Unconquerable Hope

It is amazing how God stretches me to learn, to grow; placing people, questions and scripture together at just the right time. I have a friend who is a teacher at YWAM and he recently sent me an email asking about Matthew 15:21-28.
This is a passage I have often wondered about myself but upon study we find so much:

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” She said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

First a little context; Jesus and His disciples have traveled about 50 miles to Tyre and Sidon and while still among mostly Jew this territory had tremendous gentile influence. Next, Matthew identifies this woman as a Canaanite and if you remember from time of Judges the Canaanites were not just Gentiles, but were the enemies of Israel (and what does Christ teach us about enemies). Also, we need to consider the people involved; Jews, Disciples, Gentiles so there could be multiple lessons

Picking up in verse 22 - this woman was crying out - the word means so much more than just crying out - there is a sense of loudly talking and praying associated with this word and look how she recognizes Christ as Lord and as Son of David - she recognizes Christ as messiah when most Jews did not or would not accept that so you can begin to see what Hendriksen calls the "great contrast between the unbelief of the Jews and the faith of this woman, born a Gentile". Move to verse 23 and notice how Christ responded (with silence), but the disciples responded and look how they responded…"send her away"…Mounce writes that in this verse the insensitivity to suffering by Jesus is explainable by the rest of the lesson on faith, but the disciples were without excuse; they were annoyed and considered this woman a bother (where was the Christian love).

In verse 24, Jesus explains the he is for the lost sheep of Israel (Jews) so while he seems to refuse immediate help for the woman, and most people tend to downplay this, but notice he also did not send her away; refusing the request of the disciples so maybe this is more for the disciples than the woman. Then in an amazing display of faith the woman kneels before Christ (and reading of different versions help here, look at KJV); that word kneel in Greek is proskyneō - and also means to worship - amazing! So in this verse we see the reverence of this woman in agony worshipping Christ and the intense love she has for her daughter; she simply cries out, "Lord, Help me" - a prayer we all need…

Then comes verse 26 and Christ answering in a somewhat concerning manner - it is not right to give the children's bread to the dogs… SO there are probably two concerns to consider; first, why did Christ use this seemingly harsh phrase and second why did he delay in helping? First, the phrase is certainly cultural and in Greek there are several words for Dog - some mean savage, ugly dogs but not this one - in Greek this word is Kynarion - which is like a little puppy or house pet - well loved! Barclay remarks about this verse saying "we can be quite sure that the smile on Jesus' face and the compassion in his eyes robbed the words of all insult and bitterness" - which brings us to the delay - why delay in helping? Well for one thing this is certainly not the first time in the bible there is a delay in answering/helping - Abraham and Sarah had to wait patiently and persistently; Many of the Psalms written by David cry out on the wait; Jairus in Mark 5; Lazarus in John 11, so we can see this pattern of delay which is usually a lesson in faith. In this case it could be said that this woman displayed great faith, but also that her faith was refined as you can see by her answer in verse 27. Hendriksen calls this verse a "glorious expression of faith" and in this verse you can see her humility - she doesn't resent be called a dog as long as she is loved, you can see her eternal hope as she turns even what seems to be a negative response of no help into reason for optimism (even dogs get crumbs), you can see her "unswerving faith in Christ" as she sees Him as Lord, Savior and Master, and finally you can see her perseverance in faith - oh my! Barclay wrote of this as an "Indomitable persistence springing from an unconquerable hope" - Amen and a lesson for us all.

Then in verse 28 we see the daughter healed instantly and Christ declaring O woman, great is your faith - His love is so great that he praises expressions/examples of faith - another lesson for us all! So while this passage can be concerning there is so much in it - a lesson on the right position of our hearts as disciples of Christ to learn to love well especially those in need, a lesson on faith - patience and persistence in faith, it is a lesson on the great love of Christ and that no matter the trials before us there is Hope in Christ!


Grace and Peace!

Stunned

It is kind of an amazing thing; the impact contemporary Christian music has on me. No comments please, but the older I get the more emotional the impact of certain songs; the music inspires, lifts, encourages, convicts, shapes and always points me to Scripture and always to Christ.

Recently a song by Sidewalk Prophets has had this impact on me (in fact I am listening to it as I type). The title of the song is “You Love Me Anyway” and the group points to Romans 8:18-39 as inspiration and verses 31-39 just bring it to life;

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; 
 we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord..


