tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28990185764200831982024-03-13T22:12:56.396-07:00The Pilgrimgram"The Pilgrimgram" comes from an elder pilgrim, talking about the thing we call "the Kingdom." With no aspirations toward political correctness, this is what I hear God saying to and among His people todayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger524125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-69582491899563503422024-03-07T06:43:00.012-08:002024-03-07T06:43:00.128-08:00Who’s Minding the Store?<div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWMrtowmAdffxc6h0lHkq5pe6Ag1xnptFluaNi6F8TCV1J7TG3hH0y6t7AsfsSEfGva-CYSFlar_k2aO5uw88CEPc64ljDFTIvH3pEyDfD8ehI4WdBKRarBP7ago3tlZJuEyXFePGeStgGGqfQOh83IcV00KbJDips5neMhXUaK2RNbS5rO4ERrJHCjQ/s3648/zz-zz(a).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWMrtowmAdffxc6h0lHkq5pe6Ag1xnptFluaNi6F8TCV1J7TG3hH0y6t7AsfsSEfGva-CYSFlar_k2aO5uw88CEPc64ljDFTIvH3pEyDfD8ehI4WdBKRarBP7ago3tlZJuEyXFePGeStgGGqfQOh83IcV00KbJDips5neMhXUaK2RNbS5rO4ERrJHCjQ/s320/zz-zz(a).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I had an interesting afternoon. I was out for a walk in the rare spring sunshine, and I came on an area that was a mess. It was actually a parking lot for a large government office building.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There was some old vandalism, the detritus of where someone had cleaned out a stolen purse, a few bits of drug paraphernalia and a whole lot of litter. A lot of this mess looked like it had been there for a while. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The context for this story is that I’ve been reflecting for a while on the value of beauty for its own sake. Beauty is good because it’s good. Beauty is good because it’s a characteristic of who God is and how he does things. Beauty is good because it communicates that there’s good in the world, and it’s within reach. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Back to the messy parking lot. I’ve been trying to clean it up some, just because it feels better when it’s cleaned up. It crossed my mind that with all the personnel cutbacks and all the drama (there sure has been a lot of drama in our society in the last couple of years), that there was nobody responsible for cleaning the place up. I confess, I grumbled a bit. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">“That’s right, Son. Nobody is taking ownership for this.” And suddenly some lights came on, and I was in a very strange place. Suddenly I think I knew some things that I am absolutely certain I didn’t know before. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m still in the place of testing these new things, but when the lights came on, when those thoughts showed up, they showed up with scripture used in an unfamiliar way to support them. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m asking you to think these things through with me, test them with me. Don’t bother telling me “But that’s not traditional!” I already know that. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Hold on. This might get bumpy. A bunch of thoughts showed up all together. I’ll try to sort out some of the key thoughts.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">• Yes, beauty represents God better than a mess. That in itself is enough reason to clean up the mess as I can.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">• I already knew that wherever hell has its way, there’s a mess: pain, confusion, squalor, deception. The physical mess here reminded me of hell’s work. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">• One thought that caught me off guard is that cleaning up the parking lot is a good way to make hell less comfortable, and to make the place inviting to the things of God. (Seriously? What?)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">• And the big one: when a place has no ownership, it invites hell, it invites the demonic. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And as that thought dropped into my mind, this verse came with it: </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” [Luke 11:24-26] </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We (correctly) use this passage to teach a number of good things. But one thing I think it teaches, or at least it was teaching me this afternoon, was that this person got into trouble the second time because they weren’t taking ownership for their soul. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes, God had set them free and cleaned them up. But there was no real opposition to the return of the impure spirit and its seven “more wicked” spirits, so they just moved in. There was nobody taking responsibility for the clean and tidy soul. Nobody was minding the store.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And I wonder if something like that has happened with this government office building? It was all clean and tidy when they finished the mess of construction and took down the fences. It was swept clean and put in order. But nobody took ownership of it; nobody made it their responsibility to keep the place looking nice, to keep the bad things out. Nobody was minding the store.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So normal things happened, and bad things happened. People began parking in the parking lot, teaching their kids to drive in it (it’s a big parking lot), folks took shortcuts through the lot, and kids began hanging out next to the dumpsters after (or during) school, vagrants set up camp back inside the landscaping and used for their latrine. It was like a handful of demons were settling into the territory. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">To repeat: the principle that I’m working on sussing out here is this: when nobody takes ownership for a thing (a place, a soul, fill in the blank), then hell likes to waltz in and make themselves at home. Or so I suspect. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As I write this, I am feeling a nudge that this might have broader implications than a parking lot. In fact, it doesn’t seem insignificant that this is a parking lot for a government office building. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">For a long time, it was religiously incorrect for believers to soil themselves by working for the government, or for big business. And so there was a lot less “minding the store,” as it were, by believers in the midst of the federal Government, in state and county government; there was a lot less “minding the store” in big business (like Signature Bank or Disney or Anheuser-Busch) new tech startups (like Google or Facebook or OpenAI or whatever). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Sure, there were bureaucrats on duty, business executives paying attention to business, but there was nobody taking any real measure of responsibility for the spirits working in these organizations. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So hell was comfortable waltzing in and making itself at home. And look where we are now. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So where do we go from here? </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Sure, prayer is the easier part. Don’t get upset, I didn’t say it was easy; just easier than the alternative.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Part of the alternative is for believers to work – to work in positions of responsibility – in government or in business and on behalf of both the Kingdom and our employer to make decisions that are responsible. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The rest of that alternative is to roll up our sleeves and get involved, to take responsibility for places and organizations and regions and such. To clean up the parking lot, to report the shoplifting, to set policy in the place. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And when hell rolls up ready to get comfy, we get to say, “This is my turf; you’re trespassing. Out you go!” </span></div></div><div><br /></div></div>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-29002392570799302892024-02-22T06:12:00.006-08:002024-02-22T06:12:00.122-08:00Pray For Them, Not Against Them<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwh3o1CQL-JJSas_Gu06PrH0lYnyx8MD3KKmgrJSIvb1MnBUQHIdyaXdg9BbMVqHpnHdK65gx0cggsgHMikBrGCeK7OfdGo8G2SoVZ4goZlP7w5hrQX_3lzsZnsh9Fzc9VnVpOmw9Lr5yLppLC26A0rZl7T0JZtf1XbIANLhTdT4hJ1zEoMff68_8l4cGG/s743/zzzz2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="743" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwh3o1CQL-JJSas_Gu06PrH0lYnyx8MD3KKmgrJSIvb1MnBUQHIdyaXdg9BbMVqHpnHdK65gx0cggsgHMikBrGCeK7OfdGo8G2SoVZ4goZlP7w5hrQX_3lzsZnsh9Fzc9VnVpOmw9Lr5yLppLC26A0rZl7T0JZtf1XbIANLhTdT4hJ1zEoMff68_8l4cGG/s320/zzzz2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was at a big Christian worship-and-prayer festival at my state’s capitol campus. It was actually pretty good.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I should mention that my state politicians who work in that capitol building have demonstrated that they value politically-correct social whims over the well-being of the state. It’s pretty messed up. Yeah, they need prayer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, I really appreciated the corporate prayer for my state! If we’re going to change for the better, the change will be built on a foundation of prayer. I treasure that.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I was surprised when I realized I was uncomfortable with the prayers that afternoon. They weren’t bad prayers; they were about “Stop abortion,” stop this bad thing or that bad thing. And those are things that need to stop.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">But something wasn’t settling right in my spirit for the moment. I couldn’t have told you why.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Across the lawn, there was a counter-protest going on in reaction against this good gathering. A small group of satanists showed up in protest of the Christian event, offering to “un-baptize” people while they occasionally shouted “Hail satan!” at the worshipping crowd. They caught my attention.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">There was a park bench near the counter-protest. The state had put up a pretty big barrier between the two groups, so I had to walk the long way around to get there. And I sat on that bench and visited with Father, just to watch what was going on, mostly.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The satanists were sure angry. Well, some of them were. Some appeared to be high, and they looked like they might be there just for the party. It seemed that there was a deep sadness among them. In particular, the angry ones caught my attention. So I watched and listened.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thousands of Christians, just beyond that fence, were ignoring the satanists, were worshipping their God, praying against some of the things that these people valued. I could see why they were angry, why they were protesting.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I reflected that a lot of times when I visit with atheists, the god they don’t believe in is also a god I don’t believe in: capricious, judgmental, distant, self-centered. I figure that this might be part of why the satanists are angry at the Christian gathering (and the Christian God): because they see them the same way: capricious, judgmental, distant, self-centered.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">That isn’t who I know God to be, and it isn’t what these people were like when I walked among them earlier, but I can understand the concern. I’ve been around enough to get an idea of where they got those untrue ideas. I could see why they might be angry.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah, if I saw things that way, I might not want to celebrate those values either. As I began to understand a little bit of what might be their concerns, I began to feel compassion for them. So I talked with Father about them (in more religious vocabulary, I began to pray for them). And I learned some things.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Father & I talked, I became aware that I was praying for them in much different ways than the prayer & worship gathering was. While the gathering was praying much for our state and our politicians and our people, the thought that came to my mind was that these people had had enough people praying against them. What they really needed was somebody to pray for them!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I tried to turn that corner. I’ll be honest, it was a difficult turn. I’ve had decades of experience seeing “the enemies of God” as issues, as values, not as people, certainly not as individuals. I needed help to see these people as individuals, and if I was able to, to see them as individuals that Jesus died for, that Father weeps for, that Holy Spirit is drawing to himself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gradually, I began to see them less as “angry satanists,” and more as lost sheep, whom the shepherd was searching for.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">That changed my prayers, I can tell you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I prayed for individuals, that big angry guy with the demonic imagery on his black vest, that servant-hearted woman who needed more clothes on, that bouncy woman (?) with pink hair down to her knees.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I began to pray for peace, specific peace: that they would ind what they were looking for, even if they didn’t know they were looking. I prayed for success in their jobs, in their schooling, in their relationships.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could go on. Actually, I did. For kind of a while.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I understand that hell is busy these days, and the political realm is one of his favorite places to wreak “stealing, killing, destroying,” and he’s having a measure of success. I understand that Father is still seeking saints who will “stand in the gap before me for the land;” I know a number of good people paying the price for that important work. I’m thankful for them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the end of it all, I am feeling a need to pray</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">for</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">people more than praying</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">against</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">them. At least, that’s what I’m feeling this week.</span><p></p><br />NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-49694103647908693112024-02-08T06:25:00.012-08:002024-02-08T06:25:00.255-08:00The Day of the Big Guns is Over<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSuiOh31E1Wr4txI2KPuINaol8WJ9YDJ_5c4saa7ZK_irFJkvlhW-YQCE5-eSz9K3xWlPrkCHgHXUjyh5DQqW6GKQpXCUX9S51Kzko7AhoLxiqd3HVfCXjbIjULx7-2epHhPFmEkz5Kf6ICOxMj5mEZQGfF-C-Drv8r5HgMXWmVYkHCbWlLUGp--w/s496/zz-zzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="496" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSuiOh31E1Wr4txI2KPuINaol8WJ9YDJ_5c4saa7ZK_irFJkvlhW-YQCE5-eSz9K3xWlPrkCHgHXUjyh5DQqW6GKQpXCUX9S51Kzko7AhoLxiqd3HVfCXjbIjULx7-2epHhPFmEkz5Kf6ICOxMj5mEZQGfF-C-Drv8r5HgMXWmVYkHCbWlLUGp--w/w400-h250/zz-zzz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>There have been several events this week that have reminded me of this prophetic word from a friend of mine:<br /><br />On a Sunday evening in the fall of 1998, I was in a home meeting a friend's home. While we were worshiping, the Lord gave me a vision.