Following Jesus Son of God …

I would like to say something about the “it” factor in our relationship with God.

I began listening to a podcast by Alistair Begg today, and he read a text in Isaiah.  I didn’t even allow him to finish the text as I immediately paused the podcast off so I could read the words and listen again as God spoke.

I had to hear it again.  My Father was speaking to me.

Here is where he began and as far as I got.

• Isaiah 45:18-19 (NIV)
  For this is what the Lord says – he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, `Seek me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.

The “it” factor of the word of God nailed me again.

As I heard and then read this, it was as if I could hear God saying, “Dave, are you catching this, are you listening.  I want to encourage you with these words because I am your God.”

God still wows me; still captures my heart and imagination.  Still knocks my socks off.

He blesses me with a childlike sense of wonder often as I read his words, but sometimes as I observe a sunrise, or a big, fat bumble bee (not lately), driving down the road, sitting at the computer writing, etc.

Multiple ways throughout my day.

• Listen to him:     “he who created the heavens, he is God” / “I am the Lord, and there is no other” / “I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness”  / “I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right”

Are you wowed yet?  Captured?  Amazed, worshiping?  You should be.

Hear those words, Christian!  That’s our “Dad” talking.

Do we still love God?  That is what God himself says it is all about so this is more than a fair question.

Do I still love God?  Have I ever loved God?

It’s a big deal. A real big deal. Just ask the Ephesians.  Here is what he had to say to a hard-working, persevering church that fought false teachers but forgot the main thing in their relationship with him.

• Revelation 2:3–5 (NIV)
  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.   Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

This wasn’t cup half-full as in:  “Okay your love is waning, but on the positive you are doing some really good things in my name.”

No!  This was.  No love – no light.  You don’t love me; you will not hold my light.

“You have left love in the dust of your busyness.  So remember the better place of love and repent, or I will remove your light.”

No love – no light.  That is what it means to Mr. Alpha and Omega.

So I’m asking:  Do you still have the “it” factor?  Does God still amaze you and send unexpectedly to moments of worship and wonder?

Do you love God?

We can speak to and dwell on how much God loves us, but until we truly love him, the relationship is not complete.

And we don’t have the “it,” the zing.  The wonder of being transported to and living in the reality that God is there and that God speaks his truth into this world and my life.

Even right now.  I am amazed that God even cares.  Yes, “God so loved the world,” but God wants me to love him back?  C’mon!  And he puts this at the top of his priority list for me to live by?  Are you kidding me?

I can’t help it.  Abba Father has blown me out of the water again.

I praise you, Father.

Bow before God in everything; see God in everything.

Do we know the blessing of bowing before God no matter what?

Shachah- the most used word in the Old Testament for worship. It means to bow down, to bow low.

So do you know the blessing of shachah?

Not just talk or going through the motions, but bowing at all the crucial times in our lives.

I think I have it easier than some. Maybe in some strangely providential way it is a gift from God, but I know how foolish I can be when left to myself.

You very possibly handle life better than I do. Many people do. Lots.

Me? Before Christ … in my pre-bowing life … I sometimes wonder that I survived.

But here is what I now have going for me.

First let me say my motivation is not fear. I would be afraid to live and not bow before my King, but it is so much more.

Life is so much better bowed before the sovereign Lord of the universe. I live in God’s world as opposed to living in my foolishness.

No contest.

Whose world do you live in? Is your king real enough that you bow before him throughout your day.

Or, being able to handle this life much better than I can, you make your decisions at some distance from the throne of God?

You may not be the fool that I am apart from the grace of Christ, and you may be pretty good at life on planet Earth.

But if you have yet to taste the blessing of bowing, then you are missing the very best of life.

From the chorus of Healer by Ten Shekel Shirt

So I fall on my knees,
To get back on my feet again.

Psalm 62.1-2 (NASB)
1 My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote in Preaching and Preachers that the way up is down.

Definitely bowed low before God is the way up.

An “up” that is indeed beyond our comprehension.

Here’s a thought.

The art of God in our lives, being beautiful in Jesus’ name.

The path of the Christian should begin, not end, at the spiritual disciplines as we allow those disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading and reflection, bowing in worship and obedience and a responsiveness to the direction of the Holy Spirit to bring our canvas to God’s workshop with the anticipation that we are part of his great plan.

• Undeniable.
  We are the human figures he paints into his scenes of creation and redemption.  He brings little, frail beings made in his image onto the scene to demonstrate who he is.

• So I say, “Be the art of God.”

God’s will in fact.  “Be the art of God.”

• Let our spiritual disciplines create the art of God in our lives.
  God plans and crafts, and we participate through prayer, Scripture, worship and a responsiveness to the movement of the Holy Spirit.

• Let God make us beautiful on the backdrop of forever.
  Attractive beyond any contemporary trend we reflect the ultimate in beauty and function, the image of our Creator, the glory of God etched so deeply within us that we are absolutely stunning in the sight of God.

What joy his finished masterpieces will one day bring him displayed around the throne and the glass sea.  What a venue to display his glory and love.

And sometimes the reflection is bright enough even now that people ask the reason for our hope.

So why not?  Why not let our spiritual disciplines bring us to a point of beauty and ultimate usefulness and effectiveness in Jesus Christ?

