Worship (Graces and Mercies, Temporal Echoes of the Eternal)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on July 17th, 2010
I have a close friend named Joe Conrad. Some of you may read his blog Tripping and Stumbling After Jesus. If not, I highly recommend it. He and I have a similar schtick–taking everyday events and concepts, and showing how God has woven them into the spiritual. It’s not the most original method of exposition; a certain Jewish carpenter did the same thing, to great effect.
Joseph tends use humor more, and God bless him for that. Not too many writers will mix Christianity with Monty Python. Laughter is a gift from the Almighty, and I firmly believe that mixed in among the music, laughter will resound throughout the halls of Heaven.
Update: I forgot to include a link to Joe’s Blog. Please check him out at Tripping and Stumbling While Following Jesus.
Recently, Joe wrote a spot-on post about idolatry, especially in our culture. I found it convicting, but it also resonated with me because I’ve been mentally chewing over a parallel thought. A couple of days ago, While reading Psalm 135, a few verses stuck out to me:
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
As human beings, we are hard-wired to worship something…anything. Even those who profess to not believe in any supernatural will speak with reverence about something. Typically it’s the cosmos or nature, because those things represent the grandest concepts that occur to those who won’t believe in an infinite God.
However…what if, as human beings, we are wired to not only worship, but also become like the object being worshipped? It’s not something that we can necessarily choose to have happen, but what if true worship–in word, thought and action–produces change in our lives, for the better? Or the worse?
The difference is the object of our adoration; that determines what changes will occur in our life. When my time is filled up with mindless entertainment, then my eyes and ears become dulled to seeing God at work, and hearing the Holy Spirit. There is always a competition for my attention, between God and this world. One opens expands my senses and discernment, other other numbs and dulls.
In latter part of verse 17 above, it says “nor is their breath in their mouths”. In Genesis, God didn’t just give breath to Adam, the way we would put an oxygen mask on someone. God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” This is a very personal picture. God wanted Adam to have a tiny sliver of life, and came close…intimately close, and bestowed it.
I have a video somewhere of me working on a lawnmower. My mower is propped up, and I’m taking the blade off. In the process, I’m getting a little frustrated, and end up using a hammer in the process. Before I realize it, Ian has brought over his plastic lawnmower toy, propped it up, and is whacking it with one of my tools. He sees what I do, and imitates it. Is it a coincidence that when people give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, it looks like a kiss? I’m not trying to belittle saving someone’s life, but when we see that someone has no breath and needs it, we draw close and breath into them. In doing that, we are like children who are pretending to do what our Heavenly Father does.
There is only one God who longs to draw close and give us life, and is able to give life. And, more than anything, He deserves my worship.
Asking for Inspiration / Mercy Street
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on June 27th, 2010
I’ve got two topics for tonight:
1.) I recently read a story about a young girl in a ballet class. One day, she arrived at class to find that her instructor was in a corner of the studio, on her knees in deep, fervent prayer. The students worried that something was wrong. Perhaps a family tragedy had occurred. Later, they realized that their teacher was praying for inspiration; for the creativity to teach well, and communicate a message from God through their dance. She was also asking for favor, for the ability to create well.
I’ve been wrestling lately with a distinct lack of creativity. I used to have thoughts on a weekly, or even daily basis that I couldn’t wait to attack here. I loved wrestling with language, to draw out the truth that was shown to me, and to make it interesting. Or, at least interesting enough that I would want to read it. I loved the right mixture of verbosity to explain my points well, and terseness to keep the flow. I especially enjoyed thinking of interesting turns of phrase, hoping that a literary hook would catch someone’s interest enough to remember what I wrote.
Lately, things have been dry. Not so much a writer’s block, but more like a musician who has ran out of music on a printed page. I just haven’t had anything that I thought was worth saying.
And yet, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. When asked the question, “What would you do if you knew that you couldn’t fail, and money wasn’t an issue?”, my response remains the same as it has for a few years: I would love to be a writer. Blog, article, book…it doesn’t matter at this point. I love nothing more than seeing a glimpse of the Almighty, or life in His kingdom, and sharing that with others. I live for sharing God’s truth in creating ways.
