How much of 'success' is hard work, and how much is a gift from God? A lot of people quote the old proverb that success is "10% inspiration
Showing posts with label God's promises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's promises. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Immanu-El, part 1
Humans have always had a sense of something greater than ourselves. "Primitive" civilizations
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Living in the W
It's been a tough year for a lot of us. My dad had a pacemaker put in, then had complications. Several of my friends have
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Politics, and Real Answers
My friend Jack and I got into a discussion about politics the other day. Being the reasonable person I am, as soon as he started telling me his opinions about the parties and candidates, I had to tell him my opinion too. That's when
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Cats and God: Persistence
Our dear Susie (the older cat) is somewhat focused on food. Every morning she joins us in the kitchen and asks for her breakfast. 'Demands' would be a better word -- she tells us how much she wants her food and keeps on telling us until she is fed. If I ignore her she keeps it up, and gets louder! So the only action that keeps any peace is to feed her.
Jesus used a similar idea, with a different illustration, to encourage persistence in prayer in Luke 18:1-8. The widow who was asking a judge for help continued in her persistence until he answered. "So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night?" Jesus said. That emphasizes two things: God's desire to give 'justice' -- and lots of other blessings -- and the importance of crying out to God in prayer and not giving up.
God knows what we need, and he supplies it (Matthew 6:28-30). We are his beloved children, and he cares for us more than we can understand. He knows our needs before we even ask -- after all, God is all-knowing! So why should we ask? That's one of the questions about prayer that has puzzled Christians through the ages. The answer seems to be "prayer doesn't change God; it changes us." God has already called us his children and welcomed us into his presence, because he desires a depth of relationship with us. One of the ways we pursue relationship with him is through prayer.
If Susie only meowed once at me in the morning, I wouldn't think she really wanted food that much and I wouldn't be in much of a hurry to get it; but she is insistent and persistent, to prove to me that she is serious. I think something like that is true of our prayer time with God; only we're not proving our needs to him, we're learning to understand and feel our need for him. Praying for our bank account to be sufficient is obvious and urgent. How often, how urgently, how persistently, do we ask God to deepen our understanding of our own sin and offensiveness, or to show us how to forgive someone who has wounded us? Yet it is in those times that we submit ourselves to the mind and heart of God; and when we are that urgent and willing to listen, he is able to teach us what we could not hear before. And how about persistently praying for help for victims of injustice, disaster or war? Persistence might teach us compassion that a less-intense prayer would not.
Jesus described God's "chosen people who cry out to him day and night" -- to describe our pursuit of him in prayer. I think he had a good point. Here's an idea Joanne and I are working on: a time of prayer in the morning before the busyness of the day; another at midday to stop and re-focus; and another in the evening, to reflect and give back to God all the things we couldn't resolve during the day. How about pursuing God that way for a month, and see what happens?
Jesus used a similar idea, with a different illustration, to encourage persistence in prayer in Luke 18:1-8. The widow who was asking a judge for help continued in her persistence until he answered. "So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night?" Jesus said. That emphasizes two things: God's desire to give 'justice' -- and lots of other blessings -- and the importance of crying out to God in prayer and not giving up.
God knows what we need, and he supplies it (Matthew 6:28-30). We are his beloved children, and he cares for us more than we can understand. He knows our needs before we even ask -- after all, God is all-knowing! So why should we ask? That's one of the questions about prayer that has puzzled Christians through the ages. The answer seems to be "prayer doesn't change God; it changes us." God has already called us his children and welcomed us into his presence, because he desires a depth of relationship with us. One of the ways we pursue relationship with him is through prayer.
If Susie only meowed once at me in the morning, I wouldn't think she really wanted food that much and I wouldn't be in much of a hurry to get it; but she is insistent and persistent, to prove to me that she is serious. I think something like that is true of our prayer time with God; only we're not proving our needs to him, we're learning to understand and feel our need for him. Praying for our bank account to be sufficient is obvious and urgent. How often, how urgently, how persistently, do we ask God to deepen our understanding of our own sin and offensiveness, or to show us how to forgive someone who has wounded us? Yet it is in those times that we submit ourselves to the mind and heart of God; and when we are that urgent and willing to listen, he is able to teach us what we could not hear before. And how about persistently praying for help for victims of injustice, disaster or war? Persistence might teach us compassion that a less-intense prayer would not.
Jesus described God's "chosen people who cry out to him day and night" -- to describe our pursuit of him in prayer. I think he had a good point. Here's an idea Joanne and I are working on: a time of prayer in the morning before the busyness of the day; another at midday to stop and re-focus; and another in the evening, to reflect and give back to God all the things we couldn't resolve during the day. How about pursuing God that way for a month, and see what happens?
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
He's still talking to us
In Genesis 1, the Bible talks about God speaking the universe into existence. God spoke and it happened (verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26). Then God spoke to the humans (verses 28 and 29) and gave instruction. He continues to speak in chapter 2, particularly verses 16 and 18. Now, it seems that the humans listened at first, and as long as they did, all was well. It was when they listened to the serpent, and believed him instead of God, that things went south.
And so it has gone, ever since. As I've written before, God talked to people like Noah, Abraham, and the prophet Moses, as well as kings and prophets after them. He has never really left us without knowing His will. But to make the speaking perfect, the Father sent the Son to be with us and show us the Father's heart. We can read in Hebrews 1:1-2, "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son."
