"Here!"
Remember shouting that as your teacher took roll in class? When you are "here" you are present, accounted for, visible and accountable to whatever is being shared in the situation at hand. If you are in class, you should have some idea of the information your teacher gives. If you are at a party you should have some recollection of things that happened there. Your presence is often requested at events and required at certain activities. Sometimes we are asked to be present because we are important to someone, and sometimes it's simply because there is something we can gain from being there.
Sometimes, your presence isn't required because of what you can gain from a situation but rather what you can be in it.
I remember how things changed in the choir when pastor Sarah became our minister of music. I was in the choir at that time and though I had enjoyed the way pastor Dan led us, I was very excited about this new leader and the talent and approach that she brought to our church. She taught us something about worship, she led with an authority that drove us to something deeper. Not just in our understanding of worship, but in our relationship to Christ and how worship accentuated it. She made us comfortable with praising out loud. She taught us to talk to God from our heart, out loud and in the midst of a crowd. We became unashamed to speak our unabashed love for Him with people standing right next to us.
When I left the choir just before Ivan was born I remember standing in the church sanctuary and as pastor Sarah gave her familiar phrase, "Is that your best praise?" I was alone in my response. Being in the sanctuary with people who weren't used to praising God the way I had been taught didn't change my desire to praise out loud, but it did make me very aware of who may be listening. I had to make a quick decision about who I really was and if my praise was meant for my God, or for those around me. I decided to join the choir again, but this time from my seat in the tiered section of the sanctuary. As I pushed those words of worship and adoration out of my chest I did not try to fool myself into thinking that I was alone. It became apparent to me that I needed to be an example of praise right where I was. I could encourage others to praise because I was present and active in the place where I stood.
When you sing out loud it encourages others to let down their guard and feel the freedom to sing out loud too. When we show up to events it encourages others to feel at ease, to be comfortable with their choice to be present as well. When we stand in the sanctuary at church, we are one in a few thousand individuals, seemingly insignificant to what is happening around us. Yet, if we weren't there...not only would we miss out...we could be lessening the experience for someone else. In smaller crowds this is even more important. When Kris and I first began teaching our class there were literally two or three people that would show up regularly. Couples would step into the room and then back out again because there was not enough of a group to make them feel comfortable about staying. Each week, your presence in class is important. Not just to the number we jot down on the roll, but to the comfort and ease of the other class members. Each person makes a difference, even if they don't comment, even if they don't do anything beyond "show up," at least they were present.
Have you ever been invited to a party and wanted to go, but made two or three phone calls first to see who else would be there before you showed up? Have you ever been to a party that could have been great but so few were present it diminished the effectiveness of any games or activities that were planned? We want to be involved with things but we often wait to see who is actually committed to being present before we jump in.
Just a few moments ago I was washing Ivan and Aron's faces and hands after a little snack. I asked Ivan what he was going to do next and his response was so appropriate to this post. He said, "I'm going to do whatever you do." My boys are classic examples of the need to be present. If I don't sit down with them to clean their toys up, they don't clean their toys up. If I don't lead the way with brushing teeth, taking baths and picking up their dirty clothes, it doesn't happen. A lot of these things they are totally capable of doing on their own, but if I am not present with them, encouraging them, and doing it with them, they fall short.
Remember, that you are that encouragement to someone. You may not even realize it. They may not even realize it, but your presence makes a difference to those around you. You can be that one more "body" in the room that made the visitor stay. You may be the one more voice in the crowd that encouraged someone to sing. You may be that one more smile that made someone decide to stay. Your presence makes a powerful difference.
I recall my college years when I was desperately hungry for a greater purpose in the Kingdom of God. I wanted to be used. I wrote songs about walking on water and removing myself from the stillness of the church pew. I wanted to be a significant part of whatever God had going on. Can you guess what He called me to do first? I remember so well...it wasn't to be a missionary in Africa or a soloist for the church choir. It wasn't even a call to be a soloist at the local nursing home. It was so simple. He said, "smile when you see someone on the sidewalk." Being "in God's will" is not a call for only those who wish to be thought of as spiritual and important. God's will is every moment. Being present with Him to hear His voice and heed the calling He gives for EACH STEP YOU TAKE.
