A Sprinkler for God--a Haiku

I am a sprinkler.

God uses me to spread LOVE.

Life-saving water.

(by Jenny S. Gregg, 4-2-2015)

Wander or Trust?

Lessons from the Desert

I have always been amazed at the Hebrews as Moses led them from Egypt.  Time and again, they turn away from God. They repent and over and over, he forgives them and all is well.  For a while. I’ve always wondered how could they possibly doubt God after all he had done for them and all he had shown them. Today I realized that there’s a huge metaphor in this story.

         

The Israelites were in bondage as slaves in Egypt.	We are in bondage as slaves to sin.
God send Moses to the Israelites to free them from Pharaoh and a life of slavery.	God sent Jesus to us to free us from Satan, and a life of slavery to sin.
They celebrated and praised God at first when they left Egypt.	We usually have a spiritual high (or honeymoon period) after accepting Jesus as our savior.
Despite all God did to free them, the Israelites panic and doubt that God will care for them.	Despite all that God did to save us, we panic and doubt that God will care for us.
When the going gets rough, Egypt starts to sound better than it was.	When the going gets rough, our old ways feel a lot more safe and comfortable.
God supplied their every basic need.	God supplies our every basic need.
The Israelites were never satisfied—they always wanted more.	We are rarely satisfied—we always want more.
They whined and complained (a lot).	We whine and complain (a lot).
When Moses was delayed on Mt. Sinai meeting with God, the people rebelled and turned to their own false “god”.  Even Aaron their leader.	When God feels very distant, and we are in a period of waiting, we often take matters into our own hands.  We turn to other things (gods).  Even our leaders are susceptible.
God rebukes the people, and disciplines them.	God rebukes us and disciplines us.
They repented (over and over).	We repent (over and over).
God was amazingly patient with these obstinate people.	God is amazingly patient with obstinate us.
God led them to the promised land.	God gives of the opportunity to move into a beautiful relationship, abiding in him—to be one with him.
When the spies scoped out the promised land, the majority of the people totally chickened out and did not trust God.	The majority of us don’t take the final step to trust God completely and cross over to completely abide in him.  We chicken out of completely surrendering control of our lives.
The Israelites turned away from the promised land, and spent the rest of their lives wandering in the desert.  They were no longer slaves in Egypt, but oh, what they could have had!  But they rejected what God trying to give them.	Many (most) Christians are content to “wander in the desert” because they are unwilling to completely surrender and trust God.  They are no longer slaves to sin (they are “saved”), but that’s it.  Therefore, they have dry, bleak spiritual existence—never comprehending how easily they could have lived in a spiritual paradise, abiding with God.
God continued to graciously meet the Israelites’ basic needs, including water and manna, but what a sad, sorry way to spend the rest of their days.	God continues to graciously meet our basic needs, even when we reject what he offers. And make no mistake about it—each and every one of us must accept or reject God’s offer of life with him in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Flexing My Spiritual Muscles

An image came to mind this morning as I thought about the importance of having regular quiet times with God. I mean, if I am to live my life in the presence of God without ceasing, then what difference does it make whether or not I have regular times with him in solitude?

Then I remembered that I have been struggling with physical pain in my upper back—pain that the experts tell me is being caused by poor posture (and too much time hunched over a computer!). The remedy is specific weight training exercises designed to strengthen the muscles that hold my shoulders back and keep my spine in alignment. Yes, I can remind myself throughout the day to stand up straight (and I do), but without those exercises, it’s really an exercise in futility. In the blink of an eye, my posture sags back into a caveman-like position.

But when I faithfully show up at the gyms and do my exercises, proper posture becomes almost effortless. By strengthening the muscles, my body maintains the correct position without conscious thought. And when that happens, the pain goes away, I feel better, and living my life becomes a lot more pleasant!

God is my Personal Trainer!
The same is true for regular quiet times with God. The object is not to get “warm fuzzies” and good feelings from God—it is to show up faithfully, trusting that God has my well-being at heart. At first, it is not easy and certainly not automatic to show up for one-on-one time with God. Every imaginable excuse why I can’t spend this time right now will pop into my head with alarming intensity. But with determination, faithfulness and most importantly, with the help of God himself, I CAN show up.

And when I begin to make this time a habit, I slowly come to see the connection between my quiet times with God, and my ability to live my life in his constant, loving presence. It goes from being a chore I feel obligated to do, to a loving response to the One who loves me the most—a time I don’t want to live without.

Don’t Wait Until January to Blow the Dust off!

