A site you should visit

A friend of mine, Larry Burns, has just started blogging. I encourage you to stop by his site and read his thoughts. This is a blog you should add to your list. Here's his site- THE REMEDY. And, Larry, thanks for the time this morning. I really enjoy our visits.

"Dragging idols" revisited

This morning I'm reading Acts 7. It's the testimony of Stephen as he stands trial for his faith. In his testimony he recites the history of Israel and part of it reminded me of a post I wrote almost two years ago. Here are Stephen's words and a few comments and then a reprint of the post I wrote in 2007. Sometimes we need to be reminded...

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Act 7:41 "At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.
Act 7:42 "But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'IT WAS NOT TO ME THAT YOU OFFERED VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, WAS IT, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL?
Act 7:43 'YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF THE GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP.'

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Although Israel was removed from Egypt, Egypt had not been removed from Israel. They took Egypt with them! God had to do a lot to pry their hands off of their idols. What does he have to do to get us to let go of ours? As a Christian I have been taken out of the world by the saving work of Christ, but has the world been taken out of me? Often I realize it hasn't. Often I find myself an idol worshipper. Here's what I wrote about this in 2007-

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"In part of my reading this morning I'm in Ezekiel. I came to chapter 20:7-8 and read these words, "I said to them, 'Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.' But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt."
It made me stop for a moment....I never read that in Exodus, but here in Ezekiel God is telling us they drug their idols through the desert for 40 years and would not let them go. After all they saw God do, how he provided for them, how he cared for them, they still drug along those worthless idols for 40 years.
I wondered....what idols am I dragging around? What am I holding onto after all I have seen God do? What "false gods" will I not let go of? Is there anything that I will not "cast away" because God thinks it's detestable? And, why don't I view it as detestable too? These are just some thoughts running through my mind. I know I do it....I know I'm "dragging idols." What are they? And am I willing to cast them away like worthless trash? How do I get God's view on all of this?
Lord, show me what idols I'm dragging around. Help me to see them as you do. Help me to cast them away...don't let me be a rebel too......."

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The sky is falling!

I am getting dozens of e-mails daily from Christian people who are in a Chicken Little panic over the direction and fate of our country. I am honestly surprised and amazed at the panic I read in these notes. It's as if God were no longer in control and unless we do something NOW our lives and our country will come to a horrible end.

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Let me reassure you that the sky is NOT falling. Things are not out of control. There is a God in the heavens and he is in control. And, let me make this bold statement- if we spent as much time in prayer as we are spending to send e-mails to everyone we know we would do far more good and make a much bigger impact! Sadly, Christians believe that their biggest impact is achieved by signing petitions, sending e-mails, calling their senators, but the truth is that our biggest impact is achieved on our knees in prayer to the sovereign God of the universe.

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God writes much about this. I could post a dozen verses that would deal with this topic, but here are two that I depend on as I watch the world around me. And, before you read them, let me reassure you that the sky is not falling, the God of the universe is fully in control and working for our good and his glory.

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2 Chronicles 7:14 and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

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Psalm 29:10 The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.

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An amazing man

I just started reading the book of Job. It's a very interesting book. I'm fascinated by this man, Job. He stands out in the book as a man different in his time. Here are the opening words to the book,

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Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

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This is an amazing guy! The opening commentary about him tells us about his life. He had, somewhere in his life, made some choices about his walk with God. His choices had become part of who he was....blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. I am impressed by a life that reflects these choices and this relationship with God.

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Then we come to an encounter in heaven when Satan shows up before the throne. The words of God caught my attention. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I had not "seen" this before,

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Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."

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Did you see it? Here are the words that caught my attention- "there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." How did this man become this man? What happened in his life that he gets this commentary- there is no one like him on the earth? Those very words amaze me! Of all the people on the planet at that time this is the only man who is blameless, upright and fears God? A man who turns away from evil...he's the only one? WOW! I have no idea how many there were on the earth at this time, but even if it's only a few million how did this one man come to this place in his life to get this commentary from God? And, sadly, how come he's the only one? What a poor commentary on the human race (and an interesting insight into his friends who are on their way to visit him).

