Father, you are the richness and texture of my life.
You are what makes sense of chaos,
and peace with the unexplainable,
and illogical--as we reason logic:
tidy columns of matching debits and credits,
predictable and controllable and "fair"
and completely lacking in adventure, risk or faith.
You banish tedium
and lift me into high intrique
where every circumstance has meaning--
deciphrable or not, and sometimes, better not!
Too wonderful for me;
Known to you alone,
vast, complex, perfect.
You are both my peace and my exhileration!
You are the source of my brokennes and my wholeness.
You make me complete in Christ,
who is my righteousness
for I have none of my own.
Your perfection fills, covers and hides me.
Exquisite mystery!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Red Rocks
I was at the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater yesterday. Have you been there? The Beattles have performed there; Mumford and Sons ended their North American tour there recently.
It is spectacular! God created beauty there unlike anywhere else. He also created a natural, massive cradle in the rocks that provides such perfect accoustics that mics and amplifiers are almost superfluous.
It wasn't my first time there. It holds a few memories for me. I first went there as a tourist when it was empty just to witness it's beauty. I attended my granddaughter, Becca's, high school graduation there 2 years ago. I wasn't there when my son, Matthew arranged for a friend to get his girlfriend there one morning when, to her suprise, he appeared on stage and sang a love song and then proposed--but it is a scene that I picture every time I get to be there.
In the daytime, it's hard to take your eyes off the huge red rock formations that fashion a spectacular backdrop behind the stage. I wasn't having a problem with this distraction yesterday. I couldn't take my eyes off the 6ft., brown eyed boy who was almost a man and who happens to be my grandson. He's the sixth of my ten grandchildren to march down an aisle to Pomp and Circumstance. I can't get used to it. Where does the time go?
Proverbs 17:6
Children's children are the crown of old men [and women]....
It is spectacular! God created beauty there unlike anywhere else. He also created a natural, massive cradle in the rocks that provides such perfect accoustics that mics and amplifiers are almost superfluous.
It wasn't my first time there. It holds a few memories for me. I first went there as a tourist when it was empty just to witness it's beauty. I attended my granddaughter, Becca's, high school graduation there 2 years ago. I wasn't there when my son, Matthew arranged for a friend to get his girlfriend there one morning when, to her suprise, he appeared on stage and sang a love song and then proposed--but it is a scene that I picture every time I get to be there.
In the daytime, it's hard to take your eyes off the huge red rock formations that fashion a spectacular backdrop behind the stage. I wasn't having a problem with this distraction yesterday. I couldn't take my eyes off the 6ft., brown eyed boy who was almost a man and who happens to be my grandson. He's the sixth of my ten grandchildren to march down an aisle to Pomp and Circumstance. I can't get used to it. Where does the time go?
Proverbs 17:6
Children's children are the crown of old men [and women]....
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tornados and Ecclesiastes
A massive tornado in Oklahoma City. A hundred lives lost so far. The president declares an emergency. City blocks of homes and at least two elementary schools leveled. No running water or electricity in the area for the unforeseen future. More storms expected to hinder recovery efforts. Lives on hold in stunned grief. Uncertainty about the future.
Some rush to help. Some are ovecome with fear. Many question God. Some suppress their questions with denial and just try not to think about it. There is great vulnerability in the human condition.
How helpless we are! Skirting reality or shortcutting grief will damage the parts of our hearts where compassion and humility reside. Living in helpless frustration will gnaw away at our faith.
A few are trained to assist--medical personel, skilled technicians, administrators with organizational skills. Some have the resouces to aid financially. Everyone can pray. God alone can bring good from bad, hope from dispair, meaning from senselessness.
But what can we learn to settle our own confused and burdened hearts? It was the dilemna of Solomon when he wrote Ecclesiastes. Take a look:
Ecclesiastes 1:6
The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.
1:9
History merely repeats itself.
1:13
I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under the sun. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining effect on us.
7:15
In this meaningless life, I have seen everything, including the fact that some good people die young and some wicked people live on and on.
12:13
Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person.
