Apr 2011
Of Weddings and Feasts
Friday, April 29 2011
Jesus was a very social person who apparently enjoyed gala events and weddings. Many of His parables are built around weddings and feasts. As a matter of fact the only real accusation his enemies could mount against Him was His attendance at feasts with questionable people. This is one situation when the old adage about birds of a feather just didn’t hold true. He likes the metaphor of a marriage when He speaks of our relationship to Him. In Revelation there is a brief description of the wedding feast of the Lamb with Him being the lamb and the bridegroom.
One of my favorite feast stories took place at Simon’s house when a woman of a most questionable reputation bathed Jesus’ feet with precious anointment. It really was scandalous. It would be surprising if there were not men in the room who had tasted her favors. I wonder how many of them were silent and if any were critical. How often do we play Mr. Holy when the real truth about us would be shocking and devastating? I just love it when Jesus told the critics in the room to leave her alone. She had honored Him above even the host of the feast.
My next favorite is when there was room at a feast for more and the servants went out and rounded up anyone and everyone. Whosoever will come. Awesome. Street people, bag ladies, people who hadn’t had a bath in who knows how long. There is room – bring them in. Fill the banquet hall because there is provision for all. To me this story is the essence of the Gospel. One thing for sure, it strikes right at the heart of any exclusiveness we might want for ourselves. God is an equal opportunity saver.
One of my favorite feast stories took place at Simon’s house when a woman of a most questionable reputation bathed Jesus’ feet with precious anointment. It really was scandalous. It would be surprising if there were not men in the room who had tasted her favors. I wonder how many of them were silent and if any were critical. How often do we play Mr. Holy when the real truth about us would be shocking and devastating? I just love it when Jesus told the critics in the room to leave her alone. She had honored Him above even the host of the feast.
My next favorite is when there was room at a feast for more and the servants went out and rounded up anyone and everyone. Whosoever will come. Awesome. Street people, bag ladies, people who hadn’t had a bath in who knows how long. There is room – bring them in. Fill the banquet hall because there is provision for all. To me this story is the essence of the Gospel. One thing for sure, it strikes right at the heart of any exclusiveness we might want for ourselves. God is an equal opportunity saver.
The Invitation
Thursday, April 28 2011
Do you have your invitation in hand? Do you have your plane tickets to London all booked? Did you buy a new suit? Well, just in case you are one of the rest of us peons who did not receive an invitation to the royal wedding, I have something even better for you. It’s found in II Peter 1. I am going to use The Message paraphrase. Just enjoy. “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.”
Jesus personally invites us to God. He gives us the wedding garment. Check out Matthew 22. We don’t have to rush out and purchase a new suit. It comes with the invitation and it is very well tailored. It fits us to perfection. Literally. What is really good about this is we are not just invited to watch. We are invited to participate. We now participate in a divine experience. Literally. This is not a wordy empty promise. This is an absolutely terrific promise that says we can actually begin right now living a divine life. When God adopts us into the family we begin to develop family traits.
I have a young man in one of my classes this semester whose father I have known for years. One would not have to tell me which student in the room was his son. He is his father all over. Rubber stamp! This is our invitation.
Jesus personally invites us to God. He gives us the wedding garment. Check out Matthew 22. We don’t have to rush out and purchase a new suit. It comes with the invitation and it is very well tailored. It fits us to perfection. Literally. What is really good about this is we are not just invited to watch. We are invited to participate. We now participate in a divine experience. Literally. This is not a wordy empty promise. This is an absolutely terrific promise that says we can actually begin right now living a divine life. When God adopts us into the family we begin to develop family traits.
I have a young man in one of my classes this semester whose father I have known for years. One would not have to tell me which student in the room was his son. He is his father all over. Rubber stamp! This is our invitation.
