Finding God – Page 3 – BibleJournal.net

Be Still

I was honored to have my talented sister-in-law, Lisa Pruitt offer to write this week’s Journal Post. She loves caving more than anyone I’ve ever met. She is the adored older sister of my wife Heather and the adoring mother to my wonderful nieces, Chloe and Camile. Thank you Lisa!

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” -Psalm 46:10.

Today’s reading: Judges 21; Acts 25; Jeremiah 35; Psalms 7–8

Imagine with me we are in a cave. It is a landscape beneath the landscape. Some enter caves with trepidation and fear. But a cave – to me – is the very essence of God’s work right before our eyes. Caves are a fragile ecosystem, dark, damp, flowing water, the pungent smell of earth. Caves are our final frontier and they contain indescribable beauty.

I am drawn to caves, not because they are dark and scary but because it is a place where I can experience God in a new way. I can be still there in the dark and quiet, my senses are tamped down. When I turn off my headlamp, sight is absent, taste is minimal, I can touch the cool damp rock and smell minerals and soil. I can hear the delicate musical and echoing sounds of water dripping somewhere. It is a perfect environment for meditation, for prayer.

The Celtic Christians appreciated a concept known as “thin places”. A thin place is where the divide between our earthly world and God’s kingdom are narrowed, where we can experience a glimpse of God’s majesty, feel his love in surround sound. Sometimes I experience a cave as a thin place. It is not a place of fear but a place of beauty, a place where I know that God is at work, molding and sculpting hard limestone into natural art. As written by T. Augustus Forbes Leith, “from the star-spangled canopy of heaven to the far bottom of the majestic ocean, created earth is teeming with wondrous beauty”.

I went with a group of people to a cave in Mexico a few years ago. We went in single file, walking and talking quietly in the dark, our voices echoing. We walked about 15 minutes before encountering water. We slowly and gently entered the water and got acclimated to our surroundings and the unfamiliar feeling of swimming and floating in a very dark cavernous space. The water was warm and so clear that it appeared to be only 6 or 7 feet deep but it was actually 60 feet deep. There were extravagant formations everywhere I looked, hanging from the ceiling, along the walls, some emerging from the edges of the clear deep water – as if an artist had placed them there. I felt so peaceful, so blissfully happy, so overwhelmed with all my senses – that I began to weep. I experienced a thin place that day.

When I read the scriptures for today, what I continued to ruminate over was Psalm 8. “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” God has set his glory in the heavens and the earth. When I consider the tangible and visible things that God has created, the work of His fingers, the moon and the stars, the innumerable bugs – so colorful and specialized, high mountains, deep oceans, the rebirth of spring, the delicate soft features of a baby, the miracle of unfolding life, flowers, fungus, and the amazing array of colors our eyes can perceive, I am humbled. Our God is majestic.

Appreciating the beauty of our natural world around me reminds me of the Lord’s majestic name! Anytime I can stop and notice, anytime I can be still and think of God’s love, I am reminded of God’s majesty and I experience a thin place. Sometimes the cave’s environment facilitates my experience of a thin place, sometimes it’s a mountain top, other times it is when I lie in the grass at night and allow the grandeur of the night sky to flow into me.

These profound thin places are not experienced by me every day for they require 1) the right environment, 2) the proper state of observation by me and 3) most importantly – my willingness to be still. What I know is that without Jesus at my side, even at times when these three ingredients converge, they would be meaningless and would not coalesce into a thin place without Jesus, because I would not be worthy of the familiarity of a thin place. I would be there but could not reach out to God, could not feel Him.

The indescribable beauty of all that God has given us on this earth is majestic but it is nothing compared with the gift of Jesus.

Contrast and Choice

Life leads to death, but from death comes life.

Contrast is how we evaluate things. Usually this is on a relative basis. We compare one thing to another and it is easy to tell the difference. If we try to compare too many things we are easily confused. The bigger the contrast between things the easier it is to choose one thing over another — but not always.

Everyday we make choices. By comparison deciding between one thing or another and by contrast we are able to make our clearest choices. Sometimes the contrast between two things is so stark that it seems impossible to miss the importance of the distinction.

