JANUARY 2009 Posts
“C” word – is it a decoy, The? (1/16)
“Miracle on the Hudson” by Rex Babin (1/26)
3 Blessings journal (1/14)
And the greatest sin is... (1/15)
Can’t do much, but... (1/3)
Chew only or swallow and digest? (1/8)
Curios – 5 (1/14)
Curios – 6 (1/22)
Ending of “Mere Christianity”, The (1/30)
Freedom, even in THIS body (1/12)
God is good (1/21)
If not resolutions at New Year, then when? (1/2)
In trouble (1/10)
Is giving up the same thing as quitting? (1/27)
It is well (1/25)
Michelangelo and me: Why we didn’t want to paint God (1/13)
Music fit for a king (1/21)
My prayer for President Obama (1/20)
New creations (1/1)
Newest virus scare – Is it working? (1/29)
Noise on the plane and the detour, The (1/19)
Rick Warren’s prayer at the inauguration (1/20)
Should we clap “in church”? (1/28)
Toys made real (1/22)
Who believes more in prayer...me or Satan? (1/7)
Who you are today matters forever (1/5)
Why bother to know God? (1/9)
You Gotta Keep Dancin’ (1/26)
The Ending of "Mere Christianity"
This is it for Mere Christianity, for now. Quotes worth a second look from the last 5 chapters:
Rats in the Cellar
...Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly.
But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.
Like the Dentist
Our Lord i
s like the dentist. If you give Him an inch, He will take an ell. Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of... Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment.
Ordinary Cottage or a Palace?
He is the inventor, we are only the machine. He is the painter, we are only the picture. How should we know what He means us to be like?
We may be content to remain what we call “ordinary people”: but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility; it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience.
You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
Nice Doesn’t Cut It
We have been talking, in fact, as if Dick were all right; as if Christianity was something nasty people needed and nice ones could afford to do without; and as if niceness was all that God demanded. But this would be a fatal mistake. The truth is that in God’s eyes Dick Firkin needs “saving” every bit as much as Miss Bates. In one sense...niceness hardly comes into the
question.
But we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save.
God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse int
o a winged creature.
New Men
Every now and then one meets them. Their very voices and faces are different from ours; stronger, quieter, happier, more radiant..They do not draw attention to themselves. You tend to think that you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you. They love you more than other men do, but they need you less.
Rats in the Cellar
...Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly.
But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.
Like the Dentist
Our Lord i
s like the dentist. If you give Him an inch, He will take an ell. Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of... Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment.Ordinary Cottage or a Palace?
He is the inventor, we are only the machine. He is the painter, we are only the picture. How should we know what He means us to be like?
We may be content to remain what we call “ordinary people”: but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility; it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience.
You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
Nice Doesn’t Cut It
We have been talking, in fact, as if Dick were all right; as if Christianity was something nasty people needed and nice ones could afford to do without; and as if niceness was all that God demanded. But this would be a fatal mistake. The truth is that in God’s eyes Dick Firkin needs “saving” every bit as much as Miss Bates. In one sense...niceness hardly comes into the
question.But we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save.
God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse int
o a winged creature.New Men
Every now and then one meets them. Their very voices and faces are different from ours; stronger, quieter, happier, more radiant..They do not draw attention to themselves. You tend to think that you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you. They love you more than other men do, but they need you less.
[Others' thoughts from Book IV of “Mere Christianity”]
Newest Virus Scare--Is it working?
Do you have wonderful e-mail friends who warn you with regularity against the latest financial scams, food hazards, self-protection tips, mall terrorists, etc.?Me, too. I was warned today about a new e-mail virus that would come under the guise of “Mail Server Report”. Do not open it, or you will be doomed. Your life as you know it will be over.
The supposed hacker, who dubbed himself “Life Owner”, flashes this ominous threat when you open his mail:
“It is too late now. Your life is no longer beautiful.”
Really? And it’s been confirmed by Snopes?
Now don’t misunderstand me here: I can be scared by some pretty minor things, and definitely some major ones. Even though I know God is control, I haven’t learned to let him eliminate fear from my psyche yet.
So if all the information on my PC suddenly disappeared from my viewing and was transferred to Mr. Life Owner, I would be scared.
Temporarily.
But in the end, would it really matter? Even if he stole all my information, he still wouldn’t own my life. Even if he gained access to all my earthly belongings, my life would still be beautiful. (A little more stressed, granted, but...)
Because my life isn’t in my information and or my belongings. It’s in my blood. More specifically, The Blood. And I’ve got a pretty tight anti-virus protection plan working on my behalf in the heavenly places.
Perhaps “Mail Server Report” really is a new virus. Perhaps not. Either way, I’m covered.
~ Matthew 10
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Should we clap “in church”?
~ Psalm 47:1-2Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
Should we laugh together? Should we ever cry? Should we be quiet when someone else is talking?
Should we sing “Up from the Grave” a little louder on the chorus? Should we “Be Still and Know"? Should we “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”?
Should we be authentically human, reverently humbled, gratefully enthusiastic before the God of our salvation?
