PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Look at that big momma!  Ain’t she a beauty?  That’s my pumpkin plant.  Yep, right in my front yard.  I love pumpkins.  I don’t know what it is about them.  Maybe it’s the reminder of fall.  Maybe because their color is so rich.  Maybe because they’re just kind of goofy looking – bumpy, lumpy, misshapen.  I don’t know why – I just love them.

This pumpkin plant is special to me.  I’ve always wanted to grow pumpkins, but have had very little, actually, no success.  I’ve planted pumpkins three different times, using three different techniques, in three different places on our property.  The first time, I dug up the soil, carefully placed the pumpkin seeds in holes two feet apart, and mounded the soil on top of them – that’s what the package said.  They never came up.   The second time, I tried the “container method.”  Starting from seeds, I dug a hole, placed the seeds in the hole in a container.  After the plant became strong and mature, I was going to remove it from the container and place it in the ground.  It never came up.

My third attempt was successful, as you can see.  I got a pumpkin last year at Orr’s Farm Market. It sat on my porch through fall and when it started to cave in a little I thought I’d try to harvest my own seeds.  Maybe that was the problem with my other two attempts.  You know, GMO.  So, I harvested my own pumpkin seeds.  It was a painstaking task, ahem.  I picked this caving pumpkin up – if you’ve ever waited too long to remove your pumpkin you know what happened.  It turned to mush in my hands and I dropped it beside my front porch.  I had every intention of going out and cleaning it up.   You know what they say about good intentions…As the story goes  – fall became winter, winter became spring, spring became summer, and summer became pumpkin!  A pumpkin plant right in my front yard!  My very own victory garden!

I am so excited about this pumpkin plant.  It really is huge, probably about 8×10 and it continues to grow.  As you can see, it overtook my rooster, it has overtaken my sidewalk, and I have no doubt it will continue through the front yard to the road in front of our house.  The leaves are so big you could use them as umbrellas.  The blooms are gorgeous, brilliant orange.  It looks so healthy.  There’s hope!

There’s only one small problem – it has no pumpkins.  Not a one.  Zero.  Zilch.  Zip.  Nadda.  Oh, it started out on the right path. We had one pumpkin about four weeks ago.  It got to be about six inches in diameter well on its way to Great Pumpkin fame!  One day I walked outside and my Great Pumpkin had started to rot.  Aaahhh!!!  My neighbors heard that.  Anyway,  I have this massive, beautiful pumpkin plant and no pumpkins.  Folks, I got no fruit.  We’ve theorized about the lack of fruit.  Too wet?  Definitely not too dry!  Bad seeds?  They came from last year’s perfect pumpkin.  Not the right soil?  Look at those healthy leaves and the size of that thing and tell me the soil’s not right.  Lack of pollination?  Haven’t seen bee one.  There’s only one explanation – it’s not getting something it needs to produce fruit.  Duh, you say.  Now I’m no horticulturalist so I don’t really know what the problem is, I just know there’s a problem.  To be honest, I don’t care what the problem is, I just want pumpkins!  A colorful, beautiful, lush, fruit bearing plant is no good without fruit!  A pumpkin plant has one job in life — to produce pumpkins.

Paul tells us, just like the pumpkin plant purpose, our lives too are to be all about the fruit:

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Here there is no conflict with the law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Galatians 5:22-25

Do we have fruit?  What’s our fruit look like?  Ouch – get off my toes!

You see, there are two forces at work in our world.  Sin (evil) and God (good).  Our sinful nature, which leads to death (destruction) and our Spirit nature, which leads to life (eternal fruit producing life).  When we follow the desires of our sinful nature (our old life) we cannot follow the desires of the Spirit (our new life).  If we do, we are not changed.

So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.  But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.  Galatians 5:16-18

Our sinful nature is in direct contradiction to our Spirit life.  Our sinful nature is what the law speaks against.  The law that’s designed to protect us.   The law has never been able to change our sinful hearts.   Only Christ’s sacrifice on that cross could offer freedom from the law.   People thought they could gain acceptance by God by being obedient to the commandments, by following the rules.  Impossible!  You see it’s about the heart – it’s about the Spirit.  Our sinful nature cannot produce fruits of the Spirit.  Only changed hearts and the indwelling of the Spirit can produce good fruit – the Great Pumpkin!  If we are being ruled by our sinful nature (it’s all about me) and not by our Spirit nature (it’s all about God) we will not produce the fruits of the Spirit.

If our hearts are changed, we will want to keep his law, not to gain His acceptance, but out of our great love for Him.  In Psalm 40:8, David wrote “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”  If our hearts are changed, our lives are changed.  If our hearts are changed, the Holy Spirit is in control.  If the Holy Spirit is in control, we produce good fruit, Holy Spirit controlled fruit!

