A Reminder

After I asked for prayers for my memory issues, Jim came up to me and said, “I’ll be praying for you—just remember Him…” I most likely interrupted Jim and blurted out, “That’s one thing that I worry about—that I’ll forget Him.”

Jim immediately responded with, “Even if you forget Him, He will always remember you!” Wow! What a rush! I think Jim went on to say, “It is more important that He remembers you, than for you to remember Him.” I didn’t really hear Jim’s second sentence because I was too excited thinking about his first statement.

God said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). Jesus also said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet none of them is forgotten by God…Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7). Finally Jesus said, “And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

With such comforting words, why should I be afraid or worried. It’s like David said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for YOU are with me” (Psalms 23:4). Thanks, LORD for the reminder.

Terah

Even though Peter says, “His [God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him…” (II Peter 1:3a), the Bible does not tell us everything and leaves a lot of details out. I have decided that it must mean that some things are not that important and are unnecessary for us to know. On the other hand, I’ve also decided that there are other things that are very important, but they are “hidden” from us. I think that this was done intentionally so that we would seek God’s wisdom in knowing the difference between what’s important and what’s not. I also think that it can ultimately lead us to knowing God better.

One of the things that make me stroke my chin and go, “Hmm…” are the small references to Terah, Abraham’s father. The Bible tells us that Terah (as well as Abraham) lived in a distant land and worshipped other Gods (Joshua 24:2). The Bible also tells us that one day Terah took Lot, Abram (Abraham), and Sarai and set out from Ur and headed to Canaan. The Bible also tells us that when they came to Haran, they settled there (Genesis 11:31).

In the very next chapter, God speaks to Abram and says, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). A few verses later we find out that Abram settled in Canaan and God said that He would give Abram this land (Genesis 12:5-7).

This is where my imagination kicks in and I begin to ask questions like, “Did God speak to Terah? Did Terah hear the voice of God? Did Terah hear God’s voice before Abraham and did God tell Terah to go to Canaan?”

God hasn’t answered me and hasn’t filled in the details yet, but this much I do know. The Old Testament tells us a lot about Abraham’s life and the New Testament has numerous references to him. In the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews, the chapter that we refer to as the “Hall of Faith,” Abraham is described as a stranger or alien in a foreign land seeking for the city whose architect and builder was God (Hebrews 11:8-10).

On the other hand, Terah is mentioned in only a few short verses in the Bible, most are in a genealogy in Genesis, and no reference to him in the New Testament. The striking contrast between him and his son Abraham is found in this epitaph, “Terah…set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran” (Genesis 11:31-32). Hmmm…I wonder if God is telling us something or am I reading too much into the text?

Is Faith a Blessing?

Life is so overwhelming at times and to make matters worse, it is very unstable and unpredictable. Things are often not what they seem to be and they keep changing. Life puts up roadblocks and forces us to take detours. Sometimes it’s hard to see past today because tomorrow looks pitch black. In addition, people are sometimes hard to understand because they see things so differently. On top of that, people are fickle—a lot of times people cannot or will do not what they said they would do. Other times people out and out lie.

If anyone’s experienced this, they are probably aware that there are a lot of insecurities, anxieties, frustration, disappointments, disillusionments, and fears that come along with this knowledge—and they’ve also discovered that it is very hard to be sure of anything.

I learned this about life at a very young age. I grew up being very skeptical and this made it hard for me to trust or to have faith in anybody or anything. But the biggest shock came to me as I was becoming an adult—I failed myself. I came to a realization that I could not live up to my own expectations, so I could not even trust myself.

It was after this realization that I was reintroduced to the Bible and Jesus. This time Jesus excited me…that is, until I started reading and thinking about what Jesus said. As I listened to what Jesus said, I started hearing myself saying things like: “Yeah, right!” “You’ve got to be kidding!” “You want me to do what?” “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say!” “You can’t possibly mean that!” But the words that made me stop dead in my tracks were, “Who do you think you are? Jesus, just who do you think you are?”

The Bible claims that the Word of God is sure and claims that Jesus is the Living Word of God. Jesus Himself said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) Reflecting on this, I thought to myself, since I cannot put my trust in anything, and I cannot put my confidence in anyone else, much less faith in myself, I thought I’d put the Bible and Jesus to the test. So whenever I felt like I was in a vortex and my life was going down the toilet, when things seemed like they were falling apart, and when my feelings were on a roller coaster ride, I recalled what the Bible or what Jesus said and reminded myself, “But God said…,” or “But Jesus said…” Then I held on to His Words as if my life and sanity depended on it (and it did). You know something? When everything stopped spinning and shaking, I found myself okay and still standing.

