Love requires an open heart

Deuteronomy 6:4-6
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

A disciple asks the rabbi, “Why does the Torah tell us to ‘place these words upon your hearts’? Why does it not tell us to place these holy words in our hearts?”

The rabbi answers, “It is because as we are, our hearts are closed, and we cannot place the holy words in our hearts. So we place them on top of our hearts. And there they stay until one day, the heart breaks and the words fall in.”

Jeremiah part 4

Last night I was driving home. I was alone in the car, but not really. I shared some things with God. Sometimes my conversations with God in the car are not very eloquent. Never confuse eloquence with honesty. Some of my best conversations have had very few words. Mostly they are short statements loaded with a lifetime of meaning. Thank you. I love you. I don't know. I don't understand. I need you. Help me. Forgive me. Change me. Although God has responded to my prayers in various and wonderful ways. The greatest response is the response that is consistent and unchanging: "I am here". Never alone.

Jeremiah's calling part 3

When Jeremiah launched into his role has prophet, he did so with a knowledge that things were going to be very difficult. How did he know? God told him. If you have any entrepreneurial blood in your veins, usually you launch into a great adventure with bit of blind optimism about your potential experience. Jeremiah started out with these words stuck in his heart and head: "pluck up, break, destroy overthrow build and plant". God never said it would be easy. God did promise to be with him. We talk about that more later. Sometimes we wish we knew more about what lies ahead of us. Sometimes it's a blessing that we don't.

Jeremiah's calling part 2

I am continuing to consider the "calling" of Jeremiah. The second thing that I noticed about Jeremiah's calling was that the Lord provided Jeremiah with what he needed to answer God's call. In Jeremiah's case, the Lord touched his mouth and prepared him to speak God's words to the people. As I look back at "my story" of following God and answering His call, I have many examples of how God has provided what I needed in order for me to be faithful. I am fascinated by the fact that God didn't always give me what I thought I "wanted" in order to answer His call. Usually what I "wanted" was not necessary for my obedience, even though I thought it was. It seems like we would learn that we shouldn't be disappointed when we don't get what we want doesn't it? Through my experiences I believe God was helping me to learn that I envision His plan unfolding differently than He does. If I trust God, that's not a big deal. If I don't trust God than I can load up a lot of worry, wasted energy, and the list goes on.

Unique

Unique sounds so much better than different. In my last post, I mentioned the "call" of Jeremiah. One of the insights we gain from reading God's words to Jeremiah is that God knew him before he was born. Understanding the significance of that fact has breathed fresh life into my journey with God many times. I am easily frustrated with my "uniqueness". It's so easy to look at others and wish for talents or gifts that we see in them and forget that our own special design fits into God's plan for us. I'm not saying we should forget about personal development. But, too often we forget to appreciate God's workmanship and give thanks for how He known about us since before we were born. Our gratitude opens to door for us offer a "unique" gift to God...ourselves.

Measures of Success

This morning I was reading Jeremiah 1 with a group of men. The first chapter of Jeremiah has some great nuggets of truth for any follower of Christ. The chapter reveals a very personal encounter of the prophet Jeremiah and God. Most of us would describe this as Jeremiah's "call". Seveal elements of Jeremiah's call have proven true in my life. First, God knew Jeremiah before he was born. Second, God provided Jeremiah with what he needed in order to be obedient to God's call. Third, God let him know that it wouldn't be easy. Finally, God promised that Jeremiah would never have to "go it alone".

Overcoming Doubt

I have been sharing portions of "my story" in my blogs lately. My reflections on my life journey remind me of how God has helped me navigate through times of uncertainty. doubt usually grows in uncertain soil. Most often I have doubted my own ability to "get it right". This was especially true when it came to the big questions: career, vocation, calling. When I was younger, I wrestled with learning to discern God's direction. And there were some painful wrestling matches in my mind. I wanted to follow God, but I doubted whether or not I knew where He was going. Looking back, I realize the give and take of doubt and trust. Many times I wanted to know God's plan without having to grow in my trust of God's character and provision. Even though I don't pretend to have completely eradicated doubt from my life now, I have learned to cultivate my trust in God. For example, I have found it very useful to battle doubt in the following way. When I catch myself doubting, I turn my focus toward a few things that I know with certainty. I know God loves me. He always has, He always will. I know God's grace is provided for me. I know God will not cease to work "on me", "in me" and "through" me - even though I am not perfect.

Parade of Nations

I watched the opening ceremony last night as the coverage of the Olympics began in spectacular fashion. The Olympic stadium in Beijing was filled with song, dance and technological wonder. It was an incredible tribute to creation and creativity. What struck me about the display was the fact that nation after nation paraded through the stadium, scene after scene evoked wonder and awe. Yet, there was plenty of acknowledgement of the creation, but not of the Creator. My heart was drawn to Revelation 7

After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, as they shouted, "Our God, who sits upon the throne, has the power to save his people, and so does the Lamb." The angels who stood around the throne knelt in front of it with their faces to the ground. The elders and the four living creatures knelt there with them. Then they all worshiped God.

