Made in His Image

As I sit here this morning with my Bible open, I glance out at the blue sky and remember so many powerful times with God as I walked under His great expanse. Our man-made houses are stuffy and full of man-made things. They do not easily take us into the presence of God. Some of us try to overcome this by visual reminders and music that talk of God and our relationship with Him. But they are reminders, not the real thing!

Blue sky, outdoors, expanse, sun, moon, stars, amazing nature on the micro and cosmic levels and everything in between… these lead us into the presence of God, recognizing our Creator and worshiping Him.

King David grew up out in the fields watching and caring for sheep. He knew God personally as day after day, night after night he was in awe of all the creation he observed. He knew God personally as his protector, defender, healer, and friend. Who else could he talk to when he was with the sheep? All that he learned in that environment served him well most of his life.

It was when he moved into the palace he created for himself and gained many wives that he lost his footing with God and messed up big tim,e. Even David, a “man after God’s own heart” began to mess up as he had more power, more kingdom to rule, more success as a leader, and more praise from people.

When we determine to satisfy all the desires of the flesh, we make less and less room for God. Our eternal vision is dimmed and we focus on the insignificant things like accumulating wealth, power and prestige. We build bigger and bigger houses and spend more and more time and money maintaining and filling them. And God becomes smaller and smaller until we believe that we can define Him, instruct Him, and make Him meet our expectations by rituals, chants, and demands. Or we even begin to ignore Him and tell ourselves he doesn’t exist.

Jesus was told by Satan in the temptations that if He would bow down to Satan and worship him, He could have all the wealth He desired (turn the stone into bread), He could rule the whole world (power), and He could draw attention to Himself by surviving a death-defying fall (prestige). Jesus refused them all. (Luke 4:1-13) Instead, He had no place to lay His head (He didn’t own a house). (Matthew 8:20; Luke  9:58) He chose to be a servant of all, (He chose to not use power over others to lead them) washing His disciple’s feet – even the one who would betray Him. (John 13:3-11) And He chose to always glorify God and not Himself. When the people tried to make Him King by force, He slipped away through the crowd. (He wasn’t interested in prestige) (John 6:14-16)

If we were to focus on eternal things like our relationship with God, His plans for us and others around us, His invitation extended through Jesus to come and follow Him, and His command to GO – and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19-20), I wonder if our need for the physical things of this world like wealth, power, and prestige would diminish – if we would be more content with where we are and who we are, and if our desire to control others would be replaced by an invitation to come, taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

Lord, You know my heart. You know everything about me. You made me – in your image – to worship You, to follow You, and to live with You forever. I invite you to be my guide through this life, to shape me, to empower me, and to continue to draw me closer and closer to You.

When a Brother Hates a Brother

We live in a time and place where we learn to stay out of each other’s business. We turn a blind eye when we see hurtful things happening around us. We quickly learn that to get involved means we become a lightning rod for the anger or hateful behavior. Meanwhile, people suffer. Children are neglected or abused, women are used and abused, and young boys are sold for a can of beer.

In II Samuel 13, we are told the story of King David’s sons Amnon and Absalom and his daughter Tamar who was the sister of Absalom. Amnon thought he was in love with Tamar and, with a cousin, devised a plan to get her into his room where he raped her. His “love” (which was apparently only lust) turned to hate and he despised her and threw her out and locked the door. When her brother Absalom heard about it, his hate for his brother simmered under the surface. He took his sister in because she was now no longer a virgin and would not be desirable for marriage. King David was angry, but did nothing – maybe because this follows after his adulterous encounter with Bathsheba. What can a father say to a son after he has just committed the horrible sins of rape and murder himself? Judgment had been pronounced on David. “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you.” II Samuel 13:11a  

This is one place where David failed as a role model for his sons. Now Absalom had killed Amnon and the king mourned for Amnon (even though he was angry with him for raping Tamar) and Absalom fled. The family is very broken and still there is no accountability, no conversations, no seeking forgiveness or granting forgiveness.

When a brother hates a brother, the hate turns to murder. Bitterness grows and people are hurt on every side.

Jesus taught another way. First he taught that even if we think murderous thoughts, we are a murderer. “Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.” I John 3:15

Second, he taught that love overcomes evil. “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” Matthew 5:43-44

I wonder if we are willing to get involved in the lives of others and get to know both the people who are being hurt and the people who are doing the hurting, if we began to speak God’s truth and love into their lives, could this bring people to repentance and bring forgiveness and healing rather than bitterness and hate. Would we be able to bring about positive change to the lives of both those being abused and those doing the abusing?

Lord, in a hard and abusive world around me, please keep my heart soft and full of your love that I can be a beacon of light to those in distress and allow your light in me to shine in the dark places where bitterness, hate and anger dwell. Teach me to love others more, to pray for them and open myself to be a friend to them. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Gifts are for Giving

I don’t spend a lot of time shopping. It is not my favorite pastime. Recently, I walked into a large department store and had about 3 items on my list. It was not very long before I felt very lost and very overwhelmed – maybe even a taste of what people from third world countries feel like when they come to this country. With the help of a few sales associates, I finally was able to get most of the things I was looking for and exit the store. I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed for my car and promised to not put myself through that again any time soon.

In our commerce driven society, we are constantly told that we have a need for whatever it is they are trying to sell. And we are promised that we will find happiness if we purchase their product. But even if we are happy at first, the happiness does not last very long. The bottom line is that “things” cannot make us happy. To add to that, we have the problem of “overchoice” which Wikipedia defines as: “The phenomenon of overchoice occurs when many equivalent choices are available. Making a decision becomes overwhelming due to the many potential outcomes and risks that may result from making the wrong choice.” (Wikipedia accessed 12/18/18.) This adds to our stress and frustration as we try to make the best choice to secure our happiness.

A very wise King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes in which he speaks frequently of things being “meaningless”. In an effort to find satisfaction in life, he studies every aspect of life – relationships, health, wealth, etc. and finds that none of these things can bring happiness. He was a man who had “everything” a man could want. But happiness did not come from those things. He discovered that happiness was a choice that we make every day. “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have.” Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT He found value in reputation, wisdom from God and caring for relationships to be important building blocks for happiness. But in the end, it is a choice that doesn’t depend on anything or anyone but ourselves.

I am pondering these things as we approach Christmas Day. Vendors are at their peak in advertising as we ponder what gifts to give our family and friends. I love to give gifts. I have the spiritual gift of giving. Through the years, I have learned that gifts from the heart are always more meaningful than anything we can purchase in a store or online. Time given to others – family, friends and even strangers – has more meaning than the most extravagant purchased gifts. I have watched many people set the gift aside unopened and go for the hug and the conversation. 

So what do I need to be happy this year? Only a good, growing relationship with the Lord. I will choose to be happy and I will enjoy what the Lord gives me today such as family, friends, enough to eat and drink today, a warm place to lay my head at night and yes, even the hard things in life that help me grow and go further in and deeper still with the Lord. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Thank you Lord, for every good and perfect gift You give me. I am grateful that You notice me and know me intimately and that You provide everything that I need each day. I choose to be happy today knowing that I am blessed by You. You are a good, good Father and I love you. Amen.