Has my faith been a blessing to me? Not so much. My faith has been weak and small and unstable. It’s really not my faith that is the blessing. My blessing has come from the One in whom I can put my confidence.

I am discovering that faith is born and grows “from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) and when I hold unswervingly to this hope I profess, I am blessed only because He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

Meaningful Conversation

For years, Author and Lecturer Gary Smalley, wondered what women meant by a “meaningful conversation.” One day after he was married for a while, it dawned on him that a “meaningful conversation” to a woman was any conversation that was meaningful to her. It sounds so simple, yet when I heard this, I was awed. I might have known this fact, but it was so deep into my subconscious that I needed Gary’s words to enlighten me.

Since then, I’ve really noticed that whenever anyone is able to express themselves freely and the response to them is favorable, the speaker leaves the conversation feeling very satisfied. I’ve also thought about how it affects an individual in different relationships—a child with his parents, a student with his teacher, a worker with his boss, a patient with his doctor, and a human being with his God. It seems to me that in every instance when a person is able to share what’s on his or her heart without repercussion, this individual leaves the “conversation” feeling content, satisfied, and even joyful. This also leads me to wonder how God feels when He wants to have a meaningful conversation with us…

Bipartisanship

I think that the arguments over balancing the budget, raising the national debt ceiling, and calling for bipartisanship over the last few months has moved a lot of people from being concerned, to worried, frustrated, and now outraged.

When the debate first began, I don’t think I could have defined bipartisanship, but listening to the President, the Republicans, and the Democrats, I think I know what it means. It seems to me that it means, “I have come up with a plan and now you should agree with me.” When I was a kid, the term was called, “bullying.”

The Bible has a similar term. It’s called “confession.” The Bible asks us to confess, agree, or admit: we sin or we are sinners (I John 1:8-9). Jesus is Lord and He comes from God (Acts 10:9-10, I John 4:3). Only by our admission that Jesus comes from God, that we can know God (I John 2:23, 4:15). When we confess Jesus’ Name, it is a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of our lips (Hebrews 13:15). And finally, we confess that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world (Hebrews 11:13).

These are some of the things that the Bible calls us to confess, agree, and come to terms with. While there is some similarity between “bipartisanship” in the world and “confession” in Scripture, there is at least one huge difference. God’s not a bully, as some may think He is. God is looking out for everyone’s welfare and He has our very best interest at heart. We know this because He sacrificially gave up His very own Son as the condition of the agreement between Him and us. This is the concession that God brings to the bargaining table. If we do not agree to His terms, there is no other deal in the works.

Sowing and Reaping

When I am talking to people, I get the feeling a lot of the time people do not believe what I am saying. One of the reasons why I get this impression is because of the response that I get from them after making a statement. People don’t usually come out blatantly and say, “You’re lying,” “You’re exaggerating,” or “You don’t understand.” People “tell” me that I don’t know what I’m talking about in a round about way, usually by giving me an alternate viewpoint or by sharing with me their experiences in life. When this happens, I get frustrated; I get myself all worked up and want to “defend” or further explain what I have said.

This morning I had a flashback. When I was a kid, I often tried to convince people of something, even to the point of tears. People used to believe me, until they found out I was lying (and I used to lie a lot). Eventually, people took what I said with a grain—no, it was probably more like a box of salt. So maybe this is payback time. Maybe I am reaping what I have sowed as a kid even though I am not bent in this direction anymore. If this is true, it stinks.

This morning I am also reminded that Jesus’ underlying message was “believe Me” (John 8:45-46) or “trust Me” (John 14:1, Matthew 7:24-27), but His message was continually rejected (John 1:14). I’ve noticed that every time Jesus was rejected, His response was not like mine. Jesus does not grab people by their shoulders, shake them, and scream, “Believe Me!” I also don’t see Jesus dropping to His knees pleading with people, “Why won’t you listen to Me?” Nor does Jesus follow people around, bombarding them with a multitude of words to convince them of His truthfulness. No, I am not like Jesus.

Maybe I should consider limiting my speech and be content with short answers like, “Yes” or “No” (Matthew 5:37). Maybe I should allow God the opportunity to have the final word instead of me. This is so hard, but if I remember correctly, the last time I looked, words like badgering, overbearing, and argumentative were not listed under the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23). Perhaps, just perhaps this would be a good time for me to practice sowing seeds of godliness.