The BE-attitude

I've always liked the thought of hanging on every word of Jesus. As a little one in Sunday School class, I would imagine myself dressed like the people on the flannel-graph board, sitting at Jesus' feet, eating the bread (skipping the icky fish) that was passed around the crowd and being forever changed by hearing the actual words come out of his phyiscal, actual, human mouth. My heart would skip a bit in my daydream when his eyes would actually fall on mine and I would know that he saw me. That's why the beatitudes in Matthew 5 have always been one of my favorite passages. Yet, I hate to admit it, I was never exactly certain what Jesus was saying.

The Beatitudes always seemed a bit abstract to me. "Pure in heart", "hunger and thirst after righteousness", "poor in spirit", what did these mean? As I've aged (and hopefully become more wise) I've developed some ideas about what these abstract terms mean. But nothing has helped more than reading about them in The Message. So I wondered if everyone had read them there. I think you should so I put a link here.

They are a list of ways of being. To be. That is the task. Be- a verb meaning, To exist in actuality; have life or reality. (Dictionary.com) The first person singular being "am". As in God's name. We are made in God's image. Creatures that are, just as God is. We are called to be like Him. We are called to BE. To live in each moment. To exist in actuality- not some fantasy world. And actuality can be messy and painful. Yet Christ promises blessings if we approach that actuality with the right way of being- the right attitude.

So when we come to that painful end of our rope, Christ says we will find blessing if our "be-attitude" is right. We will find less of us and more of the God who loves us. When we feel abandoned, we will find there is nothing left to embrace but the God who loves us most. When we find contentment in who we are and what we've been given, we are blessed by knowing there is nothing that can make us happier than the God who provides. When we're starving for God, we will find that He fills us with satisfaction as no one else can. When we stop worrying about ourselves and find ourselves caring for his creation, we find we are cared for by the very Creator Himself. When we see ourselves rightly, knowing our sin intimately and are truly repentant, we find God everywhere we look.

So I still like the beatitudes. I like them more than ever. Test them for yourself. See if they are as true for you as they are for me. Taste them, meditate on them, incorporate them. Maybe you'll get a whole new "be-attitude"!

I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.
-Psalm 119:99-105 NIV

Learning from the Heat

When we moved to the South about 18 years ago, I was overwhelmed by the stifling, summer heat. It seemed to take more effort just to breathe! I've grown accustomed to the heat now and it doesn't seem to bother me much anymore. But I was reminded of that first summer here today while sitting in my car, waiting for one of the kids.

It was high noon and I was beginning to get a little uncomfortable while I waited with my window rolled down. I found myself sitting extremely still, clicked over into a slow motion way of being- a total body quietness. I guess this is a learned behavior in response to the rising temperature. It somehow helps me stay cool. I began to realize that this is a behavior you seem to see a lot in warmer climates. Think of siestas in Mexico and "Island Time" in the Caribbean. Everything in the South just seems to move at a slower pace and it seems that the closer you get to the equator, the slower things move! (No wonder sloths are tropical animals!)"How interesting," I thought, "that it takes that physical pressure from the heat to make us all slow down, quiet ourselves."

Several months ago I blogged in response to a pod-cast I heard about "quieting" your soul. It's a skill that we all need to learn. As Oswald would say, it's not something God will do for us- we must do it for ourselves. The heat of summer bearing down on me caused me to sit still. Being sensitive to my environment helped me to respond in a way that helped me conserve energy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes it takes a physical property like heat or turmoil or discomfort or pain to cause us to respond with quietness. As I embrace the discomfort I can find the power to be still.

Be still and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

Me? A Windbag?!?!

The first time I ever heard Jeremiah 29:11, I thought it was the greatest verse I'd ever heard. And after that, I began to hear it everywhere, for everything. You can find it on plaques and bracelets, cards and t-shirts:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Feeling it was perhaps just a little too good to be true, I became suspicious and decided to read it in context. And like Inigo in The Princess Bride, I began to say, "I don't think those words mean what you think they mean". These weren't words spoken from God to me; they were words given to the exiled children of Israel to give them hope that God was really working, really aware of their situation while they were in captivity in Babylon. Since I'm not Jewish and certainly not in captivity in Babylon, these were simply nice words, a handy feel-good-cliche. They weren't a real promise of God for me. They were used in so many contexts and with such flipancy that they just seemed empty. It became one of those verses that I simply blew off when I heard it.

