Godly living – Page 30

Faith the Final Frontier

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:19

I learn best when I can watch someone or I can see an example. Following written instructions, like how to crochet or knit, or even utilize a new cooking technique, ties my brain in a knot.

Thomas is my kind of guy. Show me. I need to see this incredible thing, because it’s just too complicated for my mind to grasp. It does not make sense.

Thomas responded skeptically, but he’s not the first person in the Bible. Sarah laughed when she heard God’s plan. Zechariah wanted a few details when he knew he had to explain to Elizabeth what God was doing. Gideon questioned God’s strategy for his army several times…just to be sure.

I get it. The things God does and says are bigger than our minds. He owns this principle: my ways are not your ways (Isaiah 55:8).

So even though Thomas “doubted,” Jesus appears and allows him to touch his side and hands. Thomas wasn’t kicked out of the club because he was confused. That is good news!

But wait there’s more! Here’s the better news—news for you and me: blessed are those who have not seen (who don’t get your opportunity, Thomas), and yet believe.

That’s us. Looking into Thomas’ eyes, Jesus saw you and me. He knew how hard it was going to be to wrap our brains around resurrection. And he issued a “trust me” statement.

We have to take this one on faith…and if we will…we will be blessed.

PRAYER: Father, when you looked at Thomas kneeling there in reverence, believing because you revealed yourself to him…you saw me. And when you saw me, you knew it wasn’t going to be easy to believe. Thank you for extending your blessing to those of us who have not seen you in person, but who see you by faith. Please continue to show up when we have questions and reveal yourself. Open the eyes of our hearts to see you today, for you are our Lord and our God. Amen.

What’s in a Name?

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

I want to spend a couple days with Thomas and this passage. First, Thomas.

Interesting legacy these folks must have left. How would you like to be remembered for your worst moment?

F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

How would you like for your name to be synonymous with the concept of doubt?

Always the doubter. Not the ponderer or questioner. The doubting one.

That’s Thomas.

He asks one question and is forever branded as the doubter.

What’s your worst moment look like? What shame or angst rises up when you think about it?

Imagine what it must have been like for Thomas. The others were claiming that Jesus was alive, resurrected. Wouldn’t you have questions, concerns? Seriously, let’s not jump to conclusions. I’m from Missouri. Show me.

And Jesus did. We’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Right now, I want to stay with Thomas, and his question. And Jesus response.

There was no chastisement for Thomas. No making him feel foolish, or wrong. Picturing Thomas there with Jesus causes hope to rise up in my soul.

Here’s the truth, as I see it: it’s okay to question and doubt as long as when Jesus shows up we recognize him and believe. One theologian has even said, “the doubter is sometimes closer to God than the believer.”

The world will always judge us, maybe even call us names, but the only judgment that matters is Jesus’.

PRAYER: Lord, we stand with Thomas today, and maybe even the father who came to Jesus seeking healing for his son: I believe. Lord, help me with my unbelief. Teach us it’s okay to ask questions. Help us to come to you for answers. We confess that image is often too important–at least the way we worry about what the world thinks about us. Heal the shame-filled spaces in our hearts. And may like Thomas bow in awe and wonder and acknowledge you as our Lord and Savior. Amen.

When Will I See You Again?

⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight, (2 Corinthians 5:7)

I’m at Florida Christian Writers Conference. It’s a great place to be on so many levels. For one thing, the weather here is delightful. I’m also improving my craft, networking, and making new friends.

So, it might make more sense to you when I tell you I walked out on my balcony and prayed: Lord, where will I, when will I see you again? (And then I started singing, “When will I see you again?” by the Three Degrees…it’s on youtube if you need an earworm)

I love my regular times with the Lord. Morning routines of prayer and attention to the Word can put such a positive energy into the beginnings of my day. If there’s a sunrise or a sunset filling the sky, it feels like God is tapping me on my shoulder reminding me he’s still there.

I have an “unscheduled” personality. When I take personality trait inventories, I come out on the side of less consumed with calendars and organization and with a far greater need to “fly by the seat of my pants.” (Ok, in MBTI terms, I’m off the scale P.)

Maybe that’s why I find it much easier to walk by faith. Sure, I’ve had to learn my God will provide and he has a plan. Trust often comes slowly. But I don’t need to know exactly how he’s going to do it. I’ve read the end of the Book, I know how things are going to end—we win! (Hope I didn’t spoil it for you.)

Walking by faith doesn’t mean I’m walking blindly. I know how God operates. And I’ve learned I can trust him.

Walking by faith means I expect to see God at every turn, around every corner, in every encounter.

And when I chose to walk this way, it is amazing what I see!

PRAYER: When will I see you again? Oh God, those words do not come from a doubting heart, but a heart believing you can be found all the way throughout my day. Those words come from a heart anticipating you will show yourself in amazing ways. Looking forward to seeing you.

