The Approach

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life…” – 1 John 1

“…the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go…and see this thing that has happened….’  And [they] returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen…” – Luke 2

“Now the…sinners were all drawing near to hear him.” – Luke 15

THE WHISPER HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  So many words have been written (and rightly so) about that night when God broke through into humanly existence and approached a fallen world to save it. And, although there is a deep sense of obscurity surrounding this event, there is also clear revelation and glorious proclamation concerning this drawing near of God.

The heralding of angels. Celestial signs. Prophetic voices resounding in temple courts.

Relative to what He is worthy of, it may seem like God whispered when He made His grand entrance into the world, but the proclamation of this good news was clearly made.

And it was clearly heard.

A PROGRESSIVE ENCOUNTER

Picture in your mind a person casually walking down a road. Off in the distance, yet within earshot, a sound is made. What happens next?

The footsteps stop. The head turns slightly in the direction of the perceived sound. That which was initially heard is now listened for.

There it is again.

Now, eyes become involved. It came from over there. With brow furrowed, the listener attempts to focus on what has grabbed their attention. They see something off a ways.

Footsteps begin again, but in a new direction. They approach this ‘thing that has happened’, as the shepherds in Luke’s gospel would describe it. Closer and closer. With every step more information is gathered, and now the mind is starting to interpret and understand.

Now, just a few feet away, clarity begins to set in. Could it be? Is this real? The investigator’s arm extends.

Touch. Contact. Grasping. Holding.

WHAT IT ALL MEANS

That is the approach that the shepherds, the magi, and the disciples all took as they beheld Jesus. And it is the way “sinners” past and present still approach Him.

Heard. Seen. Looked. Touched. A progressive encountering of something new. Something new that speaks to a once-hoped-for thought that still lingers beneath the surface of everyday life. A thought that is so much the fabric of who we are that all it takes is a “whisper” to stop us in our tracks.

That something is fellowship, friendship, nearness with God. That something is really Someone. And He has a name. Jesus.

This Christmas, as holidays bring a break in the action of normal everyday life, I pray for and encourage you to stop and listen to what’s really going on in that story about a baby in a manger.

When Need Becomes Desire

It is true that we are all born with needs. The need to be fed, the need to be cleansed, the need to learn, and a thousand others. But as we grow, and as these needs are met by others, a change takes place. Our needs (though still technically needs) become our desires.

We desire to eat, but we don’t (typically) need to be fed. We desire to be cleansed, but we don’t need to be bathed. And (though we might think otherwise) we desire to learn, but we don’t need to be taught.

All of those initial needs still exist in us. But now when they are cared for, rather than merely meeting a need, we satisfy a desire.

The gift of God to us is the transformation of our needs into desires.

In the Bible, we read that all people (including me and you) are “under sin”. That is the universal need. We need to be separated from our sin. To have it removed from us and us from it.

But we also read that “no one seeks God”, not even one. Amazingly, though the heart of man (on some level) universally feels and deals with the need arising from sin, we universally fail to attain (or even seek) the solution.

The need has yet to be transformed into desire.

But God does something wonderful in the heart of his child. By His Spirit and grace, He enters into the need we all feel and He turns it into a desire for Himself. In the light of His Presence, our sin carries a shame that causes us to run from Him. But His grace gives humility that allows us to carry that shame back to Him. And when we do approach Him, we find not only our need met but we experience the satisfaction of our (new) heart’s desire.

For God does not merely meet needs. He satisfies desires. We are all born needing Him, but we are only re-born when we desire Him. 

And that is the gift of God to us. Merry Christmas.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins – 1 John 4:10

“You did not choose me….but I chose You…” – Jesus (John 15:16)

You Are A Flag

A flag is a mere lifeless symbol apart from the animating wind.  Yes, it bears the image and represents the substance of its country or cause, but of itself it hangs limp and lifeless.  It is the wind that enlivens and gives motion to the flag.

We are the image-bearers of God.  All of us.  All of creation.  Yet apart (separated) from the blowing wind of His Spirit, we do not move.  We do nothing other or more than show forth design.  There is no (or at most diminished) glory or ‘inspiration’.

A flag alone does not make a country.  It represents a truth greater and outside of itself.  The greater reality of the country precedes the symbolic actuality of the flag.  As foolish as it is to say that you own a car because you carry a key, so it is to speak of the value of a flag apart from acknowledging its country.