The Right Kind of Love
Wednesday, April 27 2011
Today I watched love being used as a brutal tool. There is no question in my mind but that the father loves his son. There is no question that the father wants the best for his son. There is no question the father believes his son’s happiness will only come from the father’s definition of success and the pressure to achieve. The problem is the boy is exhausted. He has a life-time of successes to this point. It is time for him to graduate but he is only twenty. Course overloads, clepped exams, summer schools have all gotten this young man to this stage. But now he wants, he needs, he has to have a break before he breaks. But, how can he disappoint a dad who’s living out his fantasy through his son? The pressure continues on to med school. When does it stop?
Love is one of the most powerful if not the most powerful human emotion. The last thing we want to do is disappoint one who takes so much pride in us. We don’t want them to think we are ungrateful for past guidance and encouragement. We want them to be able to say to their friends, “My son – the doctor.”
One of the wonders of our heavenly Father is His understanding of who we are as an individual and while He makes available to us all we need for happiness and success, He never forces it on us. In II Peter 1 we read, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. . .” If we continue reading we discover He actually allows us to participate in His divine nature - right now. It’s the right kind of love.
Love is one of the most powerful if not the most powerful human emotion. The last thing we want to do is disappoint one who takes so much pride in us. We don’t want them to think we are ungrateful for past guidance and encouragement. We want them to be able to say to their friends, “My son – the doctor.”
One of the wonders of our heavenly Father is His understanding of who we are as an individual and while He makes available to us all we need for happiness and success, He never forces it on us. In II Peter 1 we read, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. . .” If we continue reading we discover He actually allows us to participate in His divine nature - right now. It’s the right kind of love.
Eons Ago
Tuesday, April 26 2011
Eons ago I belonged to a paramilitary organization called the Medical Cadet Corps. In the summers we met at Grand Rapids, Michigan to play soldier for a few weeks. Don’t ask why. Having the esteemed rank of captain made me responsible for several platoons and needless to say I was jealous for their excellent performance and decorum. One hot July afternoon we scheduled a full dress five mile march through the downtown streets of Grand Rapids. Everyone looked magnificent until we were about a mile into the march and then it happened. Several young men had filled their canteens with A&W root beer instead of water. It does not take much imagination to know what their uniforms looked like while marching with a shaking canteen. Someone the night before had made an unauthorized visit out of camp.
Sometimes it is difficult to ferret out disobedience and sometimes it stares you in the face. Actually it is never difficult for God because He does see everything. But for humans it can be much more challenging and usually is none of our business. On occasion we find ourselves in the midst of a witch-hunt; the results of which rarely ever have a positive result. If the sin is blatant and brings harm and disgrace to a community occasionally it must be dealt with. However, most of the time when we think we must act we end up causing yet another layer of harm, often worse than the original offense.
Sin has its own rewards. Actually that is why it is sin. If it doesn’t then God is not displeased and neither should we be. So often what upsets us isn’t sin at all but merely a violation of some exacerbated social norm.
Sometimes it is difficult to ferret out disobedience and sometimes it stares you in the face. Actually it is never difficult for God because He does see everything. But for humans it can be much more challenging and usually is none of our business. On occasion we find ourselves in the midst of a witch-hunt; the results of which rarely ever have a positive result. If the sin is blatant and brings harm and disgrace to a community occasionally it must be dealt with. However, most of the time when we think we must act we end up causing yet another layer of harm, often worse than the original offense.
Sin has its own rewards. Actually that is why it is sin. If it doesn’t then God is not displeased and neither should we be. So often what upsets us isn’t sin at all but merely a violation of some exacerbated social norm.
Triple Stuff
Monday, April 25 2011
I am sitting here with a double stuff cookie in my hand. Is it me or is double stuff now 1.5 stuff? Single stuff seems to be ¾ stuff. In order to get a double stuff do we need to purchase triple stuff? Maybe it is merely the impression of a mind that remembers things bigger and better than they really were. Rarely are things bigger than they were when we were small and so very wowable.
It becomes more and more difficult to be wowed as we mature. I don’t want to lose my wowability. I still want reverentness to overwhelm me and to be filled with awe at things beautiful and lovely. Our egalitarian culture encourages us to call everyone by their first name but there is something special in calling someone Sir or Mrs. or Mr. President. I do not want all things reduced to me. How sorry I feel for a person who doesn’t believe in God. The highest power he or she ever encounters is in the mirror each morning. What an impoverished intellectual life that must be.