• Fanciful you say.
  Then I ask you this.  Why would we expect God to craft anything less than absolute, magnificent beauty.  His works everywhere else in creation are stunning.  I worshiped yesterday watching thousands of feathered beasts (geese) descend to and ascend from a mostly frozen lake, disappearing into a winter sky on the western horizon, a horizon overwhelmed with the intensity and beauty of a sun he made.

• Undeniable truths.

• We are … God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do his works of beauty and magnificence.

• Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

• We have … Beautiful feet.

• Romans 10:15 (NIV)
  And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

• We are … instruments for noble purposes … made holy, useful to the Master.

• 2 Timothy 2:20–21 (NIV)
  In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

• Our beauty is unfading.

• 1 Peter 3:3–5 (NIV)
  Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,

• We become his pleasure.

• Hebrews 13:20–21 (NIV)
  May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Frame of dust, beauty of God.

High calling. Treasured opportunity.

So be the art of God, friend.

Brush strokes of mercy and grace, sketches of love and righteousness.

Beautiful in Jesus’ name.

Look closely at the bottom right-hand corner of my canvas if you doubt.

Signed,
Jesus Son of God

Don’t miss what looks to be a few hundred geese on the western horizon that I spooked with my approach.  AND don’t miss the geese marching like a little troupe about half way or so through the video.

You may be able to see the different groups descending to land.  I caught the end of this as it seemed there were hundreds of geese in various flocks descending at different levels waiting to land.  “Goose version” of O’Hare field.  🙂

• Romans 12:17 (NIV)
  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

• Romans 12:19 (NIV)
  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord.

To him it was only a platitude or religious expression … something someone else was telling him was right. But they didn’t know.

Why can’t we realize that God’s words are more than optional instruction as we pursue life and meaning.

God’s words are life and there is no other route to true life apart from the things he breathed to us and had written down.

Spoke with someone very close to me earlier today. My sadness is that he is still paying back offenses to a person that happened many years ago.

And he can’t see that vengeance (pay back) however so subtle is the way of death. And forgiveness is the way of life.

“Never pay back” is more than a rule to follow. The life, the joy, is not merely successfully obeying one of God’s rules but of buying into his way of living.

Our “seem right” way leads to death, not just the ultimate death of the grave but death now as we go about our days on the planet.

Our step of faith is following God’s contrary plan for our lives. Contrary as in different, contrary, as to what we would choose.

Live his words; step into a life we couldn’t have imagined.

But this person I love so much is still chasing life as he envisions it.

Often a drink from God’s fountain of life comes from following a contrary direction. God’s direction that is veiled until we trust.

• Proverbs 14:12 (ESV)
  There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

• John 6:27 (NCV)
  Don’t work for the food that spoils. Work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because on him God the Father has put his power.

• Galatians 4:16 (The Message)
  And now have I suddenly become your enemy simply by telling you the truth? I can’t believe it.

True friendship means venturing into territory that may turn your friend, or more likely your friendly acquaintance, into your enemy.

True friendship is risky, indeed even dangerous.

Think about it. We share things about ourselves with another person which often we are not even comfortable “sharing” with ourselves.

Truly becoming friends we confront our vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of our potential friend.

Seeing each other for who we really are is both good and bad. We face disappointment in who we are and in who they are.

And now we begin to see if our journey was all about us or about being a friend as pleases our God.

So we need to know “what we are in it for.”

Know that when we move from nice, courteous and superficial, that our “friend” may become our enemy as true friendship can sometimes obliterate the rules of niceness.

And, yes, in Jesus’ name.

A man I was discipling once became very frustrated as I stretched him toward growth as a man and as a Christian.

“What’s the big deal,” he said. He wanted us to be … “cordial” was his word. He didn’t realize that “cordial” was only a starting point.

Our hope of building a friendship through the discipleship process never got past the “cordial” stage.

I was listening to “A Tenor’s Christmas” with José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo as I rolled by the shop early this morning.

I turned toward the west and the vista before me was a beautiful, frozen, snow-covered lake bordered on the south with “winter trees.”

Stark, frigid, beautiful and powerful.

The sun reflected across parts of the lake as it tried to break through the clouds from the east. And just as I broke over the hill these three beautiful tenors were singing “Oh come let us adore him.”

Need I say more. The landscape said it. “Come and worship.”

I was asked at my ordination if I considered myself to be a humble person. I responded with a humorous one-liner, and we laughed and had no further discussion.

But we should have.

Anyone pursuing Christ must know what humility is, must be determined to dress herself or himself in humility, must be willing to honestly evaluate whether or not we succeed in living in humility and very importantly must be willing to “take our lumps” which come along the path.

In other words learning humility is humbling. No distance learning classes here. No online courses. Humility is learned in life and our pride will suffer.

This is so exciting so we might then ask – What is humility?

Romans 12.3 (NIV)
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Having a right view of ourselves before God and living in agreement with that perspective. Not thinking too highly of ourselves but at the same time avoiding false humility which skews who we truly are. By faith we make a sober judgment as to who we are. We should be serious and intentional in this evaluation.

Honest as to our weaknesses and sins, but just as honest as to our strengths and our righteousness. God will reveal to us who we are if we will listen.

Proverbs 15:33 (NIV)
The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

That’s about all I can “thumb” for now.

NEXT POST: What does humility “bring to the table.”

We must clothe ourselves with humility.

Our humility gives us access to places normally prohibited by our pride.

Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

James 3:13 (NIV)
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

1 Peter 5:5 (NIV)
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation. (Saint Augustine)

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. (Saint Augustine)