We had our first Bible study tonight and I'm encouraged by the response. We basically laid the foundation of what we'll be discussing going forward: the character of God as He is, not necessarily as how we see Him. Please refer to the "straw in a glass of water" analogy from the 29th of January. We started out with a straw and answered the question, "What can you tell me about the straw?" The obvious answers followed; it was tubular, it was straight, it was plastic, it was white, etc. We had a glass of water in which I placed the straw and the question was then asked, "Now how do you see the straw?" Again the answers were fairly obvious; it was bigger in the water than out, it didn't look straight any more but skewed, etc. We made the connection between the fall and how our view of His character is now skewed, how Paul addressed how we see Him in I Cor 13, and how Satan attacked God's character hence our desire to study God's character as it is "out of the water" as opposed to in it.
Having personally put together the analogy I was rather pleased with myself as everyone seemed to be on the same page I was, and then R.G. dropped this incredible bombshell: We knew that our comments about the straw when it was in the water, i.e. bigger, no longer straight, were false because we had studied the refractory effects of water. At the time I thought it was a great comment, however upon further reflection I see much more wisdom and insight in that one statement than at first I was aware.
Two things have to be true for R.G.'s comment to make sense: 1. We must be able to establish the initial "state" of the straw (it's straight, round, white, etc.). Said another way the straw must be "knowable" prior to any refractory manipulation. 2. We must attribute the change in the straw's appearance to the refractory properties of the water and not to an actual change in the properties of the straw. Said another way, we understand the water makes the straw look different, however the straw does not change itself when it enters the water.
Do you see where I'm going with this? 1. God is knowable (the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit), and 2. Based on His immutability, His inability to change (Malachi 3:6), we know that any difference between His true character and how we perceive His character is due to the refractory properties of the fall, of sin, and not to any change in His character. Thank you R.G.!!!
The implications of this in our relationship with Him are huge. Do you know how folks at Treasury can tell if currency is counterfeit? Do you think they study all the counterfeiting techniques? Maybe there's a "Top 10 List" of most used inks and papers? No. You know what they do? They study the real currency so in depth that any inconsistency from what they know to be true is a glaring indictment of the bill or coin they're studying. The currency they're protecting from fraud is knowable, is available for study, can be counted on as "truth." If they see anything that doesn't match up against the truth they know its not the currency that has changed but error and fraud have entered the picture. All of that said, it makes much more sense to study the character of God as He actually is so that anytime our emotions say, "If He's really a good God" the Holy Spirit can scream within us, "Counterfeit, Counterfeit!!!"
Think about it, we can renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2) through the study of who He is. Let us, as we go forward, so study His true character that any reaction we have to the contrary is branded as counterfeit and deception. Can we be assured of knowing Him? Look at 1 Cor 2:11-16 and see that we have the mind of Christ, the only mind that can know the Father. Have others seen Him? Please click the link to see other examples from the Old and New Testaments of "God sightings." Furthermore, although this a commentary on Christ's deity it applies here as well, if we've seen Jesus we've seen the Father (John 14:9). Can we know Him? Absolutely. I look forward to renewing my mind with you as we bathe in His word and revelation of Himself.
Dear, Father. Please forgive me if I've in any way misrepresented You here. If I've taken a verse out of context to make a point, please prick our hearts with Your Holy Spirit to look deeper and see what You really meant. Please meet us as we seek You out, as we try to know who You are, not for mere understanding sake, but so that we may love and glorify You more. Thank You for Your love, grace and mercy. In Jesus' name, amen.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Place your trust in His Name
We're going to start this morning in Psalm 33. A pet peeve of mine is the notion that an entire idea or theory can be built upon just one verse; many times that verse is taken out of context and is manipulated to fit the idea or theory and call it "biblical." The verse in which "trust" is housed that we'll review is Ps 33:21 - "In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name." By virtue of the fact we put our trust in Him I'd assume that He is trustworthy. What I love about this psalm is all the other examples of supposedly trustworthy people/things that fail in comparison to our Lord as well as the reasons behind placing our trust in Him.
The "word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does" (vs. 4) starts off the litany of why He is worthy of our trust. He "loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love" (vs. 5). Take a look at verses six through 15 and see example after example which prove His trustworthiness. By His word were all things made, "He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses", all things came into being by His mere word, plans of the nations cannot stand against Him, He defeats all purposes of man set against Him. I love the description of his omnipotence and omniscience in verses 13 through 15. Do you want to trust Him who sees, ponders, and forms all? About whom else could all this be said?
Kings, warriors, and horses are saved neither by the size of their army nor their great strength (vs. 16,17). The Lord keeps His eyes out for those that hope in Him, for those that put their trust in Him. As a result we rejoice in Him because our trust has been placed in the One, the only "one", who is worthy of our trust.
Okay, I don't know about you, that's all well and good, but what does this whole "trust" thing mean? Seriously, I know that I "trust" the chair in which I sit to hold me up. I "trust" that gravity will keep my car on the road. Trust in that sense isn't what I'm talking about in context of Him, nor is it what the scripture talks about in Psalm 33. The word "trust" in verse 21 is the Hebrew word "batach" which means "to hie for refuge." Personally, I had to look up "hie" and it means speed, race, rush, move fast; for example "He rushed (hied) down the hall to meet his guests." I am confident of my safety in a refuge and I rush to that refuge in light of my need for provision. Trust then is the action of rushing to Him because I am assured of His capacity to provide. When compared with the alternatives (kings, warriors, horses) He is the one most able to deliver.
Look back at verse 21 and in what about Him do we place our trust? It's in "His holy Name." If you've ever done a study of the names of God it is truly amazing and how many names there are for Him and the difference piece of His character each name describes. If you'd like to delve into His names please click here and you can get started. The list, by its own admission, is not exhaustive, however it will certainly be a good starting point for you. That said it would appear to me that the psalmist is pointing out that by trusting in His name we are trusting in every aspect of who He is. I may be reaching there, so take that last comment with a grain of salt.
Here's where I get really excited about how the Lord uses the exact words of scripture to paint pictures of who He is, then reinforces one verse with another...watch this! Remember that the word "trust" in Ps 33:21 means "to hie for refuge." Read the following verses please: Psalm 5:11, Psalm 31:19, and Isaiah 57:13. What one word is in each of those verses? That's right - REFUGE!! The word translated "refuge" in these verses is the Hebrew word "chacah" which means "to flee for protection." We can trust in His holy name and make him our refuge. This points out another aspect of trust that I want to discuss.
Use the following analogy: the chair is trustworthy regardless of the trust I place in it. It can hold my weight, but I can choose not to place my trust in it by sitting down. Conversely I can place my trust in my hand to stop a bullet, yet you can imagine the result when the rifle is fired and the bullet makes its way neatly through my flesh. My point? Whether your exercise your trust or not has no bearing upon the trustworthiness of the object of your trust. Said another way, whether you trust in Him or not has no bearing on His trustworthiness. Bluntly, He is worth of your trust (Ps 33 in particular and the entire redemptive history of the Bible in general). He who is greater and creator is master of the lesser and created, period. You have a refuge available to you; Him. I suggest you hie on over there today!
