CONTENT TO BE SHALLOW?

                                       CONTENT TO BE SHALLOW

    We have a certain realization that a meaningful  walk of faith often comes from passing through deep waters. But we don’t really trust that pain, especially the heart-breaking, knock you to your knees, rip your heart out by the roots kind of pain, is worth it. We want growth, but without the process to get there.
    But God sees a different perspective. He is like the parent who has to take their young child to the doctor and hold them down on the table, pinning them there while a painful test is done. The child cries . . . screams . . . pleads with their eyes, and looks to their parent with total disbelief that they could be betrayed by the very one that they thought loved them totally. The look says, “How could you allow this pain?” But the parent knows that it is essential to really take good care of their child, because they love them.
    Do we want to feel pain? Of course we don’t. We would call the man who seeks it a fool. But above all else, God wants us to trust Him, to really trust Him. It is the question asked through all of scripture . . . “Will you trust Me?” Through the pain, through the heartache, through the loss, through whatever excruciating circumstances His sovereign plan has in store for us?
    Shallow faith never learns to trust. It spends all of its time and energy striving to avoid hard things, even to the extent that scripture is defined as an assurance that life will be all blessings, with no hardship or pain. Not only is this thinking hard to support from scripture, it is not what we see in our lives experientially.
    Our faith will deepen and mature only as we seek to trust that He loves us enough to carve out the path our lives will take. Which is why I believe the doctrine of Sovereignty is so vitally important. (More thoughts on that in later posts.)
    Paula Bonhoeffer chose a hymn with the following words at the funeral of her eldest son.

    What God has done, it is well done,
    His will is always just.
    Whatever He will do for me,
    In Him I’ll place my trust.

    God, give me faith like that. So that when the pain comes, and it will, it is not in vain, but results in growth, maturity, and trust, not in a fist-shaking bitterness.

THE CANCER OF SHALLOW FAITH

            
                                      THE CANCER OF SHALLOW FAITH

Why is the modern day church in America on the verge of irrelevance? Many descriptions come to mind. Apathy, laziness, busyness, preoccupation, self-righteousness, or even contentment with a shallow, meaningless, immature, pathetic faith. Harsh words? Maybe, but I think not.
 Shallow faith is a cancer that we should be sharpening our knives to excise from our very hearts.
 Instead, we are content with what has been called “personal peace and affluence.”  Content to drink milk, and let the steak of maturity grow cold on the plate. (Heb. 5:12 to 6:3).
The words of a song written by Keith Green come to mind...
 
    The world is sleeping in the dark,
    That the church just can’t fight,
    ‘Cause it’s asleep in the light.
    How can you be so numb,
    Not to care if they come?
    BUT YOU JUST LAY BACK
    AND KEEP SOAKING IT IN!
    Oh! Can’t you see it’s such sin?!

Apparently we can’t.

Let me challenge you to pursue a mature faith. Not just when life seems impossible and overwhelming, but every day. Refuse, like Jacob, to let go of the angel till you receive his blessing. Cling to the horns of the altar till they drag you away, kicking and screaming.

Claw at the door of a deep, meaningful faith in Him, till your fingers bleed. Plead with God to draw you closer to Himself. To sink the vise-like talons of His love into your very heart, and never let go. Otherwise, we might as well pack it in.  Go home. “Eat, drink, and be merry”.

Shallow, trite, “extra-curricular” faith makes a mockery of His love for us.

The Plague of Busyness

                                                  BUSYNESS



Sitting by a campfire, smoke in my eyes, crackling warmth and the unmistakable smell.

Listening to the birds, and trying to count how many different songs I can hear. Peace, quiet, rest for my soul.

We have tried to replace this quiet calm for our spirit with frenetic activity. Whether it be electronic gadgets, checking email, surfing on-line, texting friends, watching the latest movie, constant music in our ears, or whatever our particular “busyness” may be. Hurry to this. Scurry to that.