Everything we have, we have been given by a loving and powerful Creator. He not only deserves our worship, He commands it.

I am not legend

Sorry bout the length of the last blog. At least I never said I was going to make a long story short. Today, I will share another aspect of my story. It reminds me of the trend in movie making to try to build you up for a particular ending and then throw you a curve. They take great pride in the number of people who walk out of the theater with that "never saw that coming" look. Some movies/shows even have several endings that they film and then choose which one to throw out for public consumption. After the fact, they give you the other endings and let you know that it could have gone a different way. Some of the greatest moments in my life have been like that. As a result, I have learned that when fears about the future creep into my mind I am usually wasting time on things that will not materialize in the way that I think they will. Also, it seems that God has "methodically" taught me to trust that I am not very good at knowing what tomorrow will look and feel like. At the risk of sounding as though my faith is puny, God always winds up being bigger than I thought He was. I know that sounds incredulous, but it is true. Finally, I wish I had a dime for every time I have heard someone say that the world is shrinking. It's a popular phrase that aptly describes advances that allow us to travel physically and electronically with remarkable ease. That's a good thing. However, along with the shrinking world, I believe our belief in God has been shrinking. We have attempted to understand, limit, control God in ways that are impossible unless we shrink Him into a God made in our image. Big mistake.

Grace Story

Since I confessed that my view of grace is one of the greatest lessons God has taught me, I should give some examples from life of what I mean. To be sure, they are more profound to me than they will be to you. But, I will share a few stories in my next few blogs. Grace can be described in all kinds of ways. I can wax theological and spout Greek and quote all kinds of folks who are smarter than me. I would rather attempt to paint a simple picture of when grace was so real that I was captured by God's love. After living in Arizona for about 3 years Lynn and I discovered that we were going to have a baby. We were overwhelmed with joy and excitement. In the first few weeks we lived a constant "high" of anticipation. Our "high" was interrupted by a visit to the doctor and an ultrasound that revealed some concerns. Within a short time our concerns were realized and Lynn suffered a miscarriage. The best description for me is that of a roller coaster. After you climb the hill to the highest point, you plunge to the deepest valley and it all happens so rapidly. Even though a decade has passed, the plunge is still very real to me. Lynn and I were 2000 miles away from our family and we were hurting. On Wednesday night after the miscarriage Lynn was home resting and I went to our Bible study. I really didn't want to be there. I really didn't want to have to share the news. We hadn't told anyone at the church what had happened. When I walked through the door, Cecil Bledsoe met me in the small sanctuary where a few people had begun to gather. (Brother Bledsoe was a retired pastor in his eighties who was one of the first people I met when I started the church). When Cecil approached me he quickly discerned that something was wrong and put his arm around me and asked the others around to pray for Lynn and me. Cecil Bledsoe's arm was the arm of God comforting me. The small group of people at the Bible study became the comfort of God for us. The comfort that God delivered to both of us in the next few hours is hard to describe. The pain did not disappear, but we had a clear sense that whatever help we needed to make it through our pain would be provided. That day God helped define grace for me. Grace does not erase our pain. Grace does not change our past. Grace does not guarantee the absence of difficulty tomorrow, not by a long shot. My simple understanding of grace is that God will provide what I need to get through. The 23rd Psalm says that when we are in the "valley of the shadow of death", God will be there too. Grace always exists in a contrast. When Grace is present, there are always shadows. There is always a backdrop of death. For example, the Bible verse most often quoted about God's grace states that it is "by grace you are saved". Our need for salvation is a reminder that God finds us in critical need of rescue from a dire situation. But, grace is enough.

Telling my story

In response to a request for a little sharing of "my" story, I'll share some things. Be warned, if you think "Gone with the Wind" is a long movie, I'm not sure you want to hear my story. However, just like a good book is divided into many chapters, I can divide my story into a some of my more memorable chapters. In my own mind, I tend to focus on the lessons about God that I have gleaned through the experiences He has brought me through. Also, I tend to move from the general lessons to the more specific. I think of the big lessons because God has reinforced those lessons over and over and over again. They are the lessons that I have struggled to learn. At the very top of my list is my understanding of grace. My story is a story of the relentless love of God. He refused to love me less no matter what. Early in my journey I understood God's grace in terms of a one-time salvation event. At the age of 8 I confessed my need for salvation and put my faith in Jesus as my Savior. Yet, I did not begin to understand the richness and value of God's grace in daily life until much later. Grace is not merely an escape from God's judgment, it has become the "air I breathe" on a daily basis. The apprenticeship that we call "discipleship" is a two-edged sword. As we know Jesus better and are transformed by His power, we become more like Him and we realize how much more we need to change. That sounds like a recipe for a miserable life, and it would be, if it weren't for God's grace. His grace transforms what would be misery into to joy. It's like the joy an artist takes in perfecting a masterpiece. After all, we are the workmanship of God. He takes joy in changing us. I have learned to take joy in the changes He makes in me. OK, it's time for the first commercial in the movie now.