Spiritual Maturity

So this week for Home Team I really wanted to do something from 2 Kings or Acts just because it's been really fun (and bloody) to read. So while preparing for Home Team, I threw out the quick, "Lord, should we do 2 Kings or Acts?" Quite clearly I heard, "Neither". Now this is pretty big since I really wanted to at least touch on Acts. But obviously God had other plans.

I opened up the reading for Psalms this week and came to this:

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

This is what spiritual maturity looks like. It's no longer a negotiation of "Well, God it's not really sinning is it? I mean, it's not like I killed someone or anything like that." There are no more excuses about so and so or your church not meeting your needs, etc. You step up and say, "Okay God, search me, test me, show me the crap I'm still clinging to and lead me toward freedom."

Randomly today I decided to listen to an older Perry Noble sermon. I never do that. It's just not something that ever crosses my mind, but today I did. What was it on? The title, "Me or Jesus?" intrigued me so I downloaded it. What did it end up being on? Spiritual maturity. Specifically asking God,

"What do I still lack?"
"What am I resisting that you still want to do in me?"

These are scary questions just like David's requests in Psalm 139. Why? Because the answers just may change your life forever. It may turn what you now know as normal upside-down.

So we have a choice. We can stay spiritually stunted, just hanging out, going through the motions and feeling empty. Or we can step out and say, "Search me, test me, show me, lead me" and find out that God has so much more in store for us than we could have ever imagined if we'll just let Him work through us.

GO and do the same!

Have you ever had the experience of someone asking you for something and you simply did not want to help? We usually have lots of good reasons to not aid certain types of people. Perhaps they were mean or rude, the kind of person who would never show gratitude or possibly even jeer at you if you attempted any kind of assistance. What keeps us from helping people in need?

Let's go to Luke where a religious law expert asks Jesus what he thinks is a win-win question. He'll say the right answer, Jesus will praise him and he'll feel smug and good about himself. But that's not what happens. Pick up the story in Luke 10:25-29

So far so good. But the man wanted more and boy did Jesus give him more here.

Jesus tells the famous "Good Samaritan" parable. (Bit of a pet peeve: "good" is such an underwhelming word for this act of mercy so I'm calling him the Compassionate Samaritan)
Here are some interesting things to note:

• Who passes the injured, naked man by? The most respected and "religious" members of the community.
• Who ends up literally saving the man's life? The most universally hated enemy of the Jewish people, a Samaritan.

It's hard for us to truly understand how much Samaritans were despised by Jewish people. It wasn't simply a prejudice preference...it was a cultural hatred that had been around for hundreds of years.

Which leads us to the question: did Jesus answer the man's question? No. He turned it back on the religious law expert and made him examine his own heart and motives. Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, was combating this heart issue almost constantly.

Luke 9: 49-50--the disciples proudly report to Jesus that they told someone to stop casting out demons in Jesus' name because the person "isn't in our group". How does Jesus respond? He yells at them! “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you."

Luke 9:51-56--the Samaritans don't readily welcome Jesus and the disciples want Jesus to rain fire down on the village and destroy it. How does Jesus respond? This time, He really lays the smack down! "But Jesus turned and rebuked them."

So what does this have to do with us? Think about it: how many times have we been jealous of what other Christians or churches are doing or just mad because they don't do things our way? We criticize them for everything and refuse to help. We tell them to stop because they are not part of "our group". But Jesus made it clear. If they are for Jesus and you oppose them, you are opposing HIM!!!! Scary!!!

Also think about the one people group or person who have rejected you. Our first response is much like the disciples...rain down fire, baby! But Jesus is asking us to be completely different. Our first response is to be love. In the parable of the Compassionate Samaritan, the Samaritan is said to have had "compassion to act" when seeing the injured man. That word "compassion" in the original Greek is a rare word which has incredibly strong connotation. It literally means "gut-wrenching movement within your deepest being". Whoa.

When met with people in need who are messy, mean, different, unfriendly, inconvenient and just plain unlikeable is my first response love? If not, why not? What does that say about my heart and about my relationship with Christ?

When we look at the last part of the parable, Jesus ends: "Yes, now go and do the same." This is not a friendly suggestion. It's a direct command. We are to go and literally do the same.

