The goal as one

God has set apart the faithful for himself. Daily I feel the pull of a world that craves inclusiveness. "Join us. Our unity is our strength."

The goal is to speak as one. And I think of Babel. There, the people joined to a build a tower to their own abilities. Some think they united to build stair steps to heaven, to enter the divine kingdom.

God rejected their efforts, knowing that this kind of unity would lead them into more trouble. If they built this tower, they'd work together for other projects that would not lead them to God but to further depravity.

Unity in God is a beautiful thing. Unity without God leads to projects that serve lower desires.

To be set apart for God is to be given the freedom to pursue the things of Philippians:

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. (Phil 4:8)

Morning bouquet

Outside my window, beyond the orange lilies of summer, a gold-tassled cornfield shimmers in the breeze. The praise of birds and the clean scent of dewey morning drifts through the window.

This morning God gave me a precious bouquet as I gazed outside my window. Believe me, this came not because of my efforts in any way but because of his marvelous love.

I am like the psalmist who asked, "O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?" (Psalms 144:3)

We know we are a fleeting breath and a quick breath, as the psalmist described.

Yet here it is: we are blessed. Not because we are worthy but because He is.

He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,

Psalms 144:2

Withholding

Lyle wanted prayer a few weeks ago because "God's not answering my prayers. Things aren't going so good for me."

Lyle reported that he prayed every morning and had even tried fasting one day last week. But he still couldn't get all his bills paid and his girlfriend was having problems with her ex-husband. "I been wondering what God has against me, you know? I'm trying but He's not doing what I need."

After God created time, one of his first gifts was lush provision. "Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food..." (Gen 2:9) Yet Adam and Eve shortly were convinced by a serpent that God withheld from them.

What do we make of Lyle's problem, which is so common today? Does God withheld?

J.B. Phillips, in his marvelous classic Your God is too Small, comments:

God will inevitably appear to disappoint the man who is attempting to use Him as a convenience, a prop, or a comfort, for his own plans. God has never been known to disappoint the man who is sincerely wanting to co-operate with His own purposes.

The next time I talk to Lyle, I hope to point him to God's awesome power and wisdom. Blaming God when our prayers fall flat leads nowhere except to show we don't know him very well.

You can't worship a Disappointment.

Set free

I've been thinking about freedom some lately. And I've been thinking about my friends in Cuba some lately, too.

They don't have much freedom in Cuba. Although they find creative ways to enjoy life, and their life is simpler than ours, they are somewhat like well-behaved children. They grew up under a strong-fisted government that solves all their problems while stealing all their choices. They know better than to complain or openly disobey (although there's plenty of creative massaging of rules behind the scenes.)

Of course, no government can solve all our problems.

So, what is the cost of freedom? We need to address it squarely, for we now live in a nation where officials are eager for the government to solve all our problems.

There's always a cost to their solutions and usually that cost is freedom. Is it OK to trade freedom for state care?

A celebrity has quipped that Cuba is proof that socialism works. But the homes I visited proudly displayed USA flags because they want what we have. People die trying to swim from Cuba's shores to Miami. They crave freedom.

Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia in dismay when he realized they were trading their new freedom for old bondages. We may face that decision in our own country.

Do we trust Papa Government to care for us? Or, in trusting our Heavenly Father, hold firmly to the freedom that Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Gal 5:1

Hard candy at Christmas

"Did you mind?" I asked in surprise to my mother's memory.

She had just told me about a childhood Christmas. Her mother had taken her old doll, washed it, stitched together a new dress, combed its hair, and put it back under the tree as her gift. Her only gift.

"Oh, no, I didn't mind! It had a new dress," she said mildly. "We didn't have much in those days."

My mother grew up on a potato farm along with nine siblings during the 1930's. The experience has changed her life.

"After our Sunday school Christmas program, we each got a bag of candy," she recalled. "There would be hard candy and an orange. That orange was so good! We didn't get fruit in the winter time so it was a special treat."

I sat back in my chair, also remembering. I had grown up with the same tradition, but it's been discontinued today. Too many children dropped their paper bag of treats in a trash can because the bag only contained hard candy and an orange. They demanded chocolate and toys.

