Wednesday, August 29, 2018

RING RING

Ring Ring

"Hello?"
     "Hello Jonah."
"Yeah, this is Jonah.  Who's this?"
     "This is God."
"God?  God as in the big guy in the sky, or just another false ba'al god?"
     "God as in 'I am that I am'."
"What would You have me to do?  I am Your servant."
     "I want you to go to Nineveh, Jonah.  I have a message for the people of Nineveh, and I want you to deliver it for me."
"Yeah, that's probably not going to happen, God.  You see..., well..., those people are way too wicked."
     "I know, and it is their wickedness that has come to my attention.  I am sending you to go and preach against this city."
"...making static noises... What's that God?  You're breaking up.  I think we have a bad connection.  Call me later on a better line!"

Click


     We all probably know the story, that when called to go to Nineveh, Jonah decided to run in the opposite direction instead.  His running, however, was met by a storm that rocked the boat until he was finally thrown off, only to be swallowed by a big fish and eventually vomited out on shore after three days time.  All of these experiences could have been avoided if Jonah had simply done what God was calling him to, right?  Now we know that eventually he did go to Nineveh.  In fact, we read after the fish vomit incident that in Jonah 3:3, Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh where he preached God's original message that the city was about to be overturned.  The people fasted and repented, and as a result the city was saved from destruction.  Happy ending, yea!!!

     But before we harp on Jonah for his original response to God's calling, perhaps we should take a look at ourselves.  God hasn't stopped calling His people, but like we read in Jonah's case, some people have decided to stop listening.  We vow, "God, I'll do anything!"  We plead, "God send me anywhere!"  We pray to be used by God, yet when the call comes in and the assignment is given, we run the other way because we do not like what or where He is calling us to be.  He is looking for that obedience we promised, yet finds us running the other way.

     Jonah did eventually do what God called him to, but at a cost.  Would it not have been easier for him to simply obey God from the start?  And wouldn't it be to our benefit to do the same?  How many more steps are involved in the task simply by trying to avoid the task?

     Perhaps God has called you.  Which direction are you running?  Are you running away from what He is asking of you, or are you running full steam into the calling?  Ring Ring.  Its for you.  Its God and He has a mission for you.  How will you answer?



Wednesday, August 22, 2018

GASPING FOR AIR

A while back, in the summer of 2012 to be exact, I took my kids to the local water park.  Now I will be the first to admit I am not the world’s best swimmer.  Keep that in mind as I tell my story.  My son (10 at the time) was in a tube, and my daughter (7) and I were sitting in another tube together.  I noticed that it wasn’t all that comfortable for her, the way we were sitting, so I decided I would get out and let her sit in the tube with me holding on to the outside.  The plan seemed wise but failed from the start.  The moment I went to lean out, the tube flipped.  She had arm floaties on but still I went to grab her closer to me.  As I reached to grab her by the floatie, I pulled her floatie off.

I began to panic because now neither of us was close to a tube and in water I could not touch the bottom of.  My thoughts went to getting her up out of the water as I knew she must be scared.  But in all my fighting to get her above water, I began to need help myself.  From under the water I could see my arms extending out putting her face above the water as I continued to gasp and cough and gulp.  I heard the whistle and knew help was coming.  Within 20 seconds I was being saved by a lifeguard.  My first thought was embarrassment.  I couldn’t believe that I was the one that had to be saved.  But after the humiliation wore off that a teenager had to save me, I felt relief.  I was relieved my daughter was alright and our lives were both saved.  I was thankful also that God was watching out for us.

Now I don’t go around looking for ways to get into trouble so I can make illustrations from my follies, but as I was driving past that water park last night, the memory of this event played again in my mind.  I remembered my gasping for air.  Never before had I been in a position where I was so desperate for air.  And then I heard this little voice in my spirit ask, “Are you that desperate for Me?”  What?  Of course I am.  “Are you so desperate for Me that you need Me as much as you needed air that day?”  Until I gave an honest answer, the question played over and over in my head.

It is from an honest heart that I share with you that I was raised in a Christian family, received the Holy Spirit, went to a Christian college, and did all the right religious things.  But the one thing I find that I struggle with at times is a passion for God.  I know that God loves me and has a great plan for my life, and I embrace that.  However, God wants me to have a desire for Him just as I had desire to breathe that day.  I was one track minded in that moment – get my daughter to safety and myself next.  I could not have been here today without this focus and determination to hold on for the help of a lifeguard.  But I cannot afford to live one more moment without a passion for God and His statutes either.  My life means nothing without God in it.

