I didn't write this but wish I had. You can see or listen to it online, or get the script here:
http://www.gci.org/spol/220Godwithus
Thanks to God for his deliverance through Jesus Christ!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Face to Face (part 2)
Experts say 90% of communication is non-verbal -- that is, not the words themselves, but the vocal inflection, timing, and the facial and bodily expressions that go with the words. This is why I'd rather see my wife while we talk, than just speak on the phone, as I can understand more of what she's saying.
John, the apostle, seems to have known Jesus best of the twelve. He wrote his gospel to comment on Jesus' divinity and how he reveals the Father to us. John writes in chapter 1 verse 1, that "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God." The word "with" in English indicates being next to, or participating; but that's far too simple a thought here. It is translated from the Greek "pros" which has the idea of connection, nearness and intimacy. It means, in this usage, something like "face to face with." John takes it even farther in verse 14, when the Word (who became human, now obviously speaking of Jesus) is called "the Father's one and only Son." So John is painting a portrait here of a Being who is God, who is also face-to-face with God, and who also became human.
Verse 18 is also powerful: "No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us." The Greek here says "God the one and only" or "God the uniquely begotten one". That's the one we know now as Jesus; who as the eternal Word, became a human being just like us and showed us who and how the Father really is. The Hebrew writers and prophets described God as best they could; but human language was just not good enough. God himself came to be with us and let us see him, to supply all the information that language alone couldn't provide (among other reasons).
Jesus was giving the disciples a deeper understanding of his relationship with the Father in John 14. He said to Philip in verse 9, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?" So when we want to understand who God really is, what he's really saying, we look at Jesus. Jesus was and is God, not just a prophet; so what he shows us is more complete than what was said before. There is no other "God" hiding behind Jesus' back. There aren't two different faces to God, the God of anger and judgment on one hand and the God of love in Jesus on the other -- that's our own misunderstanding of the scriptures. There isn't any other mysterious 'plan of God' besides Jesus. Jesus is the One who brings out in detail the full plan and purpose of God from creation: that is, to be with us, to save us from all our sins and failings and to get us close to him so he can show us what real life and real love are about -- forever!
Jesus was and is God's equivalent, for us, of all the non-verbal communication cues that we use in trying to understand others. His life and teachings, in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, are there to help us get face-to-face with God and understand him. So let's continue to look to him (Heb. 12:1-2) until we actually get to see him with our own resurrected eyes. More on that next time.
John, the apostle, seems to have known Jesus best of the twelve. He wrote his gospel to comment on Jesus' divinity and how he reveals the Father to us. John writes in chapter 1 verse 1, that "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God." The word "with" in English indicates being next to, or participating; but that's far too simple a thought here. It is translated from the Greek "pros" which has the idea of connection, nearness and intimacy. It means, in this usage, something like "face to face with." John takes it even farther in verse 14, when the Word (who became human, now obviously speaking of Jesus) is called "the Father's one and only Son." So John is painting a portrait here of a Being who is God, who is also face-to-face with God, and who also became human.
Verse 18 is also powerful: "No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us." The Greek here says "God the one and only" or "God the uniquely begotten one". That's the one we know now as Jesus; who as the eternal Word, became a human being just like us and showed us who and how the Father really is. The Hebrew writers and prophets described God as best they could; but human language was just not good enough. God himself came to be with us and let us see him, to supply all the information that language alone couldn't provide (among other reasons).
Jesus was giving the disciples a deeper understanding of his relationship with the Father in John 14. He said to Philip in verse 9, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?" So when we want to understand who God really is, what he's really saying, we look at Jesus. Jesus was and is God, not just a prophet; so what he shows us is more complete than what was said before. There is no other "God" hiding behind Jesus' back. There aren't two different faces to God, the God of anger and judgment on one hand and the God of love in Jesus on the other -- that's our own misunderstanding of the scriptures. There isn't any other mysterious 'plan of God' besides Jesus. Jesus is the One who brings out in detail the full plan and purpose of God from creation: that is, to be with us, to save us from all our sins and failings and to get us close to him so he can show us what real life and real love are about -- forever!