I've been exploring Jeremiah again recently and I find it isn't exactly a fun read. It's just a little repetitive: all the woes to Israel for disobeying God. But one verse, right near the beginning caught my attention:

They've spread lies about God. They've said, "There's nothing to him. Nothing bad will happen to us, neither famine nor war will come our way." The prophets are all windbags. They speak nothing but nonsence. Jer. 5:12-13 The Message

It made me think- when is the last time you heard anyone say that God is someone to be feared? That he's someone who will deal with sin and disobedience? Sure, church goers may hear it from the pulpit but for everyone else- all the non-believers- when do you hear someone telling them that God is a God who must be feared? They don't go to church. They don't hear the preacher from the pulpit. They work with us, live next door to us, cut our hair, and administrate our companies. And we are the ones they "hear" from.

We are their preachers and what we preach is tolerance.
We preach, "your thing is ok with me as long as you don't tell me I can't do my thing."
"Let me go to church on Sundays in peace. I won't judge you, you don't judge me."
"Let's all live side by side in blissful disobedience!"
We preach lies about God- that there's nothing to Him. Because if He is who we say we believe He is, then there is something to him and our disobedience and ignorance of Him must be and will be dealt with. And ignoring Him won't make Him go away. The Israelites tried it- read Jeremiah to see where it landed them!

Almost the entire book of Jeremiah deals with how Israel will be punished for ignoring her God. And the harshest discipline is saved for the "windbag prophets" who have allowed her to go astray. Funny, but I believe that we, as a nation, are not so very different than the Israelites. And unfortunately, I believe I may know and may even be one of those "windbag prophets"!

As a nation, we have turned from serving God to serving economics. Our lives revolve around our jobs, careers, spending, and making money. Our families suffer, our health suffers, and in turn, we have less time to spend in pursuit of God. In effect, we, like Israel, have chosen to serve a foreign god and God in turn has placed us in exile where we must continue to serve the foreigners who worship that foreign god. (Jeremiah 5:18-19)

God told the Israelites to not give up hope though. They were to continue living. They were to marry, have children, work and be productive. And they were to pray for the Babylonians (see Jeremiah 29). He had a plan for them. A plan for them to prosper. He wasn't going to ignore them in their captivity. He was going to come and rescue them. They were to remember this, find hope in this knowledge. He was a God to be dealt with and He was a God with a plan.

So maybe I can take some hope from the overused cliche of Jeremiah 29:11. But first I have to realize that my "preaching" speaks loudly to my neighbors. God is a God who must be dealt with. There's a lot more to him than feel-good cliches. When I turn my back on the foreign gods in my life and seek Him with all my heart, He promises to be found. When I get serious about finding Him and want it more than anything else, He'll make sure I'm not disappointed (Jeremiah 29:12-14). And He'll do the same for the our neighbors and captors- if we'll only let them know the Truth.

Faith That Makes a Difference

So how important, exactly, is faith?

I've heard all the stories and cliches. Faith is when you trust someone or something enough that you can take action without worrying- you know- the "having faith in a chair" story. John says that faith is the conquoring power that brings the world to its knees. The person who wins out over the the world's ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:4-5)

I know Jesus. I don't have any doubt about that. I feel him move in my life. I hear his voice. He is more to me than my conscience speaking or a warm fuzzy feeling. What I'm learning, however, is what this might mean for my life and the way I live it. According to John, it's not my faith that Jesus is trustworthy, or that he was raised from the dead that makes a difference. It's my faith that he is the Son of the Living God.

Having faith that Jesus is the Son of God means understanding that this is the same, One and Only, who caused, with the power of his words, creation to come into existance. This is the same Son of God who, with that same power, caused himself to come back to life after being killed. This, according to Paul, is the great power that is at work in me if I have Jesus in my life (Romans 8:9-11)

All too often I limit the Power of Jesus in me to the power of suggestion. "Do that thing over the other thing" or "Speak to that person in such and such a way". When is the last time I allowed that power to be the power that spoke the world in existence or raised someone from the dead? And what would it look like if I did allow the power to perform in my life that way?

