I can’t go through the Christmas season without being amazed by it all. Lord God Almighty, Creator of all the galaxies, Sustainer of all life and matter, Ruler of heaven, King of all kings, timeless and eternal, the whole universe unable to contain Him, yet He chose to be wrapped in a seven or eight pound package. God’s gift to you and to me. Unspeakable. Who is this? The One in Whom all fullness dwells. The One Who cried to take His first breath. The One Whom angels proclaimed, terrifying the shepherds. The Baby lying in a manger. The One Whom, a short time before, those same angels (mighty, warring spirits) worshipped and fell down before in the grandeur of heaven. The One Whom Joseph took in his arms and fled to save his life. A fugitive from a king determined to kill Him. The One Who heals people. The One Who frees people. The One Who raises people from the dead. The One Who forgives. The One Who has reconciled us to God. The One Whose death I effected. The justice of God requiring His blood for the forgiveness of my sins. The One Who conquered the grave, holding the keys of death and hell. The Risen One. The One to Whom God the Father has given all things. The One with Whom I am a joint-heir.
Jesus, I need to know You more. I need Your spirit to speak to my spirit. I need to know in my heart that You are near. I need Your presence to surround me, envelope me, consume me so that all of me is lost in You. You are All, Lord Jesus.
Who am I that You are mindful of me? I am weak, mortal, bent by and toward sin. Ruined. The only worth that I have is found in Your love. You love me, my Lord and my God, my Savior, My Redeemer, my Brother , my Friend. I don’t think I’ll understand why until I see You face to face and maybe not even then. But Jesus, I accept Your love. I rely on it. I need it. In Your love I find strength. I find life. I find forgiveness. Will my needs be met in You.? In Your love? Will my cup be filled if I hold it under Niagara Falls? Completely, generously, abundantly, extravagantly.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Obedience and Intimacy
Who is God? Do I know Him? How would my life be different if I didn’t know Him? Let me reword that question. Is it evident by my lifestyle that I know God? Do I want to know God and know Him more?
As human beings and as inhabitants of earth, God has given each of us a taste of Himself, who He is, and what He is like. Romans 1: 18-20 makes this very clear. God has revealed Himself to all people through His creation. While everyone has received a taste of God it should also be said that some of us, through no merit of our own have had a larger helping doled out to us. This doesn’t mean that someone who has received a lot of biblical teaching about God is better than a person untouched by Christian influence. It doesn’t even necessarily mean that a person saturated by Christian influence is better off than another person. If it means anything it’s that a person who has been given more is responsible for more.
What have I done with the taste I‘ve been given? Did it invoke awe, reverence, adoration, gratitude, love, humility, praise, worship, a thirst for more? God, our Father, wants to give more; a second helping, and thirds, and fourths, fifths… . Besides creation, God reveals Himself through His Word, the Scriptures, through His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3), and through the Holy Spirit (John16:12-15).
God’s primary objective in revealing Himself to us is to cultivate intimacy with me, His child. It always comes down to love. As a Christian my first priority must be intimacy with God. My relationship with God must take precedence over all things. It must take priority over evangelism, over teaching Sunday school, over being a nice guy, over leading worship, over serving on the church board, over volunteering at the downtown mission, over being a missionary in Africa.
How do I get closer to God? You know all the stuff. Read your Bible. Pray. Volunteer in church. Yeah, yeah, and I suppose that the list could go on and on. How about this one? Listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and obeying everything, no matter what. That’s pretty easy to say and even easier to write. The way I see it, this is the most important thing a person can do to grow closer and closer to God in the love relationship that He wants with you and that you never even dreamt was possible. The Holy Spirit must be listened for and obeyed. Period.. It doesn’t matter at all how small or insignificant it might seem. He must be obeyed. It doesn’t matter how huge or impossible it might seem. He must be obeyed. If there is anything that is urgent in life, this is it. This, by the way, comes from a procrastinator. How does one learn to listen for and obey the Holy Spirit? The best way I know of is practice.
Start with the small and insignificant. The fact is that it is neither small nor insignificant. Each step of obedience is necessary. In a staircase each step relies on the step before it and after it. In a chain each link is vital. If we’ve obeyed the Holy Spirit in the first thing He has required of us, He is free to go on with the next step in His agenda. That’s one of the keys: His agenda, not mine. Can I trust God to carry on with His agenda?