The challenge I lay before you today I first lay before myself.  Does my soul long after Him?  Do I linger in His presence, crave Him, desire Him, want nothing more than to be with Him?  Psalm 42:1-2 reads, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, Oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet God?”  Am I as desperate for God as I was for breath?  I can guarantee you that after not only my water park salvation, but also after having God ask me this question, my desire must change.  What about you?  Will you join me in making God your desire today?  But let's go one step further and answer the question of how.  We can vow change till we're blue in the face, but what will we do to make the desire to change a reality?  God is reaching out, like the lifeguard, and He has brought salvation to us.  What will we do?

Thursday, August 9, 2018

TAKING OUT THE TRASH

“[Hezekiah] removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan).”
II Kings 18:4


In reading the account of King Hezekiah again in II Kings 18 recently, I found myself asking questions concerning what I thought was precious and what is truly not.  Better put, I found myself contemplating trash.  Odd, right?  But let me explain.   In II Kings 18:4, we read about how this 25 year old king of Judah began to take a stand.  Idols had replaced God, as the people began to worship all the things that were not of God.  So then, Hezekiah made the demand and took the actions to remove the high places, smash the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles.  He even busted the golden snake from Moses' time which they were still worshiping.  Following this in verse 6, we read that the young king held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow Him, keeping the commands as were originally given to Moses.  It was because of this that the LORD gave him success in all he did.

Now with this brief outline of the story, let’s talk ‘trash’.  This passage has me questioning of myself just how much 'trash' I need to take out.  Is it possible that in some way I too am worshiping or giving time to what I need to give up?  Very much so.  But how?  Let me explain it this way.  Back in March we purchased a home.  While the thought of moving into a new home is always exciting, the thought of packing for the move can be far from it.  Not only did we need to grab all the heavy furniture, but we also needed to go through everything as we were packing.  The more trash we got rid of in the process meant the more excess trash we weren't taking with us to the new home.  With a family of six, however, you can imagine this was a long process of sorting and throwing many things out.  But this cleaning was not for nothing, for in it we removed a great deal of what was no longer needed.  We had been holing on to it because we thought it was precious at the time, but in the end it waste we hadn't removed prior.  Still, isn't this the exact same thing we do spiritually?  We hold on to what we think is precious when all along it is a weight that simply holds us back from the freedom God wants us to have, and ultimately from God.  

In a way, this trash is nothing more than an idol.  Agreed, you may not be bowing down to it like the high places, scared stones, Asherah poles, and the the snake that Hezekiah dealt with, but anything that takes the place of God is indeed an idol.  Any trash that we fail to remove can also become an idol as it prevents our relationship with God.  In a season where I want to move freely in God's work, I find that I need to get rid of things in my life.  I need to 'take out the trash' so to say.  And in order to do this I am going to need to go through everything in my life, take an honest inventory of whether it is still needed or just assumed precious, and throw away the garbage.

What are a few of these "trashy" items that need to be tossed?  Consider attitude.  In all honesty I find myself battling (even at 43 years old) my attitude.  I want it my way and in my timing and in demanding this I am being selfish, putting me above others and above God.  For me, this is a high place in that I put myself in this high place of status and prominence.  Another piece of trash in my life is very easily my devotion to watching television.  You may not think this as an idol, but to me the ability to watch TV, and even control to a degree what is watched in the house, is a sacred thing for me.  This may even be a sacred stone in my own life that needs to be smashed.  And I think pride also battles for my devotion, a pole that needs to be chopped down.  While I go through the waves of esteem, I also battle with thinking I am better than others, be it spiritually, mentally, or in talents.  In taking this look into me, I see a great deal of trash.

But Hezekiah also dealt with the snake, Nehushtan.  Going back to Numbers 21:4-9, we see that Moses was told by God to craft a snake and put it on a pole to prevent the people's deaths when bitten by a snake.  These biting snakes, however, were a result of the people's words against Moses and the LORD.  They were instructed to look at the snake in order to live, but as John 3:14-15 points out, the intention was not to worship the snake but rather to aid the people to look up to heaven.  Years after Moses, this snake was still being looked at, and worshiped.  What in my life is the same, meant to have brought me to God but that I have turned into an idol?  Perhaps food.  I have become somewhat of a glutton.  While food is a gift of God to aid in our survival, I have allowed myself to be a little too cozy in my relationship with food, and have allowed it to lead me to areas of weight gain, health issues, and the like.

When Hezekiah got the kingdom right, and in essence took out the trash, what happened?  He received the benefit of God’s blessing.  Because Hezekiah got right, the LORD gave him success.  That is what I want for us.  I want you and I to be doing things right per God that even the sweat of our brow is blessed by God.  So this is why I feel that the trash must be taken out that has been crowding up our hearts.  We need to get out of the house the things that have managed one way or another to come in and are not of God.  We need to do it now so that we too can see the fullness of God's blessing like Hezekiah did.

GOD OUR FATHER

If one were to move away from the misconception that God is so distant in His status and truly understand, as Christ so often pointed ou...