Because you've got to have faith

When I read the Scripture at face value (which I try to do),one of the themes that comes forward crystal clear is that of audaciousbold-faced faith.  The Word does notmince words when it comes to faith: you've got to have it.  God declares that “without faith it isimpossible to please him” and that “he who comes to God must believe.”  He says that “faith is the substance ofthings hoped for” and that it is the “evidence of things not seen.” 

Jesus says that if we have faith, just as small asthe smallest little seed, we can move mountains.  He says that we can say, “Hey mountain, timefor you to scat!” and it will.  (NewRevised Rob Tucker Translation)

Since I haven’t seen any mountains moving lately, I suspectmy faith is smaller than the smallest little seed.  I have been convicted of my own lack of faithin recent days.  There seems to be adisparity in what I believe God CAN do, and what I believe he WILL do, in mylife and ministry.

A friend of mine had a great quote about this onher Facebook info.  It’s from a man ofrenowned faith, Hudson Taylor, who did move mountains--metaphoricallyat least.  He said: 

“Many Christiansestimate difficulty in the light of their own resources, and thus they attemptvery little and they always fail.  Allgiants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned onHis power and presence to be with him.”

And herein lies the essence of power-filled faith: believingnot in one’s own strength, but in God’s power and presence to be with us.  Really believing.

I drink your milkshake

We all get tired. Fatigued.  Worn down.  Deflated. Discouraged.  Depressed.  It’s part of the human condition.  In my experience, these feelings usuallyfollow some type of victory—spiritual or otherwise.  They may also follow a prolonged push to achievesomething, having achieved it, you may feel good for a short moment, and then fallflat. 

Fortunately, Jesus has some good words for us.  He says (Matthew 11:28-30), “Come to me, allyou who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Ah, such nourishing words.  These are words of truth, life andencouragement.  Their application in mylife fills me up in a way that others cannot. Jesus continues, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I amgentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Amazing. Wonderful.  Necessary.  These are words of grace and provision.  Jesus satisfies our every thirst, including thatof our souls.  Where else can you go tofill up your soul?

One of the most riveting and troubling scenes of any movie I haveever viewed is that of Danielle Day-Lewis’ climactic performance in “There willbe Blood.”  In that oft-quoted scene, hedeclares that he will “drink the milkshake” of his enemy.  The scene reveals the world’s view of things—it’sall about taking, depleting, emptying. It’s all about what can I get out of this vapid, hollow existence beforeI die.  In order to succeed, some feel, Imust suck the life out of anyone and everything around me in order that I mightprevail.

Jesus, of course, has a different view.  His is an eternal one, where the last willbecome the first and vice versa.  His isa reality that says, “I will give you rest.”  Instead of taking from us, he promises to pourinto us.  He fills our spiritual milkshake.

Come to him this day if you are ready for a refilling!

Finding a sacred space to meet with God

Our lives have been a tad bit unbalanced over the last yeardue to an extra family member and a building project.  We are finally coming down to earth andfeeling things begin to normalize.  Oneof the surprising benefactors of our new space in our home is a place for me toquietly reflect with God in the morning. I have heard from several people that I trust that having a dedicatedspace, free from worries, cares and distractions, is a real benefit.  Unfortunately, I have not had that ideal spotat my disposal.  It has been tremendouslyrefreshing to sit down and meet with God, without a kid saying “daddy look at me,” or have a toy hit me in the back of the head.  Praying and reflecting on the Word aretwo of the most important things that we can do in this life; we should give them ample time and an ample space.

On another note, if you haven’t yet seen the “You Version”Bible app, you should probably check it out. It very conveniently gives you multiple Bible reading programs, and allthe Bible translations you would ever need. You can check it out here.

Do you have a “sacred space” for your times with God?  

Knowing vs. Experiencing

My adopted son Matthew had never seen snow in Ethiopia.  (That would be weird.)  But he knew of snow, and he saw pictures of hisnew siblings in the snow.  When it snowedearly this year, he seemed unimpressed. We thought he would be more excited. He looked out the window and shrugged his shoulders.  We tried to get him excited about it, but hewas not.

But then all the kids got their snow gear on.  Hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants…all werelayered up for maximum warmth and limited mobility.  Matthew did not like this much either.  He was hot and itchy.  But then we went outside.  The snow was perfect for packing.  We made snowballs, and snowmen, and snowangels.  We rolled around in it and threwit and enjoyed it.  Matthew especiallyliked knocking down the completed snowmen. Doh! 

Matthew loved the snow. He shrieked and giggled and laughed. He was overjoyed in it.  When itwas time to go in, he objected.  Hewanted to stay outside for hours.

