always glory! always praise!

If you have ever been in a difficult theological discussion with me then you have heard me refer to Romans 11:33-36.  It is an anchor for me as I try to navigate the sometimes muddied and troubled waters of doctrine.  We have served in so many kinds of churches, from Pentecostal to Presbyterian.  People much more intelligent than I have wrestled with ideas about such things as election and predestination for centuries.  I don't expect to completely figure it out in my lifetime.  But I believe it is incredibly important to ask questions, search the Scripture, seek wise counsel, and to know what I believe.  As I do that, the words of Paul in Romans 11 always echo in my ear.  Here it is in the Message:

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom?  It's way over our heads.  We'll never figure it out.

Is there anyone around who can explain God?

Anyone smart enough to tell  him what to do?

Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice?

Everything comes from him;

Everything happens through him;

Everything ends up in him.

Always glory!  Always praise!   Yes. Yes. Yes.

The more I learn about God, the more I realize that He is utterly more than my mind can comprehend.  As I acquire knowledge, I should become more and more humble, not proud.  And the more I discover about God, the more I am compelled to praise Him.

For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!  Amen.

wrestling with the Truth

If only reading Romans 9-11 were as fun as reading Romans 8!  From my earliest days of following Jesus my faith has been filled with questions.  Sometimes even marked by doubt.  God can handle that!  He invites me to come to Him with my fear, frustration, questions and doubts.  After wrestling for a while, I walk away transformed by His presence.  He answers the deep issues of my heart with His character.  There is so much I don't know or understand in this world.  Even this morning, I have already prayed for the people suffering in China and Myanmar, and the people I know who are struggling, wondering why things have happened as they did.

There are many people these days who are asking questions and exploring their faith and their doubts.  I think that is good, even noble.  Until we begin to re-create God to suit our understanding of goodness and justice.  That's not okay with God.  Reading Romans 9 and 10 over the past 2 days I am reminded of the simple reality that just because I may not like or understand the Truth, it doesn't cease to be the Truth.

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?  Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"   Romans 9:20

The psalms are evidence that God welcomes His children to come to Him with the fulness of who we are- with doubt, anger, lament, and questions.  But as we do, we should be careful that we are approaching God for who He really is- omnipotent, almighty, creator.  As we do, we will also find His grace, mercy, lovingkindness, and patience.

As C.S. Lewis wrote, "The prayer preceding all prayers is "May it be the real I who speaks, and the real Thou that I speak to."  Amen!

the God of all comfort

I read Romans 9 this morning, but verses from 2 Corinthians keep coming to my mind.   It's because I can't stop thinking about the family of Steven Curtis Chapman.  I am joining people all over the world in prayer as we lift up this wonderful family.  The Chapman's youngest daughter Maria was killed last week in the family's driveway when one of their teenage son's SUV accidentally hit her.  You can read more about it here.

When we lived in Nashville some friends of ours were in a terrible and tragic car accident in which they lost a young daughter.  Our church surrounded the family with love and support and prayer.  It was an experience I will never forget.  The memorial service was overflowing with people who shared in their sorrow.  Steven Curtis Chapman sang at the service.  I was reading about the community that has surrounded the Chapman family over the past week.  Those friends who walked through tragedy almost ten years ago are now there with the Chapmans, offering comfort that they are uniquely able to offer.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

I love Romans 8

When I was 20 years old I was both a morning person and a night owl.  I woke up happy and excited about the new day, in a great mood.  And late at night was a great time for me too.  I loved hanging out with friends, talking and laughing.  It seemed like I was always at my best!  Now I am neither!!  If I stay up late I am tired and grumpy.  When my alarm goes off in the morning I can hardly tear myself out of bed.

So it was this morning.  After a long weekend of sleeping in and enjoying leisurely mornings at home, it is time to get back to my normal schedule.  On the weekend I can stretch my morning devotion out and I can read whenever I want- I have plenty of time.  Not on a school day.  Today I have to get the boys to school by 8:00 and then I have a meeting at 9:00.  After that I will be distracted by laundry, lunch, and children.  If I don't get up early and seek God first, I won't find the time later.  So this morning my alarm went off at 6:00 am and I groaned inwardly.  My flesh didn't want to get out of bed.  Yet I was obligated to do it.  Something stronger than my tired body willed me to roll over and get out of bed.  A force more powerful than my own need for sleep took over until I was sitting on the sofa with my bible open and my spirit awakening.  And here is what I read:

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  Romans 8:9-11

And then I read verse 15 in the Message:  This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life.  It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?"

