Category: Blog

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Self pep talk.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.” Psalms‬ ‭62:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David often pep-talked himself, in declarations describing God’s nature, His character. In other translations, this verse uses the word “rest.” The word is dumiyyah: a silence, a quiet waiting. If there is one place to feel safe, secure and not anxious it is in this cleft in the rock. It’s this idea of being surrounded by a naturally strong hiding place or standing upon an immovable object. I need somewhere safe to run to, to stand on, to feel protected. God is that person, personified as a place.

I never had a sense that I could run into my mom’s or dad’s arms and feel loved and safe. Having never met my birth mom and being adopted into a strange home, was difficult as a child. I guess it’s not their fault, maybe they were waiting for me to reach out? Either way I had no sense of someone bigger, stronger or smarter to run to when I felt threatened or overwhelmed. God became my only refuge, my only hope of consolation. I learned as David did, that God is physically, emotionally, spiritually there for me when I was afraid.

David closes out this thought with a powerful encouragement. “God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you; unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. Surely you repay all people according to what they have done.” I think about this in terms of the word control. I have very little. I do not control most of the situations that happen all around me, not the least of which is people. And, I have learned the hard way, neither do I have the power to fix humans! However, God DOES control, guide, and continues to make ways where there were none. And, best of all, God has ALL power. He can and does fix humans, if we’ll let him. He’s the only one that can heal a broken soul, restore a broken relationship, transform a life once littered with trash and tragedy. God has done this in me, for me. If I can be an agent for leading and directing people back to him, I will have accomplished my purpose in this life.

Prayer

Dad,
Just knowing you as THE source of protection and of power is encouraging. Just knowing that all things work together for your will and our good is comforting. Just knowing that you and you alone are a quiet place of refuge, to be still, to breath deeply is restorative for my own restless soul. And when I come across broken people, or impossible cultural behaviors that are barriers to where you want us to be, I believe you are powerful to change hearts, minds and situations. Thank you.

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God had had it with us

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods. Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the Lord. “From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.” Jeremiah‬ ‭32:29-31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I always wondered what Israel did to really tick God off. Now I know. God tells Jeremiah exactly what has been going on in secret and in public. I am currently doing a deep dive in Nehemiah and it is a sad and slow process of rebuilding and revisioning a new future. Everything the people had known had been gone for 70 years. God mentions specific offensive sins the people did in their own homes, on the rooftops in plain, public site. They poured out drink offerings to other gods. Gods and images that were not real and could not answer any of the people’s prayers. Later in the passage God said their wickedness had no end they, “They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!” The nerve to set up idols in the temple built and dedicated to God. They put up idol shrines all over the countryside and actually sacrificed their own children to these false gods of Molech. As humans, we will stop at nothing to get our own way, yet not even give the creator of the universe the courtesy of obeying Him. We will and have for centuries, sacrificed our own children to have our own way and rebel. I don’t just see this in Israel’s sin, I see it in our own culture today! God had enough and allowed Babylon to come in, strip and burn everything to the ground. Then Babylon carried off the millions of Israelites into slavery and exile. Compared to cities, temples and buildings, which mean NOTHING to God – people however are eternal and worth saving. Our worth, our value is not in the things we build, the progress and advancements in technology or the fact that we can send a spacecraft to mars and back. We find worth in humans, created in God’s image and bearing the breath of God upon us. From the tiniest baby in a womb to the frail senior who passes from this life – all valued and loved by God.

Prayer

Dad,
What a rough story for Israel. What a stark reality for our own existence as well. It’s hard to fathom the depth of anger, frustration and rebellion bound up in our human hearts. We have such deep cravings to do wrong, to go our stubborn independant ways. Yet, we blame you for everything that goes wrong even though it originated with our decisions. We’re a goofy bunch. It’s hard to see what you see in us. Something worth saving, worth the patience and pursuit. I am certainly glad for your grace towards me.

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Passion vs planning.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.” Proverbs‬ ‭19:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I would think that passion makes the world go around. However, without a deep understanding of a problem, the history of its journey and the people involved, change will not take place. The new phrase is “change comes at the speed of trust,” but relationships, good feels and passion won’t give a solution or an idea enough traction for the long-haul known as deep change.