Should we even have to ask these questions?
All week long we see so much trouble in the world. Drunk drivers killing our friends. Thieves breaking into our cars. Kids growing up too fast. Affairs scheduled after work. The bad guys can appear to be winning the game.
So when we gather with other believers, the ones who still don’t have it all together but who at least want to, we need to lock arms and pray and sing and worship and celebrate our connection with each other and with the Father.
And when we share our stories about one of the good guys scoring a touchdown, is that a time to shush each other? Are we commanded to maintain silence in the end zone? Ever done that at a football game? Of course not!
Let’s trumpet our victories! Let’s cheer on the team! Who better to celebrate with than the family, and what better time than when we’re together?
We were not created to be closet worshipers or silent celebrators. Give up some joyful noise. If anybody deserves applause, isn’t it the Lord?
If the seas are commanded to roar yet have no voices, and the rivers are commanded to clap yet have no hands, and the hills are commanded to sing yet have no songs, surely, surely we can do the same with the gifts we have been given—we who have been given voices and hands and songs that we might declare his praise.
Should we clap with the church? Yes. Wouldn’t it be disrespectful not to?
~ Psalm 98
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Is "Giving Up" the same thing as "Quitting"?
Tomorrow, I plan to tell the doctor that I’m giving up.
I appreciate his MRI’s and X-rays, his physical therapists and chiropractors. But enough is enough when he's not alleviating any pain. Right?
I question myself over and over before I give up something... Is it too soon? What if I’ll need it later? Can I ever get it back? Will I be considered a quitter?
Is “giving up” the same as “quitting”?
Is it being a quitter when we lay aside practices that no longer work, or schedules that no longer serve a purpose, or even fun activities that have long since lost their joy?
Didn’t Jesus give things up? Did that make him a quitter?
Jesus certainly gave up pieces of his glory when he squeezed his deity into a cramped, tiny mold of a human body. He gave up heaven to live on earth. He even gave up a spotless relationship with his Father when he bloodied his character with our sins. He gave up the innocence of his very life.
But he didn’t quit on the plan—he worked it flawlessly. He didn’t quit loving us—we stayed on his mind constantly. He didn’t quit obeying God—he glorified him in everything he did. If he had given up on those things, he would have been a quitter.
And he wouldn’t have gained resurrection, or regained his original glory.
So “giving up” does not equal “quitting”. Some things we need to give up. If it no longer bears fruit, let it go. Let God free our hands of useless things to be refilled with better things.
What will I gain by giving up my doctor?
Certainly more time and more money, less stress and less prodding. I’ll gain release from a pursuit that’s proven fruitless. And I’ll gain freedom to invest energy instead into accepting that all is well, now, in pleasure and in pain. True gifts indeed—only to be received by open and empty hands.
Such gifts do not arrive from a passive pattern of quitting, but from an active and voluntary giving up....
I give up.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I appreciate his MRI’s and X-rays, his physical therapists and chiropractors. But enough is enough when he's not alleviating any pain. Right?
I question myself over and over before I give up something... Is it too soon? What if I’ll need it later? Can I ever get it back? Will I be considered a quitter?
Is “giving up” the same as “quitting”?
Is it being a quitter when we lay aside practices that no longer work, or schedules that no longer serve a purpose, or even fun activities that have long since lost their joy?
Didn’t Jesus give things up? Did that make him a quitter?
Jesus certainly gave up pieces of his glory when he squeezed his deity into a cramped, tiny mold of a human body. He gave up heaven to live on earth. He even gave up a spotless relationship with his Father when he bloodied his character with our sins. He gave up the innocence of his very life.
But he didn’t quit on the plan—he worked it flawlessly. He didn’t quit loving us—we stayed on his mind constantly. He didn’t quit obeying God—he glorified him in everything he did. If he had given up on those things, he would have been a quitter.
And he wouldn’t have gained resurrection, or regained his original glory.
So “giving up” does not equal “quitting”. Some things we need to give up. If it no longer bears fruit, let it go. Let God free our hands of useless things to be refilled with better things.
What will I gain by giving up my doctor?
Certainly more time and more money, less stress and less prodding. I’ll gain release from a pursuit that’s proven fruitless. And I’ll gain freedom to invest energy instead into accepting that all is well, now, in pleasure and in pain. True gifts indeed—only to be received by open and empty hands.
Such gifts do not arrive from a passive pattern of quitting, but from an active and voluntary giving up....
I give up.
~ Philippians 2
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
You Gotta Keep Dancin'
We all have sore spots; places where touched, we flinch. Some are of the body; some of the soul; some of the spirit. This book speaks to them all.
In his prime, Tim Hansel was a buff ice climber, skilled and courageous. But with one slip of his foot on snow and ice in the Sierras, he spilled over the edge into a fall that changed his life forever.
He describes his life from that time forward in all its pains and joys in You Gotta Keep Dancin’: In the Midst of Life’s Hurts,You Can Choose Joy!, first published in 1985. He continued to write more books and ministered in various ways to innumerable people.