The lyrics of the song just resonate with me; “I am the thorn in Your crown; but You love me anyway. I am the sweat from Your brow; but You love me anyway. I am the nail in Your wrist; but You love me anyway. I am Judas’ kiss; but You love me anyway!”

The love of God is stunning; I am in awe! God loves me (and you); a person so broken, so denying, so betraying, yet he loves me anyway!

Titus 3 explains this; 3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

So despite myself and my ways there is a rescue plan through Christ by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. There is hope eternal. Amen.

1 John 3:1(a) shouts; 1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

Father, how stunning is your love; how overwhelming that we should be called Children of God!

Grace and Peace!

What Easter Means to Me

I have this theory that all preachers take a course in asking good questions; it is just something they all get in pastor school. I believe I have mentioned our Assistant Pastor is just so good at asking these “questions”. Well he has done it again; a question that has just caused me to dwell on it for some time.

Last week he asked; what does Easter mean to you? I must admit that in the past Easter meant eggs, baskets, bunnies, good food, family…the list goes on. Years ago I started to notice something different in my Mother-in-law. This was her favorite holiday, she would just display this visible joy on Easter; I didn’t quite get it.

However, as I came to know Christ; I get it now! For me Easter is a time of reflection and introspection and don’t get me wrong, as it is ultimately a time of amazement and joy! The dictionary defines introspection as a reflective inward look: an examination of one's own thoughts and feelings. I think Easter gives us the opportunity to examine our own thoughts and feelings and for me it is so emotional, resulting in this unspeakable joy.

I now reflect on all Christ went through in that time, from a triumphant entry, to a washing of the feet, a breaking of bread, betrayal, denial, interrogation, torture and then; oh my, He took nails for me (us).

I think of the miraculous transformation; from death to life, eternal life, conquering, overcoming, overwhelming! I think of all Christ did for me (us) and because of me (us). I am awestruck. What love!

Easter means so much to me now; a time of love, worship and adoration. As Psalm Sunday approaches I pray that we all will have a time of introspection, reflection and clarity as we consider all Christ went through just for us! Amazing.

Grace and Peace!

Generous Justice

I am reading Tim Keller’s new book; “Generous Justice” and what a wonderful, yet challenging read. This book is convicting while at the same time very encouraging. Keller explains that while we have been made just by the grace of God; we should out of loving gratitude help to provide justice in the world. Keller early on in the book says; “there is a direct relationship between a person’s grasp and experience of God’s grace, and his or her heart for justice and the poor.”

This book is serving its purpose, it is causing me to examine things, to question, to think, to study and hopefully spurring me to change. I am only half complete in reading this fine work, yet already I am writing about it. I am learning.

Keller does a great job helping us to understand what justice really is from a biblical perspective and explains that there are several sides to a proper understanding. Keller points us to Micah 6:8 which says;

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Keller points out that from this verse there is action; we are to act justly to others, but there is an attitude component as well as we must love mercy. Keller says then to humbly walk with God we must do justice out of merciful love. So, once we have the attitude perspective we can then move on to what exactly is doing justice?

In Hebrew there are two words used for justice the first is mishpat and it means providing care for the vulnerable no matter what that care might be; many places in the bible mishpat is used to describe taking up the care and cause of widows, orphans, immigrants and the poor. But wait; there is another side to justice. Keller points out that there is a second Hebrew word that can be translated as being just or being righteous; tzadeqah. This word refers to having a life of right relationships.

Keller points out that Bible scholar Alec Motyer defines this as “being right with God and therefore committed to putting right all other relationships in life…when most modern people see the word righteousness in the Bible, they tend to think of it in terms of private morality…But in the Bible tzadeqah refers to day-to-day living in which a person conducts all relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity and equity.”

So for now that is the challenge for me; to examine my relationships; all my relationships to look for fairness, generosity and equity. Again, very convicting yet somehow so encouraging. There is so much more to this book…I dare you to read it.

Grace and Peace!

Desires

How much is enough? John D. Rockefeller was once asked a similar question and responded; “one more dollar”. I think that speaks volumes to human nature; more, more, more! I know I spent years trying to reach goals and once there it was never enough. I believe human nature just has this insatiable quality.

As such, we just spend lifetimes striving, seeking, earning, gaining, searching only to find it is never enough. But wait, there is hope! There is a way to quench that insatiable desire. That is through a real and loving relationship with Christ. That brings to mind Psalm 73;

23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Isn’t that so satisfying? Earth has nothing I desire, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Pastor Scotty Smith recently wrote a prayer on this passage and what a fitting way to end this blog.

