The Way of the Lord

Israel was in exile. Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple decimated. They were scattered among the nations. Israel's big three were gone: no land, no temple, and no identity!

In this context, Isaiah 40-55, speaks an unbelievable message of hope! Like yesterday's post (telling Israel to put on new clothes) we see amazing images of what God is going to do to restore the big three. They will go back to their land. They will rebuilt the temple. And they will be seen as God's people with innumerable descendants. God's message through Isaiah gave them hope for the future beyond their present situation.

I can hear the clamoring of critics and doubters now! "There is no way this is possible!" "The odds of that happening are horrible!" "Why would you even consider such a thing!?" "That is a pipe dream!" "Look at you now!" "You think God is with you? Ha!" "God will never accept you!"

And then this:

"...my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts..." Isaiah 55:8-9

The simple reminder this morning is to remember that the Lord's ways surpass our ways.

We may think we have the way of the Lord nailed down and forget to seek his guidance or hear his message. Our internal (and external) critic may blind us to the amazing transformation that God's Spirit desires to work in us. Our current situation may be so bad that we're convinced that it will never be restored or redeemed. We could be so "cold" that we think "warmth" will come from the Lord!

Be careful. God is in the business of taking what is "lost" and working salvation. Call out to Him! His ways are higher, deeper, and beyond our ways! That is awesome!

Work the Raw Materials

I regularly sit to discuss various forms of this question: "What does God want me to do with my life?" We talk through this sometimes over the course of a semester, semesters, or years. I love guiding and helping others through this time of searching; it seems to come with the territory as a campus minister. Dan Miller has been a good resource for me in these conversations for some time.

Today's post was a little longer than normal, but contained some great perspective on the raw materials called spiritual gifts. Here is an excerpt:

God’s gifts are raw materials, not finished products. Think about the most revered sacrament in the church – Holy Communion. Does God give us bread and wine? Where can you find those in nature? You can’t. God makes wheat, He doesn’t make bread. He makes grapes – not wine. But when we take the raw materials God gives us, we can add our work and give them back to him as an offering.
And I remember reading in the most popular “self-help” book available: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” ( 2 Thes. 3:10)
This is a picture of the spiritual life for each of us. Every one of you has special gifts – singing, writing, gardening, art, computer skills, selling abilities, teaching others, encouraging others – but whatever our gift is – it’s a raw product. It has limited value until we apply the discipline necessary to make it useful to ourselves and others.
We get nothing but rough materials – life doesn’t hand us the finished product. Life may even bring us obstacles or heartache along the way. But ultimately, our lives are the bread that we prepare. Our lives are what those around us see as the result of what we’ve done with those raw materials.
So the issue is balance – is it all us, NO. Is it all God, NO. We develop the raw products of what God has given us. ...
I recently read a couple books by Franciscan priest Richard Rohr. He comments on how to joyfully surrender ourselves to God, and how to pray: "Asking for something from God does not mean talking God into it; it means an awakening of the gift within ourselves."

I really like how he encourages us to work to enhance the gifts God has given us. Instead of waiting for lunch to be plopped down right in front of us, we can enjoy the same end (lunch) with more perspective, maturity, and transformation having made it ourselves.

We are more fully alive having taken the gifts God has given us and working to make the heavenly banquet the best it can be! It would certainly be great to have "God open all the doors, creating the perfect (and clear) path" for our lives! Yet, we would jeopardize the incredibly important process that can lead to an amazing feast!

God's Work

I am trying to characterize where I am right now in relation to discerning what God is up to.

More than ever I feel like I am a spectator watching the performance but somehow am still involved in the show itself...if that were possible.

I would say my hands are up. It is like an act of resignation, but not a desperate one without hope. There is peace nearby with a handful of confidence and assurance. I see trust as it approaches to talk about the future. His whisper passes my thoughts as I continue to teach and pour into the lives of others. He points out the close presence of caution and discernment, while pushing us into new areas. All the while I feel study touching my heart and leading this ambiguous, uncontrollable process.

I smell rumblings of newness coupled with an ancient sagacity. A fresh wind of spiritual revival sitting next to a familiar and much-needed tradition. The room feels comfortable, but uneasiness lingers; they constantly talk with each other without compromising each of their qualities.

We sit. We wait. There is peace. God is at work. It's hard to explain.

Back and Forward

I got an email from a former student about celebrating the 45th year of Kats for Christ next summer. I never knew that we celebrated the 40th year, but I thought it would be a good thing. The initial thought process has started; we need to do this. I would love to bring together previous Kats for Christ students ... or Church of Christ Student Center students ... or Bible Chair students, whatever this place has been called.

There is something about looking back and looking forward that always gets me excited. Our church is kindof experiencing this right now. As Bob, our preacher, makes plans to move on, we find ourselves looking back into our history. Where have we been? Who are we? What has God been doing? We also find ourselves looking into the future. Where are we going? Who do we want to be? What is God doing? Exciting times!

Lord, guide us through this process. Help us discern your will. Teach us patience. Teach us humility. Let us walk and not run. Let us listen and not talk. May we be your servants, ready to do your will.

Pregnancy Care Center

Tuesday night I went to a fundraising dinner for the Pregnancy Care Center here in Huntsville. I had heard about it before but honestly didn't know anything about it. It was a very good thing. During the banquet they mentioned that they were looking for more guy volunteers to join the ranks to help with the guys that were sometimes involved in the process. This piqued my interest, and I knew I would probably go by their offices sometime this week.

