Seeking and Finding

Today is Scavenger Hunt Day.

I love scavenger hunts. One of the things my wife has recently started doing is putting together lists of things for our kids to find. We then will go on walks around town, and down to the park, as they look for things to check off their lists. They have a great time, and it's a fun way to spend time with them.

Of course, the trick, when it comes to doing a good scavenger hunt, is in making a list of things they have to actually search for. It can't just fall in their laps: they have to want to find it.

It's the same way when it comes to finding God. He puts the clues out there. He outright tells you who He is. He speaks into your spirit with a still, small voice. But you have to want to find Him. Proverbs 8:17 says, "I love those who love me and those who seek me find me."

In Jeremiah 29:12-13, God promises, "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

And Jesus invites us, in Matthew 7:7 to, "ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

God wants a relationship with us -- but more than that, he wants us to want a relationship with Him.  So He puts Himself out there... all you have to do is look. 

Turtles, Timidity, and Timothy

It must be nice to be a turtle. Take your time getting where you need to go -- and then not even have to worry about getting back home before dark, because you brought it with you! Not to mention the relative safety! Trouble comes, and you just pop back under your shell.

If I'm being totally honest, there are days I really envy that in a turtle. Days when I want nothing more than to hide in my shell, and shut the world out until it leaves me alone. Because, let's face it, it's a cruel old world. It's not the easiest place to remain innocent and keep your eyes on Christ. It's not always easy to be bold
about your faith in a world that mocks the very idea of God and derides conviction as something medieval.

Some times, I wonder why Faith doesn't come with a shell to carry around with us, for when the enemy's arrows come raining down.

Timothy, a young leader of the early church, must surely have felt the same way -- and then some! Maybe that's why Paul, in his second letter to his young protege, made sure, right away, to encourage him.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. (2 Timothy 1:5-8)

Yeah, says Paul, Christians have it tough. (And let's face it, Timothy's church, and churches around the world today, have it a LOT tougher than you and I!) But Christ gave us not only a mission to reach others, but a command to love them. And not only a command, but the strength and courage, in His Spirit, to fulfill it. 

So no, we don't have a shell. We have something much better: the Power of the Living God.

With the Timbrel and Harp

Psalm 149

¹ Praise the Lord.^[a]

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

² Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
    let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
³ Let them praise his name with dancing
    and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
⁴ For the Lord takes delight in his people;
    he crowns the humble with victory.
⁵ Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
    and sing for joy on their beds.

⁶ May the praise of God be in their mouths
    and a double-edged sword in their hands,
⁷ to inflict vengeance on the nations
    and punishment on the peoples,
⁸ to bind their kings with fetters,
    their nobles with shackles of iron,
⁹ to carry out the sentence written against them—
    this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise the Lord.

Diversity and (TRUE!) Unity: Lessons from Babel

Diversity sure is misunderstood! In some corners, it's almost a dirty word, while in others, it is venerated as a
holiness above all others. Cultural diversity is a wonderful thing. Our world is made richer because of the various cultures represented throughout. When it comes to celebrating cultural diversity, we most often have a view to a kind of unity among all people. By saying we're celebrating our differences (for that's what diversity is), we're really seeking a kind of common ground.

And that's noble.

But I can't help but think, as good a goal as unity is, it would be good to consider why there's all this diversity in the first place. If a structure collapses, it just makes good sense to investigate why it did so before building it again. In the same way, it seems to me that, if our goal is unity, we ought to look first at the reasons behind our separation.

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)

So, God Himself scattered humanity -- and the reason is really pretty simple. He did it as a way to keep man reliant on Him. Man was originally created to be in relationship with God; but man's ambition was to elevate himself to God's level. We know from the New Testament that God does indeed desire unity among His children -- but that Unity must be founded on a relationship to God. 

Put another way, the unity Man wants is a false unity, because it fails to recognize who we actually are to each other. We believe we ought to be united because we are of the same species. We want to believe that we can become one Human Family, without God, by virtue of nature and good intentions. But without recognizing who -- and whose -- we really are, that unity is a fiction. 

It is only through our relationship with Christ -- and our recognition that we are, all of us, children of God -- that we can gain the true Unity He has in store. That of a single, loving, family, gathered under the roof of our Heavenly Father.

Does Jesus Hate Rich People?