Unlike the size of things growing smaller as we age there are many things that grow in depth. Frost, Shakespeare, Paul, Luther, and David are but a sample of the richness of understanding that comes with years. Only in recent years have I understood that John 14, “In my house are many rooms . . .” has little to do with fancy buildings.
Surely eternity will always be about bigger and better and never smaller. However, the real joy will always be about depth, profoundity and love. Now that will be quite grand.
It becomes more and more difficult to be wowed as we mature. I don’t want to lose my wowability. I still want reverentness to overwhelm me and to be filled with awe at things beautiful and lovely. Our egalitarian culture encourages us to call everyone by their first name but there is something special in calling someone Sir or Mrs. or Mr. President. I do not want all things reduced to me. How sorry I feel for a person who doesn’t believe in God. The highest power he or she ever encounters is in the mirror each morning. What an impoverished intellectual life that must be.
Unlike the size of things growing smaller as we age there are many things that grow in depth. Frost, Shakespeare, Paul, Luther, and David are but a sample of the richness of understanding that comes with years. Only in recent years have I understood that John 14, “In my house are many rooms . . .” has little to do with fancy buildings.
Surely eternity will always be about bigger and better and never smaller. However, the real joy will always be about depth, profoundity and love. Now that will be quite grand.
The Simplicity of Morality
Thursday, April 14 2011
So many things in life become more and more complicated as one immerses oneself in the complexity of design and function. But in the development of morality it is quite the opposite. We start off life as a child. (That was profound.) For a child the world is full of dos and don’ts. There are hundreds of them for the child to learn if they are to stay safe and please the giants in their lives. But something wonderful happens as we mature. Most of those rules and regulations cease to have any meaning because we have come to understand our world. No longer does the rule not to touch the hot stove exist. We know better. We need no rule. We become freer and independent. We are governed by intellect and knowledge.
Soon we understand there are really only Ten Commandments and once understood they encompass everything else. Then Jesus tells us there are only two and finally we come to grasp the marvelous truth that the way we love God is by loving other people and we are then down to one. Jesus tells us when we do it to the least of them we have done it to Him.
Thus we come to Galatians 5. Freedom in Christ is Paul’s great theme. How difficult it must have been for one who described himself to be a Pharisee of Pharisees to free himself and step into a whole new morality. How grand to grasp the truth that all laws were nailed to the cross of Jesus and God doesn’t have a Santa Claus list that He is checking twice to see if we are naughty or nice. Instead we become temples of the Holy Spirit that lovingly lives out its life within us and by thus we automatically keep the rules without thought. Oh, the glory of such freedom.
Soon we understand there are really only Ten Commandments and once understood they encompass everything else. Then Jesus tells us there are only two and finally we come to grasp the marvelous truth that the way we love God is by loving other people and we are then down to one. Jesus tells us when we do it to the least of them we have done it to Him.
Thus we come to Galatians 5. Freedom in Christ is Paul’s great theme. How difficult it must have been for one who described himself to be a Pharisee of Pharisees to free himself and step into a whole new morality. How grand to grasp the truth that all laws were nailed to the cross of Jesus and God doesn’t have a Santa Claus list that He is checking twice to see if we are naughty or nice. Instead we become temples of the Holy Spirit that lovingly lives out its life within us and by thus we automatically keep the rules without thought. Oh, the glory of such freedom.
On Faultfinding
Wednesday, April 13 2011
I enjoy the letters to the editors of news magazines. First come the pro letters followed by the cons. It doesn’t take a genius to soon realize that it is not only possible but plausible to believe nothing anyone ever does is criticism proof. One man’s dish of ice cream is another man’s poison and people aren’t reluctant to tell you about it. If one is a public figure one inherits an instant hate club. It doesn’t matter what one does; there is a way to negatively spin it. This, of course, is not new. Have you ever read the stuff our founding fathers wrote about each other? It’s downright modern trash and teaches us there is, as Solomon said, “Nothing new under the sun.”