If someone asked you right now to see your Bible, would you have to think about where it might be?  Would quite a few of the crisp, clean pages stick together?  Or maybe your Bible is proudly well-worn and highlighted in a rainbow of colors—but would you have to quickly wipe the dust off of it before you let anyone see it?  Fear not!  If we are honest, we have all been there (or are there now). 

I always groan, though, when leaders tell me to read my Bible more, more isn’t always better! If I just slog my way robotically through Genesis on my way to Revelation while I am half asleep or my mind is really on other things, it doesn’t help me, and it certainly doesn’t do much for God.  There are ways to make your Bible encounters the best part of your day (honest!).

Practical Ways to Jumpstart Your Bible Encounters

Everyone’s experience may be different, but there are a few things that I have noticed over the years about reading the Bible:

1. Getting started is the hardest part—it gets easier once you get going into a routine.

2. Having a plan helps enormously—the “flip-open-the-Bible-and-read-whatever-you-find” method may work occasionally, but is pretty unreliable (and you are likely to give up).

3. Using some creative practices for enhancing your time in God’s word amplifies the experience.

A Do-able Daily Reading Plan

The plan that changed my spiritual life was years ago when I bought and used the One Year Bible.  Because the daily readings are divided into manageable chunks (much smaller than those required for a 90-day plan), I was able to keep it up.  And because each reading includes both Old and New Testament, plus a little from Psalms and Proverbs, there is always interesting parts to balance the difficult parts.

Now the One Year Bible plan is offered free online (http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/).  What makes this beautiful is that you can set whatever start date you like (how about today?!), and whatever version you like.  There are plenty of reading plans out there, but don’t spend all your time “shopping for a plan” or you’ll never getting to the actual reading!  I do highly recommend this one if you want to give it a try.

Memorize Scripture!

Break out your 3x5s and make some flashcards!  God speaks most often through scripture, so the more scripture you know the more He will be able to communicate to you!  Knowing key passages also allows you to share the gospel with others, and to defend your faith when necessary.  And before you say, “I’m not good at memorizing,” remember that like any exercise, the more you do it, the easier it gets.  (and it’s good for the brain too!).

(Article from November 2012)

Let Go of the Veto!

Let Go of the Veto!

How would you feel if someone told you that the grace you enjoy is “cheap grace”?  That’s the term that Dietrich Bonhoeffer passionately describes in The Cost of Discipleship.   He writes that accepting the gift of salvation at no cost—no change in lifestyle—is cheap grace.  The concept can be confusing.  Bonhoeffer isn’t talking about earning salvation, but instead about obeying Jesus’ call to follow him.  Shouldn’t accepting the gift of salvation (paid for by Jesus on the cross), result in visible changes?

The accusation of cheap grace strikes deep.  I’ve been a Christian for many years, and have loved Jesus and served him to varying degrees throughout that time.  When comparing myself to other people (even people in church), I always felt like I measured up pretty well.

But the theme of surrendering all for Jesus and following him wholeheartedly kept coming up.  I realized that while I might have been a “good Christian” who prayed, read my Bible, served in church ministries, etc., I was holding out on God.

Veto Power

I retained my right to decided how I would follow him.  If he sprang any wild ideas of sending me to some far away country, or having me discuss the gospel with a real live person (instead of just inviting them to church)—well, that was the beauty of the veto.

I became drawn to the description in Exodus 21:2-6 of God’s law demanding that masters of Hebrew slaves must, after seven years, give those slaves their freedom.  However, the freed slave had the option of choosing to stay with the master and remain in his service.  A pierced ear sealed the deal, and the relationship became forever.  What struck me was that the relationship between a master and a willing servant is not one-way.  Of course the servant must serve and obey the master completely.  However, the master also has responsibilities to care for the servant, be fair, and to provide for his needs.

I finally decided that being a “good-enough” Christian was lukewarm and worthless to God—he wants all of me.  So I decided to let go, and let him have everything (even *gulp* my veto power). 

Right around the time I was meditating on this, I was asked to speak at Bethlehem, and my knee-jerk reaction was, “no way!”  Instead, I sensed that God wanted me to do it.  It was the first test of the master/servant arrangement.  Even though I was terrified to speak in front of such a huge crowd, I told God, “Okay, you got me into this, it’s up to you to get me through it!  I am going to trust you.”  Guess what—I was completely calm!  I knew—knew—that God had my back.  I have no idea if people got anything out of my words that night, but I but I sure learned from the experience.

The Beautiful Paradox

It doesn’t make any sense, but since I took the final plunge in faith, I have never felt so free.  There’s a lightness to my heart—a restful confidence—that I never anticipated.  I finally get what Jesus means when he says, “If you want to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Luke 9:24 NLT).

