Blessing God

“Bless the Lord, O my soul … and all that is within me …” Psalms 103:1

Audacity and capacity are issues that are triggered by this prayer as it is suggested to us.  It is audacious to think that we could somehow bless God. Yet, He has given us the capacity to be a blessing to His heart.

We bless God when we worship Him. He delights in our praises. He enjoys our singing and our words of adoration. He looks beyond the superficial and relishes our heart devotion as we come to Him.

He is blessed by our love response as we receive His love and return it to Him in obedience, faith, and love for our fellow human beings. 

We can bless God with our words, deeds, and emotions, but God is most blessed when our lives are completely engaged in love for Him – loving Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. He is blessed when we remind ourselves to bless Him and when we follow through with everything that is within us. 

What is within you today? Not all of it is positive, but when you offer it to God, He is blessed because He can take it and transform it for His own purposes. Nor is everything within you negative. You cannot be the judge of that. All you can do is commit everything within you to His glory and allow Him to sort I out. It is His holy Name that must be honored, and His holiness is all that can make our lives holy and acceptable as offerings of worship. 

In the process, He is blessed. And that is what counts.

Paternal Love

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him." - Psalm 103:13

The love of God is a tender love.

It is a father’s love.

It is a patient love, understanding, compassionate, forgiving, and gracious.

The love of God for His children moves Him to desire what is best for us, what brings us closer to Him, and what develops in us the character that is in Him.

God’s love for us as His children is consistent, persistent, and generous.

He never fails us. He is always present and always true.

Like any father, He wants His children to grow and mature. He wants us to make good and wise choices and honor our family name. He offers us His support, guidance, and correction to that end.

God’s love is real. For that reason, it is sometimes a tough love, a love that can say “no” and mean it, but a love that delights in every opportunity to say, “YES!”

God, our Father, rejoices with us, weeps with us, and loves us even when we are unlovable.

That is because we are never unlovable to Him.

Mostly, God, our tender, loving Father carries us on His shoulders and lifts us so that we might become more, through Him, than we could ever imagine on our own.

Days as Grass

“As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.” – Psalm 103:15

For our season, whatever it may be, we flourish. Then comes the wind and we are gone. Soon, the very memory of our lives fades from the consciousness of our successors and we are thought of no more.

Such a thought might be deemed depressing were it the whole story.

The rest of the story teaches us that from everlasting to everlasting, God’s love is a constant toward us. His covenant people are never forgotten.

It goes on to tell us that God’s throne is never abandoned and that He rules over all.

He it is, according to Psalm 103, who forgives all our sin.

It is He who heals our diseases. Not one of them disappears apart from His wise intervention or creative genius.

He redeems our lives, crowns us love and compassion, satisfies, renews, and administers justice.

How comfortable it would be for us to remain as a grassy flowering meadow, but that is not the way of life. We come and go. Soon we will fade.

Our privilege and responsibility is to bloom in every place we are planted for as long as it is springtime in our lives. It is to be as inwardly beautiful for God as we can be for as many days as we can and to move through the seasons of life with grace and trust.

We may not always be green, but we shall always be loved.

 

Senator Feinstein's Passing

There is a downside to stubbornness, and it is noted in a Los Angele Times editorial this morning on Senator Dianne Feinstein by Mark Z. Barabak.

Of course, there comes a time to let go, but that sometimes takes the strength of youth and a perspective from outside of ourselves

But, Barabak also notes this:

"There was another, more admirable side to that stubbornness and refusal to quit: A ramrod determination and unsinking resilience that girded Feinstein through a lifetime filled with maelstrom."

"A nightmarishly abusive childhood. Widowhood at a relatively young age. A recall effort. An attempted assassination. Failed tries at office and a political career headed to an unremarkable end until, in a blink, it wasn't."

"Feinstein had planned on quitting politics on the November 1978 day that San Francisco Mayor George Moscone was shot and killed along with Harvey Milk, her colleague on the board of supervisors. As board president, Feinstein assumed the job she had twice failed to capture on her own."

I spell that quality three ways: "courage," "duty," and "service."

I had dinner with her and her husband one night in the nineties as I gave the invocation at a political banquet. She was charming, intellectual, affirming, a great listener, sincere, and appreciative of my prayer in which I inserted some gospel.

From the day she stood to bring her city from a profound crisis, I have been an admirer.

I did hope she would quit sooner and enjoy her final days in peace, but not all things are for me to decide. I will remember listening in on her conversation with other leaders around a table in San Jose in 19-something-or-another ... and will do so with a smile.

