Lessons from Moses

“The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with His friend…”  Exodus 33:11

Although Moses has been dead for quite a while :), I keep finding that God uses Moses’ life to teach me really important truths.  Some of these truths are ones I learned years ago.  Some are ones I thought I learned…but I need to be reminded of these every day.  

Even this week I was struck with another truth!  So I wanted to write these down as a “stone of remembrance” as I start a new school year tomorrow!

TRUTHS from Moses’s life:

1.       The answers to the biggest questions/doubts we have in life revolve around who God is, not who we are.  (Exodus 3-6)

a.       “Who am I?”  (3:11)  - IDENTITY

                                                               i.      God replies:  “I will be with you.”  (3:12)

b.      “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue.”  (4:10)  - GIFTS/TALENTS

                                                               i.      God replies:  “Who gave man his mouth?  Who makes him deaf or mute?  Who gives him sight and makes him blind?  Is it not I, the LORD?  Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”  (4:11-12)

c.       “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people?  Is this why you sent me?  Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”  (5:22-23) – SETBACKS

                                                               i.      God replies:  “Now you will see what I will do…I am the LORD…I am the LORD…I will…I will…I will…I will….I will…I am the LORD….I will…I will…I am the LORD.”  (6:1-8) 

(**It sure seems like God’s going to take care of things, eh? J)

2.       The ability to persevere through the hard times in this life is made possible by keeping our sights on God.

a.       Hebrews 11:24-27 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.  By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.”

3.       It is one thing to see what God is doing around us.  It is another thing completely to trust in His ways.  (even if you don’t fully understand)

a.       Psalm 103:6-7 “The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.  He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel.” 

b.      Trusting in His ways comes from knowing who He is.  (I’m sensing a theme….)

c.       Moses specifically asked God that he would better understand His ways. (Ex 33:13)

4.       This last one I’m going to frame as a question, because this is the one I have had to relearn this week.  What is most important to me in this life?

Exodus 33:12-17 “Moses said to the LORD, ‘You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me.  You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’  If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.  Remember that this nation is your people.’

“The LORD replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

“Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.  How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?  What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’”

This was a very important passage to me when I was graduating college a few years ago.  I read it and thought, “Yeah!  All my friends are getting married…I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing for you – who are you going to send with me?”  And I realized that God was going with me.  He loved me. He knew my name.  He would direct me and give me rest.

But as I looked at this passage again, I realized that being married or single is not what this passage is about (although God used it years ago to remind me of His presence going with me into the unknown).  Maybe Moses was never asking God about people to be with Him.  Maybe the whole time Moses was making sure that God would go with Him.  It sure seems like a theme throughout Moses’ life.

Beth Moore looked at this passage (Exodus 33) in her devotional book, Whispers of Hope.  Her thoughts were so encouraging to me, I wanted to retype them here:

• “Moses had a remarkable relationship with God…He experienced and indescribable level of intimacy that comes from two having their full attentions and expressions turned toward each other.”  (face-to-face)
• “So deeply involved were God and Moses that the weary servant could not bear the thought of proceeding a single step without God’s presence….Moses didn’t want good results.  He wanted God.”
• “How would you feel if God promised you success and victory but without His presence?  Would we know the difference?  Would we go on reluctantly?  Or would we trade in every victory, every dream come true – our chosen destiny – just to enjoy His presence?  Difficult questions.  But I think if we knew God – really knew Him so well He felt He could talk with us like a friend and share HIS heart with us as we share ours with Him – we would trade in everything just to enjoy His presence.”
• “…We will not want to make a move without receiving an answer to this question: ‘Is your presence going with me, God?  If not, keep me in the wilderness, seal away the milk and honey, keep the Jordan from my sight.  For if your presence does not go with me, do not send me from here.’”  (p. 103)

Moses’ life is filled with reminders that we experience the fullness when we know who He is, not who we are (but that also knowing Him clarifies who we are).  We can rest when we keep our eyes on Him.  We can trust in His ways.  We can develop a relationship where we speak with Him face-to-face.  Hopefully, someday, we can say like Moses that God speaks with us as a man speaks with his friend. 

