Jeremiah – Running After Papa

Waves (James 1)

James 1:6 NIV “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

A few weeks ago, in the midst of some very big “asks” with the Lord, this verse stayed top of mind for a few weeks. The New King James translates it as “… let him ask in faith, with no doubting…” and the root word for what the NIV calls “believe” and what the NKJV calls “faith” is pistis. I’ve written about this word a few times, the most recent being Faith & Doubt (Mark 11) and Faith: What is it? so I won’t expound on it here.

I’ve really begun to look deeper into the example James uses. What are the characteristics of waves and how do they apply here and to my life? How do they describe the state of my being when I doubt? Carrying the example out, how does believing make me less like a wave?

Waves Are Random

When I say “a wave”, what do you see when you close your eyes? Most of us see some sort of wave on a body of water. That’s about as much similarity as we can state. Wikipedia has a fairly extensive discussion on the many types of waves and forms of waves across all types of mediums (water, sound, light, etc…) You can read it here. Let’s keep the discussion of waves in context of waves on a body of water. Even with that, there are no clear definitions of what a wave looks like. They have a pseudo-form, but can vary greatly from a slight series of rings that ripple out from a small pebble tossed in a very still pond, to a 20-foot (or greater), life-threatening whitecaps out on the ocean. Both are waves. While I assume there is a technically a definite beginning and end of a wave, it is clearly not easy to accurately identify for the casual observer. The one constant is that they freely move up and down, back and forth, in and out, and constantly change shapes – often times spilling out or falling over (as in a whitecap).

When I doubt, I am like a wave. I am not clearly defined and morph and change with the pressures and obstacles of life. But when I believe – when I ask in faith – I am fortified to stand firm – with definition of who I am in Christ and more importantly, who Christ is in me.

1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”

2 Corinthians 1:21 NLT “It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ.”

When I believe – when I ask in faith – I am positioned and permanent to display Christ in me.

Waves Are Reactive

Waves exist because of a reaction to something else – some outside force – be that an object, the wind, a current, a shift in it’s foundation (i.e. an earthquake). The height, shape, speed, spread, and intensity of the wave is determined by the force acted upon it. Waves are a reaction to the world around it.

When I ask in faith – when I believe and not doubt – I am confident in God’s plan and not reactive to the world around me because I know who He is and that His heart is for me.

Jeremiah 2:11-12 NKJV “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”

When I believe – when I ask in faith – I am purposed and peaceful and not moved by the world around me.

Waves are Running

Waves are always moving from point to point – constantly moving and being moved by the forces around them.

When I doubt – I too am constantly seeking and constantly moving – looking for an answer, looking for relief, looking for some way out or away from whatever I’m reacting to. This is not God’ s plan. I’m to ask in faith. I’m to learn to be confident and trust in His will for me.

Psalms 37:5-9

5 Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.
9 For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land.

When I believe – when I ask in faith – I am planted in God’s peace and power and can rest in who He is

Ask in faith. Do not doubt.

Running After Papa…

God was not taken by surprise…

Numbers 8:1-4 (NKJV)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ” 3 And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. 4 Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work. According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

It hit me today as I was reading this passage that the LORD knew every detail of how he wanted his tabernacle – every detail, from structure to the way the contents were arranged… hammered gold flower details on the lamp stands… where he wanted them to be located … how HE wanted them to be arranged.

The last half of v4 says “According to the pattern which the LORD had shown to Moses…” So God had this all designed in every detail and then showed it to Moses at the appropriate time.

1 Cor 6:19 says that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is comforting to know that this Holy Spirit is the same God of the Old Testament who designed and arranged every detail of of the Mosaic temple. How much more does he want to design and arrange every detail of his new testament, post-crucifixion temple in you and me (Jer 29:11)? If He was that attentive to every detail of the Tabernacle, he is still that attentive to every detail of my life, because he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8) and He is incapable of change (Mal 3:6, James 1:16-18).

It is comforting to know, as a dear friend puts it, “God was not taken by surprise by this…” He already knows how whatever is going on is going to turn out.

It’s my job to be like Moses and spend time in His presence every day – getting my marching orders, receiving from Him how he wants to arrange the contents of my tabernacle, spending much time listening to Him and sharing what He has said with the people God has put in front of me.