Private and Unedited

 

 

Your private prayers do not have to be theologically correct. They need to be honest and open to God to straighten out your theology.

Perhaps public prayer in a leadership function needs to be a bit more refined because we are leading the people in prayer. But this is a private heart prayer that the psalmist prays. It just gets public exposure.

In one of his better moments, King David had some insight into how to handle criticism:

Be not silent, O God of my praise!
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer."
- Psalm 109:1-4 ESV

Then, he goes downhill a bit and starts praying curses on his enemies.

But then, he comes back to his own feelings. He is being honest with God about how he feels.

He puts his enemies in God's hands Who is a whole lot more merciful than he knows and he ends on a positive note:

" With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng."
-Psalm 109:30 ESV

If My People

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  - II Chronicles 7:14

It is always difficult to take the admonitions of God to the nation of Israel and make direct application to contemporary peoples. That is because there are no God-ordained theocracies in the world today.

The world has a tragic track history with nationalism. It almost always leads to abuse and oppression.

Even modern Israel is multi-cultural, secular, and eclectic in its religious views.

Nevertheless, all nations are a part of God's purpose and promised blessing (Genesis 12:3, Psalm 22:27, Psalm 72:11&17). All nations are likewise subject to judgment (Isaiah 40:17). In Matthew 25, we are told the primary basis of that judgment - how nations respond to the poor and powerless.

God's people remain scattered throughout the globe - wherever they are called by God's name.

So, for nations and individuals, there is a blessing available - a conditional blessing.

The first requirement to which the promise is attached is humility. Humility is the first characteristic of strong leadership - among people or among nations. Humility before God and others enables us to walk under God's watchful gaze and alongside our fellow human beings. Humility precludes chauvinism. It discourages imperialism. It condemns pride.

Humble leaders do not need to justify their every deed, but can admit failures. Humble nations can strengthen their standing by doing the same.

The greater the nation, leader, or organization, the greater the need for humility.

The second requirement for the blessing is to pray. The sort of prayer that we need is not the sort that exalts us or boasts or impresses listeners with our eloquence. It is needy prayer, humble prayer, listening prayer, and loving prayer. It is honest. It is seeking. It is prayer without agenda. It is prayer that asks God what we must do. It is prayer that extends our concern to friend and enemy alike.

That leads to the third requirement - seeking the face of God. To seek the face of God implies that we have not grasped a complete vision of God already. The revealed truth we have received is sufficient to save, but not to suspend our seeking. To seek God's face is not to seek information about God, but to seek God Himself with awe, wonder, and childlike readiness to receive.

The fourth requirement is to turn from our wicked ways. It is no sign of strength, power or righteousness to assert we have no wicked ways in our lives or in our nations. Pride weakens us. Self-righteousness stifles our potential for growth. God is not looking for PR people as leaders. He is looking for people who are willing to look at their choices and change if necessary.

Those four requirements have been recited, amplified, and subjected to exegesis until we can hear them without being moved. We have heard them so many times that we have built up walls of resistance around our favorite sins and defined what other people ought to do to comply.

They are always about someone else.

Like a much maligned preacher in the news during the presidential election, our most fundamentalist preachers have all said, "God damn America." They have. I have heard them. Most white conservatives have said, "Amen" as long as it was other people's sins that were being condemned. No one accused those preachers of being anti-American.

But when a descendant of slaves dared to suggest that racism, blind nationalism, and greed were among our national sins to which we had to give account to God, the critics went wild.

The same message with a different application got different responses.

The truth is that God still dislikes all the "traditional" sins, but He also has issues with those that seldom make the list - those in which nice people participate.

We are expected by God, as individuals and as nations, to behave ethically, morally, compassionately, fairly, cooperatively, and righteously. We are expected to live by Matthew 25:31-46 as nations and the Sermon on the Mount as individuals.

Is there someone out there who wants to argue that America and American Christians have done so flawlessly in recent decades?

I would like to hear that case. The political right and the political left in America both agree that it is not true. They both agree that we have embraced wicked ways.

They just have different lists of wicked ways.

Is America good?

America is great! I love America. I love the Constitution and the people of America. I love the Republicans, the Democrats, and the independents that balance out each others' craziness.

Is America perfect, sinless, and innocent of innocent blood?

No. No nation is.

Are others worse?

Maybe some are, but we can't do their repenting for them. We are only responsible for our own repentance.

You can't point at your neighbor down the street when God calls you to turn from your wicked ways.

We cannot do so nationally either.

