Posted in Heart of "The Father", Thought for the Day / Quotes, Word Pictures, tagged bright and shiny things on December 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »
I am like a child lost at the mall
Though my eyes can be drawn to the bright and shiny things
And my nostrils filled with the smells of sticky treats
And my ears tickled with the festive sounds
My heart yearns to find my Father
And to abide in the warmth of His presence
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes, Word Pictures, tagged destiny, poured out, purpose on December 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »
It’s not a bowl’s destiny to remain clean and stored in the cupboard. It was made to be a vessel, poured out for the nourishment of others. Washing it simply prepares it to serve it’s purpose.
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, Word Pictures, tagged convince, refuse to believe on December 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Trying to convince someone of something they refuse to believe is akin to throwing rocks at a closed door. All it does is damage the doorway.
Posted in Commentaries, Heart of "The Father", Opinions, Word Pictures, tagged blaming God, condition of the world, evil in the world, God's covenant, mankind on November 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »
There was once a generous father, who yearned to create a wonderful life for his son. So when the boy came of age, the father gave him a beautiful house to live in, which sat on many acres of prime land. He told his son that he could live there all the days of his life and that the only cost would be that of caring for the place. Though the son was excited, he reminded his father that he knew nothing of caring for land, or a house, or even for himself. His father let him know that he could call on him at any time, and that he would always make himself available. But he also assured the son that he would not intrude on his new life, and that he would only come when he was invited. To help him, he gave his son a large book that contained guidance on many of the questions that he anticipated he might have. The son was greatly encouraged by these things and was quick to embrace his new life.
In those first days, the son called on his father frequently, sometimes on multiple occasions within the same day. But as time passed the increment between those calls grew longer. Soon after moving into the house, the son took a wife, and they started a family. But within a short time weeds began sprouting in the fields, and the house began to fall into disrepair. Whenever the son called, his father would come quickly; but the younger man’s wife was not comfortable having her father-in-law around. Though he’d never said anything disparaging, she felt sure that he was judging her and them. She shared this suspicion with her husband, and he soon felt the same. On occasion the son would refer to the book his father had left for him, and though it was sometimes helpful, he soon decided that it was too big and cumbersome to deal with.
As more time passed, the land was overrun with brush, and there was no lush grass for the animals to eat. Parts of the once beautiful house were collapsing and no longer inhabitable. The children were sick from the unsanitary conditions, and his wife complained bitterly about the low quality of their lives. Most days, the man sat idly on the porch, wondering how things had turned out this way.
One day, a traveler came down the road and approached the son. He said that he’d heard a grand tale about a generous father, who had bestowed a great and extravagant gift upon his son. He said that he wanted to see these things for himself. But the son said, that he didn’t know such a man, and that all his father had given him was this rundown shack, which sits on this unfruitful soil. When the traveler suggested that at least his father had given him something of an inheritance, the son harshly replied that if his father was indeed the kind and generous man that he sought, he would have never allowed his son’s life to deteriorate to this point. At that, the traveler bid the son good day and moved on.
I would like to suggest that this is a metaphor for the Creator, and His creation. He created the earth, and gave it to mankind to do with it as they pleased. He made a covenant with them, and promised that He would make Himself available to anyone who called. He even authored a book to help us. But as time has passed, this beautiful gift has deteriorated significantly and for the most part we stubbornly refuse to call on Him. Within the story, the wife represents the earthly things which hold our affection, and the children symbolize the natural outcome of those affinities. While we can generally accept the notion of a God who will provide for us, we struggle to receive One who might also judge us. As a result, we’ve tossed out His book, or at least stuck it on a shelf, and we blame Him for the poor condition of our world. We say things like, “If He’s really such a loving God, why is there so much evil, and sickness, and death in the world?” I would suggest that it is simply the result of reaping what we as the human race have sown. Like the son in the story, we have not because we ask not. In the book of Proverbs it says that there is a way that seems right to a man, but that it ultimately leads to death.
Posted in Entertainment/Music/Sports, Thought for the Day / Quotes, Word Pictures, tagged basketball, perseverance, tune out voices on December 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »
With our two youngest (Andrew and Bekah) playing for their respective high school basketball teams, we spend a lot of time courtside. As a matter of fact, we’re in the midst of a five day stretch where either the boy’s team, or the girl’s team, has a night-time away game. And when you frequently hang around such venues it’s not uncommon to encounter people who think that “basketball is life”. But from where I sit, it is life that is a lot like basketball.
