The Stubbly Fields of Childhood

This morning I took a walk across a newly mown hay field and I was instantly transported back to my childhood when so many summer days were spent traipsing across fields just like that one with my fishing rod in one hand and tackle box in the other.  When the prairie grass is cut short, the stubble sort of crunches easily underfoot, and that's the exact sound I heard this morning.  Of course there were also times back then when the grass was nice and tall and getting to a pond was more like wading waist deep in the ocean. 

Either way, the times were good.  The only care I had in the world was which lure to use:  the Mepps No. 2 Squirrel Tail spinner or the Midge-O-Rina?  Simple.  And I remember how the Lord used to speak gently to me in those days.  It's obvious now how He was leading me with cords of love.

A few decades later, and life is ... different.  I'm sure you understand.  However, the Lord still speaks to me gently, even though my heart is a bit toughened up in some places, and I need regular reminders to trust and not be afraid.  I'm just thankful that the Lord is consistent and faithful and I'm getting the feeling that He will be until the end.

It's The Difference That Makes The Difference

There's a difference between temptation and sin, you know.

Have you been there, in the middle of temptation, on the cusp of potential sin? That feeling like being right at the tippytop of the first hill of the roller coaster...you can see it coming. You're tired, you're hungry, you're alone, you're angry...you're in trouble. But it's helpful to remember that temptation is NOT sin. It's the heat of battle. So hang on. Keep throwing punches, swinging that Sword, and raising that Shield.

I love Luther's famous words, quoting other famous words: 

“It is impossible to keep the devil from shooting evil thoughts and lusts into your heart. But see to it that you do not let such arrows (Eph. 6:16) stick there and take root, but tear them out and throw them away. Do what one of the ancient fathers counseled long ago: ‘I cannot,’ he said, ‘keep a bird from flying over my head. But I can certainly keep it from nesting in my hair or from biting my nose off.’”

Great points Martin made there, and great points Mark Driscoll makes here...

Turn That Argument Around

There are more reasons to doubt the non-existence of God in the universe than to doubt His existence.  One example, as explained by Jim McGuiggan:

"But I wonder: how do unbelievers explain the presence of love in the world?  I've read responses to this question, but they don't fully satisfy me.  A world with evil in it raises questions about a good God, but a world with Jesus in it raises questions about no God.  A world with Nazis in it raises serious questions for believers, but a world with sacrificial love raises serious questions for unbelievers.

As long as there is Jesus; as long as there are loving friends, parents, husbands, and wives; as long as there are those who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly...there are grounds for believing in God."

As fallen, rebellious humans, we naturally tend to scurry as fast as we can to deny the existence of God, blaming Him (even as we deny Him) for the deep disaster we see all around us, giving no quarter to any thought that reveals us as the culprits.

Joy and Sorrow Are This Ocean

Sometimes I get a little freaked out about where I am in life.  I have "hmm" moments when I try to sort out how things got to be the way they are.  Now that might sound like my life is some sort of train wreck or failure.  Not so.  To the contrary, I think my life is probably pretty normal and scores somewhere within the typical curve of the "heartache and happiness" grading scale.  It's just that as I reach different stages in life I'm amazed at all the little plot twists that have happened and are currently beginning to twist.

I'll admit that it can be scary.  It feels weird.  It feels different.  But the thing I always come back to is that even as the breadth of my experience grows, and the scope of my difficulties grows, the power of the Gospel (that is, my current comprehension of it) grows proportionately.  God has always been faithful to supply what I've needed in terms of faith and perseverance, mercy and forebearance.  He's going to get me through this.  And it's going to bring so much glory to His great Name in the end.

There's a wideness in God's mercy I cannot find in my own
And He keeps His fire burning To melt this heart of stone
Keeps me aching with a yearning Keeps me glad to have been caught
In the reckless raging fury That they call the love of God

Now I've seen no band of angels But I've heard the soldiers' songs
Love hangs over them like a banner Love within them leads them on
To the battle on the journey And it's never gonna stop
Ever widening their mercies And the fury of His love

Oh the love of God And oh the love of God The love of God

Joy and sorrow are this ocean And in their every ebb and flow
Now the Lord a door has opened That all Hell could never close
Here I'm tested and made worthy Tossed about but lifted up
In the reckless raging fury That they call the love of God

I Didn't Do It!

Random excerpt from one of my journals:

24 April, 08
Even my very love and desire for God, affection for theology, appetite for truth, are all gifts of God, placed in me by Him.  Every last bit of good is a work of God.  Surely, by myself I am utterly nothing. Understand this and worship.

This kind of realization all at once reminds me of my full depravity and total dependance upon the effectual call of God and His intention to keep me!

Food and Worship

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

I read that and imagine Paul pausing after the word "drink" and thinking, "Hmmmm...that list could go on and on.  Psh.  Let's go with WHATEVER you do..."

Matt Chandler has a good angle on the scope of Paul's intent here:

"God created everything, and what he created was good, but what he created to be good was not created as an end in itself but was given to us as good in order that we might be driven to worship him.  In other words, when you and I take a bite of food, that should spark worship in us - not a worship of food, of course, but of the Creator of food.  When you and I feel the warmth of our child hugging us, that should create worship in us.  When we feel the warmth of the sun on our faces, that should create worship. When we smell the rain, that should create worship...The goodness of creation is designed not to declare itself but to act as a signpost pointing heavenward."

And all of this majesty around us...it's just a whisper of His power.

The Breaks

Man, I love the music God gave Rich Mullins to write.  No one's music has ever stirred my heart like his.



Here is my heart take what you want
'Cause I have no use for it anyway
Well of all the stupid things I've ever said
This could be the worst may be the best
But those are the breaks
These are the bruises
And if I can't give myself away I'm the only one who loses
And I don't want to lose this

It is the sea that makes the sailor
And the land that shapes the sea
And I do not know yet what I am made of
Or all I may someday be
And it is the wood that makes a carpenter
It's the very tools of his trade
And it is love that makes a lover
And a cross that makes a saint

Here is my song, listen if you will
But I have no heart for it anymore
I just have half a mind to cut it loose
And if it sails off into the blue
Then I'll just let it soar
And the sky is better keeping
And I won't be any poorer
For giving it its freedom
And here's one for freedom

It is the sea that makes the sailor
And the land that shapes the sea
And I do not know yet what I am made of
Or all I may someday be
It is the wood that makes a carpenter
It's the very tools of his trade
And it is love that makes a lover
And a cross that makes a saint

Well, of all the stupid things I've ever said
This could be the worst may be the best
But those are the breaks