Jesus was and is God's equivalent, for us, of all the non-verbal communication cues that we use in trying to understand others. His life and teachings, in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, are there to help us get face-to-face with God and understand him. So let's continue to look to him (Heb. 12:1-2) until we actually get to see him with our own resurrected eyes. More on that next time.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Face to Face
The Lovely Joanne and I talk by phone during her business trips, as a way to stay connected. What's better is when she can call me on her computer and we can see each others' faces. We can read the emotions in the facial expressions, not just hear the words, and that's a far greater connection.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a direct, face-to-face connection with God? Adam and Eve got to talk with God in the garden of Eden. Abraham spoke with God in person (Gen. 18) but that seems to have been a rare thing even for Abraham. Moses was said to talk face to face with God in Ex. 33:7-11, but ancient Israel as a whole never saw God's face or heard his voice. Who said that? Jesus himself, in John 5:37: "And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face."
Let's look at those words in context, in John 5. Jesus heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda, where people who were "blind, lame and paralyzed" waited for an occasional miraculous healing. The Pharisees, keepers of all things righteous, objected to Jesus 'breaking' the Sabbath day. Jesus begins to explain how they don't see what is right in front of them -- explaining that he is the Son of God, so clearly that they are ready to kill him (verses 16-18). He says that he does only what he "sees his Father doing" and his Father "love the Son and shows him everything he is doing" (19-20). Jesus says that "those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life" (24).
Again, he talks about his relationship with the Father, and the authority he carries, in 36-38: "But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you." To cap that off, he tells them that they are refusing to see what the Father has been showing them in the scriptures: "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life" (39-40).
Jesus met people who were blind, lame and paralyzed at the pool. For some reason, we only read about one whom he healed, although there could have been others, because John has a specific reason for bringing this story to us. What is it? That these Pharisees were spiritually blind, lame and paralyzed by their refusal to believe. (Watch the number of times Jesus refers to seeing and hearing in this passage.) Most of all, he points to himself as the one true Messenger from the Father. Jesus came to show us the Father (John 14:9) so that we would no longer be blind, lame or paralyzed spiritually; and so we would see the Father through him, face to face.
Want to see God face to face, to know him intimately? Look at Jesus. More on that next time.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a direct, face-to-face connection with God? Adam and Eve got to talk with God in the garden of Eden. Abraham spoke with God in person (Gen. 18) but that seems to have been a rare thing even for Abraham. Moses was said to talk face to face with God in Ex. 33:7-11, but ancient Israel as a whole never saw God's face or heard his voice. Who said that? Jesus himself, in John 5:37: "And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face."
Let's look at those words in context, in John 5. Jesus heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda, where people who were "blind, lame and paralyzed" waited for an occasional miraculous healing. The Pharisees, keepers of all things righteous, objected to Jesus 'breaking' the Sabbath day. Jesus begins to explain how they don't see what is right in front of them -- explaining that he is the Son of God, so clearly that they are ready to kill him (verses 16-18). He says that he does only what he "sees his Father doing" and his Father "love the Son and shows him everything he is doing" (19-20). Jesus says that "those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life" (24).
Again, he talks about his relationship with the Father, and the authority he carries, in 36-38: "But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you." To cap that off, he tells them that they are refusing to see what the Father has been showing them in the scriptures: "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life" (39-40).
Jesus met people who were blind, lame and paralyzed at the pool. For some reason, we only read about one whom he healed, although there could have been others, because John has a specific reason for bringing this story to us. What is it? That these Pharisees were spiritually blind, lame and paralyzed by their refusal to believe. (Watch the number of times Jesus refers to seeing and hearing in this passage.) Most of all, he points to himself as the one true Messenger from the Father. Jesus came to show us the Father (John 14:9) so that we would no longer be blind, lame or paralyzed spiritually; and so we would see the Father through him, face to face.
Want to see God face to face, to know him intimately? Look at Jesus. More on that next time.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
What Do You Know?
Here we are again, deep in another school year. I'm taking a class (and am behind already!) and a bunch of young people I know are taking classes too. Later this year, we'll all get tested on what we know. In high school, many students will take the ACT or the SAT tests to see if they know enough for college. So everybody wants to know what we know, or how much we know.