First Thing First

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

There’s a line from a child’s poem that rumbles through my brain when I read this part of the Sermon on the Mount: :…why the people rush and worry so..” Jesus was aware of the people’s preoccupation with what they would eat and what they would wear and wear they would lay their head at night.

His solution: seek 1st things 1st.

Determining our priorities pose problems for us. The struggle often comes from our inability to distinguish between what is urgent and what is important.

What are we chasing after and why?

Jesus is pretty clear. Seek first God’s Kingdom–his way of doing things. This thought was already given prominence in his answer to the disciples request for his teaching on prayer: pray this way, “Your Kingdom come.” Which in a nutshell means: I am willing Lord to live by your principles.

And your righteousness. Big theological word. What does it mean? To be in right relationship with God.

And if we do these things? Then all these things…the stuff the world chases after…worries about…labels as urgent and important….will be given to us.

A Psalm that most of us know much of by heart was also familiar to those who listened to Jesus that day. The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need.

Those two lines are what Jesus was…is referring to. By acknowledging his Lordship, we declare whose Kingdom we are a part of. Identifying him as our Shepherd clearly defines our proper relationship. And the outcome: we won’t be rushing or worrying after things…for we will have everything we need.

PRAYER: Dearest Shepherd, you know what we need before we ask for it. You love us enough to provide. Teach us what it means to live citizens of your Kingdom, in right relationship with you. And thank you.

Pure In Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

So not only do we have to seek him with all our heart…but our heart must be pure.

Have noticed we spend a lot of time trying to distinguish between heart issues and mind matters? We verbalize the struggle by saying things like, “My heart’s telling me to do one thing and my head’s saying something completely different. It’s like we’re a raging battle field.

The crowd that originally received Jesus’ message wouldn’t have had as great a struggle. They understood the “heart” to be the central to who they were–it encompassed everything.

Fortunately, the purity Jesus speaks of is not one of complete perfection, but of focus. Soren Kerkegaard sums it up pretty well for me:

It is the heart, the person who has chosen to focus in, who will SEE God and as a result, they will be blessed.

And this “blessed,” this is more than happy. It’s not a reward. It’s about grace.

There is no other thing that will satisfy. I am willing to set everything else aside. I want God more than anything. And he honors that desire by revealing himself to me. To you. To us.

Yeah, I’d say that’s a blessing for sure.

PRAYER: God, I see a lot of things in my day. But I want to see you. Purify my heart. Help me to find that singleness of purpose, will, and life. I admit sometimes I seek the blessing without the focus. Forgive me and purify my motives as you purify my heart. Amen

Brought Near

¹⁷He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. ¹⁸Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. (Ephesians 2:17-18)

If you’ve got a few spare minutes now, or later, I would strongly suggest you read (or reread) the entire chapter where our text comes from today.

Yesterday, I alluded to this concept of being near. Paul speaks about how God is near to us, so near that we could reach out and touch him. In fact, that is God’s desire.

In chapter 2 of Ephesians, Paul is speaking to two groups of people who didn’t like each, and didn’t know how to get along. There were the Jews who thought they had a corner on relationship with God, and the Gentiles (everybody who wasn’t Jewish) who were coming to know this God who gave his life for them in Jesus.

They got grace and mercy and were taking to new life like kittens. The Jews said, “Nuh-uh.” And Paul said, “Yeah, huh.” And we continue to struggle to this day.

Several years ago, Bette Midler sang the song, “From A Distance.” With all respect to Ms. Midler, I hated the song. She sang it well–it wasn’t the artistry. It was the way it made me feel: like God was off in the distance occasionally glancing my way. Nothing could be further from the truth.

God is near enough to be found, even touched. He wanted that so much he created the bridge to make it possible.

Our prayer this morning is a song.

Where Do You find God?

²⁶From one man^[^f^] He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. ²⁷He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. ²⁸For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring. (Acts 17:26-28)

This sermon of Paul’s is one of my favorite passages. As I was preparing this series and meditating on it once again, I was reminded of David’s words in Psalm 139:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
³You search out my path and my lying down,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
⁵You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

I used to struggle with the whole ‘hemmed in’ part of this text. When I was little my parents put a fence around our swingset and that was where we were allowed to play. We had a large yard where we could have played, and we could see other children running freely from yard to yard. I spent hours on my swing longing for that kind of freedom.

As I grew I had a nagging sense of dissatisfaction and feeling that there must be more–like the best things were being withheld from me. What I didn’t see as a child, or even later as an adult, was that this “hemming in” was for my protection. My parents wanted to keep me away from the busy streets that ran along side and in front of our house. They did it out of love, not some maniacal desire to make my life miserable.

God works the same way.

And when I learn to live contently within those safe boundaries, I’m also able to see God more clearly. When I reach out, I can find him because he’s near and wants to be found.

