That's It

<sup>Edited to add:  For some reason this didn't post on Friday.  Sorry about that!  I'll try to figure out what I did!  See you tomorrow!

"</sup>There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!"  Romans 5:3-5, The Message

So today we are concluding our look at this scripture in Romans.  Our discussion of "passionate patience" turned into a discussion of joy - I'm looking at it as the same thing, I guess.  The only way to have passionate anything is to have joy!!

Today I want to look at the last sentence in this passage.  "We can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!"  The NIV version says this, "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Last night we had revival at our church, and the evangelist shared from his depth the need for the Holy Spirit in our lives and our church.  Man, it was good!!  It's funny how God echoes through our lives.  I teach a Bible study on Wednesday nights and in about a month we are going to start a series called "The Forgotten God," by Francis Chan.  This study is on . . . the Holy Spirit.  I just love it when God brings the pieces together!

It occurs to me that perhaps we don't understand even the basics of who the Holy Spirit is.  I found a great, straightforward explanation at www.everystudent.com:

The Holy Spirit is not a vague, ethereal shadow, nor an impersonal force. He is a person equal in every way with God the Father and God the Son. He is considered to be the third member of the Godhead. Jesus said to His apostles...

"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:18-20)

God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And all the divine attributes ascribed to the Father and the Son are equally ascribed to the Holy Spirit. When a person becomes born again by believing and receiving Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13; John 3:3-21), God resides in that person through the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 3:16). The Holy Spirit has intellect (1Cor. 2:11), emotion (Rom. 15:30), and will (1Cor. 12:11).

The Holy Spirit was given to live inside those who believe in Jesus, in order to produce God's character in the life of a believer. In a way that we cannot do on our own, the Holy Spirit will build into our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).

I really can't say it any better - that's it!  It's not a deep, probing explanation, nonsensical to basic thought.  By the way, however, there is more information and scripture reference on the website; I used the basic for this space.  I also highlighted the areas I want to discuss.

First, the Holy Spirit is a PERSON.  He's not a shadow, a spirit in the way we may understand it - white, freaky, impersonal.  (Although once you start thinking about all the Holy Spirit does for us - little freaky!)  He is REAL.  He has a purpose - to produce God's character in our lives.  Those character traits are described, above, in Galatians 5:22-23, commonly known as the Fruit of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit has AUTHORITY.  He is not a spiritual guide.  He has all the power and authority of God.

Let's look at 1 Corinthians 2:9-16:

However, as it is written:
   "No eye has seen,
      no ear has heard,
   no mind has conceived
   what God has prepared for those who love him"—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.  The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"   But we have the mind of Christ.

We need the Spirit of God to help us understand the Character of God and the Sacrifice of His Son.  The Holy Spirit ties it all together.  If we do not have the Spirit of God we cannot understand the ways of God.

When we pray that God will send His Spirit to us, we are asking for a radical experience - but not one that you may understand now!  You won't become a snake charmer - at least I don't think you will.  ;0)  But you will need to "round up containers" to hold all the blessings God will pour upon you.  Because when you ask for the Spirit in your life, you are simply asking God to give you more of Him.  And God is excited about that!  He wants to pour Himself into our lives!!  But once again, He won't go where He isn't welcomed.

So don't wait.  Don't try to clean up your act first, before you welcome Him into your life.  Go to Him now!!  I promise you, God is the best housekeeper in the universe.  HE will do the cleaning - you do the receiving!  And that's it!!  There's no more to it than that.

I think next week we will talk about the ways God does the cleaning.  How He, for example, washes us whiter than snow.  (Isaiah 1:18).  But until Monday, remember - God's ways do not have to be unknown to you!  Pray for the Holy Spirit in your life, and He will come!

How to Find Joy, part 3

 A little more than two years ago, ‘Joy’ became my constant companion rather than an occasional acquaintance.  This was totally unexpected and more than a little remarkable.  Many times in my life I had experienced Joy dropping in, ’surprising me’, and then leaving…sometimes within a couple days, but usually within hours or minutes.  I loved the visits but instinctively knew that Joy must have other (probably better) things to do but had stopped by long enough to bless me with a touch of encouragement in a difficult time, or a taste of something wonderful when the world seemed particularly grey and flavorless.  Usually the sudden presence of Joy had no rhyme or reason, at least, not that I could tell…a surprise visitor who was always welcome, slept in the guest bedroom and was normally gone before the first light of day, bed made up, a note that said ‘thank you’ and 'see you again soon’.

"But to ‘move in’ and stay…that was unexpected.  For the first six months I was a little on edge about the whole ‘new’ relationship.  It seemed that it would be rather rude to simply ask, "Okay, why exactly are you still here?"  Perhaps, I was a little apprehensive that such a question would remind Joy that there were more important things to do than hang around me, and off Joy would go.  But I liked it…the presence of Joy…a lot!

"A couple years ago . . . here is what I discovered.  JOY has a name.  Joy is not only a fruit of the Spirit of God, but a manifestation of the presence of the very ‘real’ Jesus who dwells inside of us.  In fact, JOY had ‘never’ left me at all; it was me that continually left Joy, to run into some imagined future and resultant fear.  It had never been Joy that was the occasional acquaintance…it was me that had been the visitor.

"I read Joy’s blog the other day, and it began…'A couple years ago Paul became my constant companion rather than an occasional acquaintance…'  Sweeeeeet!"

The above is from the blog "Wind Rumors," the official site of William Paul Young, the author of the Shack.  This is not the entire essay (www.windrumors.com) but you can access it yourself. 

I love this essay.  And as we have pursued the topic of joy this week, it came to my mind and I wanted to share it with you.  You really need to read the whole thing; he has an amazing thought process, and a gift for words!

