Core Value #2 - Knowing God takes the "D" word!

"I Value seeking to know God intimately through prayer, the Scriptures, and other spiritual disciplines as a main goal of life."

Words and phrases like intimacy, knowing God, personal relationship etc... are really in vogue in a number of Christian circles these days, and I think that is a good thing.  The essence of theology after all is the study of God's Person as He has revealed Himself to us through creation, the Scriptures, personal experience, and most importantly, Jesus of Nazareth. Unfortunately, I have not met many people who truly know God very well, or take the time or energy needed to invest in that knowledge.

What theologians call the Doctrine of Revelation is based upon the idea from the Scriptures that God must reveal Himself to be known by humanity. All of the human initiative in the world doesn't make Him any less elusive and He will only be found by those He draws.  However, in this time of the gospel of Jesus Christ, God has demonstrated his goodwill toward us and summons us to come and believe in his Son.  We are called to seek Him while He may be found.

I still remember when the veil was torn away in my life and the revealed, self-existent God came crashing in on my world.  Oh what a day and season that was and is!  I was shocked that God was truly personal and knowable.  I couldn't keep my mouth shut.  GOD WAS REAL AND EVERYONE HAD TO KNOW!  As I soon discovered though, this knowledge of God was meant to be an ongoing process that required much seeking, knocking and asking.

This process of seeking God is often a hard and frustrating work just as my marriage relationship can be.  I know He is supposed to be the initiator, but I have to admit it often feels like it's all up to me in this strange and mysterious courtship of God.  God seems to love to play hide and seek while I fumble around in the darkness of this sin-fallen world listening for the faintest breath or rustling of His Presence to give His hiding place away.

This of course brings me to the big bad "D" word, DISCIPLINE.  Yes, it takes discipline and the spiritual disciplines to finely hone my senses to God.  Scripture reading, memorization, meditation, prayer, silence, solitude, service, fasting, night watches and various other methods employed throughout history by God's people have been effective tools in the seeking of God.  Unfortunately, I don't really enjoy doing some of these things because I am not a very disciplined person.  Not only that, but I am repelled by anything that feels like religious striving to earn God's favor.

Nevertheless, I have found that when I consecrate myself to God, not to earn anything, but to focus my faculties upon Him, He shows up and does some unveiling of Himself to my dull and dry soul.  This unveiling impresses God's Presence and character upon my soul, which changes me and influences the people around me as well.

To know God is the greatest treasure and value a human being can desire. Knowing Him is by far the most worthy pursuit of life.  God chased us down and caught us with His irresistible grace and love, so we must now join the chase and make the pursuit of God our life-long goal.  Who knows, if we chase Him long enough, He may just catch us!

Isaiah 55:6 - Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

My Core Values - #1 - Relationship with God

Recently I found out that a ladies discipleship group in our church was using my Core Values as an example for the purpose of developing their own Core Values.  I was both surprised and challenged.  I was provoked to take them out once again, look them over, and make sure they are not only what I truly value, but what I am also endeavoring to practice in my daily living.

It is not my intention to be overly self-focused in my writing, but as I looked at my Core Values, I thought of how they provide a good starting point for regular posts and food for thought for those who read.   All of us have a set of Core Values that we possess and live from whether they are written or not.  Our lives are constantly telling on us and shouting to the world what our loves, hates, passions and gods actually are.  These are our Core Values.  With that said, here are the first of my Core Vaues with commentary following:


"I Value relationship with God and others as the source from which life and all true ministry will flow."

We are relational beings, this much cannot be denied.  Though I have met a number of so-called "Lone Rangers" in my time, my experience tells me that the primary reason most people become islands unto themselves is because of betrayal, disappointment, and dysfunction within their relationships.  The people that we love and value become the source of our pain.  This very reaction is nothing more than proof that we are indeed relational beings.

Every human being is conceived when two people relating in the most intimate terms, mingled their body fluids and cells to form a whole new entity.  This conception brought forth a new life that related to its host mother by a life-line known as an umbilical cord.  This life-line brought nourishment and connection until the day when this unique personality would be thrust upon its mother's breasts to suckle.  Thus begins the journey of life.  The journey of dependence, of relationship, of family and community.