Everybody except God, that is. God doesn't care how many facts you've memorized or whether you can solve quadratic equations or chemistry problems. He wants you to know him: "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).
One of the reasons Jesus came is to reveal the Father to us; so that by what he said and did, we would truly know God. He showed us the Father's heart, by healing and teaching and loving us, and by being lifted up on the cross for us: "In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life." (John 3:14-17).
So, what do you know? Do you know facts about God, or do you know a Person? Have you memorized scripture or are you actively pursuing a living relationship with the living Jesus Christ, the Son of God? He has already accepted you, drawn you into himself and saved you (Col. 1:19-20)-- but do you live every day knowing him and focusing on him? Has his mind in you changed the way you think about everything you are and do? He's still working to help me see him, and he'll keep working with you too.
Get to know Jesus -- who he is, is more important than anything else you'll ever learn!
Everybody except God, that is. God doesn't care how many facts you've memorized or whether you can solve quadratic equations or chemistry problems. He wants you to know him: "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).
One of the reasons Jesus came is to reveal the Father to us; so that by what he said and did, we would truly know God. He showed us the Father's heart, by healing and teaching and loving us, and by being lifted up on the cross for us: "In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life." (John 3:14-17).
So, what do you know? Do you know facts about God, or do you know a Person? Have you memorized scripture or are you actively pursuing a living relationship with the living Jesus Christ, the Son of God? He has already accepted you, drawn you into himself and saved you (Col. 1:19-20)-- but do you live every day knowing him and focusing on him? Has his mind in you changed the way you think about everything you are and do? He's still working to help me see him, and he'll keep working with you too.
Get to know Jesus -- who he is, is more important than anything else you'll ever learn!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Keeping it Simple (Part 4)
My Windows 'desktop' on my computer keeps getting more complicated. Too many icons for audios I haven't listened to yet and for projects I promised somebody I'd do. Just too busy and cluttered. Oops, I guess I mean life as well.
I have to admit, I've done some of it to myself. To be useful and helpful, I have taken on more work. Other people have been really good about letting me some responsibilities to them, which has left me free to take on other tasks that I got asked to do, or decided on my own to attempt.
Why? Because we humans are designed to interact with God, to have him fully in place as Numero Uno; and when he isn't completely there, our lives don't work right. We keep trying to patch that brokenness with other stuff that sounds good at the time. We try serial relationships, responsibilities and titles that make us feel more important, more material goods that we have to paint or clean or lubricate or make room for, or food or sex or money. But all those are unsatisfying, and they get in the way of the peace that would be ours from completely trusting God. Because he is the one -- the only one -- who can satisfy that craving for being included, wanted, needed, loved and fitting in. He planned from before the first humans drew breath, that we would be invited and included in his love, (Eph. 1:3-5) and he wired us to want that, to have an itch so deep that only he can scratch it -- so that eventually, we would turn and look for him.
The good news is, God is the one who already loves us completely, already considers us important, and already includes us totally in his love. He loves us so much that his Son died for us, "while we were utterly helpless...while we were still sinners...while we were his enemies" according to Romans 5:6-10. Nobody else could ever love you or me like that!
So why do we all do it fall into these traps? Because we don't accept that unlimited love that flows to us from God. We don't feel worthy; we don't believe he has really forgiven us. But the scripture is plain -- he already has forgiven and accepted us, without our having done anything. Ephesians 2:8-10 says that our salvation (simply, acceptance into God's love) is by faith, and even that faith is a gift from God. You and I didn't earn it, we can't earn it, and it won't happen because of what we do. It's simply a gift.
Simply, God has saved you and me because of his son Jesus -- and that is a gift that we need to accept, and let his acceptance and love soak into every part of our thinking. When we fully accept what God has done, we will find the peace in life that we've always looked for, and a simplicity that will make everything else in life fall into its rightful place. Looking for the simple life? Look no farther!
I have to admit, I've done some of it to myself. To be useful and helpful, I have taken on more work. Other people have been really good about letting me some responsibilities to them, which has left me free to take on other tasks that I got asked to do, or decided on my own to attempt.