The Art of doing Nothing for God (Article from August 2012)

The Art of doing Nothing for God

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 14:5

How often in my life have I either lived my life and kept God confined in his own designated corner, or I rushed ahead impulsively to serve him while he was back there waving his arms calling, “Wait!  It’s not time—where are you going?!”  In either case, every time, I did not bear fruit.  In fact, I probably let the fruit wither on the vine, or trampled it underfoot.  When God tells me to wait, stay, remain, linger, abide, tarry, or rest in him, he has a purpose in mind.  Doing nothing isn’t really doing nothing.

Quality time vs. Quantity time

For a while, American society adopted a concept of “quality” versus “quantity” when it came to the lack of time we had in our crazy-busy schedules.  Feeling deflated that we only had a little bit leftover for loved ones, we buoyed ourselves with the idea that if we made that time really good and special, then it would suffice.  Unfortunately, over time the general consensus was that we were kidding ourselves—especially when it comes to relationships.

Jesus said that of everything in the Bible, the first and greatest command for me is to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind (Matthew 22:38).  Doesn’t it seem easy to read that and think, “Okay, ‘Love God’—check!  What’s next?”  I have come to realize that God wants us to spend a lifetime—our whole lives—discovering what it means to love him with every fiber in our being.  Unless we dedicate ourselves to remaining in him, loving him, savoring his love for us, everything that we do for God is a waste time. 

To me one of the scariest passages in the Bible is when Jesus says that people who do amazing things in his name  will not enter his kingdom unless they obey God’s command (…and the greatest command is to love him).  The paraphrase in The Message puts Matthew 7:21-23 this way:

"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'”

How to Do NothingWell

Spending time with God shouldn’t be a program that we plan.  Even praying (talking to God) should take a back seat to silence—just listening and being with God.  In the Apprentice Study by James Bryan Smith, the soul training exercise of silence is often the hardest discipline for many people to practice.  We are so accustomed to taking charge, that leaving ourselves hanging there, being with God feels very uncomfortable—at first.  Soon though, you keep practicing, you may find yourself almost feeling guilty at how wonderful it feels to just sit there basking in the warmth of love that God lavishes onto us if we will let him.

Wake Up and Smell the Sulphur! (Article from July 2012)

Wake Up and Smell the Sulphur!

I keep thinking about that the real danger for followers of Christ face is not blatant sin and temptation, but little choices and compromises we make daily.  We reassure ourselves that we aren’t as sinful as other people, and while we slowly veer away from Jesus without even realizing it.

In The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, senior demon Screwtape congratulates his nephew Wormwood that his young “patient” (a Christian) has started hanging out with new intellectual, worldly friends and is fitting in with their circle.  But he warns Wormwood not to move too fast, lest the man wake up to the way he has wandered away from the Enemy (God).  Screwtape continues:

For this reason I am almost glad to hear that he is still a churchgoer and a communicant.  I know there are dangers in this; but anything is better than that he should realize the break he has made with the first months of his Christian life.  As long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements but whose spiritual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago.

Screwtape notes that a patient might only have a hazy uneasiness about how they’ve been doing lately, instead of a clear understanding of sin that can be repented of.  In fact, when we have this vague sense of guilt, the last thing we want to do is pray.  Or go to church.  Or read the Bible.  Or anything that causes us to focus on God.  Guilt isn’t comfortable at all.

Church at risk

Honestly, I am afraid not only for myself, but for my church.  There’s a pandemic of apathy in the church in America and even right here at SCFBC.  I believe Satan would be delighted for our worship services to be filled with Christians doing their “duty” of coming to church, singing songs, and bowing their heads, all the while looking forward to getting back to their lives and activities.  While this indifference has become so common that it seems normal, we do not have to give in to it, or take it lying down! 

What can we do?

The only way to determine our true state of spiritual health is by unreservedly asking the Holy Spirit to show us anything we need to change (Psalm 139).  We need to admit that those little compromises are sin, and let ourselves feel the full weight of how we have hurt God and ourselves.  We need to ask God to forgive us.  He doesn’t expect us to fix things on our own—he longs to help us. 

We as a congregation also need to acknowledge where we’ve veered off course.  We cannot blame our attitude on the music style, or the preaching, or the time of day, or anything else—we have to step up and take responsibility for our part.  By leaning on the Holy Spirit, we will experience peace and pleasure like we’ve nothing we’ve ever known.

I pray that this process will not only help SCFBC to be spiritually healthy and vital, but that individuals will wake up to the dangerous position they are in.  Screwtape concludes, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”