I woke up this morning [with my mind... stayed on Jesus]... at 7:52 to the sound of my cell phone vibrating, a call which afforded me the urgent opportunity to jump out of bed and get to the bookstore (where I work) as quickly as possible to rescue a friend. She was so sweet as to offer to buy me breakfast or Starbucks or "whatever I wanted" (lol) for my services (which simply involved showing up with my key to open dee do' [kinda like "shut dee do', keep out dee debil... shut dee do', keep dee debil in da night..."]). :-) I was satisfied, tho, with simply being "the hero" of the morning, haha ["I can be the hero, I can be the he-ee-ro... and push them and pull them right out of the sno-oow" or something like that ;-)]. On the way to the bookstore, I called Timothy (mein boyfriend of sweetness), and chatted with him whilst he drove to get his fingeren printeden so he could be all legal for his druggie job [that's another story ;-)]... and all the while it was SO nice to be out in the chill of the fall morning (yes, chill in Tehas! :-D).
Hold up. Not sure if you understood me.
1. I'm UP before 8am on a day off (when I had been up the night before until 1am... not too ridiculously, tho, in this case :))...
and 2. I'm OUTSIDE driving around already... and it's CHILLY! Aaand all the more so since I woke and left the house so quickly (Quickly? Me? Wow, weird but very "cool"--double meaning there, hehe :)) that I was wearing exercise shorts and a sweatshirt and flip flops. (Good times! :-))
Anywho... So on the way back from playing the hero's part for the day--so exciting :)--I stopped for gas, and I only paid $3.16/gal! Relatively speaking that's REALLY good these days! I was excited. And I got to park in a weird way to get my gas, because there was a gas semi-truck parked (whose driver was very nice) in the way of my being able to pull in straightly parallel to the gas pump--another sense of adventurous accomplishment, WOOT! :) Theeennn... I drove the rest of the way home, whilst talking to the boyfriend again, and (he's pretty amazing, fyi) we flirted a bit as he was looking around for a cafe and I really wanted to be where he was but I couldn't without driving 30-45 minutes to get there, which would use more gas than I necessarily had money to afford to use currently... Ergo, we just talked and teased and had a grandiosely jovial time.. and then he went inside a Starbucks and I made myself a yummy omelet, toast, and Earl Grey tea w/ honey (at home). And it wasn't too bad if I do say so myself. I even took a picture, but it would take a little while to download it so I won't post it right now.
I love fall.
Just sayin.
Anywhoodles... so now I'm drinking my tea and am inspired to type a long rambly blog post... but also it's a good time to have some devotions (especially since I have the house all to myself right now, with the exception of the cat, who is confined to her own generous portion of the house so no need to feel sorry for her... or for me, lol).
<<Insert "Awkward Transition" here.>>
So yesterday Timothy [I really call him Tim, but I'm still working out the silliness of the giddily inspiring morning it has been thus far! :)] and I were talking about some cool stuff, somewhat about prayer... which I've been trying to understand better and practice more lately, in particular... I don't think I'm the only one who has been a Christian for a long time and doesn't have it figured out, yeah? So, anyway, I said something in reference to David... ya know, (King) David in the Bible.
Well, I'm mentioning this because just now I picked up a book called A Deeper Kind of Calm by Linda Dillow (a thinner book than Calm My Anxious Heart, though I'm not sure how that's relevant at the moment...?), a book which I have not really been reading but just yesterday brought up from my temporary guest room to my more permanent loft room--it's a pretty cool space; wish you could see it, but that's another story--and I opened to a page in the middle someplace, and the very part I saw there, which caught my eye immediately, reads "David knew his intimate Friend stayed up and prayed for him." I read some more of the context, and... Wow... SO very cool. Tim and I had just been talking yesterday about how the Psalms don't seem to portray David's prayers as self-conscious, formulaic, stuck in a box, must sound a certain way (whether to please self or anyone else) kinds of prayers, unlike we as Christians today sometimes feel about ours--at least I know I often do. I also mentioned within the conversation that I think that's largely because we don't have the same experiential knowledge and daily remembrance of Who God IS, and David, by contrast, was so delighted in and in pursuit of and committed to his Friendship with God, that He was simply so enraptured with the person of God that everything else (what people may think of him, etc.) was insignificant in comparison so he was largely unaffected by so many of the things that we may easily become distracted or hindered by. (Okay, so I didn't probably say those exact words, but that was the idea.)
How appropriately delightfully SO COOL that what I'm reading here says the following:
**David had an intimate friendship with God
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you have been my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. (verses 6-7) [<--Psalm 63:6-7]
David had a secret life with God, a life of intimate friendship that no one saw. Though his whole being agonized over the breach with his son, his heart rejoiced in the night as he clung to his God. David's intimate connection to God enabled him to cast his problem on God and feel such peace that songs flowed from his lips!