Tim challenges me to rethink my own attitudes about problems and pain. I'll let his words speak for themselves...
Tim, wherever you are now, I pray that you are flourishing in your healing.
Sandy, thanks for loaning me the book.
Lord, let me seek and find my highest and deepest joy in you, and be strong for your glory because of it.
In his prime, Tim Hansel was a buff ice climber, skilled and courageous. But with one slip of his foot on snow and ice in the Sierras, he spilled over the edge into a fall that changed his life forever.
He describes his life from that time forward in all its pains and joys in You Gotta Keep Dancin’: In the Midst of Life’s Hurts,You Can Choose Joy!, first published in 1985. He continued to write more books and ministered in various ways to innumerable people.
Tim challenges me to rethink my own attitudes about problems and pain. I'll let his words speak for themselves...
It has been said that there is no such thing as a problem that doesn’t have a gift in it. I’m going to have to begin to find some of those gifts and open them.Where is Tim now? I googled him, but the last entry I could find was 2 years old, and indicated that Tim was in dangerously fragile health from years of living in a pain-racked body.
The disillusionment with our own abilities is, perhaps, one of the most important things that can ever happen to us. But the process can be terrifying.
But through this profound and simple passage from Nehemiah, God reminded me again and again that I cannot choose to be strong, but I can choose to be joyful. And when I am willing to do that, strength will follow.
Limitations are not necessarily negative. In fact, I’m beginning to believe that they can give life definition, clarity, and freedom. We are called to a freedom of and in limitations—not from. ...Unrestricted water is a swamp—because it lacks restriction, it also lacks depth.
I have prayed hundreds, if not thousands, of times for the Lord to heal me—and he finally healed me of the need to be healed. I had discovered a peace inside the pain. I finally came to the realization that if the Lord could use this body better the way it is, then that’s the way it should be.
Tim, wherever you are now, I pray that you are flourishing in your healing.
Sandy, thanks for loaning me the book.
Lord, let me seek and find my highest and deepest joy in you, and be strong for your glory because of it.
...And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
~ Nehemiah 8:10
"Miracle on the Hudson" by Rex Babin
If only we could see the invisible, the way God sees...
Rex Babin did. Thanks, Rex.
What do you think about this art?
Rex Babin did. Thanks, Rex.
What do you think about this art?
Toys Made Real (Thoughts from "Mere Christianity")
Come to LifeI remember pretending with my raggedy, stuffed “Donkey” friend long past a socially-acceptable age. Even when his stuffing started spilling out, I sheltered him far away from where Mama could reach the attic.
Perhaps it was because I read and re-read Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit, Or How Toys Become Real. The Rabbit doesn’t quite understand “real,” so the Horse, who has already become real himself, explains:
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."~ THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
Likewise, it is only because God REALLY loves us that he brings us to “Real” or Zoe life. Any other way of living is imitation.
Show Me Real
But like the Rabbit, how can we understand Real, when we’re not? We need someone already Real to explain it to us.
And Jesus did. He not only explained it, he demonstrated it. As C. S. Lewis so aptly states in Book IV of Mere Christianity:
The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a fetus inside a Woman’s body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.Jesus humbly entered our shadow world to show us what being Real is all about. He showed us Truth and Life.~ MERE CHRISTIANITY
And the process to become Real? It's the Way, Jesus himself, because he REALLY loves us.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Are All Toys Real?
But if God loves everybody, why isn’t everybody Real? Why don’t all the toys come to life?
Because only the toys that believe they can be made Real are made so.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. John 6:47
Perhaps Lewis read The Velveteen Rabbit, too. In his “Chapter 5: The Obstinate Toy Soldiers” of Mere Christianity, his toy soldiers, unlike the Rabbit, fight the process of becoming Real and prefer to remain toys.
Which is more realistic? To desire to be Real, or to fight against it?
We see both types. To cross over into Real, we first have to voluntarily die to our old man. Not all agree to do that, or see the advantage of it, or listen to the Father calling us to it. They prefer the temporary fun in fake, unaware of the everlasting revelry in Real.
But those who do accept God’s love, change. As from a stone statue to a breathing man.
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10b
A man who changed from having Bios to having Zoe would have gone through as big a change as a statue which changed from being a carved stone to being a real man. And that is precisely what Christianity is all about. This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there is a rumor going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.At the end of The Velveteen Rabbit, the Rabbit was made real:~ MERE CHRISTIANITY
Instead of dingy velveteen he had brown fur, soft and shiny, his ears twitched by themselves, and his whiskers were so long that they brushed the grass. He gave one leap and the joy of using those hind legs was so great that he went springing about the turf on them, jumping sideways and whirling round as the others did, and he grew so excited.~ THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
[Others' thoughts from Book IV of “Mere Christianity”]
Curios - 6
1. Disney dumped Narnia. Why? Who will back "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" now?
2. Take a deep breath, and here we go. Voddie Baucham gives us the quick view of President Obama's agenda.
3. John Piper offers advice on how to "Be a Pro-Life Christian under a Pro-Choice President" here and here.
4. Another must-read classic Piper: What does the USAir Crash have to do with the Inauguration?
5. Sadly, today is the anniversary of legalized abortion in America. Read Peter Singer's views.
6. Got a favorite for the Super Bowl? Here's a reason to choose the Arizona Cardinals.
God is Good _ Attributes of God
8 ABC’s of God’s Goodness
ATTRIBUTE DEFINED
Good: possessing desirable qualities, beneficial, agreeable; moral excellence, piety; kind, benevolent
BIBLE VERSES
Gen 1:31a And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
Exo 33:19a And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.'