And when all of that is true – I am sure that the choice between worldly “success” and God’s presence won’t even be worth contemplating.  

In the 2014-2015 school year, may His Presence be my goal.

Passion

This past Sunday at church, someone mentioned that it was the beginning of “Passion Week.”  I admit, under my breath, I chuckled a bit – because outside of a church setting, declaring a week to be “passion week” could be a bit risqué.  If we play a word association game and I say “passion”, I am pretty sure that Jesus won’t be the first thing to pop into your mind.  My guess is that you’d probably think of romance…and if we believe all that TV and the movies tell us, then “passion” must just be a synonym for sex.

So, why do we call this Passion Week?  Have we lost the original meaning of the word passion? 

According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11^th edition), passion is a noun.

It is an English word derived from Anglo-French, which came from the Latin word passion.  Passio meant suffering…and the Latin word pati meant “to suffer”.

If you capitalize the word “Passion”, the dictionary says it means:

a.      the sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death

b.      an oratorio based on a gospel narrative of the Passion

***Side note:  PASSION. FLOWERS. ARE. SO. COOL.  They were named because of the “passion” of Christ’s death.  They are also called the “flower of the five wounds.”  You should read up on that when you get a chance. J 

 

That fits with “Passion Week”.  But how did we go from there to the meaning of “passion” today?

If this article is correct, then the word passion developed through time – was affected by different languages (Latin, French, English….even the Greek “pathos”) and different authors (Shakespeare).    

Using the word “passion” for suffering is now obsolete…but we do see the word passion being used for emotion or an “intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction”.  Merriam-Webster states that it can also refer to an ardent affection (love) or a strong “devotion to some activity, object, or concept”.  It can also mean a sexual desire or an object of desire or deep interest.  In other words, the dictionary now says, “Passion applies to an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable.”  Passion, today, often means Love - an inexplicable emotion that takes over us and makes us do things we wouldn't normally do.

Can we think of Passion Week in those terms?  In some ways, yes. 

During this week, we remember and celebrate that Jesus “set his face towards Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).  We are amazed that He would go to the cross for us – to take our punishment – to LOVE us that deeply.  I would say that qualifies as a strong emotion/ardent affection.  But, it was not without reason or ungovernable.  Jesus was in control of His emotions; He knew what He was heading into.  He even prayed this prayer:

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.”  (Luke 22:42)

That cup included whipping, crowns of thorns, nails, a rugged/splintered cross, physical pain, spiritual separation…and He went anyway.  For us.

Passio is Latin, but so also is pati.  Pati is the root word for Patient, which is an adjective that means:

1.       Bearing pains or trials calmly without complaint

2.       Manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain

3.       Not hasty or impetuous

4.       Steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity

5.       Able or willing to bear

That truly sounds like Jesus.  It sounds like Passion Week – the Lord Jesus Christ, the man who not only was able, but who was willing to bear our sins…calmly and without complaint.  That's not love as our culture portrays it.

Passion, like so many words today, has had an evolving definition.  Truly, today’s most prevalent definition would probably be a romantic passion seen most frequently in art.   

If TV, movies, and other art forms are really the cries of our culture’s heart and depict a world longing for passion…a world longing to understand what it means to truly be loved…then maybe we need to consider that there is a deeper passion than sexual passion.

And that Passion was Love displayed on a cross two thousand years ago.

 

This week, as I remember THAT Passion, may my heart echo with thankfulness the words of Charles Spurgeon:

"Come in, O strong and deep love of Jesus, like the sea at the flood in spring tides, cover all my powers, drown all my sins, wash out all my cares, lift up my earth-bound soul, and float it right up to my Lord's feet, and there let me lie, a poor broken shell, washed up by his love, having no virtue or value; and only venturing to whisper to him that if he will put his ear to me, he will hear within my heart faint echoes of the vast waves of his own love which have brought me where it is my delight to lie, even at his feet forever"  (Morning & Evening, April 12).  