I too have experienced "night watches." Recently, as I knelt by the sofa in my office in the early morning hours and poured out my anxieties to God, He gently whispered, "Linda, please go to bed. I'll sit up the rest of the night and carry the burden for you. Let Me hold you up in this way." What a picture! The Creator of the universe sits up, waiting, watching, and praying for me, His child, while I sleep. David knew his intimate Friend stayed up and prayed for him.**
And the chapter continues... :) Another cool quote I see in this section of the book (the whole chapter appears to be based on Psalm 63) reads like this:
"David's God was a personal God. He called Him my God and my help. Because David had communion and union with the Holy One, he could follow hard after Him. And my friend, when we experience God's love and are deeply satisfied in Him, when we know Him intimately, we too will cling tightly to Him."
Wow, what an encouragement and challenge for us! Hmm... I dunno about you, but I'd like to... Nay, I really WANT to, and I will seek continually to discover new depths of God's love and sufficiency through a growing friendship with the Almighty, God. Wow... good stuff.
And one more quote:
"David praised God verbally and physically. He praised the Most High God with words, song, and hands raised high. I can almost hear his exuberant shouts and joyful hallelujahs. David was excited about God! God's love so overwhelmed him that he had to worship the Holy One with body, soul, and spirit."
Okay, I dunno about you, but I really want to read this whole chapter now... but if not the whole chapter of this book, for now, I should enjoy reading and taking in Psalm 63, about which it speaks. So, in closing, here goes:
[My Soul Thirsts for You]
[A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH.]
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
(Psalm 63 ESV)
Friday, October 26, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
What's a girl to do, God??
An excerpt from Praying God's Word by Beth Moore, is a Scripture-turned-to-prayer that goes like this:
My Father, how I thank You that it is unthinkable that You would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice. Who appointed You over the earth? Who put You in charge of the whole world? If it were Your intention and You withdrew Your Spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust. (Job 34:12-15) Instead, my Lord, You have promised that Your plans for Your people are plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give us hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11)
Okay, that's all well and good, I guess... I see Jeremiah 29:11 on countless gift items at the Christian bookstore, and hear it quoted as a favorite verse by many a graduate.... and I'm not saying there's necessarily anything wrong with that...
[Now, I very much value the idea of praying God's Word, I seek to live by God's Word and to trust it with all my heart, and I highly respect Beth Moore and her teaching, her heart, etc. So please forgive me if this comes across as careless or skeptical]
...but it seems to have lost whatever meaning it really had for me in the first place... I still live in the real world, the one on earth I mean, and I feel compelled to ask, in light of friends' very difficult situations, especially...
1. If Your plans are good, then why does my (or my friend's) situation seem so impossible??
2. If Your plans are to prosper and not to harm, then why does it seem that following Your plan would be disastrous and that my plan to avoid such continuous disaster makes a whole lot more sense?
3. If Your plans are to give me hope and a [good] future, then why do I feel like the best, if not only, hope is to follow this path of minimizing the pain and struggle, since the future looks pretty dismal otherwise?
4. God, what's a girl to do when all she sees is the trouble that surrounds her, and the way of "obedience" seems to be unthinkably ludicrous, exceedingly painful without a real purpose?
5. God, if You love me as You say You do, how could You really want me to remain in my situation that is so unhappy, painful, lonely, discouraging, and even hopeless? What's the point??
PAUSE: As I ponder these questions, my thoughts take me to the book of Job... Wait, I just remembered, I met someone today named Kiz. I asked her if it was short for something, and she said it's short for Keziah (pronounced Keh-'zai-ah), and that it's from the book of Job.
Okay, now I'm curious, where in Job is it? I suddenly have an idea, a suspicious curiosity... :-) Let's check the end of the book, shall we? Okay, chapter 42 where the heading reads "The LORD restores Job's Fortunes"... it starts in verse 10:
And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.
And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Kerenhappuch. And in the all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance amojng their brothers. And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. And Job died, an old man, and full of days.
Cool! Did you catch the reference to Keziah?! :-) It's one of Job's new daughters!
SIDENOTE: This also brings to mind a question about how these new daughters (and sons) came about. It doesn't indicate that Job and his wife adopted these children or anything like that... So, are we to assume that Job's wife bore him 10 new children? The text that simply states "he had also seven sons and three daughters" seems pretty overly-simplified, not to mention rather overwhelming from the wife's perspective, I would think. Really, 10 new children, just like that? It's stated as though they came all at once, but one has to assume this took the same nine months per child (with the exception of twins, triplets, etc.) that comes with the territory of having any other children. Pretty amusing, though, that Job's wife--who incidentally had been telling him during his suffering that he ought to "curse God and die"--gets to suffer the pain of childbirth 10 times over again, serving as an agent of God's blessing to Job for going against her advice. Ironically, though, she also is, no doubt, blessed by these new children as well. God is merciful. :-)
So, where were we anyway...? Have we learned anything?
[The Lord Answers Job]
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
It is changed like clay under the seal,
and its features stand out like a garment.
From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
“Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man,
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with grass?
“Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loose the cords of Orion?
Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that a flood of waters may cover you?
Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
or given understanding to the mind?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods stick fast together?
“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in their thicket?
Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and wander about for lack of food?
(Job 38 ESV)
“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the does?
Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
when they crouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go out and do not return to them.
“Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
to whom I have given the arid plain for his home
and the salt land for his dwelling place?
He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
“Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your manger?
Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
For she leaves her eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that the wild beast may trample them.