As women we exemplify the heart of God. We are relational and suited for interaction and communication. Let's take the initiative to be present and accounted for in the things God has called us to. Don't wait on anyone else to be present, you make the choice to be in the right place in your home, your group, your job and your church. There are so many, maybe you used to be one of them, that need to see you as present and available to them. You don't have to be in a "ministry position" to be needed. You are invaluable to the people God has placed around you.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
To Be Known
We are, in our deepest parts, much the same. We were created in the image of an almighty God so our parts are similar. Our make up is subtly different, yet parallel to one another. It is not hard to generalize, stereotype and group ourselves or others into one class, race, creed or another. We fight against these things and we do this for a reason. We are individuals. We each have things that make us different, that cause us to stick out precariously from the mold that others might try to fit us into. The ironic thing about our uniqueness is that each of us has the same general desire: we all want to be known in our individuality.
That is not to say we all want to stand out in a crowd, but we don't want to always be lumped into one in regard to our opinions, our strengths and weaknesses and our desires. It is a God given desire within us to be known, understood and treated with respect and love.
In the book "Intimacy: The Longing of Every Human Heart" Terry Hershey talks about our need to be known as a need for significance and belonging. "...these needs are common to all of us. As they provide us pictures of our souls, we see both our desire and our capacity for intimacy. We see both the joy that comes with affirmation and the fear of failure and rejection."
Our desire to be known is truly a desire to find a real and honest intimacy. We want to know God and we want Him to know us. We say this, believe this and even pray toward this, but most of us do not have what it takes to get there.
One of the most important tools of intimacy is vulnerability. But we see vulnerability as a weakness, it is synonymous with fear for us, fear of being rejected, fear of failure, even fear of being known and loved because of the disappointment we might be to someone else. So we go through processes as we grow up to protect ourselves, we fashion masks, we build walls, we produce emotional muscles that can carry great weights of sorrow, pain and shame and we do this so well that no one else is even allowed close to our burdens. We smile and say..."I'm good...I got it."
But we don't.
Again from Terry Hershey's book: "I believe these fears are rooted in a more basic fear: our fear of God."
What? I thought we were supposed to fear God, isn't that the beginning of wisdom and understanding and all that? But we don't have a healthy fear of God we walk in an unhealthy understanding. We don't fear missing out on what He has for us, we fear that we won't like what He has for us. What did the serpent say to Eve in the garden?
"Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'” Genesis 3:4-5
Our temptations to lock up vulnerability behind bars is the same temptation Eve faced in the beginning. She wanted control. She wanted to be the master and dictator of her own life and direct her own steps. She wanted to be her own god.
Once we have established ourselves as god we can no longer allow ourselves to be given anything, we must get for ourselves. Instead of relying on God for our provision, we are competing with Him and others in the harvest. Taking as much as we can and hoarding our bounty for any approaching drought. As a person who cannot receive, we are unable to enjoy grace, redemption or any other gift that Christ provided for us. In that sense we are banking our good points and hiding our bad. We become religious instead of relational and calculating instead of content.
Most of you are probably reading this thinking, wow that is so true, I'm glad I'm not like that. Stop and read this again. If you are incapable of applying these things or questioning your success or failure, you are probably a prime example of what I'm describing here. Vulnerability requires you to examine yourself and more importantly it requires you to allow God to examine you. It requires you to do this regularly. I am speaking as someone who has to be reminded of these truths regularly. I don't write these things because I've arrived, I write them because they are fresh from recent application.
David on the other hand, was a beautiful example of intimacy with God. Look at Psalm 139 (edited for length):
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
He pleads with God to know him, to search him out and to try him. To know his fears and his deepest and most hidden faults. Why? Not so he can make a list and apply 10 principles of perfection. He does it because he wants to be led. Nowhere does it say, fix me. It says lead me! Lead me! If a man, even a king can say those words...by golly we girls aught to be able to say them.
David understood that all that darkness that may still be lingering in the depths of his heart was not his obstacle to being known, it was his obstacle to being perfectly positioned in the great plan God had for him. Are you struggling financially? Are you baffled by the thought of where you belong in ministry? Are you frustrated in your marriage? Are you confused as a parent? Stop trying to fix it, stop waiting for God to count your points and give you your deserved blessing. Instead, begin confessing the truth.
I am not God. (no really...say it out loud..."I am not God.") I need God. I am a child of God. Children depend. Children are led. Children need a hand now and then.