"Even if I lived in the climate of my choice, had all the money in the world, and had the church of my dreams … Even if I had a trout on every cast, sank every putt, and could run a marathon a day… Even if I could eat all the chocolate I want and not gain weight… spend time with all kinds of people and never have a disagreement… move my entire family and favorite friends to Switzerland… it would not be enough.

Jesus, you are heaven to me, period. Though I may want a bunch of other stuff, you alone are the One I desire. You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Keep me sane by the gospel… keep me free of all bitterness… keep me broken before you and make me a better man by knowing you. So very Amen, I pray, in your most glorious and gracious name."

Grace and Peace!

The Good Shepherd

My last blog talked about focus and has caused me to examine just what I am focused on. I was shocked. There is much going on, transition at church, busyness at work, a friend suffering emotionally, a friend in medical crisis. However, what I came to see that I was focused on task, self-reliance. I am trying to refocus and ensure that Christ is at the center of all. As I am doing this I have been lead to the first 3 verses of the 23rd Psalm;

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

So just to quickly share what has come to light (come into focus) in those 3 verses

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want – describes where my focus should be – on the Shepherd and if it is I shall not be in want – the phrase shall not be in want in Hebrew means not in need of anything.

2a He makes me lie down in green pastures – thinking contextually this was not a land of green pastures and green pastures would require the sacrificial and loving work of the Shepherd and then; oh my goodness, for me to be able to lie down in my Shepherds pasture – what comfort. Read an interesting thought concerning this verse that for a field to bear fruit it must lie fallow – it must rest – not so reliant on my efforts.

2b he leads me beside quiet waters – Quiet waters just complete this Oasis provided by the Shepherd where the sheep can lie down in what John Piper describes as restful security – no worries!

3a he restores my soul – He, the Shepherd – restores my soul – not me; not my efforts; not you and with just a little focus on the Shepherd; oh how my soul is being restored! The phrase being restored in Hebrew has this connotation of refreshed, revived, restored!

3b He guides me in paths of righteousness – how are we guided in paths of righteousness – by the Shepherd, by His word, by study and by worship – Amen.

3c for his name's sake – All this done out of love, out of mercy, by His grace and for His names sake – all for His Glory – Amen and. Amen!

Father – You are so amazing, so glorious, and so wonderful. Please forgive me my lack of focus, my worry and my lack of trust. Thank you that we have a Shepherd, a Shepherd that provides; a Shepherd that will restore. I pray for each of us that we will have maximum clarity and even with all we have going on, the trials, the needs, the activities, and that our focus will be on our Great Shepherd – praying in the name of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ Amen.

Grace and Peace!

Treat Others As...

Our church is starting a series on 1 Thessalonians and so far it has been really enlightening. I just heard a sermon on chapter 2 and imbedded within it was some great instruction on how to treat others.

It comes from verses 6b – 12;

6bAs apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

To me it boils down to one word; love! But, what does that really mean or better yet what does that look like? Well, guess what; Paul tells us. Paul explains we should not be a burden to others; we should be gentle loving like a mother caring for her children. We should love so much because we care. We should care enough to share the gospel but we should also care enough to share our lives. We should deal with others as a father; encouraging, comforting, urging others to live lives worthy of God.

You know the world is in desperate need for a love like this. May we all reach deep and love others. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw; Love Wins!

Grace and Peace!

I Am Thirsty

Three simple words have just been in my heart lately. I can’t seem to shake them; I am at once amazed, troubled, enlightened, and grateful. These words come from John 19:28;

28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

Near death and from the cross; our savior utters these words; our savior who provides living water so that we may never be thirsty; our savior who can perform miracles; our savior who can quench any thirst, who can overcome any drought…says I am thirsty.

This phrase in Greek is actually one word; dipsao. Strong’s defines this as;to suffer thirst, to suffer from thirst and figuratively, those who are said to thirst painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened.


As Christ is suffering on the cross he cries out “I am thirsty”. Can you see the pain, can you see the longing, can you see the separation, can you see the substitution, can you see the atoning sacrifice, can you see the amazing love? This thirst must be physical and spiritual…Oh, I am so sorry for having caused this. Our savior longing for those things by which the soul is refreshed. Oh my.

The one who should never be thirsty was thirsty for us...so that we never will be.

Amen and Amen

Grace and Peace!

Divine Grace

Recently I have been focused on how wonderful the grace of God truly is! Just because we can rest in God’s grace doesn’t mean things will be better and better. I remember the lesson Paul gives telling us that God’s grace is sufficient for all things; telling us because of God’s grace he would boast in his weakness; telling us that he would be glad about his weakness so that Christ’s power might rest on him (2 Cor 12:9).