Blaine, a South African former Mormon and current Episcopalian seminary student, blogged on this parable and gave a powerful paraphrase of this command:
"Go and do this kind of mercy — this gut-wrenching movement within your deepest being — to last person you can imagine as a neighbor to you"

Then I realized that my heart was bitter...

Psalm 73 highlights that blew me away! Asaph sounds like he wrote this yesterday.

But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
4 They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong.
5 They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.

13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
14 I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.
15 If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people.

16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is!
17 Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Trust

This week at Home Team we looked at Luke 4-5 where Jesus calls Peter as a disciple. I really loved these verses since Matthew and Mark have the "Cliff Notes" version of the story...

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

Luke, on the other hand, gives us the more detailed story which revealed some interesting facts.

1. Jesus knew Peter (Simon) prior to calling him as a disciple. In fact, Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law when He was invited to Peter's house.
2. Peter had a mother-in-law which means Peter had a wife!
3. Jesus used Peter's boat to preach from and Peter sat there and listened. He was familiar with Jesus' teaching.
4. When Jesus asked Peter to go and fish, it wasn't a simple request. Peter had been fishing all night. He was probably exhausted. Not only that, he was an expert on his trade. Going to fish during the day was just stupid. It made no logical sense.
5. Peter trusted Jesus anyway and went out to fish.
6. Not only was Peter's boat filled with fish, but also James and John (Peter's fishing partners) got in on the deal and their boat was filled to almost sinking.
7. What does tons and tons of fish mean? Money and provision for Peter, James and John's families.
8. Peter's first response was to recognize he was a sinner and that Jesus was holy.
9. Jesus reassures Peter and calls him to do something amazing.
10. Peter's response? He left everything in God's hands and followed Jesus.

Last week, I simply could not get this story out of my head. I thought about it constantly. Here were some of my reflections on the passage.

• Do you really trust God? When it came down to it, if God asked you to do something seemingly illogical would I still do it?
• Recognize that we're sinners saved by a Holy Savior. We can't do this on our own.
• When God calls you to do something, He provides for your needs. Peter wouldn't have left his family had he not known in a HUGE way that Jesus was providing for their everyday needs.
• What do you have to leave behind in order to completely follow Jesus?

Mark 12 rocks my world!

So this was a comment I left on the Route 66 site, but I liked enough I'm reposting it here as well:
18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. 20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. 22 This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

What struck me about this verse and what's haunted me all day is the phrase "You don't know the power of God." How often do we really acknowledge the power of God? More often we tend to limit God's power just like the Sadducees, deciding what God can and cannot do even when He's standing right in front of them!
As a culture we've lost most of our sense of awe or wonder. I recently heard a secular comedian bemoan the fact that we ascribe the word "awesome" to things as mundane as socks and hot dogs. Our God is awe-inspiring. We're talking about the Lord of Heaven's Armies (notice it's "armies" not "army")!!! He runs the universe. The only reason you have your next breath (yes, that one you just took) is because He orchestrated it. Yet, just like the disciples, we forget this fact. Even though we have witnessed miracles in our own lives and in the life of others, when it comes to tough times, we still wonder, "Gee, will God show up?". Why? We don't know the power of God. It reminds me of a hymn I grew up singing that goes...
Oh what peace we often forfeit
Oh what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Lord, let me remember everyday that you are a powerful God, One that can do far more than my finite mind can comprehend. Help me to have faith that You can accomplish anything for Your glory. Lord, let me experience Your power every day as I entrust my soul, my body and my mind to You. God, You are an awesome God, not "awesome" like socks, but truly, overwhelmingly awe-inspiring. To You be all glory and praise forever!!!

Acts

If you haven't realized this yet, I just want you to know God is doing a BIG thing right now in the lives of His people and His churches. Read any major blog of any major church and there is this common theme of reading God's Word, listening to His voice and living out the book of Acts.

As an example, my mom called tonight to share what Pastor Leo preached about this morning. It was near identical to the sermon I heard this morning. God's speaking to His leaders and thank goodness, they are listening. Here's the story that Leo shared this morning that blew my socks off!

