Prayer God Loves to Answer

For years I have been mystified by passages like James 5:17-18; "Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."

What is the key to praying bold prayers that God answers with a yes? What kind of prayer "moves mountains"? I'm coming to learn context is everything and so is our heart's desire.

I acknowledge that God is capable of making the sun stand still, parting the Red Sea, causing a three and a half year drought, even of raising the dead. But does an awareness of God's ability translate into faith? Faith is an intimate understanding that God is who he says he is and will do what he has said he will do, our faith is a response to his faithfulness.

What enabled a man, just like us, to pray an audacious prayer that God answered? I believe context is key. Elijah was intimate with the heart of God, he understood God's purposes in his generation, and acted in accordance with God's plan. Elijah's faith in God's faithfulness, belief in his power, and awareness of God's purpose in that time and place led him to pray with confidence.

Israel needed to be reminded of God's authority and he chose Elijah to be his messenger. Elijah had confidence in his God given purpose. It was out of an understanding that Israel needed to be reminded of God's authority that Elijah prayed.

Does that mean we can pray and God will dry up the clouds for three plus years. Yes and no. Elijah had no super powers. When God calls his people he prepares them to pray boldly according to his faithfulness and power.

I've seen people name, claim, and carry on over things they are sure God will do or give. And yet the answers still seem to allude or be manufactured. God is not bound to please us he is bound to glorify himself. Of course God can do anything, but we would be wise to pray for things far beyond our control or ability only after we have taken the time to know God's heartbeat and learned how he has purposed to use us in this place and time for his glory.

Could God use you or me to pray and dry up rain for years? Yes. Will he? I doubt it. I am not in Elijah's generation, facing the problems of his time, I am not purposed for what Elijah was purposed for. And neither are you. People like Elijah are examples of how God uses those who are willing to serve his purposes, not patterns to follow exactly.

Are you frustrated in your prayer life? Are you afraid to pray boldly? Or does God not seem to answer?

Ask God to reveal his heart, to align your heart to his, to inform your prayers with scripture, and to make you aware of his purpose for you in this generation. His purpose is always to glorify himself and to include you in that goal.

Can There Be Too Much Mercy?

I have a new obsession. It's the mercy of God. I need it, want it, love it, don't understand it, trip over it. 

The more I stare at the beauty of mercy the more I feel it scrub away the scabs of judgement, stinging my conscious, exposing the new skin of a stripped down pharisee.

Some days I still stumble over the old pattern, tasting the crunch of critical words on my tongue. But it isn't long until I look for the stream of mercy to wash the bad taste from my lips.

It's like an addiction. How far will mercy go? I've dabbled in faith before, believing from my recliner, tucked in the early morning with my stack of devotionals. I've heard of mercy that consumes but doesn't burn up, a mercy that leads out nations. 

I want to see it.

Not from the comfort of my recliner, but from the discomfort of the red light district and divorce court. From the squeeze of the psychiatric ward, and in the challenge of another language. Perhaps, most miraculously of all, I want to see it in the extravagant embrace of a fellowship of Christians who don't skimp on handing it out, because they know they're really handing out life.

My heart quakes at moments when I realize what I've asked. To see God on the move, stretching out a banner of mercy over the nations. My legs could never keep up on such a journey. So I pray I will trust him to carry me. Because I'm determined to see what he's about. I understand the fear of God in a new way now. God is scary in his fierce mercy, there is no one he won't touch, or ask me to touch.

I ask myself, can mercy be too extravagant, can there be too much mercy? The fearful, of which I was one, say yes. I recognize the slip from breathless faith to robust religion. It comes from not looking in the mirror enough. The mirror of God's standard, and recognizing how woefully we measure up, and then the quick intake of breath as we realize that mercy never runs out and it's still here to kiss us hello in the morning. It can bring me to tears in a heartbeat.

And in that heartbeat I realize that lavishing mercy on another woeful beggar can never make me unholy, quite the opposite. Did Jesus lose holiness when a prostitute lavished his feet with her kiss, quite scandalously, in public? No, his glory shone all the more. Mercy, breathing in, pouring out.

Mercy never loses the hard edge of holiness. It makes it attainable.

Jesus was never made less holy by embracing the tax collector, conversing with well women, rubbing shoulders with the possessed, leprous, loud mouthed, riotous, dirty, immoral, or heathen. And he wasn't made holy because he obeyed every law, and observed every holy decree. He was, he is, holy because he is himself. And in the touching of others he wasn't soiled, they were made clean.