In Romans, Paul quotes King David from the Psalms when he says there is no one perfect, “not even one!”  But that does not give us an out.  Matthew 5:48 says:  “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  We cannot be flawless, completely without fault, but we are to make it our goal to be as much like Christ as possible.  When we do, the fruit appears.

So, I ask again:  Do we have fruit?  Have we turned from our sinful nature to the Spirit nature?  What’s our fruit look like?  Have we nailed our passions and the desires of this world to His Holy Cross?   The ways of the world are very wily.  The world will tell us it’s enough to have beautiful, healthy looking leaves – to be big and powerful — and to have beautiful blooms.  That’s a lie.  The world doesn’t care about our fruit.  The forces of the world don’t want us to have fruit.  Have we given the Spirit full reign to produce good fruit within us or do products of the sinful nature still appear in our lives?

That David thought of everything.  Well…how about God thought of everything?  How about God thought of everything and David was so in tune, so united, so in harmony, that he heard God.  Do we hear God?  Are we that in tune, that united, that harmonious with God that we can hear Him when he speaks?  Do we even care to hear from God?   Wouldn’t you like to hear God?  David heard God.

I wonder if David wore glasses?  I know, random.  If you wear glasses you’ll get what I’m saying.  For some reason, I can’t hear without my glasses.  You too?  Why is it that I hear better when I wear my glasses?  I’m sure there are some very scientific and psychology reasons for it.  Hearing loss – not that I’m aware of.  Melding of the senses – sight and sound.  Maybe.  No matter to me the reason, as long as I have my glasses, I’m in good shape because I can see, and hear.

First and Second Chronicles “chronicles” David’s preparations for the building and administration of the Temple.  Even though he would not build the Temple, David assisted by planning and preparing.  Remember, God told David no, his son Solomon would be the temple builder.  David was preparing for something he would never see.

So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing blocks of stone for building the Temple of God.  David provided large amounts of iron for nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than they could ever weigh.  He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David.  David said,

“My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced, and the Temple of the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world.  So I will begin making preparations for it now.”

1 Chronicles 22:1-5

Do you remember the science fair and the social studies fair that your kids participated in?  Just as you helped your kids with the planning and preparation of those projects, David was helping Solomon with his project.  What an enormous project and what a huge responsibility — building the Temple to house the Lord.   David raised funds, gathered materials, and made meticulous plans for the Temple.    He secured skilled goldsmiths, silversmiths, stonemasons, carpenters and craftsmen of every kind.  David gave instructions to them all to “seek the Lord your God with all your heart” and to “Build the sanctuary of the Lord God so you can bring the Ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the Lord’s name.”  1 Chronicles 25:19.  The Temple was built to honor the Lord’s name.  The Church was built to honor the Lord’s name.

In addition to making plans for the physical building (trustees), organizing the priests (pastors, Sunday School teachers and lay leaders), the gatekeepers (janitors and Church council), and appointing administrators (office staff), David also made plans for the worship that was to take place in the Temple.  He planned the worship services – he was the worship committee.  David was on the Worship Team!  All of these instructions came from God.

David specifically organized and appointed the musicians:

David and the army commanders then appointed men… from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and cymbals.

From the sons of Asaph…who proclaimed God’s messages by the king’s order.

Jeduthun had six sons…who proclaimed God’s messages to the accompaniment of the harp, offering thanks and praise to the Lord.

All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord.  Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, lyres, and harps at the house of God.  1 Chronicles 25:1-6

David made Temple plans and preparations based on what he heard from God.  Do we make our Temple plans based on what we hear from God?

He who belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that to do not belong to God.  John 8:47

The only way to hear what God is telling us is to belong to Him.  To be linked with Him.  To be in harmony with Him.  To be in relationship with Him.  To accept Him.  To see Him.

My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

Do we hear His voice?  Do we listen to what He has to say?  What Temple plan might He be giving that we might not be hearing?  What building, priestly, organizational, administrative, musical, leadership plan is God giving us?   How does God want us to conduct our worship service in our homes, our Church, our community, our town, our state, our country, our world?

I’m pretty sure David wore glasses, because He heard God speak.  God does speak.  David was so in tune with God because he belonged to God.  Do you belong to God?  If you do, He speaks.  But we hear Him best when we’re willing to see.  Do you need to put your glasses on?

How did Noah get those animals in the boat?  That’s what I want to know.