Last couple of points and I'll bring this morning to a close. Trust is an action, not a feeling. Remember to have truth drive your actions which yield emotions to be pondered, but not acted upon. He is trustworthy, I am in need of a refuge and rush to Him, and I will eventually have an emotional reaction that lines up accordingly. Why do I say it this way? Experience tells me that I run to refuge when I'm in fear. When I make it to safety I am filled with relief and, honestly, lingering doubt about the ability of my refuge to protect me. By His grace I am called to act according to truth, not feel according to truth. My emotion of doubt has no bearing on His trustworthiness but is rather a reflection of how far to go I have in my sanctification. My level of trust is irrelevant in light of the Object of my trust. Thank You, Father, its about You and not me!
Lord thank You for meeting us this morning. Thank You for the presence of Your Spirit and His explanation of Your word. Again I ask for forgiveness if I have in anyway misrepresented You, Your character or Your word. With an difference of opinion as to what You've said may we dig deeper and defend or dig deeper and amend. Praise Your Holy Name, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.
The "word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does" (vs. 4) starts off the litany of why He is worthy of our trust. He "loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love" (vs. 5). Take a look at verses six through 15 and see example after example which prove His trustworthiness. By His word were all things made, "He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses", all things came into being by His mere word, plans of the nations cannot stand against Him, He defeats all purposes of man set against Him. I love the description of his omnipotence and omniscience in verses 13 through 15. Do you want to trust Him who sees, ponders, and forms all? About whom else could all this be said?
Kings, warriors, and horses are saved neither by the size of their army nor their great strength (vs. 16,17). The Lord keeps His eyes out for those that hope in Him, for those that put their trust in Him. As a result we rejoice in Him because our trust has been placed in the One, the only "one", who is worthy of our trust.
Okay, I don't know about you, that's all well and good, but what does this whole "trust" thing mean? Seriously, I know that I "trust" the chair in which I sit to hold me up. I "trust" that gravity will keep my car on the road. Trust in that sense isn't what I'm talking about in context of Him, nor is it what the scripture talks about in Psalm 33. The word "trust" in verse 21 is the Hebrew word "batach" which means "to hie for refuge." Personally, I had to look up "hie" and it means speed, race, rush, move fast; for example "He rushed (hied) down the hall to meet his guests." I am confident of my safety in a refuge and I rush to that refuge in light of my need for provision. Trust then is the action of rushing to Him because I am assured of His capacity to provide. When compared with the alternatives (kings, warriors, horses) He is the one most able to deliver.
Look back at verse 21 and in what about Him do we place our trust? It's in "His holy Name." If you've ever done a study of the names of God it is truly amazing and how many names there are for Him and the difference piece of His character each name describes. If you'd like to delve into His names please click here and you can get started. The list, by its own admission, is not exhaustive, however it will certainly be a good starting point for you. That said it would appear to me that the psalmist is pointing out that by trusting in His name we are trusting in every aspect of who He is. I may be reaching there, so take that last comment with a grain of salt.
Here's where I get really excited about how the Lord uses the exact words of scripture to paint pictures of who He is, then reinforces one verse with another...watch this! Remember that the word "trust" in Ps 33:21 means "to hie for refuge." Read the following verses please: Psalm 5:11, Psalm 31:19, and Isaiah 57:13. What one word is in each of those verses? That's right - REFUGE!! The word translated "refuge" in these verses is the Hebrew word "chacah" which means "to flee for protection." We can trust in His holy name and make him our refuge. This points out another aspect of trust that I want to discuss.
Use the following analogy: the chair is trustworthy regardless of the trust I place in it. It can hold my weight, but I can choose not to place my trust in it by sitting down. Conversely I can place my trust in my hand to stop a bullet, yet you can imagine the result when the rifle is fired and the bullet makes its way neatly through my flesh. My point? Whether your exercise your trust or not has no bearing upon the trustworthiness of the object of your trust. Said another way, whether you trust in Him or not has no bearing on His trustworthiness. Bluntly, He is worth of your trust (Ps 33 in particular and the entire redemptive history of the Bible in general). He who is greater and creator is master of the lesser and created, period. You have a refuge available to you; Him. I suggest you hie on over there today!
Last couple of points and I'll bring this morning to a close. Trust is an action, not a feeling. Remember to have truth drive your actions which yield emotions to be pondered, but not acted upon. He is trustworthy, I am in need of a refuge and rush to Him, and I will eventually have an emotional reaction that lines up accordingly. Why do I say it this way? Experience tells me that I run to refuge when I'm in fear. When I make it to safety I am filled with relief and, honestly, lingering doubt about the ability of my refuge to protect me. By His grace I am called to act according to truth, not feel according to truth. My emotion of doubt has no bearing on His trustworthiness but is rather a reflection of how far to go I have in my sanctification. My level of trust is irrelevant in light of the Object of my trust. Thank You, Father, its about You and not me!
Lord thank You for meeting us this morning. Thank You for the presence of Your Spirit and His explanation of Your word. Again I ask for forgiveness if I have in anyway misrepresented You, Your character or Your word. With an difference of opinion as to what You've said may we dig deeper and defend or dig deeper and amend. Praise Your Holy Name, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
You can trust Him!
You'd think after starting this weeks ago that I would've gotten to His character sooner than now. Remember, I'm assuming that you and I are on the same page and that we consider the Bible to be the holy, inerrant, infallible word of God - basically it is our source of knowledge as explained to us by the Holy Spirit. That said, the question of trust is a big one for me.
You'll remember in James 4:15 we're told not to assume anything will happen in the future but we should always add the caveat "if its His will." You'll also remember from "When Harry met Sally" that Harry was so pessimistic that he would read the last page of the book to make sure he got the ending in before he died. When I lay my heart out before the Lord, when I ask for those things that are nearest and dearest to me as well as the more mundane requests, I always end my prayer with, "but in the end Lord, Your will be done." Sounds good, but here's where Harry shows up: if I'm going to stay away from being a white-washed tomb with a heart far away from Him I need to come clean with my reasoning behind the disclaimer. I don't trust Him to give me what I want, or He won't give it to me when I want it, or since I know He's going to do what He wants anyway my prayer is a fruitless enterprise that just keeps me strung along while He does His thing. I have it in my mind that His pursuit of His glory is mutually exclusive with my joy and contentment. Said another way, His pursuit is not merely for His benefit, but necessarily at my expense.
And at the same time His word calls me to put my trust in Him, that there are things in which I put unmerited trust, that there are benefits to trusting Him. The majority of my musings come from a stroll through Strong's Concordance looking up trust, trusted, trustedst, trustest, trusteth, trusting, and trusty. All told there are 11 Hebrew words that are translated "trust" or one of the aforementioned variations, and in Greek there are five. Before I get to those I also want to see what in the world "trust" means in English so off we go to Merriam-Webster. The first definition resonates with me, "1 a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something." Assured reliance speaks of a heart at peace and in full confidence that the person in which the trust is placed will deliver. It does not, in mind at least, speak of a heart that's worried about the outcome of the trusted's actions.
