THE SUBSTANCE OF OUR FAITH...

...that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.        
-- 1 Corinthians 2:6

Spiritual gurus abound. They can be seen on television and heard on radio. Their writings adorn the shelves of Barnes and Noble, and their sayings are constantly memed on Facebook (I may have just invented a verb).

For the most part this is good and positive. But with all this access it is convenient for us to listen to the voices... and forget to listen to God's voice.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers about this. Ultimately, he says that our faith is not based on the wisdom of men and women - the voices out there. These voices can encourage and teach. They can inform and inspire. But these voices cannot - and must not - become substitute to the voice of God.

Frankly, it is very easy to become spiritually sedentary. Couch-potato Christianity sits idly waiting on crumbs of wisdom to be podcast, memed, etc. (And yes, I am overstating to make a point). Instead, you and I must be about the disciplines of spending personal time in prayer, meditation, worship, listening and reading scripture. This is how we primarily hear the God's voice.

Our favorite guru's faith is not our faith. It can add to, increase and aid our faith. But it is not our faith. For that matter, our parents' faith, pastor's faith, whoever's faith is not our faith. Our faith is based on the reality of a personal God who gave his son for each of us. Our faith is based on the truth of scripture that comes alive in us through the work of the Holy Spirit. Our faith is as personal as our God is personal.

God, help me to hear your voice... in, and sometimes in spite of, all the voices speaking around me...

For now...
D

LESSONS FROM MAX

Smiling Max

Less than a week ago, my children and I said goodbye to the sweetest soul. Max was our nine year old Golden Retriever.

Max was a constant for my kids and for me. He was always there. Always loving. Always accepting. Always more pleased with us than we were with ourselves.

And he was my buddy. I like to say Max and I were both old puppies. Though his snout turned white and he sighed when getting up or lying down, he was a puppy in spirit. He loved to explore. He was ever ready for new adventure, for new places and new people. 

I've wondered since we said goodbye to Max if he might have been a guardian angel with blondish-red fur (that shed everywhere!). I'd like to think so. 

We lost a friend. And watching my children hurt so badly was difficult to say the least. But my purpose here - or at least in the posts to follow - is not to mourn. Nor is it to memorialize the loss of my buddy who was with me through some pretty difficult times. Instead, I want to reflect on some lessons I learned from Max.

So what follows in posts to come will be Lessons from Max. Each post will center on one theme or lesson.

We'll get started soon.

Miss you buddy!

For now...

D  

Called

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle...
-- 1 Corinthians 1:1

Paul was called by God to do what he did, to be who he was. He was knocked off the back of a donkey, faced a blinding light and heard a mysterious voice from the sky. His calling was literal. And it was dramatic to say the least.

From its inception, Paul's calling defined his life. His calling empowered and emboldened him. Paul's life was anything but easy, and it was his calling that kept him on track, that pushed him onward, that helped him to endure.

It's Saturday morning and I'm headed to the gym, so I'll get to the point:

 You and I are no less called. 

It may not be to preach to philosophers on a Grecian hill, or to write chapters of the Bible. But we are called. 

God has uniquely gifted each one of us for his specific purposes and plan. We are called. Often we are the last to see it. It may be that those around you are impacted by your graciousness or giving; maybe it is your kind acts of service or the way you apply truth in difficult situations (for example). You may be changing lives without even knowing it.

That is the nature of living out a calling. It is a part of who we are. It is the way God has wired us and empowered us in redemption. Our calling flows when we trust and rely on God.

I have overused this quote, but it rings true:

You are who you are because of the Master Artist 

who put you together. -- Malcom Smith

Toward the end of his life Paul wrote to his friend:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, 

I have kept the faith. -- 2 Timothy 4:7

That is calling. That is living life on purpose (and with purpose). And that is my desire. 

God, you have called me and as Isaiah responded so do I... "Here I am, send me."

For now...

D

HE STILL MOVES STONES!

"Who will roll away the stone for us?"
-- Mark 16:3

Three women walk to a grave. In it lay one they loved. More than that, in that tomb had been laid to rest their expectations, their hopes, their faith, their lives.

"Who will roll away the stone for us?" they ask. "How will we get inside to mourn our loss; to grieve. How will we properly say goodbye to every dream we had for the future?" They were prepared to anoint the dead. They were not prepared for...

They hated that stone. It stood in the way. It signified finality. It stood for death. It was a symbol of separation. But in just a few moments it would signify something completely different.

You know the story. The stone had been rolled away. In the original language the emphasis is the stone had been ingloriously tossed aside. Our immediate reaction might be, good, at least we can get inside to mourn our loss; to reminisce what could have been. 

But when stones are tossed aside, things change... radically. Instead of a dead Messiah - an empty slab. Oh, except for an angel hanging out.

