Dogs, Flowers & Wisdom

S - Proverbs 8:1-4, 17, 9:1-6, 10 (NLT): "Listen as wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice! 2 She stands on the hilltop and at the crossroads. 3 At the entrance to the city, at the city gates, she cries aloud, 4 “I call to you, to all of you! I am raising my voice to all people. …. 17 “I love all who love me. Those who search for me will surely find me. … Wisdom has built her spacious house with seven pillars. 2 She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. 3 She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. 4 “Come home with me,” she urges the simple. To those without good judgment, she says, 5 “Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. 6 Leave your foolish ways behind, and begin to live; learn how to be wise.”… 10 Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding."

O - Wisdom is a lot like flowers and dogs. Flowers unfold their beauty and fragrance in the Queen's garden and the popper's backyard identically. Dogs prance along side of their owners with their canine swagger beside the earth's most powerful and most forgotten citizens. Wisdom calls out to all and has made a place for all to join her and to learn the ways of life and to really live. Like flowers and dogs she does not care about the status, history or net worth one has. All three require certain ongoing responses from those who desire their company and benefits. All three will indiscriminately bless any who so engage them.

A - Planting and watering, feeding and poop scooping, the fear of the Lord and following no matter what are available to me IF I WISH. Like the flowers and the dogs … wisdom is mine for the having but only according to design (Proverbs 15:33). Today while it’s called today my assignment is to respond to wisdom's generous invitation and guaranteed outcome. I will yield all thoughts, decisions and actions to the wholesome dread of displeasing the One who loved me first and most (e.g. the working definition of the fear of the Lord) AND to following (refusing to take the lead or go my own way) no matter where he leads me (Psalm 23) and no matter what I face (Psalm 27).

P - Lord who is wisdom,
Thank you for your unflickering and generous offer to give wisdom to any and to all. I am so very grateful that you are all about today and not so much about yesterday. I am so very grateful that you refuse to be ashamed of us/me even in shameful circumstances. No matter where I've been or what I've done you call me/all to your very self to hope, to heal, to grow, to change, to really live (here and hereafter). Thank you that you have called us all to hold every life, regardless of current condition, in the hope of transformation. I gladly yield to your awesome brilliance, limitless power and extreme goodness. Thank you for the place at the table and in the home of wisdom. Don’t want to leave and won't go it on my own. I choose to follow … thank you for wanting to always walk point.
Staying close,
Steve

The Song at the Top of the Charts

S - Psalm 98:1 (NLT): "Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds."

O - The NIV and KJV both use the phrase "marvelous things". The Hebrew is simple, straightforward and powerful. The verse begins with an imperative "sing a new song to the Lord" and then says why and the why is awesome. In the unimaginable greatness of his person, in the holiness (not like us and not like this world) of his being and power he has done wonderful deeds - deeds which inspire an artistic and fresh expression of praise. The deeds are not only those in the past but those which have just been completed/revealed. The actual Hebrew term is a primitive root which includes the concept of work but is distinguished by a work which is marvelous, wonderful, surpassing, extraordinary. The beauty of the vowel stem is that it is Qal - a simply stated action. Jesus made it clear that his Father was at work and that he worked too. The New Testament confirms that the Holy Spirit is at work right now. The work which God does is best described as wonderful and extraordinary. As all the Scripture reveals: nothing is too difficult; nothing is impossible; nothing is too wonderful for him.

A - The unchanging reality, even in our fallen world and fallen lives, is nothing is too difficult, nothing is impossible, nothing is too wonderful for the Lord to do AND this same Lord is working on planet earth and in all circumstances (good and bad, beautiful and tragic) for the good of those who will love him back and stay called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28-29). I do not always understand his purpose or see his work, especially in the mysterious and miserable circumstances and seasons which move through my life. I can stay called to "it" by simply staying committed to Him - giving him the fierce personal loyalty he deserves. I won't always recognize the goal he has in his awesomely brilliant mind, but I will recognize it when he's completed it … and it will be wonderful, surpassing, extraordinary. The result is a song I can always sing and really should always sing no matter what my current situation may be. Looking to the person of Jesus and looking back at what he has done inspires me to believe through my current circumstance to a conclusion too wonderful for me! It really is something worth singing about (literally) every day. Today, my privilege and assignment, is to sing!