She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
because God has made her forget wisdom
and given her no share in understanding.
When she rouses herself to flee,
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
“Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrifying.
He paws in the valley and exults in his strength;
he goes out to meet the weapons.
He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his nest on high?
On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
on the rocky crag and stronghold.
From there he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it from far away.
His young ones suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there is he.”
(Job 39 ESV)
And the LORD said to Job:
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
[Job Promises Silence]
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”
[The Lord Challenges Job]
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and tread down the wicked where they stand.
Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.
Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.
“Behold, Behemoth,
which I made as I made you;
he eats grass like an ox.
Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
“He is the first of the works of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
Can one take him by his eyes,
or pierce his nose with a snare?
(Job 40 ESV)
“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for your servant forever?
Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
Lay your hands on him;
remember the battle—you will not do it again!
Behold, the hope of a man is false;
he is laid low even at the sight of him.
No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
His back is made of rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
The folds of his flesh stick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him sling stones are turned to stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
On earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride.”
(Job 41 ESV)
[Job's Confession and Repentance]
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
“I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
(Job 42:1-6 ESV)
Lots to ponder...
P.S. On a related note: In case anyone's interested, this sermon delivered by Tommy Nelson a couple Sundays ago is a tough one to listen to--i.e. he doesn't skirt around issues or allow excuses or exceptions for people who are in tough circumstances--but a really, really good and encouraging one for anyone interested in pleasing God despite circumstances that are hard or don't make sense. I found myself squirming with a bit of discomfort, but I also found it powerfully true and uplifting. Enjoy!
My Father, how I thank You that it is unthinkable that You would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice. Who appointed You over the earth? Who put You in charge of the whole world? If it were Your intention and You withdrew Your Spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust. (Job 34:12-15) Instead, my Lord, You have promised that Your plans for Your people are plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give us hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11)
Okay, that's all well and good, I guess... I see Jeremiah 29:11 on countless gift items at the Christian bookstore, and hear it quoted as a favorite verse by many a graduate.... and I'm not saying there's necessarily anything wrong with that...
[Now, I very much value the idea of praying God's Word, I seek to live by God's Word and to trust it with all my heart, and I highly respect Beth Moore and her teaching, her heart, etc. So please forgive me if this comes across as careless or skeptical]
...but it seems to have lost whatever meaning it really had for me in the first place... I still live in the real world, the one on earth I mean, and I feel compelled to ask, in light of friends' very difficult situations, especially...
1. If Your plans are good, then why does my (or my friend's) situation seem so impossible??
2. If Your plans are to prosper and not to harm, then why does it seem that following Your plan would be disastrous and that my plan to avoid such continuous disaster makes a whole lot more sense?
3. If Your plans are to give me hope and a [good] future, then why do I feel like the best, if not only, hope is to follow this path of minimizing the pain and struggle, since the future looks pretty dismal otherwise?
4. God, what's a girl to do when all she sees is the trouble that surrounds her, and the way of "obedience" seems to be unthinkably ludicrous, exceedingly painful without a real purpose?
5. God, if You love me as You say You do, how could You really want me to remain in my situation that is so unhappy, painful, lonely, discouraging, and even hopeless? What's the point??
PAUSE: As I ponder these questions, my thoughts take me to the book of Job... Wait, I just remembered, I met someone today named Kiz. I asked her if it was short for something, and she said it's short for Keziah (pronounced Keh-'zai-ah), and that it's from the book of Job.
Okay, now I'm curious, where in Job is it? I suddenly have an idea, a suspicious curiosity... :-) Let's check the end of the book, shall we? Okay, chapter 42 where the heading reads "The LORD restores Job's Fortunes"... it starts in verse 10:
And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.
And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Kerenhappuch. And in the all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance amojng their brothers. And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. And Job died, an old man, and full of days.
Cool! Did you catch the reference to Keziah?! :-) It's one of Job's new daughters!
SIDENOTE: This also brings to mind a question about how these new daughters (and sons) came about. It doesn't indicate that Job and his wife adopted these children or anything like that... So, are we to assume that Job's wife bore him 10 new children? The text that simply states "he had also seven sons and three daughters" seems pretty overly-simplified, not to mention rather overwhelming from the wife's perspective, I would think. Really, 10 new children, just like that? It's stated as though they came all at once, but one has to assume this took the same nine months per child (with the exception of twins, triplets, etc.) that comes with the territory of having any other children. Pretty amusing, though, that Job's wife--who incidentally had been telling him during his suffering that he ought to "curse God and die"--gets to suffer the pain of childbirth 10 times over again, serving as an agent of God's blessing to Job for going against her advice. Ironically, though, she also is, no doubt, blessed by these new children as well. God is merciful. :-)
So, where were we anyway...? Have we learned anything?
- Well, for one thing, the name Keziah is a reminder that God blesses those that endure and obey Him despite unthinkable trials.
