Intimacy

     On September 28^th, Terri and my relationship will change. Our relationship will change from a dating based relationship to one characterized by intimacy. We will go from being two separate individuals to becoming one. While sex is a part of intimacy, it is much more than that. I won't be leaving to go home around 8:00 any more. I will be home. We will be living together, in close quarters. As much as we may know about each other now, we will begin the process of truly knowing each other. We will learn sleeping habits, bathroom habits, all habits. We will learn them on a deeper level than either of us can anticipate. I have already begun to pray that she will not kill me in my sleep.

     Humor aside, I'm sure that you are wondering “Why is he sharing this?” (Yes, I have cleared sharing this with Terri first) There is a level of intimacy in the marriage relationship that is found in no other. Except one. The relationship that God desires with us. That is part of the reason that He gives us the gift of marriage. He desires that a marriage between two believers will be a reflection of our relationship with Him, where He is our husband.

     Adam and Eve were the first married couple, placed together by God Himself. Genesis 4:1 says that “Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore him a son”. The Hebrew word used for knew implies sex. It also means knowing someone through experience, not simply knowing information about them. It is intimacy. The gospel John, 17:3, says that eternal life is “to know the One True God”. The Greek word for know is the equivalent for the word used in Genesis.

He wants us to share every aspect of our life with Him. He is the perfect husband. He gives Himself completely to us. He even gave His life for our sake, as Jesus. He will not approve of all we do (sin is never okay), but He will never divorce or abandon us. There is nothing that we can honestly bring to Him that will cause Him to turn from us in shame. In the same way that your spouse should feel free to share their most painful secret without fear of being rejected, God longs for us to bring everything to Him without fear.

     And He knows everything about us already. He simply wants us to bring it to Him openly and honestly, trusting that He will still love us the same. He wants us to do this so that He can bring us wholeness, and redeem our failures and pain. 

How Do You Pray?

“Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-20 HCSB)

     This was today's “verse of the day” this morning. Later in the day, I had the parts from a couple of songs running through my head. It is part of my prayer life. I sing to God. The first song is a hymn called “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” and is as follows:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

     The second is a more contemporary song called “Oceans”. The bridge says:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

     These both kind of came together with a sermon that I was listening to. It was about how we often pray for God to deliver us from our troubles. I'm not saying that this is a wrong thing. God loves us and He is the only one capable of handling our struggles. What the preacher was suggesting is that we also pray that God would grow us through our struggles.        

     One way that struggles help us grow is by forcing us to fully rely on God. We recognize that we are not able to fix things on our own. But what do we focus on? Often, we tend to fixate on the problem. This doesn't help at all. God desires that we focus on Him, and His ability to work. It is like in Matthew 14:22-33.

     The disciples are traveling by boat across a lake. They are a good ways out, it is the middle of the night, waves are tossing them and the wind is against them. Not a good situation. In all of this, they see a figure walking on the water towards them. They are terrified. It is Jesus, and He tells them not to worry. Peter, the ever impulsive, tells Jesus that if it really is Him “command me to come out to You”. Really? Because a ghost would not lie to him?

     But Jesus calls Peter, and Peter actually gets out of the boat. AND he walks on water. He is fine, till he takes his eyes off Jesus and looks at the waves. When he does, he begins to sink. Let's not be too critical though. How quickly do we forget how often God has come through for us and get fixated on our problem.

     “Turn Your Eyes” tells us to focus on Jesus. It does not mean ignore your problem. It means trust that Jesus is infinitely greater than the problem, and that He deeply loves you. This helps us have a little perspective, something that our fear caused us to lack.

     And as with “Oceans”, being in the presence of our Savior will strengthen our faith. It will remind us that Jesus will never leave us. He will give us His strength.

     Another way that God desires to grow us is by making us His vehicle to comfort others in pain. On the other side of our struggle, we can better recognize others that are also hurting. We can follow the words of Paul:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

     Ultimately, God is requiring us to trust Him completely, that He is sovereign. Big word. It means that we trust Him to be in charge, that no event in our lives catches Him off guard, or touches us unless He allows it.

     There is a quote by a great bible scholar named Warren Wiersbe, that sums it all up. It says:

"When God puts us in the furnace, He always keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat."

What Is Your Identity

     We let much define us.  For some, it is relationships with friends and family.  What happens if your friends move away, as part of their own life?  What happens if fdamily members die?  We are given no certain number of days.  Does seperation from certain people mean that I am no longer me?
     We can also define ourself by our job.  Some of us are very good and excell at their job.  But what would happen if we lose our job?  We can be fired, laid off or our place of work simply go bankrupt and fold.  If I lose my job, am I no longer me?
     Some define themselves by volunteer activities, but what if we can no longer do these things.  Do we cease to exist?
     Sometimes, the world around us puts these things on us to label who we are.  Sometimes we choose them ourselves.  We label who we are because perhaps it gives us a level of control of who we are.  Often in life though, we can control little more going on in our life than how we choose to react to our circumstances.  And we tend to fear that which we can't control.
     We do have another option.  We have a God who dearly loves us.  He loved us so much that He took on flesh and blood, and then became our sin for us.  He did that so that we could once again be free to have a new identity, and identity that Je desires to give us but won't force on us.  That is the identity of "His child".  It is not and identity that we can earn, so we don't EVER have to worry about screwing up and losing it.  It is one that no one else gave to us, so no one on earth can take it away.  Only God can give it to us, and God will never take it away from you once you accept it.  We have these precious promises like "NEVER will I leave you or forsake you", and Jesus himself said about us "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand".
     No matter what happens to us in life, no matter what our circumstances may be,no matter how bad we mess up or how alone we may feel, we can be ourself.  We can be God's child.  That identity can never be taken away.