Even more than the noun definitions do I like the verb descriptions:
So now on to Hebrew and Greek. I beg each of you to take what I'm getting ready to say with a grain of salt. By that I mean I'm venturing in languages I've not studied and have only rudimentary knowledge based on what Strong's has said. I'll offer that I'm prayed up and not intentionally misguiding anyone, but please dig into this for yourselves. I've got links up on the right that should help you from a resource standpoint.
I'm going to split this up into three sections: 1. Trust to be placed in, 2. Trust not to be placed in, and 3. Benefits of trusting. This greatly reduces the overall number of verses to be studied and takes us from the 16 words for trust down to just five, four Hebrew and one Greek. For ease of reference I'm going to refer to them by their Strong's number and they are as follows:
Enough for tonight with the follow exception:
In what should I place my trust?
God's Name - Ps 33:21
God's Word - Ps 119:42
Christ - Matt 12:17-21
What are those things that I tend to place my trust but which are destined to fail?
Weapons - Ps 44:6
Wealth - Ps 49:6,7
Leaders - Ps 146:3
Man - Jer 17:5
Works - Jer 48:7
One's Own Righteousness - Ez 33:13
What are the benefits of trusting in God's Name, Word, and His Son?
Joy, Ps 5:11 - Deliverance, Ps 22:4,5 - Triumph, Ps 25:2,3 - God's Goodness, Ps 31:19 - Mercy, Ps 32:10 - Provision, Ps 37:3,5 - Blessedness, Ps 40:4 - Safety, Ps 56:4,11 - Usefulness, Ps 73:28 - Guidance, Pr 3:5,6 - Inheritance, Isa 57:13.
Dear, Father. Thank you for taking the time to come and meet with us today. I pray that nothing I've said has in any way misrepresented You or our Your word. I ask that your Holy Spirit continue to guide us and reveal Your Word to us. Take the scales away from our eyes of flesh so that the eyes of faith can see You. Confirm by Your Spirit that You are trustworthy, that all those benefits after which we seek can only be found in You and not in those false gods in which we place our trust daily. We love You, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.
You'll remember in James 4:15 we're told not to assume anything will happen in the future but we should always add the caveat "if its His will." You'll also remember from "When Harry met Sally" that Harry was so pessimistic that he would read the last page of the book to make sure he got the ending in before he died. When I lay my heart out before the Lord, when I ask for those things that are nearest and dearest to me as well as the more mundane requests, I always end my prayer with, "but in the end Lord, Your will be done." Sounds good, but here's where Harry shows up: if I'm going to stay away from being a white-washed tomb with a heart far away from Him I need to come clean with my reasoning behind the disclaimer. I don't trust Him to give me what I want, or He won't give it to me when I want it, or since I know He's going to do what He wants anyway my prayer is a fruitless enterprise that just keeps me strung along while He does His thing. I have it in my mind that His pursuit of His glory is mutually exclusive with my joy and contentment. Said another way, His pursuit is not merely for His benefit, but necessarily at my expense.
And at the same time His word calls me to put my trust in Him, that there are things in which I put unmerited trust, that there are benefits to trusting Him. The majority of my musings come from a stroll through Strong's Concordance looking up trust, trusted, trustedst, trustest, trusteth, trusting, and trusty. All told there are 11 Hebrew words that are translated "trust" or one of the aforementioned variations, and in Greek there are five. Before I get to those I also want to see what in the world "trust" means in English so off we go to Merriam-Webster. The first definition resonates with me, "1 a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something." Assured reliance speaks of a heart at peace and in full confidence that the person in which the trust is placed will deliver. It does not, in mind at least, speak of a heart that's worried about the outcome of the trusted's actions.
Even more than the noun definitions do I like the verb descriptions:
1 a : to place confidence : dependTo place confidence, to depend, to hope, to commit or place in [His] keeping; to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of [Him]. Are any of these actions to be taken towards one who is not trustworthy? Think about, would you sit in a balsa wood chair? Would you jump from a plane with a torn parachute? Would you ask a blind person to describe the beauty of the rainbow? Would you ask your toddler to drive you to the store? Ridiculous questions I know, but you can see the point. We make judgment calls on a daily basis about in whom we trust.b : to be confident : hope
2 : to sell or deliver on credittransitive verb 1 a : to commit or place in one's care or keeping : entrust b : to permit to stay or go or to do something without fear or misgiving
2 a : to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of : believeb : to place confidence in : rely on c : to hope or expect confidently s that the problem will be resolved soon
So now on to Hebrew and Greek. I beg each of you to take what I'm getting ready to say with a grain of salt. By that I mean I'm venturing in languages I've not studied and have only rudimentary knowledge based on what Strong's has said. I'll offer that I'm prayed up and not intentionally misguiding anyone, but please dig into this for yourselves. I've got links up on the right that should help you from a resource standpoint.
I'm going to split this up into three sections: 1. Trust to be placed in, 2. Trust not to be placed in, and 3. Benefits of trusting. This greatly reduces the overall number of verses to be studied and takes us from the 16 words for trust down to just five, four Hebrew and one Greek. For ease of reference I'm going to refer to them by their Strong's number and they are as follows:
982 batach baw-takh' a primitive root; properly, to hie for refuge (but not so precipitately as 2620); figuratively, to trust, be confident or sure:--be bold (confident, secure, sure), careless (one, woman), put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust
4009 mibtach mib-tawkh' from 982; properly, a refuge, i.e. (objective) security, or (subjective) assurance:--confidence, hope, sure, trust.
2620 chacah khaw-saw' a primitive root; to flee for protection (Compare 982); figuratively, to confide in:--have hope, make refuge, (put) trust.
4268 machaceh makh-as-eh' or machceh {makh-seh'}; from 2620; a shelter (literally or figuratively):--hope, (place of) refuge, shelter, trust.
1679. elpizo el-pid'-zo from 1680; to expect or confide:--(have, thing) hope(-d) (for), trust.As 1679 (the only Greek one we're reviewing) comes from 1680 I include it as well for reference:
1680. elpis el-pece' from a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence:--faith, hope.A further look at numbers...part one will show only three "things" in which to place our trust, while part two will describe six things we tend towards with our trust, and part three gives us 11 benefits to the proper placement of our trust. Without even looking at the verses yet it would seem that there are a lot of benefits won by well placed trust, yet I will tend to just about anything other than "the three things" to gain those benefits. If I have been deceived and believed the lie that the straw is crooked, it would make sense that my efforts to straighten that straw are misplaced and misguided giving me the frustrated pose of perpetually failed. Said another way, if I've been told that God is not trustworthy I will find those things in which to place my trust which I feel are most likely to give me the assurance, contentment, and joy I seek.
Enough for tonight with the follow exception:
In what should I place my trust?
God's Name - Ps 33:21
God's Word - Ps 119:42
Christ - Matt 12:17-21
What are those things that I tend to place my trust but which are destined to fail?