San Diego is a big military town so Mission Valley Christian Fellowship has always been involved in supporting the troops at home, providing for families and what not. So one particular soldier, I don't know his name so I'm going to call him Bryan for narrative's sake, but his wife is Hispanic and only speaks Spanish. Bryan's been praying for his wife's salvation for some time and has taken his wife to several churches around San Diego. Her biggest complaint has always been that she can't understand the preachers because her English is poor.

Finally, Bryan brought his wife last Sunday to MVCF because the church has a reputation of being so supportive of the military families. Now you have to understand, Leo is just Leo. He's loud, he talks fast and furious, he gets on random tangents and using tons of idioms and sayings. And somehow in the midst of all of this, God works wonders. Well, Bryan and his wife sat through the service and at the end, Bryan's wife went up to pray to accept the Lord. She went straight to the ONE prayer team couple that speaks fluent Spanish.

When Bryan was asking his wife what was different about Leo's sermon, she said, "Because he was preaching in Spanish." Bryan was stunned. Leo preached the whole sermon in English. The Holy Spirit had literally translated the Word of God for this woman so when she heard the Word being preached, it was in HER language.

4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
Acts 2:4-12

Allowable, but not God's best

As part of our Home Team, we read the passage Matthew 19 where Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who tried to bait Jesus with a controversial subject at the time: divorce. The Pharisees were hoping Jesus would cater to one side and then the people who ascribed to the other side of the debate would get angry.

But Jesus threw them a curveball. He didn't pander to either side. He went back to the original intent of marriage: one man, one woman, together as one to glorify God. He then explained that while divorce was allowed by Moses, it was because people had "hard hearts". It was allowable, but not the best God had intended.

Then we looked at 1 Corinthians 6:12 where Paul addresses the Corinthians who were pulling the line, "Well, I'm saved so I can do anything and get forgiven, right?" Paul very strongly responds by saying, "'Everything is permissable for me' but not everything is beneficial."

Our conversation led to what are things that our culture, even our Christian culture says is allowable, but is not God's best for us.

My example was that I have to be gone for four days to go to this recruiting fair in Seattle. According to my district's policy, I'm not able to take more than 3 discretionary days off in a row. This was a problem. I had several people tell me, "Oh, just call in and say you're sick the last day." or "Say it was something else, nobody will know."

But the truth was I would know. I would know lying was wrong. It wasn't ethical even if "everyone does it". No matter how much I would rationalize (or as Pastor Greg says tell myself "rational lies") or blame my district's policy, I would know and everyone else I talked to about the situation would know that I had lied. What kind of blessing from God would I forfeit if I deliberately said, "You know God, you said you'd take care of me, but I think I know better so I'm just going to fake being sick so I don't lose pay,"?

I didn't lie. I put in for four days. I talked with my administrator quite honestly. And guess what? God took care of me. My administrator cleared me for the fourth day. I won't lose pay. God honored my faithfulness and the fact that I took a stand and said, "Yes," to integrity even though Christian friends and colleagues had said, "No biggie."

So my question is what have you accepted as "allowable" that is not really God's best?

• Is it fudging on your taxes because God knows you really can't afford to pay it all?
• Is it not being honest with that friend because maybe he or she won't like me if I speak the truth?
• Is it laughing at that off-color, racist or sexist joke just to fit in? Is it making the joke just to feel accepted?

In this morning's service, this verse was read and it really resonated with me. It's from Psalm 25:21:

May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in You.

Is your hope really in Him and His ability to take care of you?

Things that excite me!

1. Jesus! No this is not the spontaneous Sunday School answer. Jesus really is exciting! Reading through Matthew has been wonderful. It's like meeting up with an old friend at a coffee shop and kicking yourself for letting the friendship go for so long.
2. Pastors who tell it like it is! If you have never read any posts of Perry Noble or Steve Furtick, I would highly recommend you read this one and this one. These guys love Jesus and have a passion for reaching the lost.
3. Bones! I started my anatomy unit last week and dang it, I just love studying the human body! My students just finished their bone project where they had to meticulously draw to scale the skeleton of one of their group members. I was really picky too. I had one kid redraw the clavicle 13 times. (The clavicle is also known as your collarbone by the way). In the end though, the projects look great!
4. Fresh and Easy market! One just came to my neck of the woods and I love it. It has everything I need for cheap AND they have constant samples which made me a loyal customer from day one.
5. My microwave's normal again! My hometeam gals got to hear my story of how my nacho chips caught on fire in my microwave last week. The strange thing is that my chips, cheese and plate were not burned at all. In fact, they tasted normal (well, I didn't taste the plate, but there were no burn marks). It wouldn't have been so weird had I not just read Exodus 3!