 

Dwell: To sit or circle?

Roses give off a beautiful aroma, don’t they?  Just last week I had a bouquet of roses in my hand…and life was just…well…rosy. J  Haha.  I realized that sometimes it really is good for the soul to stop and smell the roses.  Beautiful smells are comforting, aren’t they?  

Jesus tells us to consider lilies…if he cares for those, how much more will he take care of us?  But it is hard to smell the roses unless you stop.  It’s also hard to consider lilies unless you slow down enough to look at them. 

I would submit that the majority of our lives look like a mixture of marathons and sprints.  We are constantly running, doing, serving, working…  Busyness isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  But always being busy is.

So how do we stop?  Can we stop?  Where do we dwell? 

Here’s something God just taught me this weekend – and I hope it’s a blessing to you.

Psalm 84

“¹How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you.

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
    listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield, O God;
    look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² Lord Almighty,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you.”

 

Isn’t Psalm 84 encouraging?  I really love this psalm.  And as many times as I’ve heard the words of verse 10 – even in song form – I never really pieced together what it might have meant for those who wrote it.

The Bible tells us that David didn’t write this Psalm.  Instead, the sons of Korah wrote this song.  And I just happened to be reading about them in I Chronicles yesterday when a description of their work reminded me of this psalm.

I Chronicles 9:17-34

¹⁷ The gatekeepers:

Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman and their fellow Levites, Shallum their chief ¹⁸ being stationed at the King’s Gate on the east, up to the present time. These were the gatekeepers belonging to the camp of the Levites. ¹⁹ Shallum son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his fellow gatekeepers from his family (the Korahites) were responsible for guarding the thresholds of the tent just as their ancestors had been responsible for guarding the entrance to the dwelling of the Lord. ²⁰ In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar was the official in charge of the gatekeepers, and the Lord was with him. ²¹ Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

²² Altogether, those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds numbered 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. The gatekeepers had been assigned to their positions of trust by David and Samuel the seer. ²³ They and their descendants were in charge of guarding the gates of the house of the Lord—the house called the tent of meeting. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east, west, north and south. ²⁵ Their fellow Levites in their villages had to come from time to time and share their duties for seven-day periods. ²⁶ But the four principal gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God. ²⁷ They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning.

²⁸ Some of them were in charge of the articles used in the temple service; they counted them when they were brought in and when they were taken out. ²⁹ Others were assigned to take care of the furnishings and all the other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the special flour and wine, and the olive oil, incense and spices. ³⁰ But some of the priests took care of mixing the spices. ³¹ A Levite named Mattithiah, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with the responsibility for baking the offering bread. ³² Some of the Kohathites, their fellow Levites, were in charge of preparing for every Sabbath the bread set out on the table.

³³ Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night.”

 

Isn’t it interesting that those who had to spend their time at the doors/gates of the tabernacle wrote Psalm 84?  The psalm talks of the loveliness of God’s dwelling…the desire to be near the altar (and there were two of them – together they picture the finished work of Christ’s death and resurrection)…that those who dwell in God’s house are ever praising him (like the musicians day and night)…that it is better to be one day in God’s courts than a thousand elsewhere…that it is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the house of the wicked.

Wow.

They were praising God for the opportunity to be with Him – even if their job by today’s standards was quite menial.  Baking bread?  Being security?

And a few things struck me:

1.      God names the security guards and bakers by name.  Their job might not seem important to us – but they were working for Him, and He recognized it.  Seemingly menial jobs are important.

