Tag Archives: God

Why don’t we see our awful?

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The light switch flipped and the light went out.  They had been so warm and friendly but one word I said and all signs of warmth disappeared.  I have never seen them since and none of my communication attempts have been answered.  That was nine months ago.  He had been affable and friendly and seemed impressed with me.  But on that day I had been critical of his bad behavior towards subordinates like myself.

Often, when I speak with the Lord it is not conscious but a wondering about something in His Presence.  The answer comes through Scripture or thoughts in my mind usually.  The answer may be a long time coming but this morning His returned answer through my thoughts was almost immediate.

“They have nothing to do with their sins.  Their sins are awful.  They are afraid to look at them because they have nothing they can do with them.  They do not know the Redeemer.”

Much, if not most of the time I have encountered this through self-proclaimed Christians!  Perhaps not a surprise since I was a pastor for almost three decades.  But then I thought about the reason for this and it is that people in church have heard the Good News so often that they have become deadened to its daily, living reality in their own lives.  Perhaps God was never alive to them.  Perhaps He was but now they have fallen away as in the parable of the soil types in Mark 4.

Thanks be to God for His great, unfailing Friendship.  Our Redeemer, Friend, Counselor, and Oh…. so very much more!

Dirty Well Water

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Dirty Well Water

water in hands 1After our well needed repair we were instructed to have the water tested to insure that it was safe to drink.  When the test results came back they indicated that our water was contaminated with bacteria and that we needed to treat the water with chlorine.  Following the instructions I uncovered the well, removed the vent plug and poured a gallon of bleach down into six inch well pipe which protruded from the ground.  That was not the end of it.  Furthermore, I had to circulate the bleach throughout the 350’ of well pipe, turn on all the water taps, showers, etc. until every single one tested positive for the presence of chlorine.  Then, after letting it remain in them for at least 24 hours, we were to flush them all until clear of chlorine and again have the water tested.  We are awaiting that result.   It took only a few minutes to pour that bleach into the well.  It took several days to complete the cleansing process.

In many ways this is an illustration of our lives.  When we realized our water was contaminated and dangerous we made a decision that we wanted change.  This is like when we realize we have been wrong and repent of sin.  When I poured that bleach into the well that is like when we accept God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ and ask Him to come into our life.  At the moment I poured that bleach into the well, all the power necessary to clean it completely was present… but the water coming from the taps was still contaminated.  We may have asked Jesus to come into our lives but our habits, language, way of doing business and dealing with others may be corrupted in many ways. 

It took far longer to circulate the cleansing power of that strong chemical to clean all of our pipes than to initially get it into the well.  In the same way, while asking Jesus to come into our heart makes present within us all the power to change everything, it takes a lifetime of intention and deliberate action working together with God’s Holy Spirit for our lives to become more each day a source of purity and grace in an unclean, infected world.

Forest Fire!

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fire flower 3Forest Fire!

Every year raging forest fires ravage thousands of acres in our western states.  There are terrible accounts of harrowing rescues and devastating, widespread destruction.  Heart broken, residents and reporters stand where luscious woodlands, loving homes and busy lives flourished.  Now blackened wastelands, smoking debris, shattered lives and broken dreams seem all that remains.

A few days ago while speaking with one of our preschool teachers we talked about a period of time in her life when, during a time of great loss, she was deeply saddened by grief.  Surprisingly, she smiled as she spoke of how life was even better than before.  We agreed that in many ways her experience was like that of a forest fire.  At first her life was characterized by floods of tears and a broken heart.  During that time it seemed like her life was over and she would never find happiness again.

In a similar way after fire has brought destruction it seems life in the woods is over.  But we know this is not true.  After some time has passed, almost without notice, life begins to return to the forest.  First rains come and begin to wash the ash away.  Then comes the warming rays of the sun bursting through where once the old growth canopy blocked it.  Fed by the sun’s power, enriched by nutrients in those ashes, new life begins where before it had no chance.  Without the competition of weeds, towering trees and hardened paths new life thrives!  In fact biologists tell us these fires are essential to healthy forests.

When loss leaves in its wake empty days, broken hearts and rivers of tears it also leaves opportunity for something new to flourish where before it never had a chance.  Now, several years past the ‘fire’ that ravaged her life that teacher agreed that good things had come to her which, without her loss, would have never had a chance.

We have no choice but to grieve when we lose something or someone special to us.  We do however have a choice of whether we allow that grief to give way to new life and opportunities or whether we live the rest of our days mired in heartache and bitterness. “In His grace there is life; weeping may be for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

ISS

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ISS

International Space Station

ISS

I remember looking up excitedly as I saw the new International Space Station passing right overhead!  That was more than a decade ago now.  This morning at precisely 6:43 am I looked up and, for the first time since then saw it pass over again, right on schedule.  Since I first looked up more than 200 visitors have been to the ISS while its odometer has approached the two billion mile mark! Since I first saw the ISS it has passed within my sight over 2, 700 times and not one time have I looked up to see it until today.

I have to admit though that while the ISS has circled the globe over 75,920 times I haven’t really thought much about it.  For me it has been ‘out of sight and out of mind’.  But though I have not been aware of it, looked up to see it, or thought much about it, none of this changed the activity, research or impact of the ISS on the nations and crews with their families who have actively worked with it.

Late one night in a conversation never to be forgotten Jesus chastened a very religious man, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? … But if you don’t even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how  can you possibly believe me if I tell you what is going on in heaven?” (John 3:10-12)  Just because we are unaware of what God is doing in the world and in people all around us it doesn’t mean He is not busily working in all sorts of ways!

My prayer for all of us is that the ‘eyes of our heart’ will be opened to become more aware of the God all around us who always has been, who is and who will always be. (Revelation 1:8)  It is only through knowing Him that we shall always be.