Can there be too much mercy? Never! Now is the time for mercy and we should never fear handing it out like water, living water. Because we're made holy by Jesus' presence in us and his presence always brings mercy!

Who are you most afraid of giving mercy to? Who have you received mercy from, did it make a difference? 

Mercy Looking Backward ~ Forgiveness

A while back I prayed a prayer to understand God's heart, which plunged me into a season of discovering mercy. Most recently God has been teaching me about forgiveness and it's connection to a merciful life. What is forgiveness other than Mercy looking backward, taking root and painting the past in new shades? Mercy is forgiveness swallowing up what has been.

It's impossible to pray to understand mercy, ask to love it, to be a partner to it, without mercy calling at our own front door. I suppose initially I had assumed mercy was for those people over there, not realizing God would call me to a higher standard of living out mercy right at home. I'm learning to be careful what I pray for, it will always be a longer journey and require more participation on my part than I had bargained for!

We're meant to embrace mercy in the present, by living with a heart not easily offended. But for the times we pick up an offense there's forgiveness, an opportunity to extended the mercy we didn't in the present. I know people struggle with forgiveness so often, I have. But I wonder if that's because we don't understand the power, the need, the design for us to live in mercy. Whenever I struggle with living in mercy I remember these verses:

Moses responded, "Then show me your glorious presence."  

The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. Exodus 33:18-19

I'm always amazed at how God revealed himself when Moses asked to see his glory. God could have displayed his holiness, his creativity, his righteousness, power, or justice, but instead it was his goodness, his mercy, and his compassion that he revealed. What does that say about God, who he is, what he values, and how he relates to us?

If mercy is who God is and how he responds to man, isn't that how we should respond to one another? No one can offend us more than we have offended God. When we are aware of the mercy we've received we are happy to give mercy to others.

If you're struggling to forgive someone it may help to realize that forgiveness is God's second chance to get mercy right, to extend mercy backward.

Can I pray for us? Father, by the power of your Spirit will you work the wonder of your mercy into our hearts. That we will live as people with hearts not easily offended, and when they are help us to look back over our shoulder with forgiveness. Set us free from the selfish motives we stoop to, when we make others pay for an offense, and release us to accept the payment of your Son on behalf of others. Amen.

Jesus In The Real World

I really like to think of sweet little Jesus boy coming to a cozy stall, gently laid in fresh, golden straw. Thankfully the mirage isn't the reality. His Mama hurt like every other woman since Eve was cursed with pain in child birth. She couldn't blame Joseph with the look of daggers, saying, "it's all your fault." But even though she was submissive to God's plan I don't think for a moment it took the pain of labor away. Jesus was born just like every other baby, a precious, pink infant into a broken, dangerous world. 

His birth was heralded by angels, while taking place during political turmoil, and before long his family was on the run from a narcissistic king. He escaped, but the children of Bethlehem did not. I hate that part of the story. How do we go from good tidings of great joy to the wail of Bethlehem's mothers who won't be comforted because their children are no more?

And yet the world Jesus entered is the same world we entered upon our birth. A world of terror, a world of simple joy, all swirled together in the human experience. Attempting to sterilize the story of Jesus birth does us a disservice. We need him to be one of us.

It's precisely because violent men kill small children, then and now, that Jesus joined the human race. He came not to suggest a better way of living, or establish a utopia, he came to wage war. He came to lead us home.

How many Christmases have we spent festive and partying, celebrating a baby wrapped in tradition, obscured by culture, forgetting that the night the sky tore open and God's glory spilled out, it was heaven's warriors that came, announcing the strategy for the victory of an ancient battle. Jesus birth wasn't the soft, velvety scene from a Christmas card. It was full of political intrigue, murder plots, terror, and scandal.

This Christmas season I feel particularly tumultuous. I don't know why, it could be my own personal struggles. But I also think it has to do with the weariness I feel in this world. She's groaning and straining under the weight of the curse and either I'm more aware of what's going on or things are getting worse. The shooting at Sandy Hook school was terrible but let's be honest, was there really more suffering that day than the day before or the day after. Our world is suffering, violence is real.

Evil stalked Newtown on Friday, and carved out a momentary victory. Let's not forget evil stalks humanity every moment of every day. Which is why the angels shouted, good news Salvation has come! And why the shepherds were told to go and see. After the shepherds saw their salvation they shouted it far and wide, to men and women who lived in darkness they proclaimed the light. God was with them in a way he never had been before.