They came into the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded.  Genesis 7:9

Two by two they came into the boat, male and female, just as God had commanded.  Genesis 7:9

Then the Lord shut them in.  Genesis 7:15

When I read these verses the other day my first thought was — Why is this stated twice?  My second thought was — How?  My next thought – How long did it take?  I think of my animal loading experiences and can just imagine what Noah and his boys went through to load the boat.  Moses made it sound like the animals just sauntered up the ramp, smiling all the way:  “…they came into the boat…”  It’s not only quite possible, it’s probable that they did.  None of my loading experiences have ever been like that.  Yours?

In running around to horse shows when Livi was younger, we had our share of animal loading.  Some easy, most not.  In the horse world, one of the most dangerous things to do is to load and unload a horse from a trailer.  If an animal does not want to load, you cannot make it load.  You can lead a horse to water but can’t make them drink kind of thing.  We had this horse named Logan.  There were times she walked right up the trailer ramp right into place.  There were other times when two grown men pushing on her butt could not make her walk up that ramp and into the trailer.  When she planted her feet you knew that that 900 pound animal wasn’t going to budge unless she wanted to.  Frustrating.

Then there was the time we were headed home from the Youth Fair and our horse Reese would not get on our trailer.  He would walk to the ramp, look at Livi like I told you I’m not getting on that thing, and then duck right off the edge – dangerous.  Three hours later, no lie, we finally got him to load, on another trailer.  Kind folks dropped our horse at our house and we dropped their horse at their house.  Frustrating.

Then there was the time that we had to load our rooster Edward into a carrier to return him to the breeder.  Remember, no boys allowed.  Trying to wrangle him into that crate without hurting him or hurting us was, well, like herding – a rooster.  Frustrating.

There was also the time years ago I remember trying to get my cat Noel in the car to go to the vet.  That one drew blood – on me, not her.  Frustrating.

Have you ever seen kids at the Youth Fair trying to load a pig?  I think that’s where the term pig-headed came from.  Frustrating.

Think of your animal loading experiences and then think about Noah and the boys.  There were only eight of them in total – four men, four women.  I picture the men handling the animals and the women setting up housekeeping in the ark.   It is estimated that there were 45,000 animals on that boat.  Ponder that.  I started thinking about the how.  How did they round up all those animals?  Did they gather as they went and put them in corrals until the boat was complete?  Did they make a list of animals and then check them off as they entered?  Maybe an Excel spreadsheet?  Yes!  How about a layout so that every animal got into the right stall?  Were the insects put in a jar – with holes of course?  What about the birds – cages perhaps?  Maybe each was tagged and scanned as they entered?  Did you see that rabbit hole coming?

Anywho.  It sounds so simple doesn’t it?  Round up 45,000 animals, get your kids and get on the boat.  This was an incredibly huge feat.  But God, don’t you love those words, was in control.  Noah was a righteous man.  He was an obedient man.  God told Noah to build an ark, and he did.  I feel fairly confident that Noah did not stress over the details like I did with the “How’s” and it wasn’t even my project.

Do we get bogged down in the details and forget about the Big Picture?  What was the big picture here?

The big picture.  Many years after Adam, God found the world to be so wicked that He was going to destroy it.  There was only one righteous man – Noah.  So, God gave the Earth a do-over.  Wipe it out, start all over.

God told Noah to build a boat – a really big boat.  Picture this, one and a half football fields by one football field and four stories high.  A really big boat.  So, Noah built a really big boat.

Can you just imagine the enormity of this task?  Can you imagine the details that needed to be attended to?  Right down to who loads first.

But God – love those words – was in the details.  How do we know that?  He gave Noah the boat dimensions, because He knew how big it needed to be.  Noah didn’t know how big it needed to be.  He didn’t know how much it needed to hold.  If Noah had been worried about the “how’s,” he wouldn’t have been able to focus on his God given task of building the boat.  If he’d been hand wringing about how will they load, what order will they go in, how will I feed them, etc., he wouldn’t have been able to boat build.  He would simply have been worrying about things he couldn’t do anything about, he couldn’t control.

God’s words are written to encourage and teach us.  Noah teaches us that if we focus on what God tells us to do – build a boat – He will handle the rest – He will take care of the details – He will control what we can’t.  We have to trust that.

So, what do we focus on?  Do we focus on the details, the how’s?  Sometimes He tells us to.  Do we focus on things we can’t control?  Sometimes, even though we’re not supposed to.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11

Noah was a righteous man.  God’s plan was to save the earth through Noah.  How?  Build a boat, get the family and animals on it, and get out of there.  God took care of the details.  Noah just had to obey.