Comparison and contrast is usually easier if we consider things in pairs. Sort of like having our eyes examined. Discerning something clearly from a large group can be very difficult, but when we can get two things side by side it is much easier to select our preferences, even between things with subtle variation. By comparison, starker contrast make our choices even more certain, harder to miss.

Having recently been away from home for a couple of weeks, living in a big city for most of that time, I was amazed at the sharp contrast as I drove back to Bloomington from O’Hare Airport. We had been living in a rooftop apartment in Paris, undoubtably one of the most magnificent cities in the world. Still, it was good to be heading home. Past the Chicago Metro fringe, at that perfect time in the early evening when the stark contrast of the green fields under the big blue sky seemed unreal.

We had been living in grey’s and brown’s of limestone and marble. Now I was bathed in the beams of new light that opened my tired eyes. As we drove southbound Interstate-55, I looked toward the expanse of the heavens, to clouds painted by the fluttering of the wings of angels. Majestic thunderheads building before patterns of scattered cirrus, shaded with the pastels of the setting sun and twilight shadows. I’m not sure I have ever seen more beauty in that prarie I’ve called home for the last twenty one years.

In today’s reading, what stood out for me was Sampson’s riddle.“Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.” Eating honey from a lion’s rotting carcass certainly represents an extreme contrast. It made me think of how Jesus was born from a rebellious nation, one that rejected God’s prophets and incredible blessings, often turning towards their own understanding. The savior of the world reflected the contrast of God among us, in the midst of people so confused and broken that they rejected and crucified the very source of love and creation. But this didn’t stop Jesus from transforming the lives of believers and He is still doing it today.

The contrast of a changed life is extraordinary. A life filled with love, patience and peace, once filled with strife, anxiety and self seeking is hard to ignore. The contrast of sin and its destructive emptiness when considered against the healing power of God’s grace shows us who we are, with and without God. It shows us who God is. It opens our hearts making us long for perfection.

For me it wasn’t until the latter stages of my life that the light of truth began to shine and despite my imperfection and brokenness it continues to get brighter.

I thank God for His truth everyday. In His grace I am bathed in forgiveness and the power to continue to change. Jesus I praise your holy name. You are the way, the truth and the life.

Judges 14; Acts 18; Jeremiah 27; Mark 13

The Thin Places

These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town…-Mark 6: 8-11

In 2007, as my wife Heather and I walked along the pilgrims trail between Florence and Rome, I was reminded of this passage from the Bible when Jesus sends out the twelve. Like the disciples, if we follow him, we need little more than our faith. Traveling light was the idea, not burdened by the things of the world. What was it about this place that tugged on my heart so strong? There was just something undeniable about the high places. They were called the thin places by the Celts, where that which separates us from God is less, where the sacred meets the secular. In these places we come closer to God.

Later we stood near the place Saint Francis of Assisi (circa 1205) had cast off his clothing, rejecting a life of wealth and power, choosing to follow Jesus and serve the sick and the weary, through hospitality and service.

Writing to you this morning from a rooftop in Paris, I can’t stop thinking about last Sunday when we traveled by train from Bern Switzerland to Mulenen, then by funicular, almost straight up the side of Niesan Mountain (I know, lazy Americans), also known as the Swiss Pyramid. Heather, my youngest son Cooper, my niece Chloe and I unloaded from the red mountain cable train, immediately stunned as we walked out onto this special mountain. Our breath was taken by three hundred and sixty degree unobstructed views of the Bernese Alps and the valley bellow that surrounded lake Thun.

Everywhere we turned the view was incredible. It felt as if you could reach out and touch the jagged glaciated peaks. We were suspended above the earth under a cobalt blue dome and we prayed. Each of our prayers were different and more than just words in our heads. And each heard the voice of God, overpowering and silent, in the splendor of our moment, above the earth and beneath the heavens.

I watched my twelve year old son eagerly strike out on the switchback trail down the mountain. He had to go! There was no stopping him. Of course a four hour trek in tennis shoes wasn’t going to happen, but he was born again on the side of a mountain that day. Something about this place called out changing each of us forever. The magnificence of God’s creation was certain, God’s power undeniable, His calling tailored to each of us perfectly in this moment. For me it was sharing the message of hope found in Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.