2.      Seemingly menial jobs can bring blessing.   And sometimes that involves our choice to recognize where God has placed us.  These men worked in the tabernacle!  They were with God (just as we are – because He is always with us).  And these men wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.  They wanted to dwell with Him. J

3.      The word:  DWELL.  I love words (as evidenced by my long posts).  But…I looked at the different times the English word “dwell” was translated from Hebrew.  And what I found surprised me.

a.       Psalm 84:1 – “dwelling place” – also translated “tabernacle” – from the Hebrew word mishkân, meaning residence.

b.      Psalm 84:4 – “blessed are those who dwell in your house” – from the Hebrew word yâshab, which means to sit down, remain, settle, etc.

c.       Psalm 84:10 – “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”

                                                              i.      Doorkeeper – Hebrew word sâphaph- “wait at the threshold”

                                                            ii.      Dwell – 2 Hebrew words

1.      min  minnîy or  minnêy - “a part of”

2.      dûr - to gyrate, move in a circle; to remain; dwell

 

I love this.  “Dwell” is the English word used for two seemingly very different Hebrew concepts. 

1.      If you dwell in the tents of the wicked, you are essentially moving in a circle. And let’s face it….moving in a circle is pointless.  You are going nowhere –  and you expend lots of energy doing it.

2.      BUT, if you are a doorkeeper in God’s house, waiting at the threshold, you are sitting.  You are resting.  And that Hebrew word seems to signify those who aren’t trying to do life on their own…but rather resting in the finished work of Christ.

This doesn’t mean that the people who sit don’t have jobs or responsibilities – but to me it seems that those who dwell with the Lord have lives characterized by “a sitting soul”…one that can rest amidst busyness…because that the work of salvation is done.

Those who dwell with the wicked are running in circles – always running, never being satisfied…because nothing can truly satisfy the soul except for Jesus.   

I want my life to be characterized as someone who sits with the Lord.

As someone who truly dwells in his presence.

And if I do, if all of us learn to dwell in the presence of Jesus, we might be just as comforting to others as a bouquet of roses.  J   

A Persian fable says: One day

A wanderer found a lump of clay

So redolent of sweet perfume

Its odors scented all the room.

 

“What art thou?” was his quick demand.

“Art thou some gem from Samarkand,

Or spikenard in this rude disguise,

Or other costly merchandise?”

 

“Nay, I am but a lump of clay.”

“Then, whence this wondrous perfume, say!”

“Friend, If the secret I disclose—

I have been dwelling with the rose.”

 

A State of Constant, Total Amazement

Who would have thought that God could use a snow day filled with random things to remind me of His goodness?  I shouldn’t be surprised.  But I would have never imagined that a combination of fiction books, a very silly movie, Bible readings, writings from a jaded religious studies professor, and a couple of songs could make me cry about God’s love for me.  I want to share just a bit of how God reminded me that I need to wake up today…and I hope it’s as much of an encouragement to you as it was to me…

As I mentioned before, today was a snow day – no school for this teacher – but I still managed to put in around 4 hours of work in a local coffee shop before heading back home in the DEEP (1 inch high J) snow.  Because I wanted to relax a bit, I watched Joe versus the Volcano (I forgot how ridiculous it was!), and finished reading Eli by Bill Myers and Sisterchicks Down Under! by Robin Jones Gunn. 

(Background info:  You see, I had recently visited Mr. K’s bookstore and stocked up on books from different authors.  Robin Jones Gunn happens to be an author I love and learn a lot from – but wasn’t sure I wanted to read her Sisterchick books yet.  They’re about women in their 40’s who go off on adventures…and I was thinking…maybe I should wait another 20 years so I can relate.  But I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see how much I have laughed and gleaned from the wisdom shared in those books.)

ANYWAY.  (This may be long…I haven’t talked to many people today on this snow day…and I have a lot of words left in me….)

At the end of my watching and reading today, I started writing in my journal…and was floored by the theme I saw running through today. 

The theme was:  The God of the universe loves me…like that?