Nor can we frame our foreign policies simply around our own selfish interests and call that "Christian."

I am writing to Christians here. I don't expect anyone else to buy into my presuppositions blindly. This is about our consciences. It is about the stewardship of our influence.

There has not been a national party platform in this country in 30 years that should not have given Jesus' followers a great deal of heartburn.

But we pick a horse and run with it because we have not been called to isolate ourselves.

Can we have national repentance?

Perhaps to some extent - but for certain, we can repent and turn from our own wicked ways. Again, your list may differ from that of other fine believers, but you have to work on those things about which the Spirit convicts you.

The benefits are impressive.

In the first place, God says He will hear.

In the second place, He promises to forgive. Unlike humans, God does that quickly and without hesitation.

In the third place, He promises to heal our lands.

And we need healing.

These are days of sinful bickering, disrespect, incivility, disregard for life, unbridled anger, bitter divisiveness, euphoric drunkenness,  moral ambiguity, sexual manipulation, greed, lack of compassion, disregard for the poor, bigotry, bullish power grabbing, broken boundaries, coldness, hardheartedness, slander, self-centered self-promotion, stubbornness, corruption, and deep need.

Somehow, I believe that if the leaders of our nation would get off of their political platforms, forget the colors of their states, turn off their cell phones, forget about polls, stop calling each other names, quit demonizing each other, and listen to each other and to God, it would be a step in the right direction.

If they would cultivate humility, they could learn to pray. If they would pray, they would seek God's face (and be very surprised at what they found). If they would seek God's face they would want to turn from many of our nation's wicked ways.

We can wait for that ... or we can do it ourselves.

How to Outsmart Your Enemies

Psalm 119, Mem

Oh, how I love your law! *

all the day long it is in my mind.

Your commandment has made me wiser than my enemies, *

and it is always with me.

I have more understanding than all my teachers, *

for your decrees are my study.

I am wiser than the elders, *

because I observe your commandments.

I restrain my feet from every evil way, *

that I may keep your word.

I do not shrink from your judgments, *

because you yourself have taught me.

How sweet are your words to my taste! *

they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.

Through your commandments I gain understanding; *

therefore I hate every lying way.

 

Room for Improvement

We can all do so much better about so many things in so many ways.

Some thoughts from here and there about room we can find for improvement.

A Prayer of Love

 

A Prayer for Love to the Lord of Love

Art: "God the Father" by Cima da Conegliano, circa, 1515
--------------------------------
I am weak, Lord.

I am lowly.

I bring nothing in my hands. I offer no credentials, no reputation, no resume worth reading.

My track record is checkered. My focus is scattered. My mind is here and there and everywhere. I am easily distracted and frequently tested to the core.

Yet, God, you are my God.

Yet, God, you love me, value me, invest in me, and show grace and mercy to me daily.

I am unworthy. You are worthy.

All my value is that you regard me.

Why, oh why?

It does not matter why because You are the Why of all things and of my existence and You have engraved Your love into the fabric of the universe.

Your love, Oh LORD, is the only true reality, standard, and truth that bleeds through all of our opinions about ourselves and others.

Your wrath is against all that is not love. Why then, if I am not judged, can I ever stand in judgment against my neighbor?

I shall not.

He and she are Yours. You see in them that which is precious even as You see something precious in me.

Give me glimpses today of the wonder in my neighbors eyes and the love in his or her heart that I may view my neighbor through the lenses of Your redemptive and reconciling grace and lay all of my prejudices and agendas aside.

And may my neighbor join me in this cause and his neighbor and her neighbor.

I pray this, as the only solution to our divisions in the Name of Jesus who divided us in order to unite us, who showed us hard truth in order to reconcile us to Himself and to one another, who bore all pain, sin, and alienation upon Himself in order to introduce us to You as Your long lost children who have come home.

Give us the heart of the prodigal's father.

Give us Your heart and the heart of Jesus, Your Son. Amen.

If We Practiced

Robert Fulghum wrote, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" and he was right.

The core lessons of life were learned there.

These were my classmates in that early school of life. Those I have kept in touch with have done well. They have made the world a better place.

What if we practiced?

"Share everything."

"Play fair."

"Don’t hit people."

"Put things back where you found them."

"Clean up your own mess."

"Don’t take things that aren’t yours."

"Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody."

"Wash your hands before you eat."

"Flush."

"Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you."

"Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some."

"Take a nap every afternoon."

"When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together."

"Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that."

"Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup—they all die. So do we."

"And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned—the biggest word of all—LOOK."

"Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living."

"Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. "Think what a better world it would be if we all—the whole world—had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess."

"And it is still true, no matter how old you are—when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."

Robert Fulghum wrote, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" and he was right.

The core lessons of life were learned there.

These were my classmates in that early school of life. Those I have kept in touch with have done well. They have made the world a better place.

What if we practiced?

"Share everything."

"Play fair."

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup—they all die. So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned—the biggest word of all—LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. "Think what a better world it would be if we all—the whole world—had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess."

"And it is still true, no matter how old you are—when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."

Robert Fulghum wrote, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" and he was right.

The core lessons of life were learned there.

These were my classmates in that early school of life. Those I have kept in touch with have done well. They have made the world a better place.

What if we practiced?

"Share everything."

"Play fair."

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup—they all die. So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned—the biggest word of all—LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. "Think what a better world it would be if we all—the whole world—had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess."

"And it is still true, no matter how old you are—when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."

What if we practiced?

Isn't that how we learned these things in the first place?

Someone told us, modeled the behaviors and attitudes, and then, gave us feedback.

Practice may not make perfect, but it tends to make things permanent. The earlier we start, the better and easier it is, but, it is never too late to learn new skills and ways of thinking.

We are all in kindergarten in one way or another.

I Must

Urgency

 "And he said unto them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.'" - Luke 4:43 

The phrase, “I must” appears 16 times in the King James Version of the Bible. Jesus said, “I must preach” in Luke 4, “I must walk …” in Luke 13:33, and “I must be about my Father’s business” in Luke 2:29.

John the Baptist said,

“He must increase and I must decrease “  -John 3:30

These were driven by something greater than the urgency of the moment. Urgency is a poor substitute for purpose and priority. When we establish an understanding of what is truly important based upon God’s abiding principles and mission, we need to stick with it. The reality is that the moment we prioritize our ministries, diversions will emerge, distractions will appear, and urgency will shout in our ears, “Stop and take care of me NOW!”

We need to be able to say “no” to urgency any time it steps outside the boundaries of our priorities as given to us by God. Yes, there will be emergencies that must be faced as they arise. There will be extraneous details that must be handled. The problem arises when every urgent matter presents itself with the same emergency motif and both ministry and the spiritual life become one great series of emergencies. We have fire departments to put out fires.

What is your focus? Make sure it receives a prominent place on your calendar and that you do your best to follow your calendar. Leave time for incidentals. Leave cushion for emergencies. Live by grace because you won’t meet all of your goals. But, know this, if you heed every urgent cry, you will meet none of them because your life will be controlled by something far less than your God-given priorities.

Live on purpose, directed by God’s master plan for your life.

"God Made Me Do It!"

There is a biblical admonition to pray, seek God's face, and turn from wicked ways.

There is no disputing that this is a mandate for those who are "called by God's name."

So, believers must comply in order to be consistent.

This often raises eyebrows and blood pressure for my non-believing friends - and perhaps, rightly so.

That is because they advocate transparent decision making processes in public life that are subject to scrutiny and visibility.

The assumption is that if a leader seeks divine guidance, that instructions will come that are not subject to that sort of public evaluation and accountability. They wonder if the person seeking God will claim some sort of personal revelation from God that is contrary to logic and ethics.

There is a short answer to that from the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 14:32. It is binding upon Christians and potentially comforting to those who are not Christians:

"The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets."

Paul was dealing with the same dangers at the local church level in Corinth. People were saying things like, "God told me," "God told me to tell you," and, "The Holy Spirit MADE me do it."

They thought that would excuse them from all sorts of misbehavior, rudeness, and lapses of good sense.

Public people who seek God and follow Jesus are bound by the law of love and expected to exercise good sense whatever they perceive God saying to them. They are required to operate within the laws and social contracts of society.

They are subject to public scrutiny. Their devotions and prayers in private are to provide them grounding, clear their minds, reinforce their values, and provide insights. There is no magic here and no free pass to act badly.

I can't speak for all believers, but I believe that there is adequate permission in the scriptures for society to hold their leaders accountable for the actions even if those leaders base their decisions on insights they received in prayer.

No one in this world operates in a vacuum. Every human being cultivates an inner life that helps guide him or her in the process of decision making. Everyone needs to quiet his or her soul to think and act clearly. For the Christian, that happens in prayer.

There is a very funny video in circulation that claims, as evidence that God does not answer prayer, the testimony of a former leader that he prayed daily for guidance. It is funny, but flawed. The bases of decision making for Christians are not mysterious. Guidance is filtered through our human minds and ethical sign posts. Our spirits are subject to our selves.

