Give Thanks!

Give Thanks!

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV

When I was a kid, there were so many things to be thankful for. I had gratitude for my family, Hot Wheels cars, my sister’s Lasagna and the Speed Racer cartoon. Life was simpler then. My biggest concerns back then were how to weasel out of eating broccoli or getting home before the street lights turned on.

Now that I am older, I am still thankful for my family, I am thankful for my wife's lasagna and for action movies in surround sound. My biggest concerns are now, how to weasel out of eating foods that are good for me (like liver) and if Ursula will notice that I shrunk her new shirt when I tried to help with the laundry.

I have to admit though, that the older I get the more difficult it is to find things worthy of my gratitude. I spend a lot of time looking for the silver lining in what seems sort of tarnished. At work they have us doing twice as much work for the same pay, but thank you God for my job! My car is faded and not so new anymore, but thank you God for the car! Ursula yells at me far too often in my opinion (She found out about the shrunken shirt), but thank you God for my wife!

But there is one thing that seems to never loose it’s shine, and that is the cross-work of Christ. I am still awed at while I was God's enemy, he pursued me with some timber and three rusty old nails (Romans 5:8). And while I railed against him he sang songs and delighted over me (Zephaniah 3:17). To me, Jesus is better than Hot Wheels cars, lasagna, Speed Racer and surround-sound. He is better than anything I can imagine and I am truly thankful.

Words of a Cripple

Words of a Cripple

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,"

"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." Stephen Hawking from the book "The Grand Design"

These are the words of a cripple. These are the words of a man riddled with disease. He is a man with clouded reason. And what shocks me is that you think I am talking about Stephen Hawking's physical condition. Only a person crippled at heart could spout these types of ideas. People that speak this way are riddled with spiritual disease. Their reason is clouded with sin, arrogance and error.

As smart a man as Mr. Hawking is, I think he is trying to fit square pegs into round holes. I find it incredible that he still hasn't figured out that science is not against religion and neither religion against science. But each has its purpose. Science merely shows the how, but never answers the why. And religion answers the why, not the how.

Bible scripture gives the idea that we were created for God's pleasure, out of His will and to do good works. We were created to bring God glory and we were created to return to Him. We were created to know God.

Like I said, each has its purpose. When one tries to answer questions it is ill equipped to answer, bad stuff happens. The church is poorly equipped to answer the how. A good example of that is that they endorsed the idea that the earth was flat. Likewise, the science community is showing how ill equipped it is to answer why. I hope they find out before it’s too late.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:1-3

You choose.

Sometime We Don't Make Any Sense to Them

Sometime We Don't Make Any Sense to Them

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
Mark 14:3,4 & 6 NIV

A woman named Sue (that isn't her real name) came to me to vent her frustration about a family member. "My brother is crazy!" she said.
"What's wrong?"
"He has a great job, a wonderful wife and three kids. He is messing up his entire life."
"And how is he messing up his life?" I said.
"Doesn't he know we are in a recession? Doesn't he care about his family?"
"Yeah well you still haven't explained..." she cut me off and kept talking.
"You don't get a job like that and just walk away."

Now I am starting to think of all sorts of things... terrible things. This time I interrupted her and asked what he did to his family?
She said, "He quit his high paying job to take a job as a teacher at a Christian high school. It doesn't make sense that he would leave a great job to work at a Christian school."
I told her that, "Maybe he feels God spoke to him, told him to go to this new job. Maybe the other job was too stressful?"
"You're defending him? You people (Christians) don't make any sense. I can’t believe he walked away from all that money."

Sue is right. We believers are a different group of people indeed. Our life choices are tethered to the will of the Father, not the acquisition of money or possessions. We believers know that we were saved in order to bring the gospel of Jesus to someone else. That might involve giving up something to do Kingdom business. And that does not make sense to the outside. But it makes perfect sense to God; Because He orders the steps of those that belong to Him. And He always leads us on the path of His righteousness.

Who is God?

Who is God?

13 Then Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, 'The God of your fathers sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' What do I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you.'"
Exodus 3: 13-14 The Message

Some people think that God is found in nature, but nature is merely his creation. Some think that God is in religion and Bible scripture. But those things are not God; they are merely signs that point to who God is. In the mind of Moses, God would be known by his name. And God pitches a curve ball at Moses; He says his name is I Am.

God’s name isn’t so much a name as it is an invitation to know him. His name points toward His sovereignty. His name expresses his faithfulness. His name brings intimacy to our relationship with Him.
And I think that the more time we spend with God, the more we apply nicknames to him that reflect on our experience with him. While Moses might have called him El-Shaddai – God Almighty, Jehovah-Jireh -- The Lord our Provider or even Jehovah-Nissi -- The Lord our Banner; we call him names that resonate with our experience.

We call him, Friend of Sinners - Matthew 11:19, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith - Hebrews 12:2, Deliverer - Romans 11:26, Lamb of God - John 1:29 and Physician - Matthew 9:12

The Way, The Word, The truth, The life, Wonderful Counselor, Teacher,
Son of God, Savior, The Rock and we call him Jesus - Matthew 1:21

Who is God to you?