In the holy name of Jesus, I pray: please God, release us from the burdens of this world, those that separate us from you. Lead us to the thin places to see your brilliance, to hear your voice and feel your power. May our lives never be the same as we learn to walk with you, more sublime each day. Amen.

Today’s reading link: Judges 7; Acts 11; Jeremiah 20; Mark 6

SELFISH

With wonderment I began to see for the first time how truly selfish I was. Now the question was; what was I going to do about it?

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 17; Psalm 104; Isaiah 44; Revelation 14

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” A second angel followed and said, “’Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” -Revelation 14:6-8

The Book of Revelation is mystical and strange, but there is no mystery that it proclaims the glory of God over all. And like the entire Bible, it draws constant attention to God’s holiness and the importance of seeking restoration with God before the final day of judgement.

Lately I have wrestled with bad behavior of others which has both surprised and disappointed me. Fortunately, now, when I observe this “bad behavior,” I am learning to see myself, like in a mirror, one that I am not afraid to look at anymore.

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. -Matthew 7:5

In the interest of time, due to a crazy week of home improvement colliding with travel plans on both ends and lots of work related opportunity and challenge (as usual); I have selected a page from the epilogue of a book I hope to be releasing next year.

I am able to speak with authority about selfishness and self righteousness, because I have struggled with this disease my entire life, and still do. What I am certain of is this: anytime my focus is more on me than on God or others, I am heading for trouble. This happens time and time again. Fortunately I have been rescued by God, and in His power I have hope of restoration, through the blood of Jesus Christ.

God please grant me the faith and power to surrender my will to yours. Amen.

Here is a page from “Wisdom of The Hidden Places; A Search For God”

American writer John W. Gardner once wrote: “Self pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it gives pleasure and separates the victim from reality.” Eventually I came to see that any focus on self, unchecked, was profoundly destructive, the basis for all that was evil; the very foundation of sin! Slowly, over time, I began to emerge from the poisonous fog of self obsession, trying to escape the prison of my narcissism — my alternative reality.

I was a cultural Christian drowning in the spiritual hydraulic of my narcissism only to be rescued by a collaboration of principled atheists and agnostics, true believers and the Holy Spirit. God was everywhere, even in the places he was not invited or rejected. His Spirit didn’t have to be embraced or even acknowledged, but it couldn’t be denied.

My story is not the proclamation of personal holiness, or a testimony of some great spiritual achievement, it is rather a story about a lost boy who struggled to find the love of an earthly father, who wrestled with grief, personal power and other powers while learning how to love.

I found my Heavenly Father in the end, but in no way do I consider myself better than anyone I have met along the way — I remain a sinner. The difference is this — I have been set free from my slavery to sin and have chosen to follow the righteous path; and only in God’s power, not my own, did this journey became possible.(Romans 6:6)

Through my father’s struggles and mine; and in the struggles of my children to find their place with God, I learned who I was, and who I was meant to be. As I began to rest more and more in God’s perfect will, I was less inclined to over-reach for the things of this world. That’s when everything finally started to fall into place. The more I learned to trust God, the greater my peace and joy. Situations that had once caused anxiety were now turning into anticipated opportunities to see God’s hand in my life.

Heathers

Have ever seen the cult classic movie “Heathers”? You might be surprised by what you are about to read.

Numbers 31; Psalms 75–76; Isaiah 23; 1 John 1

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin… -1John 1: 5-7

Eighteen years ago I met a person who changed my life. She’s different from me in ways that I continue to discover. Last April she went on a mission trip to Haiti, the same week I went to a convention in Las Vegas for my niche in commercial real estate — my mission trip.

My wife isn’t perfect, no one but God can claim that; but if there was anyone more perfect for me, I couldn’t imagine. I often recall a Seinfeld episode that contrasts the bodies of women to men; as sleek sports cars compared to battered old jeeps. That’s not all, she is absolutely stunning, and what is truly remarkable is that her beauty emanates from the inside. It is there that her spirit of grace and gratitude is found, forged in her tireless efforts to bring peace and stability to my tumultuous life, and blessing to others in greater need. Her examples of discipline, self control, patience and tolerance have been a light in my life, one that has helped illuminate the path to the cross, through her gentle spirit and long suffering encouragement.