Flannelgraph Heroes

I don't remember the Bible saying anything about Jesus being a member of the Bee Gees.

Being a PK(pastor's kid) for 21 years, I heard all the major Bible stories and then some over and over and over again. An aura always seemed to surround Biblical characters as if they always knew what to do and if they didn't, they listened to what God said. My flannelgraph view of Moses, Jacob, Joseph and Abraham had been basically unchanged since elementary school when our church really did use cut out pieces of flannel to represent different Bible characters.

This is the first time in my life that I've actually read through the Bible instead of taking a little here, a little there, do a subject study on this, read a section of that, etc. And I've been stunned by my own naive view of these people I've known about my whole life. Here's what I've found:

• Flannelgraph Moses: A little scared at times, but basically a nice guy who did what God said and then messed it up in the desert.
  
• Reality: Moses was a pain in the behind! He argued and complained with God over stupid things ("What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm a liar? I don't like speaking in front of people."), doubted God's promises, got fed up as a leader and wanted to bail out. In fact, when you actually read the whole parting of the Red Sea account, Moses has very little to do with anything! It's God, God, God, God! Moses was just kind of standing there.


• Flannelgraph Abraham: Faithful, old guy who got a kid after a while, almost killed his kid, but didn't and has a song about him that's similar to the Hokey Pokey but you praise the Lord instead of "that's what it's all about".
• Reality: Abraham messed things up too! He lied about his relationship to his wife...twice! He gave in to his wife's poor idea about Hagar and then gave in to her again when Sarah complained about Hagar. Yes, he showed great faith, but at other times you wonder where his heart was.
• Flannelgraph Joseph: A nice kid, who had mean brothers. He got sold into slavery in Egypt, ran away from a horny woman, got put in prison anyway, interpreted a bunch of dreams and then became the (almost) King of Egypt. He forgave his brothers and gave them stuff.
• Reality: Joseph rocks my world! Of all the Patriachs (does he even count? I'm not sure why everyone leaves Joseph out), he's the one I'd want to be like the most. He shows constant integrity, faithfulness and passion amid struggle after struggle. When his brothers come to Egypt, he doesn't just give them a group hug and cry a lot. He tests their motives. He throws one brother in jail and demands that the rest bring Benjamin. Then he plants his own silver cup in Benjamin's bag as yet another test of his brothers' sincerity. It takes Judah sobbing at Joseph's feet, offering to take Benjamin's place before Joseph let's himself known.

So what did I learn from this?

1. You have to read the Bible. Let me say it another way. YOU have to read the Bible. Not the pastor who tells you what it says. Not the VeggieTales version with dancing cucumbers and singing grapes. YOU have to read it yourself. You have to read the BIBLE. Not a commentary. Not a Bible study. The BIBLE itself. Otherwise, you're just getting flannelgraph heroes, not the real deal.
2. God uses whomever He wants to bring Himself glory. Right about the second time Moses was complaining, I would have kicked him off the mountain and started looking elsewhere. It's interesting to think that sometimes God uses us in spite of us. I'd like to be the kind of person, like Joseph, who God works through.

The Good, the Odd and the Sexy...

Here's the amazing thing about reading the Bible through for yourself--you find a ton of cool things that no one ever preached on or did a Bible study on or even mentioned. Here are just a few that have stuck out to me in the past few days:

