Making Jesus a Beggar

Jesus called to me yesterday, and I did not answer.   Instead, I filled my day with good things, which were "lesser things".  And, as the day went on, I became more and more miserable in my spirit.
What?  Did you think that this never happened on the resplendent walk?  ;)

So, I rose from the bed this morning, just as miserable as when I laid down on it last night. 
And, again....He called (louder this time).

Begrudgingly, knowing all along my attitude stank, I met Him in a John Piper devotional, where I received a great, big smack upside the head, followed by a loving embrace.

Let me share, piece by piece, this latest little leg of my journey.

Yesterday, I began to do three things simultaneously:
1.  neglect my quiet time with the Lord
2.  tackle a long list of "to dos", which I believed I was "to-doing" for His glory
3.  focus my emotional energy on troubling circumstances I am unable to change

It did not go very well.  God was not glorified, nor was I very "resplendent".

John Piper made this statement in his Solid Joys devotional for this morning.1
"It is possible to pursue God without glorifying God.  If we want our quest to honor God, we must pursue him for the joy of fellowship with him."

Read that again (I had to.)  Are you getting what he is saying here?  I just sort of sat there this morning, stunned at the reminder....not to mention the "uncanny" timeliness of it.

We do not "glorify God" by all the things we "do out of love" for Him.
We bring Him the most glory by enjoying His presence and worshipping Him there.

Satan is awfully good at activating what I call our "spiritual ADD".  PIper quotes C.S. Lewis, who put it like this:  "We are far too easily pleased."
Satan knows that if he can pull us away from time spent in our Savior's presence, in His word, in prayer, that he can weaken us spiritually, often without us realizing what is happening.
Because, you see, those "lesser things" look so GOOD!  They are so beguiling because often they actually do bring God glory, in some respect. 

But, the point I am trying to make here is that those lesser acts of worship should flow from, actually should be the OVERFLOW from, the primary act of worship, which is to BE with Him, in his presence. 

There is a biblical principle God established with the Hebrews, and which still applies today.  It is the principal of "firstfruits".  You can find it mentioned many times in the Old Testament, and lived out by Jesus and his disciples in the New.  Here is one such passage, from Deuteronomy, when God was re-emphasizing this life principle as His people prepared to enter The Promised Land:

1When you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and live in it, 2you must take the first of all the ground’s produce you harvest from the land the Lordyour God is giving you, place it in a basket, and go to the place where he chooses to locate his name.3You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord promised to our ancestors to give us.” 4The priest will then take the basket from you and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people. 6But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor. 7So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression. 8Therefore the Lord brought us out of Egypt with tremendous strength and power, as well as with great awe-inspiring signs and wonders. 9Then he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground’s produce that you, Lord, have given me.” Then you must set it down before the Lord your God and worship before him. 11You will celebrate all the good things that the Lord your God has given you and your family, along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 (NET)

He wants the "first fruits" of our days, not the dregs, not the crumbs.

My dog, Charlie, patiently dogs my steps (sorry...) as I move about the kitchen.  He is hoping for a crumb, a morsel.  He is essentially a beggar on four paws.  And yet, I too often treat my one-on-one time with the Lord the same way.  I make Him a beggar, even though I know I will suffer for it.  ("The carnal nature is strong in this one...."  That was an oblique reference for you Star Wars fans; the rest of you, well, just pretend you never read it...)

This experience, this time with Him, frames our days.  It rights the listing ship.  It keeps the speeding car in the road.  It makes so "thy kingdom come", because where is His kingdom?  It is within each of us, His children!  If His kingdom does not "come" within each of His beloved FIRST, it "comes" nowhere.

Closing now with Piper's beautiful words:
"The enjoyment of God and the glorification of God are one.  His eternal purpose and our eternal pleasure unite in one experience of worship.  This is what the Lord's Day is for.  Indeed, this is what all of life is for."

Source:

1    Piper, John. Desiring God: meditations of a Christian hedonist. Multnomah Books, 2017. pp. 306-307.

The Home Key

On Wednesdays, I am always eager to visit Leah Adams' The Loft1 , to see what the topic of the week is for Christian bloggers.  This week's topic...well, let's see if you can figure it out from my post.

