HE SAYS: Brides of a Jealous God

I would like to apologize for not posting anything for so long.  I had to undertake a hardware overhaul, and it took me this long to get my machine reconfigured to start posting again.

My brother told me about a relationship which was broken up because of jealousy when a third person came into the relationship.  This extra person was only an acquaintance and had no intentions of causing a division.  However, a spirit of jealousy was created which could not be removed.  The member of the original relationship who included the third person never even thought about the potential outcome.

This caused me to think about God being jealous.

God says about himself:  

“You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, “(Exodus 20: 3-5a,  NIV)

 What does it mean for us, to be the bride of a jealous God?  In the relationship I mentioned at the start of this post, the jealousy was the unbearable element of the relationship which drove the other person away.  The jealous person was too possessive, and the other person wanted more privacy and freedom.  I think this selfish perspective is the relationship breaker between many people and their Heavenly Father.  God has made it clear that He wants to possess us completely, and many people cannot or will not submit.

Jesus told his disciples:

"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14: 2-3, NIV)

Our Heavenly Father is the King of the Universe.  He created us and everything else in this world, and, inexplicably, He loves us.  His desire for us is that we will spend eternity with Him in His house.  His plan is so simple and so beautiful, and yet we provoke His jealousy by insisting on our privacy and freedom or by inviting in third parties.

I sincerely love my wife, my children, my parents, and the list continues.  However, any of these people could become a third person in my relationship with God.  The good news is: God knows our heart and understands our true priorities.  He is not jealous of any and all of our loves, but we must keep our loyalties aligned properly.  Otherwise, God’s jealous response should be a fearful contemplation.

Deuteronomy 4:23-24 (NIV)

"Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

Father, please help me to understand your pure and perfect love for me, so that I would never allow anyone or anything to come between us.

SHE SAYS: Teacher Appreciation

I suppose that it is fitting to add this piece, since it is "Teacher's Appreciation" Week. I made this mixed media collage for my dear sister-in-law, Donna, who is both a Kindergarten teacher and a student of the King.

In the verse from Psalm 86, the writer is expressing a desire to learn. What teacher doesn't love an eagerly, interested student! And God wants to teach us His way, His truth. In fact, Jesus proclaimed this in John 14:6-7

"I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and haveseen him."

So what do I know? I know that it is really easy to begin to think I've got it all figured out, that I can do this thing called life without further instruction. "My way." I also know that more often than not, "my way" leads to mediocre results or messiness and regrets.

I am thankful for the many teachers that have impacted my life for good, and those who are still making an important difference in peoples lives.

However, I stand in awe of and am deeply thankful everyday for a God who patiently instructs, corrects and guides me into a deeper understanding of truth, who imparts wisdom, and loves me even when I don't "make the grade". I guarantee you will never find a more capable and compassionate teacher than our Creator! Not sure? Read Isaiah 40:9-31.

HE SAYS: It Takes All Types

I once read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and found it to be one of the most oppressive works I have ever read.  The message I heard clearly from the text was:  “If you want to be successful, you must be like this…”

Jesus had a different formula for success:

Matthew 10:37-39 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (NIV1984)

Jesus does not call us to reinvent ourselves.  He calls us to release ourselves.

I have been witnessing a situation where people are being held to a rigid, homogenous standard for success.  Those who cannot achieve results which match the prescribed results are driven out of the team.  The result is a single-minded team which is blind to opportunities outside of their sphere of experience.  This is NOT God’s model for the body of Christ.

Romans 12:3-5 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (NIV1984)

Diversity is not a new Human Resource Management concept.  Jesus modeled diversity first.  His twelve disciples were a mismatched group of men with apparently NO habits of highly effective people.

There was Peter, the impetuous one who always acted before thinking, Nathanael, the quick-to-judge, Thomas, the empirical one, and even Judas, an agent of the enemy.  They were all uneducated, slow to comprehend, and unassertive.  (except for James and John)

Many Members - One Body

Lord, please help me to accept my own weaknesses.  Please give me the ability to see strengths in others, and the humility to accept the help I need.

HE SAYS: Miracle Worker

My thoughts today are focused on a personal epiphany.  I hope it helps you as it helped me.

I am always thrilled by the moment in the movie, The Miracle Worker, when Helen Keller makes the connection between spoken words and the material world.  “Waaaa Waaaa  Waaater”,  She stammered, and then proceeded to start touching everything in her world, asking for the words.  The journey to that joyous moment had been long and difficult, but I have really enjoyed the thought that Annie Sullivan expressed her love for Helen by persevering through Helen’s blindness and ignorance.  What a blessing to the world!

Spiritual blindness is no less profound.  One of my favorite stories is in Mark 10: 46-52.

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.   When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”   Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”  So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”  Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.   “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.  The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”  (NIV1984) 

This story contains all the miracles of salvation:  grace, mercy, and sudden sight.  I was once a blind beggar like Bartimaeus, and God saved me.  He gave me vision, wisdom, and understanding beyond what I had ever known.  Now, I know so many people who are living in my former condition.

I yearn to help them.

However, ONLY Jesus can miraculously restore sight to the blind.

My only option is to love them like Annie loved Helen.  I must persevere through their blindness and ignorance in the hope that I can share that moment of new life with them.

Lord, please teach me to love as you love, and to see as you see, so I may patiently persevere for the salvation of another.