If I’m going to be honest, it’s not that I’ve had a case of writer’s block. Truth be told, I’ve been lazy. If this is my passon, then I should be seeking my Lord’s favor and inspiration, like a artist hired by royalty to create. He supports me, and therefore my job is to create for Him. God wants to speak through me, in a way that He created me uniquely to accomplish. But, I suspect that he brought me to this point so that I would have to decide whether or not this is what I want to do, in my heart. Do I love writing enough to earnestly entreat Him for my next idea?
Let’s find out what happens.
2.) I thought about sharing this last weekend for Father’s Day, then talked myself out of it. But, because of reasons explained above, this is all I have, so this is what I present to you…
Last weekend was rough, emotionally speaking. It wasn’t my first Father’s Day without Ian, but that didn’t make it easy. I’m no longer a father, and I have no father or even father-in-law to focus on. In some ways, it feels like the entire country decides to hold a celebration, and didn’t bother to send me an invitation.
I was watching Peter Gabriel’s Growing Up concert on DVD (which is fantastic, by the way), and this song came on. I never bought Peter’s music when he was in his popular phase, so I’m always discovering his genius late. Anyway, he played the song Mercy Street. The beauty of the music struck me first (Tony Levin, the bass player, is nothing short of phenomenal). The chorus made me stop what I was doing, because I could hear God talking to me in the lyrics:
Dreaming of Mercy Street
Wear your inside out
Dreaming of Mercy
In your Daddy’s Arms again
Dreaming of Mercy Street
I swear they moved that sign
Looking for Mercy
In Your Daddy’s arms
I felt God saying that He saw the pain, frustration and grief, even if I couldn’t bear to look at it myself. He had a place for me to fall into His arms, with all the grace I needed. Even when I don’t feel like I want to be held, He’s there. When I finally decide that I need Him, but it feels like there is a huge distance between us, He’s actually waiting for me with more patience than I can imagine, or than I deserve. When I need His mercy, it’s there.
Good Friday Thoughts (Strolling Through Scripture)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on April 2nd, 2010
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
- Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38, John 19:19-22 (emphasis mine)
As always, the will of Rome was carried out. The local ruler of the backwater Hebrew nation considered this prophet that had the Jews in an uproar, and didn’t quite know what to do with him. In the end, Pilate just wanted to be rid of him. Pilate tried to pawn this Jesus of Nazareth onto Herod, but that hadn’t worked. He tried to talk some sense into the local religious leaders, but they were determined that the man they brought before him should be put to death. Bleeding, bruised and bearing the marks of abuse, this man Jesus was obviously no normal man, but he also did not deserve the sentence that the Jews demanded.
This puzzled Pilate all the more. It wasn’t even a week ago that these people were welcoming Jesus as their King. He heard the reports, that they were begging, crying for this Jesus to save them. Pilate knew that crowds had their own mind, and could be turned easily, but something else was at work here. Something deeper…bigger. Even his own wife warned him to distance himself from this young prophet because of her dreams.
In the end, Pilate acquiesced to the leaders and the crowd. Let them have their Barabbas; the criminal would probably be back in custody within a month, two at most. One man’s life for order in Jerusalem was an unthinkably small price to pay. Then, the Sanhedrin had the audacity to demand he change the sign above the Nazarene, demanding that it state that this Jesus only claimed to be their king.
But Pilate wanted the message to be unmistakable: here is your King, and this is what you did with Him.
* * *
The above scripture is from an NIV Bible with the verses arranged in chronological order. I’m still working my way through Genesis, and will have another post from that the next time the Spirit moves. I wanted to take a moment and write about something Easter-oriented. I was asked to read something for our Good Friday service, and this leaped out at me.
After reading the passage at the top, I couldn’t help wonder: If the world placed a sign above my head, what would it say? Would it read “This man followed Christ”, or “This man claimed to follow Christ.” The world knows the difference between the two.
Rising Waters (Strolling Through Scripture)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on March 6th, 2010
If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break,
When the levee breaks I’ll have no place to stay.