We are back in Colossians 3 this morning, after a brief foray into other Scriptures for a two-day study on the believers' rewards.

4When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him. 

Colossians 3:4  (NET)

I find it interesting here the apostle Paul inserts that parenthetical phrase.  In some versions, it reads "who is our life", and in the Greek (zoe)2 it is rendered "who is the life of you".

In her blog post for today, Leah was thinking back to how she used to study for an hour and not even know where the time went.  In today's modern world of social media and instant messaging, it is not possible to do that unless you absolutely turn off your devices.  Even then, it is difficult to remain undistracted.

Reflecting on my own life, I am extremely easily distracted these days.  My appetite to remain almost constantly "connected" to that universe of people on social media is huge.  I find myself placing my phone on the table when dining with friends.  Yesterday, I had a meeting with a friend at my home to conduct some business, and did the same thing.

I've also noticed a larger shifting of how I allocate my time.  And, I don't like it.  I am spending less time with my closest loved ones and more time with others (all wonderful people), which begs the question, "Who is my life?"

The "home key" on computer keyboards controls cursor movement.
On mobile devices, it always brings you back to a place of re-focus, so that you can make your best choices.  Hmmm....

For the Christian, position number 1, our "Home Key", our beginning and end,  must always be Jesus Christ.  I don't think any Christians reading this would argue this point.  But, then, He asks us to live our lives for Him, and what does that look like?  I believe it looks somewhat different for each Christian, as we follow the precepts of Scripture and apply to our life's path the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given us.

There are some commonalities, though.
Christ first.
People before things.
Priorities straight.
The body is His temple.
Trust in the Lord as He grows our faith.
All glory, honor and praise to Him!

I'm sure that you can think of more for that list.

So, is social media bad?  No.  Like most every part of our mortal world, it has potential for both great good and for our total destruction.  It is up to us to let the Holy Spirit lead us so that our choices are righteous and our lives maintain a Jesus-glorifying balance.

We learn from today's verse that someday, those of us who have chosen Jesus Christ will be revealed in glory with Him.  May we not be surprised at the revelation.  I don't know about you, but I want to go, "Oh yeah!  That's right!  Hallelujah!  I'm HOME!"

Jesus, you are my life, although I am often like my dog, Charlie, on a leash.  I get out of balance, distracted, off-course, bogged down, worn out...But, since you are my beginning and my end, You are always faithful to restore me to "home".  You ARE my home, my everlasting life, both now and forever.  Amen.

Source:

1
http://www.leahadams.org/

2
http://biblehub.com/text/colossians/3-4.htm

Better Than (Olympic) Gold!

For some reason, I am overwhelmed by Colossians 3 and lacking focus.  It strikes me as a mother sending her son off on a trip.  "Remember this....OH! And, don't forget that!"
Then, also, it is all so important....
I figure I may be in this chapter for a while.

So, let's get started.  Focus.  Focus.

Paul actually begins with talking about focus and about priorities.  Life is like a huge banquet of food choices (I was into the food thing yesterday...looks like I have not left...).  We get to choose what we put on our plates.  We had better choose well, if we want to be healthy, and of course, this goes for both the physical and the spiritual realms.

1Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.2Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:1-3 (NET)

Keep seeking the things that are above.  Choose this.  Don't choose that.  Seek this.  Don't seek that.
Keep thinking about this, not about that.  Olympians aren't the only ones who make critical choices all the time.  We all do.  It's just that some of us choose better than others, more often!  It seems like, every day, we hear more and more stories of our fellow men and women who chose heartbreak. Perhaps that is why we love the Olympics so much!

Paul shows us the motivation for making holy choices:  because we have made the choice to surrender Christ's lordship, to live for Him, which requires dying to ourselves.  Paul talks about this in many of his letters. When we accept Jesus' offer of salvation, our lives are then hidden with Christ in God.

What does this mean?