Psa 31:19a Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you.
Psa 119:68 You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
Mat 19:17a And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.
Jas 1:17a Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.
CHRIST’S EXAMPLE
Acts 10:38b [Jesus] went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
DIRECTLY TO MEPsa 16:2 I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
Mic 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
ECHO IT
Yes, we are called to mirror God’s goodness. But we can’t do it by our own willpower. When I see non-believers do good, I wonder: Where does their power to do it come from? Doesn’t it have to come from God, too, even if they don’t know it? Does it still glorify him?
FORGIVE ME
Lord, forgive us for often choosing the easy thing, or the selfish thing, or the proud thing instead of the good thing you have empowered us to do through your Spirit.
Also forgive us when we doubt your goodness. We often say, “God is so good,” yet we and unbelievers alike struggle the most with “why do bad things happen to good people?” (And who among us is “good”?!) Grant us more faith to delight, not doubt, what you are doing, even if, at times, it appears bad instead of good. If it is from your hand, it is good.
GLORY TO GOD
Father, I praise you for being Good personified! Let us brag of your goodness, and imitate it to others so that you may be glorified for it.
HIS WORDS
Memorize:
Psalm 145:9 The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
Music fit for a King
It was heavenly music, fit for a king.Or, in this case, a President.
And it moved me, too. "Air and Simple Gifts", arranged by John Williams, was the musical selection played yesterday at President Obama’s Inauguration.
It incorporated a traditional Shaker dance song “Simple Gifts”. I've seen Shakers sing and dance at a Shaker village—it is a wondrously worshipful event.
So not surprisingly, “Air and Simple Gifts” called forth a spirit of worship. As I listened, I was overwhelmed at the beauty of God’s creation of music, and the way He infuses that gift into His children. I could do no less than praise our Father as I listened to His work of art overflowing from His living creations.
The four musicians also beautifully represented the diversity of God’s handiwork around the world.
- Itzhak Perlman (violin): born in Tel Aviv
- Yo-Yo Ma (cello): born in Paris to Chinese parents
- Anthony McGill (clarinet): an African-American from Chicago, Illinois
- Gabriela Montero (piano): a native of Venezuela
And may we play back His music for Him often, music fit for our Eternal King.
Simple Gifts
Written by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett, Jr.
1848.
'Tis the gift to be simple,
'Tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.
Refrain:
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning we come round right.
[These two verses added later:]
'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,
Refrain
'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.
Refrain
Rick Warren's Prayer at the Inauguration
I’m proud of Rick Warren for praying in Jesus’ name at the Inauguration today.Many criticized Obama's selection of Rick, and many condemned any mention of the name of Jesus that Rick might invoke.
But he did it anyway. May we all stand so firmly in the One whom we believe.
Excerpts from Rick’s prayer (or watch it on YouTube):
Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory. History is your story. The Scripture tells us, ‘Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one and you are the compassionate and merciful one and you are loving to everyone you have made.
...
Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day, all nations, all people will stand accountable before You. We now commit our new president and his wife Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, Esa, Jesús, Jesus—who taught us to pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
My prayer for President Obama, our 44th President
Our Father,
You are our God and our King. There is none like you. We bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
We confess our sin in looking to men to save us from ourselves and each other. As you forgive us, we forgive each other for the harm we inflict in the name of justice and government and even religion.
Guide our new leader to choose your ways. Influence his heart with your Word. Bless his work with purpose and integrity. Protect his family with your hand and ours.
We thank you for our freedom, regardless of our politics. We thank you for our blessings, regardless of our economy. We thank you for your love, regardless of our failings.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen
The noise on the plane and the detour
It was a very loud noise.
I was in the middle of the plane, and didn’t hear it. But those sitting in the back did, including, as it so happened, an off-duty airplane steward. I saw him rush to the front of the plane and confer with the on-duty crew, and then shortly make this announcement:
“Everything is okay. Just like your car doors have seals that come loose and make noise, the back of the plane seems to have a seal that is loose, creating the loud noise you hear. We’ve been advised to land in St. Louis for maintenance instead of proceeding to Denver.”
And thus began the detour. We schedule for one destination; we arrive in another.
Why?
Does it matter why? Sometimes, yes; sometimes, no. What matters most is how we respond to the detour.
God doesn’t always give us the explanation, or even usually so. I think he’s more interested if we’re trusting him or not. We often don’t even know our own level of faith, until we’re in a situation where it can be proven or disproven.