- “When the Levee Breaks”, by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie (with some help from Led Zeppelin)
20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
- Genesis 18:20-26
As I’ve been re-reading the Old Testament, it strikes me that I’m spending more and more time re-evaluating preconceptions and inaccurate lessons taught by others, and replacing it with what the Bible actually says.
For example, I’ve been taught that the reason why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was due to sexual immorality running rampant in the cities. That idea neatly separated me from them. I’m not like them, so I’m safe. I’ve had to re-evaluate that stance, based on a recent article about Richard Stearns’ new book, The Hole in Our Gospel. (I haven’t read it yet, but it’s quickly moving to the top of my list.) In his book, Stearns quotes Ezekiel 16:49:
49 ” ‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
The LORD goes on to say that Sodom did do detestable things before Him. However, such things are the outgrowth of a hardened heart, that has refused to listen to the Holy Spirit, and seek to live a Godly life. The immorality that they do is only the symptom of a deeper sickness that we all suffer from: a life lived for self, rather than a life lived for God.
In light of this, I read Genesis 18:16-33. Abraham is having a conversation with God, discussing the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is not debating whether God should or should not obliterate Sodom and Gomorrah; it’s understood that they are wicked places, and deserve it. What Abraham is wondering is, what would it take to stay God’s hand? He produces a series of hypothetical situations. If, out of the whole two cities (twin cities?), what if there were 50 people whom God counted as righteous. Would that be enough to escape God’s judgement?
Yes. They would be spared if God could find 50 righteous people.
Then, Abraham proceeds to talk God down, in some kind of bargaining session. 45? 40? 30? 20? 10? (The passage doesn’t explicitly state as much, but I do wonder if the conversation progressed further…7?…5?…1?)
What is it about the presence of righteous people that would stay God’s hand? It’s not that God is necessarily impressed with how good these people are. Ultimately, our only source of Godliness is God himself, through Jesus Christ. For those who have a relationship with Christ, then righteous actions should be the natural output. What does that look like?
36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
- Matthew 25:36-40
So, what does all this have to do with “When the Levee Breaks”? It’s about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. You can read about the effects at the last link, but suffice to say that hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. I’ve never been in a flood situation (by the grace of God), but the idea of people working to shore up levees to protect their homes bears a resemblance to the righteous people that God was looking for in Sodom and Gomorrah. God was looking for people who were bringing His hope and His mercy in a desperate situation. He was looking for those who were fair in their business practices, and merciful to others. They may have not realized it at the time, but they were the levee holding back God’s wrath.
I need to continually ask myself–what kind of levee am I? Am I living the kind of life that produces hope in a situation that is more desperate that I realize?
And, just because I can’t get the song out of my head, and I feel the need to share it…
Bittersweet Celebration (Graces and Mercies, Doing Something)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on February 19th, 2010
One year ago today, my son went to be with his Maker.
It’s not the anniversary that I would have wanted to recognize, but recognize it we will. And celebrate. Tonight, we will have a house full of people, but more importantly, a house filled with laughter and singing.
I sometimes wondered how we would be able to make it through this last year. For some reason, God saw fit to keep us here, and His mercy has been ever-present. We celebrate that, and the fact that God is using Ian’s short life to bring hope to others. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our well project. We are getting veeeery close to our goal of having wells dug for three villages!
Everything sad continues to come untrue…
Job’s Epilogue (Temporal Echoes of the Eternal, Strolling Through Scripture)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 30th, 2010
From Merriam-Webster:
ep·i·logue: 1 : a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work
What if we never knew what happened to Job after God talked with him? What if, as far as we knew, Job spent the rest of his days as a poor, disease-ridden man, whose spouse encouraged him to “curse God and die”? What would be the take-away from that? Let’s come back to that.
In Job 42:7-9, Job is instructed to intercede for his friends. Evidently, Job has a right relationship with God at this point, to the point where he can present his requests to God without fear. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have sinned by lying about God, and need an intercessor. In Hebrews, Jesus is described as our high priest, intervening before God in our behalf. Could what Job does for his friends be a foreshadowing of how Jesus reconciles us to our Heavenly Father? Plus, the fact that God bothers to tell them to have Job pray for them shows that God desired to have a right relationship with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. These points are underscored in 1 Timothy 2:3-6:
3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
* * *
When I started reading Job, I followed the advice of commentators and tried to put myself in his shoes. The key to this is to not know what’s going to happen. When discussing Job’s story, particularly the wretched things that happened to him, most people quickly follow up with “but God blessed him with twice as much afterward.”