(My version of the conversation)
Angel: "Why are you looking for Life in dead places?"
Women: "..." (speechless)
Angel: "He is not here, he is risen!"
Women: "..." (still nothing - would you?)
Angel: "I tossed the stone so you could see... Life wins, death lost.
Women: "uh..."
Angel: "Ok now - go tell..."

The stone was moved - not for Jesus - but for the women; not so Jesus could come out, but so the women could see in!
-- Max Lucado, He Still Moves Stones

As Lucado says, the stone wasn't rolled away to allow Christ to exit the tomb. The stone was tossed for our benefit.

Stones are nothing to a living God. 

And stones - no matter what form or size - 

still have no power to separate. 

The God who spoke through limbs on fire, who parted seas and stopped rivers, who walked on waves and calmed the storms... HE STILL MOVES STONES!


God, no stone of my making or another is big enough to stand in the way of your life in me...

For now...
D

TORN CURTAIN...

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
-- Mark 15:38

Mark's depiction of the crucifixion of Christ has an almost newspaper reporter feel. It is quick and straight forward. And one of the matter-of-fact details he mentions is this: at the moment Jesus gave up his life, the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Removed by more than 2,000 years and cultural context, this detail can pass us by as strange or insignificant. It is however, a powerful picture.

The temple curtain separated what was known as the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple. No one was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, except for the High Priest who entered once a year to offer atonement for the sins of the people.

So here is the picture: God lives in there... and we live out here. We are separated (by this thick woven curtain). And we cannot really have relationship with him. We are outsiders, because of our sin. He is perfect. We are:

Separated.

Hopeless.

But the curtain came down. More than that, it was completely torn in half - from top to bottom. Again a picture: God did what we could not.

That is the message of grace. It is the heart of the gospel. God did what we couldn't. Through Christ's sacrifice, he made a way of redemption and relationship.

The writer of Hebrews put it this way:Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh... let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith...(Hebrews 10:19-22).

Note: The curtain was not torn from bottom to top. We must stop trying. We can never do enough, be enough, believe enough, pray enough - fill in the blank - to prove ourselves worthy to God. Christ took care of that on the cross. The curtain exists no more. 

And only curtains of our own making can "hide" us from the presence of God.


God, thank you for torn curtains...

For now...
D

Weak...

Jesus said, "Truly... one of you will betray me..." They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, "Is it I?" Peter said to him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not. If I must die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same. 
And he (Jesus) he said to Peter, "The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak." 
-- Mark 14, selected verses

This morning I feel weak in both body and spirit. Maybe at times you do too.

Peter boasted about his strength. He made promises he wouldn't keep. His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak.

We can relate.

It is encouraging to remember however, that it was Peter who, after a fish breakfast on the shore with the risen Jesus, became the pillar of strength to the others. It was Peter who preached the first "Christ is Risen" message (to a large crowd - technically an angel and Mary Magdalene were first with the news). It was Peter who became one of the two foundations of the early church.

Peter failed again and again - willing spirit, weak flesh. But Peter also walked on water (I haven't). Peter preached at Pentecost. Peter reached and influenced thousands, actually multiple millions.

This was the guy who couldn't stay awake in a garden to support Jesus. This was the denier.

His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak.

Jesus can work with a willing spirit.


God, give me a willing spirit. I'll let you deal with my weaknesses...

For now...
D

A VOICE THAT DOES NOT FADE...

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will words will not pass away."
-- Mark 13:31

To what voices do we listen? By what words will we live?

As example, this morning I ran across a TV program that a year ago was stirring fierce debate. Its subject and subject matter were inescapable - being the focus of news reports, magazine covers, etc. Opinions varied. Voices spoke. The volume raised. And now - near silence.

The point is some voices fade and many words lose power. They meld into the cacophonous symphony of white noise that plays around us all the time. Some of these shouting voices raise the volume, demanding to be heard. But ultimately, it is not volume that creates words that last, it is the truth therein.

The Apostle Paul, in speaking to his protege Timothy wrote: "The Scripture is God-breathed and powerfully applicable for living;" (My translation of 2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus put it this way: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God;" (Matthew 4:4).

The point is, there is one voice to which we must listen. Its message is truth. Its content powerful. Its words, life. Peter said to Jesus when those around were abandoning the call: "... to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;" (John 6:68).

God's voice is often a whisper - barely heard. And it is less perceptible with ears than with an open and a willing heart. He speaks through his word. He speaks through his children. Through his church. Through his creation. He is speaking. The question is: will we listen?

An Old Testament story tells of a prophet looking for God. As he stood in a cleft of the mountain, a mighty wind ripped through, but God was not in the wind. Then came an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. Then a roaring fire blazed, but God was not in the fire. Finally, there came "a still small voice" - the voice of God's presence.

Words of truth are easily drowned out by the chaotic noise of life. We must learn to hear. We must seek to listen.

Ultimately, other voices will fade; their messages exposed. But the words of God are life.


God, open my ears, that I might hear...


For now...
D