Weapons - Ps 44:6
Wealth - Ps 49:6,7
Leaders - Ps 146:3
Man - Jer 17:5
Works - Jer 48:7
One's Own Righteousness - Ez 33:13
What are the benefits of trusting in God's Name, Word, and His Son?
Joy, Ps 5:11 - Deliverance, Ps 22:4,5 - Triumph, Ps 25:2,3 - God's Goodness, Ps 31:19 - Mercy, Ps 32:10 - Provision, Ps 37:3,5 - Blessedness, Ps 40:4 - Safety, Ps 56:4,11 - Usefulness, Ps 73:28 - Guidance, Pr 3:5,6 - Inheritance, Isa 57:13.
Dear, Father. Thank you for taking the time to come and meet with us today. I pray that nothing I've said has in any way misrepresented You or our Your word. I ask that your Holy Spirit continue to guide us and reveal Your Word to us. Take the scales away from our eyes of flesh so that the eyes of faith can see You. Confirm by Your Spirit that You are trustworthy, that all those benefits after which we seek can only be found in You and not in those false gods in which we place our trust daily. We love You, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Where to start?
I suppose the first question to ask is "Where do I begin the discussion of God's character?" I guess I could start with "In the beginning, God" and talk about His eternal and infinite being, however I want to start with the first time His character was called into question. Genesis 3 and Psalm 119 have impacted me greatly over the past few months. Psalm 119 because of how His law, decrees, statutes, precepts, commands and word sustain, teach, and give comfort; Genesis 3 because of the eye-opening revelation of why I would have a difficult time trusting Him. Add to this Romans 12 and I see a way out of the flesh driven view of Him and a way to "pull the straw out of the water" and see Him as He really is (with the obvious caveat that I will never completely overcome my flesh until I go home to be with Him). My questions to my mom in college about "why" and many of the questions I hear from people have to do with "why"; why would God allow [fill in the blank]? Believe it or not, He's given us the answer to that question. We've even codified His answer when we asked ourselves, "What is the chief end of man?" You'll recall the answer is "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
If then my chief end is to glorify God, what do you think God's chief end is? You got it - to bring glory to Himself. I don't know about you but I immediately bristle at the thought of one person seeking out their glory over another person. I attribute "too much" humanity to Him and assume that the pursuit of His glory, especially when I see it at my expense, is a selfish, ego-maniacal pursuit. Shouldn't He be in pursuit of me? Shouldn't He look to my benefit and my blessing? Shouldn't He display His greatness in making sure that I enjoy comforts, blessings and abundance at His right hand?
Look at the progression of my questions above. I've somehow moved from my chief end, bringing glory to Him, and put myself in the center. Having done that I've already violated the first commandment He gave on Sinai, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." Ex 20:2-4. If He pursues me as a chief end He violates His own law we which know He cannot do.
I like the way Rick Warren put it, "it's not about you." Go back to Job. Read the first 10 verses of so of chapter 1 and tell me this, did Satan ask God if he could go after Job or did God bring up Job to Satan? God offered up Job!! Thus commences the account of untold suffering, personal loss, and physical affliction which takes 42 chapters to tell. Job sits there wondering what he has done to be worthy of suffering. He even gets the opportunity to ask God, "What in the world are You thinking? How could You do this to me when I've done nothing to deserve it?" Do you remember how God answers Job? I can tell you He did it much more graciously than I ever would. My response would sound something like, "Shut your pie-hole. I made you and don't answer to you."
The answer to why is this: God did it, whatever the "it" is in your life, because it brought Him more glory than doing it any other way. Said differently, if the entirety of human history could unfold in a manner other than the way it has, and bring Him more glory, He would have done it that way. Your why, my why, everyone's why's are answered by His pursuit of His glory. (John Piper does a great job describing this, and so does Mitch Jolly!)
The Accuser has me constantly saying to myself, "Can I really trust Him? The pain and suffering that I go through, the heartache I see all around me, the death and misery; aren't all of these proof that I can't trust Him?" I'm brought back, again, to the fact that I want to judge him by the si.......
You know what I just realized? I've been sitting here repeating over and over again why I have a tough time trusting Him and not going after what I set out to do, namely discuss His character. Bottom line, He is trust worthy. I don't expect you to just take that on unsubstantiated faith, but rather on the evidence of His word. How many examples will it take for you to say, "You know what, He is trustworthy!"? Seriously, if I ask you to find 10 examples in scripture would you do it? Please share them as we build a body of evidence, evidence taken from the only truth available to us, His word. If we can't trust Him, then what in the world are we doing taking the time to learn about Him?
If then my chief end is to glorify God, what do you think God's chief end is? You got it - to bring glory to Himself. I don't know about you but I immediately bristle at the thought of one person seeking out their glory over another person. I attribute "too much" humanity to Him and assume that the pursuit of His glory, especially when I see it at my expense, is a selfish, ego-maniacal pursuit. Shouldn't He be in pursuit of me? Shouldn't He look to my benefit and my blessing? Shouldn't He display His greatness in making sure that I enjoy comforts, blessings and abundance at His right hand?
Look at the progression of my questions above. I've somehow moved from my chief end, bringing glory to Him, and put myself in the center. Having done that I've already violated the first commandment He gave on Sinai, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." Ex 20:2-4. If He pursues me as a chief end He violates His own law we which know He cannot do.
I like the way Rick Warren put it, "it's not about you." Go back to Job. Read the first 10 verses of so of chapter 1 and tell me this, did Satan ask God if he could go after Job or did God bring up Job to Satan? God offered up Job!! Thus commences the account of untold suffering, personal loss, and physical affliction which takes 42 chapters to tell. Job sits there wondering what he has done to be worthy of suffering. He even gets the opportunity to ask God, "What in the world are You thinking? How could You do this to me when I've done nothing to deserve it?" Do you remember how God answers Job? I can tell you He did it much more graciously than I ever would. My response would sound something like, "Shut your pie-hole. I made you and don't answer to you."
The answer to why is this: God did it, whatever the "it" is in your life, because it brought Him more glory than doing it any other way. Said differently, if the entirety of human history could unfold in a manner other than the way it has, and bring Him more glory, He would have done it that way. Your why, my why, everyone's why's are answered by His pursuit of His glory. (John Piper does a great job describing this, and so does Mitch Jolly!)
The Accuser has me constantly saying to myself, "Can I really trust Him? The pain and suffering that I go through, the heartache I see all around me, the death and misery; aren't all of these proof that I can't trust Him?" I'm brought back, again, to the fact that I want to judge him by the si.......