Think of your life.  Your self.  Your being.  You are a flag.  You represent and symbolize the very Person of God.  Take even a cursory look at how much took place in order for you to be born, and you will be hard pressed to sincerely believe that you are the product of chance and mere biological process.  God’s most intimate revelation to you of His existence and being is in the mirror every morning.

Now think of your purpose.  If it helps think of the purpose of a flag.  Bold to announce pride and value.  Colorful to represent joy and celebration.  Durable and strong to withstand that which it was designed to embrace.  The wind.

You are not a subtle statement.  You are an unblushing decree of the glory of God.  A heart-filling, spine-tingling, goose-bump-giving, tear-in-the-eye-causing reminder of home.  Represent Him well, and embrace the wind.

My Proposed Manifesto: Live, Preach, Teach, Share, Defend

LIVE THE GOSPEL

“…Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (Philippians 1:27, HCSB)

“…and he [Jesus] died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:15)

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:12. NIV)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

The Gospel is the message of new creation for (at least) an individual.  Our lives reflect the work God has done in our hearts.  We do not mold our hearts by our outward works, but rather we ‘put on the new self’ created according to God’s likeness (Ephesians 4);  an inward new life (the free gift of God to us) being worked outwardly (the joyful expression of our obedience to God) to the glory of God.

PREACH THE GOSPEL

“Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16, ESV)

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus…preach the word…” (2 Timothy 4:1-2, ESV)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16, ESV)

“And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14, ESV)

Not only do our everyday lives express the gospel work in our hearts, but our words will clearly tell the world the message of what God has done through the person of Jesus Christ.  ‘We are not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.’  Therefore, we publicly proclaim the miraculous message of the gospel to others and offer it to all who will believe.

TEACH THE GOSPEL

“Now we have received…the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12, ESV)

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another…” (Colossians 3:16, NIV)

The gospel is the work of God giving us new life instantaneously, continually, and eternally.  The ramifications of the Gospel are experienced daily, in every moment and situation of life. We learn to interpret the happenings of life in the light of the Gospel, and we learn how the Gospel applies to every facet of our existence. The Gospel illumines our days, and our days are the space where the Gospel continually unfolds to us. Therefore, we teach (and learn) the full counsel of the bible, relying on the Holy Spirit’s ministry, in order to consistently and fully live and grow in this new life.

SHARE THE GOSPEL

“’Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has mercy on you.’” (Mark 5:19, ESV)

“’Freely you have received, freely give.’” (Matthew 10:8, NIV)

We believe in the supreme value of people and of God’s gift of life through Jesus Christ. We also know that we do not merit, in any way, the lavish love of God who made us his very own children.  Therefore, we share the love and gospel of Jesus with those around us in our daily lives.  We do this respectfully and gently in accordance with the context of our neighbor’s perspective that the message would be most clearly understood by them.  We pray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the broader field of the whole world for the purpose of harvesting the fruit of people’s salvation and God’s glory.

DEFEND THE GOSPEL

“Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth…” (2 Timothy 2:25, NIV)

“…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV)

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God…” (2 Corinthians 10:5, ESV)

We speak clearly in response to opposing and contrary doctrines that distort and/or deny the truth of the gospel.  We prepare our minds and hearts for this in order to be able to gently instruct others according to the truth of the gospel, and we remain hopeful that God will grant others the grace to turn from falsehood to truth.

Shelter, Shield, Shepherd (Part 3/3)

Jesus, My Shelter: Protection from the elements (Part 1) 

Jesus, My Shield: Protection from enemies (Part 2)

A more brief recap…

The 3 Truths You Hope To Find

An open door.  When the elements exert their power over us, our first and only thought is, ‘How can I get out of this?’  Anything will do.  But something permanent would be perfect.

A safe place.  Arrows of hatred whiz by.  Unkind words stab.  Mistreatment stings.  To just be ignored will do, but to be saved would be perfect.

A hero.  When you don’t know, you want to know someone who does.  When you can’t, you hope there is someone who can.  A stranger will do, but a father would be perfect.

Jesus, My Shepherd: Provision of Everything

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray” (see Isaiah).  That is a felt reality we all experience and bear every day.  If it wasn’t then why do you always feel like you’re seeking something?  Why this sense of lostness?