When I think of how God encourages us through His word, to walk in the light, I think of her. She embodies the fruit of the spirit in ways I’m still just trying to understand. She loves the light — not the spotlight. At this point I’m not even certain that she will allow me to share whatever it is I end up writing about this sweet, quiet, person of character, who serves others with dignity and respect. Her humility and hesitance to speak too loud, too long, or poorly about another person has been the perfect compliment to my rambling, “old school” stories, mostly about me or the great people I claim to have known.

Her trip to Haiti, along with friends from two different (Eastview Church) small groups (ones that we have been privileged to grow with over thirteen years) helped point me to Jesus, just like her many other demonstrations of faith. Despite physical challenges, fairly rugged conditions, and taking time away from our son whom she loves so so well, she served others in need. Being part of a wave of missionaries who have slowly and faithfully helped establish a church, a school, and adequate housing for numerous families, was in her words, “an honor and a privilege.” Upon her return she shared this; “These people who have so little, were so grateful, just for our presence, let alone the gifts of homes and goats and more. These were people filled with abundant joy in the simplicity of lives that would be considered marginal by American standards. They found sustenance in their fellowship with God and with others. It was so humbling how they offered us prayers and love, for the challenges we faced seeking God amidst the abundant, worldly pleasures, of our affluent western culture.”

In Haiti, she experienced the needs of young children who just wanted to be held; and was shocked how “the Americans” who came to serve were treated with such honor. She received their gift of faith; as I did hers. Never have I had a better friend! When I grow up, I want to be more like Heather.

The Greatest Artist

Numbers 24; Psalms 66–67; Isaiah 14; 1 Peter 2

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations. -Psalm 67:1-2

One crisp fall day, when I was much younger, my freind Pete and I walked into the gallery inside the art museum where Pete declared, “look it’s a Picasso! That’s so cool.”

It was neat to finally see some of the masterpieces that we had studied in our sixth grade Art Appreciation class.

“Hey” I said, “let’s go see the post-impressionist’s collection, I’ve heard it’s amazing.” I almost had an out-of-body experience when we saw what was perhaps Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous painting, ‘The Starry Night’ — painted from the window of his insane aslyum. The colors and shapes were incredible; yellows and blues that expressed an ethereal kinetic energy — the painting seemed to actually be moving.”

It was so beautiful I felt it in my soul, and the desperation and hope of the artist; a tormented being, struggling with bipolar disorder, searching for the grace of God.

Seeing “The Starry Night” and other original art masterpieces for the first time was a special moment, but my appreciation wasn’t complete without knowing something about the artists. I wanted to understand their stories. Who were these artists, what were their lives about? A masterpiece without a master was just another great painting.

I think the desire to understand the artist behind the art is human nature, like the desire to elevate heroes and champions. I wondered; where had this need originated? Was this some biological adaptation, or was it a seed that had been planted in our soul?

As a small boy, I loved and appreciated art, especially the artists. My mother and even some of her freinds were artists. These were all wonderfully interesting people that I wanted to emulate. So as a young man I became something of an artist myself; even building my identity upon how people responded what my gift enabled me to create. Years later I finally understood that while it was glorious to revel in the gifts that had been bestowed upon me, my greatest joy was found in worshipping the source of all gifts — it was God, the giver!

God was the source of every good thing. But for some reason, in times of need or apathy, instead of turning toward God first, I would often turn to the things that God had created in order to find joy. Each time I did, eventually I wound up disappointed. Temporary happiness, it turned out, was no substitute for eternal joy.

God was, and is, and will always be the greatest artist. His art is the creation and everything in it. Remarkably, we too are creative — being made in God’s image. In this way we were made for fellowship with God, and incredible as this sounds, we have a lot in common with the greatest source of power in all existence! Everything in God’s creation was made to reflect God’s glory. The splendor of the natural world, the smile of a child, acts of human kindness or creativity, and even our ingenuity; these are all wonderful expressions of God. Yet none of these amazing and wonderful things are actually God.

Humans are God’s finest work, and we are designed for fellowship with God, and to point to, and Glorify God. We are meant to worship the Creator, not the creation — and especially not ourselves!