If we think we have to figure it all out first, we’ve missed the point of relationship. Can I be grateful even when I can’t see a reason for the detour? Do I have to know all the answers myself, or can I be at peace trusting that God knows?
God uses (and sometimes creates) life’s detours and delays for our good and his glory. They’re going to come to everybody. And they’re handled best by going with the flow instead of heading into frustration. I want to trust the one with the bigger flight plan. He knows the best route to get us where he wants us to go.
In the end, my airplane needed more maintenance than the 30 minute delay we were promised, so we were diverted to another plane. Most of the passengers handled the detour well, especially those with no connecting flights ahead of them. (Perhaps a thought of landing in the Hudson River made our side excursion a little easier? Captain Sully would have been proud of the calm of our crew.)
Me? The detour cost us a little time getting to our final destination. But the benefits were greater: a chance to stretch our legs at the St. Louis airport, to watch a few minutes of Kurt Warner playing in the NFC championship game (and later winning!), and a Milky Way candy bar.
And maybe that’s all I need to know.
I was in the middle of the plane, and didn’t hear it. But those sitting in the back did, including, as it so happened, an off-duty airplane steward. I saw him rush to the front of the plane and confer with the on-duty crew, and then shortly make this announcement:
“Everything is okay. Just like your car doors have seals that come loose and make noise, the back of the plane seems to have a seal that is loose, creating the loud noise you hear. We’ve been advised to land in St. Louis for maintenance instead of proceeding to Denver.”
And thus began the detour. We schedule for one destination; we arrive in another.
Why?
Does it matter why? Sometimes, yes; sometimes, no. What matters most is how we respond to the detour.
God doesn’t always give us the explanation, or even usually so. I think he’s more interested if we’re trusting him or not. We often don’t even know our own level of faith, until we’re in a situation where it can be proven or disproven.
If we think we have to figure it all out first, we’ve missed the point of relationship. Can I be grateful even when I can’t see a reason for the detour? Do I have to know all the answers myself, or can I be at peace trusting that God knows?
God uses (and sometimes creates) life’s detours and delays for our good and his glory. They’re going to come to everybody. And they’re handled best by going with the flow instead of heading into frustration. I want to trust the one with the bigger flight plan. He knows the best route to get us where he wants us to go.
In the end, my airplane needed more maintenance than the 30 minute delay we were promised, so we were diverted to another plane. Most of the passengers handled the detour well, especially those with no connecting flights ahead of them. (Perhaps a thought of landing in the Hudson River made our side excursion a little easier? Captain Sully would have been proud of the calm of our crew.)
Me? The detour cost us a little time getting to our final destination. But the benefits were greater: a chance to stretch our legs at the St. Louis airport, to watch a few minutes of Kurt Warner playing in the NFC championship game (and later winning!), and a Milky Way candy bar.
And maybe that’s all I need to know.
The “C” Word – Is it a decoy?
What were you doing on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated into bits over Texas upon its reentry? [packing up little girls’ sleeping bags from a birthday slumber party]
Where were you on September 11, 2001? [elbow-deep in pepperoni pizzas, chaperoning a field trip at Domino’s]Remember who you were with on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart in less than 2 minutes int
o its flight? [with fellow accountants at Intergraph in a very small, very smoke-filled office]What about the attempted assassination attempt on Presid
ent Reagan on March 30, 1981? [the UAH tennis courts with a new boyfriend (it didn’t last)]As Americans, we share these jarring, collector moments. They bring a seriousness with them that brings us to our knees.
And likewise as individuals, we each have a stack of moments where a sentence or two screechingly interrupts our regularly scheduled season of life.
These top my personal list of interrupting moments:
- From the first man I had committed my life to: “I’m not in love with you anymore and I want out.”
- From my obstetrician reviewing our baby’s ultrasound: “That spot...something is wrong.”
- From the doctor with my biopsy results on Tuesday: “It was cancer.”
For now, the word is not straying far from my thoughts. It brings its friends with it: “What if”, “Next time”, “If only”... But I don’t suspect we will remain such close bedfellows much longer, once the new wears off. Time and Light fade such images, even if slowly. I will never forget, but I will remember less intently.
But is cancer a decoy? Satan was robbed of my body, this time, but was it a devious scheme all along to steal my soul? He’ll take what he can get of me. I want him to have nothing.
So I sit tight in the Father’s big hand. He promised safety there. There I find joy and peace...and health. Physical health is comforting, for the moment, but spiritual health is eternal.
The temporal thunderclaps we collectively remember serve a purpose. They funnel our focus down to a moment, but they contrast against the broader backdrop of eternity. And we can't help but take notice of both.
Satan wants the interruptions to arrest our souls for his imprisonment; God wants t
hem to transform our souls into His image.What do you do with your interruptions?
What will I do with mine?