You know what I just realized? I've been sitting here repeating over and over again why I have a tough time trusting Him and not going after what I set out to do, namely discuss His character. Bottom line, He is trust worthy. I don't expect you to just take that on unsubstantiated faith, but rather on the evidence of His word. How many examples will it take for you to say, "You know what, He is trustworthy!"? Seriously, if I ask you to find 10 examples in scripture would you do it? Please share them as we build a body of evidence, evidence taken from the only truth available to us, His word. If we can't trust Him, then what in the world are we doing taking the time to learn about Him?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
An assumption
One last item before launching into God's character; the Bible. My son Garrison and I were going to pick up our dogs from the kennel after our travels over Christmas last year. He asked me about my "devotion" time and what I did. I explained to him that "devotion" could be better said "conversation." We talked about how I like getting to know him (Garrison) and if there's something about which I'm interested, I simply ask Garrison about the topic. A conversation with the Lord is somewhat different in that I ask questions (prayer) but I don't physically hear His answer. By His grace and mercy He's chosen to reveal Himself through His Word. Because of the work of His Holy Spirit within me I am capable of understanding what He's trying to tell me. I told Garrison it is as if I wrote a book that revealed my character such that when I was gone (agreed, I know, no where near on par with the reality of my living Father) Garrison could ask, "What would Dad tell me?" then open my letter and have his question answered. We would have a conversation made up of verbal questions and written answers.
I realize that this is a woefully incomplete analogy, but for Garrison and me that day it made sense. Something that Garrison would have to ask himself every time he opened my letter would be, "Is this really what my dad wrote?" I say that this is the same question we must ask about the Bible. We're going to look at God's character as revealed by His Holy Spirit through His word. I would point you to A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith by Dr. Robert L. Reymond as a great reference for your studies on the authority of scripture. Dr. Reymond leaves no stone unturned starting with "The Fact of Divine Revelation" and ending with "The Bible as the [Base] for Knowledge and Personal Significance." I would also offer the Westminster Confession of Faith as it begins with "Chapter 1 - Of The Holy Scripture." In addition the Westminster Longer Catechism touches on many of the same themes. Basically I hold that the Bible is the word of God without error and according to 2 Tim 3:16,17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
I say all of this to point out the following: the Lord has given you, me, us His holy, infallible word that can be relied up as we seek to know Him. We can know Him not in the merely factual, i.e. the sun is hot, but in a relational sense, i.e. He loves me.
[As I sit here typing this morning I can feel the difference in my writing. Today I am in my "head" mode; A+B=C. I get this way when I feel distanced from Him. It is my way of staying with truth even when I don't feel like it. Have you ever seen "A Beautiful Mind" with Russell Crowe? There is a scene in the movie where he's trying to convince his wife and psychiatrist that he can overcome his schizophrenia with his mind such that he would no longer have to take medicine that had side effects which negatively impacted his ability to relate to others. I remember Russell runs outside and says, "They never grow older" (or something to that effect). He could recognize when it was a figment of his imagination based on the age of the person he spoke to over time. I have to do the same thing with truth as it relates to my emotional reality. When my emotions desert me for la la land, i.e. I have no reason to be in a funk but that's where I find myself, I have to recognize "they never grow older" and operate out of the reality of God's truth.]
Conclusion: we have His word to guide us in the study of Him. His word is His revelation to us about His character and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit the scales on our eyes of flesh fall away to a relationship with our Savior.
Father, if I have in any way misrepresented You or Your word, please forgive me. For he or she who reads and does not feel as if it tracks with Your word, please show them in Your word, not in their emotions, what is the truth. Thank Your for Your word; Your divine inspiration of its scribes; its authenticity and authority. Thank you that "If any of [us] lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." - James 1:5 We ask for wisdom, discernment, and the presence of Your Holy Spirit to guide us as we get to know You better. In Jesus' name, amen.
I realize that this is a woefully incomplete analogy, but for Garrison and me that day it made sense. Something that Garrison would have to ask himself every time he opened my letter would be, "Is this really what my dad wrote?" I say that this is the same question we must ask about the Bible. We're going to look at God's character as revealed by His Holy Spirit through His word. I would point you to A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith by Dr. Robert L. Reymond as a great reference for your studies on the authority of scripture. Dr. Reymond leaves no stone unturned starting with "The Fact of Divine Revelation" and ending with "The Bible as the [Base] for Knowledge and Personal Significance." I would also offer the Westminster Confession of Faith as it begins with "Chapter 1 - Of The Holy Scripture." In addition the Westminster Longer Catechism touches on many of the same themes. Basically I hold that the Bible is the word of God without error and according to 2 Tim 3:16,17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
I say all of this to point out the following: the Lord has given you, me, us His holy, infallible word that can be relied up as we seek to know Him. We can know Him not in the merely factual, i.e. the sun is hot, but in a relational sense, i.e. He loves me.
[As I sit here typing this morning I can feel the difference in my writing. Today I am in my "head" mode; A+B=C. I get this way when I feel distanced from Him. It is my way of staying with truth even when I don't feel like it. Have you ever seen "A Beautiful Mind" with Russell Crowe? There is a scene in the movie where he's trying to convince his wife and psychiatrist that he can overcome his schizophrenia with his mind such that he would no longer have to take medicine that had side effects which negatively impacted his ability to relate to others. I remember Russell runs outside and says, "They never grow older" (or something to that effect). He could recognize when it was a figment of his imagination based on the age of the person he spoke to over time. I have to do the same thing with truth as it relates to my emotional reality. When my emotions desert me for la la land, i.e. I have no reason to be in a funk but that's where I find myself, I have to recognize "they never grow older" and operate out of the reality of God's truth.]
Conclusion: we have His word to guide us in the study of Him. His word is His revelation to us about His character and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit the scales on our eyes of flesh fall away to a relationship with our Savior.
Father, if I have in any way misrepresented You or Your word, please forgive me. For he or she who reads and does not feel as if it tracks with Your word, please show them in Your word, not in their emotions, what is the truth. Thank Your for Your word; Your divine inspiration of its scribes; its authenticity and authority. Thank you that "If any of [us] lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." - James 1:5 We ask for wisdom, discernment, and the presence of Your Holy Spirit to guide us as we get to know You better. In Jesus' name, amen.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Here we go (cont)
I've now posted my blog information on Facebook and LinkedIn. I'm not sure if that's wise or foolish, but I guess time will tell. I'd like to pick up where I left off yesterday in talking about God's character; why it is vital to start with His character before ever looking at the circumstances in which I find myself. Furthermore, I want to discuss the difficulty my emotions present for me when I try to have a rational conversation with myself about Him.
When Anna and I lived in Nashville I met a man named Larry who gave me the best description of where my emotions are to reside. He described a train with one engine and two cars. Those three are made up of "truth", "actions", and "emotions." In my mind there are only two candidates for the engine, truth and emotions, and here's why. I've never blindly taken any action without a reason behind it. Either I felt like doing it, or because I knew that the result of the action (a truth) would give me some kind of satisfaction. It may be different for you, but for me its either truth or emotion that is the engine of my train.
So which "should" it be? I usually hesitate to use the word "should" as it describes something that I may not necessarily want to do and can spend time telling myself the reason my life isn't where I want it to be is because I "should" do something else. That's not the way I use "should" here. I use "should" here as a kind of logical statement, much like, "if this is true then this results." So here's how my logic works: my experience with my emotions is such that I've often experienced an emotional reaction to a situation where the emotion has little to do with the reality in which I find myself. Example: Anna says to me, "We haven't gone out to dinner in a while." My emotional reaction is anger.