What a crazy, beautiful life I live!  My God has set me free from sin, death, and the law by sending His Son as my Savior and then sending His Spirit as my empowerment.  And now I live as a child of God, waiting eagerly for Him to show me the next step on my adventure through life.  It's not even 7:00 am and I am suddenly feeling like a morning person again!  I LOVE Romans 8!

how can it be?

But will God really dwell on earth?  The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.  How much less this temple I have built?  Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God.  Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.  1 Kings 8:27-28

How can it be that GOD, the creator of the universe, the One who holds the stars in place, who speaks life into being, who controls the wind, the rain, the seas, the skies, how can it be that He would dwell in me?  The heart of Solomon in this prayer is the heart I share this morning as I contemplate that God's temple is now His people.  His crazy, beautiful plan was to dwell among us so that He might dwell within us, and use us to usher in His Kingdom amongst the mess we have made of our lives.  I am amazed and I am thankful.

religious or righteous

I wonder how many people's lives have been changed by the book of Romans?  What an amazing part of the bible!  I have a unique affection for the letter from Paul to the Romans, because it is the first book of the bible I truly studied.  In my first year of following Jesus, my friend and mentor Cas led me through an inductive study on Romans.  She set the standard for my study of God's Word for the rest of my life.

Read through the book at least 50 times.

Know it; own it.

Observe, interpret, apply.

Memorize and meditate.

That year God developed a love for His Word in me that would be the foundation for everything else in my life.  And it started in Romans.

Today I read this:

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.  No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.  Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.  Romans 2: 28-29.

Being religious does not make a person righteous.  Simply doing good things does not make a person good.  Rituals, traditions, and religion can never save a soul.  The most likely outcome of those things is a proud and critical spirit resulting in judgement of others without careful consideration of our own shortcomings.

But praise be to God who has given us His Son to make us righteous!  Thanks be to Him who has sent us His Spirit to transform our very hearts.  Understanding that I fall desperately short of God's perfect law, I cling to the Savior.  By grace through faith my heart is circumcised and my soul is saved.  I am declared righteous in God's sight and I am set free to live the life that God calls me to live.  Hallelujah!!!!

Godly adjectives

called...set apart...thankful...whole hearted...preaching...constantly praying...longing...encouraging...obligated...eager...not ashamed...righteous...living by faith.

These are the words that Paul uses to describe himself in Romans 1.  I am praying that these words will be descriptive of my life as well.  I recognize that I cannot possibly muster up these characteristics on my own- it is the work of God in me.  These qualities are developed in a person who knows GOD, who spends time with GOD, who loves GOD and knows that she is loved by GOD.  There are many things I could do right now.  I have dishes to wash, laundry to fold, a school lunch to prepare, and bathrooms to clean.  But none of those things will make me the person God wants me to be.  So first, I will be still before the Lord.  I will meditate on His Word.  I will ask Him to make me the person He wants me to be-  called, set apart, thankful, whole hearted, preaching, constantly praying, longing, encouraging, obligated, eager, not ashamed, righteous, living by faith.

comic book bibles

I'm a little late to the computer this morning.  That's because this morning, for the first time ever, two of my sons joined me for devotions.  Now it certainly isn't the first time one of kids has been with me in the morning.  Most mornings find me sitting on the sofa with the dog, and at least one boy giggling, poking me, hugging me, or trying to talk to me.  I frequently explain that I am trying to focus on God's Word, and need some quiet time to pray.  Sometimes they respect that; sometimes they don't.  

Some mornings I invite the boys to join me in my devotion.  I give them their youth bibles and encourage them to read.  I share with them what God is speaking to me that day.  They are half-interested at best.

