Party Hearty!

I think one of the pervasive lies Satan uses in our culture is, "you're missing out on life." It drives us to pack our schedule beyond capacity. It drives us to schedule our children to a point where it hurts their ability to do well in those very activities. Coupled with fear this lie destroys our life.

If we focus on God, asking Him what we should do, it builds our true life. In God's Kingdom, if we focus on what God would have us focus, we have life more abundant. Less is more.

It starts this very moment, with the little choices. As He trains us, we learn how to honor Him with the big decisions. This is a process which builds over time. It is a lifestyle of obeying God. It is marked by submission and humility. When we ask God, we must ask with the intention of obeying, even if we don't like the response.

As we think about this busy season of celebration, let's keep in mind that God loves to party! He even commands it in the Bible! :)   If we really want to enjoy Christmas to the fullest, we need to learn to party with God.

Are you tired and worn out from empty "rituals", or a crazy "to-do" list for the holiday? Come to Jesus, and party like the Rock Star!

A Dog's Tale

I have a story to tell.  It is about love, loss and God’s providence.  It all begins on Jan. 17, 2006. . .

Lucy was born.  A beautiful blue Weimaraner, she was the runt of the litter.  Fearsome and strong, she made herself known to all who could hear.  She was born to love.  She loved to have fun; she loved people; she loved attention.  We took her home around 5 or 6 weeks and she cried all the way.  She cried all night long and she cried any moment she was not in our arms.  She had a will stronger than any.  We battled her night and day, trying our best to raise her right.  She had more energy than she knew what to do with, so we ran her hard and long.  In her second year she was my training partner for a marathon.  I needed it just as much as she.

But something wasn't quite right.  She was anxious and hyperactive.  Not only would she bark incessantly, but she would panic when I left.  She was so excited she’d forget her manners and accidentally hurt people.  She was discontent.  Had we gone wrong?  Had we failed?  The decision was reached that we could do no more, and she needed to go somewhere she was challenged, somewhere she could be a dog, somewhere she could shine.

The last two weeks were difficult.   I was sad about having to say good-bye.  We had changed her rules and put even more boundaries on her.  Things were peaceful, but could she keep it up?  Was there any possible way she could stay and everyone could be happy?  As I had done continuously through the 2 ½ years of her life, I prayed.  I prayed she could stay.  I prayed she could change.  I prayed we could change.  But most importantly I prayed His will be done.  I was all out of ideas.  One thing was clear: God was telling me I needed to be willing to give Lucy up.  I was reminded of Abraham and Isaac.  I thought my sacrifice was hard?  Through our neighbor Don, I got in contact with a woman in Louisiana.  She was the owner of Lucy’s brother Cooper.  Her name was Cristi and she confirmed everything I said about Lucy.  Her Cooper was the same.  She was an experienced dog owner, she had 4 Weimaraners.  She lived on a farm so she exercised them and took them to agility classes, but Cooper still was a lot of work.  Through our conversations I found peace.  We really had provided a good home for Lucy.  I also realized her good was just as intense as her bad.  She was an incredible dog.

I took pictures of her and we just had fun.  I treasured any happy moment I could with her around.  We swam, we fished, and we walked.  I watched her bounce in the tall grass; I watched her dash up the hill to get a drink of water in the pond and come barreling down.  Boy did I love her.

Then one night after dinner was cleaned up and the children were settled down for stories, I took her out for an evening walk.  She had been in all day so I kept her off the leash.  We got to the bridge and I decided she was doing well and could stay off the leash.  We continued toward the road.  None of the neighbors were out so she stayed close.  Then she saw the dog across the road and started running.  She had never paid any mind to the people across the street before.  I called and realized there was a car coming around the bend.  I called and called.  She paused in the ditch, we thought she’d stop.  The neighbor was calling her dog, unknowingly named Lucy also.  She dashed into the road and the car never saw her.  It just kept going.

I screamed.  The neighbors didn't want to get close for fear she would bite, but the thought never crossed her mind.  She dragged herself to Tracy’s feet and laid on them.  Lori took me home, Don came over to be with the children, and Casey and I hopped in the truck.  We were in a daze.  John and Tracy arranged everything; we just did what we were told.  Lori, a stranger to us, hopped in the back to help me with Lucy.  I cradled Lucy’s head.  She was struggling to get her breath.  She lifted her head straight up and looked long and hard in my eyes.  I knew what needed to be done and we nuzzled our noses.  She knew she was loved and I knew she love me.  I just enjoyed the moment and loved her like I never loved her before.

They took an X-ray and offered emergency surgery.  I longed to be with her and finally they lead us back.  The sight of her broke my heart and I asked them to please put her out of her misery.  It was done.  She stopped laboring and was peaceful.

As I pondered the irony of the whole situation I realized it was not irony.  By God’s divine purpose He beautifully orchestrated the sequence of events that had unfolded.   I reveled in His care and love for His sheep.  I marveled at His wisdom and insight.  He allowed this to happen, but not before preparing us. 

Thank you, Lord, for love, loss and Your providence.