If people had been watching God create the earth some would have applauded while others complained that it took too long. Seven days! Really now. What a waste of time. He should have done it in a day. Can you imagine God allowing Jesus to be born in a stable? Come on – that is so degrading. And why did Jesus allow Mary and Martha to suffer the death of Lazarus? He really should have hurried to Bethany and spared them the pain. Obviously we could go on and on.
I think some people just love to find fault. As a psychology teacher I wonder if it compensates for their lack of self-esteem by keeping them focused on other people’s supposed faults. But what do I know? I can imagine my students have a huge litany of my shortcomings. What is more than a little bit scary about all this is I hear this stuff from Christians and I wonder if they really are. But there I go becoming one of them.
If people had been watching God create the earth some would have applauded while others complained that it took too long. Seven days! Really now. What a waste of time. He should have done it in a day. Can you imagine God allowing Jesus to be born in a stable? Come on – that is so degrading. And why did Jesus allow Mary and Martha to suffer the death of Lazarus? He really should have hurried to Bethany and spared them the pain. Obviously we could go on and on.
I think some people just love to find fault. As a psychology teacher I wonder if it compensates for their lack of self-esteem by keeping them focused on other people’s supposed faults. But what do I know? I can imagine my students have a huge litany of my shortcomings. What is more than a little bit scary about all this is I hear this stuff from Christians and I wonder if they really are. But there I go becoming one of them.
Can Salt Lose Its Saltiness?
Tuesday, April 12 2011
After beginning a class today by reading from Luke 14, one of my astute students asked, “How can salt lose its saltiness?” That’s a good question in the twenty-first century when the salt we think of comes in a Morton’s Box. That stuff could sit forever and never change its molecular structure. Salt is salt. We are so spoiled. The salt Jesus grew up with in Nazareth most likely came from the Dead Sea area and was probably a poor quality of rock salt. It didn’t take much moisture to wash away the real salt and leave behind a bag of useless tiny stones. Dilution was not uncommon.
And so we come to Jesus’ real point. Should we allow work, relationships, responsibilities, life itself to dilute our experience with Jesus, we lose the abundant life. No, we don’t completely lose it. We only lose it in proportion to the loss of our walk with Jesus. I realize there are some who believe you are either in or you’re out. Either you are walking with Jesus or you are walking with the devil. I don’t think so. I have come to believe God loves us so much that He is willing to stick with us through the good and bad times. If we want to walk afar from Him He follows along. He is very persistent and just plainly doesn’t give up on us. He isn’t a “my way or the highway” kind of Father. He is so much better than that.
I realize this could encourage someone to say, “Hum? I think I will walk a 70% walk with God. I can get some of the blessings and get by without all of them.” I guess someone could think that. But frankly, that doesn’t make much sense.
And so we come to Jesus’ real point. Should we allow work, relationships, responsibilities, life itself to dilute our experience with Jesus, we lose the abundant life. No, we don’t completely lose it. We only lose it in proportion to the loss of our walk with Jesus. I realize there are some who believe you are either in or you’re out. Either you are walking with Jesus or you are walking with the devil. I don’t think so. I have come to believe God loves us so much that He is willing to stick with us through the good and bad times. If we want to walk afar from Him He follows along. He is very persistent and just plainly doesn’t give up on us. He isn’t a “my way or the highway” kind of Father. He is so much better than that.
I realize this could encourage someone to say, “Hum? I think I will walk a 70% walk with God. I can get some of the blessings and get by without all of them.” I guess someone could think that. But frankly, that doesn’t make much sense.
Conscience Alert
Monday, April 11 2011
Occasionally a small rectangular box appears in the lower right hand corner of my computer screen with the following message, “Security Essentials has detected and isolated a threat to your computer.” It then gives me an opportunity to “clean” my computer of the offending bug. Needless to say I appreciate this feature. It keeps my computer healthy. Wouldn’t it be grand if we had such a feature built into our brains to defend our characters? Each time we were confronted with something that would diminish us we would hear a small voice warning us. But wait, I think we do. It’s called our conscience.