Passion does inspire. Passion, or enthusiasm (Greek: in God, filled with God) gives hope and lifts the soul to perk up and see a preferred future. But, without a plan, or knowledge as the wisdom writers put it, I find no path, no roadmap of where all the excitement is supposed to lead.

I Imagine a track star shooting off the starting block to race towards the finish line only to find there is no finish line, no track, no path. Instead she just runs in competitive fashion, filled with heightened adrenaline-fueled passion with no direction at all! The track, the route, the path and most importantly, the finish line IS the well marked plan, with a photo-finish ending. With no knowledge, no plan, it just results in wandering and possibly getting lost.

The Hebrew word for enthusiasm here is nephesh: a feminine noun. Meaning a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, or emotion. And the Hebrew word for mistakes is chata: to miss, go wrong, sin.

Prayer

Dad,
I would like both please! Knowledge and passion. I love the energy of passion that drives the clarity of knowledge or a plan. I want both because I need both. I would also love it if you could throw in wisdom, which James says I lack because I don’t ask. I am asking for wisdom as well. These are the things necessary for me to lead. Not just my life, but those you have called me to shepherd to, to care for and love. Help me get them where you want us to go and to be who you want us to be along the way. Thank you in advance.

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HOPEBROKER

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” Luke‬ ‭14:26-27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​All or nothing.

Yes, this is the part of the gospel story that we don’t often talk about. A relationship with God is not only primary, it’s all consuming. It is an all or nothing situation! Jesus saying, “by comparison,” our love for God, our consuming desire to follow, obey and dedicate our entire life to him makes it look like we don’t give a rip about all the other family responsibilities, including: dad, mom, wife kids and siblings. I would guess even grandparents, but they are not mentioned 😬. There are other Bible references that discuss this. Like, “eat of my flesh, drink of my blood” verses. Or, “be hot or cold, but never lukewarm.”

This idea that we are in and committed or were not and it’s all just a religious show. That ought to get our attention, right?

And, Jesus goes on to tell this crowd that is following him, “Count the cost first.” Jesus tells two examples, “who builds a building, or goes to war,” without figuring out what it costs, what it takes to win? I remember arguing this point with friends, especially in giving high pressure “altar” calls or guilt drives to make decisions for Christ.

Should someone believe in Christ, YES. Should they make a decision to follow Christ, YES. Shouldn’t they also count the cost, YES as well.

When I said yes to Jesus I didn’t know enough to look forward and see what it would cost me to follow him, especially thinking it would cost my entire life! But, you need to understand, I came to Christ knowing my life to that point felt WORTHLESS. And, I had no ability to see anything in my future but a giant black wall. No dreams of a career, marriage, kids, or white picket fence. From my perspective, there was no future! I was a broke beggar, so there was only nothing or with God – everything.

Yet still, I knew what I was doing; what I was giving up as well as receiving. I was giving up my life in exchange for God becoming my Dad, the father I never had. At that point, I had only experienced two loser Dads, the third being “psychopath Ben,” would come later.

If anyone is going to pressure folks into making a decision, I want it to be God himself, pushing and wooing – pitching His love and abundant grace. Not the fire escape plan or promises of prosperity and the “good life.” A relationship with God isn’t a way to escape hell, it’s walking with Him for eternity. Jesus promised an abundant life but it’s only after completely giving and surrendering our own life.

Yes, I’m all in and wouldn’t have it any other way. For me it’s not hating the family relationships in comparison, it’s more like hating the American Dream that everyone else seems driven to still pursue. In comparison to loving Jesus, I decided to hate the high paying cushy job, the open-space, multiple bathroomed house, two pets, multiple marriages, 2.5 kids and some grandchildren! I only wanted God and whatever He had for me. It is ironic, no, pure-comedy, that God gave me a job Pastoring people, one-wife-for life, kids, grandkids and a couple of dogs in a house with three bathrooms and a pool in the backyard! Figured that one out.

