Joy in the Spontaneous Living Word

Joy in the Spontaneous Living Word

Today I write from a spontaneous delight in the Scriptures.  Some days my study of the Scriptures seem like just a discipline that is well worth it's diligence.  Many days, I open God's Word to find a message for my people and I find good food whose importance cannot be diminished.  However, there are some days like today when the study of the Scriptures is what it says about itself, "living and active."  

As I was studying for Bible study tonight in the Book of John chapter 7 the words leaped from the page to a soul that was barren enough to cry for them.  The book of John is high drama mixed with deep Theology.  In Chapter 7 Jesus shows us that there is always a plan in place.  "It was not his time" so He stayed behind and told His disciples to go to the feast of Booths without Him.  Jesus didn't go immediately not because He was afraid or that the Heavenly Father was not able to protect Him.  Jesus stayed behind to create the drama that would come when He arrived openly in the middle of the feast.  He cried out "if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink...streams of living water will flow from within him."  As Jesus faced imminent danger, His plea was not for mercy from the crowds.  He was not there to talk them into following Him.  He was not there to make friends of enemies.  Jesus was there crying out to the thirsty children of Israel.  He was there not to speak logic to murderous men but to speak life to those who knew they needed it.  He was willing to stare down death that day knowing that His time was not full to die.  Not long after this speech He would stare down death for the thirsty of the land and it would be His time.  He would taste death to bring the rivers of living water to the world, of which I am blessedly a partaker.

Father, thank you for an example of love and courage.  Thank you for allowing Your son to come not as a high King but as a lowly servant.  Thank you for loving me enough to pour out living water on my thirsty soul.  Thank you for setting an example through Your Son of how to walk faithfully on treacherous roads.  As I follow you as others follow me, Your words speak hope and promise power.

Joy in contentment

1 kings 21

In the study of the kings of Israel one must expect a certain lusting after all one sees. In the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen, " a rich mans not happy until he's a king, a kings not happy until he rules everything." Ahab finds himself staring longingly from his palace window into a vineyard owned by Naboth and his family. I do not pretend to understand why Ahab wanted this vineyard nor the slow working of jealousy as he peered at it daily. I suspect Naboth also looked longfully at the palace and wished to be in Ahabs position. However, in this story it is Ahab who has the resources to actually own Naboth's vineyard. The story ends tragically with Naboth wrongfully executed through Jezebels sly hand. Ahab is left wandering his new vineyard in what one would expect a certain diminishing of returns.

The reflection this morning is on that seed within Ahab that caused him to want a small vineyard outside his palace. Ahab had the resources of the whole kingdom at his command. The best grapes were his. However, its not the best grapes he wants but rather the grapes he doesn't have. His thirst to own everything left his mouth dry and his hands bloody in the end. Is this not how it goes every time?

There is a thirst for what we do not have. There is a longing for happiness in fields we have never trod. Certainly there is joy in the fields of labor and pleasure. Certainly I myself have found joy in a wife, child, and job that I once did not posses. The problem is not in enjoying what we have and working to receive more blessings. The problem is when one child, one wife, one job is not enough and another must be had to continue in happiness. Joy is certainly not found in the quantity of possessions. Joy is found when one understands as Paul did, that contentment truly is great gain. Joy is found in the blessings I already have. In fact there is so much joy in what I have at this very moment that my greatest challenge is to try and consume the joy already overflowing and at my immediate disposal. A reflection of these blessings causes my heart to swell and sing in unison with Paul in Philippians 4 "rejoice in the LORD always and again I say rejoice!"

Father let me find the joy available to me at this moment. Your blessings are new each day. Let my heart rejoice in Your ever faithful goodness. My soul knows no greater treasure.

Joy in God's Unified Church

It's 9:30 on Wednesday night and I have never been more proud of community fellowship. In the wake of announcing my call to leave this church as their pastor and also the unveiling of a bold new direction for the church, I didn't know what to expect from this evenings question and answer. Hot button topics would be addressed. The reason for my departure I felt sure would be questioned. Doubt and fear are normally the expectations in events such as this.

What I found was a unity I have never seen before in our church. A passion to follow Christ regardless of the stakes. An understanding of Gods strange call in our lives as He moves one man out and another in. I found a passion in the hearts of my people that cannot help but be contagious to the rest of our world.

