felt like I had been whacked in the head with truth, and I'm still sorting through that one. The talk was on sacrificial love. We started in 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. That makes sense. But we dug a lot deeper into it. First, look at the first three verses of that chapter.

 ¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 

There is nothing of worth without love. That should be a good indicator of how important this is.

 

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

1 John 4: 7-8

 

¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16

 ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19

Love comes from God, and we would be incapable of loving if God didn't love us.

⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

1 John 2:5-6

 ¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 John 3:16

Jesus loved sacrificially. Sacrificial love is willing to give up everything for someone else. To quote Burt, Jesus was love with skin on. We tend to think of God turning His face away as Jesus died on the cross. But He didn't all His wrath for every sin that had ever been committed or will ever be committed was focused on Jesus. It is more than I can ever begin to comprehend. Yet Jesus suffered the physical pain of crucifixion and the wrath of God willingly. We are asked to love like Jesus loved. But, that usually doesn't involve dying. Doing something uncomfortable, giving up study time, is that really that much of a sacrifice? Yet, it is so easy to let "reasonable priorities" get in the way. It makes sense not to love sacrificially. By the world's standards, living a life of sacrificial love is a life of bad decisions. But it is so worth it. No, it's not going to be easy. It's going to hurt. True love hurts. Look at Jesus again. As Westly says in The Princess Bride, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you different is selling something." It hurts, but it's worth the pain. Sacrificial love is radical. Will I continue to be comfortable, or will I step out and love someone? 

This all came from the notes I took on Thursday. 

"If what we call love doesn't take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love." Oswald Chambers

That was the first thing I read in My Utmost for His Highest this morning. Right back to love, and the sermon I heard on Sunday about being doers not hearers only. Love. I seem to be getting this from all angles right now.  Which leads to my third four letter word.

Wait: I don't know why I'm learning all this right now. I don't know if there is something I am supposed to be doing, or if I just need to be still and soak it up. But I trust that God will let me know in His timing. Which means I have to wait. Patience is not my strong suit. So, I get to learn about waiting a lot. But that's good. That's mostly what's been bouncing around in my head lately. Take it as you will.

Seeing the Sunrise

This morning's sunrise was absolutely amazing. And I got to share it with my good friend Michelle. I am just blown away by how awesome God is. The entire world is His canvas. All I have to do is step outside to see His glory. Yet it seems so easy to forget how powerful God is. I get caught up in things that aren't import, and God gets pushed to the side. I don't want that! I want to be crazy in love with my God. My whole purpose in life is to bring glory to Him. He blesses me so abundantly. Still, I get so distracted by whatever else is going on in my life. I love that God is so clearly reflected in His creation. I need the reminder. His majesty is visible just by looking at the world He created. Every day is new, and so is His mercy and grace to us. 

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
      The power and the glory, 
      The victory and the majesty; 
      For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
      Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, 
      And You are exalted as head over all. 

1 Chronicles 29:11

Burn

If this is fire, let me burn. Trial and testing isn't fun. I feel like I've been going through a lot of that lately, and failing. God doesn't ever work in the ways I expect. That's awesome. I love how He blows me away. I know He's working, yet I really wonder where He's going with this. All I can see is how much this hurts right now. The sermon I heard this Sunday talked about how things are never what they seem. That really hit me where I needed it. Because I can't see the big picture. I'm seeing an ice cube where God is seeing a glacier. I don't know the why. I just have to trust that my circumstances are working for His glory. I want to be poured out, a sacrifice for His glory. It scares me to write that. God's way isn't the comfortable way. But if I have to go through the fire to be purified for Him, I want that. If this is fire, let me burn.

Unexpected

2 Kings 5:1-19

Naaman goes to Elisha to be healed of his leprosy. But what Elisha tells him to do isn't what Naaman expected. Naaman expected to be taken care of in a certain way, but that's not what happened. Naaman was furious, and he wasn't going to obey Elisha. His servant talks him into it, and he is healed. The power of God is revealed through his obedience. Naaman almost missed being healed and meeting the living God because God didn't work in the way Naaman expected.

God doesn't fit into our nice neat little boxes. He doesn't work in the ways we think he should. God is completely beyond our ability to comprehend. The common phrase is," Want to hear God laugh? Tell Him your plans." God doesn't adapt Himself to our plans. He works in ways that are completely unexpected, beyond anything we would even have considered expecting. We see the awesomeness of God where we least expect it, like Naaman. The question is, am I going to ignore God when He works unexpectedly?

January 26, 2011

Dot to Dot

A lot of the time I feel like my life is a dot to dot. I know God is working, and I can see the dots, but I don't know how they connect. Me trying to figure it out doesn't work so well either. I think God is trying to make a duck, when the picture is really a boat. The thing is, I really have no idea how the dots connect. But God does. Waiting and trusting are two of the things I struggle with most. So I get to learn about them a lot. Because I can't see how the dots connect, I have to wait and trust that God knows what he's doing, knows what picture he wants to draw in my life. He's my everything. I can see that there are dots, but I have no idea how they connect. But that's ok. I know my God knows what He's doing.