That is how amazing Grace really is. It doesn’t mean we won’t have trials, hardships, or troubles. John Calvin said; “For men have no taste for it [God’s Power] till they are convinced of their need of it and they immediately forget its value unless they are continually reminded by awareness of their own weakness”. Think of Paul and all he endured during hist ministry. His attitude and teaching is amazing to me considering all that he experienced. In 2 Corinthians; he says;

10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So to me when we are enduring we are being made strong through Christ! So to know more and more of the Grace of God there will be difficulties. Now, believe me I know that we are all human and sometimes these difficulties can be overwhelming even impossible to overcome however Christ reminds us to take heart because he has overcome this world! Amen.

So whatever we are facing or going through we can trust; we as believers can take heart that that God’s grace is truly sufficient; His love is there. So take heart my friends; no matter what. God’s grace is enough!

Let’s end with Psalm 145:8-9;

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love, The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

Abba Father, we praise you that you are gracious and compassionate, full of love and perfectly good. Good and gracious God, we love you.

Grace and Peace!

Overwhelmed with Wonder

Good and Gracious God, In the Psalms we read; “Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty" and Father, this day we humbly come before you praising you for the majesty of your being, the splendor of your love, the mercy of your saving grace. You are so deserving of our praise and worship and we are such an undeserving people. Lord, we confess our many shortcomings and inequities and beg your forgiveness. As we find in Jeremiah, “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise." God, you are the one we praise.

Father, we thank you for the many blessings of life. We thank you that you are in our lives, we thank you for your spirit, our comforter and counselor; and we thank you for your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord you are truly amazing and your Word is truly amazing; a passage in Mark says; “As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him." Father, may we your children be overwhelmed with wonder and never hold back as we run to greet our great Savior.

Father, such a blessed people, yet there are still needs. This day we pray for your Church that it will forever be an expanding beacon of hope and light. We pray for Christians around the world that you would strengthen, inspire and provide unity. We pray for missionaries spreading the good news; praying for comfort, strength and shelter. We pray for this nation as we continue to face uncertainty and trials of many kinds. We pray that you will be with us, that you will lead, guide and direct this nation and that we will be a nation that turns to you for all things. We pray for our leaders that you will provide wisdom and we pray for those serving this country that you will protect and encourage. We pray for families that you will work mightily to preserve; we pray for perfect peace and that love will abound.

Lord, we pray for healing, comfort, opportunity and a mighty movement that will be glorifying to you. Mostly we pray your will be done. Father Abba you are so good, so loving, and so full of grace; may we all be overwhelmed with wonder! We love you and thank you; praying all these things in Jesus most Holy name. Amen

Grace Notes

I recently heard Philip Yancey discuss being a grace note in other people’s lives. That really hit home with me and could give us all a perspective for reflection. Yancey meant that when we are confronted with some of life’s difficulties (even trivial stuff) we can react with grace becoming not only an example, but also demonstrating love to our neighbors.

The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines grace as “unmerited favor”. I love that. I read somewhere that there is a term in music called grace notes and I read a description that it is the most wonderful sound. So what if we all took the challenge to become grace notes to those we interact with?

In 2 Corinthians 4:15 we see; All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Perhaps by being grace notes there is a benefit to others, as well as to us with the glory going to God. Sounds good, but...easier said than done. With all this in mind I began to wonder, do I provide grace notes to those I interact with? Humbly I must answer not very often.

Recently I had the opportunity. I was sitting stopped at a red light in my car, listening to my favorite tune and life was good. All of a sudden someone bumped me from behind. I get out to survey for damage and the truck is still pressed solidly against my bumper. I walk back to the truck and notice a man on his cell phone still talking. He looks at me and says “did I hit you”? I was beside myself and proceed to pretty much scream at him saying yes you hit me!

There was no real damage, but I could have handled it so differently; I never even considered that he could have been getting tragic news on the phone or what kind of day he was having. I could have been a grace note and treated him with unmerited favor causing this man to think just how can you be joyful during a trying time. Perhaps if I had been a grace note in that man's life, then that man would go and act as a grace note in someone else’s life.

Not too graceful, but you know there is hope. Not too long ago I wouldn’t have even given my actions a second thought, but now by the “grace” of God I see my shortcomings and perhaps next time I will provide that grace note for someone else all to the glory of God. Perhaps these grace notes will spread exponentially…just think!