- We also know, from the beginning of the book of Job, that Job's particular testing came after Satan asked permission from God to mess with Job, certain that if he wasn't so well off by the world's standards he would lose faith and turn his back on God. I dunno about you, but the idea of Satan taking up bets with God on my faithfulness and obedience makes me want to obey God and do Him proud! :)
- Also, perhaps the best answer to our questions (keeping in mind, "His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts" Or, in the ESV, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD" --Isaiah 55:8) comes in the form of God's own words to Job. After all, this guy pretty much takes the cake in terms of who has endured the most suffering, with the exception of Christ Himself. After God has finally answered Job, speaking to Job for almost the entirety of 4 chapters(!)--chapters 38-41 (see below)--essentially reminding Job who is God and who is not, note (below) Job's response in chapter 42.
[The Lord Answers Job]
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
It is changed like clay under the seal,
and its features stand out like a garment.
From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
“Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man,
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with grass?
“Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loose the cords of Orion?
Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that a flood of waters may cover you?
Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
or given understanding to the mind?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods stick fast together?
“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in their thicket?
Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and wander about for lack of food?
(Job 38 ESV)
“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the does?
Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
when they crouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go out and do not return to them.
“Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
to whom I have given the arid plain for his home
and the salt land for his dwelling place?
He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
“Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your manger?
Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
For she leaves her eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that the wild beast may trample them.
She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
because God has made her forget wisdom
and given her no share in understanding.
When she rouses herself to flee,
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
“Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrifying.
He paws in the valley and exults in his strength;
he goes out to meet the weapons.
He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his nest on high?
On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
on the rocky crag and stronghold.
From there he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it from far away.
His young ones suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there is he.”
(Job 39 ESV)
And the LORD said to Job:
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
[Job Promises Silence]
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”
[The Lord Challenges Job]
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and tread down the wicked where they stand.
Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.
Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.
“Behold, Behemoth,
which I made as I made you;
he eats grass like an ox.
Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
“He is the first of the works of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
Can one take him by his eyes,
or pierce his nose with a snare?
(Job 40 ESV)
“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for your servant forever?
Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
Lay your hands on him;
remember the battle—you will not do it again!
Behold, the hope of a man is false;
he is laid low even at the sight of him.
No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
His back is made of rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
The folds of his flesh stick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him sling stones are turned to stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
On earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride.”
(Job 41 ESV)
[Job's Confession and Repentance]
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
“I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
(Job 42:1-6 ESV)
Lots to ponder...
P.S. On a related note: In case anyone's interested, this sermon delivered by Tommy Nelson a couple Sundays ago is a tough one to listen to--i.e. he doesn't skirt around issues or allow excuses or exceptions for people who are in tough circumstances--but a really, really good and encouraging one for anyone interested in pleasing God despite circumstances that are hard or don't make sense. I found myself squirming with a bit of discomfort, but I also found it powerfully true and uplifting. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Valley of Trouble
So I've recently started reading through the book of Joshua, and today I read chapter 7. I've heard the story before, but different things jump out at me (aka God's Spirit reveals/highlights new things) today as I focus on this chapter alone within the context of the book of Joshua and the continuing journey of the nation of Israel.
-Joshua, Israel's newly appointed leader and coming off of the victory at Jericho, was discouraged (v. 6-8) after a defeat at Ai
-God responded "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned;... Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Get up! Consecrate the people and say, Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, 'There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.' ... And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel."
Observations:
1. Joshua did not understand and was discouraged by feelings of defeat, and he went to God. God did not take time to coddle him but responded with urgency and the explanation that he needed to act upon the core problem in Israel; once the sin issue was properly addressed and dealt with as per God's explicit instructions, God was with them and they could be victorious again.
2. God took sin very seriously there in the Valley of Achor [valley of trouble], satisfied only after the culprit and his sons and daughters and all he had were stoned and burned. A "heap of stones" were even set up in that place, presumably as a remembrance of what took place there, lest Israel should ever forget that the LORD, the JUST God whom we serve, takes sin very seriously. Its consequences are great, and we must never treat it lightly, either.
3. The Valley of Achor was a place where Israel was in Trouble because of sin; yet, even as overwhelming as their defeat had been and the discouragement and punishment that followed, God's presence had not been permanently removed from them. They were not ultimately defeated. Though the very trouble, caused by the sin of Achan, of the tribe of Judah, was very great and serious in God's sight, God was gracious and continued to fulfill His promises in and through Israel, even to the bringing of salvation to all men through a Savior born out of the same line that begat Achan, that line of Judah.
4. Joshua doesn't seem uncompassionate toward Achan and his family, yet he courageously (as per Joshua 1:1-9) follows God's orders to the letter and doesn't waver to the right or to the left of them even for the sake of compassion on one man. It is not recorded whether Joshua agreed with God's way of handling things or whether he felt good about carrying it out; this is because Joshua's feelings weren't relevant, and he recognized that. Joshua knew the important part of his role and responsibility was to trust God and obey Him--regardless of anything else--and that he did.
Wow, that's convicting. Am I courageous enough (Joshua 1:1-9) to be a Joshua? Will I take sin seriously, deal with it promptly and thoroughly, and trust and obey God, no matter how I feel--whether I feel defeated, uncertain, entitled, disappointed, frustrated, angry, and the list goes on--about my circumstances in the Valley of Trouble? If/when I don't feel courageous, will I seek God as Joshua did and tell him honestly what's going on/how I feel, and then willingly accept/submit to His instructions/commands as LORD of my life?
