My God is a covenant-making God.
He initiates this action because He cares for me.
He is not forced into a bargaining position. He is not negotiating with me to gain something -- because there is nothing I can offer. The covenant doesn't better his position or give him leverage.
When I think about God's covenants, none of my human understandings of deal-making apply. None of the game-playing or strategizing or maneuvering are involved when God establishes a covenant with me.
God extends an offer to me. He suggests that He will take a defined set of actions; he suggests that I should take certain actions. That sounds straight-forward, doesn't it?
But this is where it gets astounding...... God keeps his part of the covenant whether I hold up my end of the bargain or not! His good actions are not contingent on me doing what I'm supposed to do.
God is faithful to his promises regardless of my reliability.
My God is not only a covenant-making God, but also a covenant-keeping God.
Amazing.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Maintenance
When you exit the parkway and turn into my neighborhood, there is a pretty entrance that features a boulevard-type center area between the opposing lanes of traffic.
For many years, the spring's first wildflowers bloomed there. Each year the crop increased, and the flowers grew more numerous. One year the blooms were extraordinarily bountiful, and I enjoyed them so much that I remarked on them to several friends.
As development in our area continued and all the vacant places in the neighborhood were replaced by residences, the homeowners along that stretch of road banded together to take better care of the common areas along the road.
No longer were there unsightly weeds in the right-of-way. Trees were planted at prescribed intervals along the way. The neighborhood's entry way took on a manicured look. Very upscale.
I appreciated the orderliness of the new maintenance activities during the summer and fall, but when spring rolled around, I realized with a start that there were no wildflowers!
The well-intentioned regularly-scheduled maintenance had eliminated the spontaneous beauty of the spring flowers. What a trade-off! I mourned the loss of those unplanned, unregimented blossoms, and I was further saddened to think that most of my neighbors were unaware of what they were missing.
Then I wondered how often we do this sort of thing. How often to we humans bustle around, taking control, taking care of everything around us, busily making things "better" -- only to "maintain" ourselves out of a blessing God has in store.
I think about my daily approach to life. I have appointments, errands, responsibilities so tightly scheduled, that there is no room for spontaneity of any sort. I imagine that if a burning bush showed up in front of me, I would probably breeze right by it on my way to my next calendar item. I wonder if the Spirit's whispering is lost in the noise of cell phone conversations.
Surely there is a way to be responsible, be productive, be efficient -- but still leave room for God to be God . . . ?
Leaving room . . . I guess that's the idea of meditation, of quiet time, of prayerful listening.
For many years, the spring's first wildflowers bloomed there. Each year the crop increased, and the flowers grew more numerous. One year the blooms were extraordinarily bountiful, and I enjoyed them so much that I remarked on them to several friends.
As development in our area continued and all the vacant places in the neighborhood were replaced by residences, the homeowners along that stretch of road banded together to take better care of the common areas along the road.
No longer were there unsightly weeds in the right-of-way. Trees were planted at prescribed intervals along the way. The neighborhood's entry way took on a manicured look. Very upscale.
I appreciated the orderliness of the new maintenance activities during the summer and fall, but when spring rolled around, I realized with a start that there were no wildflowers!
The well-intentioned regularly-scheduled maintenance had eliminated the spontaneous beauty of the spring flowers. What a trade-off! I mourned the loss of those unplanned, unregimented blossoms, and I was further saddened to think that most of my neighbors were unaware of what they were missing.
Then I wondered how often we do this sort of thing. How often to we humans bustle around, taking control, taking care of everything around us, busily making things "better" -- only to "maintain" ourselves out of a blessing God has in store.
I think about my daily approach to life. I have appointments, errands, responsibilities so tightly scheduled, that there is no room for spontaneity of any sort. I imagine that if a burning bush showed up in front of me, I would probably breeze right by it on my way to my next calendar item. I wonder if the Spirit's whispering is lost in the noise of cell phone conversations.
Surely there is a way to be responsible, be productive, be efficient -- but still leave room for God to be God . . . ?
Leaving room . . . I guess that's the idea of meditation, of quiet time, of prayerful listening.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Prayer and Time
Foundation thoughts: God created this world, with its oxygen and all kinds of food to sustain His creatures. He also created gravity for us. And He created time for us. He provided the safety of boundaries for me, and I understand the rules, the limitations of life on earth.