However, our conscience is educated and honed by its environment. Social norms and cultural expectations become the standard of behavior. What I need is a voice that speaks to me the social and cultural norms of heaven. But I can quickly see that would eliminate a huge amount of my intellectual input. Most television programs would be red-flagged. The local evening news would definitely have to be turned off. Most popular music would set off a warning once I listened to the lyrics.
Philippians 4:8 is the gold standard. It says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” I must admit I would have difficulty with the Old Testament book of Judges. There are a lot of stories there that do not meet Paul’s criteria.
I find the way to being a better person is a tricky path. I need help. Fortunately that help is available to us. The Holy Spirit is able and anxious to be our guide. We merely need but ask for help.
However, our conscience is educated and honed by its environment. Social norms and cultural expectations become the standard of behavior. What I need is a voice that speaks to me the social and cultural norms of heaven. But I can quickly see that would eliminate a huge amount of my intellectual input. Most television programs would be red-flagged. The local evening news would definitely have to be turned off. Most popular music would set off a warning once I listened to the lyrics.
Philippians 4:8 is the gold standard. It says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” I must admit I would have difficulty with the Old Testament book of Judges. There are a lot of stories there that do not meet Paul’s criteria.
I find the way to being a better person is a tricky path. I need help. Fortunately that help is available to us. The Holy Spirit is able and anxious to be our guide. We merely need but ask for help.
Is My Car Invisible?
Friday, April 08 2011
Have you ever wondered if you had been zapped by some atomic ray that made your car invisible? I just had one of those evenings. Three times on the way home cars pulled right out in front of me forcing me to come to a full stop lest I strike them in the driver’s door.
While I really don’t believe my car was invisible I do realize there are all kinds of things around us that we cannot see or hear or smell. My dog hears and smells things I cannot hear and smell. There are light waves above and below what I can detect. We do not have to stretch our imaginations beyond intellectual reason to read and believe Bible stories that talk about angels. People who think the only things that exist are tangible haven’t considered radio, television, Internet and radar waves that literally fill our environment. Recently while taking a nap my cell phone rang. What I noted was it was in my pocket between me and the couch. The fact that my body was smothering it didn’t seem to matter.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Here’s where it can get a bit tricky. This verse is not carte blanche for us to believe all manner of crazy stuff. Just because we can imagine something doesn’t mean it is so. Real faith requires real intellect and real intellect requires some manner of evidence. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, the invisible wind blows and we can see the leaves move. The world contains much that we cannot see and God requires that we use the brains He gave us.
While I really don’t believe my car was invisible I do realize there are all kinds of things around us that we cannot see or hear or smell. My dog hears and smells things I cannot hear and smell. There are light waves above and below what I can detect. We do not have to stretch our imaginations beyond intellectual reason to read and believe Bible stories that talk about angels. People who think the only things that exist are tangible haven’t considered radio, television, Internet and radar waves that literally fill our environment. Recently while taking a nap my cell phone rang. What I noted was it was in my pocket between me and the couch. The fact that my body was smothering it didn’t seem to matter.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Here’s where it can get a bit tricky. This verse is not carte blanche for us to believe all manner of crazy stuff. Just because we can imagine something doesn’t mean it is so. Real faith requires real intellect and real intellect requires some manner of evidence. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, the invisible wind blows and we can see the leaves move. The world contains much that we cannot see and God requires that we use the brains He gave us.
The Skinny Envelope
Thursday, April 07 2011
All over the nation 18-year-olds hold their breath as they anxiously open mailboxes. Is there a skinny envelope or a fat one from the university of their choice? Skinny means you’re out. Don’t bother opening the envelope. Fat means you’re in and there are lots of forms enclosed for you to fill out. Getting in or not creates a lot of sleepless nights.
I know some people who toss and turn at night who are not 18. They are tossing as they fret about a more important destination. They are concerned that as hard as they try they just can’t feel like Jesus has saved them. They try to keep all the rules and laws they know of. Somehow that doesn’t take away their stress. Maybe they are missing one and will be lost because they only kept 631 out of 632. They heard a sermon last weekend telling them that isn’t the way. Jesus is the Way. That seems far too simple. Despite saying the words, “I am saved by grace” they just don’t feel safe. What if the preacher was wrong? They certainly don’t want to accompany him where he’s going if he misled all those people in church.