Why? Because we humans are designed to interact with God, to have him fully in place as Numero Uno; and when he isn't completely there, our lives don't work right. We keep trying to patch that brokenness with other stuff that sounds good at the time. We try serial relationships, responsibilities and titles that make us feel more important, more material goods that we have to paint or clean or lubricate or make room for, or food or sex or money. But all those are unsatisfying, and they get in the way of the peace that would be ours from completely trusting God. Because he is the one -- the only one -- who can satisfy that craving for being included, wanted, needed, loved and fitting in. He planned from before the first humans drew breath, that we would be invited and included in his love, (Eph. 1:3-5) and he wired us to want that, to have an itch so deep that only he can scratch it -- so that eventually, we would turn and look for him.
The good news is, God is the one who already loves us completely, already considers us important, and already includes us totally in his love. He loves us so much that his Son died for us, "while we were utterly helpless...while we were still sinners...while we were his enemies" according to Romans 5:6-10. Nobody else could ever love you or me like that!
So why do we all do it fall into these traps? Because we don't accept that unlimited love that flows to us from God. We don't feel worthy; we don't believe he has really forgiven us. But the scripture is plain -- he already has forgiven and accepted us, without our having done anything. Ephesians 2:8-10 says that our salvation (simply, acceptance into God's love) is by faith, and even that faith is a gift from God. You and I didn't earn it, we can't earn it, and it won't happen because of what we do. It's simply a gift.
Simply, God has saved you and me because of his son Jesus -- and that is a gift that we need to accept, and let his acceptance and love soak into every part of our thinking. When we fully accept what God has done, we will find the peace in life that we've always looked for, and a simplicity that will make everything else in life fall into its rightful place. Looking for the simple life? Look no farther!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Keeping it Simple (Part 3)
The Amazing Joanne and I just spent a week camping by a lake at about 8,500 feet elevation (3,000 feet higher than our home). Pit toilets, a metal picnic table and fire ring, and our camping gear including a small tent and sleeping bags. That was about it for the week except for coin-operated hot showers in the main building a mile down the road. We brought our food from home and cooked it over one fire or the other, and ate pretty well for being out in the boonies.
We got to read some books that aren't required for work, went to sleep listening to the loons, woke up hearing geese honk on their way south, talked about stuff we hadn't discussed in awhile, and watched some great sunrises and sunsets. And fished. Well, when I say 'fished' I mean we stood by the lake and waved fiberglass sticks at the fish as they swam by. They didn't wave back. Or anything else. So we're having frozen salmon for dinner tonight, to get back at them.
I didn't miss television, amplified music or stock market reports. A few people tried to call but nobody got through because I had my phone turned off nearly all week. I continued to be amazed throughout the week at what we could get along without. We made the deliberate effort to slow down, simplify and get away, and it was very refreshing.
Finding life too busy? So do I, fairly often. Some of my chores are self-appointed, and so I have to decide to un-appoint myself as their custodian. Other chores have to be done, but sometimes other people can do them better than me. Other chores will wait. Possessions -- as I mentioned a few weeks ago -- tend to demand attention, but I can get rid of them instead, if I really want to.
Paul said to Timothy (1 Tim. 6:7-8) that we should be okay having just the basics: "After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content." Ah, contentment -- so elusive when you're always after more! But if our focus is on God and what he wants (Matthew 6:33) then he will guide us into what he wants us occupied with. We will find that his will is far more satisfying than all the stuff and nonsense this world has to offer. Ready to ask God for clarity on his will? The result can save your life!
We got to read some books that aren't required for work, went to sleep listening to the loons, woke up hearing geese honk on their way south, talked about stuff we hadn't discussed in awhile, and watched some great sunrises and sunsets. And fished. Well, when I say 'fished' I mean we stood by the lake and waved fiberglass sticks at the fish as they swam by. They didn't wave back. Or anything else. So we're having frozen salmon for dinner tonight, to get back at them.
I didn't miss television, amplified music or stock market reports. A few people tried to call but nobody got through because I had my phone turned off nearly all week. I continued to be amazed throughout the week at what we could get along without. We made the deliberate effort to slow down, simplify and get away, and it was very refreshing.
