Love the Right Way

I think it’s possible to love the wrong way. My intentions can show that I might put a limit on how far or how much love I might give. They can tell me if I’ve mistaken love for something else, or if I’ve ignored it for shameful reasons. That’s loving all wrong. But ”the lips of the righteous know what is acceptable” (Psalm 10:32).

Loving the right way doesn’t come with butterflies. It doesn’t come with an A+ or a round of applause. You don’t always get a feeling or a voice in the night. Loving the right way is patient, it’s righteous, godly, and it takes your whole being. Loving the right way takes practice. And it’s not easy. It speaks through everything you do. It brings you closer to God, to His glory, to His people. And it will always return.

1 Corinthians 13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity sufferth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth (boasts) not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. ~~~

David and Bath Mats

 (David)                    (bath mat)

I was reading 1 Samuel 22 earlier this week thanks to a little Bible study that makes reading a little less daunting. 1 Samuel has been pretty interesting. To begin, you have a man who is clearly set out to be God’s prophet since his birth from an infertile woman, Samuel. God moves in the characters in a very obvious way. Later, God will answer the Israelite’s pleas by giving them a king who will blatantly go against explicit commands in war. And He will still answer. 

But one of the things I found pretty interesting as of late is the character of David before he takes the throne. Saul has already proven himself ineffective, and Samuel has anointed David as God’s next chosen king. Before David can have this right, he has to wait for Saul’s death. Saul, the guy who David would play music for to calm his headaches. Saul, the guy who has thrown spears at David in broad daylight to kill him. He’s the same guy who allowed David to fight a giant after seeing God’s heart in the boy. No wonder we see such a conflicted David in the Psalms - content in one scene, then angry and confused at God in another. He’s had poor emotional leadership to follow.    

Anyway, God allowed David to spend time waiting for his promise as king. He had to run away, even hide his family while waiting for Saul’s anger to calm down and the time when he would finally take the throne. Like Moses, Abraham, Noah, all the patriarchs of the Bible, David had some serious waiting to do. What did he do in the meantime?

He fought. The man who protected his sheep from lions and decapitated a giant was fighting to protect his people while waiting for God’s promise to come to fruition. He physically fought against tribes: the Geshurites, Gezrites, Amalekites (1 Samuel 27:8). He didn’t slow down or back away. He literally fought the good fight. He sought God’s wisdom, and David waited for his answers actively.

Application? If we want to live according to God’s plan, we’ve got to wait. And, we’ve got to be active. Actually moving around and seeing this life as a blessing from God requires me to fight against everything that says it’s not.

Turn the page. So what have I been actively doing? Watching HGTV. Yeah, home decorating, home buying, home selling, home renovating, houses, houses, and more houses. I watched how you can completely change the style of your living room with just a few dollars by sewing bath mats together to make a floor rug. Do you know what it looked like? Like bath mats sewn together to make a floor rug…

What are we actively doing with our lives? Two completely different cultures - one of kings and prophets, one of a Do-It-Yourself economy - yet we have the same promise: God is with us and shows himself in amazing ways for those who will wait on Him. Actively fight the good fight. I got rid of my remote control (not because I had the brilliant idea), but I’ve gotten off of my bed and I’m not just getting up to change stations. We are expected to be deliberate in our decisions, in our actions, in what we say and don’t say, what we do and don’t do. I’m getting up and seeing how God looks when I wait on Him and commit to fighting those concepts that sneak in and tell me that waiting isn’t worthwhile.

Prone to Wander

(wander like a giraffe? I don’t know, just went to the zoo and wanted to post a picture…)

God is so good. You know? There’s no comparison to the beauty He gives and the love He has. Even though we are so conflicted and confused and have so many questions, He’s still there. He still allows the sun to shine, allows the birds to sing, allows the day to end. There’s no question for Him too big, too insignificant that He can’t come in and let you know He’s there. Amazing! Sometimes I have no peace whatsoever about situations, relationships, and then the Holy Spirit gives me peace like a gorgeous sleep and I know God still walks with me. In moments when I’m prone to wander and doubt God’s power and love for me, I’m thankful that He’s already taken my heart and won’t ever let go - no matter what.  

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise His Name I’m fixed upon it
Name of God’s redeeming love.Hither to thy love has blessed me
Thou has brought me to this place
And I know thy hand will bring me
Safely home by thy good grace
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:

 

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Faith in Action

A friend of mine showed me this passage I had forgotten despite the nice highlighter markings in my Bible. We were talking about what it meant to put our salvation into words. She didn’t like the analogy that trusting God is like trusting in a chair to hold you up. It doesn’t have anything to do with us, whether we believe the chair works or not. God’s mercy has nothing to do with us. Whether we trust Him or not, He sacrificed His life to be an offering for the mess we would make trying to save ourselves, living in a world we can’t fix, can’t conquer.

2 Peter 1:3-8 gives counsel:

  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

For amazing faith in action, I’d encourage you to read one particular story at the following blog: “Bring the Rain” at http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/.