Hopefully, I have some good news for these folk. And yet why should they believe me if they aren’t overly sure of their pastor? So forget me and believe Paul. He can’t be wrong and even if they don’t feel saved, the truth is we are not saved by feeling, nor by intellect, nor by any other thing except what is expressed in the promise in Ephesians 2. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Best of all there aren’t any forms to fill out. The skinny envelope works.
I know some people who toss and turn at night who are not 18. They are tossing as they fret about a more important destination. They are concerned that as hard as they try they just can’t feel like Jesus has saved them. They try to keep all the rules and laws they know of. Somehow that doesn’t take away their stress. Maybe they are missing one and will be lost because they only kept 631 out of 632. They heard a sermon last weekend telling them that isn’t the way. Jesus is the Way. That seems far too simple. Despite saying the words, “I am saved by grace” they just don’t feel safe. What if the preacher was wrong? They certainly don’t want to accompany him where he’s going if he misled all those people in church.
Hopefully, I have some good news for these folk. And yet why should they believe me if they aren’t overly sure of their pastor? So forget me and believe Paul. He can’t be wrong and even if they don’t feel saved, the truth is we are not saved by feeling, nor by intellect, nor by any other thing except what is expressed in the promise in Ephesians 2. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Best of all there aren’t any forms to fill out. The skinny envelope works.
"Say Again, Please"
Wednesday, April 06 2011
Decades ago when I took flight training I learned that flight traffic controllers respond back to pilots at the same speech pace the pilot used upon initiating contact. If I called in with the N number of my plane and spoke rapidly they would rapidly send me altitude and directional heading. If I spoke slowly I got my directions slowly. I made sure I spoke slowly so I did not have to say, “Say again, please.” I seem to process numbers only at a pace that I can visualize them. Thus I have immense difficulty with my answering machine. Often people give me a callback number at such a pace I have to listen again and again just to be able to write it down. So, I have a policy. If I cannot get it on the third attempt they don’t get a call back. Sorry. Slow brain here.
What I have discovered through the years is God is a patient communicator. He consistently feeds at a pace He knows I can grasp. He should understand my intellectual pace because He made me. Even then I have discovered I do have to say to Him, “Say again, please.” It isn’t because He was speaking so fast. It is because what He is saying is so phenomenal. He has said things like just “confess your sins and I will cleanse you.” Wow. Say again, please. Or how about “believe in me and you will cross over from death to life.” Awesome! Say again, please. And I love it when He says, “While we were yet enemies He died for us.”
I have gotten to the place where I think I understand but I still say, “Say again, please” just because I love hearing it.
What I have discovered through the years is God is a patient communicator. He consistently feeds at a pace He knows I can grasp. He should understand my intellectual pace because He made me. Even then I have discovered I do have to say to Him, “Say again, please.” It isn’t because He was speaking so fast. It is because what He is saying is so phenomenal. He has said things like just “confess your sins and I will cleanse you.” Wow. Say again, please. Or how about “believe in me and you will cross over from death to life.” Awesome! Say again, please. And I love it when He says, “While we were yet enemies He died for us.”
I have gotten to the place where I think I understand but I still say, “Say again, please” just because I love hearing it.
What I Really Want
Tuesday, April 05 2011
In John 14 Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name it will be given to you.” If this were so all of us would be riding around in luxury cars, living in luxury homes, eating killer diets and not needing health care insurance. But wait, if we all were doing so, who would go to work to make the cars, build the houses and raise the food? Everyone would be a Christian for the wrong reason. Our characters would be corrupted and everything Jesus taught would be nullified. Jesus’ name would become “hocus pocus.” Furthermore, giving a child all they ask for is terrible parenting and God is not a terrible parent.
