How many times did my mom tell me to “Be Patient!” while I was growing up? I mean, if I had a nickel for every time, I would be Seriously. Rich.
And then God tells us to wait, and be patient. A. Lot.
But in most, if not all, of those instances, from my childhood memories or passages of scripture, when we are told to wait, we’re waiting ON, or FOR, something.
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
Psalm 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
Psalm 37:34
Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land;
Psalm 38:15
I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.
Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD; he
turned to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:6
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Isaiah 8:17
I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.
Lamentations 3:24
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
Micah 7:7
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
What do you do when you find yourself waiting, on nothing? When you find yourself ready to…” race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...[a place of] just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting. (*thanks Dr. Seuss!)
Have you ever been there? Just waiting? On nothing? **sigh** It’s a weird place to be! When you find yourself graduated from all your degrees, when you have that job you sought, when you find that relationship that has eluded you for so many years, when you get that house you wanted, when you get home from that trip you were looking forward to… and what’s next? You don’t know!
That, my friends, is when I think patience is tested the most. When you don’t even know what you’re waiting for but you want it to be BIG - something GRAND for the Lord. Something that will rock the world and bring millions to the Lord. Something that will change history and generations to come because of your life and faith. but you. don't. know. what. it. is... but you trust that it’s good. Because it’s God. And He’s good.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
And how is this going to happen? By us being still?
CRAZY!!! But maybe!
Things that make you go "Hhmmm..."
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
God's vomit
Revelation 3:14-16
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
The Message...
"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit."
Yikes!
Yep.
This evening in my Monk's assignment, I was suppose to relate myself to one of these two conditions:
1 - The first describes folks who go from one big sin to the next – and how Satan entices them with desires and the promise of satisfaction in their selfish lives, and how the Holy Spirit just picks at their consciences and tries to reason with them about what they are doing.
2 - The second describes people that are intensely cleansing their lives and rising from good to better in the service of God. In their lives, the enemy bites at them, tries to sadden, place obstacles in their way, disquiets them with false thinking and discourages. In them the Holy Spirit gives courage, consoles, inspires and gives quiet, removing hindrances so that they feel they can move forward.
I mean, I don't see myself as either of those right now. It's sad to say - Not about the first one. I don't think I'm some heathen jumping from one big sin to the next while Satan sensationally tempts me with the satisfaction of selfish desires. Yet, I think I would be overstating my condition if I said I was "intensely cleansing my life and rising from good to better in my service of God.
Are those really my only options? How about just hanging out, doing my thing, not really being bad, not really drawing people to Him either. But wait, that's not being cold, nor hot.
Did God just throw up a little in His mouth? Did I do that?
Crap - I need to take a long, hard look at this one.
God, sorry I make You sick to Your stomach. But thanks for pointing it out...
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
The Message...
"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit."
Yikes!
Yep.
This evening in my Monk's assignment, I was suppose to relate myself to one of these two conditions:
1 - The first describes folks who go from one big sin to the next – and how Satan entices them with desires and the promise of satisfaction in their selfish lives, and how the Holy Spirit just picks at their consciences and tries to reason with them about what they are doing.
2 - The second describes people that are intensely cleansing their lives and rising from good to better in the service of God. In their lives, the enemy bites at them, tries to sadden, place obstacles in their way, disquiets them with false thinking and discourages. In them the Holy Spirit gives courage, consoles, inspires and gives quiet, removing hindrances so that they feel they can move forward.
I mean, I don't see myself as either of those right now. It's sad to say - Not about the first one. I don't think I'm some heathen jumping from one big sin to the next while Satan sensationally tempts me with the satisfaction of selfish desires. Yet, I think I would be overstating my condition if I said I was "intensely cleansing my life and rising from good to better in my service of God.
Are those really my only options? How about just hanging out, doing my thing, not really being bad, not really drawing people to Him either. But wait, that's not being cold, nor hot.
Did God just throw up a little in His mouth? Did I do that?
Crap - I need to take a long, hard look at this one.
God, sorry I make You sick to Your stomach. But thanks for pointing it out...
Sunday, January 10, 2010
patient, and persistent
This was a Study Note in my Bible for Luke 11:5-13...
“Do you ever feel impatient with God? Does He seem late in answering your requests or meeting your needs? Jesus spoke to the issues of how to pray, how long to pray, and how long it might take God to answer. One day His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray and He told a story about someone with a need who was very persistent in asking a neighbor for help.
The story makes it clear that our ability to ask doesn’t equal God’s ability to give, or His timing. God’s not a celestial bellhop waiting on our every beck and call. Neither does He rely on us to define our needs, outline solutions, or say when or how He should act. No, God does those things for us – which is just as well since He’s the wise one out of the two of us. (Just yesterday I was reminded how God intercedes for us - again, we are reminded how He knows better how to ANSWER prayers as well..).