But, what if God hadn’t?
I’ve always imagined it happening fairly quickly after Job’s encounter with God. It’s as if God came up to Job, put his arm around him and said “I know that was a crappy thing that happened to you. Here’s your stuff and your family back, and some more for your troubles.”
Except, it wasn’t that way. Job was penniless. His standing in the community was gone (see chapter 30, verses 1-15). He was left asking “what do I do now?”
It was at this point that his friends and family came around him:
11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver [a] and a gold ring.
Deb and I have experienced this firsthand. Throughout the past wretched 20 months, our family and friends surrounded us, provided for us and were God’s hand and feet. Complete strangers performed incredible acts of charity that still bring tears to our eyes. It wasn’t because of anything we had done to deserve this. God sometimes lavishes on those who are suffering through other people in a way that, no matter how often it happens, it astounds us. Here’s another example from classic cinema:
Next up: Back to Genesis, and the birth of a nation.
Waiting for the Act 3 Climax (Temporal Echoes of the Eternal, Life Between the Bookends)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 29th, 2010
While on vacation, I read Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. In a year of reading some great books, this one was a perfect way to end 2009. I read (and watched) this post on his blog, and wanted to pass it along to anyone who bothers to come by my little site.
I’ve prayed for years to see this life with the eyes of eternity, to have an eternal perspective on the temporal. The message that Donald brings is a good start; as soon as we stop looking for things in this life for our fulfillment, we can be open to God’s fulfillment. However, the third act climax that Donald talks about isn’t the end of the story. The scene doesn’t fade to black. Instead, it’s the beginning of the real story.
It’s easy (and often tempting) to view this temporal life as “my story,” and when it’s done, my story is done. Instead, if I’m going to think of my life in terms of eternity, then this life should always be framed not as a story in and of itself, but more like a single-paragraph preface. What we were made for, our purpose and identity, will be fulfilled in Heaven.
Even living “happily ever after” isn’t enough to describe Heaven. There will be no climax to our story, because each day will be better than the one before.
I can’t imagine that. But, that’s my limitation, not God’s.
P.S. Stop by in a day or two; I’ve got a couple of blog posts percolating, including some final thoughts on Job.
Hilariously Generous (Graces and Mercies, Doing Something)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 27th, 2010
Wow.
When we first started our well project, setting the goal at $2,600 (the price of one well), I thought that perhaps we would hit our goal…maybe. I was surprised when we moved our goal up to $7,700.
I should learn not to sell God short. It was His vision, and it’s being done in His timing, so it’s receiving His provision. Consequently, I shouldn’t be surprised when I look at our FirstGiving page and see that, with more than a month to go, we’re at 78%. I hope & pray that we will need to move our goal again.
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7
If God loves a cheerful giver, then there are people out there who are a riot. Thank you to everyone who has invested in the Kingdom of Heaven with us.
Water Project Update + This Week in Pictures, Two Weeks’ Edition (Announcements, This Week in Pictures, Doing Something)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 23rd, 2010
God has moved in ways that astound us. We were hoping to be able to raise enough money by the end of February for one well. Because of some generous giving, we’ve increased our goal from $2,600 to $7,700. In addition to a well, God is using this dream to raise money for clean water where it is needed immediately (Haiti). If you haven’t yet, please consider donating a gift to provide life- and hope-giving water.
* * *
I apologize for the lack of pictures last week. I don’t even have extras to make it up to you. Here are some of the more interesting ones from the past two weeks…
We had the privilege of going to Feed My Starving Children a couple of week ago. I wish every two hours could be as purpose-filled as this.
This is what happens when you start tearing a corner of wallpaper in a bathroom and just...can't...stop. Note: The @#$% safety bar is now gone.
Eyewitnesses reported the appearance of a bright, yellow object in the sky. Nobody could identify the object.
