Water… I drink it. I cook with it. I bathe in it. I sit and look out across lakes filled with it… It soothes me, cools me, cleanses me. I’ve never experienced it bringing devastation.
I find myself trying to comprehend the images of the power unleashed in the recent tsunami. Just a crack and shift in a small place under a body of water on this planet, and the power that is unleashed is hard to imagine.
“For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name.” Isaiah 51:15
Did God make the earth to quake? Did He send the tsunami wave?
He certainly has power to stop it. So, He obviously allowed it to happen.
I don’t accuse God, but neither will I explain away what He has power to stop.
We read the stories about the plagues that Egypt suffered and wonder how they could explain all that away, how they could refuse to submit to The God of all creation. But they did.
We read how the Hebrews walked thru a rolled back sea on dry land, escaping a pursuing enemy army, and we wonder how they could ever again doubt The God Who set them free. But they did.
I thank Him today for His promise… “Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." (Genesis 9:11)
My prayer is that somehow in this awful thing, our God will be revealed as the God He is….that all mankind will realize their absolute helplessness compared to the power He has at His disposal. I pray that in the heartbreak of this catastrophe, He will be found, and that He will restore and comfort.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Evangelist....
Evangelist..... TV preachers? Jimmy Swaggert? Billy Graham? Jeff Shreve? …..Whose face comes to mind at the term ‘evangelist’? ……
‘euaggelistēs’ is the original word that is translated as evangelist in our language. An evangelist has a full knowledge of the message of Christ and a passion to share that knowledge. Evangelists have the capability of explaining the mysteries of Christ, being enabled and empowered by the gifting of the Holy Spirit of God.
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists…….For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ..” (Eph. 4:11-12)
It is a function, not an office.
A purpose, not a position.
A joy, not a job description.
No pay check to take to the bank….but it makes one richer than anyone on earth.
Ever.
It begins now and will never end…..and when shared, there is no dividing…only multiplied blessings!
“The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message“
(Col. 1:27b The Message)
Don’t miss an opportunity to be the evangelist on the spot. Don’t think that because you don’t have a title or a certain personality that you can’t do the work of an evangelist. Words may come, then again, words may not be needed. You may display the Word of God in action…the only Bible read by someone you see.
You may need to step out of your box and trust God to put words on your lips….for surely you know someone that needs to understand the message of Christ and come to understand the Good News of redemption…salvation from the curse of sin and death.
“….keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant.” (2 Tim. 4:5 the Message)
And that’s not Connie speaking to you…that is Brother Paul. I figure it’s worth listening to !
‘euaggelistēs’ is the original word that is translated as evangelist in our language. An evangelist has a full knowledge of the message of Christ and a passion to share that knowledge. Evangelists have the capability of explaining the mysteries of Christ, being enabled and empowered by the gifting of the Holy Spirit of God.
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists…….For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ..” (Eph. 4:11-12)
It is a function, not an office.
A purpose, not a position.
A joy, not a job description.
No pay check to take to the bank….but it makes one richer than anyone on earth.
Ever.
It begins now and will never end…..and when shared, there is no dividing…only multiplied blessings!
“The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message“
(Col. 1:27b The Message)
Don’t miss an opportunity to be the evangelist on the spot. Don’t think that because you don’t have a title or a certain personality that you can’t do the work of an evangelist. Words may come, then again, words may not be needed. You may display the Word of God in action…the only Bible read by someone you see.
You may need to step out of your box and trust God to put words on your lips….for surely you know someone that needs to understand the message of Christ and come to understand the Good News of redemption…salvation from the curse of sin and death.
“….keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant.” (2 Tim. 4:5 the Message)
And that’s not Connie speaking to you…that is Brother Paul. I figure it’s worth listening to !
Monday, February 28, 2011
Pastoring....
Pastoring… according to a spiritual gift questionaire….that’s me.
From my particular religious heritage, I immediately think ‘preacher’. But is it…?
“….he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers….” (Eph. 4:11-12 )
‘Pastor’ is the Hebrew word ‘raah’. It is a verb. It means to tend, to feed, to be a special friend.
‘Poimen’ is the Greek word. It is a noun. It is the one who tends and cares for.
There is relationship involved in this thing called pastoring. It isn’t just a matter of throwing out a bale of hay, or strewing some corn. Neither is it a matter of preaching.
If in fact this is an enablement I have been given, I am commissioned to use it….
I am to ‘go’. We all are. (Matthew 16:15)
It is our purpose to make disciples. With whatever He has provided to each of us, whatever He has gifted to every believer, we are to use in kingdom building.
“….to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” (Eph. 4:12)
Now….the next time I start preachin’…… ?? ….. you know why… J
From my particular religious heritage, I immediately think ‘preacher’. But is it…?
“….he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers….” (Eph. 4:11-12 )
‘Pastor’ is the Hebrew word ‘raah’. It is a verb. It means to tend, to feed, to be a special friend.
‘Poimen’ is the Greek word. It is a noun. It is the one who tends and cares for.
There is relationship involved in this thing called pastoring. It isn’t just a matter of throwing out a bale of hay, or strewing some corn. Neither is it a matter of preaching.
If in fact this is an enablement I have been given, I am commissioned to use it….
I am to ‘go’. We all are. (Matthew 16:15)
It is our purpose to make disciples. With whatever He has provided to each of us, whatever He has gifted to every believer, we are to use in kingdom building.
“….to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” (Eph. 4:12)
Now….the next time I start preachin’…… ?? ….. you know why… J
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Ache...
Ache… Ever have an ache that you just can’t describe? Not exactly pain…not exactly pressure…not exactly soreness…. But very uncomfortable….