Relax. If we truly pray, seek, and repent, the world will be a better place for you as well and God will never lead us to trample upon your dignity - not the God I know in Jesus Christ.

If we do that, blame us. It was our call.

Whiners and Winners

 

When Pain Is Kindly

Have you ever said, "I had to pinch myself," because you wondered if you were really alive, awake, or experiencing what you were seeing or hearing?

One of the closest cognitive experiences we have to mimic death might be anesthesia. Apart from the reality of the spiritual realm our brains do not record pain, pleasure, or any other sensation.

After experiencing and learning to cope with bouts of severe pain, I came to appreciate the quote below:

"Pain is a kindly, hopeful thing, a certain proof of life, a clear assurance that all is not yet over, that there is still a chance. But if your heart has no pain -- well, that may betoken health, as you suppose: but are you certain that it does not mean that your soul is dead?" - Arthur John (A. J.) Gossip

Heh, You!

Meditations on Psalm 119:33-40

Is God Getting Our Attention?

Verse by Verse, 33-40

Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.

I call this seeking teaching with a bias. The bias is that we intend to practice what we are taught.

How does such a bias affect our ability to learn?

Why do we need to be taught such things?

Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

Now he prays for understanding so that he can take obedience to the next level – namely heart engagement.

Have you ever been reluctantly compliant with God or anyone else? What was that like? How is this way better?

What does this teach us about how we teach and lead people?

Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.

Consider the idea of God’s commands as a path rather than merely a set of codes. David found great delight in them and in the path itself. But he needs help and seeks it.

What is the path like?

What are the delights?

In what ways do we need direction and why if there is such delight?

How can we help other people experience the sheer delight of walking in the path of His commands?

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

The psalmist knows that these are two entirely different sets of motivation. We can be highly motivated by a desire for selfish gain. It is viscerally satisfying. One is the path of delight and the other is the path of “covetousness” (KJV).

How does God turn our hearts?

What difference does it make in our approach toward scripture?

 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.

Now he gets specific. The things we covet are worthless and life-draining. The things of God are worthwhile and life-enhancing.

When and how did you realize the truth of this?

Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.

Two possible translations exist: One is that fear is the cause and the other that it is the effect.

In what ways are God’s promises related to fear of God?

Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.

What do you dread? How do the fear of God and promises of God take it away?.

How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness

The Power of a Prior Commitment - 33-37

“Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.  Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.”  -Psalm 119:33-37

If you want to see God’s Word, come alive in your heart, decide ahead of time to obey whatever it says, prior to even knowing what that is.

It will be like approaching a tree filled with gifts on Christmas, knowing that there is something for you there, but not knowing exactly what it is. Your heart is filled with excitement and wonder. You know you will love it. You can’t wait to find out what it is.

It is like waiting for the birth of a child. You already love him having never laid eyes on him. You are absolutely committed to years of child rearing without seeing his face or knowing his disposition. It is a prior commitment, and it empowers your seeking and inflames your heart.

“Teach me,” is the great prayer here. “I shall keep,” is the promise of prior commitment.

It is followed by a heartfelt petition that could be paraphrased this way, “Now that I have promised to keep your Word, observe it with my whole heart, and delight in all of your commands, HELP ME!”

He prays for a heart that is inclined toward God’s will, eyes that do not focus on vanity, and quickening energy to keep on keeping on.

Prior commitment does not mean that you have all the resources already to do what you are promising. It means that you intend to do so, without even knowing what God will require, and that you trust Him for the ability to keep your promise.

Read the Bible that way and see what a difference it makes.

How do we help create and encourage this longing in ourselves and others?

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Here is another great insight:

 

 

Secret Wisdom and Hidden Glories

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory … But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him.” – I Corinthians 2:6 and 9

The hidden wisdom of God, revealed in Jesus and discerned by spiritual people, is offered to those for whom it is prepared. It is the wonder of God’s purposes and glory. It is shared on a “need-to-know” basis, as we need to know.

And what we do know is that there is much that we cannot know.

We have a glimpse if we have gained it through spiritual sight. We have the down-payment of the Spirit. We are gladdened by promises from God personally. But still, we see through a glass darkly. Only dim reflections illumine our insight into eternity for yet, it is still far beyond us, above us, and other than us.

It is not that God does not want us to know or desires for us to remain in the dark; it is that we simply cannot receive the fullness of this knowledge while confined to time, space, and physical body. That is why what relatively little we know comes by other than intellectual receptors. In the meantime, God is preparing us for the day when we can know perfectly as we are known.