How did the Father speak to us through the Son? In the Incarcation (God made flesh), we see many ways, verbal and non-verbal. For instance, the Son was born as a baby, expressing solidarity with humans in our weakness and helplessness and poverty. He was baptized to identify with our need for cleansing and to make our baptism perfectly valid. As a human, Jesus had to learn the scriptures; and as God, he taught the will of the Father that stands under and behind all the written word. Jesus gave up his life as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, in order to clear the way for our adoption by the Father; and was resurrected to show the Father's desire for us to join him in eternal happiness and peace.
The infant in the manger speaks to us. The young man in the Temple speaks to us. So do the Teacher and the Lamb and the risen Son. He's still talking to us through scripture and the Spirit's voice. It's all the one and same God speaking -- not one mysterious short-tempered God in the Old Testament and a new, nice and sweet Jesus in the New. It's the same will of God, the same love of God for his children, and the same faithfulness of God to his promises, that have spoken to us from Creation to now -- revealed, finally and fully, in the incarnate Son.
The Christmas season, for Christians, is not a time of spending money we don't have, to buy stuff we feel obligated to buy, for people we don't like, so they can take it all and exchange it on Monday for stuff they'd rather have anyway. Christmas teaches us to recognize the voice of God in the Son of God made flesh for us and with us. It teaches us that, by entering his creation, God has united his creation -- including all of us -- with himself forever. And that, we can celebrate with great joy!
And so it has gone, ever since. As I've written before, God talked to people like Noah, Abraham, and the prophet Moses, as well as kings and prophets after them. He has never really left us without knowing His will. But to make the speaking perfect, the Father sent the Son to be with us and show us the Father's heart. We can read in Hebrews 1:1-2, "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son."
How did the Father speak to us through the Son? In the Incarcation (God made flesh), we see many ways, verbal and non-verbal. For instance, the Son was born as a baby, expressing solidarity with humans in our weakness and helplessness and poverty. He was baptized to identify with our need for cleansing and to make our baptism perfectly valid. As a human, Jesus had to learn the scriptures; and as God, he taught the will of the Father that stands under and behind all the written word. Jesus gave up his life as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, in order to clear the way for our adoption by the Father; and was resurrected to show the Father's desire for us to join him in eternal happiness and peace.
The infant in the manger speaks to us. The young man in the Temple speaks to us. So do the Teacher and the Lamb and the risen Son. He's still talking to us through scripture and the Spirit's voice. It's all the one and same God speaking -- not one mysterious short-tempered God in the Old Testament and a new, nice and sweet Jesus in the New. It's the same will of God, the same love of God for his children, and the same faithfulness of God to his promises, that have spoken to us from Creation to now -- revealed, finally and fully, in the incarnate Son.
The Christmas season, for Christians, is not a time of spending money we don't have, to buy stuff we feel obligated to buy, for people we don't like, so they can take it all and exchange it on Monday for stuff they'd rather have anyway. Christmas teaches us to recognize the voice of God in the Son of God made flesh for us and with us. It teaches us that, by entering his creation, God has united his creation -- including all of us -- with himself forever. And that, we can celebrate with great joy!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Security
It looks like the economy and about everything else we can measure lately is in trouble. The news outlets are all reporting bad news, so of course everyone says we should get more conservative, which reduces spending and sales and store traffic, and the spiral continues. Makes us think that there's no bottom but of course, there is one somewhere. In the meantime, we all have to be careful and hope that we make it through financially.
Then there's physical safety. Air travel safety is a huge concern, terrorism seems to be everywhere, and it sometimes our personal safety is in question.
What can we do in the middle of all this? God's word is very clear, that although we may go through trials and difficulties, he does not give up on us or ignore our needs.
Psalm 23 says "even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me." You may remember the famous "Footprints" poem, that reminds us that even in the hardest times, God walks alongside us.
Jesus, the Son of God who came to show us the Father's love for us (John 14, for instance), said many times that we shouldn't be afraid. He reminds us in Matthew 6:25-34 that we shouldn't worry, because the Father cares for even the birds, and we are more important to the Father than the birds are. Earlier in that chapter, the model "Lord's Prayer" has a section asking God for our daily needs, so it's okay to bring all those needs and worries to him too.
So we need to spend time in prayer, giving our worries to God and letting him fill us with reassurance and hope. He may even give us some encouragement that we can pass on to someone else! Let's not lose hope in uncertain times, but grow in hope and faith as we rely on God for our daily and eternal needs.
Then there's physical safety. Air travel safety is a huge concern, terrorism seems to be everywhere, and it sometimes our personal safety is in question.
What can we do in the middle of all this? God's word is very clear, that although we may go through trials and difficulties, he does not give up on us or ignore our needs.
Psalm 23 says "even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me." You may remember the famous "Footprints" poem, that reminds us that even in the hardest times, God walks alongside us.
Jesus, the Son of God who came to show us the Father's love for us (John 14, for instance), said many times that we shouldn't be afraid. He reminds us in Matthew 6:25-34 that we shouldn't worry, because the Father cares for even the birds, and we are more important to the Father than the birds are. Earlier in that chapter, the model "Lord's Prayer" has a section asking God for our daily needs, so it's okay to bring all those needs and worries to him too.
So we need to spend time in prayer, giving our worries to God and letting him fill us with reassurance and hope. He may even give us some encouragement that we can pass on to someone else! Let's not lose hope in uncertain times, but grow in hope and faith as we rely on God for our daily and eternal needs.
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