God wants to be known by us so that we might become complete. By knowing God we discover that we are able to have an actual relationship with the creator of heaven and earth. This is a dynamic relationship. Supernatural as this relationship may be, remarkably, it also occurs on a personal human level. It is a relationship that involves the deepest love possible — God’s love for us. This love is expressed in the person of Jesus the Christ; as God who became a man and died willingly to connect us back to Himself; and as our Heavenly Father who allows us to become his children through our faith, by his grace, as we receive His Holy Spirit. We come to experience God as three persons in one godhead — the mysterious Trinity, which reflects the eternal, the personal, and the spiritual nature of God. He is the source of endless and complete joy which is available to us all.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. -John 1:12

We were born to be great people by humbling ourselves before God, honoring and praising God and seeking God’s perfect will over our own. This is the process of the relationship we are called to have. But in order to have this relationship we must first believe God exists. This requires faith.

In my relationship with God over the years, one of the hardest parts has been to overcome my pride. It is so hard to let go of two notions: 1. that I am the most important person in my life; and 2. that I am a good person. This is not to say I should be down on myself, but the reality is, I am a sinner, and the concept of my sinful nature has been hard for me to accept. Yet it is this constant imperfection and lack of purity and holiness that separates me from God, but for His grace.

Even things that seem good can be sinful. For example, when we worship the creation and not the Creator; or when in the pride of our achievement we take the place of God in our own lives, perhaps unknowingly we put ourselves above God. In this we fall short of receiving the full blessings that God intended for us. God always has a better plan!

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! -1 John:3-1

Despite our constant intentional and unintentional sin, God still provides for us. But it is only by our faith that we are able to be restored into righteous fellowship. Despite our sinful nature, God clears a path, leading us past our sin and directly to Him. There is a catch however; we must believe to receive His blessings and His gifts that are intended to allow us to grow His kingdom and to glorify His name.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. –Hebrews 11:6

By the grace of God, by our faith in His mercy, through the sacrificial blood of Jesus, we are forgiven of all sins and our reconciliation to a holy and perfect God is made possible. By faith we trust God and in that trust we are able to fellowship with God. In this fellowship we subordinate our will to God’s perfect will and receive God’s Holy Spirit who dwells within us; and by the power of the Holy Spirit we are changed. As we overcome our sinful nature and participate in the expansion of God’s kingdom, a spiritual reality of amazing proportion and consequence becomes our reality.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. -1 Peter 2:9-10

In the final analysis of our lives, we will confess the name of Jesus and the magnificence of God. We can do this now and enjoy an abundant life of peace and joy despite our circumstances; or we can wait and find out how our trajectory, for all eternity, is determined by what or who we choose to put our trust in. We have free will. It is our choice.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:9-11

Need For Speed

Numbers 16; Psalms 52–54; Isaiah 6; Hebrews 13

The idea of authority is a double edge sword. We like believing there is justice in the world, some ultimate authority establishing order; but we also want to live lives of our choosing — making our own rules.

I just returned from spending most of this week in Las Vegas at a convention for the Manufactured Housing Industry (MHI). This event is really a big annual reunion for a diverse community of friends, fellow investors, home manufacturers, brokers and other service providers for an industry that provides affordable housing for approximately twenty million Americans. At an event sponsored by my incredible brokerage team, we offered clients an opportunity to drive ten of the most expensive sports cars in the world on a racing track with a personal professional driving coach; Ferarri’s, Lamborghini’s and others, you get the idea. This was sort of a drivers education for car racing. The driving coaches shared the rules of the track, the laws of physics and just in case we lost our minds, they had a brake pedal on the floor of the passenger side. We were instructed in the art of racing, when to go fast, how to go faster and how to negotiate curves at the highest possible speeds. Trust me when I say that I payed very close attention to my professional driving coach!

After five laps I was at the food truck talking with a friend about wealth and privilege. I asked him a question that popped into my head. “If you could design the perfect life for yourself — would it really be perfect?” He wasn’t sure he knew the answer. I believe we all desire the “perfect life”. The desire to find perfection is written on our hearts. But how do we find it? what are the rules, and who makes them?

If we make our own rules, aren’t we missing the opportunity to follow something better? Where do we find the rules for driving the best cars on the fast track of our lives?