So, what’s God’s plan for us?  Build a boat (a relationship with God), get the family and animals (get our houses in order) on it, and get out of there (lead others to Christ – go and tell everyone you meet!).  God will take care of the details.  We just need to do what He tells us.  Be obedient.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Matthew 28:19-20

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  Whoever believes and will be baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  Mark 16:15

It’s so easy to get bogged down in the details.  The details of life, the details of church.  The only detail we truly need to be concerned with is God.  We don’t need to worry about how we’re to get others on the boat, we are to take them to the boat and let God do the loading.    No spreadsheets, no blueprints, no tagging or scanning — just God.

Conform, conform, I really must conform,

To think that I should be myself would cause me alarm!

These are partial lyrics from a song I learned during my middle school years – yes, I can remember that far back!  Mrs. Fulk  got together youth from area Churches and prepared a musical.  I was one of the 20 or so youth that volunteered.  It was a come one come all group that practiced for several months before going public.  We sang probably 10ish songs, without music, and there were readings in between songs.  I remember where I stood, stage left, second in, first row in a Church that wasn’t my own, and that I had bad middle schooler hair.  You know exactly what I’m talking about.   Isn’t it crazy the things we remember.  Unfortunately, I’m better at forgetting than remembering.  I don’t remember too much about it.   I can’t remember the theme of the musical.  I don’t remember any song or speaking part.  In fact, the only thing I do remember are the partial lyrics above.  But these words and the tune have stuck in my mind for about 40 years now.  I have recalled these words hundreds of times throughout the years.  They speak volumes.  I don’t know why these particular words have stuck with me, or maybe I do.  Anyway, I can’t think of these lyrics without thinking of Romans 12:2:

And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Conform is a funny word.  What does it mean anyway?  In the original Greek, conform is the word summorphizo, “to make of like form with another person or thing.”  In Latin, “con” means together and “form” means make – to make something like something else.  In English conform is a verb (action) means “to be similar or identical; to be in agreement or harmony; to be compliant; to act in accordance with prevailing standards or customs.”   To be alike.  To think alike.  To be in agreement.  To be in harmony.  To be compliant.  To be the same.  To be popular.  To go along with the crowd. To meld with the world.  Who doesn’t want to be like everybody else?  Who doesn’t want to be like Mike?   I do.  I think if we’re honest we all do.

My chickens are nonconformists.  My prevailing standard is to get chores done before 8:00 p.m.  They don’t have that same standard.  That causes some friction.  We are not harmonious when I want them to do one thing and they want to do another.  Have you ever tried to catch a chicken that didn’t want to be caught?  My chickens do not conform to my way of thinking.  They are independent thinkers.  Remember poor Diane on Cheers? “People, people work with me, work with me!”  She was trying to get folks to sing.  Her crowd was having nothing of it.  They were not compliant nor would they conform.  I’ve used that phrase on my chickens to no avail.

Here’s the problem, Brother Paul’s message from God says “don’t”.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  (NLT)

So, what’s Paul saying here?  Simple.  Don’t be conformed, be transformed.  Okay.   Don’t be like everybody else.  Don’t go along with the crowd.  Don’t follow the prevailing standards or customs of this world.  If everyone’s jumping off a bridge…heard that haven’t you?  Could you ask me to do something just a little bit harder (she said sarcastically)?  Obedience, Beth.  So, we are not to be like everybody else.  Fine.  How do we do that, or not do that?  How do we get from conformer to transformed?  God says through Paul that we are to let him transform us into new people.

How are we transformed?  What does that even mean?  Here we go again.  Translated from the Greek word metamorphoo, to change into another form, to become different.  In English transform is also a verb (get busy) meaning “to undergo a change in form, appearance, or character; become transformed.”  Butterflies.  So, it means to change one thing into something else.  To convert one thing to another.  To reconstruct something into something else.  To make over — redo.  To turn around – change.  To change something that wasn’t into something that is.

Got it, I just convert, reconstruct, makeover, turn around, change.  That’s exactly it!  Sounds easy, right?  Just make a change.  Get a makeover.  Go the other way.  Be independent.  Dare to be different.  You go girl!

Wrong!!

Paul says “let God transform you into a new person”.  First, we have to recognize that only God can transform or change us.  If we think we can do anything without His power, we think more highly of ourselves than we ought.  Ouch, sorry.  We must recognize that we are powerless without the Most Powerful.  Second, check out the word “let”.  I don’t know about you, but this is the hardest part for me.  It’s easy for me to say God is powerful enough to change me.  It’s harder to humble myself enough, to throw all that I am at His feet, to let Him change me.  You see, the call to conform, to be like everyone else, to think like everyone else, to go along with prevailing standards and customs (the world) is an incredibly strong force.  I am not powerful enough, in my own strength, to fight the urge to conform.