<br /><br />The picture was of a city; it had an enemy marching towards it, a large army marching in ranks. Inside the city there was a very large cannon, and the people of the city were frantically hurrying to crank the cannon up into position to fire, but it was going up slowly, very slowly. I found myself frustrated with how slowly it was moving.<br /><br />Finally it came up to the right position and then started to come right back down. This happened again even more slowly than the first time, and with more frustration on my part. I wondered if this vision was really from the Lord.<br /><br />Then the scene changed, and I became aware of movement to my left and then to my right. Small groups of people were moving forward, but no one said a word. These were small teams of warriors, moving purposefully, sometimes forward, sometimes sideways, sometimes waiting. I could see that their eyes were fixed on a common point ahead of them. There were several groups, and though they were was no communication between them, yet they were moving in coordination with each other.<br /><br />As I saw them, I was aware that these warriors had come out of the desert, and that they had spent a considerable length of time there. They had learned to pay close attention to the One Who was leading them. I was then looked and saw that it was the eyes of the Lord that their gaze was fixed on. There was no need of talking for direction, for the Lord led them with His eyes. Their enemy was unaware of their presence, and unaware of which direction they would be moving.<br /><br />Then I heard the declaration, “The Day of the Big Guns is over.”<br /><br />I asked the Lord what He was saying in this. He said to me that we - the church - had been waiting for a very long time for God to bring a move of his Spirit by someone well known. But every time a big-name evangelist was brought in, nothing happened; the only result was unbelief. He said he was not going to use the “big guns” any longer. He was going to use those whom He had trained in the desert, those who had come to know Him so well that they would follow Him with just the glance of His eyes.<br /><br />He was going to use people like us.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-36453708143299885332024-01-18T06:57:00.003-08:002024-01-18T06:57:00.254-08:00His Word as a Talisman?<p style="text-align: left;">I’m convicted this morning that sometimes we – that sometimes <i>I</i> – have used the promises of God as an incantation, his Word as a talisman.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6g4mH6rfaYjrp88suYJr4me9VVwMEv5jt84ouvwnaA7ykf9EJaHJzAhc0jWszEbLkl_IHnva-ILAbrp6iJUPRlW2DG-pXaaHIAQcPkNCLVwto8WODcboAWF1O5yZDTQScj6itDkCmzN6O3ZEO9wnil5nx-spt2eNCCLFRNjes61yWH6krUmNPabx6w/s1511/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1511" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6g4mH6rfaYjrp88suYJr4me9VVwMEv5jt84ouvwnaA7ykf9EJaHJzAhc0jWszEbLkl_IHnva-ILAbrp6iJUPRlW2DG-pXaaHIAQcPkNCLVwto8WODcboAWF1O5yZDTQScj6itDkCmzN6O3ZEO9wnil5nx-spt2eNCCLFRNjes61yWH6krUmNPabx6w/s320/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>There have been times that I have quoted the promises written in the Book at my problems as if quoting the promises written in the book would change my circumstances. While those recitations have occasionally worked change in my attitude, I cannot recall that those words alone have ever changed my circumstances.<br /><br />On the other hand, there have been times that I have used those promises in discussion with my King, times that he and I have wielded those same promises on the problems that were facing me, and the problems have bowed their knee.<br /><br />I am reminded this morning that it is not the words on the paper that carry power. It is not the noises that come from my mouth that are imbued with his authority, no more than noises from any other part of my anatomy.<br /><br />It is he himself that is the word of God, and while he inhabits me, while he lives in me and with me, if I use his words apart from him, if I unintentionally leave him as a bystander or cheerleader during my fight, well then he can stand by, he can cheer me on, I suppose.<br /><br />But if I intend to move in the power of God, I need to move <i>with</i> God, <i>in</i> God. And that’s not a challenge, it’s not difficult. I’m not convinced that it’s automatic either.<br /><br />I’m not above chewing out an oblivious driver who endangers my life and my vehicle. I’m not sure those words are imbued with the power of God; in fact in hindsight, I hope not!<br /><br />I’m not perfect in my relationships, and I’ve said hurtful or insensitive things, more than I care to remember, actually. If those words carried the power to move mountains, we’d be in real trouble, I can tell you.<br /><br />There have been times I’ve declared, “I forgive you” with no more power than my mutterings at the oblivious driver. And there have been times when those words carried power and presence enough to change a life. Apparently it takes more than just the noises from my mouth.<br /><br />But there are times where my words have been in harmony with his words, words like, “Come out,” “Be filled,” “Be healed,” “Be blessed,” and what I spoke changed reality, <i>became</i> reality. When I spoke with him.<br /><br />The alternative is to be with him. To be with him when we speak.<p></p>NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-68818248005298881072024-01-04T07:18:00.005-08:002024-01-04T07:18:00.143-08:00There is a New Year Before Us<p style="text-align: left;">It has been said that “Those who fail to learn history are doomed
to repeat it.” If we apply this personally, we could say, “Those
who fail to learn from their history will find themselves making the
same mistakes all over again.”<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCB1VKoKYsCkGok_j8zmr4X5eomXtl3WWdRLGiI79MYxDeEddKfb8wZt3p9GmE6BemZELfwDYZo5_xG-8oljoEYWNRL4gvdzk3OY_xcp_0q_twZaw9gscmZlqowisrucNzf4YM9e53wcgRQo7wLVp3UFs17h9aUUbX2XAOwrsx9KjXitfcp1fVOZV_g/s1180/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1180" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCB1VKoKYsCkGok_j8zmr4X5eomXtl3WWdRLGiI79MYxDeEddKfb8wZt3p9GmE6BemZELfwDYZo5_xG-8oljoEYWNRL4gvdzk3OY_xcp_0q_twZaw9gscmZlqowisrucNzf4YM9e53wcgRQo7wLVp3UFs17h9aUUbX2XAOwrsx9KjXitfcp1fVOZV_g/s320/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I don’t know about
you, but I’d like to not make those particular mistakes again. It’s
not that I’m afraid of mistakes, but I’d sure like to learn
from new ones, instead of repeating the old ones.<br /><br />And so I try to
reflect on the year behind me, and I try to learn from the year I’ve
just finished, with the hope that I’ll actually be more mature, not
just older, next year. If you’d like to join me, here are some
questions you might reflect on. <br /><br />Hint: this is a great time to get out
your journal and write:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">
</p><ul>
<li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What was your
biggest triumph in the past year? What does God say about it? (Go
ahead! Ask him!)</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What was your
most costly mistake in the past year? What do you learn from it?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What was the
smartest decision you made during the year?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What was the
greatest lesson you learned during the year?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">If you could
repeat one day of the last year, what day would that be, and why?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">If you could
forever forget one day from last year, what day, and why?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What one bit of
Scripture best describes last year?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What are you
most happy about completing during the last year?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Who are the
three people that had the biggest impact on your life? Have you
thanked them?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Who are three
people whose lives you impacted for good? Have you thanked God for
them?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What area of
your life have you best taken responsibility for?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What area of
your life did you leave to someone else to be responsible for, and
why?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What was the
most loving service you performed? What effect did you see from
it?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What was the
biggest risk you took? How did that turn out? How could it have gone
even better?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What important
relationship improved the most? What made the improvement?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What important
relationship took a hit last year? What can you learn from that?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What compliment
would you have liked to have received?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What compliment
would you like to have given last year? Can you give it now?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What else do
you need to say or do to be completely finished with the year?</p>
</li><li><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What would you
like to say to your Father about last year or your last season? </p>
</li></ul><br /><p></p>NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-80221325881594721812023-12-21T07:00:00.008-08:002023-12-21T07:00:00.144-08:00Father's Heart on Christmas MorningI have to say that this year’s Christmas was something special.<br /><br />I was sitting in my “Papa Chair” with generations of my family scattered around the house Christmas morning.<br /><br />Over the past few decades, my family has grown up, moved out, married well and “gone forth and multiplied,” both by marriage and by birthing more of us. It had been a fair number of years since we’d all been able to celebrate Christmas together, and we were enjoying it immensely.<br /><br />That morning would be an excellent illustration of the phrase, “tumultuous cacophony!” There was noise and energy everywhere, and it was <i>beautiful!</i> There was an immense quantity of laughter, from children and parents alike, with wrestling, story-telling, coffee-making, snack-sharing and eventually, distributing of gifts from under the tree to the locations where everyone might eventually settle down. If they ever would sit down.<br /><br />For half a century and more, our tradition has been to begin with the youngest among us and then to take turns opening a gift apiece. If it is clothing, it must be worn. If it is food, it should be shared. There was no need to remind any one to give thanks, as thankfulness and laughter and joy flowed freely. Gifts were not particularly extravagant, but they were heart-felt, personal and loudly celebrated. They never did settle down, and it was good.<br /><br />During the gift-opening, the tumultuous cacophony didn’t stop, didn’t slow down; it simply drifted vaguely in the direction of the living room and of the presents. Coffee cups were refilled continuously, glasses were regularly topped off, more snacks were shared, more photos were taken and shared, more stories told, more laughter, more rejoicing, more fun….<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAgpDsarXda8JyFIZNA6vBVaupA-lqgetxoSRWnLcLEwhL2NoQgzwVxUeTGFPteemJVf2hsP5JBa5dYBQ8AflXFBz3ohKEpKa0j6K_y_CXUNsx7wyJk9TrDx0DBHvVeAaB58k8_HPabw-gWqEAZym4TVvL96BJT4CWfLJB5N00ZOmQO4hLz9hyE7zfyg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1200" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAgpDsarXda8JyFIZNA6vBVaupA-lqgetxoSRWnLcLEwhL2NoQgzwVxUeTGFPteemJVf2hsP5JBa5dYBQ8AflXFBz3ohKEpKa0j6K_y_CXUNsx7wyJk9TrDx0DBHvVeAaB58k8_HPabw-gWqEAZym4TVvL96BJT4CWfLJB5N00ZOmQO4hLz9hyE7zfyg=w400-h254" width="400" /></a></div>And suddenly it seemed like everything froze for a mere eternity-long instant, and my eyes were opened briefly. Suddenly I saw so much better.<br /><br />In a moment, I saw that all the images and vain imaginations of what I had assumed about Heaven were oh-so-terribly inadequate. For a brief moment I saw through Father’s eyes, and I saw that this was at least part of what he’s been looking forward to about heaven: the family gathered around, loving being together, filled with love and joy and celebration for the family, including the head of the family.<br /><br />And I realized that Father has a bigger family than I do, a <i>much</i> bigger family. But being omniscient, being omnipresent, he can completely rejoice with every single individual of his billions of sons and daughters as I was with the dozen or so rejoicing together in my noisy living room.<br /><br />I got a quick peek of the Father’s family, full of joy and generosity and celebration, his own mighty heart rejoicing with them all, and for the first time perhaps, I think I might have begun to understand the Heavenly worship swirling around the throne that John tried so hard to describe in his Book of Revelation.<br /><br />I think I might have caught a glance of “the joy that was before him” that carried the Son of God through the torment of the Cross and the grave. I think I might have glimpsed just a little bit of what God was looking forward to when he said to himself, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”<br /><br />This was a celebration he was anticipating. My living room was the tiniest foretaste of what the psalmist described as, “You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”<br /><br />There were other insights, too; the experience was a little overwhelming. I glimpsed even tinier views of Father’s heart for those who were not in the house that morning, but that was not the lesson of the day. The morning’s lesson was about joy that the Father’s family brings his Almighty heart.<br /><br />I saw from Father’s eyes for just a fraction of a second, a tiny stretch of eternity, and then reality crashed again on my shores and I was swept away by the joy of my own family, and of their joy of being together, of giving and receiving gifts, of celebration and laughter. The joy continued for a long, long time.<br /><br />And it was good. It was very good.NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-55075914311653043142023-12-14T06:48:00.017-08:002023-12-14T06:48:00.158-08:00Israel has Sinned. That’s Why They Cannot Stand<p>In my reading today, this stood out to me. I suspect that there’s a principle for me here. Maybe for your too.