Just this morning I was reciting the words of Psalm 1 as I prayed over my husband and my sons. These few words brought tears to my eyes as I realized a greater significance in them. "for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Ps. 1:6
Don't let that speak to your need to be righteous. Let it sink in as the truth that YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS. He knows what you need, He knows where you are, and He knows how to lead you in the way everlasting. The way everlasting is your ticket to freedom. It's your straight and narrow avenue toward peace and prosperity as your relationships are healed and your destiny is brought into clearer focus. The way everlasting means what you do matters. It will last. It will have value beyond a paycheck.
Take time to worship Him this week. A few of you will be single parents while your husbands are off camping. Use those quiet evenings to meditate on His great love for you and tell Him who He is to you. Read Psalm 139, Psalm 18, Psalm 84 and read them with fresh eyes that are looking for the opportunity to be vulnerable with your God. You will not regret it!
Until you can be vulnerable with perfect love, a love that already knows you and continues to love you regardless, you cannot be vulnerable with the love of any human. Start here!
That is not to say we all want to stand out in a crowd, but we don't want to always be lumped into one in regard to our opinions, our strengths and weaknesses and our desires. It is a God given desire within us to be known, understood and treated with respect and love.
In the book "Intimacy: The Longing of Every Human Heart" Terry Hershey talks about our need to be known as a need for significance and belonging. "...these needs are common to all of us. As they provide us pictures of our souls, we see both our desire and our capacity for intimacy. We see both the joy that comes with affirmation and the fear of failure and rejection."
Our desire to be known is truly a desire to find a real and honest intimacy. We want to know God and we want Him to know us. We say this, believe this and even pray toward this, but most of us do not have what it takes to get there.
One of the most important tools of intimacy is vulnerability. But we see vulnerability as a weakness, it is synonymous with fear for us, fear of being rejected, fear of failure, even fear of being known and loved because of the disappointment we might be to someone else. So we go through processes as we grow up to protect ourselves, we fashion masks, we build walls, we produce emotional muscles that can carry great weights of sorrow, pain and shame and we do this so well that no one else is even allowed close to our burdens. We smile and say..."I'm good...I got it."
But we don't.
Again from Terry Hershey's book: "I believe these fears are rooted in a more basic fear: our fear of God."
What? I thought we were supposed to fear God, isn't that the beginning of wisdom and understanding and all that? But we don't have a healthy fear of God we walk in an unhealthy understanding. We don't fear missing out on what He has for us, we fear that we won't like what He has for us. What did the serpent say to Eve in the garden?
"Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'” Genesis 3:4-5
Our temptations to lock up vulnerability behind bars is the same temptation Eve faced in the beginning. She wanted control. She wanted to be the master and dictator of her own life and direct her own steps. She wanted to be her own god.
Once we have established ourselves as god we can no longer allow ourselves to be given anything, we must get for ourselves. Instead of relying on God for our provision, we are competing with Him and others in the harvest. Taking as much as we can and hoarding our bounty for any approaching drought. As a person who cannot receive, we are unable to enjoy grace, redemption or any other gift that Christ provided for us. In that sense we are banking our good points and hiding our bad. We become religious instead of relational and calculating instead of content.
Most of you are probably reading this thinking, wow that is so true, I'm glad I'm not like that. Stop and read this again. If you are incapable of applying these things or questioning your success or failure, you are probably a prime example of what I'm describing here. Vulnerability requires you to examine yourself and more importantly it requires you to allow God to examine you. It requires you to do this regularly. I am speaking as someone who has to be reminded of these truths regularly. I don't write these things because I've arrived, I write them because they are fresh from recent application.
David on the other hand, was a beautiful example of intimacy with God. Look at Psalm 139 (edited for length):
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
He pleads with God to know him, to search him out and to try him. To know his fears and his deepest and most hidden faults. Why? Not so he can make a list and apply 10 principles of perfection. He does it because he wants to be led. Nowhere does it say, fix me. It says lead me! Lead me! If a man, even a king can say those words...by golly we girls aught to be able to say them.
David understood that all that darkness that may still be lingering in the depths of his heart was not his obstacle to being known, it was his obstacle to being perfectly positioned in the great plan God had for him. Are you struggling financially? Are you baffled by the thought of where you belong in ministry? Are you frustrated in your marriage? Are you confused as a parent? Stop trying to fix it, stop waiting for God to count your points and give you your deserved blessing. Instead, begin confessing the truth.
I am not God. (no really...say it out loud..."I am not God.") I need God. I am a child of God. Children depend. Children are led. Children need a hand now and then.
