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Posts Tagged ‘God’

Persistence Brings Justice

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on May 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 18:7-8
… “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

In this parable, Jesus clearly states that persistence is rewarded with justice, whether the dispenser of it is just or unjust. God promises to reward those who cry out to him. I am counting on this justice (as well as his mercy) as I pray and fast for my daughter.

But the last line tells me that there is a key element to this 24/7 crying out to God: Faith. My faith must be rooted in His ultimate sovereignty over our situation and circumstances. I pray now because the outcome is unknown. But will I have the same courage and faith if the doctors give a bad report or if she is destined to suffer?

Some years ago, my friend, who is a “white-knuckle flyer,” was very agitated as we flew across the country together. I told her she could rest easy that God would not allow that plane to fall and for us to die. She asked how I could be so sure and I told her that we had just adopted two boys (back in 1997) and I was sure he wouldn’t save them just to take away their mother again.

Today, I seek this same confidence in God’s will for our adopted daughter. There is something in the adoption process that carries a unique sense of destiny. The stories of orphans around the world are heart wrenching. And when one is picked up, like a starfish in the sand, hope is rekindled for his or her future.

This is my prayer.

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Raising the Dead

Posted in Sermon Echoes, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on April 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Yesterday, Pastor Craig gave a powerful message for Easter calling us to strength, calling us to engage that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead to raise us from our own crucifixions. When we face our most difficult trials, we must look to the One who can teach us, who can show us, who can uphold us from within.

Like all of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), strength is like them and comes from within; it, too, is an attribute of the Kingdom of God within us (Luke 17:20-21).

There is a tension between our own way and the way of Jesus. There is a tension between our own ways and the ways of the kingdom of God. We must surrender to this Way daily (… your Kingdom come, Your will be done in Earth as it is in heaven…). Note, I have changed “on earth” to “in earth” because I also think of Earth as my body… the flesh, the three-dimensional self and then the three-dimensional world/environment around me. “For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)

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Will You Recognize God?

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , on March 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 19:44b
“…They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

“If it was a snake, it would have bit me.” That’s an old Southern saying about missing something in plain sight. Will I miss God today? So often, when we talk about being in awe of God (“fearing God”), we remember an amazing nature scene or something cataclysmic that shows God’s power or, perhaps it’s something man-made, but of such beauty, that we are sure it is inspired by God. But, what about the ordinary? What about the rocks in the road that would have cried out when Jesus entered Jerusalem that fateful week of his sacrifice. They recognized God in Christ.

Jerusalem was a city of sophistication. There was culture, knowledge, money, power, and much, much more. And yet, the people did not recognize God coming. They had stopped looking. They accepted the normal flow of things and people and commerce, but didn’t really see.

Open my eyes today, Lord, that I might see You. Open my ears… Open my heart. Let me see You in the ordinary.

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Love the Lord Your God

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2009| 1 Comment »

Mark 12:28
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Foundational to everything and yet, we seem to behave as though this is beyond us. Is God difficult to love? Is it because we continue anthropomorphizing God as one of us? Oh, but God did offer us the anthropomorphic version of Self in Christ Jesus. Is Jesus difficult to love? Oh, and when the Holy Spirit is present… primarily within us, is the Holy Spirit difficult to love?

Love, the verb! Love is action. Love is trust. Love is a choice. Nike seemed to get the point in their advertising: Just Do It!

Today, I choose to love God … and I’m guessing God will appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and circumstances.

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Justice, Mercy & Faithfulness

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , on March 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 23:23b
…But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness….

What an interesting combination of words. Here is justice, which has many definitions, but most frequently, I believe we think of it as “the administration of deserved punishment” or “rightfulness and fairness.” However, the power of mercy is to do the opposite, to forgive the deserved punishment with tolerance and compassion. And lastly, faithfulness (or adherence to truth, steadiness, and a standard) is like an umbrella over them both.

There are many paradoxes in the Bible and it is only with a wide-open mind and heart can be incorporate them into our walk. It is because there is justice that there can be mercy. And praise be to God, He is faithful in extending both.

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