And the greatest sin is... (Thoughts from "Mere Christianity")
Lewis’s title for chapter 8 reveals his seriousness toward the vice of pride: “The Great Sin”. He says pride “is the complete anti-God state of mind.” In comparison, all other sins are “mere fleabites.” Why? Perhaps because pride keeps us from knowing God. And can there be a worse fate than not knowing God?Why else is pride so bad? It not only creates enmity between God and me, but also between you and me. To enjoy pleasure in my pride, I must rank myself higher than you—in looks or intelligence or works or power, etc. I have to be better. Doesn’t do much for a friendship, huh? Lewis says pride, at its very core, is competitive. Comparisons are what feed pride and keep it alive.
We see this competitiveness among professional sports players' salaries. It's not satisfying enough to make millions of dollars; they want to make millions + 1 more than everybody else. Not because they lack the money to do the things they want, but because they “wish to be richer than some other rich man.” So as they demand more dollars, we "normal" folk stand aghast.
But we do the same thing, just in smaller denominations. Who wants to make less than their co-worker, even if we’re already overpaid? It’s not just that we want; we want more. We compare; that’s how pride works.
In contrast, humility does not compare one against the other, but focuses on only one: the other. Lewis describes a humble man as a “cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”
This chapter ends with an answer. What is the first step to acquiring humility? Realize that you are proud.
“If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.” Ouch.
[Others' thoughts from Book III of “Mere Christianity”]
3 Blessings Journal
Because a lot can happen in a few days...
And God is good all the time.
1/5/09. Mon:
* Thanks for the peace I have about the procedure on Wed.
* Thanks for Thursday being here in 3 days because then it will all be in the past.
1/6/09. Tue:
* Thanks that Jeff is so willing and eager to take care of me and take up some of the slack at home.
1/8/09, Thu:
This day is here!
* Thanks that all went well yesterday—that part was a breeze.
* Thanks that I don’t have to think about it for another 5 years!
1/12/09. Mon:
* Thanks that I have no doctor appointments this week!
1/13/09. Tue:
* Thanks that Jeff went in to work early today so he could get off to meet me at the doctor’s office for my unexpected follow-up appointment.
* Thanks that I’ve still received (for the most part) Your peace about this whole thing.
1/14/09. Wed:
* Thanks that the doctor had such great bedside manner yesterday breaking the news to me about the cancer.
* Thanks that the cancer is supposedly all gone.
* Thanks that I can still praise You today, even in THIS body.
And God is good all the time.
1/5/09. Mon:
* Thanks for the peace I have about the procedure on Wed.
* Thanks for Thursday being here in 3 days because then it will all be in the past.
1/6/09. Tue:
* Thanks that Jeff is so willing and eager to take care of me and take up some of the slack at home.
1/8/09, Thu:
This day is here!
* Thanks that all went well yesterday—that part was a breeze.
* Thanks that I don’t have to think about it for another 5 years!
1/12/09. Mon:
* Thanks that I have no doctor appointments this week!
1/13/09. Tue:
* Thanks that Jeff went in to work early today so he could get off to meet me at the doctor’s office for my unexpected follow-up appointment.
* Thanks that I’ve still received (for the most part) Your peace about this whole thing.
1/14/09. Wed:
* Thanks that the doctor had such great bedside manner yesterday breaking the news to me about the cancer.
* Thanks that the cancer is supposedly all gone.
* Thanks that I can still praise You today, even in THIS body.
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God."
My times are in your hand.
~ Psalm 31:14,15a
My times are in your hand.
~ Psalm 31:14,15a
Curios - 5
1. Five things that keep us stuck in the same ol’ sins.
2. Results are in: “Spirituality, not religion, makes kids happy.”
3. Then check out these resources for how to make it happen with your kids.
4. Challenge yourself for one minute a day. Today’s suggestion is:
What is the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Hit the timer and write what’s on your mind in 60 seconds.
Michelangelo and Me: Why we didn't want to paint God
This is God...
How would you describe God, in 50 words or less?
How would you draw him? “The Shack” author William P. Young shook us up when he mentally drew God as a large African-American woman.
Michelangelo painted him like this in "The Creation of Adam", one of his six depictions of God on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1511.
But he almost didn’t.
3 excuses Michelangelo could have used to NOT paint God, or,
3 excuses why I don’t know God better:
(1) I already know God.
Michelangelo: Something was already painted there.
Me: I’m convinced I already know who God is.
Just as a previous fresco of a starry sky had been painted on the Sistine Chapel before Michelangelo was charged to do his painting, we, too, often see a preconceived image of God on our internal canvas.
Maybe it’s a bearded, long-haired flannelgraph God left over from hot summer VBS days. Or lyrics rattling in our heads from 10 a.m. Sunday mornings (“There’s an all-seeing eye watching you”). Or the voice of Jim Carrey or George Burns echoing between our ears.
If we like those images, we don’t want them tampered with. Why mess up a good thing?
Or if we do NOT like those images, perhaps that deters us from digging deeper into who God really is. We don’t want to make things even worse.
But regardless of our scenario, we DON’T really know God like we think we do. Our minds can never grasp him. We have to keep seeking him and continually letting our old image of God die as he reveals himself to us in new and true ways.