God, thank you for your unmerited favor in our lives; thank you for the transforming grace of Jesus Christ that is marvelous beyond words and may we all begin to act as grace notes in the world!

Grace and Peace!

Knowing God

You know much has been said about National Day of Prayer. For me it was an encouraging and hopeful day. It was a day where people across this nation stopped and lifted prayers to our glorious God. It has caused me to reflect upon this day and upon prayer. This year my home fellowship group is studying prayer, and it has been so helpful in my prayer life. With all these things converging, I asked myself; why pray?

You know there are a number of good answers, we are commanded to, we pray to praise God, request things, thank, confess, worship and all those are important, but something really exciting to me is that prayer provides a way of knowing God.

A.W. Tozier minister and author of Pursuit of God had this to say about prayer:
"So when we sing, draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, we are not thinking of the nearness of place, but of the nearness of relationship. It is for increasing degrees of awareness that we pray for a more perfect consciousness of the divine Presence."

And Oswald Chambers minister and author of My Utmost for His Highness said this:
"Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting something for ourselves; the biblical idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself."

Isn’t that an amazing thought; that through prayer we can truly know God. I think we can find it in scripture. In Jeremiah 24 we find this verse;

7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

Can you see it? Can you see the call to know God and that prayer is our means to knowing our great and glorious God. Now just what does that mean and what can we learn from this one verse? I think we can peel back three things here.

First, through prayer we get to know God by having a relationship with Him. You can see it in this verse, our gracious God gives us a heart to know Him, to know that He is our God and we are His people and what a beautiful relationship it is. I just love the verse in Revelations 3 that gives us another picture;

20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Even though Revelations 3 is a warning of sorts, it shows us that to know God is relational and requires a means of not only talking to, but a means of connecting and that brings us to our second point.

That through prayer we get to know God by communicating with him. We can see it in Jeremiah where God tells us we will be a people that return to Him. However, we must return as a people who recognize their brokenness and as a people who can return to their God only by the sacrifice of Christ. And the way we return, the way we communicate is through prayer. We can find this communication throughout scripture and we can even see that God hears our communication; our prayer. Let’s quickly look at Isaiah 38;

'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears

Brother Lawrence described it this way; "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God."

Isn’t that so comforting? We, through prayer can have a continual conversation with God. And as we do, as we have a relationship with Him and as we communicate with Him an amazing thing happens which brings us to our last point.

That through prayer we get to know God by loving Him. We see it in Jeremiah 24 as we are not only a people that return to our God, a people that establish a relationship, that communicate, but that we return to our God with all our hearts. It is so clear that as we get to know God we are to love Him. I just love Deuteronomy 6:4-5;

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

So what has become clear to me is that through our prayers we come to truly know God. Through prayer the communication starts, the relationship begins and the love between God and His people grows. The great theologian, J. I. Packer had this to say about knowing God:

"Knowing God involves a personal relationship whereby you give yourself to God on the basis of his promise to give Himself to you. Knowing God means asking for His mercy and resting on His undertaking to forgive sinners for Jesus’ sake. Further it means becoming a disciple of Jesus, the living Savior who is there today, calling the needy to Himself as he did in Galilee. Knowing God, in other words, involves faith- assent, consent, commitment – and faith expresses itself in prayer.

Finally, we have been brought to the point where we both can and must get our life’s priorities straight. But it is tragic that so many in our day seem to have been distracted from what was, is and always will be the true priority for every human being – that is learning to know God in Christ".

Isn’t that our real challenge, the challenge for each of us is how are we getting to know God? How are we spending out time? If you have three minutes watch this video.

Isn’t that so true? Life seems so busy, but again what are our priorities? Phillip Yancey wrote a great book and study on Prayer and in it he says that he is so busy, but in all his busyness he still finds time for the important things – things like e-mail, favorite shows, and the list goes on. You know if we will admit it we do make time for the things we really want to do. Yancey goes on to point out that "if prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer."

Let that be our encouragement; May we all learn more about prayer, may we all pray more, and may we all know God!

Grace and Peace!

Divine Rhythm

Recently we took a trip that might have been one of my families last where the four of us share a hotel room (yes, my kids have grown up). This has always been a treasure for me, but my timing does not match the rest of the family. I am an early riser; it’s what I do. I read, pray, study; it is my time of fellowship with God. This time was a little different. I was reading a chapter in Tim Keller’s “The Reason for God” called The Dance of God.

