Our Lavish God

Lord, being in the mountains yesterday was a time of worship.  It was so incredibly beautiful.  Yet these mountains were not always as they are now.  Volcanoes, earthquakes and glaciers shaped what we see.  Nor will they always be as they are now.  Boulders fall,  dam up rivers and create lakes.  Earth moves and rivers are re-routed.  Climate changes.  Wildlife migrates.  Then there are seasons.  The rushing streams of spring make way for the green of summer, the vibrant tones of autumn and finally life slumbers under a blanket of snow.  You didn’t just create a masterpiece and walk away.  You are directing a neverending epic of beauty.  You didn’t have to be so extravagant Lord.  But you are.

Nothing is Happening Part 2

Once I prayed with great anguish:  “Lord, I’ve prayed and prayed for You to use me, and nothing is happening.”  The answer I received in my spirit was awesome.  I sensed the Lord saying to me:  “Child, are you willing to let me use you, even if I don’t reveal to you what I am doing?  If I use you mightily, in the dark so to speak, and you become aware of it, might you not become puffed up?  If you begin to think too highly of yourself, you may take over the work yourself and cease to be my servant.”

Nothing is Happening

It may seem to us that nothing is happening in our lives, but that is not true, for God is never idle.  When it appears quiet, He is always working behind the scenes, preparing people and circumstances for His future plans.  If God has placed a dream in your heart, He will fulfill it.  If He delays, something is not yet ready.  It will be.  Just follow Him today and do those things He has put in your path today.  Perhaps you are doing a work right now of which you are not even aware.  We may be so surprised in eternity to find how mightily He has used us when we didn’t even know it.  It is, after all, all about Him.  We are simple servants.

Something’s Leaking

There is an Indian legend about a man who goes every day to a well to draw water and return home.  He carries two jugs for the water.  One day he drops one of the jugs and it cracks.  When he fills it, it leaks.  Now he feels he must hurry home with his water filled jugs, so as not to lose too much water from the cracked jug.  One day while cursing his luck over the leaking jug, he looked down and was amazed to see flowers growing all along the path where his jug was leaking.

We are made of clay, according to the creation story.  We are also imperfect, broken creations because of sin.  We most certainly leak.  Yet, what does anything leak?  Whatever its full of, of course.  If we are daily filled with Jesus love, we will leak it over a dry and thirsty human race, wherever we travel.

Servant or Companion

I had planned a fishing trip with my son.  The fishing was secondary to much anticipated time of conversation, sharing and just being together.  However, my son had other ideas.  He assumed it was more important to cut  my lawn, and that this would also be more pleasing to me.  He spent the morning and half the afternoon working, paid me a short visit and then was off to his own plans.  How sad I was for what I missed and for what he had missed too.  I could have easily hired out the lawn work.  He didn’t know that, of course, for he never asked me about the lawn–just assumed I’d want it done and assumed I’d be pleased.

Imagine for a moment that we do the same thing to God.  We often do many works with the idea we are serving God and pleasing Him, but our prayers are cursory.  God wants people who will walk with Him, talking with Him, waiting for Him, and watching for his answers.  When we serve alongside Him, letting Him teach us and guide us, we are spending time together.  Its the fishing trip He planned.

How Humble am I

Its been said if I think about how humble I am its a sure sign I’m not humble.  Humble people seldom think about themselves at all.  so lets assume we’re proud people who desire to be humble.  The following questions may help us find our way:

1.  Do I count my blessings and thank God for them?  If I count my misfortunes I may have an attitude of thinking I deserve better.  Or I may have the attitude that I’m a victim and somehow a victim is more deserving than most people.

2.  Do I trust myself only or do I trust others and God?  Pride has an attitude of “only I can do things right”

3.  Do I encourage people to be all they can be, or do I nag and manipulate them to be all I want them to be?

4.  Do I mind interruptions?  Do I value others needs or do mine always have priority?  Pride considers my priorities of greater value than other people.

5.  Do I forgive?  Pride won’t forgive till the other person kneels before my throne.

6.  Am I a positive person?  Do I see good in people and situations?  Pride is critical and considers self too good for whats dealt to it .

7.  How do I treat the elderly, children and the disabled?  Am I patient and compassionate?  Do I find “they” get in my way when I have “important” missions to accomplish?

8.  Do I seek to serve others or to direct them?

9.  Is it all about me or all about something bigger than me?

10.  A humble person can state their truth without demanding agreement.  Can I?

Seeking change in my attitudes in order to be more grateful to God and more loving toward others is the first step toward becoming a humble person.