According to John, I would have the power to bring the world to its knees (I John 5:4-5). And according to Paul, I would have the power to live a life that is free from the defeat of this world and the death that comes with it (Romans 8:1-17). And according to Jesus, I would be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20)

Before any of this is possible though, I must first know intimately this Son of God who lives in me. I cannot know his abilities without knowing him well. I will pray Paul's prayer for myself as well as for you:

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe

(Ephesians 1:17-19)

Fodder for Songs

I told you the other day that I had read all the way through my Oswald. It has given me so much fodder for blogging. What on earth would I do without my Oswald to inspire my blogs? Well, never fear! The same best friend that honored me with my Oswald, blessed me with another devotional classic on June 4th: Streams in the Desert. And lo and behold, more fodder! But this one was just said so perfectly that I don't think I have much to add. So here it is for you:

The strength of a ship is only fully demonstrated when it faces a hurricane, and the power of the gospel can only be fully exhibited when a Christian is subjected to some firey trial. We must understand that for God to give "songs in the night," He must first make it night.
-Nathaniel William Taylor

So for all who may be experiencing some "night" and for all that have and will experience it, may God, your Creator, bless you with songs. (Job 35:10)

Of Hearing and Belonging

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own

These are the words of Jesus. And it's embarrassing but true that so often, I read the words of Jesus and never hear them. I must not be alone. It must be why he so often said, "He who has ears, let him hear." But when I read these words today, they struck a new chord. It was Jesus proving a point to me... I do not belong to the world. And he wants that to be obvious to me.

So who, exactly, belongs to the world? And how does the world love it's own? According to Jesus, those who do not believe in him belong to the world and those who belong to the world are "slaves to sin" (See John 8:23-24 and John 8:34). So that's how the world cares for its own- it sells them into slavery, robs them of their freedom. The world hates Jesus because he makes it clear to all that what it is doing is evil (John 7:7).

When I love someone that is my own, I take good care of them. I love my children. Tonight, I fed them good food. I gently dealt with worn out exhaustion, embarrassing problems and even a bad dream with them. I played frisbee in the park and watched them chase birds and dance. I listened to them. I told them, "I love you" and hugged each one. I love my husband. Today I kept in contact with him while he's away. I spent time with him. I gave him a gift and I shared my heart with him. I've thought of him, dwelt on him, daydreamed about him. These people that belong to me swell my heart with love. They occupied my time and efforts. They are mine and they are a precious priorty to me. And as far as I know, I did nothing remotely like selling them into slavery.

On the other hand, I know how the world "loves" us. It tells us we are unlovable; it tells us that we must be slim, beautiful, rich, influential to be worthy of love. It tells us that it's ok to do anything and everything that might bring us these qualities. We can starve ourselves or abuse drugs or our bodies to make them slim. We can color our hair, have plastic surgery or despise ourselves. We can steal, lie, cheat, or suffer to gain our position in life or wealth or power. These are the characteristics of an abusive relationship. The world is an abusive "lover". And it's a relationship we must sever completely.

Jesus cares for us in a completely different way. He provides light so that we might see clearly and not stumble (John 8:12) He provides us with bread that is life abundant and living water that causes us to never thirst again (John 6:31-35). He lays down his life for us so that we can live in eternal knowledge of God the Father. He takes us from that life in prison to sin and sets us free. He is the truth and the truth will set us free (John 14:6 and John 8:32).

The Jews that Jesus was talking to that day couldn't understand at all what he was saying. They argued with him about their legitimacy as children of Abraham and their status as slaves. He told them that they didn't understand him because they belonged to Satan, the prince of this world. Those who hear him and understand what he says belong to God (John 8:47)

So thanks, Jesus, for being patient. Thanks for repeating things over and over like, "Let him who has ears, hear". Thanks for continuing to reveal to me the obviousness of how I do not belong to this world. It is obvious that the world does not care for me. It is You, Lord, that cares for me. You and those who you placed in my life to love me. I'm glad I hear you- it's more proof that I belong to you.

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:18-19 (New International Version)

What a Friend

Exactly one year ago tomorrow, my sweet husband and best friend in the whole world gave me my Oswald Journal. I was going through a very difficult time in my life and it was wearing thin on all of us. I needed to renew my relationship with God and I needed something that would shed a new light on ancient words that had ceased to live for me. I had been taught procedures for having a relationship with Christ; things like, "Let Go and Let God" and "What Would Jesus Do?" I was instructed in behaviors that would hopefully lead me to a closer walk with my Creator and The Lover of my soul. But for a lifetime I had tried these behaviors, hoping all the while that no one would notice that I was only acting.

Don't get me wrong. I believed whole heartedly in God. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is holy and creator of everything. I knew I was a "sinner" and that that meant I was unacceptable to him. I knew that he made a way for me to be acceptable to him by sending Jesus, God Incarnate, to die on the cross for my sins. I knew all this. But somehow it didn't have an incredibly huge effect on my life. He was still distant and incomprehensible. He was still the God of Angel Armies- something I had no context for. And His love was something that escaped me all together.