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:21-24)

Jesus seems awfully tough on rich people here, doesn't he? What's he saying here? Does wealth really keep us separated from God? It certainly can; this isn't even the first time Jesus spoke on this problem. In Matthew 6, He tells us to store up our treasures in Heaven -- that is, to put our effort into the things of God, rather than of this world. Because, He says in verse 24, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

So, what's Jesus' problem with money? After all, Job is an example of great faith, even now -- and he was filthy rich! Actually, Job illustrates the issue nicely. See, it's not that Jesus has a problem with money. It's that we do.  

Job is what you call an exception that proves the rule. His trust was in God -- so much so, that even when his great wealth was stripped from him, he still cried out and put his faith in his Creator. 

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)

 
For Job, his wealth was a gift from God, and therefore belonged to God. 

What Jesus was pointing out was that so many who were -- and are -- wealthy, can't seem to put their trust and faith in Him. Jesus told the rich young man in Matthew 19 that, if he sold all he had and gave it to the poor, he would have treasure in Heaven -- that is, everlasting treasure. But the young man couldn't believe. His faith was in his worldly possessions. More to the point, he believed in the security he got from his wealth, and when asked point blank, couldn't transfer that security and faith to the God he claimed to serve. 

Today, that's not a problem for only the rich. How many of us put our faith and our trust in a job; in our ability to make money? How many would willingly sell everything we have, give it to the poor, and put our faith wholly and completely in God? It's easy to say we would -- or even that we are. But think carefully: if the rubber hit the road, and you heard Jesus' voice telling you to give up everything and trust completely in him, could you do it?

Fortunately, we -- and even that rich young man -- needn't rely on the limits of our own very human faith. 

When Jesus made his point about the wealthy, and a camel fitting through the eye of a needle, His disciples were incredulous. If not the rich, then who could be saved? And were the rich without hope?

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

A desperate man once told Jesus, "I do believe. Help my unbelief." 

Our own beliefs may seem small and unworthy. But through Christ, even the wealthy may find faith enough to trust Him.

Pack Rats and Soul Junk

I'm a pack-rat. Now, I don't collect everything, but there are some things I simply can't let go. Cords and cables, for one. I have a bag at home that weighs roughly 60lbs -- full of electrical cords, audio/video cables, phone cords, and even speaker wire. Because you never know.

For many people, it starts out this way, but eventually, preparedness becomes compulsion. Before long, you wake up to find yourself with mountains of magazines, stacks of nick-knacks, and a TV show on TLC.

It's very human to hold onto things we no longer need. We develop a sort of attachment, and for various reasons. Maybe we've been burned before; maybe we're afraid of ever being without it. Maybe it's just so comfortable living with it that it almost seems a part of us.

For me, that includes wires and cables. And nice pens and paper. And also mistrust, disappointment, and, occasionally, anger. And sin. So, so human. If TLC made a "Hoarders"-like show for Christians who can't let go of their vices, I think a lot of us would be on it. After all, our hearts are our safe places. Our homes, where we keep those things close which make us feel secure.

But here's the great thing about Jesus: when we invite Him in, He doesn't expect us to clean that junk up. He expects to help us do it. Like those helpful reality shows (you know, the shows you secretly keep hoping will show up at your door), He wants to identify the clutter, the junk we no longer need in our lives -- even though we seem to think we do -- and help us to get rid of it.

That grudge? Gone. Lust and intemperance? Don't need it. And what's with -- well, let's just toss that, too. Jesus isn't about hiding our hoarded junk; He's about eliminating it. Clearing it out. And when we start to bring it back in? He's right there to help you take it out again.

Because the truth is, we don't need it. And, here's the real secret: we never have.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Love a Tree

Today is Love a Tree Day. And I do. One in particular. The tree I love, I love not because of the wood of which it is made, or because of how majestically it stands. In fact, the tree I love isn't really a tree, but a cross. Yet, this particular tree bears fruit -- and that fruit is our Salvation.

Without the Cross, and what it represents -- and without the resurrection of Christ -- we would be completely without hope and lost in our sin.

The Old Rugged Cross, by George Bennard

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
 the emblem of suffering and shame;
 and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
 for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
 So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
 till my trophies at last I lay down;
 I will cling to the old rugged cross,
 and exchange it some day for a crown.

2. O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
 has a wondrous attraction for me;
 for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
 to bear it to dark Calvary.
 (Refrain)

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
 a wondrous beauty I see,
 for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
 to pardon and sanctify me.
 (Refrain)

4. To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
 its shame and reproach gladly bear;
 then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
 where his glory forever I'll share.
 (Refrain)