Show Through

     I had a joke pop up in my email inbox today. It was about a little girl asking her mother about the sermon they had just heard. She told her mother that the pastor said that God is bigger than us and asked if this was true. Her mother replied that it was. Then she said that the pastor told them that God lives inside of us and asked if this was true also. Again, her mother said that it was.
The little girl looked confused and asked, "if God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn't He show through?" You can't help but smile at that kind of inquisitiveness, even though she appears to miss the pastor's point.
     Then I had to wonder, did she? Shouldn't God "show through" us? Of course He does among my church friends, but is He as visible when I am out in the rest of the world? If He isn't showing through, I need to ask the little girl's two questions.
     First, is God bigger than me? Not simply in size, but is God greater and more important than me? Obviously He is, but do I really believe it with all my heart? Does that truth still fill my heart with a sense of awe and reverence? Or have those become just words to me?
     In several places, the Bible calls us to reverence God. That word reverence is also translated fear, but not like terror that fills us with dread and a desire to flee and hide. It is more an awe that reminds me that He owes me nothing, I owe him all; He is huge and I and a speck; He is the source of all and the purpose for all.
     Secondly, does Jesus live in me, or more accurately, do I give Him full rights to live through me? If I am truly brought to awe at the immensity of who God really is; if I understand the depths of His love, that he would make a way to live inside of me and in relationship with me, how can i then not surrender to Him the right to live through me any way He desires?
     When we, His children, can rightly answer those two questions, God will certainly "show through".

Gossip

Verse of the Day
He who conceals a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. Proverbs 17:9 NASB

     When I read this, the obvious was the first to stand out.  Real friendship is based on trust.  Betrayal of that trust, especially in the realm of secrets shared, can cause tremendous damage. 
     Because I work in a place where gossip is rampant, another application hit me.  In Romans 1, Paul is talking about unbelievers.  He puts gossips right in the list along with murderers and God-haters.  It can't be more clear how God feels about gossip.
     This proverb speaks of the damage of gossip.  People gossip for any number of reasons, and not always maliciously. Sometimes they are angry over a past slight.  Sometimes they are jealous.  Maybe they are just bored with too much time on their hand.  Whatever the motive, they decide to indulge in gossip.
     Gossip is a tool used to divide and isolate us.  God made us to live in community and harmony, with Him and with each other.  Gossip doesn't simply force a wedge between me and my brother, it seeks to isolate him from everyone else.  Even if not consciously, it is my sinful nature's way of trying to elevate me in "the group" by tearing down someone else.  As such, gossip does not need to be a lie. Truth, half truth or utter lie, it is sin.
     I may feel a sense of elevation for a time.  However, the kinds of groups that trade status with so little regard for people will probably soon grind me up to advance someone else.  

Servant Leadership

     Jesus told his disciples that who ever would be greatest must be a servant. There is so much wisdom in that statement that it would take hours to fully unpack. Let me unpack it a little.
     We tend to believe that greatness is reserved for those who are masters. Masters lead by force. That is the way of the world. Jesus wants us to see how his way is radically different.
     Jesus call is to lead as a servant. A servant is lowly and humble. But how can a servant lead? Servants lead with love.
     The servant first lives the truth out. The world already has plenty of leaders who proclaim "Do as I say, but don't look too closely at what I do". Not that we will be perfect, but we ourselves, being led by truth, are called to give a perfect effort. Then we trust both in the strength and in the grace of God to carry us forward.
     As the servant lives the truth, they remember to be grateful for all that they have. No matter our lot in life, we have something for which to be thankful. Even a crippled beggar has life and is offered the gift of eternal life through God's grace. Most of us have so much more than that. Maybe we need to spend more time with God thanking Him and asking Him to reveal to us just how much we do have. A grateful heart will be a joyful heart.
     And that is the place from which we lead. With a joyful, loving heart, we serve one another. We do not drive them. The joy and the love living in us draws them. We all hunger for joy in our life. We may choose to try to feed our heart on all manner of things, bad and good. However, it is the joy that we really want, and joy is the only thing that will truly nourish our heart and allow it to grow.
     As God's Spirit calls them, He will lead them to his servant leaders. Love those He brings you and as opportunities arise, tell them about the one who has brought peace and joy to your life. Be honest that your life isn't perfect. You fail. You struggle. But you are never left alone and He never stops loving you.

Do Not Fear

     I was listening to a snippet of a speaker from "Founder's Week" at Moody Bible Institute this morning. He was talking about when Jesus calmed the storm while he and his disciples were crossing the sea. Jesus is calmly sleeping, because he knows that all is safe in His Father's hands. The disciples freak out and wake Him. The problem isn't that they are concerned about the storm. It is that they ask Him "don't you care?"
     This is a slap in the face to God because it completely doubts His character. Asking for help is an honest and proper response. It addresses the reality that we are dependent on God. But they don't ask for help. They accuse Jesus of not caring.
     We will have to struggle with our fears and worries in this life, but throughout the scriptures God speaks the message "do not fear". He isn't telling us to "suck it up and stop being a baby". He knows our struggle. He is reminding us that the reason we don't need to fear is because HE is with us.