This is a wise and interesting conclusion. Sorting out meaning behind the randomness of human suffering has no satisfying end. Tragedy gives us opportunities to question the goodness of God. That is how Satan would like to use tragedy. Tragedy also offers us opportunities for doing good, for rising to the occasion, for selfless sacrifice, for admitting our need for God, for becoming more humble and more urgent about the things that really matter: faith, hope and love--nothing else will endure. (I Corinthians 13:13)
Some rush to help. Some are ovecome with fear. Many question God. Some suppress their questions with denial and just try not to think about it. There is great vulnerability in the human condition.
How helpless we are! Skirting reality or shortcutting grief will damage the parts of our hearts where compassion and humility reside. Living in helpless frustration will gnaw away at our faith.
A few are trained to assist--medical personel, skilled technicians, administrators with organizational skills. Some have the resouces to aid financially. Everyone can pray. God alone can bring good from bad, hope from dispair, meaning from senselessness.
But what can we learn to settle our own confused and burdened hearts? It was the dilemna of Solomon when he wrote Ecclesiastes. Take a look:
Ecclesiastes 1:6
The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.
1:9
History merely repeats itself.
1:13
I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under the sun. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining effect on us.
7:15
In this meaningless life, I have seen everything, including the fact that some good people die young and some wicked people live on and on.
12:13
Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person.
This is a wise and interesting conclusion. Sorting out meaning behind the randomness of human suffering has no satisfying end. Tragedy gives us opportunities to question the goodness of God. That is how Satan would like to use tragedy. Tragedy also offers us opportunities for doing good, for rising to the occasion, for selfless sacrifice, for admitting our need for God, for becoming more humble and more urgent about the things that really matter: faith, hope and love--nothing else will endure. (I Corinthians 13:13)
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Pilgrimage
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. --Ps. 84:5
Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is, indeed, a pilgrimage. It is a journey toward a sacred place. That place, of course, is heaven.
We have a map for the journey--the Bible. But there are events along the way for each of us that cannot be anticipated, much less charted--joys and sorrows, temptations and detours, victories and losses. Deciding to take that journey has only one assurance: Jesus "will be with you to the very end...." ( Matthew 28:20)
It is a journey that is not for the faint of heart. It will take courage and faith. Most of all, it will take a reliance on a strength outside of ourselves: "Blessed are those whose strength is in you...." this grand adventure of becoming like Jesus, of remaining in the vine (John 15:5), through whatever life throws at you is the greatest journey life has to offer. It is exciting and rewarding beyond any other experiences life hold. It is not a journey to be embarked upon lightly and certianly not one to navigate alone. Hold to his hand!
Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is, indeed, a pilgrimage. It is a journey toward a sacred place. That place, of course, is heaven.
We have a map for the journey--the Bible. But there are events along the way for each of us that cannot be anticipated, much less charted--joys and sorrows, temptations and detours, victories and losses. Deciding to take that journey has only one assurance: Jesus "will be with you to the very end...." ( Matthew 28:20)
It is a journey that is not for the faint of heart. It will take courage and faith. Most of all, it will take a reliance on a strength outside of ourselves: "Blessed are those whose strength is in you...." this grand adventure of becoming like Jesus, of remaining in the vine (John 15:5), through whatever life throws at you is the greatest journey life has to offer. It is exciting and rewarding beyond any other experiences life hold. It is not a journey to be embarked upon lightly and certianly not one to navigate alone. Hold to his hand!
Monday, May 6, 2013
King of Kings
I Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exhalted as head over all.
When I first read the Bible through for myself, I was struck by the number of times the kingdom was talked about in the book of Matthew alone. This sent me on a search with my handy concordance of every Bible reference to the kingdom.
Of course, in the Old Testament, God's kingdom was the nation of Israel. Because God is the eternal King, he has always had a kingdom. Here is what God told Moses to commuicate to Jacob's descendants in Egypt:
Exodus 19:6
"....you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.
When Jesus was predicitng the coming of his kingom he was referring to the church. In his first recorded sermon, which we often refer to as the Sermon on the Mount, he mentioned the kingdom 7 times. (Matthew 5:3, 10, 19, 20; 6:10, 33; 7:21), and in his last words to his disciples before his ascension into heaven, the kingdom was also the theme of his conversation.