1. Exodus 4:24-26...this verse blew me away! It's so random and odd! So I did a little research and come to find out this is one, if not the most, contested verse in the Old Testament. It has something to do with pronouns (is the "him" Gershom or Moses?) and also with Zipporah (how did she know what to do?) and with Moses' lack of obedience (why had he not circumcised his own son?). If anything, we see that Moses' lack of obedience was dangerous not just to himself, but to his family as well.
2. Genesis 42-43: Joseph is often seen as the overly nice brother who willingly forgives his brothers immediately...unfortunately, that's not what the Bible says. Joseph tested his brothers mercilessly and even threw Simeon in jail! Although I have to say, I don't blame him. Simeon's reputation was not too hot (Genesis 34:24-26).
3. Proverbs 5 instructs you to have great sex with your spouse. It also warns you not to sleep around. I love the imagery here too. It's so over the top! "Why spill your springs in the streets/ your streams in the city squares?" Haha...that's great.
4. Matthew 17:24-27--Too bad H&R Block doesn't offer a guarantee like this one!
5. Matthew 18:21--Got to admit it...I can relate to Peter here. Ever try to impress someone with your own holiness and it totally backfires? Welcome to Peter's world! He tried so hard to be the goodie-two-shoe with this question and Jesus completely turned the tables on him. If I was Peter, I'd be feeling pretty dumb at that point.

Well, just a few interestering "ah-ha!" moments. How about you? What have you found that has stunned you?

Giving your best...because you don't know any other way.

So for the last month and a half, I have been sick. Not terribly sick, just sick enough to be drained and tired and worn out. Everyone has told me to take some time off and relax or just scale back at school.
Well, today, sometime between singing our classroom "F.U.N. Fractions!" song with hand motions, strutting down an invisible catwalk wearing a 2 foot tall hat made of construction paper(I was FIERCE!), brainstorming Greek and Latin roots that mean "to write" and cutting out 150 fluency cards for a game I realized I can't "scale back". I don't know any other way to teach!
It never entered my head to cancel my "Eradicate the Misuse of 'Like' and 'You know'" campaign I had planned for this week or to hold off starting my fractions unit (THE unit for 5th grade!). I knew I had a job to do and I had the tools to do them (well, besides health, but anyway...).

It got me thinking...what would our lives be like if we worshipped God in everything we did simply because we didn't know any other way to live. Paul exhorts us to take hold of the life that is truly life in 1 Tim. 6:19 instead of "scaling back" to lean on wealth or earthly enjoyment. So how do we live in such a way to really take hold of this life that is truly life?
Paul says to:

• Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (6:11)
• Fight the good fight of the faith. (6:12)
• Take hold of your eternal life; don't expect others to "feed" you everything (6:12)

While I can take a sick day to recuperate and leave my class with a substitute teacher, know there are no substitutes when it comes to personal, daily worship of Your Savior.

So what kind of worshipper are you? The one who when times get tough sits at the desk and checks email while the students run wild("After all God, it's been a hard week. I just need a break from serving You")? Or are you the one who still sang the National Anthem at the top of your lungs and juggled five different student writing conferences because you couldn't imagine doing any less? Can you really relate to David when he said...

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Heaven's Armies.

I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD.

With my whole being, body and soul, I shout joyfully to the living God.

A single day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!

Psalm 84:1-2, 10.

S.O.A.P. and much, much more!

Pastor Greg did an awesome job today equipping the congregation for Bible study. Not only did he show us the S.O.A.P. method of studying the Bible, he also talked about attitude toward Bible reading. Here's what stuck out to me today:

• "You can celebrate God in a crowd, but you can only get to know Him in private moments" So true! I went to a Christmas party about a month ago at a friend's house and there were at least 40 people crammed into her cute bungalow. The stereo was as loud as possible, everyone was chatting and basically you were just there to celebrate, not to get to know anyone. It was only when my friend and I went to a quiet room by ourselves that we were able to really catch up and get to know each other, away from the music, the noise and everything else.
• "Having an open heart doesn't mean you accept everything." I hate it when people say if you disagree with them, that you are "close-minded". Just because I have a moral compass with which I analyze and evaluate positions and statements doesn't mean I'm "close-minded". It means I'm using the brain God gave me!
• Spiritual maturity can be defined as going out and "feeding" others. Who are you pouring into?

S.O.A.P. stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer.

Here's my example from today:

Scripture

Psalm 11: I trust in the LORD for protection. So why do you say to me, "Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?"

But the Lord is in His holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. For the righteous LORD loves justice. The virtuous will see His face.

Observation

The first part reminded me of some of the late night preachers you see who are preaching "doom and gloom" on America and are urging you to "fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!", sometimes quite literally. The Psalmist doesn't even budge, but puts trust completely into the hands of God. God is the Judge, not me, not the "religious", not even the righteous. It's God who judges, I am not the final say, nor is any other person.