P - Lord of the too wonderful for me,
Thank you for always working, for always starting at mercy and leading with love, for always remembering that I am little and weak, frail as breath and impaired in my seeing, hearing and thinking. Thank you for your awesome and tender brilliance which allows me to reap the benefit without understanding the process. Today my heart sings to you a song of wonder, loyalty and commitment because of who you are, the work which you do and the unflinching reality of your love for us. Lord, I welcome your will on earth, in me, just like they do in heaven. I commit myself to you and your purpose even when I don't really know what it is or like the way it is currently going. I yield to your awesome brilliance, unlimited power and extreme goodness looking and praying for that which is too wonderful for me.
I love you back,
Steve

Ready or Not … and Ready is Way Better

S - Matthew 24:37-44 (NLT): "“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the Flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the Flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 42 So be prepared, because you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 “Know this: A homeowner who knew exactly when a burglar was coming would stay alert and not permit the house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time. For the Son of Man will come when least expected."

O - The verses previous to these identify seasons and circumstances which will precede the Lord's return. They are so horrific that if not shortened no one would survive, and yet … no one will know the day or the hour and no one will "discover" it. In spite of the global upheaval and disasters, life will continue. Banquets, parties and weddings - delightful and hopeful … as it was in the days of Noah. The unavoidable and unpredictable day of the Lord is a constant we all get comfortable with. The comfort should be in its surety and support an ongoing response of fierce personal loyalty to Jesus and his will on earth and in us. The comfort should not be in the idea of a statistical assessment and the idea that it probably won't be today. All of eternity is about today while it's called today because today is the only touch, the only connection, we have with any and all reality. Ready all the time is about our daily response to his person not an anxiety ridden paranoia. Being ready has little to do with recognizing a particular event and way more to do with the cadence of daily living. The point of being ready is not frantic but faithful.

A - Life does go on and it is supposed to. I am not called, in light of end time prophecy and possibilities, to 'never leave my house' but to live in such a way that the recognition of the Lord's return finds a way into my normal, daily living. In terms of the burglar, I don't have to patrol around my house armed and dangerous hour by hour. I do need to close the windows and lock the doors when I'm out on errands or traveling. I do need to be discerning about who I give keys to and who I let know my schedule. It's not about gaining a premonition but maintaining my allegiance to One who is forever faithful.

P - Lord,
The truth is I don't think you're returning today. I admit it is an awesome and exciting possibility … but isn't that the point? You could come today and may it be … but the event is not your focus and should not be mine. O Sovereign Strong and Only True Friend, your interest is in me … my little life caught up in your irrepressible and beautiful life. Thank you for this day with all it will bring; good, bad, expected and unexpected for you are working it all for good. You call me to yourself, to know you and to love you back each day while it is called today; and today I want to live out loud the faithfulness, the fierce personal loyalty you deserve. Everything that can be shaken will be so that what cannot be shaken may remain. You cannot be shaken and neither can the one who trusts in you. Lord, I will be careful with the access of my life and hopeful toward the future because you are with me and I am with you.
Even so, come Lord Jesus,
Steve

Pressure is a Part of Being Away from Home

S - Psalm 56:1-4, 8-9, 11-13 (NRSV): "Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me? … You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record? Then my enemies will retreat in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. … in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me? My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life."

O - King David, under great and constant pressure, identifies the dynamics which all who follow God can rely on and engage:
1. God's great grace (Hebrew: khaw-nan' - A primitive root (compare H2583); properly to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causatively to implore (that is, move to favor by petition).
2. Fear does find us; our choice is what to do when it does. David intentionally turns into trust and bases that trust on God's written voice (the Scriptures).
3. Humans are really never in control and God always is … and he is for us!
4. The Lord is very aware of and compassionate toward our tears and tossings.
5. In the midst of such pressure our assignment remains the same: to fulfill the terms of our covenant relationship and stay strong in offering to him thanks for all things.
6. He will deliver us from death and keep us from falling SO THAT we may walk before him in the light of life.

A - The context of this Psalm wonderfully intensifies the content. David is in Gath under the press of the Philistines. There is no romanticism, fantasy or over-spiritualization in the terms and realities of this awesome expression of living faith in the living God. I am being required to live these out in very concrete terms as well in my current assignment. Frankly, I think that we never permanently get away from such pressure until we leave this planet for our real home. David is "not at home" in Gath and we are not at home on this earth. The strong and unflickering reality is that because of God's grace and mercy we have this place of covenant relationship. The result is the grace to choose how we will respond when the pressure is so unrelenting. Under this pressure our vows, our living out loud the reality of the Lord's person and word, are all the more essential and all the more possible. To cave or fail in this time is to surrender the purpose and risk the benefit he intends through the hardship (e.g. shaping in his image; greater confidence in the face of the enemy; deepened faith, blessing yet to be revealed, etc.). No less loved we will miss out. The greatest thing for me is the recognition that real life is only possible in the light -- no shadows and no filter. Life doesn't flow to me because there is no pressure or no enemy. It flows to me because God's great grace and mercy is ever-present and ever-flowing and pouring into all who stay near and stay clear in the vision of who's really in control.