The key of understanding is the expression “in my name.” In His name is an expression of trust that when we ask He will respond in the utmost best way for us. He knows what we really desire is happiness, growth and eternal life. Each prayer is uniquely answered with these root desires in mind. This week I stopped to look at a row of luxury cars. They were pretty – inside and out. However, what was more appalling than the sticker price was the posted estimated gas mileage. It was horrible and I might add sinful. For the sake of personal comfort and more than a little vanity they expect us to add to the ruination of our small planet by driving their product and using twice the gasoline we need so we can get from pillar to post in STYLE.
If I asked God for one of those cars and if He gave it to me, together, God and I would be violating what we both really want. I want a better world and God knows that. Asking in His name means trusting Him to give me what I REALLY want.
The key of understanding is the expression “in my name.” In His name is an expression of trust that when we ask He will respond in the utmost best way for us. He knows what we really desire is happiness, growth and eternal life. Each prayer is uniquely answered with these root desires in mind. This week I stopped to look at a row of luxury cars. They were pretty – inside and out. However, what was more appalling than the sticker price was the posted estimated gas mileage. It was horrible and I might add sinful. For the sake of personal comfort and more than a little vanity they expect us to add to the ruination of our small planet by driving their product and using twice the gasoline we need so we can get from pillar to post in STYLE.
If I asked God for one of those cars and if He gave it to me, together, God and I would be violating what we both really want. I want a better world and God knows that. Asking in His name means trusting Him to give me what I REALLY want.
Mere Tokens
Monday, April 04 2011
Prince William of England and Catherine Middleton are to be wed Friday, April 29th at Westminster Cathedral. The engagement ring is an oval blue sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds set in 18ct white gold. It was Lady Diana’s engagement ring. According to authorities (whoever they are) the ring is one of the most desired pieces of jewelry in the world. Being that I love to be the bearer of good tidings I am most happy to pass on to you the very good news that you also may own such a ring. It seems preposterous but I saw it myself on television. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity you may own a limited edition copy of this coveted item for $19.95. According to those offering this fine opportunity, if you purchase one, you will be the envy of your social set. You will be part of history. Don’t let me forget to tell you that it comes in a hinged velveteen covered box.
If I cannot tempt you with that let me try with this, “Behold, I stand at the door, door and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Revelation 3
God’s throne with you and God together, and yet as splendid as that sounds the real prize is something far better. The real prize is victory over self, sin and death. All the rest are but tokens.
If I cannot tempt you with that let me try with this, “Behold, I stand at the door, door and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Revelation 3
God’s throne with you and God together, and yet as splendid as that sounds the real prize is something far better. The real prize is victory over self, sin and death. All the rest are but tokens.
Infinite Love
Friday, April 01 2011
With the world’s population growing and our awareness that resources are finite, we think about how much we consume; at least we should think about it if we don’t. Today I asked my students how much actual space each one occupies. One of the students volunteered that that would be a very difficult math problem considering all the roundness of our head, limbs and body. However, there is an easier way than trying to measure all those parts. The baptistery in the college church is a rectangle with a Plexiglas front. If we marked the water level without someone in it and then put a new mark when someone got in, it becomes a very easy problem of height times width times length. I think they want to do it. At least they said so.
So, how much space do we occupy in God’s mind? He’s a busy guy. He doesn’t just have the whole world in His hands, how about the whole universe, of which, no matter how large our telescopes get, we can’t see the end. Love, real love, His love, has no bounds. Just listen to Paul in Ephesians 3, “. . . that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, . . .”
Now that is totally awesome. His love for us passes knowledge. How much space does that much love require? How big are you in His heart? How much space do you require in His love? I don’t think we will ever know. We just wouldn’t get it. It’s that big.
So, how much space do we occupy in God’s mind? He’s a busy guy. He doesn’t just have the whole world in His hands, how about the whole universe, of which, no matter how large our telescopes get, we can’t see the end. Love, real love, His love, has no bounds. Just listen to Paul in Ephesians 3, “. . . that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, . . .”
Now that is totally awesome. His love for us passes knowledge. How much space does that much love require? How big are you in His heart? How much space do you require in His love? I don’t think we will ever know. We just wouldn’t get it. It’s that big.