There is coming a time when all the secrets will be revealed. In that day, in a finite immeasurable moment, our eyes will be opened, and we shall be eternally with the Lord. Whatever we imagined about God and eternity, Heaven and glory in this life will not compare to what the LORD has purposed to share with us.

Oh wondrous, glorious, mystery and bliss,

By grace, the moment we shall not miss,

Beyond the veil of time and space

When by God’s side we take our place.

Author of Confusion

I saw a church board that declared that Satan is the author of confusion. I assume that comes from 1 Corinthians 14:33

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."

However, the premise that confusion is always the role of the adversary/accuser is as faulty as the avoidance of the context of that verse.

What we call confusion may result from wonder in the face of the unknown and unfathomable. It may be a necessary step on the road to peace that passes understanding. It may be part of the tension that is resolved in faith.

What the pastor was advertising was, "Show up here and we will hand you all the answers on a silver platter with 3-4 easy steps."

That does not seem to be the way of God through confusion to peace.

How unlike the way Jesus taught when he presented a conundrum and then challenged the hearers to go and think and pray about it.

There is no confusion in that or about that.

 

Welcoming Grace

 

Living Graciously

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.” – Matthew 18:21-23,

The problem with this man was that he sought mercy but refused to live by grace. When he was in need of mercy for the forgiveness of his own debt and grace to live as a free man, he received it. He promptly forgot what it was like to be a debtor in great peril. He proudly lifted his head above his fellows and used his newfound liberation as an opportunity to enrich himself by collecting from those who owed him.

To close our hearts to another person in need is to build a barrier that will exclude God’s grace. When we grow cold to those in our debt, we freeze out the warmth of God’s love from our own lives. We choose to live as debtors again for we place ourselves under the law. For the Christian, this makes no sense whatsoever.

Not to forgive another is to reject forgiveness for an unforgiving heart is rooted in arrogant pride.

If our hearts are touched by grace and we allow that grace to transform us, we will become gracious.  The ungracious servant demonstrated that he was still living under the law and thus could only receive what the law demanded.

He rejected grace in his own life.  He never grasped the reality that His master’s forgiveness was not because of his position, abilities, or essential goodness, but flowed from the character of the giver.

This ignorance became plain when he dealt with the one who owed him a great debt. His harshness boomeranged back to him because it was the rule of his life.

We do not receive good gifts from God based upon our performance or just deserts.  As we have received grace, let us, with open-handed love, be gracious to others.  If this comes with great effort to us, let us revisit our salvation experience come to a deeper experience of God’s grace.

When we understand that, it will be reflected in all our relations.

Encouraged by One

One Word

How is it that a small word or two of encouragement can make all the difference in a person's day?

One compliment can turn the tide for another person's day or week.

One blessing softly and sincerely spoken can lift a downtrodden spirit.

A brief prayer can evoke the release of a flood tide of emotion cleansing the soul of a broken life.

One "You can do it" can be heard and acted upon to catalyze change in an entire community or world.

One hand placed gently and firmly on a shoulder can transfer courage and strength.

One compassionate gaze into the eye of a lonely heart struggling to express what is hidden deeply inside can bring relief and hope.

One word or two. That is all it takes.

One moment of caring.

One pause to refresh another.

It costs us so little and gives so much.

One Face

How we see and treat others may depend upon how we see God.  That will also determine how we see ourselves. Our vision of God, growing out of scriptures, prayer, and experience, shaped and refines our view of all things and of all people.

Prayer does not change God, but changes the person who prays.
— Søren Kierkegaard

There is a vision of God and humanity that emerges from encounter with God and a view of God in the face of Jesus.

Do you see a mean spirited, angry God?
Well, I've met God and He looks like Jesus.
He stared into my eyes with love and forgiveness.
Exact representation

One Cross

Our symbols shape our view and they encourage us to shape our lives around their meaning. The cross is such a symbol, but it must be more than a symbol.

My friend got me thinking about something.

There are lots of protests for and against the cross as a symbol of Christianity being displayed in public places - as a symbol, or even as a decoration. It made me think

Jim's excellent question was, "Just where is the cross lately?"

My musing answer was, "Hopefully, it is on our shoulders. I think we sometimes think the cross is a symbol or a decoration rather than something we are called to take up daily and bear --- that it is always bearing, as did Jesus, the burdens of others. I suspect that if all Jesus followers would do that .... well, you can finish the sentence ."