In this chapter, Keller describes the Christian life and in it he beautifully describes what it is to glorify. He tells us to glorify is to praise, enjoy and delight in something. He tells us to glorify is to defer and to sacrifice your own interest to devote yourself making the other happy. Your ultimate joy is their joy. He goes on to say that this process “creates a dynamic, pulsating dance of joy and love.” An amazing rhythm…

I read somewhere that Hebrew tradition tells us that dance functioned as a process of prayer and praise, as an outward expression of rejoicing, and as a way of reconciling God and His people. We can see this image in scripture as we know from Exodus 15:2; The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. In Psalm 149:3 we see; Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.

As I sat in my hotel room reading about this, thinking about this, with the three people I love most in this world soundly sleeping; I suddenly felt an overwhelming peace, a beauty, a joy that I can’t adequately describe. I sat in silence with only the light for my book. I could hear the joyful rhythm of my three girls breathing as they slept. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I thanked God for allowing me this dance. Simply divine.

Grace and Peace!

The Blessed Privilege of Loving Him

I have a good friend that I correspond with on a regular basis. He is a young man working with YWAM on staff at the University of the Nations in Hawaii. We have some of the best, deepest and most meaningful conversations (in writing no less). Recently he wrote to me with great joy and enthusiasm about recent efforts. It just lifted my spirits to read his note. In his note he reminded me of the “stunning power of the cross” and the incredible and indescribable love of our Lord and Savior. It reminded me of a brief writing I came across from Augustus Toplady the author of “Rock of Ages”. This writing is called “The Blessed Privilege of Loving Him”. Toplady writes:

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“Whom should we love, if not him who loved us, and gave himself for us? If the bliss even of angels and glorified souls, consists greatly in seeing, and praising, the Son of God; surely, to love, to trust, and to celebrate the friend of sinners, must be a principal ingredient in the happiness of saints not yet made perfect. Solomon, whose experience of grace was lively and triumphant when he wrote the Song of Songs, declares in the fifth chapter, "that Christ is altogether lovely" (5:16). Other objects may be overrated, and too highly esteemed; but so transcendent, so infinite, is the excellency of Christ, that he is, and will be to all eternity, more lovely than beloved. Yet, though all the love possible for saints and angels to show, falls, and will always fall, infinitely short of the Saviour's due: still it is a blessed privilege, to love him at all, though in ever so faint a manner, and in ever so low a degree. They, that love him at all, wish to love him more: and more and more they shall love him, through the ages of endless duration, in heaven, where they shall be like him, and see him as he is. “

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You know it is a blessed privilege!

Grace and Peace!

Perfect Love

At times I struggle with the fear of God, doubts, my worthiness (how could God possibly love me?) and what that really means. I don't have doubts about my beliefs or faith, but doubts about do I believe enough or am I doing enough (and I am not going down the path of God's grace and our good works). I also have doubts about judgment day. Anyway I was recently reading 1 John 4 and just got so encouraged, it was like a light for me.

15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I believe God is love and perfect love will drive out fear and God and His love are certainly perfect. You also know I can't (for some reason) just stop there. I found a commentary from Mathew Henry that described it this way.

"There must be a day of universal judgment. Happy those who shall have holy boldness before the Judge at that day; knowing he is their Friend and Advocate! Happy those who have holy boldness in the prospect of that day, who look and wait for it, and for the Judge's appearance! True love to God assures believers of God's love to them. Love teaches us to suffer for him and with him; therefore we may trust that we shall also be glorified with him, 2Ti 2:12. We must distinguish between the fear of God and being afraid of him; the fear of God imports high regard and veneration for God. Obedience and good works, done from the principle of love, are not like the servile toil of one who unwillingly labors from dread of a master's anger. They are like that of a dutiful child, who does services to a beloved father, which benefit his brethren, and are done willingly. It is a sign that our love is far from perfect, when our doubts, fears, and apprehensions of God, are many. Let heaven and earth stand amazed at his love. He sent his word to invite sinners to partake of this great salvation. Let them take the comfort of the happy change wrought in them, while they give him the glory. The love of God in Christ, in the hearts of Christians from the Spirit of adoption, is the great proof of conversion."

I know my love is far from perfect, but I do know I have a friend and advocate in Christ and we can all take comfort in God's perfect love. "If we endure" and work through all our doubts, fears and temptations, God's love will be there for us. Just think...Holy Boldness again. I hope you all have a great day!

Father, heaven and earth do stand amazed at Your love and I do too!

Grace and Peace!