Acts 1:3
After his suffereing, he showed himself to these men over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God (aka, the Kingdom of Heaven) is simply made up of citizens of the kingdom--those who have pledged allegiance to the King--no matter the era or the law of God in force at the time (Law of Moses or Law of Christ).
Here's the deal--Elizabeth is queen of England. I sincerely believe it and it is verifiably true. But belief in that truth doesn't make me a citizen of her country/knigdom. I have not pledged myself to be obedient to her laws or loyal to her sovereignty. In order for Elizabeth to be my queen, I would have to go through the process of learning and pledging obedience to the laws of England.
It is the same with the kingdom of God. I have to learn his laws and pledge obedience to the King. And what a king!
I Timothy 6:15
...God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exhalted as head over all.
When I first read the Bible through for myself, I was struck by the number of times the kingdom was talked about in the book of Matthew alone. This sent me on a search with my handy concordance of every Bible reference to the kingdom.
Of course, in the Old Testament, God's kingdom was the nation of Israel. Because God is the eternal King, he has always had a kingdom. Here is what God told Moses to commuicate to Jacob's descendants in Egypt:
Exodus 19:6
"....you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.
When Jesus was predicitng the coming of his kingom he was referring to the church. In his first recorded sermon, which we often refer to as the Sermon on the Mount, he mentioned the kingdom 7 times. (Matthew 5:3, 10, 19, 20; 6:10, 33; 7:21), and in his last words to his disciples before his ascension into heaven, the kingdom was also the theme of his conversation.
Acts 1:3
After his suffereing, he showed himself to these men over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God (aka, the Kingdom of Heaven) is simply made up of citizens of the kingdom--those who have pledged allegiance to the King--no matter the era or the law of God in force at the time (Law of Moses or Law of Christ).
Here's the deal--Elizabeth is queen of England. I sincerely believe it and it is verifiably true. But belief in that truth doesn't make me a citizen of her country/knigdom. I have not pledged myself to be obedient to her laws or loyal to her sovereignty. In order for Elizabeth to be my queen, I would have to go through the process of learning and pledging obedience to the laws of England.
It is the same with the kingdom of God. I have to learn his laws and pledge obedience to the King. And what a king!
I Timothy 6:15
...God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Friday, May 3, 2013
What Are You Looking For?
Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding--indeed, if you call aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Seeking god is a lifetime quest. it is easy to stop crying out for insight and understanding. The wisdom God offers us in his word is so rich and satisfying we can feel that a little goes a long way.
Besides, it takes a bit of work and intellectual and heart focus to dig deeper into an understanding of God. It also takes prayer and meditation and sometimes even a bible dictionary or a concordance.
Romans 12:11
Never be lacking in zeal....
There are a lot of spiritual things to be zealous about. Being zealous about knowing God better and understanding his will more fully is at the top of the list.
Psalm 119:47
For I delight in your commands because I love them.
Approaching our study of the Bible with zeal for new insights to put into faithful action is the very best way to start any day. It is especially wonderful when we find new questions to ask to fuel our zeal for study another day. It is exciting to know that we will never exhaust the fascination available to us in the Word of God!
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding--indeed, if you call aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Seeking god is a lifetime quest. it is easy to stop crying out for insight and understanding. The wisdom God offers us in his word is so rich and satisfying we can feel that a little goes a long way.
Besides, it takes a bit of work and intellectual and heart focus to dig deeper into an understanding of God. It also takes prayer and meditation and sometimes even a bible dictionary or a concordance.
Romans 12:11
Never be lacking in zeal....
There are a lot of spiritual things to be zealous about. Being zealous about knowing God better and understanding his will more fully is at the top of the list.
Psalm 119:47
For I delight in your commands because I love them.
Approaching our study of the Bible with zeal for new insights to put into faithful action is the very best way to start any day. It is especially wonderful when we find new questions to ask to fuel our zeal for study another day. It is exciting to know that we will never exhaust the fascination available to us in the Word of God!
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