Relationships

Like you… or not.

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6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

7let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:6-9

 Religion

God could be the invention of human need.
And so it is with false religion.
The construction of God in the mind seeks to mediate our brokenness.
And so we have idolatry.

 Seekers

So what do we do with the seeking heart?
The person who is seeking God must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who come to him. (Hebrews 11:6)

 God reveals

When God is doing the revealing we are inevitably confronted with the difference.
His thoughts are not our thoughts.
His ways are not our ways.

And then the seeker may want to run, hide, and settle for a weaker or more distant version of God.

Wait, stop. That’s the time to turn toward Jesus, confess, change your thoughts, change your ways in His power according to His revelation. In His grace. Through Him. Then, you will become… like Him.

Illustrated from Luke 5:1-11

1On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

 

Loss of Integrity: Abandonment of Values

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1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1

David, King of Israel, seems to have had “loving kindness / steadfast love” (hesed) as one of his deep defining values. When he lived divided from this heart value, he drifted and then moved swiftly into disaster.  When he lived close to it we observe him as a diligent shepherd, loyal friend, inspirational leader, and a shrewd king. When he got away from the most noble values formed by God in his character, David fails, commits breathtaking and callus acts of corrupted power, lust, murder, and deceit. (2 Samuel 11 – 12)

When David came to his senses and repented, he relied on God’s, as He is the true uncorrupted One of “loving kindness.”

How is it with you? What are the most noble values rooted deep in your story and heart? Are you living close to them? Have you come to moment in your life when your loss of integrity drives you to the Cross of Jesus for healing and forgiveness?

O God, Have mercy on me, according to your lovingkindness!

Not a project. I hold you in my heart.

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IMG_57506And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6-8 

I’ve always loved the promise held in verse 6: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. Jesus will complete what He has started. Its a promise for each one of us.

Its also the longing of the servant of Jesus who has poured her or his heart into the life of another. “Ok, Jesus, that’s the end of me. I’m not there 24/7. You keep doing your work from start to finish, its all about you.”

Notice Paul’s affection for these followers of Jesus, “I hold you in my heart!” “We have a share in the same grace!” “You have been part of my struggle.” “I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”

The Disciple-making lifestyle let’s people get under your skin. In fact, you let them into your heart. Who is Jesus giving you? Who are you making room for in your heart?

For years I have prayed, “Lord, enlarge my heart for loving people.”

This kind of life is a matter of prayer.

Wisdom starts with worship.

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GospelWise Diagram

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord can be characterized as a deep abiding reverential awe for God. In Psalm 111 the psalmists calls a people probably wracked with the despair of their Babylonian exile to value following God and His ways even in a foreign land.

We can be that way. We start to wonder, “is it worth it to follow Jesus when faith in Him and practice of His ways runs counter to the prevailing view?”

In Psalm 111 the Psalmists reminds the readers and singers of God’s works and God’s mercy towards Israel. Both His works and His mercy generates awe.

Wisdom starts with worship.

Wisdom is needed in our day. It will not be generated by degrees. Wisdom is generated first by knowing God and taking stock of who He is and what He has to say to us.

Let’s Be Bold!

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10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they went with haste…  Luke 2:10-16

God’s bold bid.

God has made a bid for relationship. The angel announced it to the shepherds: Christ the Lord has been born! In response the shepherds were bold to go and find Him.

Let’s be bold!

“Let’s be bold!” In my family that’s a request for doughnuts! But its also a bid for relationship. Its a bonding experience.

This holiday “let’s be bold!” I don’t mean to suggest we must all have doughnuts. But I do mean we could do something to bond in our significant relationships.

God has created us for relationships with Him, with ourselves, with people, and with the stuff of earth. During Christmas we celebrate and reflect on the birth of Jesus. According to the Scriptures, He came from the Communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, entering into the relationships of humanity. He entered our relationships to show us who the Father is and to accomplish all that was required for us to enter into the communion of God. Jesus came to seek us, to save us, and to serve us by giving Himself for our forgiveness.

That was bold!

He got close to us in order to lift us up and include us in our Heavenly Father’s love.

Be Bold: Bond with Jesus.

In these holy-days I pray that you get closer to Jesus. You could:

Read the whole Gospel of Luke.

Read an inspiring book. (Here’s a list of free e-books.) 

Attend a worship service with friends and family.

Gathering in a 3+ just for the holiday time with people you don’t usually see.

Have a home worship and prayer time with family members who also follow Jesus.

Find a way to serve or share a meal with those who could use a hand-up, the gift of presence and an encouraging word.

Go on a walk with a family member and thank them for all the “gifts” and grace you have enjoy by being in relationship to them.

Be generous.

 

Hey, “Let’s be bold!”