I was thinking of this event, and the difference betweenknowing something and experiencing something. One can be objective, cold, calculated. The other can be known, felt, accepted. It’s hard to put into words the difference.  It’s much easier to describe.  The same is true of knowing about God andexperiencing God.  We can know Godwithout drawing close to him, without being passionate about him, without fullyembracing the new life in him. 

So when it comes to your relationship with God, go jump inthe snow!

Praying on Survivor

We were watching the show Survivor the other night and aninteresting thing was taking place.  Ok,please stay with me despite the fact that I just admitted to watching Survivor.  This season of the show is littered with self-professedChristians.  One team has made it a habitof praying together--closing their eyes, joining their hands and praying.  They sometimes pray to win challenges, whichbrings us back to this post. 

But on Wednesday night, one of the devout declared that “Godtold him” who to vote for.  On animpulse, he switched his vote and even gave up his immunity to someoneelse.  The problem was, one of histeammates decided that God also told him who to vote for, and as a result, thefirst guy ended up getting voted out.

I know, I know, a bit confusing if you don’t watch theshow.  But the question that arises isthis: if God told them both to do something different, were they really listening toGod? 

I do believe that God speaks to people.  But I believe that it is generally not inmiraculous fashion as many people claim. He may speak to us in a “still, small voice” that is the Holy Spiritprompting us to do something for others, or say no to a temptation, orsacrifice for another.  I think that thereason so many of us want to say that “God told me” is because we really dowant to have a divine connection.  Unfortunately, we may also be looking for aleg up on others--some power, if you will.  For instance, in the realityshow, God speaking was being used as a tactic to manipulate who the otherswould vote for. 

Pray that God would lead you, but don’t be disappointed ifhis speaking to you is not as miraculous or overt as some people claim.  The good news is that his voice will becomemore and more apparent, the more you listen to it.  

The missing ingredient

The other day my wife was away in the afternoon so I thoughtI would make spaghetti and meatballs.  Ihad never made meatballs before, but I thought: how hard could it be?  There was this nice little recipe right onthe side of the spaghetti noodle box that seemed to be written with me inmind. 

The problem was I didn’t have all of the ingredients.  It said I needed bread crumbs, for instance,but we didn’t have any.  After scanningthe house I decided that Lipton onion soup mix would certainly do the trick.  It said to add some freshly chopped parsley.  I found some interestingingredients from our spice rack that I figured would do for an amplesubstitute.  (I wonder what this nutmegwill taste like?)  The recipe called foreggs, so I added water. 

As I mashed the ingredients together with the ground beef, Iwas immediately realizing that it wasn’t going to work.  I ended up cooking it all together andcalling it a “meat sauce.”  When my kidstried to eat it they were polite, but ultimately unimpressed.  My oldest took a few bites before sayingkindly, “I really had a big lunch today. I’m just not very hungry.”  Theplates started to scrape their way into the garbage can.  My feelings were not hurt; I thought it was funny.

It occurred to me later that each of us is trying to followa “recipe” in life.  The problem is wedon’t have all of the right ingredients to make it work.  We try all kinds of substitutes and mash themall together hoping that our life’s concoction will be palatable.  But it isn’t. We try sex or relationships or money or success or power to fill thevoid.  But Jesus comes along and declareshimself to be the missing ingredient.  Hesays that he completes the recipe that we cannot complete on our own.  And boy does he ever produce a wonderfulfeast. 

Hey, pass me another one of those meatballs.

Are you satisfied?

I know that Snickers really satisfies.  I know this, because we bought about 5 bigbags of them for Halloween, and then our neighborhood got pounded with snow andeveryone lost power.  Now there are dozensof “fun size” snickers lying around my house, just begging to be consumed. 

Of course, they only satisfy my hunger, not my soul.

What I don’t always know is how to spiritually satisfy myself.  Yes, yes, I know the biblicalanswers.  And they are true.  But unfortunately, I don’t always utilizethem.  At least not at first.  Sometimes I try other ways to findsatisfaction in my life.  Like eatinganother Snickers or watching television.

There are so many ways to try to find a quick happinessfix.  But we all know they don't work.  I heard Arthur Brooks debate JimWallis the other night at Messiah college. He said that so many Americans are unhappy because they still think thatmoney buys them happiness.  Aftersurveying dozens of lottery winners, he realized they have the same thing incommon.  They were more unhappy afterthey won than before.  Plus, now many of theirlives are in shambles from the unintended consequences of unearned income.

The only thing that truly satisfies is a relationship withJesus Christ.  It is drinking deep fromthe wells of God’s love that leads to satisfaction and true joy (Is.12:3).  But remember, some dissatisfactionthis side of heaven is normal.  We will notbe really fully satisfied till we are in the immersive presence of God in heaven.