1.       Devotions in Deuteronomy:  This morning I read Deuteronomy 7:6-9  “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God.  The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.  The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.  But it was because the LORD loved you…Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, he is the faithful God…”

2.       The realization that God has no reason to love Israel and no reason to love me (yet he does) was deepened when I read a quote I wrote in my journal yesterday.  Stephen Prothero, a religious studies professor at Boston University, wrote a sad but true description of Christianity today:  “In the modern west there is so much cheap chatter about befriending God that the prospect of fearing God seems almost illicit” (God is Not One, p. 43).  Ooh.   When did we start treating the Creator of the Universe like a buddy instead of God?  Aren’t we too flippant sometimes?  And yet, the conundrum is that this God…who is Almighty and Powerful and deserving of fear…He loves us!  And wants to talk to us!

3.       Sisterchicks Down Under (RJ Gunn):  The verse that supplied a running theme for one of the characters in this book was Ephesians 5:2.  In the paraphrase, the Message, the verse is restated like this:  “Mostly what God does is love you.  Keep company with him and learn a life of love.  Observe how Christ loved us.  His love was not cautious but extravagant.  He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us.  Love like that.”       

4.       Eli (Bill Myers):  I don’t know what I was expecting when I started reading this book.  Myers uses this fiction book to retell what the story of Jesus might have looked like if it was set in modern day America.  It’s interesting to think about how Jesus (represented as Eli in this book) would respond to churches and religious groups, to druggies and porn stars, and even to the media in the modern day.  And it made me think…if Jesus were here right now…what might he do that I wouldn’t approve of?  I need to spend more time with Him so I would know what He would do – since He wants to work through me.  But, believe it or not, that’s not what truly hit me about this book.  What struck me was the fact that throughout this 300+ page novel, I’d grown attached to Eli.  I like him.  He is such a good guy – full of wisdom and hard truth for those around him.  But, oh so full of love.  And so…when Eli is killed…my heart hurt.  (AND I’M READING FICTION!!!!  But I was ashamed to realize that my heart was hurting more over Eli’s death than it hurts on Sundays when I go to church to take bread and wine and remember Jesus’ death.  Why?  Because I don’t take the time to really think about how much the God of the universe went through to love us.  ****I know that the point of this book is to help us relook at Jesus’ sacrifice…I just realized today how much I didn’t realize…if that makes sense****)  In the book, Eli is beaten by a mob, has a noose put around his neck, is stripped of his clothes and hangs on a tree.  The crowd makes fun of him; they laugh at him and are absolutely brutal to an innocent man.  And this is how Myers describes it:  “Justice and mercy.  Two opposite truths coming together in one man, in one act of unfathomable love….What Eli was undergoing was the punishment for Conrad’s [main character] own failures.  Failures for which he would never have to suffer.  Justice was being served.  Pure, undefiled, holy justice…and with it, infinite, loving mercy. Together.  At the same time.  In one man.”  (p. 325-326).  Just like Jesus.  Only Jesus went through more.  Because of my sins.

5.       Sometimes I forget how much Jesus went through.  And I think about how crazy it is that the ones who God created crucified Him.  How ungrateful.   How wrong.  And yet our God didn’t stay dead.  He conquered death!  That knowledge should CHANGE my world.  I need to wake up to that fact and be thankful each and every day.  And this is where Joe versus the Volcano comes in.  (You were wondering…I know J).  Meg Ryan, as Patricia, makes a comment to Joe (Tom Hanks) while they are floating in the ocean – and I liked it so much I had to pause the movie and replay it to write it down.  She says:

a.      “My father says that almost the whole world is asleep.  Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to.  He says that only a few people are awake – and they live in a state of constant, total amazement.” 

 

How do all of these random things fit together? 

1.       God loves those who don’t deserve it.  (Deuteronomy 7)

2.       Observe how Christ loved us.  His love was not cautious but EXTRAVAGANT.  (Ephesians 5)

3.       In fact, if we look again at the brutal murder of Jesus, and we consider His unfathomable love on the cross – the place where justice and mercy meet…

4.       WE SHOULD LIVE IN A STATE OF CONSTANT, TOTAL AMAZEMENT.

 

I admit.  I’m amazed that God used all these random things today to teach me this lesson.  But I hope that every day I become more and more AMAZED at the love of my Savior on the cross. 