Will you?
-Joshua, Israel's newly appointed leader and coming off of the victory at Jericho, was discouraged (v. 6-8) after a defeat at Ai
-God responded "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned;... Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Get up! Consecrate the people and say, Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, 'There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.' ... And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel."
Observations:
1. Joshua did not understand and was discouraged by feelings of defeat, and he went to God. God did not take time to coddle him but responded with urgency and the explanation that he needed to act upon the core problem in Israel; once the sin issue was properly addressed and dealt with as per God's explicit instructions, God was with them and they could be victorious again.
2. God took sin very seriously there in the Valley of Achor [valley of trouble], satisfied only after the culprit and his sons and daughters and all he had were stoned and burned. A "heap of stones" were even set up in that place, presumably as a remembrance of what took place there, lest Israel should ever forget that the LORD, the JUST God whom we serve, takes sin very seriously. Its consequences are great, and we must never treat it lightly, either.
3. The Valley of Achor was a place where Israel was in Trouble because of sin; yet, even as overwhelming as their defeat had been and the discouragement and punishment that followed, God's presence had not been permanently removed from them. They were not ultimately defeated. Though the very trouble, caused by the sin of Achan, of the tribe of Judah, was very great and serious in God's sight, God was gracious and continued to fulfill His promises in and through Israel, even to the bringing of salvation to all men through a Savior born out of the same line that begat Achan, that line of Judah.
4. Joshua doesn't seem uncompassionate toward Achan and his family, yet he courageously (as per Joshua 1:1-9) follows God's orders to the letter and doesn't waver to the right or to the left of them even for the sake of compassion on one man. It is not recorded whether Joshua agreed with God's way of handling things or whether he felt good about carrying it out; this is because Joshua's feelings weren't relevant, and he recognized that. Joshua knew the important part of his role and responsibility was to trust God and obey Him--regardless of anything else--and that he did.
Wow, that's convicting. Am I courageous enough (Joshua 1:1-9) to be a Joshua? Will I take sin seriously, deal with it promptly and thoroughly, and trust and obey God, no matter how I feel--whether I feel defeated, uncertain, entitled, disappointed, frustrated, angry, and the list goes on--about my circumstances in the Valley of Trouble? If/when I don't feel courageous, will I seek God as Joshua did and tell him honestly what's going on/how I feel, and then willingly accept/submit to His instructions/commands as LORD of my life?
Will you?
Saturday, March 10, 2012
"Under Orders" with Elisabeth Elliott
Christian discipline means placing oneself under orders. It is no mere business of self-improvement, to be listed along with speed-reading, weight watching, jogging, time management, home repairs, or how to win friends. Such programs have a strong appeal that is largely self-serving: what's in it for me? Will I improve my IQ, my looks, my build, my efficiency, my house, my bank account? Will I be better liked, courted, taken more seriously, promoted? If these are the goals, certainly it helps to pursue them with the encouragement of and in the company of others with the same ambitions. Social pressure goes a long way, but in the end a do-it-yourself program depends on willpower alone, which is not enough for most of us.
The disciple is one who has made a very simple decision. Jesus invites us to follow Him, and the disciple accepts the invitation. I do not say it is an easy decision, and I have found that it needs to be renewed daily. The conditions are not such as attract multitudes. Jesus stated them:
1. He must leave self behind
The result of the decision is guaranteed:
The disciple is not on his own, left to seek self-actualization, which is a new word for old-fashioned selfishness. He is not "doing his thing" to find his own life or liberty or happiness. He gives himself to a Master and in so doing leaves self behind. Any ordinary life in any ordinary town provides ample opportunity to do this. Riding on a New York bus recently, I saw a woman reach over and slide open a small section of a window. The bus was very crowded, and I was glad for a little fresh air. The window was angrily slammed shut by another woman.
"It's not really cold out," said the first. "Can't we have a little air?"
"Not on my back you can't," came the reply, a perfectly natural one.
The disciple, however, lives by a different rule, a rule not natural to anyone who is a sinner. He will let himself be "lost." It is the great principle of the cross that he takes up--out of his own loss comes another's gain, out of his discomfort another's comfort. How easily we profess a willingness to follow, imagining some notable work for God, some great martyrdom--but forget the first condition the minute there is a little cold air on the back of the neck.
...
["A soldier on active service will not let himself be involved in civilian affairs; he must be wholly at his commanding officer's disposal." 2 Tim. 2:4] Any "soldier," any candidate for Christian discipline, ought daily to report to his commanding officer for duty. At your service, Lord. What the soldier does for the officer is not in the category of a favor. The officer may ask anything. He disposes of the soldier as he chooses. The very thought strikes horror to the modern mind. "Nobody's going to tell me what to do. Nobody has a right to dispose of me."
This pattern of thinking has its powerful effect on Christians as well, so that we have come to imagine that discipleship is somehow an "extra." We suppose that we can be Christians, going to church, saying our prayers, singing those sweet songs about loving and feeling and sharing and praising, without taking our share of hardship. Those who wish to make a special bid for sainthood, we tell ourselves, might try discipline ("it has its place") as though it were an odd or fanatical life-style, not the thing for most of us.