They remind me of Solomon, the Bill Gates of his day. Actually, Solomon might have been able to hire Bill Gates. He was that rich.

Yet this man wrote "everything is futile." He'd tried every pleasure in life, for he could afford them all. He'd explored every taste, every song, every amusement. When those proved lacking, he turned to achievements. He built houses and planted vineyards. He tried philosophy and education.

Solomon observed: God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. (Eccl 6:2)

Imagine pursuing riches, wealth and honor and then not enjoying them. Imagine having more possessions than you can catalog, ever buying the newest and latest hoping for a new thrill. And then discovering it isn't enough. Hmmm, remember what you got, or gave, for Christmas last year?

The generation of the Great Depression learned something we do not know today, that riches and possessions and achievements and philosophy don't fulfill.

Solomon concluded that one thing counts: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.(Eccl 12:13)

With our current economic stumbles, this Christmas might look a little different than ones in the past. But if we keep an eye on what matters, we'll be OK.

On election day

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Ps 27:13

No matter which politicians are elected and which initiatives pass or fail, I don't judge the Lord's goodness based on the outcome of this day's voting. No politician is the savior. I simply walk in faith because I know God is good.

PS, If you haven't voted yet, go! Take advantage of the tremendous privilege we have here.

It was a wonderful day, with the sun shining and music pumping a beautiful melody into my car. I was driving alone, a bit unusual to be without any children along, when I suddenly had one of those little spiritual jolts and I knew in an instant, somebody’s praying for me.

Now I hadn’t asked for a special prayer at any recent meetings and I wasn’t struggling with any physical ailments. No big crisis looming. So who’s praying for me?

I was merely curious. I wasn’t feeling any self-pity knowing that probably nobody was praying.

Isn’t it funny sometimes how a random thought leaps into our brain after a question like that? Well, this time it was a verse.

“...and he always lives to make intercede for them.”(Heb. 7:25)

My heart got to pounding then for I realized, as I drove down a sunflower-lined country road, that I knew who was praying. Jesus, my savior and redeemer, sat right beside the Father always interceding for me.

It was a wonderful day.

An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble,
which is very different.

Oswald Chambers

Panic or inspiration?

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration. That is why there are so few fellow workers with God and so many workers for Him. We would far rather work for God than believe in Him.
-Oswald Chambers

These stories

I've posted a number of stories in recent weeks (and months) about individuals struggling with issues. But I haven't made it clear that these are true stories. In some cases, I've changed names or blurred locations to protect identities, but the stories themselves are true.

I am amazed at individuals' abilities to wrestle with circumstances and often find a victory in God. Things may not turn out as they had planned, but they find God's hand working out a new triumph in those committed to him.

Ruth: common sense

When Naomi decided to go home, it wasn’t out of remorse or a desire for reconciliation. She went home because there was plenty of food in Bethlehem. It’s hard to give her credit for higher motives than that. She’d left searching for provision and it made sense to her to return for the same reason.

Naomi used common sense and her own practicality to take care of her own needs. But do you notice the emptiness and bitterness in her heart? Even when Ruth poured out a beautiful statement of love and commitment (Ruth 1:16-17), Naomi said no more to Ruth. She didn’t argue; she just didn’t respond. There was no pledge of any sort of love to Ruth or offer of any encouragement. She just continued to Bethlehem with Ruth in tow.

Naomi trusted her own common sense to provide for her daughters-in-law. The idea of sending them back to their families and their gods was not distasteful to her. It was practical. They needed husbands and children. They wouldn’t find those with her. If going back to their mother’s homes meant idolatry, that was a shame. But at least they’d have families. Her common sense blinded her to the bigger issue.

What Naomi wanted for Ruth and Orpah was rest. Some translations call it security or comfort or permanence, but Naomi urged Ruth and Orpah to go back to their mothers. There, she believed, they would have physical prosperity.

She assumed these young women would want what she wants. Again, common sense told her there is no other priority for a woman than to be married and have children. She can imagine nothing else for Ruth and Orpah.