And I hope that constant amazement becomes a theme in my life.  J

 

Precious Jesus

The lovely scent of “Tis the Season” is wafting through my apartment.  Besides that candle, the Christmas trees (yes, I have more than one J) and the paper stars are the only lights on.  Yes, the dishwasher is going.  Yes, my hair is wet from my shower.  And, yes, I have laundry waiting for me to rescue it from the heat of the dryer.

But after all the clutter of the day is gone – I can finally sit and rest.  I don’t know why, but it is really hard for me to rest when there is disorder.  When I see clutter, I either have to get rid of it….or make more organized piles.  (And, yes, often the organized piles are the option I choose.)  Clutter can be visible things, like unopened mail.  But clutter can also be invisible…like my thoughts.

Too often, my thoughts are so cluttered that I have no room for Jesus.

“Jesus.

What a beautiful name.  I love to watch how it falls off the lips of those who love Him.  I shudder as it falls off the lips of those who don’t.

It has been the most important and most consistent word in my life.  Dearer today than yesterday.  Inexpressibly precious.

Jesus.”

I read that quote from a book by Beth Moore this morning, and it reminded me of a lesson God taught me a few weeks ago….which I promptly forgot because my mind got cluttered. 

In I & II Peter, the word “precious” is used frequently:

1.       I Peter 1:7 “…your faith – of greater worth (more precious) than gold…”

2.       I Peter 1:19 “…redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ.”

3.       I Peter 2:4  “As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – “

4.       I Peter 2:6 “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame…”

5.       I Peter 2:7 “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious…”

6.       II Peter 1:4 “…He has given us His very great and precious promises…”

Apparently, Peter likes to remind us that we have been given precious things.  Faith.  Jesus’s blood.  Jesus Himself.  Jesus’ promises.   (And there are more verses that I didn’t put down…)

All of the words that we translate as “precious” in English can come from a number of different Greek words.  Most of those words are somewhat related to the root word, “Timios”.

Timios means:  “valuable, that is (objectively) costly, or (subjectively) honored, esteemed, or (figuratively) beloved:  - dear, honorable, (more, most) precious, had in reputation.”

Isn’t it interesting that something can be objectively costly, yet not honored or beloved? 

Jesus is objectively valuable, whether I realize it or not.  He deserves to be honored and esteemed.  He deserves to be beloved.

Do I consider Him inexpressibly precious?   Is He objectively, subjectively, and figuratively precious to me?

This is where the clutter needs to be cleared out of my mind.  I make time for precious things.  I need to make time for…to make room for…precious Jesus. 

I have had a very full semester.  Just looking back through my journal, I have been blessed to do many things.  I’ve gone on adventures (trips to PA, VA, TN, SC), read books (Radical by Platt – made me think a lot, Bonhoeffer by Metaxas – wow, etc), heard great speakers, laughed, sang, played guitar, played Frisbee, spent time at a college ministry, seen progress happen on my thesis, felt like I was on top of the world…  But I’ve also cried, felt inadequate, alone, tired, angry, and frustrated.

Sometimes too many things (even good ones) can result in thought-clutter.  No wonder I found myself frustrated and upset and unreasonably emotional at times.  (haha…girls are never emotional.)  What if I had sat down and taken time to remove the clutter with journaling and praying?  What if Jesus was given His proper place in both my heart and my mind?  Well…I think He’d help clear out that clutter lickety-split! J

It’s been awhile since I last wrote a post, and I could go on for a while.  But I want to write down  just three more things that struck me in the past few weeks.