God exists outside of those things he made for my living environment. He's bigger than that. I am from the earliest moments a limited creature. For instance, I can't be in two places at the same time. God is outside those structures. He exists outside of time, for example, so he is not bound by the linear days/months/years that I know. God can see my entire lifespan in a single glance. I, of course, can only see it a day at a time.
Imagine this scenario: I pray for something on January 1. God answers immediately, granting my prayer and determining that the thing I've prayed for will take place November 25. I asked; He answered. It's a done deal. However, because of my limitations, I won't see His answer to my prayer for almost a year.
So here's the question: what does my mindset look like from January 1 until November 25 ?
#1 -- Do I get frustrated with God because I don't see an immediate response to my prayer? I confess that my 2008 American mindset is skewed toward immediate gratification in all areas of my life.
#2 -- Do I pray faithfully (like the widow petitioning the judge) for two weeks or six weeks or twelve weeks before I declare that the bible's teachings are a crock? After all, the Bible says that we have not because we ask not. The Bible says ask and we shall receive, knock and the door shall be opened. The Bible says pray and believe that God will answer. I often assume that the scripture implies a quick turnaround.
#3 -- Do I believe that God responds immediately, but the answer may not be visible to me until later? Practically speaking, how do we live faithfully for the eleven months until we see the hard evidence of God's faithfulness to us? This is a fundamental challenge to those of us who strive to live by faith, but are plagued by that little voice that whispers, 'you are an idiot to believe!'
On several very obvious occasions in my life I have prayed fervently to God, asking him to work his power in a situation. In one case the answer came five years later. In another case the problem was resolved seven months down the road.
In those instances, do I believe that God took no action, and things finally just worked themselves out? Do I believe that God just didn't get around to responding to my prayers until later? Or do I believe that God took action immediately on my behalf and that due to my own limitations in time, I didn't see God's work until it happened later in my life?
Perhaps this thinking sheds some light on the scripture, "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11.24)
If I believe that God always answers my prayers immediately (whether I see the answers today or years later), that changes the way I approach him, that changes the way I deal with my circumstances during the gap from January 1 until November 25.
I can KNOW that God has heard and answered my prayer. I can know that I will see God's answers bye and bye; I can "wait on the Lord." It is a lifestyle that is characterized by faith that God is powerful, keeps His promises, and works all things together for my good.
God exists outside of those things he made for my living environment. He's bigger than that. I am from the earliest moments a limited creature. For instance, I can't be in two places at the same time. God is outside those structures. He exists outside of time, for example, so he is not bound by the linear days/months/years that I know. God can see my entire lifespan in a single glance. I, of course, can only see it a day at a time.
Imagine this scenario: I pray for something on January 1. God answers immediately, granting my prayer and determining that the thing I've prayed for will take place November 25. I asked; He answered. It's a done deal. However, because of my limitations, I won't see His answer to my prayer for almost a year.
So here's the question: what does my mindset look like from January 1 until November 25 ?
#1 -- Do I get frustrated with God because I don't see an immediate response to my prayer? I confess that my 2008 American mindset is skewed toward immediate gratification in all areas of my life.
#2 -- Do I pray faithfully (like the widow petitioning the judge) for two weeks or six weeks or twelve weeks before I declare that the bible's teachings are a crock? After all, the Bible says that we have not because we ask not. The Bible says ask and we shall receive, knock and the door shall be opened. The Bible says pray and believe that God will answer. I often assume that the scripture implies a quick turnaround.
#3 -- Do I believe that God responds immediately, but the answer may not be visible to me until later? Practically speaking, how do we live faithfully for the eleven months until we see the hard evidence of God's faithfulness to us? This is a fundamental challenge to those of us who strive to live by faith, but are plagued by that little voice that whispers, 'you are an idiot to believe!'
On several very obvious occasions in my life I have prayed fervently to God, asking him to work his power in a situation. In one case the answer came five years later. In another case the problem was resolved seven months down the road.
In those instances, do I believe that God took no action, and things finally just worked themselves out? Do I believe that God just didn't get around to responding to my prayers until later? Or do I believe that God took action immediately on my behalf and that due to my own limitations in time, I didn't see God's work until it happened later in my life?
Perhaps this thinking sheds some light on the scripture, "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11.24)
If I believe that God always answers my prayers immediately (whether I see the answers today or years later), that changes the way I approach him, that changes the way I deal with my circumstances during the gap from January 1 until November 25.