"He hates those who love violence" Hmmm...I wonder how many Christian men have ever really read that and thought about their own attitudes toward violence. How many times have I heard, "I loved that part when the guy's head was blown off! That was sweet!" and I just cringe. Let me write that a little clearer for you. He. Hates. Those. Who. Love. Violence. Did you see what God does to those who love violence?

Favorite part was "the virtuous will see His face". Not just have a casual acquaintance, not see Him as He heads off to do something important. See...His...face. Awesome.

Application

For me, there is a sense of no matter what calamity is upon me, no matter what the hopeless situation, I have to know deep within me that God will be my protection. That has been really hard, especially when I see injustice or experience injustice that I cannot change. A friend of my family's was unjustly fired and the administrator used "Christian-speak" to fire her. He literally told her that it was God's will to move on. It was devistating not only for her, but for everyone else involved. I'm still mad at the administrator, but I realized, oh my gosh...he's got to contend with the God of the Universe for firing an older single woman with no family who was doing His will. That's worse than anything I could ever do or say to him.

And the last part...this should be my prayer...to be one of the virtuous to see His face.

Prayer

Lord, You know my heart, You know how much it irks me to see others mistreated and how much I want to take things into my own hands and "fly like a bird". But You've said You have that covered and that my job is to seek after Your face and rest in Your holiness. Let me not be distracted by other things, no matter how "important" or "essential" they may seem. May I always seek Your kingdom first above all else. Amen.

Faithful

It was a tough read today, not due to anything being terribly difficult to read, but mostly the application part. In Genesis we find Abraham pulling the same stupid stunt he tried in Egypt and oh look, it backfires on him! I love how Abraham tries to pull the "Well, it's kinda true," line off, but it's obvious to everyone that he purposefully deceived Abimelech to save his own hide. But despite Abraham's stupid idea, God was still faithful and basically saved Abraham (and consequently Sarah) from himself. Not only that, right after, we read of the birth of Isaac...God continued to be faithful despite the sceptical laughter and the repeated poor decisions.

Now it's easy to sit back and criticize Abraham for his faults, but tonight his dilemma hit home for me. I've been in the process of researching international teaching opportunities and in the early fall I had been looking at one particular recruiting fair in Iowa. I was so excited to go, I had the application ready and everything...but one thing after another kept coming up until it was a very definite "NO" from God. I was devastated and really didn't know what to do next. Well, a few weeks later I discovered another agency that would be less expensive(free) and their fair would be much easier to attend. Within weeks I was accepted by the agency, registered for the recruitment fair, booked the hotel and airfare at unheard of discounts (my airfare was $5, I'm serious!)...everything had God's fingerprint on it. The problem is there aren't a lot of good schools attending. In fact, none of my first choice schools are going at all. It's been a struggle to try to understand, "Okay God, you're sending me there, what do you want me to do?"

Tonight I hit a breaking point. I found out all my top schools are attending not my fair, but the fair in Iowa. Here I am trying to make smart decisions about my future and it just seems that what I really want isn't happening. I considered changing plans and going to Iowa or possibly flying to another fair further away. Then I reread about Abraham. God promised him a son and he waited and waited, not a few months like me, but years and years. And I realized I was looking for an "Ishmael", the easy way out, the shortcut. I wanted God's best but I wanted it my way which really isn't God's best is it?

So once again I'm learning the hard way to be faithful because God is faithful. It's very clear that I'm not in control of anything, God is and quite frankly that's really scary.

Psalm 8

I could blog on this and discuss all the intricacies of this psalm, but I think that would cheapen it a bit. David says specifically that it's for the choir director. So I'm having my little brother and 70 of his college buddies under the direction of Harold Clousing tell you about Psalm 8 in a way that really connects with me. Hopefully it will bless you as well. Click below to listen to the Azusa Pacific University Men's Chorale sing "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name".