Sheep, as I have heard, are dumb.  They don’t make right choices based on reason.  They choose based on limited information being filtered through a feeble mind.  Sheep couldn’t reason their way through one day, much less a lifetime.  And it isn’t like sheep have a whole lot to do.  Eat grass.  Drink water. Lie down.  That basically covers it.

Sheep rely (not volitionally, but necessarily) entirely on shepherds.  A shepherd exists not because the sheep understood their need, discussed their options, and chose to have a human being lead them around all the time so they could live thanks to his care. But rather a shepherd exists because he knows sheep. He knows their limitations and needs. He knows where they will make mistakes and chooses to care for them in order to save them from themselves.

The shepherd meets the needs of the sheep not because they seek him out but because he seeks them out.  He provides everything for them, not because they ask, but because he cares for and knows them.

Jesus calls himself the ‘Good Shepherd’ who lays down his life for the sheep. We are sheep.  We have not sought Him out, but He has sought us out and found us.

As a shepherd must do and provide everything for his sheep, Jesus has done and provided everything for us. Salvation, sustenance, cleansing, rest, defense, care.

Dwell for a moment in the tension between the oblivious nature of your sheepness and the glimmering of hope that your human mind perceives in the light of the gospel.  Feel your need of a shepherd. Realize the love of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd (see 1 Peter).

Closing thoughts

There are common threads that run through all of us. A vulnerability to elemental forces. A felt opposition or apathy on the part of others to our well-being. And a tremendous capacity to be completely helpless.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, put on flesh in order to provide us with an impenetrable shelter and shield from both the force of God’s wrath raining down on our sin and the fiery darts hurled at us from every enemy.  He laid down his life like a Shepherd for His sheep in order to provide us everything we would ever need for both this life and the life beyond.

Jesus. Our shelter from storms. Our shield from enemies. Our provision for everything.

O my Shelter! You are a refuge to where I can run and be saved from the scorching heat of the day and the chilling winds of the desolate night. O, Mighty Shield! You are to me a sure and reliable defense from the wily attacks of my enemies. O, Great Shepherd! From Your hands I find the provision of all I want and need.

Shelter, Shield, Shepherd (Part 2/3)

A brief recap ~

The 3 Truths You Know

Life happens.  Rain.  Sun.  Heat.  Cold.  Wind.  Snow.  Skin is a poor defense against those things.  We all experience them.  We all have skin.  Therefore, we all need something else.  That something else is a shelter.

Some people just don’t like you.  Rightly or wrongly.  Personally or impersonally.  At best they don’t care, but mostly they care only for your harm and demise.  We are vulnerable.  We need a shield.

You are dumb and weak.  Maybe not in your professional field, recreational interests, or doing sudokus.  But in most things you either don’t have a clue or don’t have the strength.  We’re sheep.  We need a shepherd.

The 3 Truths You Hope To Find

An open door.  When the elements exert their power over us, our first and only thought is, ‘How can I get out of this?’  Anything will do.  But something permanent would be perfect.

A safe place.  Arrows of hatred whiz by.  Unkind words stab.  Mistreatment stings.  To just be ignored will do, but to be saved would be perfect.

A hero.  When you don’t know, you want to know someone who does.  When you can’t, you hope there is someone who can.  A stranger will do, but a father would be perfect.

Jesus, My Shelter: Protection from the elements (Part 1)

Jesus, My Shield: Protection from enemies

Have you felt your vulnerability today?  A better question would be how many times have you felt your vulnerability today?  It’s open season, and you are squarely in the crosshairs of seemingly everyone (and sometimes everything) else.

Why do we feel like that?  Because it’s true.

When you and I walked into sin (just like Adam and Eve, from whom we inherited that bent to do so), we simultaneously decided to walk away from the covering of God.  We decided that our way of doing things was the better way of doing things.  At least for us, it was.

What we failed to realize was that those very words we were revolting against and discarding because they were too strict, or archaic, or irrelevant, or simply a myth were more of a defense for us than an attack against us.  When we turned away from the words of God, we turned away from the protection of God.  This reality along with the real presence of enemies is what produces our vulnerability.

We have spiritual enemies, the chief of which is Satan.  On our own we’ve never stood a chance (again, see: Adam & Eve).  We’re vulnerable to his accusations because we have sinned and are in fact guilty.  We succumb to his deception because we don’t have the solid bedrock of God’s words illuminating truth.  And our lives become awash with doubt because on our own, in the end, all we really have is…ourselves.