Prayer

Dad,
Really. How did I end up with so much when I started with so little? I had nothing. I was nothing. I was invisible and liked it that way. Now….well, I am not invisible that’s for sure. And I annoy people by being too chatty, too friendly, too weird and tell way to many stories that no one wants to listen to! Oh, the humor of heaven has been poured out on me. I got old and have stuff. I never imagined that possibility. I had no dreams and no hope. You… you gave me all of that and more. I am a hope broker because I was broke and you gave me the greatest gift of all – hope.

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Freedom to serve.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:19-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul writes this phrase, “I am a free man.” It doesn’t seem like much to a western-world, U.S. Citizen, because we’ve been “free” for hundreds of years.

In Paul’s day, many people were not free. Slavery, servanthood, was common. He lists the the classes of people of his culture at that time, the Jews and the Greeks (gentiles). And, he writes about how one group had been raised on the Torah, the Laws of God, the other had no real moral or religious code. The gentiles were anyone not Jewish, so it was not exactly a racial issue.

Paul says some interesting things about these laws of God. He was raised and trained in strict Judaism. He held title and authority as a Pharisee. So he writes, “I am not subject to the law,” then later writes, “I obey the law of Christ.” We can’t fathom the massive shift in belief and behavior that this phrase means.

Most of us have only and always been free from the “Law of God,” meaning the 10 commandments and the five books that make up the Pentateuch. And yet, though we are free from that “master,” Paul wants us to understand that all humankind is under another master, another law – the lawlessness of sin.

So when Paul writes of being under Christ’s law he has transferred his servanthood, not just from the Old Testament Torah, but also his slavery from sin itself.

Lastly he adds another object lesson, or a picture to illustrate the true nature of being under the mastery of sin, he writes about the weak. “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.” Paul list “those without strength.” Paul’s desire was to win over the Jews, which he did with limited results, the Gentiles, which Paul had huge success setting up dozens of churches in multiple Gentile cities. And he also reached the poor, the weak, the disenfranchised.

Paul found “common ground,” for him to present the gospel all may be free, from the Torah (Law), free from the chains of sin and become a servant, a bond slave to Jesus Christ and truly be free! Our biggest issue today is finding the common ground of those who are still in slavery to an ideology, a social virus, or cultural religion that masks the truth and gives aires of superiority. We cannot, we must not walk with hubris religiosity, political morality or calloused judgment to reach this generation. He have to walk in the humility of love and grace to do everything we can to save them!

Prayer

Dad,
I just love your whole plan on calling and transforming the Apostle Paul – great move! This guy ends up writing the majority of practics in our understanding of the New Covenant (Testament) and how it interweaves with the gospel. As a Gentile myself, I love the simplicity of obedience to the law of Christ – love others just like You loved me! May we find the common ground that Paul writes about in our current culture that lives in the most upside down thinking ever! And may we be exactly like the father who runs and welcomes prodigals coming home!!!

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What does God want?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Consider all this, and call for the mourners. Send for the women who mourn at funerals. Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes. Hear the people of Jerusalem crying in despair, ‘We are ruined! We are completely humiliated! We must leave our land, because our homes have been torn down.’” Jeremiah‬ ‭9:17-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Learning from discipline.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a child being properly disciplined, but it is quite a difficult scene to endure. I’m not talking about abuse or harsh corporal punishment from parent to child. I’m just talking about the extraordinary patience as a toddler melts down in public! Of course the child is crying, but often I’ve seen the child’s mother break down in exhaustive tears in complete frustration. There is wailing for sure.

As I read through the God-spokesperson’s words, His prophets, warning, imploring God’s own people to stop their temper-tantrum, destructive behavior. I understand why God would…. discipline them – severely! God does so as the most loving, merciful acts ever. Israel (and ALL of humanity) just won’t listen and stubbornly, even defiantly CHOOSE to go their own way, choose their own path. Even if it’s right off the cliff to their own death and destruction. They don’t, we don’t care – we want what we want when we want it and we won’t let anyone tell us any different!

What’s God to do with that total toddler behavior showing up constantly in grownup adults? Back then, God said, enough is enough! He has plans and God will have His way and nothing, NOTHING is going to stop Him from getting what He wants.