I want my neighbor, who's yard last night was full of cops and whose children were crying in the night, to know that God is with me, and can be with her as well. I want to combat evil with Christ in me, our only hope of glory, our only means of Salvation. Jesus is not a stranger to the ache of life, it's what he was born for. It's what I'm reborn for. To display his glory to dying men, that they may have true life.

"In him [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:4-5

Letting Go Of Fear

What's Holding Me Back

I'm afraid. Man I hate seeing those words in black and white. I would argue with them, "I am not afraid, I'm bold and courageous." But I really can't.

Life has grabbed me up in it's jaws by the scruff of my tender neck and yanked me around. The reality of living in this broken place will do that, to all of us, now and then. Have you been jerked around by life lately?

The smoke and mirrors of the lies this world tells has left me searching for the purpose I was just holding on to a week or two ago.

The day after I found out my Mom has cancer I got an email from a friend who has sensed God laying ministry to Serbia on her heart as well. Her letter was filled with the same heartache of life that I was feeling. My friend Nichole, who traveled with me to Serbia, called me that week with her own painful news. Hurts and disappointments had piled up at her door as well. Each one of us was experiencing a family crisis, a limiting of resources, the weariness that seeps deep into a soul from being in battle.

It seemed that Mom's illness was the straw that broke the back of the proverbial camel. I was shaken. It pealed back and revealed other wounds tucked away. This past season of ministry left more scars than victories on the tender skin of my heart and I've realized I really haven't dealt with them. I've let the experience define who I am rather than what God says about me. Truth be told I wonder if I've really dealt with the scars from the ministry experience before that.

I found out that a young woman I mentored has divorced, I really don't know if she's walking with Jesus, and it grieves me. Could I have done more? The question drifts in on the wings of pain, "am I enough?" Maybe you ask that same question.

I fight with words regularly. Are they a gift God has graciously set in my hand, or a wisp of smoke, a dream I chase. Am I really a writer? It's hard to tell. Homeschooling, well maybe we shouldn't even go there. I've loved my time with my children, but I'm not at all certain this year has been effective in my son's educational process.

Just a few months ago I felt confident. What happened? I find myself in a slow crawl instead of a brisk stride.

Moving forward with passion and conviction to love the  residents of Dom Veternik scares me the worst of all. What if I fail? Public humiliation, international exposure of my weaknesses, it's the stuff nightmares are made out of.

Laying Fear Down

I think, though, that a hands and knees crawl is a good place to be. Bowed down for blessing. Isn't that where so many men and women of the Bible found themselves blessed? Mary giving birth, prostrate, vulnerable, and in pain received the fulfillment of promise into her waiting arms. I remember childbirth, it lays you flat, takes your breath away, and drains you of yourself. I'm amazed that in that moment Salvation exploded onto the scene, as a helpless child. God sure has a funny way of doing things.

And so I find myself once again, obsessed with God's glory. More afraid I will miss out on the light of salvation dawning on the people of Serbia than that I will expose myself to public, international, humiliation.

In the midst of all of these vulnerabilities came words that spoke to my deepest fears of not being wanted, needed, or enough. An anonymous comment (actually there were a few) on a post telling me I was an enemy to the Serbian people, not wanted or needed, accusing me of false humanity. Instead of deleting the comment I've left it. Because really words intended to wound were a gift. They caused me to look more deeply at my motivation and ask God to purify it, to use what was of him and strip away my own pride and self, there is always work to be done in that area. The Serbian people don't need me, and I needed to be reminded of that. Traveling to Serbia, praying for God's goodness in their lives, witnessing love and mercy, that's a gift. God merely invited me to see what he is already doing, honoring his own name and offering mercy to anyone who wants it.

So, I guess for the last few weeks the fight has been one of engagement. Will I gather my wounds and fears close to my chest and protect them like treasures, stepping away from people and circumstances that could wound me further? Or will I lay them down as an offering at Jesus' most worthy feet as a gift of trust, bearing the scars as a reminder of his grace, and walk back to the fight of loving, praying, and going?

I choose the later, but it's a daily, if not hourly, choice. I don't really know what that means for my future with Serbia. I pray to return, I desire to work for their good, I hope to be a part of their story. And in this new season of church ministry I'm still looking for my place. I'm waiting on God's leading and provision for the next step. So, I stretch my hands open in availability to him, palms up, ready to receive the blessing.

Maybe you feel the same way, a little gun shy. Afraid to engage in life. Perhaps you'll be as emboldened as I was by this quote I heard in the movie "Mirror Mirror" recently. The King says to the Prince on his wedding day, after victory is won, "You found this kingdom caught in the clutches of greed and vanity, yet you did not retreat, you entered the fight, we all owe you and your brave compatriots a great debt of gratitude."