<br /><br />Joshua 7: 11 <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”</span><br /><br />I don’t know about you, but I was taught that sin is bad because it scares God off from me. “God cannot look upon sin,” they said, completely ignoring the fact that “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”<br /><br />As my attention was grabbed by Joshua 7, I realized (yet again) that the big deal is the effect that sin has <i>on me</i>, NOT the silly idea that sin has an effect on God.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIazGsUVZtMsf1VHM2XhrZ-PnwbQnf-j8W9qCHzgwBAdExWr50XLhpw7-W4rLBfoTq4dFJ9AJXct65kyYjCdeABJS8Hq2hW3zMPLN1Wj_TpVsXVClvgB2apkC97nk5F6sMJd0eqq1AZHpKLrZmcIuRGXUCXqGctdh3V5UORfqaqamUB1n5Js66ScknGg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIazGsUVZtMsf1VHM2XhrZ-PnwbQnf-j8W9qCHzgwBAdExWr50XLhpw7-W4rLBfoTq4dFJ9AJXct65kyYjCdeABJS8Hq2hW3zMPLN1Wj_TpVsXVClvgB2apkC97nk5F6sMJd0eqq1AZHpKLrZmcIuRGXUCXqGctdh3V5UORfqaqamUB1n5Js66ScknGg" width="320" /></a></div>To summarize: “Israel has sinned; That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies.” In other words, sin let failure into their lives, sin let their enemy beat them up, sin opened them up to what the enemy was doing, sin made them victims, not victors. <br /><br /><span lang="en-US">God </span><span lang="en-US">doesn’t like sin primarily because of the mess that it makes in our lives: </span><span lang="en-US">it separates us from (in this example) victory, from our destiny as overcomers.</span><br /><br />So when God says, “Be holy,” he’s not laying down the law. That’s largely about, “Position yourselves in the cross-hairs of my blessing!”<p></p>NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-67387741777389629852023-11-30T06:31:00.024-08:002023-11-30T06:31:00.140-08:00Jesus Freaks Out the Disciples<p style="text-align: left;">I've been reflecting on Hebrews 1, which tells us that Jesus is the best representation of God's nature we're ever going to get.<br /><br /><i>In that context</i>, I'm thinking about Mark 6:48-50, yet another place where Jesus is representing Father’s nature.<br /><br />"He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_dVhIhO9dpK1gLOBsA3_FwxvorQD8JETGRExFRUwMN8LdC_IzXlgVQCCOfzbnPISsq6fB_x55dH5mjQ0QUNqwYADr9605Cjeeokp69_HvA4oTothqgDCJLb4oJ9rddlCOX-QKmOLgovwoqqQAqsU0cDbB1VNC807LmmAoNonQcaKtJzSVVrsY0oO5jw" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="850" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_dVhIhO9dpK1gLOBsA3_FwxvorQD8JETGRExFRUwMN8LdC_IzXlgVQCCOfzbnPISsq6fB_x55dH5mjQ0QUNqwYADr9605Cjeeokp69_HvA4oTothqgDCJLb4oJ9rddlCOX-QKmOLgovwoqqQAqsU0cDbB1VNC807LmmAoNonQcaKtJzSVVrsY0oO5jw=w388-h400" width="388" /></a></div>This, too, is Jesus representing Father to us.<br /><br />I observe some things here:<br /><br />• Jesus saw his best friends straining at their work, because circumstances were against them, and he did not stop the events raging against them.<br /><br />• Jesus let his friends struggle all through the night.<br /><br />• I remember the aphorism, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” So in the darkest part of the night, Jesus came to his friends. He still didn’t take the storm away, but he brought his presence to them in the midst of the storm. I love how he does this.<br /><br />• He walks “out to them,” <i>but</i> “He was about to pass by them.” God does that sometimes: he comes to me, <i>but</i> … There are a hundred sermons in this line, but the bottom line is that he came “to them,” and he came close enough to see, but he was not stopping for them. That’s worth thinking about. “He was about to pass by them.”<br /><br />• But his appearance scares them silly. God’s presence can be terrifying, if I’ve been focusing on the raging storm.<br /><br />• He didn’t actually get in the boat with them <i>until</i> “They cried out.”<br /><br />• We know from the other gospels that in here somewhere is the bit where Pete walks on the water, but it’s not in this particular gospel. While that’s a really exciting story (especially for Pete!), apparently that’s not the important lesson <i>here</i>.<br /><br />• When Jesus gets into the boat, the storm dies down. Isn’t that how it goes?<br /><br />• They were completely amazed. Duh. This one is not surprising!<br /><br />• But the reason for their amazement, and maybe for their terror earlier, was because they didn’t understand God’s provision; they “had not understood about the loaves,” the story earlier in the chapter where Jesus “he had compassion” for the crowd of 5000 and taught them and fed them.<br /><br />Apparently my not knowing God’s compassionate goodness leads to me being freaked out at circumstances, freaked out at his presence showing up unexpectedly, and leads to me being amazed when he changes things.<br /><br />The last line teaches me that if I misunderstand God’s goodness, my heart gets hardened, and I’ll misunderstand what he’s doing. I might want to guard against this.<br /><br />And the best way I can think of to guard against this is to be persistently thankful when I see him doing things. If nothing else, it helps me pay attention to what he's doing (so I’ll actually <i>see </i>what he’s doing), and it helps keep my heart in a healthy attitude toward him.<p></p>NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-67994219258440303172023-11-16T06:02:00.011-08:002023-11-16T06:02:00.143-08:00Led by Scripture?<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">This
story has been bugging me:</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Then
he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down
from here. "For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge
over you, To keep you,' "and, 'In their hands they shall bear
you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " And Jesus
answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not
tempt the LORD your God.' " - Luke 4:9-12</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">I’ve
been taught, and I’ll bet you have too, to base my choices and my
requests on Scripture. If I can support it from the pages of the
Bible, I’m safe.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyo5z-PHvrbJsGucnvGpG3hd4mKzwbhwr9dVTQpN1-TaPPffGHHPEO6CZ_LXxICIpFZuQ07SYlQbNR7JG1u9v0R_CdV9Kz1DRQsasdb9gaPKIptGh6yi-6IskbjwN_J2Kbrck6NBdnVTex_5-oyvdb5zLphYbsTYPm5Ar9ewGXgWKwt06Zh-kClwOzw/s1058/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1058" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyo5z-PHvrbJsGucnvGpG3hd4mKzwbhwr9dVTQpN1-TaPPffGHHPEO6CZ_LXxICIpFZuQ07SYlQbNR7JG1u9v0R_CdV9Kz1DRQsasdb9gaPKIptGh6yi-6IskbjwN_J2Kbrck6NBdnVTex_5-oyvdb5zLphYbsTYPm5Ar9ewGXgWKwt06Zh-kClwOzw/s320/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a>This
passage puts the lie to that. In this story, Luci asks Jesus to do
something, AND HE SUPPORTS IT WITH SCRIPTURE! This is the secret code
we’ve been taught to trust blindly, and the <i>devil</i> is using it to tempt Jesus! </span><span class="x1xsqp64 xiy17q3 x1o6pynw x19co3pv xdj266r xcwd3tp xat24cr x39eecv x2b8uid" data-testid="emoji" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t86/1/20/1f632.png"); background-size: 20px 20px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit;"><span class="xexx8yu xn5pp95 x18d9i69 x2fxd7x x1yqt14a x1bhl96m">😲</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
this story, it’s pretty clear that obeying this scriptural request was very much </span><i style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><b>not</b></i><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"> God’s will:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><span>Luci
(the debbil) was the one making the request.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><span>JC
had a better understanding of the whole counsel of Scripture, and
recognized that this use (with scripture!) violated the bigger
issues.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><span>Jesus
only did what he saw Father doing (John 5:19), and apparently Father
wasn’t showing off by skydiving from a clifftop, waiting for God to
rescue him from the law of gravity and from the consequences of his
own choice.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><span>We
could add that the quote (from Deuteronomy 8) was out of context, but
the worst out-of-context quoter of Scripture that I know is Scripture
itself. (But that’s another conversation).</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">I
realize that I’ve done this. I’ve done this: I’ve taken verses
as approval for my wishes and choices, and expected God to jump
through my hoops. And then I’ve gotten angry or disappointed when
he didn’t.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Principle:
just because I can find somebody doing it in the Bible doesn’t mean
it’s God’s will for my life. Or that it’s safe.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Principle:
Yes, look for what Scripture says on the topic, but </span><i style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">don’t</i><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">
stop there. Engage Holy Spirit, involve mature brothers &
sisters.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Most
importantly, know your Father’s heart, so when somebody tries to
use Scripture to pull you away from his heart, you’ll know better
and not follow that slimy trail.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p></p>
</span><p></p>NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-56010049476538437362023-11-02T05:38:00.001-07:002023-11-02T05:38:00.153-07:00Edification, Exhortation and Comfort: What Are They Really?<p></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">“</span><span style="color: #0f1111;">But he who prophesies speaks edification, exhortation and comfort to men.” - 1Corinthians 14:3</span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">I’ve been chewing on this one for several months now. I’d like to invite you to process the verse with me.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">At a fundamental level, this is the purpose of prophetic gifts: edification, exhortation and comfort, at least how it works under our New Covenant. (Old Covenant prophets were working from a different foundation, of course.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">When I studied the New Testament Greek in school, I learned that the last item in the series is the important one, the item that the language is emphasizing.<span style="color: #0f1111;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCyv4gVq6GdXMqIInGtSlTJ08dgxw59eOINXmD5G41UyVFROARWLx4Sx-qlnpQmKa7UqWy_-94OUHJum8lkE6FEvju_jiAIeXHFT4-ECvyvoii1wxUJc3r45k6h4xO-Swf6BFgRPSmWvgHHvX8mIsk9e8YR_ck4SEWLOSU4KXjS2lZMA7kG4lMuKD8w/s1067/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1067" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCyv4gVq6GdXMqIInGtSlTJ08dgxw59eOINXmD5G41UyVFROARWLx4Sx-qlnpQmKa7UqWy_-94OUHJum8lkE6FEvju_jiAIeXHFT4-ECvyvoii1wxUJc3r45k6h4xO-Swf6BFgRPSmWvgHHvX8mIsk9e8YR_ck4SEWLOSU4KXjS2lZMA7kG4lMuKD8w/s320/zz-zz%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">(Four verses earlier is a clear example of this: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The most important one in the list is usually the last one listed.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">And that’s how we’ve handled prophetic gifts most of the time, particularly when we’re training folks to prophesy: “Keep your prophetic words in the realm of edification, exhortation and especially comfort.” Then we hastily add, “Avoid judgment and avoid prophesying relationships at all times.”</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">But let’s look at these three purposes of the prophetic gifts a little more closely.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">“</span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><u><b>Comfort</b></u>” Paul uses the Greek word “paramythia,” and one of its key meanings is what we expect. It describes talk for the purpose of “calming and consoling.” And this is how we often teach it in the prophetic.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">The other use of “paramythia,” particularly as used in other Greek writings, also includes the idea of “persuading, or of arousing and stimulating,” though we have to get that from Plato, Socrates and Josephus, as this verse is the ONLY place that the Bible uses the word, so we don’t get much help from looking up how it’s used in other passages. Comforting, persuading, arousing, stimulating. (Since this is on social media, I suppose it needs to be said: this has no sexual connotations whatsoever.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">“</span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><u><b>Exhortation</b></u>” comes from the word “paraklēsis,” which is closely related to “paraklete,” the word the New Testament uses for the Holy Spirit himself. We usually translate that word as “Comforter,” though in the prophetic, it’s usually in the context of “a calling near, summons,” or “supplication, entreaty,” or “admonition.” In other words, this is an action word, not a warm & fuzzy word. “Come on, let’s go” would be an example of a paraklēsis word.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">“</span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><u><b>Edification</b></u>” isn’t a word we use outside of church these days, but we’ve figured out that “oikodomē ” talks about the desire and act of building others up.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">All of this thinking is happening in the context (both in my own mind, and if I understand right, in the Corinthian church Paul was writing to) of getting away from using Jeremiah and Ezekiel as our models for prophetic ministry. Nowadays, we think in terms of ’Miah and Zeke’s example on one end of the prophetic spectrum, and Precious Moments merchandise for our example on the other end.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">My take-away from all this is along those lines. I’m not disrespecting the Old Covenant prophets, nor the Precious Moments business model, but I don’t believe either is an acceptable foundation or model for New Covenant prophetic ministry. And yet both contain at least a hint of the right elements for us.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">My conclusion (at least this week) is that New Covenant people are not in the business of fire and brimstone, and that sort of judgment does not belong in our prophetic expressions. In fact, I tend to get up and walk out on those sort of proclamations (which is pretty much metaphorical in the context of social media: I won’t submit myself to that spirit).</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">The other end of that spectrum, for which I use Precious Moments as a metaphor, strikes me as less harmful to its audience, though it presents an image of the prophetic that is no better.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Those who define prophecy by either example are deceived and badly shortchanged.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Rather, legitimate prophecy does include elements of comforting folks going through a hard time, but rather than a “There, there!” and a pat on the hand, it also includes (in the vocabulary of 1Corinthians 10:13) “a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” It is not at all without sympathy (or empathy), but it most definitely doesn’t stop with that. And it certainly does not get in the way of personal responsibility.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">And while legitimate prophecy completely avoids any vocabulary of God smiting or hating folks for what they’ve done (which </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">was not uncommon </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">under</span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"> the Old Covenant), the concept of “You can do better,” or “Here’s </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">the</span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"> truth to replace the lie you’ve believed” is very appropriate, and is a </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">solid example</span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"> of “</span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">edification, exhortation and comfort to men.</span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">”</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Another way of describing that change of focus when calling people higher is this: “Don’t declare the problem. Anybody can do that. The evening news does a pretty good job. That takes no faith. Declare the solution. Declare the Good News. Declare God’s point of view of “a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)</span><br /><br /></span><img align="left" border="0" height="665" name="Image1" src="file:///C:/Users/thatf/AppData/Local/Temp/lu1516419n2i6.tmp/lu1516419n2lf_tmp_4bbd4182ed499250.png" width="665" /><p></p><div><br /></div><p></p>NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-54379867884474740952023-10-19T05:19:00.003-07:002023-10-19T05:19:00.156-07:00Praying to Stop an Untrustworthy Person<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was praying recently about a man who has shown himself to be