Again, verse 3 speaks of a finality, a "done deal".  Dying is pretty final.  So, when Paul uses the euphemism of "dying" to self, in one sense it connotes a final transaction, forever sealed and sure.
In another sense, Paul speaks of "dying daily" to the old nature's desires and wants, and this is why he admonishes the Colossians to "dwell on" (in some translations) righteous things.

In another layer of meaning, I love how there is a layer of protection and safe-keeping implied here, not that God will protect His children from all pain or trouble or stress, but that, in the final analysis we are His, and He is ours, forever.  One day, when we move into His presence eternally, all such heartache will end.

The fact that Christians are "hidden with Christ in God" does NOT mean that we should hide our faith, or only trot it out during trying circumstances.  Jesus proclaimed that "a city set on a hill cannot be hid".  If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit will most definitely shine forth through you!

Currently, the 2016 Olympics are taking place, with millions watching on television.  And, the first black American woman to win a gold medal for swimming is a Christian.  She doesn't hide it either. When Simone Manuel of Texas won her Olympic spot, after being deemed a "long shot", she tweeted out on Twitter:  "All glory to God! Isn't he awesome?"  Other 2016 Olympians who are Christians and not shy about it include:  Maya DiRado, who said, "My faith frees me to dream big!" and who also medaled for the United States, and David Boudia, who is already a gold medal winner from 2012, but just won the silver a few days ago for synchronized diving.  David has a book coming out soon:  Greater than Gold: From Olympic Heartbreak to Ultimate Redemption.   1

What marvelous examples of not hiding one's faith, but instead living it out gloriously!  Many in the world will say, "How do they do it?  What incredible force is at work in them to account for this seemingly superhuman performance? What is their secret?"  To that extent, the Christian's life is "hidden with Christ in God".  Jesus Christ, a relationship with Him, is the secret, the best secret, a secret ... better than gold!


Source:

1   http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/august-web-only/meet-rio-olympians-who-put-god-before-gold.html

Cake Frosting

Christmastime is a visual feast.  Everywhere we look, people in our country are focused on the glittery and the flashy.  Our family is excited about my niece's wedding next week. I've heard there will be a cake, and that it will be beautiful.  People expect to see an impressive cake at weddings. But, really, if the cake tastes bad, who cares how fancy the frosting is?

Some of us are hyper-focused on the visual; others are blind as a bat.  Some have excellent gifts of intuition.  Others are clueless as a goat.  I have a friend who is SO good at this - - - noticing how others are feeling, knowing exactly what to say at the right time.  It is hard not to be envious of such a great gift.

The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. 

Psalm 146:8a

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him.

The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. 

People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7

It gives me a little comfort, as one lacking great gifts of discernment and "noticing", that Samuel wasn't so hot at this either.  God had sent him to anoint the next king of Israel.  Like most of us, he was making judgments based on what his physical eyes saw, rather than what the Holy Spirit was whispering to his heart.  He was missing the cake, for the frosting.

God the Father wanted us to really see His Son, at His birth.  I think this is why Jesus' birth was so simple and unadorned.  Other than the angelic announcement, which a few straggling shepherds witnessed, there was nothing majestic about His birth.  He knows we are distracted by glittery things. That is why He removed those distractions, so that we could truly see.

Today was a wonderful Sunday of worship and fellowship - - - two presentations of the choir musical at church, followed by lunch with friends, followed by frenzied preparations for a Sunday School class party, and terminating in the wonderful party itself.  When I got home, though, I found myself craving "cake".  Having been too rushed this morning to sit down, meditate on the Scriptures and blog, I did not want to end the day without some healthy heart food, meditating on the Bread of Life, the true cake of Advent.  All the rest is frosting.

In 1 Samuel 16:3, God promised to show Samuel, to open his eyes, so that he could recognize the next king of Israel.  If we but take the time to seek Him, open our hearts to Him, He will open the eyes of our hearts as well, open them as only He can.

Lord God, in this Advent season we need to get past the frosting to taste the cake, get past the wrapping, to get to the Gift inside.  Don't let us miss hearts this Christmas, Lord, especially Yours.
In Jesus' name, amen.