Our elder brother, Jesus, didn't retreat from this world, he entered the fight and now he holds open the door for us to join him. I want to enter the fight. Will you?

Reflecting on Beauty

 "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's 

handwriting." Ralph Waldo Emerson

My summer has been saturated with moments of beauty. After some difficult days, I'm reminding myself of the generous way God has splashed tangible glimpses of his creativity and grace throughout my life.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

    The skies display his craftsmanship.

² 

Day after day they continue to speak;

    night after night they make him known.

³ 

They speak without a sound or word;

    their voice is never heard.

⁴ 

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

    and their words to all the world.
Psalm 19

How has God displayed his beauty in your life?

A Truth I Live By ~ Together

Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-21

It's hard to have favorites in a work of excellence and beauty, but I would have to say Ephesians is a favorite of mine. God's plan for his people sweeps out in brush strokes that are both intimate and grand. 

How are we made right with the Living God? Through his ancient plan of shed blood for you and me. How are we made holy and fit for eternal union with him? Through the power of his Spirit alive in us. How do we live a life of meaning and power, fulfilling all he intended us to be? Together. 

There is no way around it. Your story, my story, our spiritual maturity are all wrapped up together. People who say they don't need to go to church to know God, and worship him just as well out in the forest haven't read Ephesians. That is not God's plan for his people.

But let's face it. We drive each other crazy. At least sometimes. Is this the only way to have the full empowering of the Holy Spirit? As a community of faith walkers? I believe it is. 

This passage in Ephesians hearkens back to another temple. In the old testament God's glory, his empowering presence dwelt with man, first in the tabernacle and then the temple. His presence was evident, palpable, undeniable, bringing glory to himself and favor to his people. 

That same powerful presence is available to us as well. Certainly the Holy Spirit indwells us individually, but to stop there would be to fall short of God's plan and full blessing. How do we know the fullness of God? How do we see God from every angle and know the rich textures of his character? How are we connected to Jesus, the cornerstone? By being connected with each other.

This is a truth I live by. When the crabby older lady criticizes my parenting, when the pastor's words convict, when relationships challenge my cool, I remember God would have me know him more deeply and become more holy by being connected to them. Being connected to those growing in faith, those who are younger, those who are hurting or confused, those with stronger faith that hold me accountable, is good for both my faith and theirs. 

Of course it's not all difficult, there are plenty of sweet moments, breathtaking aha moments, Holy Spirit resonating moments too as we share our hearts and lives together. Is it challenging to live "joined together"? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Beyond question!

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16

So do your part! Let's work together and see the fullness of God dwelling in us so that we are full of love.

{I'm linking up with Ellen Stumbo, whom I am excited to be connected to in faith, for her Monday writing prompt.}

Living Under the Name

As a child I lived under names. My mom had painted the names of God over some of the doorways of our home. This week I'm painting God's name over the doorways of ours. His names aren't meant to be a talisman to ward off evil. In and of themselves the letters have no power. The meaning is found in a submitted heart, an attitude, in trust. God's many names reflect his flawless character. His names painted over our doorways are a reminder that it's his authority that our family lives under. It's a way to teach my children who God is and that we're serious about his leadership in our lives. Here are the meanings of the names of God that are gracing our home:

JEHOVAH~JIREH
The Lord our Provider or the Lord will Provide. In Genesis 22 Abraham obeyed God and prepared to sacrifice his only son, God intervened and provided a ram. Abraham named the place of salvation Jehovah Jireh. This event was a foreshadowing of the Lamb, the only Son, that would be provided for our salvation. In scripture the name Jehovah Jireh is used only once; God is firmly establishing himself as the provider of our salvation. If God hasn't spared his only Son, is there anything he will withhold for the good of his own? I pray my children know God's nature as their generous provider. (Genesis22:14)

JEHOVAH~SHAMMAH
The Lord is There or the Lord is Present. In Ezekiel 48 the prophet describes the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple. He speaks of the time when God's glory will come to stay permanently, dwelling forever with his people. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is our deposit, sealing us until the time of the fulfillment of God's promised earthly dwelling. I pray my children know God's presence with us now and look forward to the time he will live with us in perfect completion, for eternity. (Ezekiel  48:35)