This new person is just beginning to experience the human condition, the risky proposition known as relationship, with all of its love, acceptance, rejection, abuse, disappointment, competition etc...  It is precisely this experience which primes a person for the knowledge of God and a relationship with Him. 

After only a few short years on this planet, we begin to realize that things are not right down here.  We see the failure of our biggest heroes, face tragedy and personal difficulty, and learn the law of the jungle.  It is often when the props of human relationships have fallen all around us that God reveals Himself to us as Father and Friend.  We then begin a new relationship with One who relates to us on His terms alone.  These terms begin with the idea of the Fall, and the human need for salvation.  We see ourselves as we really are and God as He really is in the Person of Jesus Christ. This new relationship becomes the source of all true relationship, and the restorative power through which all other relationships will be made right again.

This new life, this new relationship, issues forth as the fountainhead of all ministry into the lives of others.  It is only within the context of this new relationship, that we can find what God truly intended for all human relationships.  This is why the Great Commandments begin with loving God with our whole being.  To love my neighbor as I love myself, I must experience the settled reality of God's first loving me. Only then am I able to return that love to Him.  I can try to love my neighbor, but until I have encountered being loved by God and then loving Him, my love for my neighbor will always fail and fall short.

So, this is my first Core Value.  This is an impossible proposition apart from God's love.  This love is most clearly demonstrated and embodied in the Person and life of Jesus Christ.  I have received love and relationship, so now I can give them.  This is the law of the kingdom of God.  This is what I value!

SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD TO BE SAD

I am reposting this little devotional thought on sadness to encourage anyone struggling with depression and sadness right now. Remember, Jesus is "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

Psalms 6:6-7 - 6 I'm tired of all this — so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and nights On the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears. 7 The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope.  THE MESSAGE
Psalms 13 - O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? 2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?  NLT

I am alive!!!  I know this because I hurt.  I know this because I sorrow, am disappointed, and feel the deep sadness that often goes with being a man on this fallen planet.  Yes, of course I hate the dark moods of life, but they testify to me that all is not right, and that sin and death are the reality of this groaning, cursed ground.  You may think I am crazy, but a few moments ago while sitting here feeling quite discouraged and heart-sick, this truth slipped through one of the cracks in my heart and brought me comfort.

We live in the age of the HAPPY CULT, of which I have often been a zealous adherent.  We are made to believe that being happy is our birthright and entitlement.  To feel bad is the ultimate no-no, and the perfect excuse for extramarital affairs, most divorces, and regular indulgences for our sinful nature.  Many Christians I know would rebuke me for these thoughts and accuse me of being negative, faithless, and oppressed by an evil spirit.  To these things, I must counter with the words of David and Solomon, men of much greater stature than I.  It seems God often has His servants in the school of suffering as they major in depression, discouragement, disappointment, and discontentment.

Please understand, I am not advocating some kind of sick, masochistic view of suffering that encourages the onslaughts of sorrow and pain as though they are blessings to be sought. I am not.  Rather, I am simply convinced that suffering is an amazing teacher, and a constant reminder that all is not well down here.  Our Utopian experiments are all failing, (thankfully) and we must look to embrace God's Redemption experiment, for, it is at work in the hearts of hurting and joyful sons and daughters.

Pain reminds me that I feel, and it serves as the emotional and spiritual counterpart to my physical nerve endings.  It teaches me to avoid evil and embrace God.  It is a beautiful thing that the God who could give me the capacity to laugh loudly from the belly, experience the ecstasy of sexual passion, and the beauty of art and music, could also equip me with the emotions of sadness, anger, and sorrow.  The pleasure, and the pain, teach me about the God of the Scriptures who sits in the heavens laughing, stands outside Lazarus tomb weeping, and cries out in the oil press of Gethsemane, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Ecclesiastes 7:3-4 - 3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the
wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the
house of mirth. NKJV