But this isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ.  Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.  Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.  You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness – righteous, holy, and true.  Ephesians 4:20-24

Brother Paul tells us again what God wants us to do.  Change our thoughts and attitudes – yikes!  Out with the old, in with the new!  Conforming is the easier route.  It requires nothing of me – no newness involved, I’m already there.  There’s no resistance in conforming, no call to be different.  Transforming is a heart wrenching, life-long journey but this life-long journey does just that – leads to life.  This journey is a one-way journey, God’s way.  We are not to be changed by the world – from the outside in — we are to let God change us — from the inside out.  Are we willing to let God change us into the people He wants us to be?  Are we willing to throw off the old self?  Are we willing to allow Him to change our thoughts and attitudes?  I hope.  You see, God’s message from Paul doesn’t say:  “Beth,  it’s okay to conform and just be transformed when you feel like it.”  God’s not making a suggestion or a request.  He’s giving a command.

How do we become nonconformists?  By being watchful and observant for the world seeping into our thoughts, minds, actions, attitudes, lives.   Remember, we are powerless to be unworldly on our own.  Pick up The Book.  Read it.  Our lives should conform to The Book, not The Book to our lives.  The Book is all about the character of God — who He is.   We are to mirror that character to the world, not let the world’s character be what we reflect.  Humble yourself and let God reveal himself to you.  He’s waiting to do so.  Knowing God is the only way to be truly transformed.

We all want deliverance from something, don’t we?  We’re always seeking to get out from under something.  Aren’t we?  Needing deliverance started way back in Genesis.  Remember Adam and Eve and their date night in the Garden?  They pulled up to the table and ordered the knowledge of good and evil platter.  From that day forward, we’ve needed deliverance.  Deliverance from our own sin or from the collateral damage of the sin of those around us.  The Israelites are a prime example of both.   We know their story well.  We live their story well.  Disobedience, consequences, redemption, deliverance.  Disobedience, consequences, redemption, deliverance.  Over and over.  We’ve talked about this before.  But, what do we do after deliverance?  Do we just bebop along like nothing ever happened?  Do we expect deliverance, assume deliverance, appreciate deliverance, praise deliverance?  Praise the Deliverer?

Exodus 13-14 tells us of a particular deliverance.  Specifically, Exodus 14:29:

The people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry land, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides.  This was how the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day…When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had displayed against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and put their faith in him and his servant Moses.

After this deliverance, what did they do?  They sang!  They struck up the band and sang praises to the God of deliverance.

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

Moses’ Psalm (song), in Exodus 15:1-21, is the very first song recorded in the Bible.  It obviously hit number one on the scroll weekly countdown as it was probably the only song of the day.  Isn’t it interesting that the number one song of that day was a love song?  A love song to God.  We hear all kinds of love songs on the radio today.  Mostly of the heartache and brokenness that is experienced in a relationship.  Moses’ song is a very different love song.  This is not a love song of heartbreak or loss. This was a love song of hope!

Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?

Who can ever praise him half enough?

Psalm 106:2

Do we sing to Him?  We see God’s mighty power and we are delivered daily from our Enemy – God daily parts the waters for us to walk through at home, at church, at work, at life — isn’t that a reason to sing?  Sing for job offers.  Sing for shelter.  Sing for paychecks.  Sing for health.   Sing for healing.  Sing for life.  Sing for death.  Sing for rebirth.  Sing for friendship.  Sing for family.  Sing for protection.  Sing for hope.  Sing for deliverance.  Sing for the cross.  Sing for victory.  Sing for mercy.  Sing for joy.  Sing for love.  Sing for deliverance.  Sing for God!

Who else among the gods is like you, O Lord?

Who is glorious in holiness like you –

So awesome in splendor,

Performing such wonders?

Exodus 15:11

Revelations 4 says that the elders fell down, laid their crowns before the throne, and worshiped the one who lives forever and ever because He is worthy.  They sing!

You are worthy, O Lord our God,

To receive glory and honor and power,

For you created everything,

and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.

Revelations 4:11

Just as the Israelites sang for God’s deliverance and mighty power, and just as we read the elders in Revelations sing simply because He is worthy, we should do the same.

Sing to God.  Just sing, sing a psalm, sing out loud, sing out strong, don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a psalm.

Oh my goodness, I love that dog!  Remember Shenandoah, our worst-best dog?  She’s so funny, as in odd, peculiar.  She’s your typical lab – high energy, family oriented, cute as can be.  She also loves water.  Well, sort of.  Labs are retrievers, that’s why they make good hunting dogs.  Their ancient ancestors were the St. John’s Water Dog.  No wonder she likes water.  Well, sort of.