This is my bane, every afternoon. Who improves a highway, then puts two stoplights, right in the middle of the busiest part?
Last Saturday, I got to build some speaker stands for the home theater. It started off fun, but then it was just cold.
We went to the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe in Burnsville. This...thing...caught our eye. If you go, get the kabobs and honey-glazed veggies.
The First Peek Beyond the Bookends (Strolling Through Scripture, Life Between the Bookends)
Posted by Tom in Uncategorized on January 10th, 2010
For anyone still reading (OK, both of you), I am still plowing through the Old Testament in chronological order. Granted, it’s not the pace I had originally hoped, but I’m still dedicated.
Earlier this week, I came across what I think is the best passage in Job. It’s Job 19:23-27, and I like how the New American Standard Bible puts it best:
23“Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24“That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
Job understands that what he’s about to say is important, and so he wishes that it would be recorded. The methods he described here were not cheap at the time, so that gives weight to the next two verses.
25“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
26“Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!
Here we get the first peek of life outside the bookends. And really, only someone who has known brokenness, either in their own life or by giving themselves over to the brokenness of others, can appreciate this passage.
Up to this point, Job has been having an argument with his friends. Contrary to what I had always pictured, this was a very heated argument. I had always pictured four ancient guys, one of them with a really bad skin condition, sitting around giving soliloquies, like a Shakespearean play. This time through Job, with the help of people much smarter than me, I can see it more clearly: it’s an argument among friends about the nature of the universe, and how Job must have brought this upon himself. Job’s friends are stressing that they know how the world works: you do bad things, bad things happen to you. And the vast majority of humanity would agree with that sentiment. It just seems proper. In English, we call it “poetic justice”. Job clearly has had bad things happen to him, all in a fairly short span of time. It seemed to everyone that someone, somewhere, had something in for him. In order to justify that belief, Job’s “friends” accuse him of some awful things later in chapter 22.
Job angrily maintains his innocence. Since we have the privilege of seeing the whole script with the writer/director’s notes in Chapters 1 & 2, we know that Job is right. God knows that Job is right. And, yet, there had to be nagging doubts in Job’s mind. The idea of poetic justice is ingrained because it happens so often. Yet, in verses 25-26, Job recognizes that he can’t save himself in this situation, that he needs another. Not only someone to save him from the current, temporal issues, but someone to save him from the sin/sacrifice cycle described in chapter 1. Job doesn’t say how this will happen, because he doesn’t know.
In verse 25, he declares that the person who is able and willing to redeem exists. (When we hit the book of Ruth, we’ll discuss the concept of a kinsman redeemer in more detail. for now, think “defender”, or “the one who will make everything right”). Not only does He exist, but He is alive. Job is certain who will do the saving, and that perosn is God. Job calling the Lord his redeemer implies an existing relationship, a kind of fellowship that (I’m guessing) would have been pretty unheard of at that time. It foreshadows the relationship God desired with Israel, as well as the relationship we enjoy with God now.
Job takes it a step further, and declares that, even after his body has turned to dust, yet he will see God with his own eyes. Given what we know of God from the rest of scripture, this is an incredibly bold statement. At the same time, other passages of scripture confirm that it will be true, for Job as well as for us. This same promise was fulfilled for Simeon in Luke 2:30, in the form of Jesus’ first incarnation. In one sense, this passage could be a prophecy about His first coming. At the same time, these words also Jesus’ second appearance, vividly described in Zechariah 14:
3Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
4In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
5You will flee by the valley of My mountains…Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him
Wow. Now that’s an entrance.
By the way: If you have given your life to Christ, then “all the holy ones” means you.
My question at this point is, how did Job know this? Remember, this was before Moses, and before God made His covenant with Abraham. Was it a personal revelation to Job? Was it part of an oral tradition? It doesn’t necessarily matter. Job’s statement shows that as long as humanity has lived on the Earth, the dream has existed that God would return to live with us. Until then, we live in a world filled with injustice and unfairness. That’s what I’ve come to call “Life Between the Bookends”. It’s a phrase to express the knowledge that, while we can’t know the rest of the story, we can be certain about how the story ends.
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