So, I am going with this thought. If all the symbols came down and all the decorations disappeared, would the cross still be visible in America?

Would Jesus followers bear it into the streets of our cities? Into hospital rooms? Into jails and homeless shelters? Into homes and workplaces? Would it be visible in our selfless services? In our willingness to suffer? In our willingness to forgive? In Our love for people that Jesus loves?

The right to display the cross is not in the hands of any government or anyone outside of ourselves. the display of the cross in entirely on the shoulders of believers who decide to bear it upon their shoulders.
Are we taking up our crosses daily and going on display?

Just thinking ... and praying...

And asking myself as well.

One Fearless Dude

We choose our heroes and villains based upon their personal charisma or our deepest values. They either encourage us to be our best or satisfy our desire to be affirmed for what is worst about us.

In September of 1419, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy is assassinated by adherents of the Dauphin, the future Charles VII of France.

What might have happened if he had been less fearless?

He has been called, "A rash, ruthless and unscrupulous politician."

He was actually involved in negotiations for an alliance with Charles.

This sort of thing happens when you are at war for 100 years.

I am sure they all thought it was perfectly logical.

I stand too far back in history to be able to judge the man or his legacy, but here are two heroes in whom I find encourag3ement:

One Witness

“You will know as much of God, and only as much of God, as you are willing to put into practice.”
― Eric Liddell

The Urgent Now

This Thing Called the Church

Tidbits that Somehow Fit

I suspect that no thinking is entirely random. Given that comforting suspicion, I will piece together these tidbits with high expectations.

If you are a high profile person, every flaw, mistake, misstep, unguarded moment, poor decision, or hasty word originating with you is public property and open to public scrutiny and exaggeration.

How would your story read in tomorrow's New York Times?

The remarkable thing is how some people come out looking pretty good in the balance.

In a world of instant information, it is so easy to miscommunicate or misunderstand.

A bit off-topic, but, important to note:

September 9, 1850 – California is admitted as the thirty-first U.S. state.

It is not incidental that gold had been discovered the year before.

As the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition say (#102),

"Nature decays, but latinum lasts forever."

Some things may sound alike, but they are not alike. Other things may look alike, but are also, not alike. Alikeness and likeness are actually more alike that many things.

Homophones are not a sexual orientation and proteins are not advocates for young people.

But we do need booth.

Speaking of misunderstanding basic communication:

 

Good communication and great understanding begin in the silence of our souls where the wisest voices can be heard uninterrupted.

"Learn to get in touch with the silence within and know that everything in this life has a purpose."-Elisabeth Kübler Ross

Proverbs 22:1 - "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold."

 

We have no control over what people think or say about us, but we do have control of the honest information they receive from our own behaviors and words.

 

We have control over our own decisions and choices.

 

We control our motivation.

 

If gold and silver are what ultimately control and motivate our choices, that will also ultimately be our reputation.

 

If integrity drives us, that will also show forth.

 

Tolstoy, like any writer, strove to be understood, at least on some level. He found out it was hard work being a creative mind. He required discipline and imposed it upon himself.

 

There are his 17 rules. Guess which one raises an eyebrow? I am not sure how he found the reconciliation with 7,15, and 16.

• Wake at five o’clock
• Go to bed no later than ten o’clock
• Two hours permissible for sleeping during the day
• Eat moderately
• Avoid sweet foods
• Walk for an hour every day
• Carry out everything he prescribed for himself
• Visit a brothel only twice a month
• Love those to whom he could be of service
• Disregard all public opinion not based on reason
• Love those to whom he could be of service
• Only do one thing at a time
• Disallow flights of imagination unless necessary
• Never to show emotion
• Stop caring about other people’s opinion of himself
• Do good things inconspicuously
• Keep away from women
• Suppress lust by working hard
• Help those less fortunate

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." - Leo Tolstoy

Did you ever wonder how we got some of our most common communication tools? I mean words.

 

Is this true?

Pathology - The study of trails.

------------------------------------------

On this day in the year 1000 AD, King Olaf of Norway died. You needed to know that

 

 

 

No Fainting

 

We have to get from fainting away in unfulfilled longing to exhilarating praise

 

It does not come with a finger snap, but it may come with a good night's sleep and a movement from one verse to the next.

 

We look upon God. We behold. We experience His unfailing love. We praise.

 

Keep moving through those verses and living them.

 

" 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."

Psalm 63:1-4 ESV

 

Thirst (1886), by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

 

Deeper Empathy

You can live through the same times and circumstances and come through with entirely different stories.