Down our neighbor’s way is a creek or for some of us it’s a crick.  Shenandoah loves the creek.  She high steps in with those big webbed feet biting at the water those big feet splash into the air.  She puts her nose down into the water and when she’s not eating whatever is growing down there (ew!), she throws the water up in the air with her nose.  She leaves that creek with a smile on her face, no kidding.  She comes home and dramatically throws her body on the floor with a huge sigh – exhaustion.  That’s how you know a lab is happy, when they’re exhausted!  That’s when we’re really happy too, when she’s exhausted!

Everyone in this neck of the woods knows that we’ve had an unusually rainy summer – understatement.  It seems to have been a daily deluge for weeks on end.  That’s exaggerating a bit.  Well, sort of.  Anyway.  We have had a great deal of rain. When you have a dog, it doesn’t matter how much rain you have, they need exercise and they need potty breaks.

I went home from work one day at lunchtime to take her out.  It was raining.  I hook her up to her collar and her leash (we call them necklaces, that sounds much nicer), and go to walk out the door.  Stop.  She stands at the door but will not budge.  She looks at the rain and looks at me.  She said “You’re crazy if you think I’m going out in that.” Yes, she talks.  She even tried to go lay down on her bed.  We had us a little tug-of-war.  I won but it was touch and go for a minute.  Our peculiar puppy (Labs are always puppies) did not want to get wet.  Our St. John’s Water Dog descendant didn’t want to do what she was bred to do, get wet.  She wants to get in the water but she doesn’t want to get wet.  She wants the reward, the fun, but doesn’t want to do what she has to do to get the reward, get wet.  Go figure.

If I think on that, I might be more like my dog than I care to admit.  I wondered, do we ever want the crown without going through the cross?  Wouldn’t we like to get into the cool, refreshing creek and splash around, but not get wet?   Wouldn’t we like the crown without having to pick up the cross?  Maybe.  Daily dying to self, like going out into the rain, can be annoying, I mean the world’s a pretty cool place to live in, right?  Why can’t we just cut to the crown?  Because we just can’t.  We can’t get in the creek  without getting wet.  We can’t get the Crown of Life unless we train for and run the race, just as Jesus did.  Laying down our cross, denying self, takes training.

We learn so much from Paul.  He says:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Competition was everything to the Corinthians.  Similar to our Olympics, the Isthmian Games were held in Corinth and participants came from all over the Greek world.  These games tested participants in horse racing, music and arts, and various athletic contests.  And, of course, the winner got a prize – a crown of pine.  Ooh, aah.  The prize later changed to a crown of celery.  Ooh, aah, yum.  Anyway, the Corinthians were very familiar with competitions and they would have understood Paul.

Do I want the prize without training and participating in the race?  Do I just want to cut to the chase and show up at the finish line and have the Crown of Life plopped on my head?  Do I just want the crown without going through the work of the cross?  You see, the cross is work.  Why?  Because it is the Cross of Christ.  He died on that cross for our sins.  In order to get the Crown of Life we must go through that cross.  We must acknowledge our sin, repent of our sin, turn from our sin, pick up our cross and follow Him.  We have to get wet.

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.   Luke 9:23

By training, shouldering our cross daily, He tells us we will have trials, but He also tells us of our reward.

This is a message from the one who is the First and the Last, who died and is alive:

Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.  The Devil will throw some of you into prison and put you to the test.  You will be persecuted for ten days.  Remain faithful even when facing death, and I will give you the crown of life.  Revelations 2:8-10

If we acknowledge Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross and what he died for – our sins — repent of those sins and allow ourselves to be changed by Him.  If we are disciplined followers and run the race of faithfulness to the end, daily picking up our cross and dying to self, we will win a crown that will last forever.  Not a crown of pine or celery, but the Crown of Life!

…I rejoice to acknowledge, who will not be content with shallow logic.  They will admit the force of the argument, and then turn away with tears to hunt some lonely place and pray, “O God, show me thy glory.”  They want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God.

I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God.  The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate.  The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire.  Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.  Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to his people.  He waits to be wanted.

The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer

Wow, this dude is deep.  I love it!   Frankly, some (ok most) of this seems over my head.  It’s taken me a week or more to begin to grasp what Tozer was talking about.   I had to read and re-read to try to get a little bit of understanding.  As glimpses of understanding came, I wondered to myself “Do I want God?”  Do I want to taste, to touch, to see with the eyes of my soul, to experience God?  Some may say, we already do that, it comes with being a Christian.  But I say that if we do not continually examine and question ourselves about God, about who He is, about how He works, about what He expects, and just assume that because we are Christians, that that is enough, we miss out on the relationship and the experience of God, and then we fail to see the wonder of God.

As David said during his time in the wilderness:

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this

parched and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

Do we “earnestly” search for God?  Do we “thirst” for his living water?  Do we “long” for Him?  What does it mean to “thirst,” to “long?”  Are “earnestly,” “thirst,” “long,” parts of your relationship with God?

