What does it mean to have a “relationship with God?” It is something that I write about a lot. However, it might seem strange. You may think, “That’s kind of weird…how can a person have a relationship with something that he can’t see?” Beyond those who don’t believe in God at all, there are several people who think that a relationship with God is just kind of a weird idea. I know, because I used to be one of them. There was a time in my life when I believed in the existence of God, but the idea of a relationship with Him was for the crazy fundamentalists. Continue reading “A Heavenly Relationship”
Tag: God
Wrapped in His Presence
My favorite Psalm in the Bible is Palm 139. There is so much wrapped inside that poem. It addresses our anxieties and insecurities.
You have searched me, Lord , and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord , know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 139:1-6 NIV
Obedience VS Authenticity
There is a debate going on in Christian circles right now: Is it better to be authentic, or is it better to be obedient to the teachings of Jesus and the Church? I think the answer is one word – Yes.
From the Archives – A Love Letter in Leviticus
I just completed reading Leviticus, again. My wife stumbled across this post last night. It was good to revisit it again after another reading.
A lot of damage has been done by people through the book of Leviticus. Leviticus is one of the Mosaic books, and it is also a Book of the Law. There are two opinions I have observed among many people in the Christian community (a community which I am a part of) regarding this book:
- Pick and choose verses to verbally condemn those who break the law.
- Cast out the book entirely because we live in the new covenant (the law / certain books of the Bible are void because Christ came).
Continue reading “From the Archives – A Love Letter in Leviticus”
An Accepted Wanderer
I write this blog from a Christian perspective. That is because I am a Christian. The story of how I became a believer is one of desperation. The ultra reader’s digest version is that I sought my value in what others thought of me. I became depressed and full of rage when I wasn’t accepted. Then, I was introduced to Jesus.
The greatest thing about Christ is also one of the most offensive, even in liberal thinking. No one has to change to come to Christ. Christ went to the broken, the hurting, the sinners, the weak, etc. All those adjectives describe who I was and who I am without God.
By no one has to change I do mean no one. No one is excluded from the grace of God by what they have done. I think at the heart of the Good News is that healing and love is offered unconditionally to those who would accept it.
I write mostly about what I believe happens after that acceptance. After we accept to be accepted something amazing happens. Whatever baggage we carry around no longer directs us. The hard thing after the decision is continuing to live accepted.
It is easy to get lost in the world. So many things grasp for our attention. We get distracted. We forget and screw up. The Father weeps as He desires us to come to Him. He weeps as we wander away like the lost son in the parable of the Prodigal.
But He waits. He waits on the front porch, staring longingly in the distance for our return. When we stumble our way back home, He jumps off of the front porch steps when we are still a mile or more out. He runs without abandon to welcome us home with tears.
We are accepted wanderers. We are loved sons and daughters not because of what we have done but what has been done for us. In other words, we are loved because the Father loves us. It is a Truth and, as Brennan Manning would put it, an ultimate reality.
Do you believe that right now you are loved and accepted by God? Do you believe that God’s love remains no matter what?
What’s Your Motive?
We all have motives. Some of our motives are good, some bad. Rarely are they pure. Even our good motives can tend to have bad mixed in. Joe wanted to be a good worker. He showed up on time, gave his all, and was the last to leave the office. When he got home late, he yelled at his wife for not having dinner ready. He spoke about the time he spent working to support her, and he accused her of not being grateful for his sacrifice.
Deep down, Joe wanted to be seen as dependable and reliable at work. Despite how he acted in this scenario, he also wants to be a good husband. Somewhere along the way, though, his motives got tainted. He started working for the approval of coworkers and his boss. This was a source of great anxiety in his life. He began to become a different person at work to fit in. His anxiety lashes out toward his wife when he comes home.
Our motives must be purified if we want to live out our gifting. God created us in a specific way and for a specific purpose. This purpose is not to make much out of ourselves, and I think if we are brutally honest, a part of us wants to be noticed. It wants to be made much of.
This problem was apparent in the church Paul wrote to in Corinth. Some are claiming to be able to speak in tongues. They couldn’t. They spoke a bunch of gibberish that didn’t make sense, because they thought speaking in tongues made them special. The gift doesn’t make us special, the Giver does.
In another area called Philippi, people were preaching out of selfish ambition. It blows my mind how this is even possible, but then I ask myself hard questions. Why do I write? Why do I lead? Can I say that none of me has selfish ambition? Can I say that I don’t want to be made much of?
Nope. There’s an ugly part of me that wants “likes”. It wants claps, pats on the back, to hear, “That was powerful, man.”
If we are going to be affective in using the things God has gifted us with, we have to let go of this. We cannot move forward hanging on to the desire to be made much of. If we do, it’s to our own turmoil. When the gift becomes more important than the Giver, it becomes a curse. We feel pressured to perform instead of living the way we were created.
So, let’s check ourselves. Are you wanting fame? Has your gift overtaken the One who gave it?
Peace to those far and near
The truth and the words of God through His prophet Isaiah strike me. If you think that you are too far gone for God to love you, then spend some time in Isaiah 57, specifically verses 16-21.
16 “For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.
17 “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the [p]praise of the lips.
Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Whether bad or good, God has seen all of our ways. He has seen the inclinations of our hearts. He knows our deepest, darkest secrets. He offers peace to those far and near, and through His Son Jesus He has brought healing. All it takes is a surrender of control and an acceptance of healing.
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