I knew that in the absence of the belief in a personal God (one that’s still involved in the world He created) people often gravitate to the ideas like karma. But somehow karmic “authority” seems too vague for me even though I liked the concept. In theory, following this simple principle might even make life a little easier. If we believe that by being generally good, the universe will generally be good back to us, then we can then operate with a general, perhaps even self justified, sense of what the rules are. In this model, justice becomes more vague. The notion that someone is in charge, or that there are specific rules to follow, is more specific, more personal and more challenging. “Who said so?” and “why should I?” were my typical responses.

At times we accept the authority of science. We don’t seem to have much of a problem discovering and responding to the laws of nature as we understand them. You can choose to ignore gravity if you want, but the consequences always turn out the same.

Authority is also accepted when we want to learn a critical skill from someone who knows. If I want to learn to drive fast and safe, the importance of good instruction and understanding the rules is easy to grasp. So if we can respect the laws of physics; and advanced drivers education can be embraced by confidant adults, is it so hard to imagine that the creator of the universe might have laws for us to follow? Is it hard to grasp the possibility that there is a divine authority on how to live our lives? Might there be a more elevated definition of what it means to prosper, higher than those that the world offers us or that we can invent for ourselves?

God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. -Psalm 53:2

As I have come to have a personal relationship with God, I have come to understand the power and authority of God and how important it is in guiding my life. But the crazy thing is this; it was by experiencing God’s incredible love, through His amazing grace, that I was able to discover His awesome power and authority. God is the fairest of judges and the ultimate authority over heaven and earth. He does not condemn His children by grace. He loves and empowers and encourages and directs our steps along paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. He has made a way for all of us to return to Him, to return to our rightful place, to fulfill our destiny. God offers redemption to all. And through Jesus Christ by grace we are given the power to live extraordinary lives, by receiving God’s Holy Spirit. Faith in God offers us lives in the spiritual fast lane. Lives of adventure and challenge and of the greater fulfillment than we could ever imagine. Will we listen and learn?

Ladies and gentlemen it’s time to start your spiritual engines! Amen.

Putting God First – My Testimony

Reading Link: Leviticus 6; Psalms 5–6; Proverbs 21; Colossians 4

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do is to make God first in every aspect of my life. This should be easy, right? Especially since God, the ultimate creative power, put everything into motion. Honoring God should be automatic, but it’s not. Because God is invisible, getting to know Him has been challenging. Because He is personal, He gets me, even better than I get myself. Remarkably, God desires fellowship with people, which becomes possible by faith through Jesus.

But I Through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. -Psalm 5:7

As a child, I had a simple and easy faith which prevailed even through some early hardships. Then, when I was fourteen, my step father John died unexpectedly at thirty seven, I was devastated. He had been one of my closest freinds, my mentor and the present father I had lacked for the seven years since my parents had divorced. My faith was derailed. Instead of trusting God to help me work through my grief, I turned away dissapointed and angry even though God was there for me. I replaced my faith in God, with faith in me. A big mistake!

In the next fourteen years, my rebellion was filled with the pursuit of what I thought was freedom in order to pursue my pleasures. Then, to prove my worth in the world, my efforts eventually led to self glorification. I was going to do everything on my own, and take all the credit. This was comical really, considering how proud I was of the many aspects of my life which I had no control over. Being born into a certain family in America, in my time, or benefiting from some ancestor ‘s success from the 1800’s, or the countless people who helped me out in so many ways that I never even asked for. These were all beyond my control. Looking back I see even my limited achievements often occurred in unexplainable ways, yet I still took the credit. Luck or destiny, either way these were blessings, not accomplishments. Truthfully, despite all the glory I tried to claim for my self, I was never consistently happy, and it was never enough. There were many great highs, but they were always followed by lows; and the saddest thing was this: my life was simply slipping away as I drifted further from discovering my true purpose.

Fortunately I rediscovered the God of my childhood who was still patiently waiting to restore the fullness of the fellowship I had once enjoyed. And still I hesitated.