Do we long for God with our whole body? Mind, body and spirit?  Everything that we are?  Does our mind know God but our heart not experience God?  Do our bodies, by our actions reflect that we know God?  Do our hands, our feet, our hearts physically reach out to him?  Do we long for the Spirit of God to bubble up from within?

Further in Psalm 63, at verse 6, David says:  “I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.”

Do we “meditate” on God other than when we have a request?  Other than when we need Him?

Fulfill your longing and your thirst by meditating on God.  Chase after him and you will see the wonder that He is.

How about chasing after God by searching through the scriptures for verses that encourage us to thirst, long and meditate on God?  Make a note of scriptures that will encourage and remind you “to see with your inner eye the wonder that is God.”

Lord in Heaven, we run to you.  We want to know you.  We want to experience you.  Show us your wonder today.  Amen.

All scripture is beautiful because it is God breathed.  Some scripture is melodic and rolls right off the tongue.  Some scripture is more difficult to speak.  Some scripture is easily understood.  Some scripture is only understood with prayer and revelation by God.  But, all scripture is beautiful because it was whispered by the One.

We recite scripture in our worship services, at funerals, at weddings, at anniversaries, at special events.  We memorize scripture for times of fear, anger, comfort, strength, exaltation, hope, honor,  praise.

One of the most widely recognized scriptures is the 23^rd Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:  he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:  he leaded me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear not evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:  though anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This is such a beautiful Psalm.  But to be flat out honest, usually when these verses are recited in unison, it is just downright depressing.  Could we be any less dramatic?  Any less enthusiastic?  Anyone else feel that way?  We recite it in monotone, as slow as we can possibly go.  It is just a dirge!  We certainly don’t make it sound like the breath of God whispered to His children.

If you carefully read the words, visualize the sights and sounds of David’s time, Psalm 23 is not actually a dirge, it’s a psalm of praise!  Check this out:

The Lord protects me!

He is all I need!

I find rest in him!

He is my strength!

He leads the way and when I am following His lead, He is glorified!

When I travel through tough times and my spirit is crushed,

I won’t be afraid because He is always with me!

His love, mercy and grace are constantly protecting me!

He shows my enemies how much He adores me!

He honors me, even when I’m not honorable!

His love for me is overflowing!

His mercy and love seek only

good for me every day!

And I will live with the

One True God in eternity,

forever!

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like praise to me.  That sounds like something we can call upon for comfort, for strength, for support, for blessing.  Our cup runneth over, isn’t that worth a little enthusiasm people?  What I have recently learned is that it is my attitude toward the Bible that really matters.  How I read it.  I’m learning to read the Bible the way I believe God meant for it to be read.  Reverently, respectfully, hopefully, joyfully, expectantly, instructionally.

Are you a checkmark person?  I’m a checkmark person.  I love, love, love making checkmarks.  Any other checkmarkers out there?  Give me a list and I can go to town.  Check-Check-Check-Check-Check.  I used to be a Bible checkmarker.    When I read the Bible I would mentally make checkmarks.  Love your neighbor – check.  Be charitable – check.  Do not kill – check.  Do not steal (if that doesn’t include postits from my employer) – check.  Be patient – check(ish).  Be kind – check.  Love the Lord God with all your heart – check, check and double-check!  You too!?!

Flat out, I wasn’t reading the Bible the right way.  If I read it seeking the character of God and expecting Him to reveal his character to me, and not looking to make checkmarks of God, I will be making checkmarks like crazy. This is how it works.  If I’m mirroring His imagine, I will love God the way He loves me – check.   If I’m mirroring His image, I will love my neighbor – check.  If I’m mirroring His image, I will not kill, by hand or by heart – check.  If I’m mirroring His image, I will not steal, even scrap paper that doesn’t belong to me – check.  If I’m mirroring His image, I will be kind – check.  You get it, right?  It’s all about Him!

It is exciting to read the Word of God because all scripture reflects the character of God.  All scriptures are His whispers to us.  Yes, scripture can put us in our place, but instead of reading or reciting scripture as a dirge, we need to read and recite looking for his character.  In looking for His character, we will see His guidance, direction, encouragement, discipline, support and blessings.  The Creator of the Universe revealing himself to us!  Isn’t that worth a little enthusiasm people?

We need to read the scriptures like they really matter, because they do.  Not like a dirge and not for the checkmarks.  Alistair Begg seems to say it best:  “The confidence of heaven is in the Word of God.  If you want to know God,  if you want to consider God, if you want to know if God knows you, read the Bible.”

