Monday, June 18, 2012
Monday, April 20, 2009
Hope in a book of Lament
My Bible opened to Lamentations this morning. This is an odd place for me, as I don't find myself in that book often. However, right there in this book of lament, there was an outpouring of God's love. In Chapter 3 it says
22-24God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Place Your Life Before God
Wow...Paul really encouraged me today through his words in Romans 12. God truly is an amazing God. I hope it impacts you like it did me. Below is Romans 12 from the Message. My thoughts are in (brackets) and italics.
Romans 12
Place Your Life Before God
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. (A simple thought...take our daily life and offer it moment by moment to God) Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. (The emphasis here is on embracing, not doing or performing) Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. (Ah, the idea of Transformation) Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Again Paul's emphasis here is a simple concept, look to God, watch him, see what He is doing and He will change you from the inside out. The emphasis is again on Him and not on us and what we do. Our call is to respond to Him and He will bring out the best in you.)
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (God is so good to us, we understand ourselves by what He does for us).
4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. 6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
9-10Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."
20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
Romans 12
Place Your Life Before God
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. (A simple thought...take our daily life and offer it moment by moment to God) Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. (The emphasis here is on embracing, not doing or performing) Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. (Ah, the idea of Transformation) Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Again Paul's emphasis here is a simple concept, look to God, watch him, see what He is doing and He will change you from the inside out. The emphasis is again on Him and not on us and what we do. Our call is to respond to Him and He will bring out the best in you.)
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (God is so good to us, we understand ourselves by what He does for us).
4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. 6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
9-10Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."
20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Community and Service
Our home church, Believers Church, joined with various other churches today and other city agencies to serve our city. Specifically, we went to some older, poorer neighborhoods and worked on a variety of projects. Our Life Group joined with a few other folks and walked along railroad tracks picking up trash and debris. It was a dirty job but it felt good to serve. All of our kids participated along with us. It is hard to see how so many people in our world who are much less fortunate that us live on a day to day basis in poverty and filth. Father, help me to see the world through your eyes.
Monday, April 13, 2009
It's not the Critic who counts...
Recently I was involved in a conversation with friends who were discussing how as they watch movies they have begun to notice all the little inconsistencies that exist in the picture. For instance, in one scene the main character is shown wearing glasses. The next frame shows another angle and the man is seen sans the glasses. Finally, the camera switches back to the original view, and his glasses appear again.
One friend commented that in the movie Braveheart there is a battle scene wear William Wallace begins by running toward the battle line with a sword in his hand. The camera shows more activity and when it returns to William Wallace, he is seen running with no weapon at all. The scene changes again and returns once more to show William running with a different weapon in his hand (mace, numchucks, axe, ...something besides a sword).
I had lunch with a friend today and I thought of this conversation as we talked. My lunch friend likes to keep his distance in relationships and in church. He at times takes the role of the critic and watches with a skeptical eye. I am sure he has many justifications for it. He has been in many bad church situations and has been mistreated and misjugded. However, we are both part of a wonderful life giving community of authentic saints. Not perfect folks. We all know that those do not exist. However, honest, true disciples who have no agenda other than to grow in Christ and in love for Him, each other and the lost. In this environment, he can choose to keep his guard up and watch and observe, or let it down and enter in. I challenged him to enter in not as a critic but as a participant.
I am reminded of a quote I once read by Teddy Roosevelt which reads as follows: "
“It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
President Theodore Roosevelt
Speech at the Sorbonne
April 23, 1910
One friend commented that in the movie Braveheart there is a battle scene wear William Wallace begins by running toward the battle line with a sword in his hand. The camera shows more activity and when it returns to William Wallace, he is seen running with no weapon at all. The scene changes again and returns once more to show William running with a different weapon in his hand (mace, numchucks, axe, ...something besides a sword).
I had lunch with a friend today and I thought of this conversation as we talked. My lunch friend likes to keep his distance in relationships and in church. He at times takes the role of the critic and watches with a skeptical eye. I am sure he has many justifications for it. He has been in many bad church situations and has been mistreated and misjugded. However, we are both part of a wonderful life giving community of authentic saints. Not perfect folks. We all know that those do not exist. However, honest, true disciples who have no agenda other than to grow in Christ and in love for Him, each other and the lost. In this environment, he can choose to keep his guard up and watch and observe, or let it down and enter in. I challenged him to enter in not as a critic but as a participant.
I am reminded of a quote I once read by Teddy Roosevelt which reads as follows: "
“It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
President Theodore Roosevelt
Speech at the Sorbonne
April 23, 1910
Friday, May 11, 2007
OK, so a friend of mine, Dave Jewitt, in his daily devotional used the scripture Psalm 75:6-7. The scripture says "No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another." I take great comfort knowing that my life is in God's hands. He can and will do with me whatever he chooses. I may have many plans, but the outcome is God's. (See Proverbs 19:21)
God is Judge. That is the meaning of the name Daniel which by the way just happens to be my name.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
I hold the key of David. Whatever, I open no one can close. And whatever I close, no one can open.
This thought found in Isaiah 22:22 and Revelation 3:7-8 has been a prevalent and important thought to me in recent years. It provides much peace as I trust in Father God to open and close doors in my life. He is trustworthy. He is a good and loving Father who has plans for me. He alone has the key to open the right doors for me to walk through as well as to close and lock the wrong doors that He wants me to avoid.
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