Just this morning I was reciting the words of Psalm 1 as I prayed over my husband and my sons. These few words brought tears to my eyes as I realized a greater significance in them. "for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Ps. 1:6
Don't let that speak to your need to be righteous. Let it sink in as the truth that YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS. He knows what you need, He knows where you are, and He knows how to lead you in the way everlasting. The way everlasting is your ticket to freedom. It's your straight and narrow avenue toward peace and prosperity as your relationships are healed and your destiny is brought into clearer focus. The way everlasting means what you do matters. It will last. It will have value beyond a paycheck.
Take time to worship Him this week. A few of you will be single parents while your husbands are off camping. Use those quiet evenings to meditate on His great love for you and tell Him who He is to you. Read Psalm 139, Psalm 18, Psalm 84 and read them with fresh eyes that are looking for the opportunity to be vulnerable with your God. You will not regret it!
Until you can be vulnerable with perfect love, a love that already knows you and continues to love you regardless, you cannot be vulnerable with the love of any human. Start here!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Followed By Mercy
Yesterday the backhand of criticism and the forehand of encouragement took their shots. In a matter of minutes I was presented with two scenarios, I am either a poor example of protection and security over my children, or a rich one.
I was literally greeted at my door by a stranger who chastised me for allowing my children to play "unsupervised" in the street. I thanked him without defense and called my children inside for lunch. My hands were shaking with the rage I felt upon this incident. I will defend myself here. I checked on them, I instructed them, I knew where they were, I prayed over them and I live on the end of a dead end street. My children do not have a back yard to play in, so I occasionally allow them to play out front where there is minimal traffic and ample room for them drive their little car around. My inclination to defend myself to this stranger felt futile and my other inclination to instruct a fool on his choice of words felt like a waste of energy. Like I said, I thanked him and then watched my kids playing well together while he continued wasting my time. I did question it. I did wonder if my entire street of neighbors were looking out their windows wondering what sort of mother would allow her young boys to play in the street while she is inside clipping coupons. I did not take it lightly, but I did not allow it to burrow under my skin either.
Moments later, mercy showed up. Within about 10 minutes of that incident my phone rang. It was the librarian from Owen's school calling to thank me for a note I had sent, calling attention to the content of a book Owen had brought home from school. It wasn't a big deal, just an innocent oversight in which a new age, American Indian spiritualist philosophy was disguised in the context of a children's story. It said "Disney" on the cover and showed a couple happy cartoon bears smiling at each other. A common mistake and I wanted them to know because I knew they would want to know. I trust Owen's school like that. The librarian on the phone talked for about 10 minutes, while Ivan and Aron ate their lunch. She brought mercy to me, in her heartfelt thanks and approval of my involvement in my child's well being.
How interesting, I thought. How oddly contradictory these circumstances are. To be presented with opinions and to have the opportunity to choose what I believe about myself in such an obvious forum made me smile a bit. Maybe, I thought, I should be taking notes here. These things don't happen like this every day. So I am.
This morning it became even clearer to me as I read from Psalms 13:3-6
"3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me."
The words of verse 5 spoke especially strong to me, "I have trusted in Your mercy." I hadn't thought of the words of encouragement I received yesterday as "mercy" but isn't that what they were? Mercy, then, is something to trust in, to have faith in, to rely on. Mercy is more than compassion, it is a benevolent understanding from the God who knows my best and worst. It is a gift of His grace as He chooses to treat me with tenderness that only righteous motives deserve. I wrote in my journal:
"To be humbled by a fool is no humility at all, it is a mockery of truth. To be encouraged by the righteous is a blessed embrace. A brick in the ever strengthened wall of character God is building in us, and a clearer identification of God's great intent to enrich His Kingdom."
Then I read these words in Psalm 43. They are a beautiful reminder that when criticism is valid and correction is necessary, God will be the judge and His judgment will come in a way that will build up, not humiliate.
"3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your tabernacle.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God."
I looked up a few more Scriptures on mercy, as the thought of His mercy being something so strong and trustworthy was digesting in me. I wanted a New Testament confirmation of it's value.
I found 1 Timothy 1:16 "However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life."