Don’t we make plans and then ask God to bless them? Don’t we worry when our child leaves for college? We assume the right to anxiety and worry, couching them in terms that sooth our conscience. It’s nothing new, this confidence in common thinking and personal analysis.

We sometimes think that there is a scripture inscribed on a card somewhere assuring us that “God helps those who help themselves.”

It’s the theology of common sense. Naomi returned to Bethlehem trusting her own perspective. But God had something new for Naomi to look at.

Lighthouse

My daughter, the teenage moviemaker, directed my attention to this skit. It brings tears to my eyes when I watch it and, if you haven't seen it yet, I think you should.

Rushing in

Iguacu Falls of South America features a complex system of 275 waterfalls along just under two miles of the Iguacu River. The magnificent curtains of water dwarf Niagara Falls.
The roar of cascading water is overwhelming.

John, in Revelation, in describing Jesus, wrote: “his voice was like the sound of many waters.” (Rev 1:15)

But there’s more to that imagery than noise. Water is a powerful picture of swirling chaos and soothing abundance. We’re reminded, with the flood waters rising in Iowa, of the destructive power of water.

Yet we can’t live without water. Trees die, crops wither, and we die in short order without water.

The psalmist described a fruitful tree as one rooted in streams of water. (Ps 1:3)

God is like those falls of Iguacu, roaring with power. He is not safe but he sustains. We can stand beneath the falls and be pounded by force but, when we’re thirsty, the water never ends. God's provision pours out on us like the falls, abundant beyond our comprehension.

We don’t control the falls. We enjoy the beauty, relish the abundance, and linger at the never-ending rush of water.

Can we see God’s nature that way today?

Freedom Finance: First

Joshua’s final instructions before the battle tasted like ice cream with pepper sprinkled on top. He promised them victory but told them to leave the rewards behind.

The army was perched in enemy territory, vulnerable and untested, anxious for a victory over this fortress. The riches taken in battle would help the army pay for the food and provisions needed to complete the sweep.

But their general withheld those riches.

Instead, Joshua declared all the gold, silver, bronze and iron were for the Lord’s treasury. What if they ran short of food before the conquest? What if they couldn’t complete the maneuvers without provision? Joshua assured them the victory was the Lord’s – and so were the riches.

Through Joshua, God laid out a powerful principle: the first is his. That’s the tenet of tithing. I have friends who pay the bills and then see if there’s anything left for God. There usually isn’t.

God says, trust me. See if I’ll take care of you. To the Israelite army about to enter the Promised Land, the thought of forgoing those first riches in Jericho could have meant they wouldn’t have enough money for their month, so to speak.

But they obeyed. And there was enough food and provisions for the conquest.

Tithing is an attitude: do I trust God’s commands? Do I trust his provisions? Can I give over to him what he’s given to me anyway?

Freedom finances depend on my attitude more than my checkbook. Whom do I trust?

Pay your tithe first, right off the top, and see what God can do with an obedient submitted life.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Josh 1:9

On Writing: in the beginning

In the beginning, there was a list of names. We were introduced to Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon and Kilion. And in the end, there was a list of names. We learned the connection to Boaz, Obed, Jesse, and King David.

Ruth is an amazing biblical romance that rises above a love story to proclaim a truth: God can turn impossible situations to good for those who love him.

Last week, we discussed the angel principle which is the purpose of your written piece. You should be able to write that purpose in one sentence and that “angel,” or point, will control your writing.

In looking at how Ruth began, we quickly understand that this is a book about people. We meet a family in the early paragraphs which is beset by troubles – from famine to loss of loved ones. Naomi is angry with God and defeated by life.

In the end, we see how God took that impossible circumstance and produced the son who would head the kingly line of David.

Every scene in the book of Ruth further reveals either an impossible situation or the way out. The first readers of this story would know that King David had God’s hand on his family’s situation. Today, we carry this forward to know that Jesus, as a descendent of David, also had God’s hand on his family’s situation.

Biblical texts are brilliantly written, an excellent way not only to uncover God’s nature and plan for his people, but to see how to communicate ideas richly and clearly.