Well, the following day (yesterday) I was on sitting on campus with God's sign, and a girl enthusiastically sat down next to me. She told me she just found out that she was pregnant on Monday. This means that she got pregnant by her still boyfriend about a month ago. The turn was when she announced with a huge smile that she became a Christian two weeks ago!

She told me her story and how she turned to God from a life of rebellion! God, she said, is doing something with this baby even though I don't know what. Abortion is not an option, though it was discussed with her still supportive boyfriend. In all, we had a long, nice God conversation!

With my very recently acquired familiarity with the Pregnancy Care Center, I inquired whether she knew of it. She said that is where she received the free pregnancy test. Our conversation went to her boyfriend and how I might be able to help him. Because he works full-time and lives in Houston, there doesn't seem to be much I could do except pray for him.

This little event, however, confirmed for me that I needed to go to the Pregnancy Care Center and inquire about volunteering. That I did immediately after retiring God's sign back to its abode in the KFC Student Center. Chris, the director, was excited about my coming and the story about this girl she knew from two days earlier. I filled out most of the application yesterday, finished it this morning, and turned it in a few moments ago. I will go in a couple of weeks for volunteer training, and then wait to see how God uses the time I offer Him through that ministry.

God amazes me at small opportunities to advance his kingdom! O that we could see how God slowly moves us closer to his heart!

God is Active

Last night I preached at New Waverly. Since I only preach there two times a month, I decided to slowly go through Philippians. So I get up there, begin my lesson, and notice that not a few people are laughing. Almost everyone has a big smile on their face. I knew they weren't laughing at me but at something that I didn't know; it didn't bother me.

So I finish my sermon (which I thought went pretty well), and we sing the invitation song. After this song, the song leader stops and informs me as to why people were laughing: I had just preached a sermon using the exact same text as the preacher in the morning.

They knew I didn't have a clue what was going to be preached on Sunday morning, so God must have been at work! I couldn't believe it! They assured me that the sermons were amazingly pretty different. God's hand is very interesting. I still can't get over something like that happening without any communication ahead of time.

Here is the kicker: there was someone who listened to both sermons that needed those messages. Struggling through many things, this person heard loud and clear that something needed to happen; no longer is sitting idly an option.

I praise God that stuff like this continues to happen! He is active. He does prompt us to do things of which we don't know the implications. As faithful servants we respond to these promptings and get to watch God work.

What are you going to do today, God? May we have the courage to lose ourselves in your movements.

God's Process

Yesterday I reconnected with two of my High School friends through facebook. Thinking back to those days draws me into reflection on how God has moved me in this journey toward full life with him. From golf to accounting to marriage to graduate school to ministry God has moved me closer to his heart slowly over these last 12 years. It is a process that takes time...a lifetime. God's patience truly does mean salvation.

Samson's Subservience

Every time I read the story of Samson, I am intrigued with how his story is connected with God's; throughout the narrative he is God's instrument. God uses his desire for a Philistine woman, for example, as a way to confront the Philistines (Judges 14:4). The spirit of the Lord comes on him when he is killing his enemies, the Philistines. The Lord opens a place for him to get water (15:19).

What strikes me is that Samson's life doesn't seem like the epitome of God's servants. He kills people right and left, the sleeps with a prostitute, and he defiles himself by touching an unclean lion carcass. But, even though this is the case, God is close to him. The Lord uses him for greater purposes. God has a plan and he carries it out in spite of Samson.

It reminds me of our relationship with God. Not that sin does not matter, but God uses us because his plans are bigger than us. It is an image that God uses sinners. Think about it...who else could he use? Non-sinners? No one on the face of the earth fits that description.

Let's fall to our knees praising God for him using us to accomplish his purposes in the world...sinners that we are.

Perspective on Life

The small book of Ruth is a great little book in the Bible. When I read it today I found myself drawn to how Naomi looks at life. Her husband and two sons die. One daughter-in-law leaves and the other, Ruth, commits to stay with her. Even as she tries to convince her daughters to leave, she blames God saying, "It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out against me." (1:13)

A little later, she doesn't even want to be called Naomi (which means 'pleasant'), but Mara (which means 'bitter') "because the Almighty has made my life very bitter." Again she places God at the center of blame. And she doesn't stop there. She continues:

"I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

Who can blame her, right? Her world, her identity, her well-being is threatened without the men in her life.

But that is when God uses the most unlikely person, Ruth, to bring his blessing upon Naomi. By the end of the book we see Naomi as the one who all the other women talk about. They are the ones who see God working. God is still alive. He has not abandoned her. "The woman said to Naomi: "Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer..." (4:14)

Sometimes our circumstances force us to blame God. "How can God...?" "God is against me..." "God has abandoned me..." While this is okay for a season, God continues to work. It is good to read Naomi's story. It is good to know that friends are there to point you back to the Lord. He will hear your cry. He has not left you without. Take courage...God is faithful.

Where to start?

Spend some time to reflect on Psalm 40:5:

"O LORD my God, you have done many miracles for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them."

Read it a few more times slowly; pause the think about each sentence. Let this be a prayer to our Lord, a praise to him. This is what stands out to me this morning: "Your plans for us are too numerous to list." God actually has plans for us. He cares enough to take some time to think about and plan what he wants for us. God is personal; he cares; he loves. The only place to start is with God's love.

Think about the plans that God has for you. Why did he put you here? Why do you have the friends you have? Where is God leading you? When you think about God's plan for you, where do you start? Let it be with God's love.