It is as though we might be Christian without being disciples.
"Yes, I want to be a Christian, but no, I don't want to be Your disciple, Lord. Not yet, anyway. It's a bit much to expect."
"Yes, I'll be a disciple, but no, I certainly don't want to leave self behind."
"I'll leave self behind if You say so, Lord, but don't ask me to take up any crosses. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with that."
"Follow You, Lord? Well, yes, sure--but let me have a little input, won't You, about where we're going?"
Nothing could be further from the spirit of the Gospel. The very reason Christ died "...was that men, while still in life, should cease to live for themselves, and should live for him who for their sake died and was raised to life."
To be a Christian in New Testament terms is to be a disciple. There are no two ways about it. We have a Savior who has forgiven and saved us from the penalty of sin. Most of us would happily settle for that. But He died to save us also from our sins, many of which we love and hate to part with. Christ could not have done this if He were not Lord over all the powers of evil. Jesus Christ is Savior because He is Lord. He is Lord because He is Savior. I cannot be saved from my sins unless I am also saved from myself, so Christ must be "commanding officer" in my life.
--Excerpted from Elisabeth Elliott's Discipline: The Glad Surrender
The disciple is one who has made a very simple decision. Jesus invites us to follow Him, and the disciple accepts the invitation. I do not say it is an easy decision, and I have found that it needs to be renewed daily. The conditions are not such as attract multitudes. Jesus stated them:
1. He must leave self behind
2. he must take up his cross
3. and come with me
The result of the decision is guaranteed:
1. Whoever cares for his own safety is lost
2. but if a man will let himself be lost for my sake, he will find his true self
The disciple is not on his own, left to seek self-actualization, which is a new word for old-fashioned selfishness. He is not "doing his thing" to find his own life or liberty or happiness. He gives himself to a Master and in so doing leaves self behind. Any ordinary life in any ordinary town provides ample opportunity to do this. Riding on a New York bus recently, I saw a woman reach over and slide open a small section of a window. The bus was very crowded, and I was glad for a little fresh air. The window was angrily slammed shut by another woman.
"It's not really cold out," said the first. "Can't we have a little air?"
"Not on my back you can't," came the reply, a perfectly natural one.
The disciple, however, lives by a different rule, a rule not natural to anyone who is a sinner. He will let himself be "lost." It is the great principle of the cross that he takes up--out of his own loss comes another's gain, out of his discomfort another's comfort. How easily we profess a willingness to follow, imagining some notable work for God, some great martyrdom--but forget the first condition the minute there is a little cold air on the back of the neck.
...
["A soldier on active service will not let himself be involved in civilian affairs; he must be wholly at his commanding officer's disposal." 2 Tim. 2:4] Any "soldier," any candidate for Christian discipline, ought daily to report to his commanding officer for duty. At your service, Lord. What the soldier does for the officer is not in the category of a favor. The officer may ask anything. He disposes of the soldier as he chooses. The very thought strikes horror to the modern mind. "Nobody's going to tell me what to do. Nobody has a right to dispose of me."
This pattern of thinking has its powerful effect on Christians as well, so that we have come to imagine that discipleship is somehow an "extra." We suppose that we can be Christians, going to church, saying our prayers, singing those sweet songs about loving and feeling and sharing and praising, without taking our share of hardship. Those who wish to make a special bid for sainthood, we tell ourselves, might try discipline ("it has its place") as though it were an odd or fanatical life-style, not the thing for most of us.
It is as though we might be Christian without being disciples.
"Yes, I want to be a Christian, but no, I don't want to be Your disciple, Lord. Not yet, anyway. It's a bit much to expect."
"Yes, I'll be a disciple, but no, I certainly don't want to leave self behind."
"I'll leave self behind if You say so, Lord, but don't ask me to take up any crosses. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with that."
"Follow You, Lord? Well, yes, sure--but let me have a little input, won't You, about where we're going?"
Nothing could be further from the spirit of the Gospel. The very reason Christ died "...was that men, while still in life, should cease to live for themselves, and should live for him who for their sake died and was raised to life."
To be a Christian in New Testament terms is to be a disciple. There are no two ways about it. We have a Savior who has forgiven and saved us from the penalty of sin. Most of us would happily settle for that. But He died to save us also from our sins, many of which we love and hate to part with. Christ could not have done this if He were not Lord over all the powers of evil. Jesus Christ is Savior because He is Lord. He is Lord because He is Savior. I cannot be saved from my sins unless I am also saved from myself, so Christ must be "commanding officer" in my life.
--Excerpted from Elisabeth Elliott's Discipline: The Glad Surrender
Monday, January 31, 2011
Water-gulping!
So... My brother and sister have mentioned this Bible-reading plan that they and their classmates were challenged to do, and many (including both my siblings, I think) are doing. As I've been struggling a bit to come up with a daily Bible-reading plan I'm excited about, and I've clearly [see last post] been rather thirsty... it seemed to be a good time to take on this challenge and follow it through. Also, I keep finding myself really anxious about lots of unknowns and such, worrying unnecessarily when I should be trusting God instead. The verse in Isaiah comes to mind (the one found in Isa. 26:3, to be more specific, hehe), which says, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You."