untrustworthy and whose efforts to control the world around him have
caused a lot of harm to a lot of people. It could have been any of a
number of folks, I suppose.<br /><br />“Father, stop
him!” I prayed, and as soon as I said it, I knew I’d missed his
heart.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7GOxvxj67MhOLlJ36KUAAN-ppEDrScjF68YUGh-6m3MrxcI5TRfhQ9_WnAryT-drXQb6JloukI8t2TqWK6ixvT8nIg9hVR-erDUc6Homi2F9qcZ5gUCUYsvCC-c6DwZmqBdajT_4-okYtyS1bWj37f6IjJLjotX9kVkIpHWufEehEEztP1EuYSLfG9g" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="720" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7GOxvxj67MhOLlJ36KUAAN-ppEDrScjF68YUGh-6m3MrxcI5TRfhQ9_WnAryT-drXQb6JloukI8t2TqWK6ixvT8nIg9hVR-erDUc6Homi2F9qcZ5gUCUYsvCC-c6DwZmqBdajT_4-okYtyS1bWj37f6IjJLjotX9kVkIpHWufEehEEztP1EuYSLfG9g" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Two things came
quickly into my mind:<br /><br />• The principle
I’ve held for a few years that it’s easier to pray for the storm
to change its path than to stop it altogether,<br /><br />• The image of a
man on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians getting knocked
off his ass and turned from a persecutor into a preacher. “I didn’t
stop <i>him</i>,” Father whispered.<br /><br />And I realized that
I need to change my prayer from “Stop him!” to “Change his
path,” and even “Redeem him.”<br /><br />As I considered this
some more, it occurred to me that my Father is awfully good at
redeeming irredeemable people, and bringing good through them who
formerly brought evil.<br /><br />I realized, not for
the first time, that when I pray against people that Jesus died for,
I’m doing it alone, not with my Father; that a much wiser path is
to pray for the people and for their redemption.<br /><br />I have permission to
pray against their work if it’s hurting folks, but I have his
presence and even his partnership as I pray for their redemption.</span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>NWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308037765222758339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-57263425947535682272023-10-05T07:07:00.003-07:002023-10-05T07:07:00.156-07:00The Miracle Car<p>May I share a testimony with you?</p>For years, I’ve had an older Toyota sedan. Recently, through circumstances that aren’t part of this story, the car died, and we replaced it with the same model, but a year or two newer. (What can I say? I like some of the classic Toyotas.) I hadn't had a chance to sell the busted one yet.<br /><br />Then the newer one died. My daughter was driving her sister home in it, and suddenly it seemed that the engine exploded: steam and smoke and scary noises burst from under the hood; the girls jumped from the car, steered it into a parking lot and called me to come rescue them. <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiE3E1ARvC-Sx4pkBusDkc4bLcCoGB88Lc1wcgpPRcDQrePVYO9PQ5_Bb01Nn6lYADE5C3tyQmQlo3ocM-MzBKXIGNPpwLA7qPU-_IUPdqNyR8IaAC-3ik-PjrFIiOkKc_Xrg0yKbDHRH-b7kulXdtKScpXEbZlowXvBNOMI7yq2gH_oZpkX4TjMe/s670/zz-zz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="670" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiE3E1ARvC-Sx4pkBusDkc4bLcCoGB88Lc1wcgpPRcDQrePVYO9PQ5_Bb01Nn6lYADE5C3tyQmQlo3ocM-MzBKXIGNPpwLA7qPU-_IUPdqNyR8IaAC-3ik-PjrFIiOkKc_Xrg0yKbDHRH-b7kulXdtKScpXEbZlowXvBNOMI7yq2gH_oZpkX4TjMe/s320/zz-zz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I was able to drive it home, but just barely. It was horrible: it chugged and snorted and belched great clouds of white smoke and threatened to die on the half mile trip home. A friend looked at the engine and hung his head: “Cracked head,” he murmured, and shook his head. I was horrified: that wasn’t worth repairing. <br /><br />Father whispered to me: “You’ve learned to trust me in circumstances where My provision comes before the problem does. Now can you trust me where you see the problem, but you don’t yet see My provision?” Hmm. This might be interesting. <br /><br />Then we had a brainstorm! We could use the cylinder head from the dead car on the new car! That might work! Let’s look closely, and see if we can figure out how to do that! <br /><br />So four of us gathered around to examine it. Only two of us had experience working on cars: one on a Honda, the other on a Volkswagen; the third guy & I could maybe change the oil, if we were desperate.<br /><br />We lifted the hood. There was rust spattered all over the engine like blood, and I was sad all over again. “Well, let’s see where it’s cracked.” and we stuck the garden hose to the empty radiator. The idea was to fill the radiator, start the car, and see where the water leaked out: that was where the crack would be. <br /><br />But before we could start the engine, we found the leak: a long crack on the top of the radiator! That was a much easier repair. <br /><br />The four of us ran to the old car and checked: yep! Same size radiator. So over the next several hours, we removed both radiators, tested both radiators, and installed the one from the dead car into the living car, and filled it up. We started the engine: the same chugging and snorting and great clouds of smoke belched from the exhaust. How discouraging. <br /><br />But then one of the guys pointed at the loose wires on the distributor, and asked, “Would that make a difference?” Two of the cylinders weren’t even firing. We re-attached those spark plug wires, and started the car again: it purred like a happy kitten. <br /><br />I was floored. We’d gone from a completely dead car to a completely happy car in half a day, without spending a single dime. I’ve never seen that happen before!<br /><br />Then Father reminded me: “Son, I’ve told you that I am your provision. Do you believe me?” <br /><br />For the record: No, I don’t get every need met that way. The first car was still dead. And no, I don’t get all of my needs met in the way I want them met (like getting my classic car repaired for no cost at all!). But yes, I’m learning.nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-2845538695682385792023-09-21T05:18:00.011-07:002023-09-21T05:18:00.149-07:00Prophets of Doom or Comfort Porn Prophets<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Somebody asked me recently about whether if a prophet speaks of a
trouble, are they a prophet of God or a prophet of doom? “It
worries me,” she said, “that some people spend so much time
promoting these ‘words’ that they become self-fulfilling.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fair enough.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">From my viewpoint,
this really is a legitimate concern. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having said that, to
completely avoid any mention of trials, to become only a “warm and
fuzzy prophet” (prophesying “comfort porn”) is equally errant.
Both ditches are problems. And there are other “ditches” I
suppose. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTARcfyTrwK1ktkp0XXjoEBn3WNtOUU4NgS2-ZYF9l9DKPA1mpL7VMYghYxXTVvo0y9nre4M50hgvGioiH6FuCHkQidHzzmWTPwczBT-TfuJRXnC_Oyqedo9tLv46V5-P27RaKUmL6zrcumjS1MVe9Yh8YXCIQ6nhhfVXkSpC8iHRYBPJJKsk1zYxX/s465/zzzz%20-%20Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="465" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTARcfyTrwK1ktkp0XXjoEBn3WNtOUU4NgS2-ZYF9l9DKPA1mpL7VMYghYxXTVvo0y9nre4M50hgvGioiH6FuCHkQidHzzmWTPwczBT-TfuJRXnC_Oyqedo9tLv46V5-P27RaKUmL6zrcumjS1MVe9Yh8YXCIQ6nhhfVXkSpC8iHRYBPJJKsk1zYxX/s320/zzzz%20-%20Copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah, there are a
*</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">whole lot</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">* of publicized “words” that seem to me to be
motivated by marketing, by a need to be “relevant” or “cutting
edge,” or are merely coming from what appears to be a wounded soul.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fake news among the
prophetic community?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah, that’s why
God gave us the gift of discernment. It’s probably more needful now
than ever before.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I observe, however,
that many Biblical revelations did, in fact, acknowledge coming
trials. It’s easy to find this in the Old Covenant, and it’s easy
(and often appropriate) to write many of those warnings off as
ministering under an inferior covenant.</span><div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the same time,
most of the prophetic words to Paul during the latter part of the
book of Acts fit that category as well; Agabus is never even hinted
as being a false prophet. Even Jesus prophesied warnings; have you
read Matthew 24 recently?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">If a “prophet of
God” is legitimately speaking about troubles, I’d argue that
there are some ways to discuss that topic that are more appropriate
than others. “The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets,”
after all.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems that
prophets need to speak what God is actually saying, not from other
(lesser) voices/motivations. But those who hear the words have no
less need to hear God as we discern those words.</span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
</p>
</div>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-62029051767016841332023-09-07T05:08:00.010-07:002023-09-07T05:08:00.175-07:00The Pendulum Swings to Mercy<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems that the history of mankind can be described as a rush from
one extreme position to another, like a pendulum gone. We’re doing
it again.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the past several
decades, we’ve lost track of the promise at the end of James 2:13:
“…Mercy triumphs over judgment.” For the past several decades,
the church has earned a reputation as a house of judgment and
intolerance, of narrow-mindedness and bigotry. Frankly, we’ve
earned the reputation.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">You’ve may have
noticed, however, that the pendulum is swinging back, as is its wont.
There are several changes that are happening in the church that
reflect the pendulum’s return: one that I have observed over the
past several years today is a rise, an increase, in the expression of
mercy gifts among individuals in the church. It’s one reflection of
the change in direction of the church: we’re becoming less
judgmental, and more merciful. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_pU9lYVGEMSiEruZURJBpWK529C-WG3ulYsrq_aCzsrv7DeTMPhLaghaDvgOm0Moi1AxiixfIWnPF7ltO67yrSyc2-FomEein8mqg5lUpYRBI385ouxDj-Ey7Y_-_K4thwagdgBa8VBD7VmImvDlF-lUWr631NsuetiI-DhXlVbobE1F-aV0oP0u/s1280/zzzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_pU9lYVGEMSiEruZURJBpWK529C-WG3ulYsrq_aCzsrv7DeTMPhLaghaDvgOm0Moi1AxiixfIWnPF7ltO67yrSyc2-FomEein8mqg5lUpYRBI385ouxDj-Ey7Y_-_K4thwagdgBa8VBD7VmImvDlF-lUWr631NsuetiI-DhXlVbobE1F-aV0oP0u/s320/zzzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">We certainly need
that change. The bad news is that the world has judged the church for
being judgmental and out of touch, and that judgment has been
appropriate. The good news is that the church is changing her
heading, but it seems that we’re headed for increased turbulence
with the corrections we’re making, not toward calmer waters.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The increase of the
gift of mercy within the church, has not been well documented, and
indeed it’s difficult to document and to analyze. You may or may
not have seen what I have been observing for the past year; it is
indeed subtle. Allow me to state my point fairly directly, and you
can make your own observations.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our text, then, is
Romans 12:6-8:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Having then gifts
differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use
them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or
ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in
teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with
liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with
cheerfulness.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">First, let’s agree
that mercy really is a gift, and by divine command, it is to be
exercised with “cheerfulness” (literally hílarós, a root word
that has become “hilarity” in English).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s my
observation as one who has been a part of the church for a bunch of
decades, that there are more people in the church now than there were
a decade ago who are gifted with mercy, and the gift is more
respected than it has been before. The church is more aware now than
perhaps ever of the need to respond to sinners with understanding and
empathy rather than a good clubbing with Old Testament Law. Our
services often focus on meeting the needs of “pre Christians”
rather than discussing sin and its consequences for “sinners.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">We have softened our
approach to people-different-than-ourselves, and even many of our
street evangelists are asking questions or meeting needs more than
proclaiming judgment on street-corners.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">That much is good.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The context for this
growth in mercy, however, has been neither cheerfulness nor hilarity.