JEHOVAH~SHALOM
The Lord is Peace. In Judges 6 The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. An oppressed Jew, the weakest in his family, from the weakest clan in Manasseh. The Lord called this weak one out to save his people from ungodly oppressors. God made himself known as the God of peace, his strength overcoming weakness to bring honor to his name. I pray my children know that it's only under God's rule as Lord that his children have peace. (Judges 6:24)

JEHOVAH~SABAOTH
The Lord of Hosts or the Lord of Powers. In 1 Samuel 1 Hannah is praying for a son, a blessing from God. She addresses him as Lord of Hosts, of all heaven's armies, of all powers. God grants her request. He honors her further by giving her not just a son, but a son who becomes a faithful follower and influential leader. God is powerful and has all authority to accomplish his purposes. I pray my children live submitted to his authority, knowing his power, and are devoted to his glory above everything else. (1 Samuel 1:3)

JEHOVAH~MEKODDISHKEM
The Lord Who Makes You Holy or the Lord Who Sets You Apart. In Exodus 31 God is establishing the Israelites as his people. He puts in place laws, specifically the observance of the Sabbath. Meant to testify to all the earth his covenant with Israel, the people he is making his holy possession. The context may seem harsh, whoever broke the law of Sabbath was put to death, but it reveals how serious God is about his people's holiness. I pray my children see themselves as God's possession, set apart to glorify him alone. (Exodus 31:13)

JEHOVAH~NISSI
The Lord My Banner. In Exodus 17 the Amalekites attacked Israel. Moses stood on the hilltop above the battle, arms upheld, while Joshua and the troops fought. The Israelites were victorious and the place was called the Lord is my Banner. God doesn't choose sides, and Moses knew it. God is truth and invites us to align ourselves with him, to come under his banner. I pray that my children will follow God in battle, knowing him as the one who fights for them and wins the victory. (Exodus 17:15)

JEHOVAH~ROHI
The Lord My Shepherd. In Genesis 48 Jacob, now called Israel, is old and dieing. As he is blessing his grandson's he recalls God's faithful guidance of Abraham and Isaac. He calls on God, who has "been [his] shepherd all of [his] life", to bless and prosper them. God is not a distant, unknowable God. He walks gently and faithfully with his people. I pray my children are aware of God shepherding and guiding them until the end of their lives. (Genesis 48:15)

EL SHADDAI
All-Sufficient One. In Genesis 17 God is establishing his covenant with Abram. The covenant God called Abram to was one that only God could fulfill. God set the terms of his covenant, his relationship with man, and he is mighty enough to carry those terms out on his own. It is up to us to come to God according to his requirements, it may seem harsh, but God knows our true satisfaction is found nowhere else. The one request? A circumcised heart, dieing to self and living by his Spirit. The benefit far out weighs the cost of laying down our own will. I pray God establishes his covenant of grace with my children, that they wholeheartedly submit to his terms, and live satisfied by his love.
(Genesis 17:1)

We only receive God's nature expressed to us if we bow, submitting to his lordship over us. God does not sprinkle the benefits of his nature over our lives like fairy dust at our whim. If God's zealousness for his own glory doesn't make you tremble a bit, then I wonder if the God you worship is the holy God of the bible or one made in your own image. Studying God's names has reignited reverent fear and worship in my heart and even more gratitude that a God so fierce in power and holiness, untamed by any man, would stoop in such humble affection.

Do you live under the name and character of God? How do you teach your children the nature of the God you worship? Confession and surrender are gifts God has given us to establish a right union with him and unlock unimaginable grace. Let's ask God to convict us for making him into our image, a safer more manageable God, and ask him to take his rightful place of reigning King in our lives once again!

Linking with my friends at:

Small

Small. I feel my smallness today. Insignificant, I would even venture. My voice is drown out by the cacophonous roar of humanity. Billions of people, jostling. Bigger, stronger, louder, smarter, more. Who am I on this planet that I should matter. Painfully ordinary. And yet I saw today a sparrow, smaller than I, worth less. I remember.

Not even a little bird can fall unnoticed by my Father, he knows. He takes notice of me, valued more than all the little birds. I wear his name wherever I go in my small life, down my short path. The Son notices, calling out my name for his Father to hear, gathering up his small one. (Matt. 10)

Pounding pulse of heartbeat in my ears, massive whoosh. Silence, hush falls. Breath of heaven stills, eyes turn. Heavenly eyes all on me. Throngs blur, disappear from my view as I step forward. Seraph's piercing gaze watching, the small one. I approach weighty, looming throne. Able to stand and be seen. It's the stamp, his large heart stamped across my plain one. Giving worth, adding weight, magnifying glory not my own. 