What does God want? YOU. He wants you back. He wants what is best for you, for me. He wants everything and everyone to be made right, whole, at peace, and back in the family. What if humans don’t want that? Well there’s the rub, right? There’s the struggle, the WAR, the problem. What if humans WANT to go their own way? Sure, God will eventually let them, but not without a fight.

What does it take to get it through our thick skulls – there is NOTHING else out there but chaos, death and destruction! And that world, that existence has its own ruler with his own ways of doing a life without God – that’s Satan’s realm and his plan to take as many as possible away from God and drag them to the eternal pits of despair!

For those humans who “live” it up here and just hope for annihilation, a eternal state of nothingness, it’s a lie.

For those promised some kind of union with “all” things and experience karma (with is nothingness) being “one” with all matter, it’s a lie.

For those who think they get to do life here, then come back, reincarnated to try again, hopefully as a higher life-being, it’s also a lie.

ALL those paths are shams leading to the same place, death and destruction away from God for all eternity. When God comes across harsh in His discipline methods, like stripping Israel of everything they knew and everything they owned – He does so out love! Because the alternative is eternally worse. So when you see people angry at God, or bitter because they believe God isn’t fair (which He is definitely not fair, but He is just), or they struggle and fight to run into the street like a wild, willful toddler – yeah, you’ll see some serious tears and tantrums going on.

Prayer

Dad,
Even though I completely acknowledge my sins, I have no intention of trying to get away from you to do “my own thing.” My life was a wreck before you got ahold of me. I remember your discipline in my youth. I remember how stubborn and feisty I was towards the things of God and how hard it was for me to just be obedient. Honestly, from my chaotic past, a lot of what you were teaching me did not make sense. If felt extremely counterintuitive from everything I had learned on my own. If it were not for your grace and persistent patience, I would not have made it this far. So, thank you for your steadfast hand of love.

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Life long learners and old wisdom.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.” Proverbs‬ ‭18:15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Old wisdom is still good wisdom. Wisdom writers captured a truth that made its way into modern leadership principles even today. Smart people are CURIOUS. Leaders are curious. And curious people do not behave brash and have a hubris oder about them. No, they are learners. Smart people are lifetime learners.

Proverbs identify learning as “open ears.” We now know that we can open all our senses to learn new things. So we not only listen with curiosity, we can also see, smell, taste and touch. Stopping to see a beautiful sunset, to smell the roses, to taste a new cultural food vastly different than our favorites, and to touch a worldly-wise, weathered hand of our super seniors.

Smart people are eager, joyful, even giddy to experience new things. And, I believe that as long as we hold a curiosity and pursuit of being learners, it has a way of sifting, processing all that new knowledge into wisdom.

No one wants to simply be a Snapple Cap to impress their friends. Pithy quips and useless facts can get so tiring! Believe me, I’ve tried it, it doesn’t win friends.

Prayer

Dad,
Thankfully I’ve been the curious one since my earliest memories. Taking things apart and just hoping I could remember how to put them back together 🥴. That natural bent has help me be adventurous and kind of an explorer in most areas. You know this about me, I love new tech and new ideas and have a tremendous amount of respect for inventors and dreamers, even if they fail. I’ve always want to invent stuff! I am also thankful that I love and serve a creative God! That’s probably what frustrates me about the Church the most. We have total access to the Holy Spirit and we keep dragging along, often a decade or more behind the times and it just sucks the life out of a LIVING community called the church. I don’t want us to be cool, trendy or really even relevant. I just want us to reflect you in everything you do. You can do something new every second of every day for all eternity and NEVER run out of creative ideas. I just us to live that kind of life – full and ever curious for good, godly ways.

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Party with Jesus.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!” Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’” Luke‬ ‭14:15-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One man comments about how fun it will be to break bread in heaven – when the Kingdom of God is fulfilled. Something he said kind of triggered Jesus, because he keeps the “dinner party” discussion going.

This whole passage that Luke writes about is in the context of Jesus having a meal ON the Sabbath WITH religious leaders. So, Jesus didn’t just eat with street sinners, he also ate with religious sinners 😀. “One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely.” Jesus WANTED them to watch him closely – in fact he wants me to watch him closely as well.