On some evenings, the moon is particularly radiant in our neck of the woods.  Last night the sky was completely clear, not a cloud.  The moon was spectacular.  While looking at the moon, I couldn’t help but be in complete awe and wonder.  Trying to wrap my brain around God’s outrageous creation held me in awe.  I wondered that a God that created such a spectacular creation created and loves me.  Even me.

Walking this morning in the dark I again was struck in awe and wonder.  There’s this mud puddle in the field across from ours. In that mud puddle I saw the reflection of the moon.  Gorgeous.  It was crazy, I could see two moons.  One bright and brilliant in the sky and one bright and brilliant in the puddle, but wait – the one in the puddle is out of focus – in focus – out of focus – in focus, you get it.  What’s going on?  While watching the puddle I noticed the ever so gentle breeze, almost imperceptible, moving the water causing the moon to lose its sharpness.  The moon in the puddle was crispless.

This reminded me of my relationship with God.  When things are going well, He is perfectly clear.  Peace?  When I study His Word, He is perfectly clear.  When I snuggle up to Him and cleave to Him, He is perfectly clear.  But you know, like the wind, it only takes the very slightest movement to knock Him out of focus for me.  The gentle breeze of an argument with a loved one, an overdue bill, car issues, kid issues, animal issues, health issues, job issues, sin issues, etc. issues, all cause ripples in the puddle and distort our vision.

Like the moon in the sky, God is always perfectly clear.  Like the moon in the puddle, life encourages us to lose our focus.  But we have great hope!  Jesus came to bring our lives into focus.  The prophesy of Isaiah in Chapter 42 tells us of that promise.  It tells us of that Jesus.

Look at my servant, whom, I strengthen.  He is my chosen one, and I am pleased with him.  I have put my Spirit upon him…To open blind eyes.  To bring out prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

He came to open our blind eyes and show us how to see clearly.  He can do for us what he did for the Disciples on their way to Emmaus.  Suddenly, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.  Suddenly, everything came into focus.  Suddenly, the Disciples could see Jesus for what He was.  Suddenly, the ripples stopped.  Suddenly, everything came back into focus.  Suddenly.

Suddenly can happen to me too.  I can regain focus by feeding on His Word, eating the bread of life, and drinking the cup.  By taking Him in.  By refocusing.  By persisting in His presence.  By talking to the man in the moon.

Life is a series of decisions.  Without thinking about it, we make thousands of decisions in a day.  Studies show that the average person makes about 35,000 decisions a day.  That’s crazy, but if you think about it, you’ve just made a decision!  Should I do this or that?  Should I say this or that?  Should I go here or there?  What time should I get up?  What time should I lay down?  What should I wear?  Heels or flats?  Am I going to work or not?  Church or not?  Eat in?  Take out?  Chocolate or carrots?  DUH!  Sometimes we’re plagued by our decisions and other times it feels like we have the plague when we have to make a difficult decision.

So how do we make our decisions?  Handwring?  Flip a coin?  Rock, paper, scissors?  Guess?  Analyze?  List pros/cons?  Pray?  Remember – if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.

Roy Disney was the older brother of Walt Disney.  From what I’ve heard, Roy was the businessman and Walt was the creator visionary of Disney World.  Walt died in 1966 about the time Roy was going to retire.  Roy was able to realize Walt’s dream, and so that no one would forget whose dream it was, when the park opened it was called Walt Disney World instead of Disney World – decision made!  Something tells me there were more than 35,000 decisions a day made on this venture.

Roy Disney said:

It is not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.

Chew on that a bit.  When your values are clear; your decisions are easy.  So, what do we value?  Think about that.  Do we even know what we value?  I really had to think about it.  What do I value?  What has worth to me?  What is important to me?  What principles or standards dictate what I value?  Of course, I can say the perfunctory things like family, friends, home, jobs, God.  But when I get honest with myself, God-honest, the kind of honest He desires, wide-open honest…

You know, if I don’t decide what I value, what has worth to me, what is important to me, the world will define it for me.  It’s like that for all of us.  I’m sorry to say that too often I’ve not defined my values nor lived my values.   This is quite evident in some of my decision-making.

I think Mr. Disney was on to something.  If we know what we value, what we believe and we’re willing to live by those values and beliefs, our decisions should be easy.  The decision is easy, the follow through is sometimes harder.

Our Lord is quite clear about what our values should be, if we are His.  He also promises that if we are His, the decisions are His.  Doesn’t that make it easy?

Whether you turn to the right or turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”  Isaiah 30:21

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.  Psalm 32:8

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him, though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.  Psalm 37:23-24

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.  All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.  Psalm 25:9-10

Over, and over again, He says follow Me, commit to Me, value Me.  So, what do we value?  Are our values clear?  Are our decisions easy?  Do our decisions reflect God?