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. -Proverbs 16:9

With open arms, like the father of the prodigal son, God has welcomed me back to His family. Making me whole in Jesus, forgiving all, and asking for the surrender of my will; not for Him, BUT FOR ME! And still, I’ve hedged my bets, tentatively investing in my relationship with God despite everything I have learned. It is only in my full subordination to God’s will that I receive the full measure of His blessing

God does not ask us to give Him everything, for everything is His. He simply asks us to recognize this fact, and live accordingly. We Are His creation, each splendidly unique. One of a kind as David LaFrance eloquently pointed out on Tuesday.

Once reconciled we begin to discover God’s plan for our lives. Each of us was created for a special reason; to uniquely point the way to God, to glorify Him like no other person could. Only in our genuine relationship with God do we find true freedom and purpose. This is the greatest life we will ever know!

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD. -Proverbs 21:31

So what am I waiting for?

Revelation

Link to Today’s reading: Exodus 24; John 3; Job 42; 2 Corinthians 12

Despite being a lukewarm, cultural Christian most of my adult life, I still had many great conversations about God, the Bible and truth. Conversations, that despite their assumed relevance, lacked something they seemed to beg for. Without a deeper personal commitment to my faith, and a constant connection to God, or without the relentless pursuit of spiritual transformation; my conversations lacked real power.

I wanted my words to be more engaging, more compelling, filled with power that came from authenticity. But ultimately, this power could only come from God, and without the presence of the Holy Spirit, my discussions were still constrained in every way possible by the limits of my flesh. Eventually, I found myself in more conversations where the Holy Spirit’s participation seemed present — and these were very different. They were conversations with people who were pursuing lives of demonstrative faith through action, conversations that spoke beyond our words, in silent power. Perhaps, someday, I too would learn how to communicate like that.

Sometimes, Christians view discussions of faith as contests of ideas. And while the competition of ideas can be a good thing; when it comes to matters of faith, and in particular, understanding God, sometimes it is best to plead, “no contest.” Yes, I believe reason is still important in the discussion about God, but it isn’t the main thing — God is! We communicate with each other through language and ideas, limited by our understanding and experience, also by our capacity for abstract thinking and logic; but God communicates with us in other ways. In addition to revelation through the lives of people, God reveals himself through nature, and also by the law laid down in scripture (Psalm 19, and Psalm 119). In each of these three forms of revelation, it is through the Holy Spirit that God speaks directly and miraculously to the hearts of those, who by faith, choose to listen. It is He, who gives us ears to hear and eyes to see, profoundly, if that is what we ask for and what we seek (Matthew 7:7-8). How we choose to respond to God’s revelation, however, is personal, and something we must decide.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” -John 14:6-7

In a conversation with a freind the other day I was presented with this question: aren’t all major religions worshipping the same God? My response was, “no.” Different religions worship different gods, that is the main point of them. However, if there is only one true God, a God above all gods, then it makes sense that anyone, in any religion, seeking God with all their hearts, minds and souls, will find Him. God is calling out through time and space to his whole creation. In a sense, all paths could lead to a God who is always next to us, always calling to us, waiting for our answer; but it seems that our answer, regardless of our religion, is often at best, a timid whisper, “maybe.” Then my freind challenged me with the history of Christianity, filled with abuses and hypocrisy. “If Christianity is the one true path to God, why then is there so much evidence of Christians behaving poorly?” Now I understood his point, much of my life offered evidence to support it; but I said this: “Christianity is a religion practiced by imperfect people, imperfectly. And not all who claim it are true followers.” There are people in all religions who profess a faith that they don’t live up to — Christianity is no different in that sense. This fact however, doesn’t prove that the Christian story is false, any more than the millions of changed lives through out history, prove that it is true. Either it is or it isn’t, and it remains for all to consider: is there a Divine Creator of everything, who is personal, who can be known, who desires to be known?

God has written a story on the hearts of men, and in history; by creating a nation through one family, then rescuing that nation from slavery, delivering them to “the Promised Land.” Finally, through that same nation, after generations of prophesy (that is eventually fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus), God provides the means to rescue all humanity from their sin. God’s story is one of promises made and kept; deliverance and provision and restoration. God created the world, then intervened in its history to finish His work; the undeserved perfection of the Human soul. We need only to respond in faith to God’s overwhelming and constant revelation. How will you respond today?

Jesus said: While I am in the world, I am the light the world. -John 9:5