Today's installment (my final one) in Oswald is about friendship; the kind of friendship we dream of; the kind we hope we'll have with someone someday; the kind that many of us have given up on ever experiencing. It's a kind of friendship that is so intimate that the friends think each other's thoughts, feel each other's emotions. It's not a friendship that brings grocery store flowers to cheer you up on a day that everyone knows is difficult for you; it's the kind of friendship that brings you daisies, or daffodils, or irises, or wisteria on daisy or daffodil or iris or wisteria kinds of days. It's the kind of friendship that even knows when it's a dandilion day. It's when one friend knows the other so intimately that great feats of blessing hold no candle to the tiny, secret joys.

It's this tiny, secret joy friendship that we can have with God. We spend our lives pursuing the great big blessings, the prayers of Jabez- and yes, God is capable of providing those. But when that's all we look for, we miss out on the beautiful gifts he has for us in intimacy; the special gifts he can give when he knows us well. And likewise, we miss out on giving back to him the secret desires of his heart; the things we could only know by being intimate with him.

Now this is eternal life: that they may know You... John 17:3

A Wedding

Today my husband will be officiating his very first-ever wedding. I am so happy for him! So many people say that my husband reminds them of Jesus. (A friend once even told me she wondered if being married to him was like being married to Jesus!) It's because of his good heart and his quiet, loving, wisdom. He glows when he worships and total strangers can (and have) spilled their entire life stories of woes to him on first meeting! But this whole wedding thing is something special.

One of my favorite pictures of Jesus is his first recorded miracle at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11). I have always pictured Jesus as quite happy, jovial, even playful at the wedding. What a delight to have him bless a wedding by supplying "divine" wine! My husband won't be doing any miracles today at the wedding and certainly won't be conjuring up any heavenly wine but I do believe he will bless this union in a very special way.

Just one more way he's like Jesus.

And to the bride and groom: May your love be as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. May it burn like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Let it be so strong that many waters will not be able to quentch it, many rivers unable to wash it away.

Blessings on you all!

Ain't None of it Small Stuff

Something that Oswald said the other day makes me wonder if I have some kind of "God complex". He was discussing the importance of trusting entirely in God, completely, to the point that even if common sense tells you it's crazy, that you should still follow God, not common sense. His entreaty to us was that "when God brings you to the venture, see that you take it."

I want to always "trust God in the venture" but I find that so often, I don't see God bringing me to any venture. I go in through a day and out. There is laundry and bills, jobs and transporting kids. There is house to clean and boo boos to tend to. But venture? According to Dictionary.com a venture is

1. An undertaking that is dangerous, daring, or of uncertain outcome.
2. A business enterprise involving some risk in expectation of gain.
3. Something, such as money or cargo, at hazard in a risky enterprise.

At first glance, I assume that I missed the boat to "venture". I'm still here on the shore of "everyday".

Several years ago I remember seeing a book called, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... And It's All Small Stuff. I remember thinking that that was a fairly good philosophy to de-stress your life, albeit, overly simplistic. But now I've come to realize that it's not overly simplistic; it's downright wrong! I'm not saying we need to sweat everything, worry about it, lose sleep over stuff. That's wrong too. What's wrong is to assume it's all small stuff. My "God complex" allows me to think that it's the "small stuff" I can handle...without God. But now I'm starting to see that in reality, there is no small stuff. No small stuff...all venture.

God placed me in a life that is a dangerous undertaking of uncertain outcome. There is risk involved. There is the risk that if I attempt to make it through mending boo boos, paying bills, doing laundry and loving people separated from God, that I will mess it up. When I rely on my own common sense and my own strength to accomplish life, I will eventually become stressed out, depressed, and hopeless that I can do anything worthwhile.

In Psalm 73, the psalmist declares that when he tried to live life focused on material issues, separated from God and his strength, his heart was grieved and spirit embittered. I've felt that way when I've put on my God complex and attempted to get through the venture of life in my own strength and common sense. Like the psalmist, I was like a brute beast before God; ignorant, struggling stupidly against forces I had no understanding of. Like a silly monkey who can't figure out how to get the nut out of the jar when his hand is in a fist. But the psalmist goes on to remind me that God doesn't leave me to my stupid common sense. He stays right beside me, holding my right hand (my dominate one...the one that gets me into the most trouble) and provides me with his strength and counsel. My heart and flesh will fail but God is my strength and portion forever.

As for me, it's good to be near to God; to stay near him in the venture of life. The venture becomes less risky when it's his counsel that guides me instead of my own common sense. And when I realize that it's all venture and no "small stuff", it's a whole lot easier to drop the "God complex" and latch on to the Real Thing.