Huh? Why in the world would I respond with anger to that comment? Here's how funky my brain is. What I heard was, "You never take me to dinner anymore and I hate you. You don't make enough to provide money for a babysitter and a nice evening out with me. I don't know why we're even married." You laugh at me, but that's how my brain does its translation. So my anger response says, "You're not going to work and providing for this house and the money for groceries. Get off my back and take yourself out to eat." Again you laugh, but I'm not claiming to have a less than screwy brain and emotion filter.
Remember, we have emotions, actions, and truth that can drive this train. Let's assume that I allow my emotions to dictate what is true. Based on my psychotic emotional response it stands to reason that Anna hates me, doesn't appreciate a thing I do for her, and is basically in mourning over the fact that she's married to me. I'm angry (emotion), she hates me (truth), so I yell at her about appreciating everything I do for her (action). Again, you laugh, and rightly so. Am I being a bit extreme to make a point? Maybe, but lets bring this same response closer to home and see how it applies to the reason I started blogging in the first place.
Situation: your father and grandfather both flew for the US Navy. You've spent the first 8 years of your life on or near naval bases, seen pictures of your dad and his T-34 Mentor, his T-2 Buckeye, and his A-7 Corsair (Not VA-72, but it will do!). You've been out to Cecil field with your dad's friends, stood next to the runway and watch as your dad flies his plane across the airfield, goes into the break, lowers the gear, and practices touch-and-goes right in front of you. The roar of the engines, the pride that swells within as your hero performs the maneuver to perfection; your hero who will one day turn down the opportunity to be a Blue Angel so that he can spend time at home with his family. You know from elementary school that you want to be a pilot, better yet, a naval aviator. Move forward to college and you choose to go to the Naval Academy. The 2nd class mids (juniors) who's job it is to make your life a living hell are screaming at you sun-up to sun-down, yet when they try to stump you on an aviation question they have to move on to someone else because you already know every plane in our arsenal and that of the Russians too. You will fly, its your dream. You've spent 3 1/2 years studying physics, engineering, leadership, seamanship, maritime law and history and its time for your qualifying physical so that you can choose aviation on service selection night. Years and years only to find out that you have a platelet deficiency which medically disqualifies you for aviation. 21 years and an "act of God" keeps you from your dream. Prayers offered up for healing, for mercy on the part of the medical examiners, for a miracle to keep the dream alive. The answer from my loving, heavenly Father? A resounding "No."
The reaction to this is obvious isn't it? He hates me and is in the business of crushing dreams. His will for my life does not include joy, contentment, or anything that I will remotely want for myself. I'm just a puppet at the end of His marionette strings. Anger, hatred, fury, despondency, sorrow; you name it, I felt it.
Bringing this home: my emotions dictated my truth. He doesn't just not love me, He's in the business of taking away my dream. He will pursue His glory at my expense, period. What then are the actions of a person who's allowed their emotions to dictate truth? It's not hard to imagine. I'll leave that up to you in your spare time to reflect on your life and your response to His "no's" to your prayers.
Do you see where I'm going with this? If my "emotion maker" is broken and I allow my emotional responses to dictate what is true I will take action based on a lie. Remember Genesis 3? Why did Eve eat the apple? Satan said, "God's holding out on you and trying to keep you down." I wonder what her emotional response was to that? Betrayal, doubt, anger even? The action she took based on her emotionally dictated truth was to eat and share with Adam. Remember the straw? She saw the bent straw of her emotional perception, not the straight straw of God's truth!
You cannot allow emotion to dictate truth, period. Truth is by definition constant. God's character not only does not change, He is perfect. (Can you feel that right now? Your hackles are coming up, the hair on the back of your neck is starting to rise, your blood pressure is up, and you're already getting angry at this idea of a loving, perfect, holy God. Why? Why do you struggle against this so? I'll tell you why; you, my friend, have a broken "emotion maker" too. It was broken the moment the skin of the apple was penetrated. You can't help but be offended because you are a sinner. Based on the devastating impact of the fall there is no way, save the loving grace of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for you to react in any other manner. Stick with it. I want you to feel the full weight of how your flesh responds. You don't feel it? Okay, then you remember the family member who was not healed when you begged Him for a miracle. Remember the parent who did not confess Him as Lord before they died and you can't get past where they will spend eternity. How about now?)
And now that you're either mourning, raging, or confused, I tell you this: the TRUTH is that His character has no malice within it, no hatred for you, and as He pursues His glory you receive the most benefit. Period. It is His character that does not change. Our emotions, our failing spiritual eyesight, our design to be God ourselves are in constant flux and view the straw through the water of a fallen, sinful nature. It's you, it's me, not Him who is in need of changing. And so the conclusion: truth must drive our actions and allow emotions to be a "feedback loop" which tell us how much in line we are with Him and His will. May we look to Jesus as our example (Matt 26:39) for letting truth drive our actions and allow for emotions to be an indicator of whether we are yet at peace with His will. As we go forward in this exploration of who He is please remember His love for you and the security within which you can ask Him questions. Read John 10:28,29 when you get a moment and you'll see that He's not going to let you go anywhere. Dear Lord, forgive me if there's anything I've written this morning that does not line up with the truth of Your revealed word. Thank you for loving me, for loving us, in spite of ourselves. May we see You for who You are, not how our failing eyesight sees You. I love You, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.
When Anna and I lived in Nashville I met a man named Larry who gave me the best description of where my emotions are to reside. He described a train with one engine and two cars. Those three are made up of "truth", "actions", and "emotions." In my mind there are only two candidates for the engine, truth and emotions, and here's why. I've never blindly taken any action without a reason behind it. Either I felt like doing it, or because I knew that the result of the action (a truth) would give me some kind of satisfaction. It may be different for you, but for me its either truth or emotion that is the engine of my train.
So which "should" it be? I usually hesitate to use the word "should" as it describes something that I may not necessarily want to do and can spend time telling myself the reason my life isn't where I want it to be is because I "should" do something else. That's not the way I use "should" here. I use "should" here as a kind of logical statement, much like, "if this is true then this results." So here's how my logic works: my experience with my emotions is such that I've often experienced an emotional reaction to a situation where the emotion has little to do with the reality in which I find myself. Example: Anna says to me, "We haven't gone out to dinner in a while." My emotional reaction is anger.
Huh? Why in the world would I respond with anger to that comment? Here's how funky my brain is. What I heard was, "You never take me to dinner anymore and I hate you. You don't make enough to provide money for a babysitter and a nice evening out with me. I don't know why we're even married." You laugh at me, but that's how my brain does its translation. So my anger response says, "You're not going to work and providing for this house and the money for groceries. Get off my back and take yourself out to eat." Again you laugh, but I'm not claiming to have a less than screwy brain and emotion filter.
