From Our Daily Bread

I can always count on God, my heavenly Father,

For He changes not; He always is the same.

Yesterday, today, forever, He is faithful,

And I know He loves me, praise His holy name! —Felten

This strikes me as a consistent, yet subtle way of acknowledging God being ever present in your life. I "feel" like I am not a vocal, outspoken, exuberant, follower of Christ and this line of verse summarizes how I believe.

Of course, its six AM and I'm not sure I'm thinking clearly either.

Thoughts on Matthew, chapter 14

This is a hastily thrown together post, but I wanted to share it and get some feedback. Jonathan Carroll and I are "studying" the bible together (I put studying in quotes because we're over 1,000 miles apart and have no way to meet and discuss, blah, blah, blah…) and we've agreed to start with the book of Matthew. I've read the first thirteen chapters, so I'll start this entry with the fourteenth chapter.

14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea

14:26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "it is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.

I wonder if there are times in our lives when Jesus approaches us in a most improbable manner (like walking on water) and we fail to recognize Him like the disciples in verse 26. What would the "unlikely" approach of Jesus look like to us today? Will we hear Him calm us in verse 27: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

We know Peter's response. Why did he respond to Jesus that way? Was it just in his nature to test Jesus by asking Him to prove Himself? Was Peter just anxious to be the first in all things? I don't know Peter's motivation, but I do know that because he asked the Lord to prove that He was who He said He was, that he also walked on water.

Is Jesus standing out in the midst of some storm surround me, willing for me to walk on the water to meet Him? Will I be able to keep my eyes on Jesus and ignore the wind and the waves so I can stay atop the water? Or will I be like Peter and look away from Jesus and find myself drowning in a lack of faith?

I am confident that what is written in the bible is true, accurate, and the inspired Word of God. Whether I can literally walk on water is inconsequential. Can I keep my eyes focused on Jesus in the midst of the storm? Will I recognize Him when He approaches me from the most unlikely of places?

Most days the most difficult storms for me to face are the mundane things: cooking dinner, bath time for the kids, helping Meredith get ready for bed; etc. As events deviate from the norm I feel engulfed by the tempest of anxiety and frustration. I know that I am not on the lookout for Jesus. And even if I were, I imagine that I would be terrified (or angry, even) at the sight of Him that I would cower in fear in my storm-tossed boat without the courage to ask as Peter did, "command me to come to you on the water."

What keeps us in the boat when the safest place to be would be in the arms of Jesus? The appearance that that boat will protect us? The wind and waves between (or around) Jesus and ourselves?

Is my grace that expansive?

We're reading through the 40-year journey of the Israelites in church and our home groups. This week the home group topic was Rahab. Seems like a pretty straightforward story, right? A prostitute has heard about the mighty God that is kicking butt on behalf of the Israelites, so she decides to help the spies who are checking out Jericho. They really appreciate it, and she and her family are saved when the Israelites come back and take over.

Here's the thing - the question was asked, "What do you make of the New Testament's affirmation of "Rahab the prostitute" (Heb 11:31, James 2:25)?" One of the answers (multiple choice or fill in your own) was "God's grace is more inclusive than ours". So the assumption is that many of us don't believe people in different circles, different circumstances, etc., deserve grace.

I have a problem with that. I believe that Jesus died for everyone. But here's my struggle. I think that sometimes our consequences are necessary for our growth. What do I mean? I mean, I don't/won't help some people when they keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over and over again. Does that mean I'm not grace-filled? Does that mean that I should be a doormat? What does that look like in real life??

I guess I'm wrestling with my THOUGHTS and FEELINGS of grace towards people and my ACTIONS or lack thereof towards people who I don't think "deserve" my help.

Any help?

Lord of the Rings

So, I've been sick and I watched the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy over the last couple of days. Now, I'm a big fan of the novels and to date it is the only set of books that I've read more than once. However, I am not really certain about the Christian themes that are said to be rife throughout the book(s).

I know that Tolkien was a devout Christian whose faith helped lead C.S. Lewis to redemption in Christ. But I just don't see any overt Christian allegories in the Lord of the Rings. Perhaps I am not looking deeply enough or perhaps I am looking for a neat and tidy allegory that isn't there. Either way, other than the general sense of good triumphing over evil, I don't find too many connections leaping out of the text that would make me say, "Ooo, now that's a good analogy for original sin."

Now discuss...

Humble yourself

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)

My faith doesn't seem to cover this promise from God. I do my best to keep humble before God, but I can't stop wondering when "due time" will come. Today, perhaps?

Of course, when I reflect on "God's mighty hand" it gives me pause. I don't want to be a grumbler and God's mighty hand is a rather intimidating (in a good way) means of keeping me humble. I guess I'll keep reminding myself that being humble isn't just about me being humble, but it's also about being under God's mighty hand.

Purpose of this blog

So, there are a few different ideas of how to use this blog and maybe it would be a good idea to "discuss" them in the comment section of this post. Here are some of the ideas floated around for blog purposes:

• book discussion (Jonathan suggested Crazy Love by Francis Chan)
• Bible study (either prescribed or ad lib)
• whatever suits our fancy

Other thoughts I had this morning are about "rules" that should govern this blog in the event that we wanted to open it to more people (or make it public). For example...should the the sub heading of our blog read:

For Christians who want to blog. For encouragement to stay in the Way. To glorify God and His only Son, Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Or something like that.

Maybe I'm making too much out of this. My computer time is seriously limited and I am considering limiting it even more by jettisoning my DSL service (not that it's bad, just expensive and not used enough to justify the cost).

A different preposition

I am going through another Beth Moore study (she's great, by the way - I highly recommend her stuff - even for guys!), and she talked about Christ's sacrifice this way:

Jesus not only died for you, He died INSTEAD of you.

Wow. I guess I intellectually knew that, but I had never pondered it in quite that way. Instead of me. That puts a whole new spin on Christ's sacrifice.