P - Dear Living God,
Thank you for helping us know how to go forward in so many difficult dynamics. Thank you for all the pressure and threat (intended and unintended) because it really doesn't matter anyway. What counts is staying near and clear. Thank you for delivering my life from death and keeping my feet from falling. Thank you for letting me walk in the light of life according to your grace and mercy. Thank you for hope because you are the living the God! You are working, working, working everything for good and I do love you back and throw myself at your feet in commitment to your purpose (even when I don't know exactly what it is OR like the way it currently looks and feels). You are awesome and I willingly yield to your brilliance, power and goodness.
Grateful for your plan and control,
Steve

There's More than One Deadly Camel

S - Matthew 23:23-24 (NLT): "“How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel!"

O - Why does religious culture find it acceptable to focus on tithing while neglecting the "important" things of the Scriptures? Why would the leaders be "careful" over the smallest part of an income and yet "ignore" justice, mercy and faith? The Lord's point was not that tithing was wrong or should not have been engaged but rather that the other was of no practical influence or daily focus. What is it in us that allows or even inspires such a dysfunctional and myopic conclusion to Scripture and to God who gave it? We can't serve God and money but apparently we can tithe and still serve (or love cf. Luke 16:14) money; or tithe and not serve God. Those who serve God won't serve money; but tithing is not proof positive we have it straight in our minds, right in our hearts or clear in our vision. How do we prevent and avoid camel swallowing?

A - Maybe the issue is that we actually can't completely avoid camel swallowing as fallen humans, but we can (and must) be aware of our predisposition and available (open, responsive) to repentance and recalibration when we find ourselves in such a state. We must admit that we are not immune. Peter certainly seems to swallow a few camels in his discipleship career (cf. Mark 8:31-33; Gal. 2:11-13). God's patience is to lead us (all of us) to repentance (Romans 2:1-4). Jesus does not require us to be flawless but blameless; he does not say we'll never have a 2X4 in our eyes but rather to remove it before attemtping to help with another's vision. The superlatives (the greatest commandments) are to always be the "main thing" for followers of Jesus. If I love the Lord and love my neighbor then justice, mercy, faith are huge and even tithing will follow in its place. If I'm failing at the superlatives, the rest really won't matter much (cf. 1 Corinthians 13;1-3).

P - Sovereign Strong and Only True Friend of the World,
Thank you for always loving us where we are and for loving us too much to leave us there. I admit that I will always have some propensity for 2X4's and camel swallowing … and that you are fully prepared to help me with the same. Lord, I don't want to be one who uses your word and yet has somehow lost its meaning. You always start at mercy and lead with love and call me to do the same with everyone … even myself. So, today while its called today, I will run to truth and choose love no matter what. If I love I cannot fail and if I do not love failure is certain. I am grateful to be relying on your love,
Steve

Hearing Requires a Distinction of Sound

S - Matthew 17:3-8 (NRSV): "Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone."

O - In the company of such greatness and in the context of Peter's life and understanding his question really isn't a bad one … and after all someone ought to say something and even do something - the heavyweights of the kingdom are together:)! The exchange is cut short by the insertion of a cloud and with the cloud a voice … and what a voice; that voice has always altered, directed, penetrated and determined reality for whatever it speaks to. This voice affirms Jesus' identity, his standing/status and then instructs the only appropriate response -- LISTEN to (consider, attend to, comprehend, understand, learn from) him. The voice also evokes a fairly consistent response - fear which can only be expressed by falling down and staying put … not daring to even move. The one they are to attend to, to focus on and consider, to comprehend and learn from comes to where they are, touches them and then speaks … your response is completely understandable and NOT required … so get up and don't be afraid. What allows this contradiction of terms? In the presence of such awesome and ineffable reality, how can such a response be the right thing, the possible thing to do? The answer is contained in the optic they saw once they dared to actually look -- Jesus is the only one who fills their vision. The presence of the person of Jesus mitigates all the right and unavoidable reactions to the voice and to the one who speaks. Without Jesus, be afraid … be paralyzed … be like dead men because without Jesus that's what you are. With Jesus? Get up, get up from fear, death, foolishness, useless and superstitious activities. The law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) are eclipsed by Jesus … consider, attend to, comprehend, understand and learn from the only one who remains.