Like basketball, life requires preparation. You may get by for a while on natural ability, but at some point you have to invest yourself in it, if you hope to have sustained success. Just like traversing the length of the floor, and getting to the rim, there will always be situations, scenarios, and obstacles, that stand in your way. It requires patience, perseverance, and some amount of skill, to negotiate those hurdles. It is only on rare occasions that you find yourself completely on the other side of these things, with a clear path to the goal. When those openings come, you must be ready; because such windows of opportunity close quickly. There are times when you need to press, and other times when you need to let the game come to you. Sometimes you can simply cover a zone, but other times demand one-on-one attention. Discerning those times is a significant key to victory. Likewise, you will find that there are often fouls in life that never get called, times when your teammates won’t pass the ball, and moments when you inexplicably dribble the ball off your own foot, or shoot it over the backboard. How you handle these moments of disappointment, frustration, and failure, will drastically impact your potential for future achievement. Finally, there is the noise that surrounds the game. The instructions of a coach, the cheers and jeers of the crowd, the call of a ref, the encouragement or chastening of a teammate, the trash talk of an opponent, and the little voice inside your head that responds to all of them. Knowing which voices to listen to, and which ones to tune out, is a crucial skill that every player needs to develop.
Church Government
Posted in Commentaries, Word Pictures, tagged Christian culture, deceptive philosophy, democracy, monachy on April 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »
I heard a couple of sermons on Sunday, one of which spoke of “The King”, and the other that addressed holiness. They put me in mind of something I wrote many years ago. I guess I never published it, because I had to dig it out of an old notebook.
Church Government
I saw a picture in my mind of the British Parliament, and I sensed the question, “Is England a Monarchy or a Democracy?” Now this seemed to be a fairly unspiritual question, but I began to ponder my answer. My immediate impulse was to say it was a monarchy, but the picture of the parliament reminded me that it was in fact a democracy. While England does have a “Royal Family”, they actually have no real function within the day-to-day running of the country. While some might claim that they still have a “monarchy”, it is not their way of government.
As I continued to meditate in this vein another question came; “Why are the people of England willing to pay the expense of this royal family, when they serve no real purpose in the governing of their country?” I sensed that the answer lies in the people’s desire to be associated with the monarchy. That all of the pomp and trappings of royalty make the people feel royal about themselves, as though this distinguishes them from other countries. It occurred to me that if the people of England really believed in the concept of a monarchy (i.e. that the royal family was God ordained and bred for leadership) that there wouldn’t be anyone else they would want to run their country; but instead they have chosen democracy as their form of government.
Certainly as an American I can appreciate democracy, because as a citizen I want my beliefs and desires to be reflected in the leadership of my community, my state and this nation. There is nothing wrong with the British choosing democracy over a monarchy, but their desire to maintain the trappings of royalty creates an interesting illusion; it helps them to view themselves as one thing when they’re really something else.
As I continued to pray, I sensed the Lord say that this is a picture of His church. He said that though we claim Him as “King”, He is rarely allowed to be involved in the decision making process, or the day to day affairs of the church; that decisions are primarily made by the people and for the people; that though we desire to be associated with His majesty, we do not necessarily desire to submit to His authority, and that though His name appears on the letterhead, the words of the message do not necessarily come from Him.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul warned of the body becoming disconnected from the Head; he said, “see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ”. It seems that much of popular Christian culture has based itself on “the basic principles of this world”, and that in attempt to become relevant to the world, we’ve conformed ourselves to what we think will be found appealing in the marketplace. Much of the “Christian” guidance (i.e. books, tapes, seminars…) on subjects like marriage, child rearing, inner healing… are more rooted in psychology than in God’s word, and we’ve even begun to study the corporate world for marketing strategies to be deployed within the church. Based on these strategies, which put “what the people want” at the forefront, we are now seeing new interpretations (read; not necessarily translations) of scripture, which subtly distort anything which might offend someone who has adapted to the current cultural view.
In the book of Revelation there are messages to seven churches, which seem to be representative of the end time churches. Within those the Lord points out some positive things, but He also gives stern warnings about the things He has against them. He warns about forsaking our first love (i.e. allowing something other than Christ to be at the forefront of the church); that we must being willing to endure hardship and suffering (i.e. be willing to forsake our comfort); against adhering to false doctrines, which allow us to indulge our flesh and still believe that we are righteous before a Holy God; against tolerating sexual immorality within the church; against falling asleep, and not fulfilling His role for the church and against being lukewarm in our relationship with Him. It is hard to deny that all of these things are prominently featured within modern Christianity.
At the end of each message there is a promise, but those promises are reserved for those who overcome these things. Despite warnings throughout the New Testament, the Western church seems to be falling into many of these deadly patterns. Our only hope is to re-connect to the Head, to tune our ears to His Holy Spirit; to renew our relationship with our “First Love”, to seek the Lord while He may be found, and to be like Jesus (e.g. to only do what we see the Father doing first).
Within this portion of Revelation, the one group the Lord doesn’t seem to have an issue with is the church of Philadelphia, which He says kept His word and did not deny His name. This seems to be such a basic principle and yet this is the only church of which He could say this. If we would choose to be that church, the promises of God are waiting for us there. “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
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