But we, also, all become physical enemies to each other when we walk away from the covering of God.  Billions of people living according to their own set of standards and who appoint themselves as their sole authority, determining their own right and wrong, is a boiling pot ready to overflow with scalding hatred, evil, and pain.

Everyone’s defenses are up because we have all become vulnerable.  We have no shield.

Jesus has become to us the shelter from the wrath of God, and if we take refuge in Him from the elements of life we will also find Him to be a shield from our enemies.

Not only are we shielded in the midst of attack, but we are released from trying to be our own defense.  We can put down the weapons we’ve trained on those around us.  And, rather than being another enemy, we are freed to become healers and helpers.

We are vulnerable as long as we are in our sin.  We will always have enemies in this life, but we don’t have to be one.  Be shielded by Jesus today.  Forgiven of sin.  Saved from enemies.

“The LORD is…my shield.  I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”  - Psalm 18:2-3

Jesus, My Shepherd: Provision for everything

Shelter, Shield, Shepherd (Part 1/3)

Jesus is become to us the manifest expression of God’s manifold provision for our many needs.

Yes, you are needy.  Admit it or don’t.  We both know it’s true. We all know it’s true.

You’re beat up.  You’re naked.  You’re lost.  You’re needy.

And no one else cares, no one else loves you to the degree or depth that God does.

How else does the gospel message even make sense or come to be apart from a divine reality saving us from our sorry human condition?

The gospel is the bridge between what you know experientially to be true in you and what you hope to be true beyond you.

The 3 Truths You Know

Life happens.  Rain.  Sun.  Heat.  Cold.  Wind.  Snow.  Skin is a poor defense against those things.  We all experience them.  We all have skin.  Therefore, we all need something else.  That something else is a shelter.

Some people just don’t like you.  Rightly or wrongly.  Personally or impersonally.  At best they don’t care, but mostly they care only for your harm and demise.  We are vulnerable.  We need a shield.

You are dumb and weak.  Maybe not in your professional field, recreational interests, or doing sudokus.  But in most things you either don’t have a clue or don’t have the strength.  We’re sheep.  We need a shepherd.

The 3 Truths You Hope To Find

An open door.  When the elements exert their power over us, our first and only thought is, ‘How can I get out of this?’  Anything will do.  But something permanent would be perfect.

A safe place.  Arrows of hatred whiz by.  Unkind words stab.  Mistreatment stings.  To just be ignored will do, but to be saved would be perfect.

A hero.  When you don’t know, you want to know someone who does.  When you can’t, you hope there is someone who can.  A stranger will do, but a father would be perfect.

Jesus, My Shelter: Protection from the elements

Jesus is the only person I know who has ever calmed a storm with his words.  Use your physical eyes to witness the powers that roam this world – the elements.  They are unrelenting, impartial, unsympathetic, impassionate, furious.  Now apply that to the world that lives inside your chest.  Storms don’t just blow across the plains, and hurricanes don’t only affect the coasts.  They rise in our hearts, minds, and souls.

We live in a world threatened and terrified by disaster.  Jesus alone stands above the unchangeable elements.  He has weathered the elemental wrath of God that is tracking directly across our souls.  He has withstood every torrential temptation and damaging disappointment.

The best we can do in a storm is hide.  The same holds true for the storms of life.  And Jesus invites us to hide in Him.  He provides Himself as the protection we need from the elements of life.  ‘…your life is hidden with Christ in God.’  Jesus used the image of a door to describe His role in the rescue mission of the gospel.  He is the only true shelter you will ever find for your soul.  Come in out of the rain.  Jesus is your shelter.

Jesus, My Shield: Protection from enemies

Jesus, My Shepherd: Provision for everything

Redeeming The Leaf Piles (An Allegory of a Pumpkin Patch)

It is the season of Summer, and we are caught up in the prospect of growing a garden in our backyard.  The current season reminds me of past seasons.  Autumn produced generous falling leaves (thank you trees) that were subsequently raked into piles and burned in the Spring (sorry lungs).

Now, in our backyard we not only had our own new leaf piles, but we also inherited the grand daddy of all leaf burning spots.  Scarred, charred, barren, dead.  So we “piled” on our contribution to the legacy of the yard.