Not everyone experiences the past the same way.

One person's celebration is another person's misery.

The myopic soul will dismiss that insight or just pass over. Followers of the Way cannot, in good conscience do so.

The Way of Jesus calls us to deeper empathy with the pain of others.

Still, we can choose our perspective.

Empty handed, I come,
Cold hearted,
Weak willed Godward,
Stubborn selfward
Humbled by life
Broken against the rocks
Beaten by the waves
All my baragaining chips fell out in the fall
All my good excuses used before
Rubber necked, I cannot lift my head
Wobbly knees, hard to kneel
I fall
I fall down on my face
I bring nothing
Just me
Not much
Have mercy, Lord.

 

"Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also."  - Carl Jung

Six Years Ag0. I Observed:

Fact-Checking 101

 

Credit and Thanks to https://thelogicofscience.com/

 

How do we fact check?

 

1. Check reliable sources who are monitored by reliable sources who use primary sources.

 

2. Then check their admitted presuppositions.

 

3. then check all their sources.

 

4. Then check your own presuppositions.

 

5. Then, be prepared for someone to check you.

 

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.” @TheZigZiglar

 

 

"The person with the loudest voice doesn't always have the best ideas." - Eleanore Strong

Some Oservations on Our Humanity

There is a cliché floating around where it has been floating for decades:

 

Man's Inhumanity to Man

 

Obviously, it needs to updated to eliminate gender bias because inhumanity crosses all gender lines and ethnic and social divides.

 

Someone told me they were really tired of reading all the bad news in the papers and online.

 

So, I told them to go out and make better news for someone to report.

 

If you don't like the world as it is, change it!

 

We have seen the best and the worst in humanity, but we have never seen the best that we can be.

 

__________________________

 

Anyone who doubts my optimism about living a long life should take a look at the dates on my mortgage.

__________________________

 

How much failure did you predict in your life? How much did He predict? More than you think. How much does he forgive? More than you think.

 

" And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept." - Mark 14:72 ESV

__________________________

 

"It is this simple: if I never try anything, I never learn anything." ~Hugh Prather

__________________________

 

On this day in 1939 – Adolf Hitler signs an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people.

 

We must never forget the atrocities that human beings are capable of inflicting upon other thinking, feeling, vulnerable human beings in the service of what they consider a "higher cause."

We must grow in grace.

We must grow in the depth of our spiritual and emotional sensitivity to others.

We must grow in empathy.

We must grow to know and reflect the heart of God.

We must become more human in the truest sense of humanity.

Our maturing relationship with eternity and humanity in humility is necessary for avoiding the travesties and atrocities for which humans have been responsible.

Pause.

P - Pursue something deeper for a moment than your own survival or gratification.

A - Acknowledge that there is a reality beyond our own.

U - Understand something of your own pain and reflect upon the reality that your pain connects you to the pain of the world.

S - Sympathize, for a moment, with the hurts of someone who is not like you, not of your tribe, and not of your persuasion.

E - Enter into another person life, experience, joy, sorrow, and struggle for long enough that it causes you discomfort.

Pause and connect. Pause and pray. Pause and deepen your understanding. Pause and rescue the world a little from a rapid decline into debauchery.

__________________________

There are better examples of humanity.

 

On this day in 1173 – The widow Stamira sacrifices herself in order to raise the siege of Ancona by the forces of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Her city was under siege. A barrel of pitch was rolled out to the enemy lines where their armaments were. It was too dangerous to light it, however, and no one dared venture for, except one widow. She did so and was consumed in the process.

Her act of bravery and sacrifice bought her city enough time to survive the siege until help arrived.

Read more here: https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095501/http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/ancona.htm

 

__________________________

 

On this day in 1532 we were reminded to leave this final evaluation of our fortunes to the day of outcomes – Lady Anne Boleyn is made Marquess of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII of England.

 

__________________________

 

It is nice to know that I need not always be right... since I am often not.

__________________________

 

__________________________

 

The 4 responses to injustice as we seek & work for Shalom:

 

• compassion

• development

• advocacy & organizing

• presence & intervention"

 

- Nikki Toyama-Szeto

 

 

Hebrews 13:3 - Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

 

__________________________

 

Where Do We Connect with the Best Possibilities of Our Humanity?

 

Job asks,

"Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as humans see?" -Job 10:4

The answer is embedded in the message of the Incarnation.

Yes. God enters into our perspective to see, feel, and experience our experiences.

He is transcended, immanent, present, knowing, and caring.

Let's start a conversation with God about becoming more human.