In memory of Lucy.  1/17/06-8/4/08

This is Our God

God gives freely; no strings attached, no expectations of return, no obligation, and definitely guilt-free.  He does this so we can be free to receive.  He wants to lavish us in love without any burden.  In fact, His love and gifts are meant to be a great relief to us.

Have you ever received a gift and felt guilty because you didn’t buy the giver a gift in return?  Or have you ever bought a gift because you felt obligated?  Or have you ever stressed over buying the perfect gift because you are afraid the recipient won’t like it?  What a contrast to God’s model of giving and receiving!  If we are honest, we would admit this way of living leads to disappointment, emptiness and misery.

Remember this: guilt, obligation and fear are nothing but lies when we are living in Christ.  The more we believe and adopt God’s way, the more blessed we feel.  The more we live God’s way, the world’s way looses it’s grip on us and it’s misery melts away.  What an opportunity we have this Christmas to embrace the joyous life available in Jesus Christ!  Let’s ignore the lies and give and receive freely in pure love!

God's Will?

Sometimes people stumble on this idea of doing God's will. It may seem like a bullseye. If you hit it, your are blessed, if not, a lightening bolt for you! Ugh, just thinking about it produces anxiety!

God is so much more concerned about our heart condition than whether or not we are doing His will. He knows that when our heart is aligned with His, everything we do is pleasing to Him!

Consistently laying down our worries and keeping an open heart is the antidote. If our heart is open we know God will gently corral us should we take a wrong turn. Being flexible and sensitive is key.

Lord, I open my heart to You, have your way in me.

Ark of Covenant

I’d like to share with you the picture of the Ark of the Covenant. I hope you find this imagery helpful. 

The Ark of the Covenant was a chest found inside the inner veil within the tent of the tabernacle in the Old Testament.  This chest contained Aaron’s staff, the stone Tablets on which Moses recorded the Law, and a pot of manna.  On top of the chest was the mercy seat, where the high priest would sprinkle the blood of sacrifice once a year. Above the mercy seat were two cherubim, and God’s (visible) presence would rest in between them.

As I have been reading through Hebrews recently, the Lord has been putting this picture in mind. The writer of Hebrews describes in detail the spiritual significance of the tabernacle. In Chapters 7-10, I began to see a beautiful image of the ark representing the two covenants God has made with His people: the Old and New Covenant. 

In the Old Covenant, perhaps the order was from the bottom up. The Israelites, reaching up to God through the law, made sacrifices to receive mercy and come into His presence. As the writer of Hebrews observes, the system was flawed. The law could not make the worshiper perfect. When Jesus became the eternal sacrifice, His Kingdom reverses this order. God comes down through the blood of Christ to dwell in us. Grace and mercy come first. The realization of this new order is revolutionary! 

God no longer sees us through the lens of our unrighteousness (Heb 10:17).

As the Holy Spirit infuses our soul, He imprints His laws on our heart (Heb 10:16). What this means is that we simply walk with Him, flowing with His Spirit, thus making us perfect.  God’s idea of perfection is an unbroken fellowship between us and God. He wants to be our best friend!

This is worth careful consideration. . .

Under which covenant are you living?  Are you striving to meet some outside standard, constantly discouraged by your sin or inability to meet the standards of this world?  Are you “obeying” God by following a set of external instructions in order to be a good Christian?  Are you plagued by a sense of guilt, a sense of duty, or constant judgment?  There is a better way. 

Take Jesus’ hand, and walk humbly with God.

Luke 17

This week I have have been thinking about the story in Luke 17 where Jesus heals the 10 lepers. Verse 14 is Jesus' response to their pleas to have mercy. He says "Go show yourselves to the priest." This clear command is actually pretty outrageous. Everyone knew you had to be clean in order to approach the priest, and they were of coarse unclean. But the men took Jesus at His word and went. This is the key which unlocked the power of God. The fact that they obeyed is pretty great, but they were healed even before they reached the priest. Clearly it was not their act which healed them, but their faith. Faith is taking God at His word, regardless if it fits within our human understanding.

Perfectionism

So I’ve been thinking about this idea of perfection in a culture that seems to be obsessed with it.  Being an athlete and musician, I was raised in an atmosphere where competition and performance breeds perfectionism.

“And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely.”  Gen 1:31a

Did you catch that?  Our perfect God made everything “very good”.  Hmm. Perhaps in His infinite wisdom and understanding he purposefully made us and this world. . . very good.  Perhaps He foreknew that perfect would be to our destruction, that if His creation was perfect, it would negate the need for His involvement. Perhaps he understood that perfection and the pursuit of it would in fact bring misery and disappointment in a world that was broken, so he set the precedent in the beginning.  Maybe all along God’s goal was never perfection as we perceive it in this world, but that He approves completely of it’s absence.

Which begs the question. . . is perfection here on earth God’s motivation, or is it man’s?  Could it be that when we are consistently chasing after perfection or that perfect thing, that we are agreeing with man’s way of life? That we are chasing after an. . . idol?

But there is something that God sees as perfect.  Perfection to God is when His servant does life with Him.  When we move with the Spirit, when we obey His promptings, and do life His way.  This is an eternal life: in Him, filled with the Spirit, and in perfect unison.