But this morning, first Joshua and then Zack came down quietly with their bibles and started to read.  I should clarify- they sat down to read their new bibles.  Yesterday their Sunday School teachers gave each student in the class a bible.  A bible like I have never seen.  I didn't even know there was such a bible.  This bible is in full-color, comic book style!  And the boys love it!  Finally, they are taking in God's Word in a format that truly speaks to their young hearts.

Thank you Mr. Kevin and Mrs. Chriss for caring so much about your class that you would invest in them this way.  Because of your thoughtful gift I enjoyed one of the best mornings of my life.

As Joshua and Zack were engrossed in their new bibles, I read this verse in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17:

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.  

I am praying that prayer on this happy morning for the people in my life.  Amen!

this is God's will for you:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.  1 Thess 5:16-18

Be joyful always.  Can it be that we have a choice in this?!  Since this is a command, I must acknowledge that it is something that I can obey (or not).  So I will choose joy.  This morning I can't help but wonder how well I would respond to this text if I were in earthquake devastated China, or in Myanmar.  There is suffering in this world that challenges my conviction that joy is always an option.  But Paul, who wrote these verses, certainly saw his share of suffering, pain, and abuse.  And he still wrote, "be joyful always".

I'm guessing that Paul was able to choose joy in the face of suffering because he also prayed continually.  I ask God to give me an awareness of Him throughout the day.  I want my thoughts to be ever wandering to my Father in Heaven, asking Him for help and guidance, praising Him for the beauty and laughter in my life.  Pray continually.  Without ceasing.  Help me Lord to do that.

Give thanks in all circumstances.  Closely connected to joy is the ability to give thanks.  Out of a thankful heart, joy flows freely.  In Christ, we always have reason to give thanks.  Oh, the promises God has given us!  There is nothing that can separate us from His love.  He works all things in our lives together for good.  What was intended for evil, God can use for good.  He is sovereign; He is kind.  The ultimate victory over sin, death, and suffering belongs to Jesus Christ.  And that same Jesus has rescued me.  Yes, I can find something to give thanks for, in all circumstances.

preparations for God's dwelling place

Yesterday and for the next couple of days I am reading about David's preparation for the building of the temple.  King David had a special dream, a desire to build a House for the Lord.  Yet the Lord told David that he would not be the one to carry that vision to fruition.  Instead, his son Solomon would build the temple.  David could have been frustrated, disappointed, depressed.  He could have walked away from his dream, since it was no longer his to carry out.  But instead, he pours the last years of his life into it!  He paves the way for Solomon, preparing his son, equipping him to fulfill this holy calling.

1 Chronicles 22:5  David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be build for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations.  Therefore I will make preparations for it."  So David made extensive preparations before his death.

The legacy of the great King David would be a dwelling place for the presence of his Almighty God.  It occurs to me that I have the same legacy.  I have three children who will continue to develop into the dwelling place of the Almighty God.  How I long for them to relish the mystery of God's temple now being His body of believers here on earth!  What a miracle it is that we ourselves are God's dwelling place!  As parents, Chip and I provide for our children, care for them, love them, and discipline them.  But our holy calling is to prepare them to be used by God, filled by His Holy Spirit.  In the same way that Solomon must have observed his father pouring all his energies into temple preparations, I hope that my children are observing that faithfulness in me.  Are they seeing me in the Word?  Do I allow them to observe me in repentance?  Am I investing my time and energies in ways that will inspire them to live spiritually meaningful lives?  Do my children see in my life I demonstration that there is great joy in the presence of God?  If so, then I am preparing them to be the dwelling place of God.  Lord, help me!

delightful discipleship

1 Thessalonians 2:8  We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become dear to us.

Sharing the Gospel of Jesus with friends is a joy, a great pleasure.  Today is Tuesday morning.  On Tuesday I meet together at a coffee shop with two of my friends to share the Gospel together.  We talk about God's Word, we ask and answer questions, we laugh, we cry, we drink coffee together.  We spend hours together every week, with our Bibles and our hearts open.

God can use anything to bring the Gospel to someone's heart.  He can use a door-to-door evangelist or a street corner preacher.  He might speak through a tract, or arrange a divine appointment on an airplane.  But 1 Thessalonians 2 describes discipleship as I have been blessed to experience it- as the delightful sharing of God's truth among dear friends.  My Tuesday mornings aren't a church program, or a class.  They are a time of sharing the journey of discipleship together with people I love, encouraging, comforting, and urging one another to live lives worthy of God, who calls us into His kingdom and glory (v 12). 