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As I think about Job my thoughts race to the present. I know, because of Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, my sins are forgiven, but the heart of Job goes much further than forgiven and cleansed. He made a choice, he did something in his life that made him unique in his time, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. That very commentary catches my mind and passions. I want to be like that. I want that heart of Job that stands out in his generation and brings him up in discussions in heaven. I'm not there now, but I'm challenged by these very words of commentary on a solitary and amazing man.

Life changes

And then.....it's funny how life changes. It's never static. We are creatures who love and hate the changes of life all at the same time. It creates real problems for us as life passes....we face changes we can't control, but must deal with. That reality is most evident to our culture today as the economy changes, people lose their jobs, marriages implode and everything is shaken. We have a new "and then" in our lives. Joye's mom just moved down to live with us. It's a very difficult life change for her. Like so many coming to the last decades of life she is thinking through the loss of her independence and choices. It's hard. We begin our adult lives with great plans and hopes "and then" something happens, a change comes, a job ends, a relationship is over, and our lives change. There's always an "and then" waiting for us around the next corner. For those who think they have their lives settled and finances in order there will be an "and then" that will change their plans. Nothing is sure here. Everything in our lives is constantly changing. The only sure thing is our relationship with God and our hope ahead. In this live "and then" is our constant companion. Let me encourage you with a slight rewrite of James words from his book:
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James 1:2-5 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when "and then" moments come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it.
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Monday's cartoon

Finishing another year

At the end of the month I will have finished three years writing this blog. That's a total of 1,389 posts so far. It's been fun at times, inspiring at other times and often frustrating. You have been most kind to read and respond to my thoughts and add your own.

Thank you all for following my ramblings. In recent days I have been very busy and my content has been light, but I hope to have some time to write in the days ahead. Thank you for your encouragement and friendship as we walk with God together.

Life without TV

Well, it's day two without television. Strange. Without thinking I've reached for the remote several times only to stop myself when I remember that it's dead. But to be honest, the silence is really nice. All I can hear is the clock on the mantle ticking and the jets overhead. It's quiet. But I'm not used to it. Like everyone else in our culture I'm used to noise as a 24 hour companion.

I remember my first exposure to television when my parents got their first set. It was black and white. Rabbit ear antenna on top. Fuzzy picture, but there on the screen was a football game. It was magical. We watched Gunsmoke every week. My dad loved and still loves westerns. I've been an addict for these last 55 years and can't imagine how anyone lived before television, but honestly...it really nice not having it on. I could grow to like this.....

Certainty

A friend of mine is a missionary in Europe. We met for lunch last week while he's home on furlough and had a great time talking about God's work, our ministries and what's going on in the world. It was really interesting to hear him talk about faith in Europe today. He said, "It's no longer "ok" to be certain about what you believe. That is the new politically incorrect thing- certainty." I have been thinking about this for a week now and so tonight I looked up the word. Here's what it means:

...Certainty-the mental state of being without doubt.

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This is political correctness taken to it's logical end. You can believe whatever you wish, and that's fine with those around you, but you dare not be certain of what you believe. To be convinced that your belief is correct is no longer acceptable in Europe.

This makes sense in a postmodern world. The last thing to be destroyed is the certainty of faith. Once your faith is undermined, then your certainty of that faith would be an insult to the culture that says all views are correct, no one religion has a claim to absolute truth. I can see the first signs of this in our country. It will take a while for us to feel the pressure on our certainty, but if history repeats itself then we will soon feel the ridicule of culture for the certainty we cherish. But even if my friend is right I will not abandon my faith or my certainty to a culture that has neither..

Hebrews 11:1- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

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Impossible solutions

I took this photo while we were in Africa recently. It's an amazing shot because no one has ever caught a giraffe up a tree before. Just kidding, it's not a real photo....but it illustrates how silly we are at times. For a giraffe the solution to danger is a high view of the landscape and good legs to run. They would not and cannot climb trees. But, as funny as it might look, we humans do something that looks just as silly- we try to figure things out about our lives, the world and our very existence without trusting in or acknowledging God. It's as impossible and improbable as a giraffe up a tree. We were designed to be in relationship and dependence upon God and we are not functioning properly unless we are. Without God our solutions look funny, like a giraffe up a tree, but with God the solutions are natural and dependent on him. Man living without God comes up with impossible solutions, but with God all things are possible.