Paul was explaining to Timothy how ignorant and completely wrong he had been and how God did not judge him by destroying him, rather, He was shown mercy. It was not a hard core display of God's righteous strength that was used to show the great power of Christ. No, indeed it was the gentle encouragement of mercy that showed His loving restraint and patience. This, Paul explained, is a pattern for those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
Again in 1 Peter we see mercy's role in eternal life. I Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"
From these words I gained a little more perspective on yesterday. Taking a look at the messages and the messengers, it is easy to recognize the judgment that is unproductive against the mercy that produces hope and life.
As I was about to close up my concordance my eyes fell on the reference "Ps 23.6." I didn't have to read on to know what those words meant. "surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life..." Yes, I thought, mercy followed.
We do not have to waste our time punching holes in the arguments and opinions of fools. These are shallow judgments with no life in them. When we are accosted by these critics and their lifeless words we can smile, look away and wait with confidence. We can trust that whatever judgment is thrown our way it will be soon overshadowed. If we wait for it, if we look for it, if we trust Him to bring it to our hearts, mercy will follow and with it a greater hope and deeper understanding of His great love and the eternal life He is bestowing on us daily.
The next time the co-worker belittles, the teenager rolls his eyes, the friend carelessly speaks and the acquaintance unconsciously corrects, do not argue with foolishness. Instead, smile and look over their shoulder for truth to come your way in the form of goodness and mercy. They are promised to follow you all the days of your life.
I was literally greeted at my door by a stranger who chastised me for allowing my children to play "unsupervised" in the street. I thanked him without defense and called my children inside for lunch. My hands were shaking with the rage I felt upon this incident. I will defend myself here. I checked on them, I instructed them, I knew where they were, I prayed over them and I live on the end of a dead end street. My children do not have a back yard to play in, so I occasionally allow them to play out front where there is minimal traffic and ample room for them drive their little car around. My inclination to defend myself to this stranger felt futile and my other inclination to instruct a fool on his choice of words felt like a waste of energy. Like I said, I thanked him and then watched my kids playing well together while he continued wasting my time. I did question it. I did wonder if my entire street of neighbors were looking out their windows wondering what sort of mother would allow her young boys to play in the street while she is inside clipping coupons. I did not take it lightly, but I did not allow it to burrow under my skin either.
Moments later, mercy showed up. Within about 10 minutes of that incident my phone rang. It was the librarian from Owen's school calling to thank me for a note I had sent, calling attention to the content of a book Owen had brought home from school. It wasn't a big deal, just an innocent oversight in which a new age, American Indian spiritualist philosophy was disguised in the context of a children's story. It said "Disney" on the cover and showed a couple happy cartoon bears smiling at each other. A common mistake and I wanted them to know because I knew they would want to know. I trust Owen's school like that. The librarian on the phone talked for about 10 minutes, while Ivan and Aron ate their lunch. She brought mercy to me, in her heartfelt thanks and approval of my involvement in my child's well being.
How interesting, I thought. How oddly contradictory these circumstances are. To be presented with opinions and to have the opportunity to choose what I believe about myself in such an obvious forum made me smile a bit. Maybe, I thought, I should be taking notes here. These things don't happen like this every day. So I am.
This morning it became even clearer to me as I read from Psalms 13:3-6
"3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me."
The words of verse 5 spoke especially strong to me, "I have trusted in Your mercy." I hadn't thought of the words of encouragement I received yesterday as "mercy" but isn't that what they were? Mercy, then, is something to trust in, to have faith in, to rely on. Mercy is more than compassion, it is a benevolent understanding from the God who knows my best and worst. It is a gift of His grace as He chooses to treat me with tenderness that only righteous motives deserve. I wrote in my journal:
"To be humbled by a fool is no humility at all, it is a mockery of truth. To be encouraged by the righteous is a blessed embrace. A brick in the ever strengthened wall of character God is building in us, and a clearer identification of God's great intent to enrich His Kingdom."
Then I read these words in Psalm 43. They are a beautiful reminder that when criticism is valid and correction is necessary, God will be the judge and His judgment will come in a way that will build up, not humiliate.
"3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your tabernacle.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God."
I looked up a few more Scriptures on mercy, as the thought of His mercy being something so strong and trustworthy was digesting in me. I wanted a New Testament confirmation of it's value.
I found 1 Timothy 1:16 "However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life."