This pile plot has been around for years if not decades.  It probably started out small – the leaves from the Fall.  But with time and neglect it grew in both size and degree.  Eventually, small branches and minor bits of trash were added.  Then chunks of broken doors, windows, and tools.  Soon, things that won’t even burn found themselves placed there – broken glass, wire cables, aluminum cans.  If it wasn’t fit or convenient for use, it ended up on the old “leaf” pile.

So as we began to clean up our yard, we joined in the cycle of life of the leaf pile.  The flame was kindled, and years of cast-offs were slowly consumed.  But even with diligent tending remnants still remained.

Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the items on the leaf pile weren’t destroyed but rather transformed.  As I sift through the ashes there are still discernable pieces of screen mesh, a mostly-buried cable, charred glass, and a hundred other forgotten memories.

Memories of a past filled with as many failed attempts that bring a chuckle as buried regrets that still hold the power to burden our minds and sink our hearts.  Why won’t these things die?  Why can’t we get rid of them for good?

The principle matter is one of perspective.  The present leaf pile can either be reminiscent of a dark (yet ever present) past, or it can be viewed as an opportunity for a brightened future and a new reality.  The most applicable word is: redemption.

To redeem something is to ransom it out of a current prison or identity resulting from a past event into a different and better future.  To free the present from the prison of the past.  It is to bring life out of death.

And that’s where the idea of the pumpkin patch came from.  Why not take this generations-old patch of refuse, and transform it into a fruitful pumpkin patch?  So with the knowledge that ashes can be used as good fertilizer for healthy growing, we set out on our mission of redemption.

As the tiller churns through layer upon layer of the past, forgotten details begin to surface.  Old becomes new again, and perspective dictates response.  The broken glass bottle can drag one back to that moment of haunting regret or be seen in contrast with the future that is purposed to be.  Does it remain or is it to be removed?

In the light of redemption this old footprint of the past becomes a step forward, gaining ground towards a new purpose.

And now as our hands work the freshly turned soil more new things materialize.  Every rock removed is a reclaimed place for the root of life to grow.  The workable plot now begins to take on the pattern of the purpose that is being brought to it.

I see a seed pile will go here and … here.  A boundary will mark the edges like this.  It looks like there’s room for two pumpkin vines.  Vision and perception begin to merge.  With time and tending of the new purpose, this old ground will blossom with the fruit of redemption!

This attempted allegory of the pumpkin patch, I hope, registers with you.  The old, inherited leaf piles are present in the backyards of all of our lives.  Sin (original and personal), mistakes, regrets, and hurts litter our memories and souls.  Hidden from the passersby out front, but ever-hindering our true enjoyment of life.  I pray that God will come into our past-filled present and redeem our barren places with His new purpose and abundant fruitfulness.

[Addendum: External forces are compliant (and even assistive) with the old purposes of the leaf pile – rot, barrenness, ruin.  Beware of these forces and ward them off with diligence.  As you plant the seeds of redemption, birds may swoop in and “devour them”.  Weeds will arise to “choke out” any new life (see Matthew 13).  And time is required to see this new fruit, but the waiting is no longer filled with reminiscent regret but expectant hope.]

The God Who Does Whatever He Pleases

“For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.” (Psalm 135:5)

I read that this morning and hesitated.  I felt unsure about confidently expressing that verse to others.  Doesn’t that sound arrogant?  Conceited?  Selfish?

In anyone else, “Yes”.  Then I remembered God’s character is not man’s. That’s the difference.

He is holy.  We are fallen.  Don’t make the mistake of projecting onto God our sinful nature, and never interpret an action of God through the lens of human motivation.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways, my ways….  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Only God can reverse Psalm 135:5 and still be true.  “Whatever the Lord does, pleases him.”

No man or woman can say that (at least not an honest one).  Show me a person without regret for at least one action in their life and I’ll show you a person with serious delusions.

God is the ONLY being whose actions AND motives are pure.  If you’ve never felt this truth in yourself, try reading Romans 7 again:

“For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Doing the wrong things I don’t want to do.  Not doing the right things I want to do.  Impure actions and impotent motivations.  That’s me.

Who will rescue me from how I know myself to be?

Only the One who has done all the right things I’ve failed to do and never done those things resulting in regret.

How?  It’s the mystery of what God has done through Jesus.