The dinner has the usual conversational conflict that both Jesus and any other self respecting rabbi would live for. It was entertaining for the really smart religious lawyers and pundits to start an argument. It was like watching British parliament with lots of fast words and emotional explosions. One guy there had swollen arms and legs and was obviously struggling. Was he a plant? Just for an conversational appetizer for starters? Maybe. Jesus, loving the opportunity to poke the Pharisees where God’s sonshine should shine, heals the guy…again on the Sabbath.

Then Jesus observes and comments on the natural order of human behavior at a honored guest invite in fancy pants houses of the rich and powerful. Everyone is jockeying for the best seat, the closest to the host. The aura of power that supposedly surrounds the master of the house. It’s so ironic that Jesus just gives out some free advise, you know, etiquette tips for the swanky. One, let the host decide who should be given honor, don’t assume it’s you. Two, don’t just invite a bunch of “kiss-ups,” friends, relatives and rich – that’s boring. Come on, that’s just a narcissistic love-fest. Mix it up by inviting the disenfranchised, the outcast, folks that never get invited because they’re marked as marginalized. This is when some guy raises his wineglass and says, in toast-like fashion, “won’t it be so much fun to hangout with friends like us in the future fulfillment of God’s Kingdom?” Oh! Oh OH! Jesus just can’t leave that comment hanging in the air, sucking the life out of everything he believes in!

So, Jesus tells a story. A massive dinner party story. A dinner party so grand and glorious that it’s declared a BANQUET, a feast. All the who’s who will be invited. All the “A” listers, influencers and mover-shakers in town. But oh-no, plot twist!

One by one, these upper-echelon guests start turning the host down, they’ve got scheduling “conflicts” and passé, snooty excuses. A strange list of reasons for turning it down follows. A field, oxen and newlyweds and all send their regrets. At this moment, every socialite in the room is furiously hanging on every word as Jesus weaves in the truth. The room must be mumbling, “how rude,” “so disrespectful,” “How uncouth!” Who would ever do such a thing.

Jesus lands his point. The host, the master was FURIOUS.

Every person at that dinner party agreed with Jesus. “That’s right, the host should be enraged…I know I would be!” they must have thought. Then Jesus tells them the host went out and invited the opposite of what was fashionable, popular or elitefully expected! Oddly, the room probably shifted to cheer this as well. “Yeah, that’s right,” they might have yelled, “that’ll show those deadbeats who embarrassed their host.” And all of a sudden they have found themselves thinking differently about these former “F” listers, who would have never been considered worthy to attend such a feast. There’s a chance, as they were carried along in the story, they thought, “those people deserve to be a part too!” Then Jesus dropped the last line and it had to have hit home in the hearts of the hearers – “For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.” Go Jesus… bread and mouths drop. His job is done here.

Prayer

Dad,
Not only do I want to be at that Kingdom of God, wedding feast of the lamb, I want to invite and hope to see as many there as possible.

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And lightning didn’t strike.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on? Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes? He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing? The Lord knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless!” Psalms‬ ‭94:8-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Psalmist reminds me of something I think we forget about.

Just because God doesn’t immediately smite us for horrendous behavior does not mean we got or will get away with it!

God’s spokespersons (prophets) wrote about this all the time. Prior to this verse, he writes, “They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. “The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.” It’s odd that every FIRST act of violence, betrayal, or dishonesty has a moment of expectation that surely someone is watching and there will be swift and severe consequences for our actions. Nope. Rarely does that happen. And because we think we get away with it, the next dastardly deed is easier to do.