Man's plans and God's results

I'm in the middle of the book of Esther and each time I read this book I am fascinated by how God is working to bring about his results in spite of man's plans. Specifically I'm talking about Haman (boooooo...ask a Jewish friend about this). He is the Prime Minister of the kingdom and is able to do what he wishes....even to the apparent demise of the Jewish people in this kingdom. BUT GOD.....I always love it when those two words show up in the bible (these two words aren't in the text of Esther, but you can see them clearly on every page of the story)...BUT GOD...and then watch as he works, in spite of man's plans, to bring about his results and his glory. I already know the end of the story, but at the point I'm reading it seems that all is lost for the Jewish nation. It's a great story to remind me of how God can literally move heaven and earth to bring about his results even in the darkest of days.

Just thinking

Our TV died tonight. Yes, it's gone...funeral tomorrow. I guess I'm just cheap, but we still have one of those old picture tube models. It just couldn't take it anymore and tonight it wouldn't even turn on....I guess that it finally had enough. I've looked at all the "new fangled" flat screen models and they are sure nice. The picture on those screens is amazing. Ours was still the old, low resolution, lines across the screen model. In fact, we've heard about this HD stuff, but thought we would wait until they perfected it.....so tonight I'm thinking about what to do. I have a repair man coming out to look at the old girl, but I'm sure he will tell us it's over. I'm not too bothered by this really. To be honest, there isn't much on TV anymore anyway. I'm not old enough yet to have the weather channel as my favorite, but I do like to watch current events, news, history, and information programs. I know, like most people, we watch too much TV, but maybe this is a chance to make some changes. It sure in quiet in the house tonight......

Settling for less

I find that I do this often...I don't do it on purpose, but I do it none the less...I, once more, have found myself settling for less than I know God wants for me. It's like a "V8 moment" when I realize what I have done. I could have had joy instead of happiness. I could have had time with God instead of a time of worry. I could have had peace instead of an anxious heart. I could have had..... I have done this so often, with such a regularity, that I know I will do it again, but I'm always disappointed with myself when I realize I have done it once more. God wants so much more for me than I enjoy. So, once more, this morning I find myself repenting. Not for any sin. That's not what repentance is always about. Repentance means to turn and go in a completely different direction. So, once more I get my spiritual map out and change my directions, repent, and get back on the path I want to follow. It's a path that starts with a relationship with God and from that relationship comes all the rest. It's so simple I easily seek other things and lose out on God's best. So, once more....a new direction....a refocus and a humble walk back to my relationship with God. There will be much behind me that I have focused on that will call out to me....needing my attention. It will be hard to ignore all those things and simply walk with God, but I must. The rest will work out.

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Mat 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

God's work among us

I got to meet with two different pastor friends today and an old friend who has moved to east Texas. Each of these visits was great. Each of the pastors has problems and issues they are working through. Their problems and situations are different, so are their denominations, but they are both seeking to follow God as they lead their churches. My old friend is part of one of these ministries. He's an elder in his church, teaches Sunday school and is a valuable leader. Each of these men is so different, but each of them is serving God in amazing ways. As I was coming home today I thought about my visits with these 3 men. It made me think about the book of Esther. I know, they aren't connected at all, except for this...Esther and my friends are all trying to follow God and serve him. Sometimes we don't see God working, but he is. Sometimes we ask what his plan is for us, but that unfolds in His time, not ours. Each of us lives out life in the middle of moments that leave us unable to see God's big picture, but he's painting it. He's working. In each life it looks different. In each ministry his plan is specific, yes it will all be for his glory, but he uses all kinds of men and women to accomplish his work. It's such a blessing to see God working in the lives around me. I can't wait to see what he does in each of these lives because they are each an example of God's work among us.

Monday's cartoon