God delights in His children developing the habit and freedom of asking Him for help. But He won’t leave us trapped in our limited perception of the situation. Sooner or late He will answer our prayers, but in His own time, and His own way. He asks us to trust Him to know what is needed and when.
Our calling, then, is to ask – even persistently ask – and to grow in the process. One of the surprising benefits of prayer is how much we change. Sometimes, that in itself is the answer to our prayers.”
Am I persistent in my prayers?
I find myself persistent in asking humans in my life. But if I truly believe those bigger things, then why don’t I continue, or even start, asking God? Novel idea – why haven’t I thought of this before? Hmm.
And then I have had a desire for quite a while now for deeper community and fellowship at church, and to find ways to become more involved. Have I asked God for it? Yeah, lazily here and there – but that’s not persistently knocking on the door that Jesus talks about in Luke. Maybe we have not, because we ask not. And not just not asking once, we can all do that – that’s easy. But really ask. Persistently ask. Just like as parents, or since I know nothing about that, as teachers. As a teacher, there were kids and times that they would come and ask to go to the restroom. That time wasn’t really convenient, so my theory was that I would say no, then if they took the effort to ask AGAIN, then I would know they really needed to go. Lame, I understand that, but we all do it – I imagine parents use the same M.O. at times as well. And if we are created in God’s image, then that means that some of our tendencies are God-like, in that, we act innately the way God created us in His image to act. So then, doesn’t God probably do this same thing? Hmm… well, she asked, but is this important enough to her to ask again? And again, and again? If she gives up and stops at the first sign of discouragement, then is it really that important to her?
Maybe I need to learn, or re-learn over and over again, the habit of persistent prayer. It's not like I've never heard, or read, this before. It's just that sometimes I feel like I’m just saying the same thing over and over again, and scripture tells us not to send up rote, tired prayers – But sometimes we are told to knock and knock and knock, until the door is opened. Or until we are changed in the process.
You can’t make things like community happen, I know – but I’ve had it and it’s so sweet. I want that again. But maybe God has me here for a purpose, and for a time. And during that time, maybe I’m supposed to plant my own garden and tend to my own flowers, and share them with those around me first. When Jeremiah wrote to those remaining in exile, he said… Jer 29:5-7 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce... seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you.”
And I do love this “city” that I’m in. Sometimes I wish for some more neighbors – but all in good, no, God’s time.
“Do you ever feel impatient with God? Does He seem late in answering your requests or meeting your needs? Jesus spoke to the issues of how to pray, how long to pray, and how long it might take God to answer. One day His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray and He told a story about someone with a need who was very persistent in asking a neighbor for help.
The story makes it clear that our ability to ask doesn’t equal God’s ability to give, or His timing. God’s not a celestial bellhop waiting on our every beck and call. Neither does He rely on us to define our needs, outline solutions, or say when or how He should act. No, God does those things for us – which is just as well since He’s the wise one out of the two of us. (Just yesterday I was reminded how God intercedes for us - again, we are reminded how He knows better how to ANSWER prayers as well..).
God delights in His children developing the habit and freedom of asking Him for help. But He won’t leave us trapped in our limited perception of the situation. Sooner or late He will answer our prayers, but in His own time, and His own way. He asks us to trust Him to know what is needed and when.
Our calling, then, is to ask – even persistently ask – and to grow in the process. One of the surprising benefits of prayer is how much we change. Sometimes, that in itself is the answer to our prayers.”
Am I persistent in my prayers?
I find myself persistent in asking humans in my life. But if I truly believe those bigger things, then why don’t I continue, or even start, asking God? Novel idea – why haven’t I thought of this before? Hmm.
And then I have had a desire for quite a while now for deeper community and fellowship at church, and to find ways to become more involved. Have I asked God for it? Yeah, lazily here and there – but that’s not persistently knocking on the door that Jesus talks about in Luke. Maybe we have not, because we ask not. And not just not asking once, we can all do that – that’s easy. But really ask. Persistently ask. Just like as parents, or since I know nothing about that, as teachers. As a teacher, there were kids and times that they would come and ask to go to the restroom. That time wasn’t really convenient, so my theory was that I would say no, then if they took the effort to ask AGAIN, then I would know they really needed to go. Lame, I understand that, but we all do it – I imagine parents use the same M.O. at times as well. And if we are created in God’s image, then that means that some of our tendencies are God-like, in that, we act innately the way God created us in His image to act. So then, doesn’t God probably do this same thing? Hmm… well, she asked, but is this important enough to her to ask again? And again, and again? If she gives up and stops at the first sign of discouragement, then is it really that important to her?
Maybe I need to learn, or re-learn over and over again, the habit of persistent prayer. It's not like I've never heard, or read, this before. It's just that sometimes I feel like I’m just saying the same thing over and over again, and scripture tells us not to send up rote, tired prayers – But sometimes we are told to knock and knock and knock, until the door is opened. Or until we are changed in the process.