The mercy that is growing in the church is growing without having
been disciplined, it is mercy out of control, and it is becoming a
destructive force in the church.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pastors and other
leaders are finding themselves confronted by their congregations for
being too stern, too strict when confronting sloth or sin. Church
discipline – ever the touchy subject – has become anathema: we’re
afraid to go there.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Often, the
confrontation is motivated at least in part by mercy: let’s not be
too harsh. But it’s mercy out of control, mercy without discipline
behind it, mercy without maturity. The resulting of the conversation
– a pastor afraid to speak the truth – is not normally considered
a step toward maturity. This is mercy guided by ignorance or (worse)
rebellion.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, a
friend of mine leads a worship band, and her drummer was getting
lazy. He’d use the same riffs for nearly every song, and his
playing had gotten boring: he was stagnant and worse than that, he
was content with being stagnant. As the leader, she had spoken to him
a couple of times privately, and they’d agreed on certain goals,
and on the means to achieve those goals.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once during
rehearsal, he drifted back into his old, stagnant patterns, and she
needed to remind him of the standards they had agreed to. But when
she did, she was surprised to find several other members of the band
getting in her face about how she had “judged” him. The other
members thought they were being “merciful” (and indeed, they are
known to be merciful people), but because their mercy was un-tempered
by self-control, it brought division, not unity to their band. This
was mercy guided by self-indulgence.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 1 Samuel 15, God
sent king Saul to destroy the Amelekites, with specific instruction
to kill everything:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">• “But kill
both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and
donkey.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Saul musters the
army and conquers the enemy, but instead of obeying God, he shows
mercy:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">• “But Saul
and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the
fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to
utterly destroy them.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sure, there were
other motivations; greed come to mind, but the act was merciful,
whether it was mixed with lesser values or not.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The story concludes
with God judging Saul, not because he was merciful (who is more
merciful than God?), but because Saul’s mercy was undisciplined,
and the fruit was disobedience. Saul feared the people more than he
feared God; God could no longer trust him as king, and He fired him
and began preparing David to replace him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In our school
district, very few students are “flunked” or “held back”
because it’s considered bad for the student’s self-esteem. I’m
all for being careful with kids’ tender hearts, but if a teacher
feels pity for a capable-but-undisciplined student, and passes a
failing student for whatever reason, that teacher is not doing the
student any favors. If the kid can’t read his own high-school
diploma because of well-meaning, but ultimately short-sighted
policies, that student will still be illiterate and functionally
unemployable, all because of his educators’ misguided mercy. This
is mercy guided by shortsightedness, by fear of confrontation, or
perhaps mercy without guidance at all.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the past twenty
years, the church has been getting used to the rebirth of prophetic
gifts. We’ve seen Prophetic Schools and Prophetic Training Classes
and Prophetic Conferences by the hundreds. All of this has been an
attempt to teach the prophetic people how to minister their prophetic
gifts: ultimately, it’s been aimed at producing mature prophets and
prophetesses, who use their gifts responsibly: in other words, we’ve
been breeding self-control into the prophetic movement, and I for
one, am thankful for it. (Who wants to return to the prophetic
poo-flinging and free-for-alls of the late ’80’s? Not I, thank
you very much!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">So consider this a
call (perhaps even a prophetic call?) to arms on behalf of the
restoration of the gift of mercy. It’s time for mercy to come to
the forefront in the church.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">And it’s time that
we begin to expect, even plan for, maturity in the gift of mercy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mercy triumphs over
judgment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mature mercy
triumphs better.</span><p></p>
nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-73108278567479866612023-08-24T04:46:00.014-07:002023-08-24T04:46:00.159-07:00<p style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">I’ve
been thinking about something.</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">Sometimes
when I need to think (“meditate”) on a topic or a verse, it helps
me to do it “out loud.”</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">Some
days, I go for a walk in the woods, and I teach on that topic to the
trees and bushes. But it’s raining enough that the squirrels are
marching two by two, so I’m using my other favorite method of
“thinking out loud”: writing. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEw3f8L2-pJLqJQ2invsUW65Ih5qc8eI-KVkA3Hi2DB6eRHmqDQa5X-xW00ZiGTSZ0HtjHwG_xndvqc43FZ1h8OKsW0zGJ8LPJN6hKdTjUX5ZUc303avt8n3xDDz339TnkVpg3sCyemgDlkljvME2kRQq3Du-UtNnv6r48jgfpuiljWWhW2w21v4Y/s1156/zzzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1156" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEw3f8L2-pJLqJQ2invsUW65Ih5qc8eI-KVkA3Hi2DB6eRHmqDQa5X-xW00ZiGTSZ0HtjHwG_xndvqc43FZ1h8OKsW0zGJ8LPJN6hKdTjUX5ZUc303avt8n3xDDz339TnkVpg3sCyemgDlkljvME2kRQq3Du-UtNnv6r48jgfpuiljWWhW2w21v4Y/w200-h162/zzzz.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">Hold
still. Thinking might happen here. This might get messy.</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Part
1</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: Our words carry power. We’re made in the image of the
Creator God, who used his words to do all his creating. We carry some
of that.</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Part
2</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: God is in the business of blessing, not in the business of
cursing. We’re in the family business (see above), so there’s a
reason he has commanded us to “bless and curse not.”</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Part
3</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: If we’re honest, there’s a lot of stuff around us, a lot
of people around us, that maybe have earned their fair share of
cursing. Some bad people doing bad things.</span><br /><br /><i style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u>Observation
1</u></i><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: Take #1 above with #3 above. I suspect that the reason
some cities (and increasingly, states) in America are so messed up is
because Christians are cursing them so much. Think about the times
you’ve heard Christians talking about Washington DC or Chicago or
San Francisco. What is usually the topic of those conversations. When
was the last time you heard Christians actually blessing Joe Biden or
Donald Trump or Nancy Pelosi?</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">And
as a result of Christians (and others, but it’s the Christians’
words that are the big danger) declaring curses, these cities, these
people are targeted by hell. And you can see it. Just look at them:
they’re not actually doing well, are they? Hell is having a heyday
with them.</span><br /><br /><i style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u>Observation
#2</u></i><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: Personal experience: whenever I have asked for prayer for
an ill-favored person or place, the curses (“Oh, they’re a bad
person!” or “They sure need to repent!”) outnumber the prayers
by about two to one. (I suspect that this illustrates our need to
grow in the Spirit’s fruit of self control.)</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hmmm
#1</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: If we hear about “God is going to judge this city” (or
state, or whatever), we often think of running away from that place.
I’m thankful there have been fewer of these awful curses recently,
but they make me think of Abe’s conversation with God in Genesis
18, where Abe argues for both mercy and justice. “Will not the
Judge of all the earth do right?”</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hmmm
#2</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: I wonder if it might be a healthier response, when we hear a
</span><i style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">credible</i><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;"> declaration of impending doom, for Christians to rush
to that city or state. And maybe echo Abe’s conversation in the
process. “Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the
righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked
alike. Far be it from you!”</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hmmm
#3</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: If that’s a reasonable thought (and so far it seems to make
sense), would the same apply to individuals? If we see someone whose
actions make them a target for hell (or “judgment” or whatever),
is it more Christ-like to get ourselves far away from them, or to get
close to them, to bring God’s mercy to them?</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hmmm
#4</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: What would that look like?</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hmmm
#5</b><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">: How would God look on that? How would the world look on that?</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;">As
I write these thoughts, a verse comes to mind. “The light shines in
the darkness and the darkness does not comprehend it.” I love the
thought of confusing the darkness, but I like the idea of shining
light into the lives caught in the darkness even better.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</p>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-75080952003144399432023-08-10T05:07:00.007-07:002023-08-10T05:07:00.158-07:00The Power of Listening<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
of the more challenging skills in the age of social media is
listening.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">Listening
is more than reading or hearing their words. It’s </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><i>not</i></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">
a tool for finding fault with their statements or for winning
arguments. In fact, listening reduces the need for actual arguments.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">I
was in a situation where someone and I saw things differently.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">“</span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Well,
that’s hypocritical,” I muttered under my breath.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">“</span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Well,
that’s one option,” Father whispered back. “What are some other
options?” </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfc0DfXjV5p0uzedCDtvKRo45Igz9JE_v_-8XDD20bbH_or33RpN4eq1WwNcyV4rQ-tdkT6BrBM04zYBfNsMRK1yxa7nmYH66xiEFzHEKvO2dGDgfA9hw_iyWRl7CQ3sEy-VlmeidQXgDOH1ssg3h-felfh_Ds0qG-P1KzvV3NhXicRym2FSCxhkG4/s721/zzzz.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="721" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfc0DfXjV5p0uzedCDtvKRo45Igz9JE_v_-8XDD20bbH_or33RpN4eq1WwNcyV4rQ-tdkT6BrBM04zYBfNsMRK1yxa7nmYH66xiEFzHEKvO2dGDgfA9hw_iyWRl7CQ3sEy-VlmeidQXgDOH1ssg3h-felfh_Ds0qG-P1KzvV3NhXicRym2FSCxhkG4/s320/zzzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"><br /> </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">(I
hold that when God speaks, power is released in his words. So, among
other things, when he asks me a question, I now have more power to
answer the question than I did before he spoke.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">So
we discussed other possibilities for why people do things I don’t
understand.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Yeah,
hypocrisy is an option, though it’s probably less frequent than I
imagine.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">•
Lack
of knowledge. They may not know the things I know, so they are
unequipped </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">to
come to my conclusions.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Lack
of awareness. This is a big one. Sometimes people have access to the
data I have, but their attention is on other things. I confess I had
to fight back the response of “How dare they!” but I quickly
realized that their focus is almost certainly different than my
focus.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Different
personal issues. The things going on in them, through which they
consider the issue, are likely different than my issues. I know some
folks who are tough to reason with before coffee. Or when they’re
hungry. Or when their emotions are high.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">Different
core beliefs. I believe (very intentionally) that God is good, that
the best explanation of what he’s like is Jesus. Other people don’t
know this yet, and so they’ll interpret “acts of God” much
differently than I will.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;">The
lesson is: listen and you might learn something. You might understand
someone. You might end up wiser than you were before you listened.</span><p></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</p>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-38446594082064469702023-07-27T04:29:00.018-07:002023-07-27T04:29:00.154-07:00Issachar, the Cat<p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>Oh
my. God's using my cat to teach me a lesson again. Awkward.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">Our
cat gets a healthy breakfast. Then she gets lunch at 1:30 or 2:00.
(She's a very well-fed cat.)</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">I
don't eat breakfast. They call it intermittent fasting; I have
breakfast at noon. (It keeps me from being a "very well-fed"
human.)</span><br /><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;"><span><br /></span></span><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">So
I was in the kitchen at noon the other day, chopping up the toppings for the
personal pizza I was going to have for breakfast. And the cat
saunters in, all affectionate, assuming that since I was in the
kitchen, I must be preparing lunch for her.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlF2aJbrdZzMpexrmwri6uN6Fr4qUeGqFQlxHJH9DcRJF4grMYCTJRPPrC9_m0ZCe8I-5jbLFhnkYsFmzH4vM50HHSO4ph5CdLYxfIdsqQ6gcwhzAzPCpISAn5IKRkBJNjoIF4JkAOZagLjTCP4BaZ2BGF4celzpMcm20oriMQgvpiVvAqKQztsMub/s840/zzzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="840" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlF2aJbrdZzMpexrmwri6uN6Fr4qUeGqFQlxHJH9DcRJF4grMYCTJRPPrC9_m0ZCe8I-5jbLFhnkYsFmzH4vM50HHSO4ph5CdLYxfIdsqQ6gcwhzAzPCpISAn5IKRkBJNjoIF4JkAOZagLjTCP4BaZ2BGF4celzpMcm20oriMQgvpiVvAqKQztsMub/s320/zzzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>I
scritched her neck and she purred. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>Then</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>
she started to yowl </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>when
I didn’t get the hint</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>,
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>so</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>
I walked away. We repeated the cycle two or three times before she
gave up and walked away and sulked. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>I
went back to </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>slicing</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>
peppers and shredding cheese.</span></span></span></span></div></div><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">Then
I heard the whisper. "It's easy to misunderstand what time it is
if you depend on someone else for that information."</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">Immediately
1 Chronicles 12:32 came to my mind. "...from Issachar [came]
men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do."</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">Personally,
I believe it's more important in these days than ever before in my
own lifetime at least, to understand the times and to know how to
respond in the midst of these days.</span><br /><br /><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">And
I cannot (I MUST not) depend on somebody's prophetic word, or what my
pastor preaches about, or what that person on Facebook writes about.