Best Selling Self-Help Books

For the past 30 or 40 years there has nearly always been a self-help book on the bestseller list.  Some of the personal stories are quite astounding and very inspirational.  I’m very happy for the people who beat addiction or crime and now have a nice life.  I saw a television interview with such a man.  He beat crime and drugs by changing his thinking and his self talk.  Now he is a best-selling author with a family and a nice life.  Very inspirational, but I caught myself thinking “now what?”  So many addicts were very successful people with a family and a nice life.  They all said their life felt empty, meaningless and without purpose.  A meaningless life is painful and drugs numb the pain.  And I asked myself “Where is God in this success story?”  It is from God we achieve our sense of meaning and purpose.  He made us all for a purpose and He tells us what the purpose is.  Without that taproot of purpose I’m like a rose I planted that blooms great for awhile and then dies for lack of a root system.  Getting off drugs is wonderful.  Getting off drugs without God has its limits.  If my car has an empty tank and I need to make a 10 mile trip, I can push the car 10 miles and write an inspirational book about it.  I may receive loads of admiration for my feat in achieving the 10 mile push through sheer will power.  I can also fill my tank with what the car was made for and drive 400 miles in that time.

Loving to be Happy

If you want to be happy, indeed if you really want to live life to the fullest, you have to love, love, love.  Dr. Smiley Blanton once said “Love or perish”.  We have to love God, love our neighbors, and love ourselves.  Everyone is familiar with the saying of Jesus that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.  What people aren’t familiar with are the last words of this quote.  The last words are “do this and you will live.”   If we love God, we will grow closer to Him.  As we do that, we begin to realize how much He loves us.  That gives us the confidence and esteem to be able to love ourselves.  As we provide for our legitimate needs, we fill our internal well to be able to give love to others.  All this love coming around through God, us and others and around again is the source of life.  This love is like water to a thirsty plant, like rain to the desert, like sunshine in a dark and dreary place.  Just as we would say our well watered plants are “growing happily”, our well watered souls are growing happily too.  And we are living, really living.

What Do I Want

When it comes to the world of work, I think our default setting is “What do I want?”  We ask children from a young age what they want to be when they grow up.  However, while what we like and what we are good at are similar most times, questionnaires and tests to find out what we like may be asking the wrong question when we are trying to find out our vocation or calling.  It is indeed useful to know our talents and gifts, but the next question ought to be, what kinds of things are God and his people doing around me.  When I see a field of work or organization or ministry that grabs my passion, then I need to ask what is my fit in that place.  What can I do to advance the work of this entity with the gifts and skill sets I possess.  We ought to be asking, “where can I be the best I can possibly be for God?”.  We love God and the more we love Him, the less we want to give him mediocrity.  Asking how to give Him the very best development of everything He has given me, is a different question than “What do I Want?”  Its a God-centered and God’s work centered question rather than a “me” centered question.

Casting Our Pearls

Jesus told us not to cast our pearls before swine or they would only turn and trample us.  I have often wondered what that could possibly mean.  In younger days, I would spend a great deal of time involved in trying to answer the questions of unbelievers.  A few people were helped by my answers, but most were hostile to my answers, and I found that puzzling.  Now I think I understand the statement about pearls. 

When I throw something precious to people who don’t want what I offer, I get a hostile response.  Just as a pig isn’t interested in pearls when its looking for food, a person hostile to Jesus doesn’t really want a reasonable answer to a question, they want me to be unable to answer, which in their mind justifies their unbelief.  If I spend time on such a person, I’m wasting time better spent on a sincere questioner.  If I spend energy on such a person, their hostility is an energy sapper, doubly leaching me of energy better spend on someone who is a sincere seeker.

A Christian writer once said we should concentrate our efforts at those nearest the “narrow gate” Jesus talked about.  These people have followed God’s guiding all the way to the way into the entrance, and they just want someone to help them with the gate.  Ministry among such willing seekers would be very successful and satisfying, and probably a source of further energy for more ministry.  However, I think its not necessary to stay only with those nearest the gate.  Someone could be still very far off, yet sincerely seeking help to find their way to Jesus.  I think its important to discern which way they are facing.  Are they facing Jesus and the gate into the kingdom, or are they turned away?  Those facing the right direction, even if still afar, are moving toward Jesus and can benefit from our help.  Those facing away from Jesus have turned away because of heart issues that have nothing to do with being shown or taught anything.  Its prayer they need, for only God can soften a hardened heart toward him.  That is beyond our capability.