I wanted to share another resource that I stumbled upon at the library that hits at this same topic of the kingdom of God being in the here and now.  The book is entitled Hullabaloo: Discovering Glory in Everyday Life, by Dr. Timothy Paul Jones.  Here’s an excerpt off of the back cover:

“At this very moment, you are encountering the Living God. You may not feel it – probably because, like most people, you’re simply trying to get through the day or maybe just the next hour—but you can’t help it nonetheless. Whatever you’re doing, you ARE encountering God because he promises he’ll be with you, guiding you at every ticking moment.”

This one is for my mom (“Hi Mom!) who may be the only person still watching to see if I write anything…it comes from a discussion at my Tuesday morning men’s group.

Journaling this morning, thinking on a friend’s mentioning of the garden in a great book entitled The Shack, the chaos in the garden that is in my messy, beautiful life.  Isn’t it interesting that we beg God to fix our lives, make us whole, change the ugliness inside of us, and make everything orderly, like perfect rows of corn.  In the book, the Holy Spirit invites the man to work alongside her in the garden, enjoying the process together, even in the hard work, the aching muscles, the stubborn roots, the rocks that have to be moved, the thorns that cut the hands.  Out of this chaos comes beauty and a sense of order that isn’t OUR definition of order, but God’s – an order that still looks chaotic, but beautiful because it takes the chaos and the imperfections and reveals a beauty that is inside of that chaos.

When I go and visit someone else’s garden, I can enjoy and appreciate it, but only on a surface level.  If I hire a landscaper to come and make me a garden at my home, I will enjoy it daily, but only to a certain level.  But when I create my own garden, working it and getting dirty in it, I come to enjoy and appreciate it even more…it has my fingerprints in it, my personality, my blood, sweat and tears.  I enjoy it at an even deeper level.

But then, what if I began to garden with a Master Gardener, who teaches me how to garden, to envision what I couldn’t see before, to bring in new plants and new designs, to use the existing dynamics of my garden in new ways…and He doesn’t just sit back barking orders, but sits down with me and digs the dirt with me, shows me and holds my hands in His grasp.  What if He explores what I enjoy and helps me create a garden that reflects that…what if I explored what He knew and discovered a whole new world in my garden.  This garden – it would go beyond all my expectations and previous understanding of gardening.  And as I walk around that garden, I would see the mistakes I made, the corrections of the Master Gardener, the nuances of this unique creation.  I would remember the laughter, the painful moments, the sad moments of plants destroyed, and the joy of new plants blooming.  I would remember where we battled the moles together and where we dreamed together.  The garden of my life would become less about me, and more about my relationship with the Master Gardener…my life would become His Masterpiece, and in it would be woven His love for me.  I believe that God wants to be our mentor…my life is greater because He is teaching me and guiding me.

As I read about the Passover and the betrayal of Christ by Judas, it hit me that Jesus gave His body and blood so that my life may bloom.  When I try to garden in my own design, my perfectly ordered rows, then I deny His design and His gift, and I miss out on what could be and the intimacy of being at His side as we garden together.  And I got to thinking, was He thinking of ME when He submitted to the Cross?  I believe with my whole heart that He did think about me specifically – deeply, intimately, and personally.

Do you believe that He thought about YOU?  Not just in general, but about you specifically, deeply, intimately, and personally at that moment?

These three verses hit me today…

“When they had pasture, they were filled; They were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot Me.” — Hosea 13:6

“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” — Psalm 100:1,2

“But solid food belongs to those who are full of age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” — Hebrews 5:14

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When God supplies all I ever need or want, do I put Him aside? How often is my god a genie-god? Do I only want stuff, happiness, and comfort?

How much of my life is spent coming to the Lord in singing, in gladness? In those moments, is it because of who He is, or because of what He’s given?

It seems the answer to both of those is changed when I move from drinking baby’s milk to solid food. In other words — spend time in His Word. As a friend shared a couple of weeks ago, just spending time in His Word, though at the moment is uneventful, produces internal change over time.

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Holy Spirit,

Thank You for moving within me, helping me make God’s Word a priority in my day. God will be exalted as His Living Word takes root, as my training equips me,  not for my purposes, but for God’s purposes and Glory.

May my days become a song to God, even when I suffer through a lack of all I need, for I would rather go hungry for food and know the Father deeply, than have all I want or need, but lose intimacy with Christ Jesus.

I am week, but God is Strong. Make my life about God’s strength, not about my weaknesses.

Amen

¹² Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Psalm 73:24-25

¹Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. Hebrews 4:1

¹²For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12

¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:16

Poppa,

Your love is amazing; help open my heart to be a Giver of Your Grace. There is a way of living that holds loosely to this world…I yearn to let go of the things and worries and projects of this life, living instead in the freedom of Your Mercy.

What is the “unplowed ground” in my life that is not receiving Your seed? What am I desiring more than You? What busyness and self-importance am I doing that keeps me moving away from finding rest in You? Am I approaching Your throne in confidence, or shame?

How much of my life is spent pursuing the acceptance of men over the call You place on my life?

Thinking through how to live each day, this post is helpful…

¹² How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.

¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.   Psalm 116:12-14

Cry unto God; stop grasping and hiding after the idols in my life, searching for answers apart from God and His cup of salvation.

Drink deeply, for though it is undeserved, it has been offered. Drink deeply with a heart of gratefulness and humbleness. Don’t drink meekly, out of a sense of worthlessness! True, I’m not worthy, but God is and His gift of salvation has been bought at a great price. Drink deeply, for I have been chosen; drink deeply to give honor and glory to the Give of the cup.  Drink deeply, for I am a beloved child of God, and an heir to the throne of Christ.  Drink deeply.

¹⁷ learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed. ^[a]
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.   Isaiah 1:17

⁸ Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.   Isaiah 2:8

⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.   Titus 3:7

The process of being shaped by the Creator is maybe more or just as important as to who I am becoming.  I mustn’t forget that; the struggle to find God’s path is essential for preparing me to travel that path — this has been true many times in my life.

It can’t be about what I do or want to do; it can’t be about my creating or creations, though the Lord has created us in His image, including a desire to create, for all of this can become idolatry. It has to be about God, His Grace and Mercy. It is about worshipping Him and living a life of service and justice that reveals His Presence and serves His people. Secondary, yet incredibly, is that we serve and worship from a place of honor, as an heir to the hope of eternal life.

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“Learn to do good.”  Who will teach me?

“Seek justice.” For whom?

“Rebuke the oppressor.” Who or what is that?

“Defend the fatherless.”  Defend them how?

“Plead for the widow.” What do they need?

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My life is not my creation. I can’t build it or worship it. I am where I am because God put me here and gave me everything in it. I pursued a girl and got a bride. I loved her and got children. I walked a path and got a job. I entered a building and got a church. Yet, God moved the girl in my path, produced and gifted me with these particular children, chose my vocation (only the first being something I chose and even that was totally different than what I envisioned), and He brought us to a church that wasn’t even conceivable in my mind.  Nothing of my life did I create. Why do I think my future will be any different? Is there ever a time to be content in the present or should there always be a groaning towards growth and change?

The landscape is open before me. Eternity awaits and I will become what I could never imagine. This journey is for learning and growing in the Lord and for the Glory of the Father. He has work for me here, for His people need rescuing, but He controls the outcomes. I must learn to live in worship. First things first.

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Abba,

I want to rejoice in You, to live my life under Your care, tutelage, and creation. I want my life to be a reflection of Your Glory. Show me how to stop the idolatry of my life and live in Your Presence, the future known only to You, and my steps directed by You alone.  Learn, challenge, and suffer through the process of being that God-mirror, yet finding peace and joy and worship of You.

May my goals not be about my self-glory, but about being where I will learn to hunger for You, for Your Kingdom, and for Holiness, and where the gifts You have given me will bloom in the revealing of Your Glory.  Amen

I have been absent from my own site for far too long. Here’s some bouncing around though that is having an impact on my life this week:

1. What is the point of saving time if I don’t have a plan for that time I’m saving? Here’s the dangerous results if there isn’t a plan at this blog.
2. Three words that I allow to control my life…“I don’t know”.
3. Check out the new series on FEAR. At what point do our childhood dreams of the future give way to the fears of adulthood?  Is that acceptable?

Eric

Kem Meyer talks about those abnormal leaders here.

Eric

Started a new book this past week by Ruth Haley Barton entitled, “Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation.” Not sure why I ordered this one from the library, because I feel like I’ve read a ton of “self-help” books on spiritual transformation and they all start to meld together after a while.  I know the basics on spiritual disciplines, whether I practice them or not.  But I ordered it from an internal nudge, and I’ve been blown away by just the Introduction at this point.

“While I [Barton] was trying harder and doing more, there was a yawning emptiness underneath it all that no amount of activity, Christian or otherwise, could fill.” (p. 9-10).

“…but this is fundamentally what spiritual transformation is all about: choosing a way of life that opens us to the presence of God in the places of our being where our truest desires and deepest longings stir. These discoveries are available to all of us as we become more honest in naming what isn’t working so that we an craft a way of life that is more congruent with our deepest desires.  The journey begins as we learn to pay attention to our desire in God’s presence, allowing our desire to become the impetus for deepening our spiritual journey.”  (p. 13)

“Rather it [spiritual friendship] is a relationship that is focused intentionally on our relationship with God as viewed through the lens of desire. With such a friend we share the deepest desires of our heart, so that we can support one another in arranging our lives in ways that are congruent with what our hearts want most. Together we reverence the ways God is meeting us in the context of the spiritual practices that help us to seek him.” (p. 16)

I have been feeling for a while that the pace of my life is beyond who I am or am capable of maintaining.  Barton speaks directly to that.  But then I was reading God’s Word this morning:

“May [God] keep us centered and devoted to Him, following the life path He has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms He laid down for our ancestors.”  1 Kings 8

“He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where He always wanted us to be. And He did it by means of Jesus Christ…Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting Him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.” Romans 3

I’m excited about where God is taking me as I head into the Christmas season.

Where is God taking you?

Eric