So, in light of these things, and largely as an effort to keep my mind stayed on Him so to generate peace instead of needless anxiety, I've just begun B90X--reading the entire Bible through in 90 days. I've just completed Day 2, and I'm excited. I've already begun to see the Bible in a whole new light... God is gracious and merciful, and I'm starting to really see that His stories are the absolute best--no joke! It's more fulfilling than any other book I could challenge myself to read, and it really can be read in 90 days! :) So, at the pace of approximately 10 pages per day in the particular Bible that I've selected for this challenge, I'm off on the adventure!! :)
If you want to join me, the schedule I'm following is a simple Genesis-to-Revelation plan (as opposed to each day's reading being something from Old Testament, New Testament, & Psalms... or something like that), and it is found by clicking on (or copy/paste-ing) the link below:
http://www.stevenfurtick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/B90X.pdf
I might tweet about it, too, as I go along, so if you're interested just look for my "tweetonym"--> skrudd.
Okay, that's it. Just thought I'd share. Enjoy! :)
So, in light of these things, and largely as an effort to keep my mind stayed on Him so to generate peace instead of needless anxiety, I've just begun B90X--reading the entire Bible through in 90 days. I've just completed Day 2, and I'm excited. I've already begun to see the Bible in a whole new light... God is gracious and merciful, and I'm starting to really see that His stories are the absolute best--no joke! It's more fulfilling than any other book I could challenge myself to read, and it really can be read in 90 days! :) So, at the pace of approximately 10 pages per day in the particular Bible that I've selected for this challenge, I'm off on the adventure!! :)
If you want to join me, the schedule I'm following is a simple Genesis-to-Revelation plan (as opposed to each day's reading being something from Old Testament, New Testament, & Psalms... or something like that), and it is found by clicking on (or copy/paste-ing) the link below:
http://www.stevenfurtick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/B90X.pdf
I might tweet about it, too, as I go along, so if you're interested just look for my "tweetonym"--> skrudd.
Okay, that's it. Just thought I'd share. Enjoy! :)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Cravings on the Journey? Stay on the Path!
"It's not the 'how-to' I'm missing. It's the 'want-to' ... really wanting to make changes and deciding that the results of those changes are worth the sacrifice" (Lisa TerKeurst in Made to Crave).
Lately I've been craving so many things--mostly an effective escape from what my deepest craving (for God) would point me to. Wow. How dumb is that?? Yet, admittedly, that's about where I'm at. Even seeking God as I also feebly attempt to do, I am not really going to Him on His terms--surrendering my will/desires to His good purposes. Maybe that's because I'm not really trusting that His purposes are better than mine. I allow myself to get distracted by sources of immediate gratification, and I stop just off of the Straight and Narrow to get some sustenance in easy, worldly ways... which tends to pull me in and make me want more of that type of sustenance, even though more and more and more of that type of sustenance would yet never truly be satisfying. It's quite a mystery to me, frankly, why I turn to the right or the left for temporary fulfillment, when I have a bottle of Living Water that goes with me all the time. If I need to pause for refreshment, He's all I need... I have no business chasing after things that will get me nowhere but into a mess of frustrated misery and depression. The Living Water is really all I need for this life-long journey that stretches out straight in front of me. I can only see the part of the path that is right in front of me, but as I continue to stay on the path, he stretches it out before me, step-by-step. If I veer off to the right or the left, it only slows me down and wastes time. This is evidenced by the fact that whenever I take a good long drink of the Living Water again, I no longer desire the side-of-the-road attractions. The Water I carry with me is completely satisfying and fulfilling, and I truly need nothing else. It's encouraging to have others join me on the path, and the generous blessings of additional delights/pleasures are enjoyable and beautiful also. However, the pleasures I tend to crave from the side of the road are mere cheap imitations, at best, of the bountiful treasures God has in store, which are beyond my ability to imagine or ask for. There is an inheritance I will receive when I reach the very end of the path, and He gives me little tastes of that inheritance early while I travel to encourage me and strengthen me on my journey. In fact, the best part is that Living Water. And along with my water bottle, I have a Friend who walks with me. He stays very close to me--closer than a brother, in fact. Since He has walked a very similar path before and struggled with His own fleshly desires for off-the-path adventures, His selfless ministry to me is such an encouragement, as He nourishes my soul with His presence and His time-tested words of Truth. He reassures me that the wisdom He speaks is pure Truth, and that the only way to finish the journey well is to keep walking straight ahead, taking long, satisfying gulps of the Living Water, relying on His Faithful companionship, and conforming my pace to His own, while heeding His sustaining Words of instruction and encouragement and maintaining open communication with Him about the journey as we walk side-by-side. I know I couldn't walk it alone, let alone run! Still, if I remember that He is with me, and I trust that He is there and sufficient to satisfy my needs and desires, this could be a really cool trip! :) The joy in the journey has a lot to do with who you've got as a travel buddy; in my case, I think this adventure could be great--even good and joyful--no matter what direction the path turns. Just gotta remember to stay on it--do not turn right, do not turn left, do not pass 'GO', do not collect $200... "Just keep swimming"--er, walking--straight ahead!