Meanwhile, the soul shrivels; slowly, painfully, silently starving to death. Virtually unnoticed in our frantic pursuit of  pleasure or entertainment. God must shake his head and weep, waiting and longing for us to “Be still and know that I am God”...for even a few brief moments.

So prevalent this is that I can’t remember the last time I tried to isolate one bird’s song from the other. Shame on me. And any thought of meat for the strength of my soul? Laughable, at best.

How sad that we are satisfied with the unhealthy “fast food” for the soul, when the Creator is inviting us to the real nourishment that comes from communion with Him. But that requires time with Him, and there is no substitute.

GOD IS GOOD

THAT GOD IS GOOD, I QUESTION NOT,
THOUGH GOOD TIMES COME AND GO.
I SEEK TO LOVE HIM MORE EACH DAY,
THROUGH WATERS DEEP, AND SO...

WHEN HEARTACHE COMES, IT ALWAYS WILL,
I BLEED LIKE OTHER MEN.
I TURN MY EYES AND LOOK TO HIM,
AND TRUST HIM ONCE AGAIN.

PLEASE DO NOT THINK THAT I’M NAIVE,
TO SMILE IT ALL AWAY
THE WORD “HEARTACHE” IS VERY REAL,
I FELT IT JUST TODAY.

THAT GOD IS GOOD I QUESTION NOT,
THOUGH TRAGEDY APPEARS.
HE SHOWS HIMSELF THE MOST JUST THEN,
THOUGH MEN MAY MOCK AND SNEER.

“A SOVEREIGN GOD,” I HEAR THEM SAY,
“HOW CAN YOU TRUST IN THIS?”
YET VALLEYS DARK AND TERRIBLE,
ARE WHERE HIS LOVE THEY’LL MISS.

A SOVEREIGN GOD, THIS COMFORTS ME,
IN HIM I DARE TO TRUST.
THAT GOD WHO RULES THE UNIVERSE,
IS LOVING, TRUE AND JUST.

HE HAS NOT LOST HIS GRIP, YOU SEE,
THOUGH MY EYES MAY NOT SEE.
HOW CAN THIS PAIN, THIS AWFUL PAIN,
BE CRAFTED JUST FOR ME?

I CHOOSE TO TRUST HIS LOVING HANDS,
ARE MOLDING, SHAPING ME.
HE’S WORTHY OF THAT TRUST, YOU SEE,
NO MATTER WHAT MAY BE.

ANOTHER BLOG?

Why another blog?
Fair question.
Answer? Not because there aren’t enough blogs! Not because I’m more spiritual or have all of the answers. A couple of reasons come to mind. The first comes from something that I read in John Pipers writings. He said that J. Oswald Sanders wrote a book a year for 18 years after turning 70! How dare we waste our time and abilities? “There are people all over America quitting on life at age 65 and dying on some golf course in Nevada instead of laying down their lives for the gospel.” And though I have no intention of writing books, I really hate golf.

More seriously, the other reason stems from recent events in my life, and some of what God has impressed on me through those events. About two years ago, my dad died. During that time, I heard a song that impacted my reflections on how short life is. It is taken from scriptures such as James 4:14 and Psalms 103: 15-16.

I am a flower quickly fading,
A wave tossed by the ocean.
A vapor in the wind.

Death of loved ones brings this home to us, but also spurred thoughts beyond that for me. If my life is indeed “just a vapor”, then I feel an urgency to share the things that God has taught me, lest when that vapor vanishes, the record of my life with Him vanishes with me. This again, is not because I have responded perfectly, or in some cases anything but miserably. But because I have been so blessed to have gleaned from others, and in the hope that others can glean from me in the same way. Also because I desire to “stimulate each other to love and good deeds”.
(Heb. 10:24), and feel that this would be a good forum for that. I love to discuss ideas, the writings of great men of God, and what we can learn from their lives and experiences with God.


So join with me, and interact with your thoughts. Agree, disagree, clarify, share, debate. But most of all dig deeply together, so that we may press on towards maturity in Him.