I must understand the times from knowing my Father, from walking with
Jesus, from listening to Holy Spirit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>It's
awkward when I get misled by gifted saints who are walking </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>in
step</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span>
with God. It's awkward when I follow what they're proclaiming rather
than what Father is whispering.</span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0f1111;"><span face="Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span></span></p><p>
</p><p></p>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-90666683116288042602023-07-13T04:06:00.016-07:002023-07-13T04:06:00.146-07:00Sharing Power<p style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>It
seems that God has always been about sharing power.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">The
first thing he said to the freshly-created Adam & Eve was sharing
power: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air,
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” [Genesis 1]
That’s sharing power.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Even
earlier, as he was thinking about it, he was already clear: “Let Us
make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.” [also Genesis 1] That’s sharing
power.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">He
reminds us of it later: “The heaven, even the heavens, are the
LORD's; But the earth He has given to the children of men.” [Psalm
115]</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">God
is about sharing power, at least on this planet. But this planet is
(for now) the only place we live, so that’s not much of a practical
limitation.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">God
has always been about sharing power with us. Or call it sharing
authority. For the moment, the difference isn’t significant here.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">That
triggers some ugly stuff in my religious history. For a while in my
history, I lived among believers who seemed to think that it was up
to them to do things, and if God wasn’t busy, maybe he’d help out
a little. And then I spent a whole bunch of years among a “God is
all-powerful and I’m only a worm” crowd.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">But
the idea of God sharing power with us shoots both of those down
pretty well, doesn’t it?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Do
you remember the parable of the minas [Luke 19]? It’s a picture of
his reward system, and the biggest reward? “Well done, good
servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority
over ten cities.”</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">He’s
sharing power again: authority over cities.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">For
a few years, I’ve been working on the belief that God doesn’t
want to relate to us as a master and slaves. He’s a Father, for
Heaven’s sake, he wants to relate to us as children, and since he’s
a good Father, he wants mature children. Mature daughters and sons
who can co-reign with him.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OvvMrEdRkNx2iAKzdXgozpHKNcI-1bDwFoYBCG7sr8eU7Gtqzi2OtnqDTgRvjF9_z_ejaPhxLtgU0Z2L7vRKo59CbUJNIFK2bdd3cZsr8CZApVsEmJVNsJGhJivE_dRufrxsDT0yPhPZBtQTa32qLMmfBQ488wvqjVWUnFaIqO3JyhXXyr0_HEXq/s1200/zzzz.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OvvMrEdRkNx2iAKzdXgozpHKNcI-1bDwFoYBCG7sr8eU7Gtqzi2OtnqDTgRvjF9_z_ejaPhxLtgU0Z2L7vRKo59CbUJNIFK2bdd3cZsr8CZApVsEmJVNsJGhJivE_dRufrxsDT0yPhPZBtQTa32qLMmfBQ488wvqjVWUnFaIqO3JyhXXyr0_HEXq/s320/zzzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It’s
been right there in black and white since the very first page of the
Book. He never made a secret of it.<br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">OK,
that’s pretty well established. Today, we went off into the weeds a
little:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">If
God is sharing power (on Earth), how much of his power does he share,
and how much does he keep for himself?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">I
get that it’s reasonable to assume that everything that we do as
his sons and daughters, well he’s in us, so he’s doing that work,
not us. Stop it! That’s religious double-talk. He NEVER said,
“We’ll let them think they have authority over creation, but
we’ll keep it all for ourselves and just let them pretend to be
kings and priests.”</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">That’s
a pretty ugly accusation against a loving Father. I should know; I
thought that way for quite a while.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">For
the moment, let’s assume that when God says, “...he earth He has
given to the children of men,” that he meant it.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">The
question I’m pondering right now is more about how much: How much
of the authority on this planet does he keep for himself and how much
is he delegating to the human species (that would be you and me, you
understand)?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>Some
have argued that he started the machine running, but nowadays, it’s
largely up to us. (“The earth He has given to the children of men,”
remember?)</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>Some
propose that we don’t have any authority of our own, but we just
get to hold his hand while he does kingly stuff sometimes. (“In him
we live and move and have our being.” [Acts 17:28])</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>I’m
thinking that sharing means sharing. He has some, we have some, but
mostly, we both have our hand in the pot. If we’re smart, we’ll
invite him to come with us when we lead and we’ll go with him where
he’s leading.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">How
do you figure that works out? How do you see it? </span></span><br />
<p></p><p>
</p>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-91508084941124343592023-06-29T02:34:00.020-07:002023-06-29T02:34:00.139-07:00Balaam’s Presumption<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>I’ve
been reflecting on Baalam son of Beor recently (Numbers 22 – </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>24</span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>,
I believe).</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Balaam
was known as a prophet whose words carried power (“...For I know
that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is
cursed.”).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>A
local king (Balak, king of Moab) saw the horde of people on their way
from Egypt, heading to the Promised Land, and he was </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>afraid
for his life. He had reason to be. This mob of former slaves had just
wiped out the neighboring kingdom (21:25).</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">So
he decides to hire the local prophet, and here is where things get
interesting. This is what stuck out to me this morning:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>Balak
tries to hire Balaam to curse the invading army (22:6). Balaam
answers, “I’ll check with God.” (22:8)</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">•
<span>God
tells Balaam “Do not go with them.” </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>Balaam
tells the recruiters, “Go back to your own country, for the LORD
has refused to let me go with you.” (22:13)</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">So
far so good.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>But
Balak is determined. He offers more cash, more status. Balaam knows
God has already said no. That should have been the end of it. But he
goes back to check with God again.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">It
occurs to me that an awful lot of prophets I know (NOT all of them!)
have some measure of insecurity in them, and with reason. People who
speak for God are not often welcome into polite society: prophets
encounter rejection more than some folks. This seems to be a tender
spot for Balaam.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>And
this is where things go haywire. God defers to Balaam’s free will,
lets him go with them, but says, “...but do only what I tell you.”</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">• </span><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>Balaam
saddles up his donkey and heads to Moab with the royal recruiters.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">•
<span>And
along the way, an angel tries to kill him three times. </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #0f1111;">His talking donkey saved his life. (22:28)</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyqCKhb8KbcMTNzqTQduGyVUYNaGKzJ8RdQKwNCpZcned9Gf5xil23Q-9fJSPEECDWvHGQk9k0XpLWzpS2VhtG7uekwrMzk8jgPs0Ryys5AK5Np12OuV013JdGlCRsl3O7Gl-C5AuI9m1FrilXLqcKxBtZYgBaQMMaX1FhnKXPglokiNT40mad_Ft/s600/zzzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyqCKhb8KbcMTNzqTQduGyVUYNaGKzJ8RdQKwNCpZcned9Gf5xil23Q-9fJSPEECDWvHGQk9k0XpLWzpS2VhtG7uekwrMzk8jgPs0Ryys5AK5Np12OuV013JdGlCRsl3O7Gl-C5AuI9m1FrilXLqcKxBtZYgBaQMMaX1FhnKXPglokiNT40mad_Ft/s320/zzzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>Interpreting
this Old Covenant story through the newer, </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>more
complete</span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>
revelation (Hebrews 1:3), </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>it’s
clear that it’s not</span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>
God trying to kill the rebellious prophet. </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>I
suspect that r</span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>ather
his rebellion against God’s clear </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>instruction</span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>
(22:13) gave fallen angels (or demons) the right to go after him. A digression.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>That’s
what sin does, of course: it gives hell permission to beat on us. God
says, “Be holy” for a reason. </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>(Leviticus
11:44,45; 19:2, & 1Peter 1:16) (Fortunately, his command to be
holy also releases his power for us to choose holiness successfully.)</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">I
come away from this thinking that free will really is a big deal. Our
free will is so powerful, it will let us defy the will of God. Of
course, there are some formidable consequences to that choice, but it
is still a choice.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">It’s
not that hard to talk yourself into doing what God said not to do.
And God will let us do it. There have been times that I’ve asked
him not to, but free will seems to be a big deal to him: he generally
insists that we make our own choices.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Note
that in the end, Balaam did attempt to curse Israel, but God turned
it into a blessing (Deuteronomy 23:5), but he ended badly (2Peter
2:15 & Revelation 2:14).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>I
don’t want to be like Balaam. </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span>His
words carried power. His prophecies all came to pass. But he was
damned fool about it: he disappointed God and nearly got killed by an
angel. (But he got to hear a donkey talk! That’s kind of cool. An
ass talking to an ass, I guess.)</span></span></span></span><p></p>
nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-36100096564364737312023-06-15T01:58:00.015-07:002023-06-15T01:58:00.141-07:00Let There Be Light, and Other Divine Commands<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60LQBpNTAtztxhsinbt2fZf0H1R2p1xTpTL1IwDGaMPHa5gofWoZEtuRDESQ0ZelO12N2u4PExBAMssX95g0qJQL8ohJ8jKCj5I5LcGsOs7uF5KALfuAEwPtn8Aktko8dsG3sdeLyGp4226iKkVHOMs4PyflYxURruWX5XYdleBCq4MM7WLr6kMSv/s960/zzz.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60LQBpNTAtztxhsinbt2fZf0H1R2p1xTpTL1IwDGaMPHa5gofWoZEtuRDESQ0ZelO12N2u4PExBAMssX95g0qJQL8ohJ8jKCj5I5LcGsOs7uF5KALfuAEwPtn8Aktko8dsG3sdeLyGp4226iKkVHOMs4PyflYxURruWX5XYdleBCq4MM7WLr6kMSv/s320/zzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Think with me for a minute.<br /><br />It’s pretty clear that when God gave commands in Genesis 1, those
things happened.<br /><br />“Let there be light!” and <i><b>Bam! </b></i>There’s light.<br /><br />And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one
place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.<br /><br />There’s a principle illustrated here: When God gives a command,
power is released in that command to accomplish what is commanded.<br /><br />For years, I misunderstood this. I heard (for I had been taught) “Be
holy as I am holy” as instruction for how I needed to direct my own
efforts.<br /><br />“<i>God says to be holy, so you need to follow all these holy rules
in order to accomplish holiness. The best you can.”</i><br /><br />“<i>God says, ‘Go and sin no more,’ so you need to know all the
Do’s and Don’ts and make sure you follow every one carefully for
the rest of your life.”</i><br /><br />I’ve since learned that this is complete hogwash. And it’s an
insult to God.<br /><br />God gives me a gift, “Be holy, son; and here is the ability (and
the desire) to be holy!” But I had ignored his gift and tried to
come up with the same “holy” result through my own legalistic
efforts.<br /><br />What a nightmare.<br /><br />But once I quit focusing on the list of Do’s and Don’ts and just
focused on my Father, once I gave my heart freedom (gasp!) to love
him, my desire for sin left, and with it, my choice to sin.<br /><br />I began to experience holiness. In my life. Mine! My own!<br /><br />I’ve been reflecting on this process (with substantial
thanksgiving!) recently, and then in this context, “Be transformed
by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) came to mind.<br /><br />“Transformed” means changed, in structure, in appearance, even in
genetics. Literally.<br /><br />So how would I even recognize it when that transforming happens to
me?<br /><br />“Think about Easter, Son. Where was Jesus before dawn on that first
Easter?”<br /><br />Jesus was in the grave. He might have been preaching in hell, but he
was between death and resurrection. (Around here, we call that
“dead.” As in, “Jesus was dead.”)<br /><br />But Jesus went into the grave as one kind of a man, one kind of
flesh-and-blood, and came out another. If nothing else, he could walk
through walls, afterwards. I’ll bet there were other changes, too.<br /><br />He had been transformed, after. So right then, in the grave at that
first Easter weekend, Jesus was being transformed.<br /><br />At that point, my mind was spinning with religious thoughts like
“dying to self,” and “being hidden away, cocooned,” and
“renewing my mind,” in order to “be transformed.”<br /><br />Father interrupted my thoughts. “What makes you think I’m not
transforming you right now, right here as we talk? As we walk
together every day? This isn’t something <i>you</i> do, Son. This
is something <i><b>I</b></i> do.<br /><br />“And if I can transform Jesus, even while he was dead, don’t you
think I can transform you while you’re not even dead? “Trust me,
Son.”<br /><br />I’m a grateful son. I’m thankful.<br /><br />And then it hit me: that’s the secret. The sentence continues: “Be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.”<br /><br />Choosing to be thankful, even excited, for who he is and what he’s
done and well… maybe just living thankfully, that’s the key that
he works through. Or at least one of them.</span><p></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-64742905771724099012023-06-01T06:30:00.002-07:002023-06-01T06:30:00.140-07:00What If God Really IS Moved by Love?<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCI92nexh3lXECGLuOW8vilg2whVOrTt8mCMbUQJgRvPxmwlnXY6LJ-U-PvWyq3Aks8i896IIK6UVw4lg9l8hXT4uhiJmgsk5z_wF-Ya7gbmrHJkJPY1aRCf0fK2JET0UYBQ4CVZ1F6wbJSAowI_sEz66VQsuguY5LcQOofdSmHxk_L-hcz5QTx3w/s800/zzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCI92nexh3lXECGLuOW8vilg2whVOrTt8mCMbUQJgRvPxmwlnXY6LJ-U-PvWyq3Aks8i896IIK6UVw4lg9l8hXT4uhiJmgsk5z_wF-Ya7gbmrHJkJPY1aRCf0fK2JET0UYBQ4CVZ1F6wbJSAowI_sEz66VQsuguY5LcQOofdSmHxk_L-hcz5QTx3w/s320/zzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I've been thinking about this recently. I’m reflecting on the reality that
God is motivated by love. I mean if “God is love,” then he’s
moved by love, right? <br /><br />That doesn’t mean
he doesn’t experience emotions, or that those emotions don’t
affect him. And of course, God experiences emotion differently than
we do (because he’s different than you and I are). But it’s love
that moves him.<br /><br />It’s love that moves him.<br /><br />That is certainly
more consistent with the God whom Jesus revealed than it is with a
god who wants to smite. That god is a lie; satan has been selling
that one for millennia. That’s the caricature that he talks about,
that God is mean. “Did God really say….?”<br /><br />Satan told the Norse people that God’s name (and character) was Odin. Or Thor. He told the Romans about Zeus.