Paul was explaining to Timothy how ignorant and completely wrong he had been and how God did not judge him by destroying him, rather, He was shown mercy. It was not a hard core display of God's righteous strength that was used to show the great power of Christ. No, indeed it was the gentle encouragement of mercy that showed His loving restraint and patience. This, Paul explained, is a pattern for those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
Again in 1 Peter we see mercy's role in eternal life. I Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"
From these words I gained a little more perspective on yesterday. Taking a look at the messages and the messengers, it is easy to recognize the judgment that is unproductive against the mercy that produces hope and life.
As I was about to close up my concordance my eyes fell on the reference "Ps 23.6." I didn't have to read on to know what those words meant. "surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life..." Yes, I thought, mercy followed.
We do not have to waste our time punching holes in the arguments and opinions of fools. These are shallow judgments with no life in them. When we are accosted by these critics and their lifeless words we can smile, look away and wait with confidence. We can trust that whatever judgment is thrown our way it will be soon overshadowed. If we wait for it, if we look for it, if we trust Him to bring it to our hearts, mercy will follow and with it a greater hope and deeper understanding of His great love and the eternal life He is bestowing on us daily.
The next time the co-worker belittles, the teenager rolls his eyes, the friend carelessly speaks and the acquaintance unconsciously corrects, do not argue with foolishness. Instead, smile and look over their shoulder for truth to come your way in the form of goodness and mercy. They are promised to follow you all the days of your life.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Practicing Our "Hate Walk"
We all know we're supposed to practice our "Love Walk." If you've been to the Cornerstone Women's Conference the past two years you heard Pastor Sandy bring that term to life and make you realize it's power. If we don't walk in love we set ourselves up for failure, if we do walk in love we cannot fail.
But have you ever thought about the importance of your "Hate Walk?" Until this morning I hadn't given it much thought either. I'm beginning to see it's importance though and I thought this might be something you'd like to know about.
Hate is an ugly word. I encourage my boys to use it sparingly. It's become unlawful in certain circumstances and is completely incorrect politically. However, hate has it's value in certain arenas. The word hate, like many other politically incorrect words or phrases, is in the Bible and God doesn't shy away from it. In fact He encourages it, even commands it of us. Never toward people, but always toward sin.
In Proverbs 6:16-19 we see these words: "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."
Psalm 97:10 says: "You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked."
There is a simplicity to the gospel in these words. Love the Lord, hate evil! There is a solid promise to those who do this. The souls of His saints will be preserved and delivered.
We could meditate and digest these words in Proverbs as lists and as detailed instruction and we should. We should know what God hates and make the effort to eradicate these things from our thoughts and our actions. I think most of us do a good job of keeping ourselves from doing the things which God hates, but do we stand up beside Him and hate with Him?
This hate is a challenge reaching far into the maturing lives of Christians. It's not just something to keep our hands out of, it's something to stand against. To show a staunch intolerance toward.
There are several things that come to mind in recent circumstances one of them is entertainment. Kris and I started watching a new show and liked the writing, the characters and even some of the message of the show. It's pro-family and that's great, but it got careless. The writers chose to incorporate several ungodly (even unlawful) actions being portrayed as innocent, funny, acceptable and normal. We had to make a decision. Do we hate what God hates, or do we tolerate what God hates? We decided not to watch that show anymore. Not because it would tempt us to do those things, but because by watching it, bringing it into our home, we are allowing it to live out loud around us and how can we expect God to be present with us at all times when we are slapping Him in the face with our tolerance of what he hates.
Another instance happened recently on facebook. I was reading through some updates of "friends" and saw a statement that wreaked of gossip and rebellion regarding someone in our church. There were no names but the ministry involved was mentioned and people who aren't from our church were responding in harsh words. I simply commented this way: "Do you think this is a good topic for facebook?" I was of course reamed over my cyber head and digitally chastised for my kool-aid drinking faithfulness to my pastors. I was de-friended, I was made to feel ignorant and consequently lost some other relationships connected to this person. I was bothered by this at first and painfully questioned my own actions. I thought maybe I should have kept my nose out of it. But you know what? I've come to be glad for what I did.
I exposed what God hates. It wasn't my goal to show myself as more righteous, in fact I simply thought this other Christian would be glad for the reminder to not air other people's dirty laundry. My goal was to help, not hate. But indeed...I did hate. It wasn't her that I hated, it was the sin she so eloquently spouted.
Hating what God hates is increasingly unpopular and more and more difficult to act out. But it is a necessary part of our relationship to Him and a bold witness of His great authority and righteousness. Practicing our "hate walk" is not a call to shout out "You Sinner!" to the unrighteous around us. It is simply drawing a line and saying "not in my house, not on my watch, and not with my blessing." We cannot keep other people from committing sin. We can keep sin from becoming acceptable to us.