Lately I've been craving so many things--mostly an effective escape from what my deepest craving (for God) would point me to. Wow. How dumb is that?? Yet, admittedly, that's about where I'm at. Even seeking God as I also feebly attempt to do, I am not really going to Him on His terms--surrendering my will/desires to His good purposes. Maybe that's because I'm not really trusting that His purposes are better than mine. I allow myself to get distracted by sources of immediate gratification, and I stop just off of the Straight and Narrow to get some sustenance in easy, worldly ways... which tends to pull me in and make me want more of that type of sustenance, even though more and more and more of that type of sustenance would yet never truly be satisfying. It's quite a mystery to me, frankly, why I turn to the right or the left for temporary fulfillment, when I have a bottle of Living Water that goes with me all the time. If I need to pause for refreshment, He's all I need... I have no business chasing after things that will get me nowhere but into a mess of frustrated misery and depression. The Living Water is really all I need for this life-long journey that stretches out straight in front of me. I can only see the part of the path that is right in front of me, but as I continue to stay on the path, he stretches it out before me, step-by-step. If I veer off to the right or the left, it only slows me down and wastes time. This is evidenced by the fact that whenever I take a good long drink of the Living Water again, I no longer desire the side-of-the-road attractions. The Water I carry with me is completely satisfying and fulfilling, and I truly need nothing else. It's encouraging to have others join me on the path, and the generous blessings of additional delights/pleasures are enjoyable and beautiful also. However, the pleasures I tend to crave from the side of the road are mere cheap imitations, at best, of the bountiful treasures God has in store, which are beyond my ability to imagine or ask for. There is an inheritance I will receive when I reach the very end of the path, and He gives me little tastes of that inheritance early while I travel to encourage me and strengthen me on my journey. In fact, the best part is that Living Water. And along with my water bottle, I have a Friend who walks with me. He stays very close to me--closer than a brother, in fact. Since He has walked a very similar path before and struggled with His own fleshly desires for off-the-path adventures, His selfless ministry to me is such an encouragement, as He nourishes my soul with His presence and His time-tested words of Truth. He reassures me that the wisdom He speaks is pure Truth, and that the only way to finish the journey well is to keep walking straight ahead, taking long, satisfying gulps of the Living Water, relying on His Faithful companionship, and conforming my pace to His own, while heeding His sustaining Words of instruction and encouragement and maintaining open communication with Him about the journey as we walk side-by-side. I know I couldn't walk it alone, let alone run! Still, if I remember that He is with me, and I trust that He is there and sufficient to satisfy my needs and desires, this could be a really cool trip! :) The joy in the journey has a lot to do with who you've got as a travel buddy; in my case, I think this adventure could be great--even good and joyful--no matter what direction the path turns. Just gotta remember to stay on it--do not turn right, do not turn left, do not pass 'GO', do not collect $200... "Just keep swimming"--er, walking--straight ahead!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Pulling Away from Facebook... This Guy Understands
Just came across this excellent blog post about (bad) blogging in light of I Tim 6:4, and the excerpt below pin-points incredibly well some of the biggest factors that led me to finally take a step away from Facebook earlier this week. Social networking may not affect everyone in exactly the same way, but I finally came to realize its effect on me and some of the reasons I had become so drawn to it. I also know that there are SO many other things I need/desire to be accomplishing with my time, which I could do a lot more effectively if I took the hours spent online each week and put them towards life in the real world. I'm not saying Facebook is all-in-all a bad thing necessarily, if kept in moderation and used for God-honoring purposes, but I, for one, am prone to addiction--yes, much like an alcoholic or a porn-addict. I could elaborate into a full-length post on this subject, but... I have more important things to do at the moment. See if you relate, as I do, to Dane Ortlund's explanation:
8. I believe there is a common root heart issue from which both pornography viewing and online obnoxiousness emerge. In both cases 1) it is usually a man 2) who logs on to his computer, 3) is most prone to fall into this sin when tired or depressed, 4) feels personally inadequate, 5) is spurred on in this online activity by not having to truly engage another human being but instead has no relational demand placed upon him, 6) generates self-identity and bolsters his own sense of vaunted masculinity through his time online, 7) finds the activity addictive, immediately satisfying yet only leaving him hungry for more, 8) underestimates how much damage he is doing to himself and to others, and 9) logs off feeling a little more dirty.
(For the context of this blog excerpt, see his entire post here.)
8. I believe there is a common root heart issue from which both pornography viewing and online obnoxiousness emerge. In both cases 1) it is usually a man 2) who logs on to his computer, 3) is most prone to fall into this sin when tired or depressed, 4) feels personally inadequate, 5) is spurred on in this online activity by not having to truly engage another human being but instead has no relational demand placed upon him, 6) generates self-identity and bolsters his own sense of vaunted masculinity through his time online, 7) finds the activity addictive, immediately satisfying yet only leaving him hungry for more, 8) underestimates how much damage he is doing to himself and to others, and 9) logs off feeling a little more dirty.
(For the context of this blog excerpt, see his entire post here.)
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