I'm no bigger than when I came, not richer or prettier. Not even more loved. In my own eyes I may be even smaller, I don't mind. I've been seen but more importantly, I've seen. In my mind, he's grown bigger as I've drawn near.

Filling Big Shoes

Daddy with his sweet girl, Maggie

Going to have some fun with big boy Max

Father's have such big shoes to fill. Our Heavenly Father's footprints leave a path of humble sacrifice, infinite goodness, complete authority, rock solid strength and enduring love. Of course only God is the perfect Father for the rest there is grace to lead them into paths of righteousness.

I'm so thankful for all of the father's in my life, caring men. May I offer you my thanks as well as a prayer. "HeavenlyFather give the men I love hearts that beat with your compassion, minds that pursue truth, tongues that offer kindness, hands that hold onto yours while holding ours. Protect them when life is hard, delight them daily, captivate their deepest longings with all of who you are. May we honor them as representatives of your authority here on earth, offering respect and gratitude in all we do. Thank you for the gift of honorable father's that enrich our family. Amen."

Glory kind of day

Friday morning started in wonder. I woke before my alarm and went early to be with Jesus. The world was softened by a blanket of mist, I was enchanted.

In a few hours the sun evaporated the clinging vapor and beauty changed faces. My family, along with our friends Mike and Terry, reveled in the freedom to enjoy. First we went to Magee Marsh for a little bird watching and nature soaking. Unable to capture tiny warblers flitting from tree to tree, I did enjoy photographing a variety of nature's other beauties. I loved watching Maggie and especially Max's enjoyment.

Finally we ended our day with a visit to Lakeside, a place of charm, beauty and tranquility. Our friends have vacationed at the quaint summer resort for decades. We walked by the water, enjoyed streets lined with lovely houses and ate delicious pizza.

After a treat of ice cream we began our drive home, my heart was full and content. And then just one more display of beauty.

  Praise the LORD, my soul.

   LORD my God, you are very great;
   you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 

He made the moon to mark the seasons,
   and the sun knows when to go down. 

 How many are your works, LORD!
   In wisdom you made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures. 

Psalm 104:1,19,24

Glory

Shh... Can you hear it?! Listen closely and you'll hear the echo of a mysterious, ancient event. One that happened before time and yet at the fullness of time. Angel wings rustle and fold, voices hush in breathless anticipation. Limitless, Creator God is poised to dress in skin, to wear a human tent and walk around with his creation. His heart beat is to rescue the son's of men, his plan to show them his glory and woo them back. Mary sleeps, trusting, faithful. DNA bends again to the will of God, quietly he slips into his earthly tabernacle, indwelling flesh, indwelling Mary. Nine months later after scandal and the murmurs of another complaining generation... a Son is born. Heaven erupts in awe and wonder! Glory! God's glory dwelling once again with man, no longer in an earthly tent made by men wandering in the desert. This time in a tent of God's own making, fulfillment, mysterious plan, flesh. John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." This Christmas lets remember the mysterious indwelling Jesus brings. God dwelt in human flesh so that he might dwell in us. Glory!

Just Thinking

Recently in my personal bible study God has been reshaping some of my preconceived ideas. I used to think that the sin and fall of man was an accident, God' plan B. I thought he created Adam and Eve and all their offspring to live in the perfect, untainted garden forever. Unbroken communion, unhindered access with the Creator. No need for forgiveness, confession, regeneration, rescue. I thought that the purpose after the fall of man in redemption was to restore things to the way they were, because he hadn't intended the garden to be altered in the first place.

I don't think that anymore. I don't think God's original intent was the garden. I think his plan all along was redemption. Without the need for rescue how could we fully experience the depths of God's love. A person with no need of mercy, grace, forgiveness, repentance, redemption cannot experience those qualities. How could a forgiving God express forgiveness to people with no need. I believe before we were even created God's intent was a rescue mission. (1 Peter 1:18-20, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.") I don't think Jesus coming again will re-establish the garden. I believe it will be infinitely better. We will be a people once broken now made whole. A bride once dirty now clean. The friendless in perfect intimacy. Grateful. Restored. Worshiping.

I wouldn't have made a perfect world that could be marred. I would have been content with the garden. But that's because I'm not God. He had so much more to show us than could be contained in a perfect setting. He is not a God to be boxed in by man's wisdom. I don't understand why the risk of so much suffering and evil was worth the cost to God. I can only imagine that it best served his purposes to display his glory, which is the most important thing of all. His glory is our purpose and living for it is the only thing that satisfies.