A - The law and the prophets are not discarded, they are fulfilled. The point is that I am responsible to lean into, focus on and learn from Jesus. He will mitigate the fear, the paralysis, the well-intended though wrong activities. The focus or conclusion is simple, single and uncomplicated. The doing is not. All my understanding, desires, inadequacies, failures, hopes converge to attempt to radically complicate heaven's simplicity. The Lord never actually addresses Peter's idea … rather he calls Peter to action in a different way -- to silence until after he was raised from the dead. Then, and only then, would the intention and purpose of the mount of transfiguration be clearly understood. "As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead [verse 9]." I don't always hear, or know exactly how to step this out … but I am obliged, inspired and called to train to get this and live this out. This I want to do!

P - Dear Lord,
I'm sure I've built many booths … spoken too early or failed to speak and act at all. Please shepherd me so that through my life others may shepherded. Lord, help me in my fear to fear you only so that I won't need to really be afraid. Help me to consider, attend to, comprehend, understand, and learn from you. Thank you for mitigating the paralysis, the shaking, the flurry of activity which is well-intended but not the point. Help me find your way today and everyday while it’s called today.
Such as I am, I am yours,
Steve

From Frying Pan to Fire … to Joyful Noise

S - Psalm 66:1-4, 8-12, 20 (NRSV): "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise. Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you. All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." (Selah) … Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs; you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place. … Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me."

O - The presence of burdens, fire and water, which do not cease at the first prayer or two prayed bring with them the threat and fear of rejected prayer and the threat and fear of being a rejected person (the removal of his steadfast love). While it is true that these fears and threats fly in the face of God's impeccable character and his unfailing love, they seem confirmed by our circumstances and intensified by our emotions. The initial 'Why is this happening?' gives way to 'Why is this still happening?' What purpose does it serve? Why does the Lord let this go on? I find it painfully interesting that the two things which are most transient on this earth, viz. circumstances and emotions, call into question the two things which never change, viz. the Lord's character and his unending, unflickering love. The psalmist likens the experience to silver being refined … something which requires continuous and intense heat for a protracted period. Clearly, the process is in fact a process which requires time. Of course, we prefer the role of silversmith and not of silver. The truth is we're never the silversmith and always the silver. The smith understands the process and its purpose. The silver does not. What the silver (in this psalm) can understand is the difference between the temporary and the permanent, the facts that the process is purposeful and that the end is very good. It is described as a spacious place (NRSV), a place of abundance (NIV), a place of great abundance (NLT) and a wealthy place (KJV). The Hebrew, Latin and Greek all convey the same concept … a place of wonderful saturation. What begins under the threat of a starkly impoverished condition ends in the exact opposite … I guess the psalmist got it right 'How awesome are your deeds!'

A - It seems that I have been giving huge amounts of energy to the wrong things. While my desire to learn and to grow is good, there are some situations where this optic cannot and will not be helpful. If my desire to understand inflicts doubts and accusations at the Lord's person and character growth really is not so much the issue. Control or intellectual dominance may be. The problem is that these belong to the smith and not to the silver (control is never really mine and intellectual dominance allows me to console myself with information rather than with the Lord's presence). So, when the purpose is hidden, when the process is painfully long, the place I am called to occupy amidst fire and flood is to rivet my focus on the Lord's character and steadfast love and to trust him to a conclusion which is wonderfully saturated with his goodness. This is not always easy but is always possible. This is why we pray and don't give up (cf. Luke 18). This is where presence and not information, child-likeness (trust in the parent) and not childishness (tantrums based on emotions and circumstances) is lived out and will carry the day. This is my assignment and the assignment for all who follow.

P - Dear Lord and King and Silversmith,
I admit that I have been long in the struggle and short on the response you both deserve and require. I know that you understand it all and I rarely understand the real issues. Thank you for not rejecting my prayers, my person nor withholding your life-giving, life-sustaining, better than life love. While I am very ready for the heat to be turned down I choose to remain, to yield, to welcome your will and to stand expectantly for how long you deem the process to be necessary. As long as your goodness and glory are being served, then please keep the heat on. I also ask that as soon as you are no longer served I be released from the process. I'm sure this is already in your heart but I'm attempting to pour out mine. The day you have made lies ahead. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth and in me just like it happens in heaven. I will offer my best and diligently train in the reality which is -- you're the silversmith and I'm the silver … hi ho silver ... away,
Steve