“For our sake he made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)

This is what God does.  And the pleasure?  It’s indescribable in human terms.  Found only in the divine character of God.

“…who for the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the cross…” (Heb 12:2)

And…

“…it pleased God through the folly of what we preach [the cross] to save those who believe.” (1 Cor 1:21)

Thank you to the God Who does whatever he pleases that “whatever He pleases, he does.”

Skipping Rocks And Faith

It happens more often than you think.  In fact, you’ll find it every day if you know what to look for.  And if you know what to do with it.

Perfection.

It’s when a situation meets preparation and gumption.  A pass, a dive, and a catch.  A man, a woman, and an introduction.  A broken person, a dying savior, and faith.

Today it was a riverbed, a rock, and a throw.

If you’ve skipped many rocks, you know that half the challenge is finding the the right rock.  Flat, not too thin, not too thick, round, even, not too big, not too small.  Typically you just have to make due with what you can find - clunky, flimsy, odd, random – and make up for it with the throw.

But every so often you stumble upon the perfect rock, the perfect water, and the perfect throw.  And the results can be quite impressive.  Today was that day for me.  I found it.

And I paused.

Have you considered that the very characteristic of the “perfect” skipping rock that makes it ideal has less to do with the rock itself and more to do with the one who finds it?

The rocks perfection is only completed by the finder’s willingness to throw it away.  And not just throw it, but wholeheartedly zing it so that it travels as far away from himself as he can get it.

Faith is a lot like that, too.

We comb the waterfronts of our lives looking for that “perfect” something that will make all the difference.  A career.  A spouse.  A house.  A physique.  A reputation.

More often than not we’re forced to “spin” those things the best that we can to see how far they can go.  And inevitably they all fall remarkably short of the perfection we seek.

What about this gospel (literally “good news”) of a perfect God providing a perfect sacrifice to perfectly deal with every imperfection in me?  Have you found that “Rock” yet?

And if you have, what have you done with it?  Is your faith buried deep in a pocket?  Forgotten upon a shelf?  Left in the riverbed?  Or have you exerted you’re best effort into seeing just how far this “Rock” is really capable of going?

The Bible talks about faith being “perfected”.  Now, God IS perfect in His power, and Jesus’s sacrifice IS perfect in provision (there’s no need for us to finish anything for Him).  But there is the aspect of faith being perfected IN us.  IN you, and IN me.

That work requires some gumption on our part.

First, pick up the rock.  Take hold of that salvation, hope and life that Jesus has provided and extended to us.

Second, throw it as well and as far as you can.  Our lives the continuation of that One perfect Rock and His eternal “skip” through history.

(By the way, I threw the rock I found today.  And it WAS perfect!)

Know. Love.

What do you love?

I bet you can tell me a lot about it/him/her.  We know most about what we love.  That’s kind of the way it works.  We discover something new.  Our interest is sparked.  We dig deeper.  We learn more.  Knowledge feeds the fire of love, and love drives us to know something more deeply.

Love IS possible apart from knowledge, but it will lack all the depth and robustness of which love is capable.  In other words, loving a stranger may be done purely by choice/will, but how much better could that love be expressed given a greater knowledge of that person.  I can serve any stranger a meal, but serving someone their favorite meal takes friendship which requires knowledge.  And the more I know the better I can love.

Now, seeing as God is eternal and timeless, both His knowledge and love of you has been perfect from the beginning.  Your beginning.  Think about that.  God knew you before you, your parents, your grandparents, or your great-grandparents were ever born.  To take that a step further, replace “knew” in the previous sentence with “loved”.

Love’s provision.

Would you agree with me that we provide most for the things/people we love?  So, provision is another way to say love.  When I look at the provision of God in my life, do I make that connection?  Or do I chalk it up to chance, luck, self-sufficiency, or something else?

Am I aware (vitally aware) that this dinner before me is a direct result of God’s love for me?  When I dress in the morning do I realize that my entire wardrobe has been provided to me by One Who cares about me?

This sounds familiar

When Jesus stood on the mountainside as recorded in Matthew 6 and began to introduce people to the Kingdom of God and the love of His Father, he revealed this knowledge-love-provision picture.

He said, “Don’t be anxious about the daily things in life like clothes and food!  Your heavenly Father KNOWS that you need them all.  Seek him first who is seeking you most and all these things will be PROVIDED to you.” [Matt 6:31-33, author’s paraphrase]

This was a reintroduction of people to the God who knows.  When Israel had travelled to Egypt and found themselves enslaved under heavy burdens they did what all hurting people do.  They groaned.  They cried.