This week, I encourage you to make the words of Proverbs 6 a standard. Not just for your own actions, but for what you allow into your home, around your children and near your heart. There are good things waiting for those who will not compromise to the world's standards.
I love the words of Psalm 37:1-11
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The answer then to the schemes of the wicked is to hate what they do with a passion that causes us to walk in love with abandon. Trust in the Lord and do good. To hate sin is not an arrogance of righteousness, it is a meekness toward righteousness and a result of our affection for God. What great joy is ours as we walk in that meekness of verse 11 delighting ourselves in the abundance of God's peace.
But have you ever thought about the importance of your "Hate Walk?" Until this morning I hadn't given it much thought either. I'm beginning to see it's importance though and I thought this might be something you'd like to know about.
Hate is an ugly word. I encourage my boys to use it sparingly. It's become unlawful in certain circumstances and is completely incorrect politically. However, hate has it's value in certain arenas. The word hate, like many other politically incorrect words or phrases, is in the Bible and God doesn't shy away from it. In fact He encourages it, even commands it of us. Never toward people, but always toward sin.
In Proverbs 6:16-19 we see these words: "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."
Psalm 97:10 says: "You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked."
There is a simplicity to the gospel in these words. Love the Lord, hate evil! There is a solid promise to those who do this. The souls of His saints will be preserved and delivered.
We could meditate and digest these words in Proverbs as lists and as detailed instruction and we should. We should know what God hates and make the effort to eradicate these things from our thoughts and our actions. I think most of us do a good job of keeping ourselves from doing the things which God hates, but do we stand up beside Him and hate with Him?
This hate is a challenge reaching far into the maturing lives of Christians. It's not just something to keep our hands out of, it's something to stand against. To show a staunch intolerance toward.
There are several things that come to mind in recent circumstances one of them is entertainment. Kris and I started watching a new show and liked the writing, the characters and even some of the message of the show. It's pro-family and that's great, but it got careless. The writers chose to incorporate several ungodly (even unlawful) actions being portrayed as innocent, funny, acceptable and normal. We had to make a decision. Do we hate what God hates, or do we tolerate what God hates? We decided not to watch that show anymore. Not because it would tempt us to do those things, but because by watching it, bringing it into our home, we are allowing it to live out loud around us and how can we expect God to be present with us at all times when we are slapping Him in the face with our tolerance of what he hates.
Another instance happened recently on facebook. I was reading through some updates of "friends" and saw a statement that wreaked of gossip and rebellion regarding someone in our church. There were no names but the ministry involved was mentioned and people who aren't from our church were responding in harsh words. I simply commented this way: "Do you think this is a good topic for facebook?" I was of course reamed over my cyber head and digitally chastised for my kool-aid drinking faithfulness to my pastors. I was de-friended, I was made to feel ignorant and consequently lost some other relationships connected to this person. I was bothered by this at first and painfully questioned my own actions. I thought maybe I should have kept my nose out of it. But you know what? I've come to be glad for what I did.
I exposed what God hates. It wasn't my goal to show myself as more righteous, in fact I simply thought this other Christian would be glad for the reminder to not air other people's dirty laundry. My goal was to help, not hate. But indeed...I did hate. It wasn't her that I hated, it was the sin she so eloquently spouted.
Hating what God hates is increasingly unpopular and more and more difficult to act out. But it is a necessary part of our relationship to Him and a bold witness of His great authority and righteousness. Practicing our "hate walk" is not a call to shout out "You Sinner!" to the unrighteous around us. It is simply drawing a line and saying "not in my house, not on my watch, and not with my blessing." We cannot keep other people from committing sin. We can keep sin from becoming acceptable to us.
This week, I encourage you to make the words of Proverbs 6 a standard. Not just for your own actions, but for what you allow into your home, around your children and near your heart. There are good things waiting for those who will not compromise to the world's standards.
I love the words of Psalm 37:1-11
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The answer then to the schemes of the wicked is to hate what they do with a passion that causes us to walk in love with abandon. Trust in the Lord and do good. To hate sin is not an arrogance of righteousness, it is a meekness toward righteousness and a result of our affection for God. What great joy is ours as we walk in that meekness of verse 11 delighting ourselves in the abundance of God's peace.
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