My prayer is that this verse would describe my life every day, that each day I am sharing the Gospel and sharing my life with others.  Speaking the truth in love.  Encouraging and helping.  Correcting and comforting.  Loving God enough to live a life that pleases Him, and loving people enough to share God's love.  That life sounds delightful, doesn't it?

How could I not have a great day?

Reading the about the end of David's life this morning.  I love this thought:

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.  (2 Sam 22:20)

It reminds me of something I read last night just before going to bed.  It is from the book RUN WITH THE HORSES by Eugene Peterson, about the life of Jeremiah.

"Before Jeremiah knew God, God knew Jeremiah.  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."  This turns everything we ever thought about God around.  We think that God is an object about which we have questions.  We are curious about God.  We make inquiries about God.  We read books about God.  We get into late night bull sessions about God.  We drop into church from time to time to see what is going on with God.  We indulge in an occasional sunset or symphony to cultivate a feeling of reverence for God. 

But that is not the reality of our lives with God.  Long before we ever got around to asking questions about God, God has been questioning us.  Long before we got interested in the subject of God, God subjected us to the most intensive and searching knowledge.  Before it ever crossed our minds that God might be important, God singled us out as important.  Before we were formed in the womb, God knew us.  We are known before we know."  (pp 37-38)

This morning I am blown away by the realization that God is mindful of me, that He knows me, and yes! that He delights in me. How could I not have a great day?!

the Kingdom

I am part of a kingdom.  This kingdom is ruled with righteousness and love.  The Master of this KIngdom is all-powerful, and He is good.  Life in the kingdom is often different from what I expect, for it is a kingdom unlike any other.  In this kingdom, the last is first, you lead by serving, the greatest is the least.  This Kingdom invaded the earth some 2000 years ago, when the King arrived in a very unlikely way.  He didn't announce His arrival with a great show of His power.  But He used His great power to heal, restore, to forgive.

The Kingdom of God here on earth can be difficult to see at times.  At the other side of the world right now tens of thousands of people have died in the terrible wake of a cyclone.  Now there is fighting and fear as survivors clamor for food and water and search for people they love.  But even there, in Myanmar, the Kingdom of God will advance.  Christ-followers will offer the hand of hope and help.  Sacrifices will be made in the name of Jesus as members of the Kingdom reach out to the "least of these".

And here, in Eugene Oregon, the Kingdom of God is advancing.  And I am a part of it.  So today I am quiet before My King, listening for His guidance.  What is my role in the Kingdom today?  How will He direct my steps?  I know He wants me to be wise, prepared, willing to take risks and to trust Him.  And I know He wants me to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and bring hope to the captives.  And sometime, maybe when I least expect it, My King will return and all will see His Kingdom.  

The King gives me encouragement along the way.  He promises to be with me.  He assures me that nothing can separate me from His love.  He reminds me of the victorious end of the story. And He says that I might hear this from My Master:

"Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master's happiness!"

Matthew 25:21

6 Ways to React to the Cyclone by John Piper

If you are like me, you have struggled to know how to respond to the cyclone in Myanmar.  It doesn't seem right to just go on with my happy life while there is such devastation in another part of the world.  And here where I live, people aren't really even talking about it.  Maybe it just seems so horrible that we don't know what to say.  So I am truly thankful to John Piper for posting 6 Ways to React to the Cyclone on the Desiring God blog.  I hope you will take the time to follow the link and read it.  And then of course to follow at least some of his suggestions.

broken yet hopeful

This morning I read about David, Bathsheba, Uriah and Nathan in 2 Samuel 11-12.  There is so much to learn from this story and so many different ways it can be applied to our lives.  I have read this part of Scripture many times, have done at least 2 bible studies on it, and read books about the life of David.  So today I ask God to give me a fresh perspective on a familiar passage.  I ask Him to show me what He wants me to see today.