Finding life too busy? So do I, fairly often. Some of my chores are self-appointed, and so I have to decide to un-appoint myself as their custodian. Other chores have to be done, but sometimes other people can do them better than me. Other chores will wait. Possessions -- as I mentioned a few weeks ago -- tend to demand attention, but I can get rid of them instead, if I really want to.
Paul said to Timothy (1 Tim. 6:7-8) that we should be okay having just the basics: "After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content." Ah, contentment -- so elusive when you're always after more! But if our focus is on God and what he wants (Matthew 6:33) then he will guide us into what he wants us occupied with. We will find that his will is far more satisfying than all the stuff and nonsense this world has to offer. Ready to ask God for clarity on his will? The result can save your life!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Keeping it Simple (Part 2)
I miss The Lovely Joanne when she's away. I don't sleep as well and I get distracted a lot. On a much more powerful level, we humans are made to be connected, at the heart level, with God. (Some of my agnostic friends and relatives disagree, but that's okay for the moment.) We're created not to be alone, but in relationship with God. That is so fundamentally important to us, something goes haywire in our souls when that connection is not active, or not primary, in our lives. Our thinking is confused, and our other relationships don't work the way they should. So we try to fill up that hole in our hearts with stuff, busyness, people and chores to make ourselves feel needed; but it's not the same as that one relationship.
Getting our connection with God back can be helped by practicing simplicity. I wrote last time about how, in Jesus' words, we need to "seek the Kingdom of God above all else" (Matthew 6:33). Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, describes "an inward reality that results in an outward life-style" (page 79). Some try to create an outward show of simplicity without the inner conviction. Foster notes that this always results in legalism, and I've seen enough legalism to agree with him. We should be convinced, as well, that an inward simplicity of thinking and belief will result in changes that we will express on the outside.
Jesus' words about God's Kingdom spring from an older and more basic command: "And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength" in Deut. 6:5. We might see that as a one-time decision, but it seems to me like a lifetime journey. Every day offers distractions, temptations, and siren songs of busyness, chores and responsibilities. The more stuff we have, the more we work at maintaining it; and if we look at what others have -- not just their possessions, but their positions -- we are likely to try harder to catch up to where we think they are. And all of it distracts us from God.
So how can we get some of this simplicity? A focus on loving God with all we have, encourages us to trust him too. Trusting God to supply what we need is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6. That trust enables us to stop striving, and to enjoy what we have right now. It helps us to stop working for more stuff, more power, more position, more respect and awe and love from other people. It helps us accept others, right where they are now, even as we learn to accept the position we are in now. Paul says "I have learned the secret of living in every situation" in Philippians 4:12; and he had lived through all kinds of pain and trouble as well as comfortable living by trusting God to handle his needs and his future.
How do you simplify life when it is just too busy? We'll look at that next time.
Getting our connection with God back can be helped by practicing simplicity. I wrote last time about how, in Jesus' words, we need to "seek the Kingdom of God above all else" (Matthew 6:33). Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, describes "an inward reality that results in an outward life-style" (page 79). Some try to create an outward show of simplicity without the inner conviction. Foster notes that this always results in legalism, and I've seen enough legalism to agree with him. We should be convinced, as well, that an inward simplicity of thinking and belief will result in changes that we will express on the outside.
Jesus' words about God's Kingdom spring from an older and more basic command: "And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength" in Deut. 6:5. We might see that as a one-time decision, but it seems to me like a lifetime journey. Every day offers distractions, temptations, and siren songs of busyness, chores and responsibilities. The more stuff we have, the more we work at maintaining it; and if we look at what others have -- not just their possessions, but their positions -- we are likely to try harder to catch up to where we think they are. And all of it distracts us from God.
So how can we get some of this simplicity? A focus on loving God with all we have, encourages us to trust him too. Trusting God to supply what we need is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6. That trust enables us to stop striving, and to enjoy what we have right now. It helps us to stop working for more stuff, more power, more position, more respect and awe and love from other people. It helps us accept others, right where they are now, even as we learn to accept the position we are in now. Paul says "I have learned the secret of living in every situation" in Philippians 4:12; and he had lived through all kinds of pain and trouble as well as comfortable living by trusting God to handle his needs and his future.
How do you simplify life when it is just too busy? We'll look at that next time.
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