Modern Day Miracles

Reading through Genesis today it really hits home the point that God sticks to his end of the bargain even when we humans are ready to bail out or manipulate the situation. Earlier we read that Abram believed God's promise for a son and it was counted as righteousness. But years have passed and nothing. So we have the messy deal with Hagar and Ishmael (who consequently God still protects and blesses...what a gracious God we serve) and then end up with Abram becoming Abraham, Sarai becoming Sarah and both being personally visited by God to once again remind them of His covenant. We know how the story goes. Isaac is born, a miracle baby, and God's covenant is fulfilled.

That's great, we think, sitting at the kitchen table or lounging on the couch. But miracles like that just don't happen nowadays...or so we think.

When I was home for Christmas, I went to church with the folks expecting the regular "it's almost Christmas everyone!" message. Boy, was I ever unprepared. Pastor Dennis' son and daughter-in-law had been praying for a child, but the daughter-in-law had had cervical cancer at an early age and had major, damaging surgery to the point where the doctors said no amount of reconstruction or treatment could ever help her get pregnant. Dennis's wife, Betty, was devistated since she always wanted to be a grandma. She was praying with her friend, Sandra when Sandra told her, "I see you being a grandma. I just know you will." So they prayed for a miracle.

Well, at this point, Pastor Leo who was telling the story broke out in the biggest grin you could ever see. He looked over to the right side of the stage where Betty was coming up the stairs, holding her grandson.

When Dennis and Betty's daughter-in-law had gone to the doctor because she was not feeling right, they had thought the cancer had come back. They were totally unprepared for what the doctors found. She had been healed...completely healed. Every piece of flesh that had been surgically removed had grown back perfectly. The doctors said they had never, ever seen this sort of thing. Not only that, but she was pregnant.

So the day before Christmas Eve Dennis and Betty, their son and daughter-in-law had come to dedicate that little boy, a complete and utter miracle, to God. In his prayer Pastor Leo reminded the congregation of similar little boys who were medical miracles...Isaac, Samuel, John, Jesus.

The whole situation threw into my face my own complete lack of faith. So often when people are healed we credit medical science or good timing for what happens instead of praising our El-Shaddai, our God Almighty. It really made me wonder, when have I ever trusted God with a miracle? When have I ever prayed, really prayed for a miracle, something that only He could do? When have I ever trusted Him that much, given Him that worry and completely rested in His sovereignty?
As my favorite poet T.S. Eliot wrote, "...humility is endless." How true, how true.

January 6--Amazing!--Part II

Matthew 5 is completely unAmerican, isn't it. Our culture is constantly telling us to "Stand up for your rights!" In fact, growing up in San Diego we have a newscaster, Michael Turko, whose sole job is to help people who are having problems with businesses or agencies and his slogan which he literally screams at you is, "It ain't right!"

How completely different then is what Jesus tells us. This passage is definitely what's called "hard teaching".

• 5:22--If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. If you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
• 5: 28--Anyone who even looks at a woman (or man if you in fact are a woman) with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
• 5:39--Do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.
• 5:40--If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.
• 5:41--If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.
• 5:44--Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

A lot of times we tend to think, "Well, Jesus didn't really mean that. I mean, it's not right for someone to slap me!" Or in our culture of the quick comeback and witty insult, it seems almost natural to curse someone.

But that's the whole point isn't it. Jesus is asking us to stand out, to be light (5:14). In fact, he goes as far as to say "But you are to be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect." (5:48)

Today serving in the children's ministry I was once again reminded of James 1:22: But don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. How long have we been fooling ourselves, thinking we're doing great while insulting coworkers, complaining about how our "rights" have been violated and so forth. We are called to do and as we are finding out from God's Word, doing is dramatically different than what we're used to.

January 6--Amazing!--Part I

During today's reading, several things struck me as amazing, things I had never really "seen" before.

• Genesis 14:19-20--Melchizedek's prayer makes it very clear that Abram's talent at leading his band of men had nothing to do with the outcome. Melchizedek prays, "And blessed be God Most High who has defeated your enemies for you." What a reminder that everything we "accomplish" is only through the grace of our God Most High.
• Genesis 15--Abram, soon to be Abraham, had a close relationship with God. He spoke completely honestly saying, "O Sovereign Lord, what good are all Your blessings when I don't even have a son?" O Sovereign Lord is Adonai Yahweh. Even in the midst of his questioning, Abram understands that God is in complete control of his future.
• Genesis 15 continued--Look at the intimate ways God speaks to Abram. He starts by showing him the stars at night as a picture of the descendents Abram will have. Then God reminds Abram what He's already done in his life. Lastly, we see God walking through the carcasses, sealing the covenant. For a reminder of how HUGE this was, listen to Pastor Greg's sermon on covenants here. It starts at about 35 minutes in.