Have you felt like God is keeping you from something? Do you look at the world with envy, like I did the other kids outside my fenced in yard? If so, here’s your challenge for today. Instead of complaining, thank him for the protection he’s provided. You may never know what disasters or disastrous choices he may have saved you from.

He is here. He is near. We’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

PRAYER: O God, our Protector. Thank you for the way you ‘hem us in.’ You hold us and withhold the things that would cause us harm. Your Word tells us you do not withhold any good thing. Forgive us our pouty ways and grow greater trust in our hearts. Amen

Whole Hearted

¹³You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

This concept of “wholeheartedness” is central to finding God. There are numerous examples and admonishments to total love. Everyday the people of God recited the Shema, which contains the command to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. When the pharisee asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, Jesus referred back to this and added that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Have you ever tried to do something “half-hearted”? Let me ask the “Dr. Phil question”: How’s that working for you? My mother always seemed to catch me in the midst of a half-hearted effort. She would admonish me then with, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.”

As I reflect back on this half-heartedness, I think the problem laid in my allowing something to distract me from giving the task my full attention. It wasn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it was my music–I could do some serious jamming in my day…but I digress.

I like to reduce things down to their simplest form. So for today, let’s just consider one way to engage our whole heart on seeking God. Ready? Here’s your guide for the day:

Okay, perhaps I should have warned it wasn’t going to be an easy thing. It is however, the necessary thing Whatever it might be, if it keeps you from being able to seek God, to get closer to him, let it go! If it divides your heart and your loyalty, give it up. In the end, however good or satisfying it might be, if it doesn’t help you move towards God fully, it will separate you from him…and we don’t want to go there. Trust me on that!

PRAYER: Wholly holy, God. Forgive my half efforts and bless my efforts to pull the pieces in. Give me an undivided heart. Show me in plain and clear ways the things in my life that are keeping me from totally loving, serving, and living for you. Give me the courage and strength to give it up, walk away, or change, so that I can seek you with ALL my heart. Amen.

No Hide For Seek

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

Do you remember “Where’s Waldo?”

We spent many hours searching for Waldo and later Sammy (the Christian version…don’t ask me why).

I came across our verse for today early in my faith journey. I remember being at a church camp where our youth group was having a retreat. We had moved to town the summer between junior high and high school. I was experiencing a mountain of new things and firsts. This retreat was on that list.

The kids on this retreat were excited to learn about Jesus. They were plugged into serving. Their enthusiasm was electric and I wanted it!

On Saturday night, I stood out by the lake. I had grabbed a handful of Queen Anne’s Lace (a flowery weed), held it up to the sky and declared, “In 30 days I’m going to know who you are God.” Thirty days later I was kneeling at an invitation asking Jesus to be Lord and Savior in my life.

Here’s what I learned then, and keep on learning: God wants to be found.

Some people read the Isaiah verse and think it’s time sensitive, holding a limit to God wanting to be found. It’s like the warped old hymn that says, “He never has failed me YET”…as if he will.

God is not out there playing some cosmic game of hide and seek. He “hides” in plain view. He wants to be found. He might be “hard” to find because we don’t understand how to see him. The goal in this 40 days is get better at seeing him…finding him.

So, how many times have you seen him today?

PRAYER: Oh there you are. Thank you for wanting me to find you. Thank you for not hiding from me. Thank you for being so near. Today I would ask that you would continue to develop eyes that see you and a deeper desire to seek you all along the way. Amen.

Everybody’s Looking for You

³⁵Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there. ³⁶Simon and his companions went searching for Him. ³⁷They found Him and said, “Everyone’s looking for You!” (Mark 1:35-37)

Wouldn’t it be something if we could say that today? “Everybody’s looking for you, Jesus!”

They’re not. And let’s be honest…most days we’re not, either. But that is what this 40 day journey can do for us.

But where do we start?

Maybe we could start like Jesus did. Where was Jesus when they finally tracked him down?

The crowd hadn’t learned Jesus’ habit of early morning prayer. EMP. But Simon knew. He knew where to look to find Jesus.

I know not everyone is an early riser. I’m thankful I’m wired that way. But whether you have an internal early alarm clock or not, starting your day with prayer–however brief or rote or mechanaical–needs to become as natural as checking the gas gauge before you take off in the car.

It can be as simple as, “You and me, Jesus…let’s do this” to as flowery as the best bishop can speak. Just take a moment or two. Become aware of his presence and desire to be with you in every aspect of this day.

Not everybody was looking for Jesus then. They’re not now. I know I am. Will you? He’s the one out there praying.

PRAYER: Ahhhh, here you are Jesus. Thank you for showing us the best way to start our day. Thank you for demonstrating the importance, the wisdom, the joy, of starting our day connected not only to the Creator of this day, but the Guide, and the Helper. I don’t know what today holds, but I know I don’t want to face any of it without a clear sense of your presence. Let’s do this thing…together. Amen.

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