because I was with you

One of the most amazing people who knew the Lord was Elijah. You look at the miracles Moses did (plagues, Red Sea, manna from Heaven, et al) and you think no one else could bring about such wonders. And then here comes Elijah and you're reminded of the fact that it was never the prophet who had the power, but rather the God in whom he had placed his trust. And if you're called to be a prophet, you can bet that Lord won't forsake you, who called you.

In 2Sam2, Elijah goes up in fire and horses and wind and Elisha is left there with only a worn cloak as consolation. Fortunately, Elisha had wisely asked Elijah before he left for his spirit rather than riches or some other wasted gift. And upon the fiery departure of his mentor, Elisha walks back to a river in which his mentor had just recently performed a miracle. And right away, he decides to utilize his new-found power. But interestingly, as he repeats his mentor's miracle, there seems to be some small instance of doubt. Rather than a bold command for waters to part, Elisha asks aloud -- as if he's checking, just in case -- "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" And God answers with a definitive miracle, as if He were replying to that question "with you, just as I was with Elijah".

Everyone at times finds themselves feeling distant from God. And they play this game of spiritual chicken where they maybe will start praying, mentally asking God to return. More often than not, they do nothing and wait for Him to show Himself strong before they recommit to Him. But 2Sam2 serves as a powerful reminder that if we are honest in seeking His spirit, and wishing to be obedient to His calling, that it requires us to step forward in faith -- even if it's a faith with a little bit of doubt in it -- and that we just need to ask where He is, and if we're honest and obedient and faithful, that answer will come back a resounding "Right here, with you, my child."

My people of their rights

From something a few years ago:

"[On July 4th], this country celebrates independence; it celebrates freedom. It reserves a day to honor freedom won by the sacrifices made by others. My friend, the greatest freedom ever won for you was won by sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary two thousand years ago: freedom from sin, freedom from death for all eternity."

Do you know true freedom? You don't know if you don't know Jesus Christ.

they, after worshiping Him, returned

Hey, Kris. Want to know why you won? Maybe related to His blessings for you because of this:

your good behavior in Christ will be

At a conference this week, and heard a very good speaker this afternoon who does amazing things with his kids each year. Aside from the purposefully heart-twisting videos of his kids (along with a live performance), the speaker mentioned the six stages of moral development that he leads his kids through over the course of the year. The higher the stage, the more mature the character.

Stage 1: the student is good because he fears punishment
Stage 2: the student is good because he gets a reward for doing so
Stage 3: the student is good to impress others
Stage 4: the student is good because it is the rule to be good
Stage 5: the student is good because he understands he has a social contract with others and wants to treat them the way he wishes to be treated
Stage 6: the student is good because he is good

There is a very clear parallel here to our spiritual maturity. A believer with an immature or new faith obeys God out of fear of His punishment. He then moves to being obedient because he thinks it earns him favor with God. Then he is obedient so that other believers see him as obedient. Then he is obedient because he understands God wants him to be obedient. Then he is obedient because he expects all believers to be obedient. But best of all is when he is obedient because he is a true believer and simply has an obedient heart.

Hear that Randy Alcorn and JBC? Rewards for obedience should not be your primary driver of behavior. You act the way you act because that is who you are in Christ. Keep your precious crowns. I'll keep my loving obedience.

until he has finished

We sang a new song in service last week, and repeating it again tomorrow. It's been made popular by Chris Tomlin, who is like merlin when it comes to covering other artists' stuff. But the song was created by a less well-known group. Full lyrics can be found HERE Clip below shows the Bluetree lead in an acoustic version of it.

I wrote about "hope" a few days ago, and the reason this song is growing on me is that the chorus speaks to a hope. Many behave like they think God's work was done at the cross, and after that He kicked up His feet. But God is no absentee landlord, and He is still at work bringing about His grand plan, and great things He has done, no doubt, but keep looking forward and up, because the great, it's still a comin'.

therefore there arose a discussion on

I fly often, and my usual flight is a 5-6 hr trip. Because I don't suffer fools, 9 out of 10 times I don't speak a word to the person sitting beside me beyond a casual greeting. Every now and then I'll encounter someone I'll speak to for 5-10 min snippets. Last night, however, I ended up speaking to the guy beside me for several hours. The primary topic of conversation? Video games. Last night, my conversation moved from handheld games to opinions of specific games to the game industry to the different consoles, and embedded within the conversation I discussed anecdotes about video games.

What's interesting is that I can imagine many topics around which I'd carry on long conversations (with strangers or with friends): video games, favorite sports team, politics, golf, movies, etc. And the reason people can bond around these topics is that people have their own experiences and stories that they can tell about that topic. Conversations succeed when both parties can excitedly and/or passionately take a point of view and discuss. But what I realized this morning is that -- even in conversations with other believers -- there aren't a lot of conversations I have with people about faith that don't feel like I'm teaching Sunday School or trying to convey a message.

Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of conversations that include elements of faith. I've had arguments about theology. I've shared my testimony. I've discussed prayers. I've shared thoughts about particular scriptural passages. But these were all specific instances around specific topics. What is harder to recall is an organic conversation about faith that jumped from faith topic to faith topic where both parties shared stories about their faith. And I don't know if I'm alone in that experience or not. Thinking it would be great if I and all other Christians had similar conversations where we begin with Noah's Ark and move from there to Job to eternal security to Lazarus to election to why Joel Osteen is the antichrist, embedding our excitement and passion and personal stories about this walk, this wonderful walk we have before us at all times.

think kindly of us, longing to

Every now and then the Lord reveals things to me in flashes. Today while walking back to the office amidst a sea of people, I felt this tugging in my heart full of sadness. I felt this enormous upwelling of some mix of compassion and pity and heart, and looking from face to face to face made it more exponentially powerful. That it lasted just a few seconds is the Lord's grace to me, as any more than that, I do not know how I could've coped. I believe that what I felt was a minuscule slice of the heart of God for His people.

I don't know what He wants me to do with that glimpse. Perhaps it was an answer to an already-uttered prayer. Perhaps it was a sign pointing to some direction that is yet unclear to me. And perhaps it was just a reminder to me that He's always there, that He cares for me and others more than anyone could know or bear, and that my responsiblity is to have that heart, to not lose sight of that heart, to cling to that heart.

as for me, I will hope continually

I've written about President Obama BEFORE [Also, HERE and HERE]. Usually it's not so positive. And the reason is that he is an empty suit. He was not elected based on substance. He was elected based on hope. What Obama represents to his voters is a belief that things can be different: the hope that racism can die out; the hope that world peace can be achieved; the hope that the economy will improve; the hope that the US will be embraced on the world stage; etc etc etc. Looks like maybe that hope is running out.

It's not just Obama. People put their hope in a new coach for their sports team. In new medications to treat their health worries. In a new relationship to cure that internal loneliness. And these things eventually disillusion the masses. Because those hopes are in vain. Our hope can ONLY be in Jesus Christ; He is the only hope that will not fade away. Heb6 says that hope is "an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast". 1Pet1 says our hope is a "living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" and commands us to "fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." This idea of the hope of God is a powerful, powerful thing. We have this hole in our soul, one whose darkness seeks some light to dispel it. Our souls are wired to look for that light. And that light will not be found in the bottom of a bottle, in that attractive co-worker, in that optimistic coach, or in the Oval Office. It is only and ever found in Jesus Christ, in Him alone.

"For I hope in You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God." -- Ps38:15

to save that which was lost

"Loving the World" {Acts20:24, John17:18}
* Clarification: Do not love the world -- love the people of the world {1John2:15-17}
* People matter to God {John3:16}
* Jesus loved lost people {Matt9:36, Luke19:10}
* Jesus met the needs of unbelievers {James2:14-17}
* Jesus sends us into the world w/ a strategy {Acts1:8}
* How we can love the world
- Purposely befriend & pray for those in circle of influence
- Meet practical needs in community (MOPs, AWANA, Food Bank)
- Open hearts to orphan care {Ps68:5-6a, Ps82:3-4}
- Seek to understand other cultures & their needs
- Send works to share Gospel
- Support global workers in prayer {Col4:2-4}
- Support outreach effort to Tamajaq

therefore your whole body is

I've always been in relatively healthy physical shape, despite a diet consisting of primarily beef, cheese, sugar, and mac&cheese. But the past few weeks, I've been running and working out consistently almost every day. I've also changed breakfast from eggs to Cheerios, and been eating one serving at dinner instead of two. All of this extra attention to my physical condition has had one perverse side effect: I am weighing myself constantly and looking in the mirror way too frequently.

I've noted before that the world corrupts purity -- there is a fine line between lust/love, confidence/arrogance, justice-seeking/legalism -- and I think I'm crossing that line between being aware of my health and vanity. I can make the argument I'm doing this just so that I'll live longer for my family, but half the time I'm pretty sure I'm doing this all for washboard abs. And by the way, I don't buy that argument used by believers who love working out and eating healthily that 1Cor11:19-20 commands us to do so because the Spirit dwells in us. That has got to be as flimsy an argument as believers who defend gay rights by saying that God is love. I'm certain being a believer doesn't require a gym membership.

Not sure where I was going with this. Maybe just to let you know that tickets to the gun show are this way *flexes*.