Thank you Lord for authoring every detail of my life. Thank you for not being surprised by the events that unfold each day. Help me to hear you clearly – face to face – so that I might know how to arrange the articles of my temple and steward the plans you have made. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Running After Papa…

The Simple Truth of the Gospel

1 Cor 1:17-18 (Amplified Version)
17 For Christ (the Messiah) sent me out not to baptize but [to evangelize by] preaching the glad tidings (the Gospel), and that not with verbal eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of force and emptied of its power and rendered vain (fruitless, void of value, and of no effect).
18 For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.

Having just returned from another Quest, it breaks my heart to see how hurt, how angry, how fearful and how deceived the Body of Christ is. These are the good guys. These are the church going folks. Their story is just like mine was almost 3 years ago. “The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9) I was just as jacked up because I didn’t really understand my own depravity and just what a cesspool that is before the Lord.

I wonder if our “verbal eloquence” has deprived the message of the Cross it’s power in the body of Christ? It’s no wonder the big-C Church is so jacked up. We’ve built denominations and churches and philosophies and beliefs on smooth talk, catchy quips, neat-o illustrations, and persuasive arguments.

The cross of Christ has lost it’s power in the church because not many are willing to speak the simple truth, the confronting truth, the uncomfortable truth, the absolute truth, the politically incorrect truth of God that shows our deceitful and desperately sick hearts, that only Father God can understand and heal. Too many people want to make it palatable and appealing to the masses. God help us.

Verses 18 -31 go on to explain that God’s ways are not our ways. God calls the wise through foolishness, the strong through weakness, the significant through insignificance, and the rich through poverty – in order that as Jer 9:24 states, “…let him who boasts,… boast in.. the Lord…”

So, then the question remains – and I’ll ask it before anyone else does – How do we get The Church back to the simple truth that heals wounds, calms fears, and transforms lives here on earth?

Love… forever

Romans 8:38-39 (NLT) 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Oh how many times I’ve listened to this verse in various translations over the years. I bet I’ve heard or read it a hundred times… But, for some reason, today I really heard this verse with new ears. I began to read it really slow and let each phrase sink in.

“…nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.” Nothing? What about my own sinful pride? What about my deceitful and desperately sick heart (Jer 17:9)? Nothing? Thank you Lord that you have more grace and mercy in your heart than I have sin in my nature. Thank you Lord.

“Neither death nor life…” I am forever tied to His heart. Whatever happens to my physical body, to my flesh-suit is irrelevant to the eternal security of my spirit. Thank you Lord.

“…neither angels nor demons…” Even the spiritual beings have no bearing on how may Daddy loves me. Thank you Lord.

“… neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow…” Even my mind has no effect on God’s love for me. As I’ve studied over the past week, my mind can affect my ability to relate to Him, but it doesn’t keep me from God’s love for me. Thank you Lord.

“… not even the powers of hell can separate us [me] from God’s love…” That is powerful. Just because I am under attack and even when its sifted through Father’s hands, His love for me is still the same. I just have to endure and rest in knowing that He still loves me the same. Thank you Lord.

“No power in the sky above or the earth below – indeed nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us [me] from the love of God…” Nothing! Not even my own self – because I am part of “all creation” – can separate me from God’s love. Thank you Lord.

“... that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That is the key. Jesus Christ HAS to be Lord. He has to have COMPLETE control. I have to be in TOTAL SURRENDER to Him in order to have the confidence and peace of NEVER being out of God’s love. Thank you Lord.

Thank you God for your love… a love that isn’t affected or controlled by me; a perfect love that is inpenetrable to the effects of my sin; a love that never ends; a love that never changes. Teach me to love you the same way… with your heart and not my own.

Sin Unaware…

Passage:

Psalm 19:12-14 (NLT)12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

There was a time in my life when I was completely blind to my own sin. Scary? Not then. But looking back on it, I’m thankful God didn’t strike me dead. I am grateful for the work he has done so far in exposing my sinful nature, my “deceitful heart” as Jeremiah 17:9 (Click to see) puts it.

God has faithfully exposed and removed the planks from my eye, so to speak; those giant pink elephants in the room; the blatant sins and attitudes that were easy for everyone else to see but me.

Now the work continues… to be diligent about finding the hidden stuff, the stuff I’m still blind to. The “hidden faults” that David references in this passage. This is where the real work begins and it only comes by daily being in His presence and in His word to let it wash over me.

I need a Savior. I need a heart gardener. I need my Father in heaven to continually mold this heart into the vessel He needs it to be. That process includes His Word, His revelation and faithful men who will daily sharpen me.

Papa, keep digging. Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer! Amen.