For most of us this is a heavy stone that has dropped on our foot and may seriously effect our lifestyle. Watch your other foot, here comes another one. God’s Word, the Bible needs to be obeyed just as the Holy Spirit needs to be obeyed. The Bible is no less God’s Word to me than the voice of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to be close to God? How can you be close to someone if you’re not following them? If there is sin in your life, the Bible is telling you to do something and you’re not doing it, or the Holy Spirit told you something and you ignored Him, and you’re wondering why God seems distant. I know in my life it usually isn’t that hard to figure out.
As human beings and as inhabitants of earth, God has given each of us a taste of Himself, who He is, and what He is like. Romans 1: 18-20 makes this very clear. God has revealed Himself to all people through His creation. While everyone has received a taste of God it should also be said that some of us, through no merit of our own have had a larger helping doled out to us. This doesn’t mean that someone who has received a lot of biblical teaching about God is better than a person untouched by Christian influence. It doesn’t even necessarily mean that a person saturated by Christian influence is better off than another person. If it means anything it’s that a person who has been given more is responsible for more.
What have I done with the taste I‘ve been given? Did it invoke awe, reverence, adoration, gratitude, love, humility, praise, worship, a thirst for more? God, our Father, wants to give more; a second helping, and thirds, and fourths, fifths… . Besides creation, God reveals Himself through His Word, the Scriptures, through His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3), and through the Holy Spirit (John16:12-15).
God’s primary objective in revealing Himself to us is to cultivate intimacy with me, His child. It always comes down to love. As a Christian my first priority must be intimacy with God. My relationship with God must take precedence over all things. It must take priority over evangelism, over teaching Sunday school, over being a nice guy, over leading worship, over serving on the church board, over volunteering at the downtown mission, over being a missionary in Africa.
How do I get closer to God? You know all the stuff. Read your Bible. Pray. Volunteer in church. Yeah, yeah, and I suppose that the list could go on and on. How about this one? Listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and obeying everything, no matter what. That’s pretty easy to say and even easier to write. The way I see it, this is the most important thing a person can do to grow closer and closer to God in the love relationship that He wants with you and that you never even dreamt was possible. The Holy Spirit must be listened for and obeyed. Period.. It doesn’t matter at all how small or insignificant it might seem. He must be obeyed. It doesn’t matter how huge or impossible it might seem. He must be obeyed. If there is anything that is urgent in life, this is it. This, by the way, comes from a procrastinator. How does one learn to listen for and obey the Holy Spirit? The best way I know of is practice.
Start with the small and insignificant. The fact is that it is neither small nor insignificant. Each step of obedience is necessary. In a staircase each step relies on the step before it and after it. In a chain each link is vital. If we’ve obeyed the Holy Spirit in the first thing He has required of us, He is free to go on with the next step in His agenda. That’s one of the keys: His agenda, not mine. Can I trust God to carry on with His agenda?
For most of us this is a heavy stone that has dropped on our foot and may seriously effect our lifestyle. Watch your other foot, here comes another one. God’s Word, the Bible needs to be obeyed just as the Holy Spirit needs to be obeyed. The Bible is no less God’s Word to me than the voice of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to be close to God? How can you be close to someone if you’re not following them? If there is sin in your life, the Bible is telling you to do something and you’re not doing it, or the Holy Spirit told you something and you ignored Him, and you’re wondering why God seems distant. I know in my life it usually isn’t that hard to figure out.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Long time no blog...
Well August was really busy and September slipped right by... We managed to remember how to work after our trip and then had a few weeks of company visiting us. I managed the clinic alone for the month of August... It went well enough but I sure do hate to work without Darlene! Now the colors of fall and the morning frost warns us that winter is coming. We have enjoyed a few visits with our adorable Grandsons Seth and Owen. I will post a few pictures to prove my point. John and I have been waiting for a group of young adults to begin a small group in our home. We were very much looking forward to starting and had our fist get together last Saturday. I am just stinking excited to have people in our home again! This bunch barely eats anything and are very clean... weird concept after our last group... Maybe they will eat more and break things when they get used to us... That is not a request, just a comment. I have been reading a book by Dallas Willard called The Great Omission... I am going to write something about what I am thinking after I finish processing it.
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