We won’t be disappointed. He promises to exceed our highest expectations.
(2) It doesn’t really matter how I see God.
Michelangelo: He already had a job, and didn’t want this one.
Me: I’ve got enough to do, and it doesn’t really matter what I think about God anyway.
Pope Julius II lured Michelangelo to Rome on the promise that he could build the pope’s spectacular tomb. But he effectively diverted him to the Sistine Chapel job instead, a task that Michelangelo initially did not want, but took to secure the tomb project later.
Look beyond the immediate to see the more important larger picture. Michelangelo did. We think: “I’ve got more urgent things facing me than researching God.” But we’re wrong. Taking the time to learn about God will make everything we do later more meaningful, more purposeful, more satisfying.
Why miss out on the good life now from not walking in closer step with God? Who has it together enough to NOT need to know him better?
(3) It’s too hard; I’m not a theologian.
Michelangelo: He wasn’t a painter; he was a sculptor. He had much to learn.
Me: God is too big. I can’t do this.
Did you know Michelangelo didn’t feel qualified to paint the Sistine Chapel? Painting wasn’t his expertise. But the world is glad he took it on.
Is it too hard to really know God? Well, yes! He IS too big for us to get our arms around. But he is not untouchable.
Who fully understands their spouse? Or their child? Does that mean we shouldn’t try to know them better anyway?
God wants us to seek him so that he can be found. No, we’ll never fully understand God, but we’ll find joy in the trying. And he’ll give us as much success as we can handle.
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
Isaiah 55:6
Freedom, even in THIS body
27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
~ Daniel 3
“Don’t let this issue be your LAST!”
It will be.
Despite the dour warning screaming from my mailbox today, I won’t renew. “Highlights” has been been a welcome guest in our house each month for the past 15 years. But this year, my youngest has decided it’s not worth renewing. She’s outgrown it.
Perhaps it’s silly to be sad at not renewing a child’s magazine, but it’s a larger issue that speaks to me. It’s the incessant tick-tocking reminder that because I’m aging, I'll probably never return to a less pain-filled body. This is the year to make peace with pain, to accept life as is and worship God as fully as I can, even in THIS body.
The wording in Daniel 3 spoke to me afresh this afternoon. “The fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men” as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “yielded up their bodies” rather than deny their God.
In fits and starts, I’m learning to lay down nagging thoughts of “So this is how I’m going to feel the rest of my life?” and accept that, yes, even with pain or witho
ut it, THIS is the body I'm asked to yield up in worship to my God.Freedom is the reward of acceptance—freedom from fear while passing through the waters, because I know I’m not alone; and through the rivers, because I know I won’t be overwhelmed. I know the fire will not burn me and the flame will not consume me (Isaiah 43:2-4).
Why? Because of who my God is. And He is enough. Even in THIS body.
11:For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12: Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,
13: and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
~ Hebrews 12
In Trouble
One of the most common and naive sentences in the English language is perhaps the following: “If I can just get through this problem, then everything will be all right.”There comes a time, and it may well be the birth of maturity, when we realize that once we get through our present problem there will be another one, slightly larger and a little more intense, waiting to take its place.
~ Tim Hansel
You Gotta Keep Dancin’
Jesus never promised his followers a problem-free life. To the contrary, he assured them (and us) that they would have problems. Count on it.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
~ John 16:33
The good news comes on two fronts. 1—Jesus walks each step with us, regardless of our trouble, and 2—He has already overcome our troubles anyway by defeating sin itself.
There is no problem that can defeat us if we’re depending on his strength and not our own. Victory is promised before we even fight the battle.
To make peace with having problems, seek peace in a Person, not in a preferred outcome.
Why bother to know God?
Why bother?
Why should I get to know God?
What difference does it make what I think about God? What does that have to do with me?
Because what I think about God ultimately determines what I think about myself...And what I think about myself determines how I respond to God...And that determines everything.
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.
~ A. W. Tozer
KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY
KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY
How can I feel joy and love and passion for a God that I think is cruel and unfair and mean? Why would I trust in a God that I don’t know to be reliable and unchangable? How can I fully love my neighbors if I’ve yet to understand God as love incarnate?
I don’t want to waste my time worshiping a pseudo-image of God that can’t love me back when I can be loving the real thing instead.
A Case of Mistaken Identity
At Books-a-Million I saw my husband in the back of the store scanning the magazines. I snuck up behind him, threw my arms around his waist, and whispered in his ear, “Hey, Baby.”
But a split second later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my REAL husband a few yards to my left, watching me with a smirk.
I had snagged the wrong man.
I quickly turned loose and stuttered out a humble apology as the startled gentleman turned around to see who had accosted him. He was gracious and replied that this had never happened to him before. We all laughed, and my husband and I very hastily left the store. (I haven’t returned.)
But even though at first glance I thought that was my husband, I was wrong. If I had looked closer before I pounced, I would have seen that it was not him.