Tonight CFBC decided to go full speed ahead in the call of the Gospel. I feel the pleasure of God in our fellowship. I know great blessings lay ahead as God blesses His unified children.  Watch out Rustburg, for in the power of Christ through His unified body, the very gates of hell will not hold us!

9:46 PM

Joy in a Word from The Lord

1 Kings 22

In this passage the divided kingdom of Israel collaborates together to defeat the Syrian army inhabiting one of their territories. Before they finally agree to join together they listen to the prophets of their gods prophesy victory in rather eccentric ways. The king of Judah asks king Ahab if there are any other prophets to hear from. Ahab's response is that there is but that the missing prophet never speaks anything good so he wasn't invited. This statement foreshadows how the rest of the story will go. The point of reflection though is what we are really asking when we want input from God.

When we ask for a "Word from The Lord" what does our desire really want for? Are we looking for divine direction to alter our course and set us upon eternally significant ground? Are we instead looking for a confirmation to do what our hearts already desire to do? If I were to be honest, I must admit that the majority of the time I desire God's direction it is to legitimize my own plans. I want a divine supporter of my earthly plans. Another way of saying this is that I want my will done in heaven as it is on earth.

Those who have studied their Bibles know the error in this statement. It is not my will done in heaven but God's will done on earth. In contrast with my previously admitted flaw, a real Word from The Lord will rarely coincide perfectly with the plans of my heart. This not to say that everything I desire to do is against the will of God. I haven confidence that my heart is continually being brought into the image of God's very own heart. My desires should be in line with the Word I know clearly and my passions should continually be for His glory. But there's something deeper to the actual plans of life than the vague desires to honor God.

It is very rare that in my own plans that my own flesh is not exalted in some way or another. Whether it is the timing of the plans that cause my flesh to never be bent or in the slight ways I have discovered through time that give me a pat on the back without actually asking for it. But when the very Word of The Lord actually does come there is always something within it that exposes those little fallacies that I didn't even know I had constructed. God's Word always gives Himself the glory. That glory will always come at the expense of my own.

So in the depths of my heart I must admit that I often feel like Ahab. When I've got a good plan that seems not only good but also accessible, I am slow to really want a Word form The Lord on it. If my life was written in a book these would be the moments where the reader is tipped off to the destruction coming. These area the moments when man tries to bend God rather than being willing to be freely bent by Him. Rarely does the real Word from The Lord please my heart in its entirety. However, there has never been a time when it was not the framework for the greatest joy.

Father, send me Your Word and may I hear it with joy. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May Your name be hallowed in my life. May I receive the very best You have to offer.

Joy in the valley

1 kings 17

Elijah had just prophesied to king Ahab that no rain would come to Israel unless he spoke it. From there Elijah was lead by God to a brook and was fed by ravens. When reading this story, it is tempting to view these introductory details as just the foothills by which the rest of the story will climax. In many ways this type of reading is true and very much beneficial. But if I am to stop and reflect upon those months where Elijah is alone and fed nourishment and companionship by only the ravens, there is much to understand about the life of God's man.

First, Elijah is public enemy number one. We know little of who knew about Elijah's prophecy other than Ahab. However, one can imagine that the longer the drought the faster the rumors of that prophecy would travel. I can imagine an Israel that knew of Elijah's prophecy, who marveled at it at first, who were amazed by the power of his word, and then slowly grew into distaste and anger as their animals starved and children died. Elijah was not a beloved figure in those days. It was quite possible that the ravens were the only company he could have kept.

Second, the man of God is absolutely dependent on God for safety and provision. It would be a spiritual thing to say that we are at all moments in this exact position. While this is true, at the moment I have expected income, money in the bank, and to the best of my knowledge i am not wanted by the police. Elijah was all of these things. He was all of these things and had a great deal of time to ponder them and let the slow workings of anxiety charge his bones.

I feel for Elijah during these terrible months. I feel his pain and also tremble a bit when I realize that I am God's man as well. In the history of all the people God did the most through and in, one of the reoccurring themes is that to be a powerful tool in His hands one must be first properly sharpened. These were the sharpening times for Elijah. Alone with only the ravens for companionship. And not just alone in proximity but also the most alone a man can be, alone with an entire country wishing his demise. These are the hard times where only the faith in God's promises and goodness keeps you from the madhouse. Elijah knew these truths well.