If you’ve ever read those stories, you know some epic lies told
about the God Who Is Love, about the God who KNEW the Cross was
coming, who knew He would die on it (“the lamb slain before the
foundation of the world”) and yet he still created us.<br /><br />I’m thinking this
morning that I’ll get a better understanding of why he does what he
does. I’ll understand the declarations of the Old Testament
prophets (I’m in Isaiah this morning) better if I keep it in mind
that He is always motivated by love.<br /><br />So here’s a
question for reflection on today. If you read history through the
lens that God is moved by love (correctly, I might add), does that
re-interpret certain things in your history? Do you see some things
differently if you reflect on it with the foundation of “God was
moved by love when that happened”<br /><br />It’s worth
remembering, of course, that it may not have been God that did
whatever that was that you’re remembering. The accuser is still
accusing him, particularly in front of his own children.</span><br /><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-13556579026090211262023-05-18T07:23:00.004-07:002023-05-18T07:23:00.144-07:00Knowing God<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9coGTTqUC6YgxtQv08qIf6sH-YFweeF3xlfK152aiYgfPYqVeotZ7orL14WupW1Kd1NSzVbtG5k4d_qdoHShSoAysAsyspBYl6sWjTQt1FBKjh1kg5GQtFul13MK4n5xsk-YxIgHmXBJR430_etcMJhrG9pEjLaGvtcxr2Boca6OSemJaHo0NjQqeg/s1920/zzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9coGTTqUC6YgxtQv08qIf6sH-YFweeF3xlfK152aiYgfPYqVeotZ7orL14WupW1Kd1NSzVbtG5k4d_qdoHShSoAysAsyspBYl6sWjTQt1FBKjh1kg5GQtFul13MK4n5xsk-YxIgHmXBJR430_etcMJhrG9pEjLaGvtcxr2Boca6OSemJaHo0NjQqeg/s320/zzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>“Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said,
‘This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words.’<br /><br />Moses and Aaron,
Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the
God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of
lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.<br /><br />But God did not
raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God,
and they ate and drank.<br /><br />When Moses went up
the mountain, the cloud covered it. The glory of the LORD settled on
Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days.<br /><br />On the seventh day
he called to Moses from the cloud. The appearance of the Lord's glory
to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.”<br />[from Exodus 24]<br /><br />A friend drew my
attention to the cutting of the Mosaic Covenant, when God and the
people of Israel formally entered into the covenant that the people
had proposed [Deuteronomy 5:27].<br /><br />I’ve always paid
more attention to the proposal [Exodus 19 & 20] than the marriage
[Exodus 24]. A few things speak to me here.<br /><br />And it occurs to me
that an excellent way to get to know someone better, is to sit down
to a meal with them. I observe that both the Old Covenant [Exodus 24]
and the New Covenant [Luke 22] were established with meals, and that
he still invites himself in for meals with his people [Revelation
3:20].<br /><br />In the Old Covenant, this was the first time they’d
ever eaten with God, I think. In the New Covenant, it might have been
the three thousandth time they’d eaten together (three meals a day
for three years).<br /><br />A little bit later,
Moses gets up and heads further up the mountain into God’s
presence, but it takes a full week for God to speak with him.<br /><br />I reflect that the
reality is that sometimes when I’m talking with God, it really does
take a few days to connect well with him. But I also reflect that
this is more a characteristic of Old Covenant thinking than of the
New [Luke 11:13, John 10:27].<br /><br />But while Mo and God
were talking, it looked like a “consuming fire.” Sometimes when
we meet with God, other folks can see the change in us. And sometimes
the change does not comfort them, if they don’t know him like we
know him.<p></p><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>
nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-3707948155590411582023-05-04T07:14:00.007-07:002023-05-04T07:14:00.273-07:00Responding to Testimony<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzewrIE-epR2hZCbc3vvFV0ue6lqqBCmR_FIHBNFpNk41E0btwxmryQ3szsafWdNyQ_0L3qH1hTVab9Ipt7FbRCKudJjfCzck7JUm9iE-tCRV5ZwxwrNvgO01hxm2SyV_KTZrjN_RuvXo79xQ64925yoVgYsFK048LaQIh9UYdw2XntzH6QbNVVgtww/s701/zzz.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="701" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzewrIE-epR2hZCbc3vvFV0ue6lqqBCmR_FIHBNFpNk41E0btwxmryQ3szsafWdNyQ_0L3qH1hTVab9Ipt7FbRCKudJjfCzck7JUm9iE-tCRV5ZwxwrNvgO01hxm2SyV_KTZrjN_RuvXo79xQ64925yoVgYsFK048LaQIh9UYdw2XntzH6QbNVVgtww/s320/zzz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I had been listening to some pretty awesome testimonies of God's
goodness recently. One day, I was driving across town, reflecting on
the testimonies, admiring how good God really is.<br /><br />“You know, Son, If
you keep welcoming the testimonies, you might be in danger of seeing
those things show up in your own life.” I could hear the smile in
his voice.<br /><br />I thought for a
while about what he was saying: receiving the testimony empowers the
testimony in my own life. Yeah, that's Biblical.<br /><br />Then the other end
of the scale crossed my mind.<br /><br />“I wonder if that
means that if I were to reject the testimony, that I would stop that
work of God in my life, I would actually be working against God's
move in my life?”<br /><br />I felt Father sadly
nodding agreement. There was a tear.<br /><br />I pondered some
more.<br /><br />I could hear
someone's argument in my mind: “Does that mean that I need to
believe every unverifiable, every unbelievable fairy tale that
anybody dreams up?”<br /><br />He was silent.<br /><br />I thought about that
for a while.<br /><br />After several miles,
I realized that this isn't a binary situation. This isn't “Either I
fully believe the testimony & receive it, or else I completely
and utterly reject it.” There are times, no doubt, for each of
those extremes, but there are other options, other choices, where I believe a portion of the testimony and respond to other parts skeptically.<br /><br />I thought some more.<br /><br />It came back to my
attention that Father has been reminding me of my own testimony
recently: how he's taught me how I don't actually need to form an
opinion all the time. He reminded me of how much freedom that has
brought me in recent years, to occasionally say, “I don’t know.”
“I don’t have an opinion on that one.”<br /><br />And that’s the
answer in this situation. Or at least an answer.<br /><br />If I don't have the
faith (or the will) to believe the testimony before us, have another
option, other than closing off the grace of God in my life in that
area: I’m not actually required to form an opinion, a judgment, of
every single thing that we hear.<br /><br />It's easy enough to
let unbelief disguise itself as the wisdom of not forming an opinion,
but we’re mature enough to avoid that, aren’t we?<br /><br />Use discernment.
Duh. That’s why he gave us that gift; use the gift, then trust the
gift that God has given. Engage your trust, or don’t, as you
choose.<br /><br />But if it's a good
testimony, believe it, engage your faith with it, and look for the
grace of that testimony to manifest in your life.<br /><br />But maybe if
it isn’t a testimony you find you can engage your faith with, I
don’t need to utterly reject and shut down that move of God in my
life.<br /><p></p>
nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-4812892207622111072023-04-20T07:12:00.005-07:002023-04-20T07:12:00.211-07:00Is All Worship Equally Precious to God?<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPXDYKAyIad1dvH19U-WDT5QdcS8Hmd2GLmUEk48cPDsYXJ1b9sfAluFyH-lPLE-wkk9LudQ6a9eCBwwkQ6Sgf2pAF42UzIBtyyOvMYThmLn393rkxOob7v_ghPWLIvrEXyjAVQlqLwqBbR1rLnzNv1E1Xc20Y0lBNHenL_S1YPCQ3TGfc-lcKx-x2A/s1024/zzzx.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1024" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPXDYKAyIad1dvH19U-WDT5QdcS8Hmd2GLmUEk48cPDsYXJ1b9sfAluFyH-lPLE-wkk9LudQ6a9eCBwwkQ6Sgf2pAF42UzIBtyyOvMYThmLn393rkxOob7v_ghPWLIvrEXyjAVQlqLwqBbR1rLnzNv1E1Xc20Y0lBNHenL_S1YPCQ3TGfc-lcKx-x2A/s320/zzzx.png" width="320" /></a>Is all worship equally precious to God?<br /><br />That question
challenges me quite a lot. They stretch me. And I think I see a trap
in it.<br /><br />It seems to me that
worship from a broken place might be more precious, as it costs us
more.<br /><br />It’s pretty easy,
when God has just healed your daughter from cancer, to respond in
worship toward the God who just restored the love of your life to
you. In fact, sometimes it’s hard for believers to <i>not</i>
worship God in those circumstances.<br /><br />And that worship is
precious to God.<br /><br />But worship doesn’t
come as naturally, as easily, when you’ve missed your rent payment
again, when your family rejects you, when your favorite grandmother
just died. Scripture talks about “a sacrifice of praise” [Hebrews
13:15]. One reason that Job is among my heroes is because when he got
the news about the death of his children and the theft of his
fortune, “he fell to the ground in worship” [Job 1:20].<br /><br />Worship in these
circumstances is more costly to us.<br /><br />I find that worship
in those circumstances is more precious in me as well, from two
perspectives.<br /><br />First, in times of
disappointment and failure, my soul is more vulnerable, more pliable,
more raw. When I come before God in worship in those times, I am more
effectively conformed to his image, and I receive more of his comfort
and provision (though I may not recognize that until later).<br /><br />Second, when I
observe <i>you</i> worshipping
passionately in the midst of<i> </i><i>your</i><i> </i>trials,
that ignites something in <i>me</i>
in response. Sometimes it’s igniting worship in me, sometimes
gratitude or joy.<br /><br />Watching
someone worshipping in the midst of blessing and gratitude is cool
too. But when you are worshipping God purposefully in those times,
your worship has a more powerful effect on me, and therefore is more
precious to me.<br /><br />Is
it more precious to God? That’s
a tough one. Since Scripture doesn’t seem to answer that question,
I figure I maybe shouldn’t answer for him where he’s chosen not
to answer.<br />However,
a good number of people believe that yes, God does appreciate worship
more when it comes out of difficult trials.<br /><br />Now
here’s where the trap comes.<br /><br />If
I believe that my worship is more meaningful to God when it comes
from trials, then I might be tempted to go looking for trials in
order to “level up” the value of their worship before God. And
there are all kinds of problems with that.<br /><br />○
I’ve known people who believed this, and tried to walk it out.