When I was in middle school I was walking home and chose the route that went through our school sports field. It was huge. As I walked I decided to see what would happened when I spoke a curse word out loud. My family was big time cussers and creatively used crass words in combinations that seemed to amplify their coarse effect on my ears. I had never cursed up to that point. Oh, most of my friends cursed like sailor siblings, but I didn’t. So out in the field I let it rip, yelling the word SH*T to the sky. I was not a follower of Jesus, but as you could tell, I did believe in God. What kept me from cussing all this time? One, my parents didn’t lead a great example in good behavior – smokers, drinkers, gamblers, and cursers. I didn’t really want to be like them. But two, I thought God could see and hear everything I did and would swiftly punish me for stepping out of line. Where’d I get that idea? I don’t know. Maybe a few Sunday School stories put that thought in my head. As I yelled out in the open, empty field, expecting a thunderclap and possibly lightning of God disapproving of my language, I just waited in silence. What? No lightning, no response from heaven? Nothing. In my little grand example of an experiment, I did think, “He’s not listening or does not care.” I was disappointed. I didn’t think it was all that “cool” to curse. I didn’t feel older, more mature or even more like a “bad boy.” I felt nothing. I decided in that field that day that cursing is really stupid and that I would never participate in it. My mother did tell me one time, “only uneducated people curse.” Whoa. That was odd hearing her say that. She explained that educated people use words that are far more effective than just grabbing a cheap, crass curse word. I never forgot that.

The point of the psalmist and of the prophets is this, just because God doesn’t immediately respond doesn’t mean he doesn’t hear, see or know what we are doing. He is neither threatened nor impressed with our creative ability to do evil. It simply breaks his heart to see us wallowing in our own stupidity. Sorry for the using the preschooler curse word, “stupid” so much, “stupid is as stupid does,” someone once said 😀.

Prayer

Dad,
This is the way it goes. Life and living is amazing! However, carrying, managing or trying to get away from our own sin, brokenness, and weakness is really hard and honestly, pretty crummy. I know you see, hear and know all and now that I’ve committed my entire life and future to you, it’s still embarrassing 😳. Of course I am thankful for your grace, mercy and most of all your patience.

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God is outside of time.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.” 2 Peter‬ ‭3:8-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Time is a physical reality for us, but not for God. Robin and I were just talking about this. The beginning and end of the world all take place at the same “time” with God. God is outside of time, He always was and always will be. But also, every moment of then, now and when is all NOW with Him.

He knows (and has always known) when we pray and ask for something. He has always answered that prayer and knows (and always known) it’s outcome. Nothing sneaks up on God, nothing catches Him by surprise. Throw in our free will or choices in all this and it becomes very difficult to comprehend.

In Peter’s words, one day being a thousand, it’s more like one day and a thousand are all NOW with God. So, this idea of Him being patient should also blow our minds! To us everything to do with waiting for a promise to be fulfilled is painful. But that waiting is learning patience, the Bible word is far more colorful – long suffering.

We wait, God doesn’t.

In our understanding of time and this idea of a past, present and future we can understand that the “delays” in the “Day of the Lord,” finality and judgment of all things are for us, our sake not His. God is not waiting for the end, it’s all happened to him. We wait.

And, I wonder if there is something in all of us that yearns for finality. For believers there is the end, but there is also a new beginning. End of this earth and a new one redesigned to perfection. For non-believers, there is no new, no karma, no oneness with “creation,” not even annihilation or nothingness. It’s judgment and separation from God and all things that connect them with humanity. The Bible calls this place reserved for the devil and fallen angels and those humans desperate to get far away from God – hell.

After the end of all things, when “eternity” begins for those who believe God at His word, I wonder if humans still exist in a framework called time? I think we will, but the Bible doesn’t talk much about what the new heaven and earth will be like in those terms. Or will we be outside of time as well?

The New Testament writers are correct, these things (time & eternity) are not the primary discussion in the gospel or letters to the churches. The main focus is Christ and Christ alone. Christ is God’s grand story and spectacular conclusion, not judgement or hell.

Prayer

Dad,
Of course these are things I never understood and probably will not understand until that moment that I die and cross over to be with you or you come back and wrap this story up! I don’t want to or plan to be separated from you nor experience hell. I didn’t believe trying to escape hell, it was because of your love and grace to adopt me. You chose me, I simply responded with a lifelong YES. I remember thinking as a young man, even if my sin sends me to hell, I planned on loving you from there! I now know that’s not possible, but I wasn’t really disappointed that being “saved” did not stop me from sining. Your love and long suffering is so vast, it’s hard to realize that so many want nothing to do with it. I can’t force them to see it, and I take it that you won’t force it either.