In Exodus 2:25 we see what a loving Father is doing when His children are hurting.  “God saw the people of Israel – and God KNEW.”

Enter Moses and a burning bush and deliverance.

It’s the same today.  When we hurt (through sins of our own or others), God sees.  God knows.  God loves.  God provides.

Enter Jesus and a cross and deliverance.

Don’t miss the love for you and knowledge of you that is behind everything you find yourself provided with today.

The Pain of Love

Not all pain is bad.

I just put my little girl down for bed tonight, and as I closed the door…my heart sank.  It hit me that another day with this precious treasure is past and gone.  But there was another sentiment as well.  I just flat out love her so much that it hurts.  So much so that any physical pain I might encounter on her behalf pales in comparison.

The flesh’s capacity for sensation is nothing compared to the heart’s.  And the power of a punch can never compare to the power of love.

Consider that the next time Jesus pops up on the radar screen of your thoughts.  How could He have done what the bible says he did?  Crucifixion?  Voluntarily?  For me?  For you?

While it may be hard to swallow what Jesus did, it should be downright gobstopping when we attempt to grasp why he did it.

Love.

Love that hurt so bad even whip scourges, thorns penetrating skull, fists pounding face, spikes through wrists and ankles, spear thrusts into the chest don’t begin to approach a comparison.  (Hebrews 12:2)

There is a pit in the heart of God that aches simply for you.

Consider that the next time pain enters the arena of your life.  “God, you don’t know how much this hurts!”  His reply: “Then you don’t know how deep my love is for you.” (Ephesians 3:18)

It’s hard to conceive of anything being greater than the pains we feel (especially in the depth of the moment).  But this characteristic of Love, this godly ache, is deeper still.

Deep.

Deep in the pits of hellish thoughts, feelings of abandonment, numbing loss, echoing sobs of loneliness, or paralyzing pain there is the presence of Another.  His arms reaching down even deeper than you can feel in order to embrace and carry you.  (Deuteronomy 33:27)

There is NO pit deeper than the love God has for you.

God, whether I ascend to the heavens or lie down in the depths of all that is known, you are there.  You are here.  Though I feel that I am at the bottom, there is yet your upholding hands beneath me.  Your love and care for me is deeper still.  Awaken my mind to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, and, once knowing, then to feel.  Help me to interpret life by the truth and not the other way around.  In humility and awe, Amen.

Affirmation

If you could have only one thing completely affirmed about yourself today, what would you want it to be? (Deeper question: what should you want it to be?)

That you are financially secure and set for the rest of your natural life? That you are physically healthy and free of disease for decades to come? That your name and reputation or widely respected and will be honored throughout history?

How about this: That the salvation spoken of in the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and real and yours?

Which of these choices would you want to have undoubtedly affirmed to you today? Your answer will reveal much about what you value and desire.

Let’s add another perspective to the question. If you had ALL of the first three options (wealth, health, and honor), but nothing changed with the last one, how would you feel? And if we flipped it. You had continual questions and doubts about ALL of the first three, but an unshakeable peace about the last one. Now, how would you feel?

Jesus spoke of this very situation when He asked, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

The context of that statement is the conversation Jesus has with His disciples about WHO He truly is. The Christ. The Messiah. The Son of God.

After that conversation, Jesus tells His followers WHAT He must do and WHAT will happen to Him. Derision. Suffering. Torture. Murder. But also, Resurrection!

Peter latches on only to the earthly elements of Jesus' foretelling and declares, “NO, no, no! Never! Not that! Not you!” Jesus then points out Peter’s nearsightedness, and asks that probing priority-revealing question we looked at above.

What does it matter if you have the house(s), and the car(s), and the toys, and the income, and the bank accounts, and the honor if you don’t have an eternally secure soul?

What does it matter if you DON’T have the house, or the car, or the toys, or the income, or the bank account, or the honor but you DO have security beyond all that those things can ever hold – salvation?

Out of all the options we listed at the beginning of this entry there is only one that is truly secure, truly valuable, and freely attainable today. The salvation spoken of in the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and real and yours…TODAY.

“This is the testimony, God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” - I John 5:12-13

“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” -Romans 10:13