Remember, we have emotions, actions, and truth that can drive this train. Let's assume that I allow my emotions to dictate what is true. Based on my psychotic emotional response it stands to reason that Anna hates me, doesn't appreciate a thing I do for her, and is basically in mourning over the fact that she's married to me. I'm angry (emotion), she hates me (truth), so I yell at her about appreciating everything I do for her (action). Again, you laugh, and rightly so. Am I being a bit extreme to make a point? Maybe, but lets bring this same response closer to home and see how it applies to the reason I started blogging in the first place.
Situation: your father and grandfather both flew for the US Navy. You've spent the first 8 years of your life on or near naval bases, seen pictures of your dad and his T-34 Mentor, his T-2 Buckeye, and his A-7 Corsair (Not VA-72, but it will do!). You've been out to Cecil field with your dad's friends, stood next to the runway and watch as your dad flies his plane across the airfield, goes into the break, lowers the gear, and practices touch-and-goes right in front of you. The roar of the engines, the pride that swells within as your hero performs the maneuver to perfection; your hero who will one day turn down the opportunity to be a Blue Angel so that he can spend time at home with his family. You know from elementary school that you want to be a pilot, better yet, a naval aviator. Move forward to college and you choose to go to the Naval Academy. The 2nd class mids (juniors) who's job it is to make your life a living hell are screaming at you sun-up to sun-down, yet when they try to stump you on an aviation question they have to move on to someone else because you already know every plane in our arsenal and that of the Russians too. You will fly, its your dream. You've spent 3 1/2 years studying physics, engineering, leadership, seamanship, maritime law and history and its time for your qualifying physical so that you can choose aviation on service selection night. Years and years only to find out that you have a platelet deficiency which medically disqualifies you for aviation. 21 years and an "act of God" keeps you from your dream. Prayers offered up for healing, for mercy on the part of the medical examiners, for a miracle to keep the dream alive. The answer from my loving, heavenly Father? A resounding "No."
The reaction to this is obvious isn't it? He hates me and is in the business of crushing dreams. His will for my life does not include joy, contentment, or anything that I will remotely want for myself. I'm just a puppet at the end of His marionette strings. Anger, hatred, fury, despondency, sorrow; you name it, I felt it.
Bringing this home: my emotions dictated my truth. He doesn't just not love me, He's in the business of taking away my dream. He will pursue His glory at my expense, period. What then are the actions of a person who's allowed their emotions to dictate truth? It's not hard to imagine. I'll leave that up to you in your spare time to reflect on your life and your response to His "no's" to your prayers.
Do you see where I'm going with this? If my "emotion maker" is broken and I allow my emotional responses to dictate what is true I will take action based on a lie. Remember Genesis 3? Why did Eve eat the apple? Satan said, "God's holding out on you and trying to keep you down." I wonder what her emotional response was to that? Betrayal, doubt, anger even? The action she took based on her emotionally dictated truth was to eat and share with Adam. Remember the straw? She saw the bent straw of her emotional perception, not the straight straw of God's truth!
You cannot allow emotion to dictate truth, period. Truth is by definition constant. God's character not only does not change, He is perfect. (Can you feel that right now? Your hackles are coming up, the hair on the back of your neck is starting to rise, your blood pressure is up, and you're already getting angry at this idea of a loving, perfect, holy God. Why? Why do you struggle against this so? I'll tell you why; you, my friend, have a broken "emotion maker" too. It was broken the moment the skin of the apple was penetrated. You can't help but be offended because you are a sinner. Based on the devastating impact of the fall there is no way, save the loving grace of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for you to react in any other manner. Stick with it. I want you to feel the full weight of how your flesh responds. You don't feel it? Okay, then you remember the family member who was not healed when you begged Him for a miracle. Remember the parent who did not confess Him as Lord before they died and you can't get past where they will spend eternity. How about now?)
And now that you're either mourning, raging, or confused, I tell you this: the TRUTH is that His character has no malice within it, no hatred for you, and as He pursues His glory you receive the most benefit. Period. It is His character that does not change. Our emotions, our failing spiritual eyesight, our design to be God ourselves are in constant flux and view the straw through the water of a fallen, sinful nature. It's you, it's me, not Him who is in need of changing. And so the conclusion: truth must drive our actions and allow emotions to be a "feedback loop" which tell us how much in line we are with Him and His will. May we look to Jesus as our example (Matt 26:39) for letting truth drive our actions and allow for emotions to be an indicator of whether we are yet at peace with His will. As we go forward in this exploration of who He is please remember His love for you and the security within which you can ask Him questions. Read John 10:28,29 when you get a moment and you'll see that He's not going to let you go anywhere. Dear Lord, forgive me if there's anything I've written this morning that does not line up with the truth of Your revealed word. Thank you for loving me, for loving us, in spite of ourselves. May we see You for who You are, not how our failing eyesight sees You. I love You, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Here we go
I am consistently amazed by the variety of people's experience with the Lord. One will pray for healing and He heals. One will ask for deliverance from an abusive relationship and He says, "No." I look at Haiti, 9/11, the Holocaust, and by experience I must ask the question, "Who is this God that I follow and love? What do these events say about His character?" I've been asking these same type of questions for a long time. I remember sitting on the back deck of my parent's house in Chattanooga while home from college. Mom and I were discussing His character. I was asking the old standards like, "If He's sovereign couldn't He make it so we don't hurt?" and "Why in the world would any father knowingly send his son someplace where he knew he would die a horrible death?" Mom did everything she could to share her assurance of faith with me yet I was in no place to hear any of it.
I believe Paul speaks to this towards the end of 1st Corinthians 13 he says, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." So I take it that I can only see in part which certainly makes sense as I look backwards at my life and see the straight path along which He's led me. That said, there's not much comfort to me in saying, "You just don't see what I'm doing, it will be okay." Why not? I only trust someone whose character is such that I believe they have my best interests at heart. The question for me then becomes, can I judge God by what I see or must I judge what I see by who God is? On the surface this comes across, at least to me in the circular arguments of my brain, as a mind game I use to make sense of everything. I have a preconceived notion of a holy, loving God and since my world does not seem to match up with that notion I must "spin" what I see to make sense of Him. There are few things I hate as much as, "Well, I don't understand, but I have faith." So if I can't go to an irrational faith based on nothing but emotion, and I have circumstances that don't appear, on the surface at least, to match up with what I know to be true of His character, I must focus then on the one constant in all of this...Him.
I love this analogy as I believe it makes sense of what I'm trying to say. Have you ever looked at a straw in a clear glass of water? What happens to how you see the straw once its penetrates the surface of the water? Does it not look to you as if the straw is no longer straight? Seriously, try it. Am I to judge the truth of the straw's "straightness" by what I see in the water or by what I know to be true about the character of the straw? You can take the analogy even further; what happens to the apparent size of the straw once it penetrates the water? Is it not different from that portion of the straw still above the surface? Let's call the water "circumstances" and the straw our proxy for God. To get an accurate picture of the straw, its length, breadth, "straightness", we must take it out of the water or at a minimum study it before entering the water. The Lord has been gracious enough to tell me "Stop judging me by circumstances and judge the circumstances by who I am!"
