Sunday, May 25th and the Great Exchange...

Ever so often I reflect back on life and how it came to be that God would find it in his heart to invite someone “like me” into his adventure. Those feelings of “worthlessness” are real and they revisit the soul if I let them. In the continuum of God’s holiness/perfection and the reality of my own failures (sin) is a cavernous gap that seems impossible to navigate. So like so many, there I sat with empty feelings of hopelessness only to fill those voids with the pursuit of career and what it brings to the table. Not a bad thing really, but nothing less than a spiritual diversion that buries those original feelings and thoughts.

When money, success and recognition show their face it’s a great feeling, but what remains is an itch that has yet to be scratched. You know that place in the middle of the back that you can’t reach on your own. It never goes away. It was so with me and God. He never went away…

How does He deal with my sin? How does this perfect God handle my imperfect life? Does he simply forgive and forget? If so, why then do I still remember? If not, how do these seemingly polar opposites get reconciled?

Then one day, for reasons I can’t remember, I read the following:


Revelation 5 - The Lamb Opens the Scroll (New Living Translation)

1 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it.
4 Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. 5 But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. 7 He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song with these words:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God.
And they will reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing.”
13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
belong to the one sitting on the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever.”
14 And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.

John 1:29 (New Living Translation)

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

2 Corinthians 5:21 (New Living Translation)

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.


Here are a few more questions to ponder:

How do these verses answer the questions posed earlier?
What’s the difference between feeling unworthy and feelings of worthlessness?
How does this affect the healing process?


Personal note:

I’m okay. Because of what Christ did for me I can move on and live for him. My reflections today are ones of gratitude, and those feelings of worthlessness are gone; carried away by the Lamb of God. New chapters are being written and the healing is ongoing. That itch is gone, but the journey continues…

Peace and Hope…

Sunday, May 18th The Majesty of God…

Ask yourself; over the years what have I been taught about God that has lead me to view Him as something less than he is? Or, what experiences have I had that have done the same?

We all come to the table with a view of God. Fortunately or unfortunately, this “view” is framed, shaped and molded by our surroundings, experiences, parents, teachers, pastors, spiritual leaders and our culture. Whether we like it or not, this “view” in more ways than we care to admit determines how we see the world, how we treat others and how we live our lives everyday. Our view of God is the “filter” or “lens” through which we “do life”…

I was thinking; for one reason or another we allow almost anything and everything other than God to shape our view of him. Weird, maybe it’s just me…

This week we want to look at the Majesty of God; the idea that he is so magnificent and majestic his is beyond our comprehension, and yet in the midst of this majesty he longs to whisper into our ear; whispers of encouragement, hope, support and direction. How cool is that?

So, take some time this week to read the following and then ponder through a few questions listed below. If you can, set aside any “caricatures” of God that you have in your head. Have fun, let God speak to you, open your mind and heart to what he has to say…

Psalm 139:1-18 (New International Version)

1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

Psalm 86:1-13 (New International Version)

1 Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.
5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you,
for you will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, O Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Here are a few more questions to ponder:

How do you see that distance and closeness of God working in your life?
What parts/attributes of God seem unimaginable to you?
What parts/attributes have of God you experienced personally?

Will you sit with Him this week and allow him to whisper into your ear?


Personal note:

For the longest time I viewed God has this cosmic judge who really enjoyed sending people into a fiery hell, and that one of his biggest pleasures was to make sure that I never had any fun; if I simply obeyed the rules then I was a good boy. I’m not sure where this came from, but this was my view of God. So, after high school, which was a struggle, I took the path of least resistance – it was party time.

But then at the age of 35, I discovered the real God; the real Jesus who loves a party, but this party was different. It’s was an adventurous party of abandoning self and following Him to the ends of the earth. It’s almost reckless, but at the same time it’s calming.

You see, the majesty of God reveals his trandsendence (above all things) and at the same time it reveals his immanence (ever so close) as well. How cool is that...

Sunday, May 11th Child-like faith…

Oh how we manage to make life complicated at times. Wouldn’t you agree? Last week (May 4th) Aric talked about how “religion” usually seems to run interference with our relationship with the living God, and more often than not, those self-inflicted rules and regulations just make matter worse. The end result is a complicated life of staying between the lines and simply following the rules so we can “please” God (or at least the ones who created the rules).

On May 11th we talked about how Jesus simply asks us to come to him “like a child” and in doing so we find hope, peace and a way of life that leads to freedom. So, ask yourself;

 How have I complicated my relationship with God?
 What could I remove from my life that would strengthen my walk with Him?

Take a look at Micah 6:6-8 and read it a few times; at least until you could recount the story from memory (I’ve included two different translations)…

Micah 6:6-8 (New International Version)
6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, 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.

Micah 6:6-8 (The Message)
6-7How can I stand up before God
and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings
topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
my precious baby, to cancel my sin?
8But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.

Here are a few more questions to ponder:

 What does it mean to walk humbly with God?
 What questions of God do I ask that get in the way of deepening my walk with him?
 Would an answer to the question really make a difference? If so what difference?
 Why is it so hard for us to trust God with the details of life?
 What are some barriers to faith with which I have wrestled?


Personal note:

One of my wrestling matches is making hard decisions when fearing a not so exciting outcome (e.g., a relational loss). I’ve recently learned that making, or not making, a decision based on fear is usually grounded in mistrust – not trusting God for the outcome. Leaning on Him, as a child trusts a parent, is the better way to live…