My chest aches. Relax, it’s not my heart. Twice I’ve been thru the ER and all those tests to make sure.
It’s not a cough. It’s not heartburn. It’s not indigestion.
They just call it anxiety. (….whatever THAT is !)
So, I try to ignore it. Find something to occupy my mind….some activity. Sleep and hope it’s gone when I wake up…
This ache makes me think about that ‘God-sized hole’ that is in every human heart. Nothing can fill that space but Him. We try to fill it with ‘stuff’. We try all sorts of distractions so that we don’t think about it or feel it.
Nothing works really. We are deceived for a while. A new car. A new dress. A new person. The emptiness returns. The ache…..
We were created by a Creator Who designed us for a perfect world. We ache for it.
We were Created by an Eternal Being Who created us for eternal fellowship. We search for it.
All over our world, in every kingdom of man, the quest rages. Efforts to find perfection, fix what has gone terribly wrong with our world. Wars rage as we search for peace.
Ache…. We ache for something we can’t describe because it is completely other than we are. It does not exist within us. It will not be found any place.
We prolong and even intensify our ache by our own tendency to choose the knowledge of evil rather than trust that He is always good and only good.
“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke.
By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent……
And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him!
……Who then can understand the thunder of his power? (Job 26:7-14 )
Oh how I ache to understand and know Him more. One day….I will.
“Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1Cor. 13:12)
My chest aches. Relax, it’s not my heart. Twice I’ve been thru the ER and all those tests to make sure.
It’s not a cough. It’s not heartburn. It’s not indigestion.
They just call it anxiety. (….whatever THAT is !)
So, I try to ignore it. Find something to occupy my mind….some activity. Sleep and hope it’s gone when I wake up…
This ache makes me think about that ‘God-sized hole’ that is in every human heart. Nothing can fill that space but Him. We try to fill it with ‘stuff’. We try all sorts of distractions so that we don’t think about it or feel it.
Nothing works really. We are deceived for a while. A new car. A new dress. A new person. The emptiness returns. The ache…..
We were created by a Creator Who designed us for a perfect world. We ache for it.
We were Created by an Eternal Being Who created us for eternal fellowship. We search for it.
All over our world, in every kingdom of man, the quest rages. Efforts to find perfection, fix what has gone terribly wrong with our world. Wars rage as we search for peace.
Ache…. We ache for something we can’t describe because it is completely other than we are. It does not exist within us. It will not be found any place.
We prolong and even intensify our ache by our own tendency to choose the knowledge of evil rather than trust that He is always good and only good.
“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke.
By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent……
And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him!
……Who then can understand the thunder of his power? (Job 26:7-14 )
Oh how I ache to understand and know Him more. One day….I will.
“Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1Cor. 13:12)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
More "Happy"....
“…This poor man died, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, 'Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I'm in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham said…….
'Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It's not like that here. Here he's consoled and you're tormented. (Luke 16:22-25 The Message)
This rich man probably considered himself happy.
Happiness we attain for ourselves can NOT be held on to.
Listen to Solomon’s advice: “Be happy……… let your heart give you joy ………… Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see….
….but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment..” (Ecc.11:9)
Whatever it is that defines that state of being ‘happy’, I purpose it to be pleasing to my Creator and ruling Force of my life.
If God isn’t happy….I certainly won’t be for very long. And most assuredly not for eternity.
"But Abraham said…….
'Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It's not like that here. Here he's consoled and you're tormented. (Luke 16:22-25 The Message)
This rich man probably considered himself happy.
Happiness we attain for ourselves can NOT be held on to.
Listen to Solomon’s advice: “Be happy……… let your heart give you joy ………… Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see….
….but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment..” (Ecc.11:9)
Whatever it is that defines that state of being ‘happy’, I purpose it to be pleasing to my Creator and ruling Force of my life.
If God isn’t happy….I certainly won’t be for very long. And most assuredly not for eternity.
Happy...
Happy… I was asked recently to define that. Just what does it mean to ‘be happy’?
Is ‘being happy’ connected to other people? Situations? Circumstances?
Is there a price tag attached? Or a location?
Is it an emotion? Or a state of mind?
Should we always BE ‘happy’?
Do we have some right to ‘be happy’?
What does it take so that we can in fact ‘be happy’?
There are dozens of scriptures that come to mind. A little searching turns up dozens more….too many to list, and certainly too many to brush aside.
In defining this thing called ‘happy’, I will begin by eliminating what it is NOT.
Is ‘being happy’ connected to other people? Situations? Circumstances?
Is there a price tag attached? Or a location?
Is it an emotion? Or a state of mind?
Should we always BE ‘happy’?
Do we have some right to ‘be happy’?
What does it take so that we can in fact ‘be happy’?
There are dozens of scriptures that come to mind. A little searching turns up dozens more….too many to list, and certainly too many to brush aside.
In defining this thing called ‘happy’, I will begin by eliminating what it is NOT.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Renovation....
Renovation… We renovated our kitchen a few years ago. Boy….what a mess to live with that going on !! I’m sure glad it wasn’t like the renovation going on with in me….
“…put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”(Col. 3: 10)
The word renewed in that verse is anakainoo in the original language. It means to renew or renovate.
When we renovated our cabinets, all the doors were removed. I thought I was pretty organized in my kitchen cabinets. Until they took all the doors off. Man, what a mess.
Our Creator took all the doors off. Oh, it’s not that He can’t see what’s behind them…it’s me that needs to see the mess and allow Him to remove the clutter and renovate.
The kitchen is done. Cabinetry is beautiful.
The renovation within me is ongoing.
It is a work in progress.
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