Their lives were messed up. They intentionally chose physically
demanding jobs, they wouldn’t let anyone help them so as to not
“lose their reward.” They had no joy, no friends, and no fruit in
their lives. These were miserable people.<br /><br />○ In
some religious movements, this has been elevated to a virtue, an art
form. Self-flagellation –
whether literal or metaphorical – is always popular. And it’s the
metaphorical kind that’s the worst trouble. We all know people who
regularly say sad and evil things about themselves (“I deserve
this” for example). Many of them will defend these beliefs at some
level.<br /><br />○
The worst of it may be the worship of Molech, which we see in the Old
Testament, and which continues even today. One of the more detestable
things that evil people in the Old Testament did was to sacrifice
their children [1Kings 3:27, Ezekiel 20:31].<br /><br />I
was reflecting on this the other day: Why would these people kill
their kids? How could they be
so deceived as to think that this was a good thing?<br /><br />I
could feel Father’s sadness as I brought the questions up. He
pointed out that these people are badly deceived: it’s not really
God that they’re worshipping, though they may or may not know it.
But they believe that in sacrificing that which is most precious to
them – bone of their bone – that they will be more pleasing to
God or gods, or that they will gain more power.<br /><br />In
reality, those child sacrifices are acts of worship to demons,
inspired by demons, and used by demons to control the people. That’s
not all that hard to see from our viewpoint as twenty-first century
Christians. We can see it where they could not.<br /><br />And
then it dawned on me: it is, all of it, in greater or lesser measure,
and whether we intend it to be or not, it is all worship at a false
altar. (I can’t bring myself to say, “It’s all worship of
demons, in one measure or another,” even though that’s what I
think I mean: that’s just too harsh.)<br /><br />Let
me say it more delicately, and I’m going to cut to the chase, here:
any time we hold up our
sacrifice, our works, as making us more pleasing to God, we’ve
missed the heart of Jesus. In that moment that we believe (whether
with words or not) that “I deserve this,” or that “My sacrifice
will make me more pleasing to God,” we have taken our eyes off of
Jesus, and put them on a false god of one sort or another.<br /><br />Summary:
Worshipping God in the midst of trials and loss is a beautiful thing.
It’s good for you, it inspires people around you, it draws you
closer to God and to his provision for you.<br /><br />It
is possible, whether blatantly (as with Molech) or subtly (with our
attitudes) to carry that “beautiful thing” to a very ugly extreme
and to rob it of all its beauty.<br /><br />At
the same time, it is also possible to be overly aware of
the dangers of the ugly extreme, and shy away from worshipping God in
difficulty or uncertainty, out of fear of making that mistake.<br /><br />Reacting
out of fear is never a healthy thing, is it? And taking things to
extremes is so often such a mistake, isn’t it?<br /><br />I’m
reminded again of the wisdom of “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
pioneer and perfecter of faith.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>nwphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818514321816054109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899018576420083198.post-59858515022561925042023-04-06T07:09:00.037-07:002023-04-06T07:09:00.183-07:00Raising Children is an Act of War<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">One of our practices, while milady &
I were raising our kids, was to have a “date night” every week,
so we engaged a young lady from our church, named Bella. Bella knew
that every Thursday, she had an appointment babysitting our three
young kids, while Mrs P & I went out on a date together.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">(Comment:
the date night is not for business, household or otherwise; it’s
for maintaining and strengthening the relationship. Sometimes we had
dinner, sometimes it was just a walk in the park, but the business of
bills or work or leading our church was off limits. However, “I
love you!” was permitted, even encouraged!) (’Nother comment:
Date night was an outstanding investment we made in our marriage; got
us through some ugly seasons.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Back
to Bella. Bella was a great young lady. She was the oldest daughter
of a couple who were “pillars” in our church, and she was
amazing, and the whole church knew it. She was active in the youth
group, earned good grades, and didn’t hang out with the scruffy
kids at school. Her parents were real proud of her. She was at our
house every Thursday evening for several years.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">One
Thursday, we came home after a quiet dinner, and a police car was in
our driveway. It seems that Bella had left our kids alone in the
house, and gone off to a quiet place to make out with her (hitherto
unrevealed) boyfriend; someone had reported the trespassers, so the
police showed up.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Bella
had told the policeman who arrested them about our home and our kids,
so a cop was parked in our driveway, making sure nothing happened to
our kids until we got home.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We
had some difficult conversations that evening. In a couple of months,
we attended Bella’s hastily arranged wedding.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Then
there was Bennie. Bennie was an Eagle Scout. He was squeaky clean:
good looking, short hair, bright eyes, had memorized hundreds of
Bible verses.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">He
was the oldest son of one of the church’s elders, and the whole
community was proud of him. He led worship, taught Sunday school, and
was making plans for Bible college when he snapped.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">His
parents were completely undone when he went missing. “He’s such a
good boy! He’d never do something like this to us!” they wept.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Three
weeks later, Bennie showed up, covered in poorly-drawn tattoos and
addicted to methamphetamines. His parents wept some more, and tried
to “fix him,” but he disappeared again, this time for the better
part of a year.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
know more of these stories, but you probably know some, too: good
kids, kids who seem to have everything going for them, and then one
day, during that terrible transition between youth and adulthood,
they snap, they go off the deep end. Most of them don’t really come
back.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">My
kids were coming up on their adolescence, so I was intensely
interested. I grieved for Bella and for Bennie, and for their
parents, but I wanted to do what I could to keep my own kids from
this sort of flaming crash-and-burn. I talked to God about it. A lot.
Hours, weeks, months.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">One
night, I was sitting next to my campfire, praying for my kids, when
he began to unveil some things. Now, the unveiling took a lot of
time, weeks, probably months, and I don’t have time for that whole
story, so let me cut to the chase.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It
seemed, in at least these two cases, that these kids felt immense
pressure. They carried the heavy weight of expectation of sainthood,
of perfection, from their parents, from their extended families, from
their friends, from their churches, from everybody they knew.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It
was overwhelming, stifling, constraining them while they were young,
and they grew more aware of these expectations as they grew, until
the weight that nobody knew they carried crushed them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
think there were three factors to this.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The
first was that eventually, as they touched on adulthood, they
realized that they didn’t have to choose to wear that weight any
longer. But they didn’t know how to lay it down, didn’t know how
to get help, so they just threw it off and ran screaming from anybody
that they associated with that crushing burden.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The
second factor was that they were heroes as children, showpieces as
youth and adolescents, but now they were facing that great unknown:
adulthood! They had no idea how to be heroes or showpieces as adults,
in fact, adulthood in general was overwhelming, so they cut and ran,
away from adulating, away from responsibility, away from perfection.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFMyd3J1i8LNDO8iuNGlfLXvCAMwJPgBo_7PP-fweaT07pieEGkf2AlQpixXVshisuibyauLlffzN8bQJa926Z4Guz5AdXjbIimvQuSQZU0ntpnZZhW06bDcyHCXrbQ6x13essWvO0VoE-FaR2Mhv9GszAxTc6WjoS2TXCRH-tA2ZdWmpbjbBU4vd/s542/zzz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFMyd3J1i8LNDO8iuNGlfLXvCAMwJPgBo_7PP-fweaT07pieEGkf2AlQpixXVshisuibyauLlffzN8bQJa926Z4Guz5AdXjbIimvQuSQZU0ntpnZZhW06bDcyHCXrbQ6x13essWvO0VoE-FaR2Mhv9GszAxTc6WjoS2TXCRH-tA2ZdWmpbjbBU4vd/s320/zzz.jpg" width="255" /></a>And
third, he showed me that these particular kids were living on their
parents’ faith, not their own. And when the pressure of looming
adulthood got to them, they couldn’t live on their own faith. They
were making the physical transition to an adult body, but not the
transition from their parents’ relationship with God to their own
relationship with God.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Father
showed me that I was similarly proud of my amazing children, and I
was setting them up – particularly my all-star firstborn, for the
same sort of implosion.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">He
gave us a few strategies to protect our kids. Fair warning, these
things did not make our church elders happy, nor did the kids’
grandparents always approve. But we have healthy adult kids, and
we’re still friends, so something went right.</span><br /><br />• <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">When
they were younger, we built a great big treehouse in the back yard so
they and their friends could do that thing that all kids need to do,
but church kids don’t usually get to do: play. Be kids. And they
could do it in our yard, under our oversight. We had water fights
there (I bought the balloons, and loaded them, while milady chased
screaming kids with a Super Soaker and maniacal laughter!)</span><br /><br />• <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">For
the same reason, we bought a bunch of video games (we chose which
ones we spent our money on, but we sought their counsel). For
birthday parties, we rented a projector, invited the friends, and had
a 16’ wide videogame on the wall. We played some of the games, but
never as well as they did.</span><br /><br />• <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We
encouraged them to do things, to stretch their experiences, with
their friends. Go camping with your teenage friends (here, use my
sleeping bag, my tent; this is how you set it up), make a fancy
dinner with friend (here, use our kitchen, we’ll go somewhere else
that evening). We ignored it when they snuck out of the house at
night, but we did ask the next morning how their midnight walk had
gone. Sometimes, we walked together in the dark. Often, I bought
chocolate milk for us at the 7-Eleven.</span><br /><br />• <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We
made an under-the-rose deal with them. If ever they got an invitation
to go somewhere or do something and they didn’t want to go, or
didn’t feel safe, we would be the heavy: “No honey, you can’t
go to that. We have a family event that evening,” even if the
family event was just dinner and a movie at home. (And we’d always
come and get them, any time, any place, if they called and said, “I
want to come home.”)</span><br /><br />• <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Since
“rule-keeping” was part of the heavy burden that had broken Bella
and Bennie, we practiced breaking the rules together. We’d go off
the trails when we went hiking (waaay off!), and I’d show them the
edible plants, and we’d eat them! We learned how to start a fire
rubbing sticks together, and then we put it out in a great big hurry
because we were in the garage when we finally figured it out. We’d
play hide and seek in the grocery store and in the mall. We took off
our coats and hats in the spring rain and sang silly songs as we
jumped in puddles. We played Frisbee golf on all the important
government buildings.</span><br /><br />• <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">When
they were approaching age 18, the age of legality, some of them made plans to
get tattoos. Since I had no authority to prohibit an 18-year-old from getting a
tattoo, I contributed to the “tattoo fund,” and discussed designs
and colors with him. (The final choice was an ancient family motto, in Latin,
no less! It looks great!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
have a handful of things in my mind as I come to the end of these
very fond memories.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">1)
Please don’t make the mistake of thinking we got it all right. We
surely did not. But we actively loved them. We stayed in our kids’
lives, we stayed in communication together, we stayed in prayer. In
the end, they’re still our friends, they’re still excellent
people, though they sure turned out to be different than the good
little church kids we’d originally (and ignorantly) envisioned.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">2)
I’m offering some perspective here, some opinion: There’s a
reason why some kids blow up when they approach their majority. A lot
of it has to do with how the generation before them handles the
expectations they lay on them, how they train youth to become adults,
how they give hope for a mysterious transition. Maybe with some
understanding, we can choose wiser paths to lead them down. Every kid
needs understanding. Like adults do.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">3)
I offer these as testimonies. There are some people who are facing
similar situations and they don’t know how to respond, and these
stories will give some folks hope, give other folks ideas. Your kids
are every bit as worth saving as mine are. Every family needs hope.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">4)
In these, I’m offering a worldview that you can borrow, a worldview
that says “people are more important than their reputation,” or
“not every rule is for obeying.” You see, there’s more life
outside the lines that everybody is coloring inside of than there is
inside them. Wherever you want to exercise your right to color,
that’s an excellent choice! Everybody needs freedom. Decide for
yourself. Teach your kids to do that too.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">5)
If nothing else, here are some excellent ideas for prayer, for your
kids, for your grand-kids, for the kids of your co-workers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Every
last child you know – every one of </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">’</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">em – needs prayer.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><p></p>
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