Everything that I was projecting onto this man was wrong. Would this stranger make me jello when I’m sick? Would he rub my feet just because I had a bad day? Would he eat at Red Lobster instead of Dreamland just because I liked Red Lobster better? No. He didn’t care anything about me. He didn’t know me.
The real God knows me. He cares; he loves. There’s nothing he won’t do for me. So he is the one I want to know. More and more.
Why Michelangelo Didn’t Want to Paint
Studying the attributes of God can be the most faith-enhancing learning we undertake. We all want a stronger faith; we know we have sinful
weaknesses that need overhauling; we want to be better spouses, parents, friends.But the only way to be truly repaired is to contact our Manufacturer. As we seek to know him better, he changes who we are in the process.
Michelangelo’s mural “The Creation of Adam”, painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, is one of the most widely recognized portraits of God. Yet he almost didn’t do it. Why not? And are those the same reasons we don’t seek God more? Read more about it...
Chew only or Swallow and digest?
...Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary, He told us to be not only “as harmless as doves,” but also “as wise as serpents.” He wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim.
...“Be good, sweet maid, and don’t forget that this involves being as clever as you can.” ...If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all.
I’m a scanner. I admit it. When it comes to reading anything outside of books, I’m a highlights’ reader. Like chewing on a bad piece of hard bubblegum, I can feed on a multi-paragraph on-line article in about 5 s
econds, just enough time to squeeze out the sugary flavor, then spit it back out. Only if there’s something particularly relevant or entertaining or sequential do I take the time to swallow and digest. Otherwise, I’m zoning in on key words and moving on, baby.
Perhaps my reading style is imitative of the modern American Christian. We’re spread so thin in this ministry and that; we juggle so many relationships that we give proper time to none; we multi-task while listening to the Sunday sermon as we’re jotting down plans for the Bible study that night and transcribing a passage to memorize later in the week. Granted, all good things, each one, but whatever happened to attending to the “one best thing” that Jesus chastised Martha about?
We’re one Google-click away from discovering a little bit about everything. But do we have more than a Wikipedia-sized knowledge about anything? The Christian religion isn’t designed for the wimpy or the lazy. It’s requires depth and devotion. Any leader that says he wants your whole being, not just your 8-5 workday best, but your whole heart, mind, soul, spirit, is insinuating there’s some serious business ahead, and you better live prepared for it.
How can we motivate ourselves to sit down at the dinner table feast instead of settling for sampling tidbits at the mall’s food court when the latter is so handy and the former can seem so time-consuming?
Perhaps by slowing down enough to concentrate on only one thing at a time. Turn off the TV and give our undivided attention to the husband at dinner. Discard the frivolous catalogs so we can focus on the one serious magazine article. Build enough margin into our lives so that when the unexpected TRUE need calls us, we’re fresh and available to throw in our all.
Jesus never expected his disciples to pursue a PhD in theology, but he did say they needed to deny everything but him. That’s some serious focus. Do we have enough attention span and self-discipline left to do it?
...“Be good, sweet maid, and don’t forget that this involves being as clever as you can.” ...If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all.
~ C. S. Lewis
MERE CHRISTIANITY
Book III, Chapter 2
MERE CHRISTIANITY
Book III, Chapter 2
I’m a scanner. I admit it. When it comes to reading anything outside of books, I’m a highlights’ reader. Like chewing on a bad piece of hard bubblegum, I can feed on a multi-paragraph on-line article in about 5 s
econds, just enough time to squeeze out the sugary flavor, then spit it back out. Only if there’s something particularly relevant or entertaining or sequential do I take the time to swallow and digest. Otherwise, I’m zoning in on key words and moving on, baby.Perhaps my reading style is imitative of the modern American Christian. We’re spread so thin in this ministry and that; we juggle so many relationships that we give proper time to none; we multi-task while listening to the Sunday sermon as we’re jotting down plans for the Bible study that night and transcribing a passage to memorize later in the week. Granted, all good things, each one, but whatever happened to attending to the “one best thing” that Jesus chastised Martha about?
We’re one Google-click away from discovering a little bit about everything. But do we have more than a Wikipedia-sized knowledge about anything? The Christian religion isn’t designed for the wimpy or the lazy. It’s requires depth and devotion. Any leader that says he wants your whole being, not just your 8-5 workday best, but your whole heart, mind, soul, spirit, is insinuating there’s some serious business ahead, and you better live prepared for it.
How can we motivate ourselves to sit down at the dinner table feast instead of settling for sampling tidbits at the mall’s food court when the latter is so handy and the former can seem so time-consuming?
Perhaps by slowing down enough to concentrate on only one thing at a time. Turn off the TV and give our undivided attention to the husband at dinner. Discard the frivolous catalogs so we can focus on the one serious magazine article. Build enough margin into our lives so that when the unexpected TRUE need calls us, we’re fresh and available to throw in our all.
Jesus never expected his disciples to pursue a PhD in theology, but he did say they needed to deny everything but him. That’s some serious focus. Do we have enough attention span and self-discipline left to do it?
[Others' thoughts from Book III of “Mere Christianity”]
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