Not feeling too well today…I’m in Florida for a work conference and the allergies are kickin’ my be-hind! Whine completed…now on the with post.
I was prepping for Sunday School this evening (Francis Chan’s Crazy Love), and two things hit me smack dab between the eyes:
Perfected Motion. Just following the theme from two posts last week (Perfect Posture…AWE & Perfect Assurance…From Our Perfecter). I thought would share this song from another artist I like who has great lyrics and is generally not mainstream, Jason Morant (check him out).
I think we’ve all had those days when we’ve said, “Take me home Lord! I just can’t take it anymore!” – I know I have. At it’s core, that’s a pretty selfish and arrogant statement if you think about it. We’re saying to God, “I know best and deserve my way. So God, if life get’s hard (yes, the one that I’ve given you divine control of), the best resolution would be to just take me Home in advance of Your perfect plan and will.” Um, not too compelling of an argument before the Sovereign, all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords!
Life is hard, rough, scary, sad, etc. before and after we decide to give our life to Christ. There isn’t a promise in the Bible, that says “accepteth Christ and thy life willith be rosey” (my best effort and King James talk). The fact is, Jesus promised His Disciples (and us) that we would have trouble:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
BTW, aren’t you glad he didn’t end with “trouble” or even “Take Heart!” NO, He has overcome; and by His victory, so have we (not can…have overcome, through the power of the Holy Spirit)!
Aside from posting a Sunday set list, I generally don’t much blog on weekends…so I am posting this today.
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
Exodus 17:8-13 (NIV)
So this Saturday is the 23rd anniversary of my first date with my wonderful wife, Karen (one of the few dates that I have committed to memory: her birthday, our first date, our engagement date, and (of course) our wedding anniversary). OK, the actual date was on May 10, but in 1986, it was a Saturday.
I listen to a variety of music & artists, but am kind of hooked on Phil Joel right now – especially his “The delibertatePeople. Album” (his other stuff is good also). It’s the lyrics. They draw me in – challenging and encouraging me each time I listen! Check out his site…his story is pretty cool.
Every time I hear the song Awe – it reminds me of what my posture should be when I pray, read, think about/to GOD – flat…out…AWE. To be completely honest, it isn’t always that way (forgive me Lord). I think sometimes it is easy to get too comfortable with Him being my friend or my “Abba, Father” that I forget He is at the same time Holy, Sovereign, and unlike any other person with whom I have a relationship. It is the challenge of balancing intimacy with reverence – something that, in most of our lives, is unique to God. We can respect, even fear people; but, when you boil it down, no man or woman is holy, sovereign, or worthy of awe when compared with God.
How easily we allow the “STUFF” in life to impact our assurance (and sometimes our confidence) in our Heavenly Father. The fact is that while our situation, circumstance, whatever may change:
HE NEVER CHANGES! HE IS THE SAME
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER!
While I can’t recall a specific example right now, I’m sure there were times growing up when I was afraid to do something, but my dad said “Dennis, trust me.” When I remained afraid, I’m sure he was frustrated, but he still assured me that it was OK – “Dennis, trust ME.” I’m sure in my heart I knew that he had my safety and security in mind, but still…“Dad, I’m afraid!”
So, after much prodding, I probably begrudgingly did it and I’m sure I got hurt or it didn’t “go right” a time or two – but my dad’s love and care never ceased…even when I may have thought, “Wait a second!”
How much more is our Heavenly Father
trustworthy, caring, and constantly on our side!
Last Monday, I wrote a post called “Two Visuals: One Cool, One Scary.” The scary visual was a bible verse where we see a visual of what sin looks like to God:
Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against You and cast Your law behind their back. Nehemiah 9:26 [ESV]
In this verse, we see that when we sin, we effectively take God’s Word in our hands…and toss it…with disregard…over our shoulder…behind our back (just as the Israelites did). Truly scary. Having this image of sin won’t keep us from sinning (it’s our nature), but it may help us make a decision when faced with a choice.
If this image were the end of the story, well...
OK, I’ll admit it; I’m a compulsive multi-tasker. I’m doing it right now as I write this. I do it all the time – even when I don’t realize it! It can be an advantage – getting more “stuff” done in less time and I’m obsessive enough that I’m typically pleased with the results (ok, maybe not all the time.) But one area that I really challenge myself on NOT multi-tasking is during my focused time alone with God. I’m not saying I’m always successful, but I try. Jesus did it – He carved time out to focus and pray – so should I:
“When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” Matthew 14:13
“…He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone…” Matthew 14:23
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up…” Mark 1:35
I believe focused time alone with God is crucial for every believer. Without it, we’re unprepared, running aimlessly and punching at open space as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9…picture a noted computer entrepreneur dancing on TV, its bad (ok, he tried, but it was still bad – not that there is anything wrong with bad dancing). Sadly, without focused time alone with God, we’re missing out on [don’t miss this] communion with the Creator of the whole universe. This is nothing new or profound, but it is basic.
Just like most of you, I get a ton of email each day – between my home and work accounts, its data overload (throw Twitter and Facebook in there and my head starts spinning at times – but its fun!). One email that I always read/scan at work is called SmartBrief on Leadership. It’s a collection of articles on leadership, innovation, etc.; there’s always one or two articles that are pretty good reads. I also never miss the daily quote at the bottom.
I always find it interesting to read the articles with two hats on: corporate director and Christ Follower – even though they are one and the same…hopefully, you know what I mean. I guess I look at life and all my experiences through bifocal lenses…you know, you’ve seen people with them on – constantly lifting their head up and down to see things through the two sections of their glasses. I do that with most everything – my wife can confirm that I can find the comedy, absurdity, profoundness, etc. in most stuff (I talk to the TV a lot).
Anyway, today there was an interview with Brazilian banker Roberto Setubal, who transformed his company in a number of ways: culture, organizational structure, decision-making processes, and leadership style. It was an interesting Q&A but one jumped out at me:
Number One: A Reading
I usually read The Daily Bread at some point each day and today’s reading was great.
I won’t retype it here (click here to read it for yourself), but what a gut check to even consider having the attitude that Job had in 2:10: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
I’m “all over” the GOOD stuff and my adversities are pretty tame compared to some (especially after reading a Tweep’s post about here trip to India – truly CRAZY LOVE in action). I pray that I would be enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to have this Job-itutde [ok, so now God will provide me an opportunity…].
If you are not familiar with Andrew Peterson…get! On my way to work today, I queued up a shuffle of his CDs on the iPhone and heard an older song that I hadn’t heard in a while…just had to share. I hope this isn’t morbid, but I told my wife that I wanted this played at my memorial service.
DENNARR(dot)COM 