Brokenness.  David was a powerful king who got what he wanted in life.  The Lord had given him great victory and fame.  He is the kind of man I would expect to respond to rebuke with anger and defensiveness.  But when he is confronted by Nathan, David simply confesses that he has sinned.  He receives the Lord's discipline, fasts, prays, and worships.  And we get a glimpse of his heart in psalm 51.  And there we see that he while David is broken, he is yet hopeful.  Because he knows the heart of the Lord.

Broken before God, we receive forgiveness we do not deserve.  Humble in God's presence, we are cleansed by His Spirit.  Trusting God and not ourselves, we are taught wisdom in the depths of our hearts.  Contrite over our own sin, we exchange sorrow and sickness for the joy of salvation.  Broken yet hopeful.  Because we serve a God of great compassion and unfailing love.

too busy

The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.  Matthew 22:2-3

The King has prepared a banquet.  It is a wedding celebration.  A time of happiness and rejoicing.  The parable describes the king as sending repeated invitations.  "But they paid no attention and went off-one to his field, another to his business."  How can it be?  Who would want to miss a wedding celebration hosted by the King?  What business could be so important?!  

But it happens every day.  Not only when people ignore the Father's invitation to relationship with Him through faith in Jesus, but also in my own life.  The King has extended an invitation to me.  He has invited me to commune with Him, to know His heart and mind through Scripture, to be used by Him for His glorious purposes, to experience the fulness of joy in His presence.  How often could it be said of me that I "paid no attention and went off..."

Today I will slow down enough to be grateful for the invitation and to respond to it.  I wait eagerly for that day, when I will attend the wedding celebration as invited guest, daughter of the King, and bride.  And as I wait, I will spend time with God, seeking to know Him and to obey Him.  I don't want to be too busy for My King.

yoked

from psalm 106:

we have sinned...we have done wrong and acted wickedly...gave no thought to your miracles...did not remember your many kindnesses...rebelled...forgot what he had done...did not wait for his counsel...gave in to their craving...put God to the test...worshiped an idol...exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull...forgot the God who saved them...did not believe his promise...grumbled...did not obey...yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor...mingled with the nations and adopted their customs...shed innocent blood...defiled themselves...

There is quite a list of Israel's sins in psalm 106.  The one that struck me this morning was that they yoked themselves to Baal.  The children of the Living God attached themselves, joined themselves, united themselves to a false god.  To an idol who could never save them or give them life, but would end up as a snare to them, mastering them, leading to their ruin.

Last week the boys' school promoted "screen free week".  Kids were encouraged to turn off their screens- tv, computer, gameboys, wiis, etc. for a week.  It's a great idea don't you think?  After the second day of endless whining about why they couldn't turn on their screens, the boys and I had a discussion about addiction and idolatry.  (I would share the conversation with you, but it isn't nearly as funny if you can't hear the tone of voice that came from the boys!!)

But here is what amazed me:  Every day, Zack wore his ds.  He attached it to himself.  He yoked himself to it!  Now, he closed it up in a case and wrote himself notes all over it, saying "do not play", "do not open", "do not turn on".  But he wore that case around his neck every day that week.  Then he complained to me about feeling tempted to open it up and play his ds.  My obvious response was wouldn't it be much easier to put the case away, to set it aside, to remove it from his sight for the week?!

hmmmm....  I wonder what things in my life God is asking me to put away, to set aside, to remove from my sight.  Have I yoked myself to any Baals lately?

It is time for my morning prayer:  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

zealously

Thursday mornings I go to Bible study.  It is such an encouraging time of sharing God's Word, sharing our lives together, and praying for one another.  We are studying Nehemiah right now.  Chapter 3 of Nehemiah lists the names of the people who worked to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and describes the work each of them was responsible for.  In the middle of the chapter is this verse:

v 20  Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

The word "zealously" just jumped out at me.  I read through the chapter again and as far as I can tell, Baruch is the only one who is described that way.  Zealously.  This rebuilding was hard work.  And they were opposed in their efforts so that chapter 4 describes them as holding a weapon in one hand while they worked with the other.  But Baruch worked zealously. 

That's how I want to live my life.  Enthusiastically, eager, fervent, intense, passionate.  Zealously.  Because I live my life in the name of Jesus, unto the glory of GOD.  I'm signing off, because I'm going to go zealously make some pancakes for my boys.