I was asking my dad about how to put a study together that would talk about difference in experience, how we each see the Lord, and how do we see past the physical and live faith (I Corinthians 5:7). He made a great point, any systematic theology starts with God. It doesn't start with faith, means of grace, sanctification, any of our great big "I know about God" words. It starts with Him, who He is, His attributes, His character. I want to explore for just a little longer why my view of Him is skewed then hammer away at who He is as only through an accurate view of my Father will anything make any sense.
I've spent a lot of time lately in Genesis 3, the fall of man. I'm am always amazed that each and every time I read it the Lord shows me something else out of the passage. If there was ever a couple that had it made it was Adam and Eve. They walked with Lord in the garden, talking with Him, spending time in perfect communion. If there was ever a couple that had no reason to be tempted they were the two. You all know the story, the serpent tempts Eve to eat. (By the way, what in the world is Eve doing talking to a snake? No, seriously. Was the garden the first Narnia with talking animals? I bet you that whole "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" was totally taken from Genesis!!) What did Satan ask her? "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"- Gen 3:1b. Notice he didn't walk up with a sales pitch and a "look at that great apple!" He focuses her on what the Lord said.
Again you'll remember her answer, they could eat of any tree except for the one in the middle of the garden for if they did they would die. Did Satan then say, "Yeah, but wouldn't it be worth it? Look how nice and ripe and juicy and tasty the apple is! Don't you want some?" NO! He attacks the Lord's character and calls Him into question!! " 'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" - Gen 3:4,5. Do you see it? According to Satan, the Lord is holding out on you! That's why He lets pain and suffering enter your life because He's not interested in you, He's only interested in playing God in your life; pulling strings and watching you dangle at the end. He only heals some and saves others to keep you interested enough in asking Him for help inevitably giving Him the opportunity to pull the rug out from under your feet when He tells you, "No!" It only took three chapters into the Bible for us to question God and His character and you sit there wondering why you don't get it? The "water" Satan had Eve look through and by extension Adam skewed their view of Him. They judged God by what they saw in the glass and not by what they knew to be true of the straw before it was placed in the water.
And so that's what I want to help us see. We're going to pull God out of the water and learn about His character as He truly is, not as we see Him. (That last line is a blatant paraphrase of C.S. Lewis. I can't remember the book in which I read it, so my citing of his work is woefully inadequate, but just know I can't claim ownership of "see You as You are, not as I think You are.") I will never see God as He is until I see Him in glory. I am finite and spend my days meditating on the infinite. As such there will be things that even when pulled out of the water I'm not going to fully understand. My dad told me about Francis Schaffer saying, "God has not revealed Himself completely, but He has revealed Himself sufficiently." Father, please come, visit us, reveal Yourself to us and help us to more clearly see who You are and not what our flesh would tell us about You. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.
I believe Paul speaks to this towards the end of 1st Corinthians 13 he says, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." So I take it that I can only see in part which certainly makes sense as I look backwards at my life and see the straight path along which He's led me. That said, there's not much comfort to me in saying, "You just don't see what I'm doing, it will be okay." Why not? I only trust someone whose character is such that I believe they have my best interests at heart. The question for me then becomes, can I judge God by what I see or must I judge what I see by who God is? On the surface this comes across, at least to me in the circular arguments of my brain, as a mind game I use to make sense of everything. I have a preconceived notion of a holy, loving God and since my world does not seem to match up with that notion I must "spin" what I see to make sense of Him. There are few things I hate as much as, "Well, I don't understand, but I have faith." So if I can't go to an irrational faith based on nothing but emotion, and I have circumstances that don't appear, on the surface at least, to match up with what I know to be true of His character, I must focus then on the one constant in all of this...Him.
I love this analogy as I believe it makes sense of what I'm trying to say. Have you ever looked at a straw in a clear glass of water? What happens to how you see the straw once its penetrates the surface of the water? Does it not look to you as if the straw is no longer straight? Seriously, try it. Am I to judge the truth of the straw's "straightness" by what I see in the water or by what I know to be true about the character of the straw? You can take the analogy even further; what happens to the apparent size of the straw once it penetrates the water? Is it not different from that portion of the straw still above the surface? Let's call the water "circumstances" and the straw our proxy for God. To get an accurate picture of the straw, its length, breadth, "straightness", we must take it out of the water or at a minimum study it before entering the water. The Lord has been gracious enough to tell me "Stop judging me by circumstances and judge the circumstances by who I am!"
I was asking my dad about how to put a study together that would talk about difference in experience, how we each see the Lord, and how do we see past the physical and live faith (I Corinthians 5:7). He made a great point, any systematic theology starts with God. It doesn't start with faith, means of grace, sanctification, any of our great big "I know about God" words. It starts with Him, who He is, His attributes, His character. I want to explore for just a little longer why my view of Him is skewed then hammer away at who He is as only through an accurate view of my Father will anything make any sense.
I've spent a lot of time lately in Genesis 3, the fall of man. I'm am always amazed that each and every time I read it the Lord shows me something else out of the passage. If there was ever a couple that had it made it was Adam and Eve. They walked with Lord in the garden, talking with Him, spending time in perfect communion. If there was ever a couple that had no reason to be tempted they were the two. You all know the story, the serpent tempts Eve to eat. (By the way, what in the world is Eve doing talking to a snake? No, seriously. Was the garden the first Narnia with talking animals? I bet you that whole "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" was totally taken from Genesis!!) What did Satan ask her? "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"- Gen 3:1b. Notice he didn't walk up with a sales pitch and a "look at that great apple!" He focuses her on what the Lord said.
Again you'll remember her answer, they could eat of any tree except for the one in the middle of the garden for if they did they would die. Did Satan then say, "Yeah, but wouldn't it be worth it? Look how nice and ripe and juicy and tasty the apple is! Don't you want some?" NO! He attacks the Lord's character and calls Him into question!! " 'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" - Gen 3:4,5. Do you see it? According to Satan, the Lord is holding out on you! That's why He lets pain and suffering enter your life because He's not interested in you, He's only interested in playing God in your life; pulling strings and watching you dangle at the end. He only heals some and saves others to keep you interested enough in asking Him for help inevitably giving Him the opportunity to pull the rug out from under your feet when He tells you, "No!" It only took three chapters into the Bible for us to question God and His character and you sit there wondering why you don't get it? The "water" Satan had Eve look through and by extension Adam skewed their view of Him. They judged God by what they saw in the glass and not by what they knew to be true of the straw before it was placed in the water.
And so that's what I want to help us see. We're going to pull God out of the water and learn about His character as He truly is, not as we see Him. (That last line is a blatant paraphrase of C.S. Lewis. I can't remember the book in which I read it, so my citing of his work is woefully inadequate, but just know I can't claim ownership of "see You as You are, not as I think You are.") I will never see God as He is until I see Him in glory. I am finite and spend my days meditating on the infinite. As such there will be things that even when pulled out of the water I'm not going to fully understand. My dad told me about Francis Schaffer saying, "God has not revealed Himself completely, but He has revealed Himself sufficiently." Father, please come, visit us, reveal Yourself to us and help us to more clearly see who You are and not what our flesh would tell us about You. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)