Intimacy with God

Wow, was this a great day! Here's some stuff that stuck out to me:

• Genesis 5:22-24 Story of Enoch. My commentary says that only Noah and Enoch were said to have "close fellowship with God". In fact, Enoch was so in tune to what God was up to that he didn't die! God just said, "Hey, come on home!" How amazing to have that level of intimacy with your Maker.
• Psalm 3:3 "But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; You are my glory, the One who holds my head high."
• Matthew 4:4 Jesus quotes Scripture as a shield again Satan.
• Matthew 4:6 Satan is not stupid! He knows Scripture! Satan quotes Psalm 91 completely out of context. Psalm 91 is about God being a refuge for those who are fleeing evil (irony).
• Matthew 4:11 Psalm 91 does hold true! Jesus defeats Satan and look who comes to protect Him? Angels!!! Sweet.

Pet peeve: "Religious" teachers who have no intimacy with God. I was driving back from San Diego and scanning the radio and came upon a pastor who was teaching, rather screaming that God does not speak to people today other than what's in the Bible and "if you hear any different, it's a lie!"

My first thought was to get mad, really mad. How many people did this guy just shut out from blessing because of his false teaching. What about the Holy Spirit? You can't throw out one whole aspect of God!

But then I was saddened. How many people live day to day completely missing the intimacy of knowing God, really knowing Him and listening to His voice. Does God still speak to His people today? YES!!! Look at His track record: look at all the people in the Bible, like Enoch, who didn't have Scripture to read. They shared a deep, intimate fellowship with God. That could only happen if a real, living, powerful God spoke directly to them. Since when is there a limit to God's revelation to His people?

First day of reading with the plan

So, I learned really fast that I need to sloooow down. I had read through Genesis 7 before I actually realized I was only supposed to read through Genesis 2. Oops. Well, I'm forcing myself to really meditate on what I've read, even rereading (which I HATE, but have to learn to love). So here's some thoughts on today's reading:

• Psalm 1: "God's Word is so vital we must bathe our thoughts constantly in its principles."
• Matthew 1-2: Can you ever really get tired of the Christmas story?
• Proverbs 1:23 (I know I read ahead but I couldn't help it!): "Come and listen to my counsel. I'll share my heart with you and make you wise." SWEET!

Restart your fresh start

One of the cool things that comes with visiting the folks is getting to go to their church, Mission Valley Christian Fellowship. MVCF is very similar to Palm Valley in that it has a strong vision and no building. They set up every Sunday at a different hotel depending on availability. Pastor Leo is always fun to hear with his passion for God being visible at all times. However, Sunday he was sick and Pastor Rob, his son-in-law, preached in the morning. Youth pastor, Lyle, preached Sunday night.
Wow, what a blessing! Pastor Rob has this amazing ability to lead you into worship patterns. I don't know if that makes any sense, but you'll be tooling along listening passively and Zap! something will convict you and you'll find yourself meditating on it until the next Zap! Quite frankly, I only really hear 50% of his sermon, but the 50% that I hear really sticks. He spoke about the importance of reading the Bible, not in a "I know everything" tone, but in a "Gee, I really blew it this year" tone which was refreshing. He spoke about how God is gracious in that he gives fresh starts, not just on January 1st. Listen to the actual sermon here.
Pastor Lyle, who cracks me up, followed up on Sunday night talking about how God is gracious enough to help you "restart your fresh start". He talked about the importance of being in the Word (hmmm...a theme here) and how he feels that God used Pastor Leo's illness to really convict him of his need to be in the Word constantly. He used the example of Joash, a young man who was in the Word, fell out and then totally blew it. Click here to listen to the sermon.
So as I start this "Route 66" journey with Palm Valley it's encouraging to know that other leaders are following after God's heart by reading His Word and urging others to do the same.
No matter where you are this January 1st know that you can "restart your fresh start" and get in step with God by reading His personal revelation to you.