I would be a fool to ask God to be used in His magnificent plans and yet demand comfort and foreseeable provision. The man of God will and must be brought to the brink of his own demise to truly settle into the deeper experiences of God. Though these thoughts cause me to tremble and rightfully so, the joy in this reflection is that God sharpens His man not for the ash help but for the wood shop. Such great care does not go wasted but the King of Kings upon the tools He plans for great purposes. Remember the name Elijah and the images it unearths. Thoughts of ravens and loneliness do not flood my mind. No it is the pictures of Elijah calling down rain upon the patched earth. He runs past chariots. He goes toe to toe with the most immoral king Israel had ever known and his evil wife. The calls down fire from heaven and the subsequent slaughter of all the Baal prophets. His life ends not by a lonely brook but by a chariot ride to heaven. No, God's great care to sharpen His men is not to destroy them but to ready them for the moments that make legends. Take joy man of God for your chariot awaits!

Joy in the presence of God

1 kings 9

After the building of the temple God came to Solomon again in a vision. YHWY had enabled Solomon to build a great temple. He gave Solomon the resources and the wisdom with which to use those resources. And now that the work was done, YHWY made it very clear to Solomon the tendencies of a man and a country who accomplishes much in earthly terms. God had filled the temple with His presence. Solomon and Israel's focus should be upon the presence within the temple and not the temple itself. If Israel was not to keep this focus then the temple would be simply a "proverb or byword among the people's". History records that God always keeps His promises.

It is so hard to distinguish the works of God from the presence of God within the deceptions of the human heart. When a man places his desires on the presence of God, the works of God naturally follow. But when the works of God become evident, the focus of that man turns to the magnificence of His works rather than His presence. Pride wells up within a man that blinds him to the the need for Gods presence. When the magnificent presence of God is forgotten then His glory is stolen and a great fall in the pride of man is sure to follow.

Father, may my heart be passionate for Your glory and presence. Open my eyes continually to see You within Your works.

Joy of God's Favor

1 kings 5

The building of the temple amazes me. The cost, the labor, the amount of gold used is astonishing. While I know the idol it will become for Israel, I have to think that the dedication and sacrifice of all involved was pleasing to The Lord. Beyond that, I can see the supernatural hands of God going before Solomon's work. YHWY ordered the steps of Solomon and the treaties he made to accomplish the work. I am not naive enough to think there was no mixture of complaining and discord in Israel over this work, but the overall feel has a sweet smell to it.

When God moves there is a sweet smell. At times it may be hard to discern for the sound of crashing waves and rushing waters, but the smell is always there. It's that peaceful joy in the storm and the potent satisfaction when the trial is over. it is the sweet premonition of faith that allows us to see that Gods plans are to us after the trial what they were to God in the midst, perfect!

Joy in wisdom

I kings 4

In this chapter the author recounts the grandeur of Solomon: building projects, daily allotment for food, and horses and chariots. Above them all was the means by which he attained them, wisdom.

It is this item of wisdom that I wonder greatly about. James defines wisdom as the necessary lenses by which to see the world in the midst of our trials. For James, it is not a means of gaining wealth but of understanding exactly what God is doing and wants to do. Wisdom in the New Testament often is surrounded by hardship and the joy found supernaturally within. And yet Solomon uses his wisdom to build a kingdom that would be his spiritual demise. He multiplied all three things that God forbade His kings to multiply, gold, horses, and wives. Solomon's wisdom did not achieve the glory of God beyond the supernatural wisdom that Solomon was given to achieve his selfish ends.

Father, It is so much easier to ask you for the comforts and successes of life than to ask for wisdom that finds you in necessary trials. My flesh wishes for a success story in wealth and ministry. It is hard to submit to Your will knowing that it contains the hardships that make me resolute for your cause. In light of this I cannot ask for the wisdom of Solomon. I must ask for something more. Father, please grant me wisdom that will provide for my children, guide my hands in leadership for your church, and foremost keep me firmly entrenched in Your presence!