You can’t make things like community happen, I know – but I’ve had it and it’s so sweet. I want that again. But maybe God has me here for a purpose, and for a time. And during that time, maybe I’m supposed to plant my own garden and tend to my own flowers, and share them with those around me first. When Jeremiah wrote to those remaining in exile, he said… Jer 29:5-7 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce... seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you.”
And I do love this “city” that I’m in. Sometimes I wish for some more neighbors – but all in good, no, God’s time.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
He sticks up for me?
So my friend Courtney and I have started our Bible Study - well, it's not really a Bible Study per se, it's more of a Spiritual Exercise, that's going to last a really long time - that's been done for centuries and was written by a monk, and we are pumped about it. But I'll get on with it.
This is the first week, and I'm on day 3. Of course I want it to immediately change my life, I have always struggled with patience, I know - you're all shocked. So my prayer today was for that - for patience to allow God to begin changing me, day by day, week by week, until I am a little bit different then than I am today. Progress - not that I have achieved perfection, but that I press on toward the goal... Yeah, that.
But it's already cool. The assignments are different. They make you read, and listen, and use your imagination, which is fun. On day one we were to read Luke 15:1-7 and pretend we were there watching what was going on. I'll leave it to you to read it, but it's when Jesus is talking with a group of riff-raffians and some religious leaders come along and chastise Him for it, and He tells the story of the lost sheep. Afterwards, in my reflection, I wrote this...
"...God’s grace in this is that He welcomes folks like me, to Him, who’s SO NOT LIKE ME. But on top of that – He stands up for me. I think that’s the part that tugs at my heart more than any other – it’s not just that He befriends me, but He sticks up for me and stands up for my character, even when other’s attack it. Even when I know that there are things in it that aren’t very sticking-up-for-worthy, you know? He’s not ashamed of me, nor is He afraid to go to bat for me. He is God, He can do whatever He wants to, and He doesn’t have to do any of that. Yet He does.
Isn’t that the nature of grace – doing what He doesn’t have to do just because He can, and because I need the help? That’s a pretty cool God..."
Today, our passage to read was Romans 8:26-34. It's a passage I've read all my life, so I went and looked it up in some different versions, you know, variety is the spice of life! And I love reading scripture in different ways, especially those passages that seem to be burned into our memories from childhood Sunday School Classes. This is a great one, though, one that has meant a lot to me a lot of times in my life - reminding me that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me and prays for me when I don't even have words. That is such a sweet picture to me, on those dark nights of the soul when you go to the Father and just sit, wordless - He knows the words and He prays them for us. That is priceless to me. But then it goes on to talk about how with God on our side, who can be against us? This is what The Message says...
"With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us — is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us!"
Ummm... how sweet is that?!?!
God’s care and nearness. His interceding. His sticking up for me. What a cool God I serve.
The end of my assignment tonight asked me where God's grace is in all of this.
God’s grace is all over this….
This is the first week, and I'm on day 3. Of course I want it to immediately change my life, I have always struggled with patience, I know - you're all shocked. So my prayer today was for that - for patience to allow God to begin changing me, day by day, week by week, until I am a little bit different then than I am today. Progress - not that I have achieved perfection, but that I press on toward the goal... Yeah, that.
But it's already cool. The assignments are different. They make you read, and listen, and use your imagination, which is fun. On day one we were to read Luke 15:1-7 and pretend we were there watching what was going on. I'll leave it to you to read it, but it's when Jesus is talking with a group of riff-raffians and some religious leaders come along and chastise Him for it, and He tells the story of the lost sheep. Afterwards, in my reflection, I wrote this...
"...God’s grace in this is that He welcomes folks like me, to Him, who’s SO NOT LIKE ME. But on top of that – He stands up for me. I think that’s the part that tugs at my heart more than any other – it’s not just that He befriends me, but He sticks up for me and stands up for my character, even when other’s attack it. Even when I know that there are things in it that aren’t very sticking-up-for-worthy, you know? He’s not ashamed of me, nor is He afraid to go to bat for me. He is God, He can do whatever He wants to, and He doesn’t have to do any of that. Yet He does.
Isn’t that the nature of grace – doing what He doesn’t have to do just because He can, and because I need the help? That’s a pretty cool God..."
Today, our passage to read was Romans 8:26-34. It's a passage I've read all my life, so I went and looked it up in some different versions, you know, variety is the spice of life! And I love reading scripture in different ways, especially those passages that seem to be burned into our memories from childhood Sunday School Classes. This is a great one, though, one that has meant a lot to me a lot of times in my life - reminding me that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me and prays for me when I don't even have words. That is such a sweet picture to me, on those dark nights of the soul when you go to the Father and just sit, wordless - He knows the words and He prays them for us. That is priceless to me. But then it goes on to talk about how with God on our side, who can be against us? This is what The Message says...
"With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us — is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us!"
Ummm... how sweet is that?!?!
God’s care and nearness. His interceding. His sticking up for me. What a cool God I serve.
The end of my assignment tonight asked me where God's grace is in all of this.
God’s grace is all over this….
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