Be sure that your beginning and your ending are focused on your “angel” and watch how your writing will ripple with new richness.

Next week, we’ll explore more about how the craft of the writing reveals the purpose.

Generational Love

To live with the Bible is more like living with a multi-generational, extended family than with a crotchety grandfather who keeps telling us of the good old days.

Leander Keck

When we rule....

God loved the birds and invented trees.

Man loved the birds and invented cages.

-Jacques Deval

Expectations

What do you think God expects from you?

Just this:

• Live in his presence in holy reverence,
• Follow the road he sets out for you,
• Love him,
• Serve God, your God, with everything you have in you,
• Obey the commandments and regulations of God that I'm commanding you today—live a good life.

Deut 10:12-13

Spread the word

It was a common challenge, this prospect of raising up a new generation, and the people of Israel did it poorly. Joshua had led the nation into God’s promised land, conquering areas as God directed. But time marches on.

Joshua passed on as did the people of his generation. Now settled in a new land, a new generation grew up “who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10)

If you’re familiar with the book of Judges at all, you know it overflows with accounts about weird doings: stealth stabbings in the outhouse, clubbing in a woman’s tent, a conqueror brought down by a woman’s rock. Samson is laid low by a haircut and Gideon, after leading a victorious mission against the Midianites, turned to idolatry.

The key to Judges is that “each man did what was right in his own eyes.” Surrounded by nations who were led by kings, Israel opted for a theocracy: God was their king.

Only they quickly forgot. God was no longer king; personal preference was.

But in the words of that famous theologian Bob Dylan, “you gotta serve someone.” We serve God or we serve Satan but we always serve that which we follow.

The lesson in Judges is that people need a king. Left to their own, they fall in the base vulgarities we see at the end of the book of Judges.

Yesterday I mentioned the Josephson Institute survey about our teenagers. Surveys deal with generalities and there are abundant exceptions. But are we so different than the generations in Judges? We worship relativity: each does what is right in his own eyes.

We need a king as surely as did the people named in Judges. There are no perfect parents except God and look what happened to his first children. They rebelled. This is no slam on parents who have wayward children.

But where do we go from here? Choose your king and follow him. Point the way for the next generation and sacrifice to give them a chance to find guidance.

We need more than honesty and character today. We need the absolute of God’s nature. Spread the word.

The world of Malacandra

Imagine that, in a world of purple forests, deep blue water and eldila, a reader could get a perceptive glimpse into the heart and motivation of people and their choices. C.S. Lewis’ classic Out of the Silent Planet does that in taking us on an imaginative voyage with Professor Ransom to Malacandra, the red planet.

Ransom, while on a backpacking trip, is kidnapped and stuffed into a spaceship, whisked away to Malacandra (our word: Mars) by two men intent on handing him over as a sacrifice to the gods of that planet. The two men then plan to ravage Malacandra. Ransom escapes once they land and is befriended by the creatures there who are surprisingly unspoiled and wise. While he first assumes that they mean him harm, they are mystified by the “bent” humans who will hurt each other and others for no apparent reason.

Eventually, Ransom learns the history of Earth, called Thulcandra (“the silent planet”) by the inhabitants of Malacandra, seeing from a different point of view the battle that raged on the spiritual level on Earth. What Ransom had accepted as normal on Earth was not understood by the creatures of Malacandra and soon he begins to question human greed, power struggles, and the like.

Lewis’ descriptions of a strange world are creative and imaginative. He even teaches us some of the language of Malacandra so that when he refers to hnau and sorns, we don’t blink an eye. We suffer with Ransom, feel his fears and exalt in his victories.

I just read Out of the Silent Planet to my children. Even at 16 and 12, they were begging for an extra chapter each day because the story captured their imaginations and their hearts. They mourned the loss of a hross and cheered when Weston, one of the “bent” men, evoked laughter when he meant to intimidate.

The reading level was not above even my 12-year-old but we enjoy a good read together on the couch and this one provided excellent opportunities not only to snuggle under the blanket but to discuss some of the ideas presented by Lewis.

I found Out of the Silent Planet an page-turning read that offered me some meaty ideas to think on. Check it out!