1.       “Bendetti,…author of ‘Stabat Mater,’ one day was found weeping, and when asked the reason of his tears, replied, ‘I weep because Love goes about unloved.’”  (MacDonald Commentary, p. 745)

2.       “Lord, Thy love has sought and found us – Wandering through this desert wide – Thou hast thrown Thine arms around us – For us suffered, bled and died – Sing, my soul, He loved thee – Jesus gave Himself for me….Ah, my soul, He loved thee – Yes, He gave Himself for me.”  (#95 BB)

3.       “Indeed, the very core of worship is to take those truths we learn about the Lord Jesus Christ from the Bible, to meditate on them, and then present them back to the Father with a heart-felt cry, ‘Father, we see how beautiful Your Son is!  We join you in taking pleasure in Him.”   (Shawn Abigail)

Don’t those quotes just grab you?  They grab me.  Do I weep because Love goes about unloved?  Or do I weep because I feel like I’m going about unloved?  Do I sing because Jesus loved me – enough to give Himself for me?  At church tomorrow, will I truly worship?  Will I join the Father in taking pleasure in the Son?

I so desire this quote from Beth Moore to be true of the name “Jesus” in my life:

“It has been the most important and most consistent word in my life.  Dearer today than yesterday.  Inexpressibly precious.”

And may His preciousness, (“timios”), be objective, subjective and figurative in my life.  He is deserving of all three.

I guess it’s time to blow out the candle and really get the laundry now.  But even if my apartment gets cluttered again tomorrow…may my mind be clutter-free and Jesus-filled. J

The Trail of His Faithfulness

"When you follow the trail of God's faithfulness in your life...I know he will give you the courage you need for whatever is going to happen next."  ~ Robin Jones Gunn

 

A few months ago I wrote about wanting to create a room in my house someday…a place that I would call “The Gallery of His Goodness” so I could walk through a tangible reminder of God’s goodness to me.    

But, you know, it’s not just His goodness that’s worth remembering.  The little snippets of His grace are overwhelming reminders of His love…but to take it one step deeper, maybe I need to go back through my life, connect the dots, and recognize the “Trail of His Faithfulness.” 

The pictures of God’s goodness in my “gallery” document more than just one moment.  They document a lifetime of His faithfulness to me – even when I’m not paying attention (which is most of the time).  I can look back on broken dreams or closed doors with more perspective now.  I’m glad I didn’t get the whitewater rafting job in Colorado during college – because I wouldn’t have been able to graduate on time with my changing major.  But because I graduated on time I was able to travel to Germany and meet the girls at Black Forest Academy…some of whom were only there for one year.  I have traveled many places and met so many people…and the divine appointments and connections that God has allowed me to make are not without purpose. 

I love to think of this verse:

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”  Acts 17:26

Nothing takes God by surprise.

Not even where I live or who I will run into each day.

In fact, he planned it.

Now, if I could just remember that. J 

There is such value in remembering.  I need to look back on His faithfulness – because that gives me hope in both my present and my future.  The Israelites are an example of what happens when we don’t remember.

 

“We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.  When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led through the depths as through a desert.  He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.  The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived.

Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.

But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold….”  Psalm 106:6-13

 

Yikes.  Here are the Israelites’ problems:  not thinking of God’s works, not remembering His kindnesses, and rebelling against Him.  I can say that I have done all of those things.

YET – He saved them.  So they sang his praise.  BUT – they soon forgot.  They did not wait for His plan to unfold. 

What was in store for those who waited?

 

“This is what the LORD says – he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:  Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”  Isaiah 43:16-21

 

Streams in the wasteland.

A way in the wilderness.

HOPE.

God doesn’t want us to dwell on the past.  He wants us to dwell on the One who has directed our past, who is directing our present and who will direct our future.  He is constantly doing new things.  His mercies are new every morning. 

And even if we can’t see it clearly now, one day we will see the pathways of our lives, sprinkled with pleasant and difficult “inns” along the way. 

I think they will be aptly named, “The Trails of His Faithfulness”.