Lord, I pray for healing and for help as we learn how to lean on you. Help us show your love by what little faith we have. Take it and add what you will that we may see goodness, cherish knowledge, pride self-control, persevere for godliness, seeking brotherly kindness - every day of our lives. Amen 

From the mouth of babes

 I know this has been around for a while, but I wanted to share it here because of how amazingly cute it is. I actually used to sing this back in the private school days…long long ago. haha - just kidding…not too long.

The Lord’s Prayer

Thought from CSI (Miami)

Seriously, C.S.I. is the best unbelievable TV show. Have you seen it? The situations are overblown, the timing is completely unrealistic, and the expectations on justice much too high. Still I watch as if the sky will fall inside the TV screen.

I was reading a devotional this morning that stated in some way how God was sufficient enough for the example and still is sufficient enough for our lives. When we live our lives apart from Him, we’re showing that He actually is not enough. I didn’t need someone else to tell me this but the timing was wonderful.

And so that’s what CSI is - insufficient. And lately it’s just inappropriate. Realistic and improper. But it’s attractive so I stay and watch it when really I’m saying that my God isn’t enough and somehow, this unbelievable, impossible presentation can cut it. This can be my escape and my rest and I’m good to go. I do that with so many things - expect enough from things not based on reality, not based on God.

I really don’t want my life to be telling God He’s not enough. Isn’t that what Christ refuted when He came down? He gave a truth we could hope in. He met an expectation that was out of this world. I am more than enough for you. I am all and more. He said it on the cross, hands stretched out. Human form. It was reality we could believe in.

Hebrews 5:8-9

“Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.”

Amen

The Son of God, Emanuel, is Here With Me.

Romans 8:24a-25 “For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

Pretty looking church thing

So I’m at the University walking around feeling pretty good after taking a final - and I come across their beutiful church, or meditation center. The campus itself has gorgeous landscaping and water pieces - it’s great - every work building should be like that. But I’ve never gone inside the place as beautiful and inviting as it seems. Here’s what I encountered when I finally entered on the last week of class:

• a lot of windows let me see most of what I thought I saw from the outside
• there was only one way to get in (I tried to leave out a different door, but the hedges and flowers were surrounding me. I’m sure I looked crazy as I was debating whether or not to cut through the flowers, I couldn’t get out of there, it was weird.)
• there was no cross, or any symbols whatsoever
• there was no one inside.

 It was the University religion building, like a physical education building, but with no true purpose than organizing the religious club offices. I’ve heard of church without walls, but what’s a church without a cross? I can be at home, or in a parking lot, in a crowd at a converted grocery store it doesn’t matter, but if 2 or more are gathered in Christ’s name, He’s with me. The symbolism isn’t necessary. The building isn’t necessary. But it is an expression of respect - a visual statement that we honor and follow God and commit to worshipping Him as a group of believers. The church shows unity and should not show ambiguity for whom it represents. I would call it irreverent and disrespectful at the least; there should be no shame in whom I  worship. 

So if the church is the body of believers in Christ, is there a point in having a universal meditative/spiritual center with windows and flowers on the outside, and some pews for weddings…if its purpose isn’t to hold a body of believers in Christ? Why have a building at all if it’s for the unknown god. There is no glory there.   

What’s the deal with living water?

I wish I could remember where I saw this connection, but when the Israelites were in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, the words Massah and Meribah would bring bitter memories as they wandered. In Exodus 17:7, the Israelites are recorded for doubting God and thinking Him insufficient to provide for their needs as He lead them on a journey to what was called the promised land.

In the land of Massah and Meribah God came through and met their needs making water spring from a rock. This was right before the Israelites complained that they had been brought to the desert out of slavery to die. Much earlier, God had caused ten plagues to cover Egypt and show His desire to let the Israelites be free. They named the place after their moaning.

Every time the Israelites would hear the name of that place in the wilderness, it’d be a reminder of their faithlessness in God to provide. It’d be a reminder of those who never made it to the promised land because of their decision to walk without God rather than trust in Him.

Still, God provided. For the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus leads her to a living water that she could only imagine. The living water was an allusion to the safety and salvation in Christ, our hope and life spring. She would find out that He provided more than what she would ever find at a well, in a rock, in anything made by man or even God unless it was God Himself. We are energized and relaxed by a water that will never run out, even when faith wavers. His waters are too deep.  

Foto found here: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/viewtopic_archives.php?TopicID=182731&page=0

Info-Techno Sabbath

In an article published in September 2007, Joe Carter writes about taking rest away from the information technology that we let control most of our day. He suggests taking a Sabbath day of rest to mentally disengage from electronic dependency: ”Ask yourself when the last time was that you went an entire day without the tools of information technology.” It’s great insight, and a nice read I’d encourage anyone to check out. But of course, take time to step away and let your computer know it’s really nothing personal.

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001584.cfm

Beautiful!

 

“Take out all your so-called problems.”

Life’s too short to feel alone

“Better put them in quotations.”

Than fear the unknown and know,

You can “Say what you need to say.”

Such a great song! I haven’t seen “The Bucket List,” but after feeling a little cheesed about the the idea, I’m sure it’d be a great movie to watch.