I can KNOW that God has heard and answered my prayer. I can know that I will see God's answers bye and bye; I can "wait on the Lord." It is a lifestyle that is characterized by faith that God is powerful, keeps His promises, and works all things together for my good.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
An evolving congregation
A congregation is an ever-growing, ever-changing living thing.
God is constantly at work, adapting us to do His Will,
Calling us to respond to what is needed at the time.
Like the clay that the potter gently and skillfully remolds (Jer 18),
God is continually at work in us, among us, and through our church
Re-forming us to be the useful tool He needs for His current work.
Our task is not to mourn the loss of members who had a certain skill,
Our task is to discover what skills God has introduced by way of new members
Or is developing as new blessings within our present church family.
A cherished ministry runs into a dead end and can’t continue.
Do we focus on reviving it, or do we look for the open doors and
The beaconing hand showing us tomorrow’s opportunity?
Celebrating what God has done in us is always a right thing to do.
Honoring our Father for the ways He has blessed us brings glory to Him.
Remembering his tender hand and constant presence is refreshing.
But as we look back, let’s not be fixated on the shape of our history.
Let us not yearn for the past. Let us instead look to the future with joy
And invigorated faith, knowing that our God is mighty and He is able.
Our God is not the Has Been – He is and will always be the I AM.
God is constantly at work, adapting us to do His Will,
Calling us to respond to what is needed at the time.
Like the clay that the potter gently and skillfully remolds (Jer 18),
God is continually at work in us, among us, and through our church
Re-forming us to be the useful tool He needs for His current work.
Our task is not to mourn the loss of members who had a certain skill,
Our task is to discover what skills God has introduced by way of new members
Or is developing as new blessings within our present church family.
A cherished ministry runs into a dead end and can’t continue.
Do we focus on reviving it, or do we look for the open doors and
The beaconing hand showing us tomorrow’s opportunity?
Celebrating what God has done in us is always a right thing to do.
Honoring our Father for the ways He has blessed us brings glory to Him.
Remembering his tender hand and constant presence is refreshing.
But as we look back, let’s not be fixated on the shape of our history.
Let us not yearn for the past. Let us instead look to the future with joy
And invigorated faith, knowing that our God is mighty and He is able.
Our God is not the Has Been – He is and will always be the I AM.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Three-in-One
Lately I've been asking people if they have read The Shack by William P. Young.
If you haven't read it yet, I recommend it. It's a fairly quick read -- unless you stop often like I did to stare off into space.
For me, it was necessary to allow "staring time" for the cognitive processing of the big concepts being explored. There was a lot of examine: do I agree with this? do I disagree, and if I do -- do I really disagree or is it simply unfamiliar?
Perhaps my favorite part is the depiction of the three aspects of the one, holy God. I was surprised, as Mack was, when he spoke to one and the other two knew what had been said. Not a complicated concept -- but one worth contemplating a bit.
I think my discussions of the trinity have always centered on function or roles & responsibilities. I'm not sure I've thought much about the day-to-day interaction of the three.
I also loved the description of the relationship shared by God, Son, and Spirit. The easy banter, the warm approval and support, the absolute agreement was refreshing. They had no need of hierarchy, no one in charge -- because they shared the same goals, same love -- same mind.
It is an arresting picture of relationship and the triune God.
If you read the book, let's talk.
If you haven't read it yet, I recommend it. It's a fairly quick read -- unless you stop often like I did to stare off into space.
For me, it was necessary to allow "staring time" for the cognitive processing of the big concepts being explored. There was a lot of examine: do I agree with this? do I disagree, and if I do -- do I really disagree or is it simply unfamiliar?
Perhaps my favorite part is the depiction of the three aspects of the one, holy God. I was surprised, as Mack was, when he spoke to one and the other two knew what had been said. Not a complicated concept -- but one worth contemplating a bit.
I think my discussions of the trinity have always centered on function or roles & responsibilities. I'm not sure I've thought much about the day-to-day interaction of the three.
I also loved the description of the relationship shared by God, Son, and Spirit. The easy banter, the warm approval and support, the absolute agreement was refreshing. They had no need of hierarchy, no one in charge -- because they shared the same goals, same love -- same mind.
It is an arresting picture of relationship and the triune God.
If you read the book, let's talk.
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