The purpose of me sharing this with you today is to pose a radical question:  How can you say you have God, but do not have joy?  Because what I'm reading in my Bible is that joy automatically comes with God.  "Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God."  Psalm 43:4

You take in God, you take in joy.  Sure, I know there are seasons of grief in our lives.  The Bible even talks about it - for example, Jeremiah 31:13:  "I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow."  God knows.  He knows we'll have times of mourning.  Yet He still promises Himself; He still promises His joy.

It's a choice, yeah?  Choose Him - Choose Joy.  If you don't have joy, it's time to take a hard firm look at yourself and say, why am I choosing to shut out joy?  It's like we open the door for Christ but try to shut it really fast before any of His pesky characteristics come in and rub off on us.  Let me be direct - if you are doing that, you are breaking His commandments AND you are negating His will and His purpose for your life.

So Choose Him.  Choose Joy.  Choose Life!

How to Find Joy, part 2

I'm so struck with Rabbi Jacobsen's comments from his radio show.  Especially the last paragraph I shared, where he said, "The argument that I’m submitting to all of you is, that joy is something that each of us has in our hearts. Even if you are the saddest person and you haven’t smiled in years, you have a joy, a gladness in your heart, that may in some way be blocked or sealed away because you may not feel that there’s any reason to access it, but it’s there, and the key is learning how to dig into those reservoirs and draw from those wells of joy."

Doesn't it make sense that God would create us with joy?  Joy is discussed 244 times in the Bible.  (Compare that to the topic of hell - which is mentioned 162 times.)   1 Chronicles 16:27 says, "Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place."  So many times in the Bible, joy is presented side by side with strength.  JOY is a strong word; it takes a strong person to have JOY.  Look at Nehemiah 8:10:  "Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  

Joy isn't being slap happy; it isn't hyper happiness; it's not loud and obnoxious.  Joy is the iron man, the triathlete; joy keeps everything going.  Are you exhausted?  Overwhelmed, overworked?  Sad?  Depressed?  Anxious?  Choose joy.  Seek joy.  Be joy.

Ask God to reveal to you what joy looks like.  Perhaps it's been a very long time since you've seen it!  Look again at Nehemiah 8:10.  Joy is God's characteristic - "the joy of the Lord" - and it's a byproduct of a relationship with Him.  He commands us to have it while graciously and lovingly showing us what it looks like.

Look at God's characteristics, if you are unsure of what joy looks like.  Joy is found in creation - a beautiful sunrise, a new snow, the smell of springtime.  It's found in the creation of man - from the newness of babies to marriages that are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries. 

Joy brings honor.  Joy brings worship.  Joy brings life.  Choose life today.  Choose joy.  Shout your praise!

How to Find Joy

Yesterday we talked about the difficulty of choosing to praise when your world is crumbling.  We've been looking at this verse from Romans 5:3:  "We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles . . . "

Rabbi Simon Jacobsen has a talk radio show, and I found a transcript from a show on March 5, 2000, called "How to Find Joy in Your Life."  I'd like to share some of it with you (go to http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/holidays/6b/How_to_Find_Joy_in_Your_Life.php to see the entire transcript):


"As I said, the antithesis of joy is sadness, and these emotions are forces in our lives that have a very strong impact. I believe that some of these emotions are critical in our own growth and healing process...

"Many of us feel that we are victims of circumstances. If something in our daily life brings some joy in our lives, great, we thank G-d for it, but is there something that we can actually do, that we can actually initiate, that can help us bring joy?

"So question number one is, is joy genetic? You do find people who are just naturally joyous, who have a kind of laid-back attitude where it’s just good to be in their presence, and then there are others who may be very serious, but at the same time, they always bring us down.

"At the outset, let me give an overview from a Torah perspective about what this concept called joy, simcha, is, and whether it is considered genetic— nature vs. nurture.

"We can learn a lot by observing children at their quintessential selves, because before children have been affected by society, parents, and community, they can sometimes give us a specimen of what our lives would be like before we were abused or hurt or disappointed.

"Children have natural cheer. They have a natural, enchanted air about them; some would call it naivete because they haven’t yet tasted of the pains of life, but you can also say that it does definitely reflect on a certain natural state that we all have within us.

"When does a child cease to be consistently cheerful? When a child first gets disappointed: the first grief or the first loss or the first disappointment. I would say, to put it in more cosmic terms, that you experience sadness the first time there’s some deception, some type of split in a person’s life. Sadness for the loss, sadness for what could have been, sadness for not getting what you want. But naturally speaking on a cosmic level, a soul, a spiritual entity or spiritual state, where you’re in complete touch with who you are and what you’re supposed to be doing, should be literally a seamless flow of joy.

"In other words, from that perspective, joy is a completely natural state. It’s not even an expression of a spiritual type of existence, it’s equated with life itself. Like a fish swimming in its own waters has that type of natural cheer.

"Now, living in a world of so much grief and pain, when we see someone joyous, it’s like a novelty for us, an exotic experience. But for someone who has that flow, that seamlessness, where there isn’t a dichotomy in life of what you want and what you expect or a deception of different forms, then joy comes very naturally, and that’s why children are joyous.

"So their naivete in a sense serves them well because they haven’t yet tasted from what it means to live in a world of deception. Once they get those disappointments, the joy begins to bottle up to the point where it becomes so locked up for some, that it can’t even be accessed again.

"It’s critical to see joy from this perspective, because if joy is an acquired state, something that you develop at some point (later) in your life, then a very strong argument can be made that once you’ve lost a reason to be happy, or you’ve suffered grief, there’s no way of reconnecting.

"However, if joy is a natural state of feeling a certain sense of belonging, a feeling within that you are important and you have a value, then it’s just a question of reclaiming that right, not creating something new.

"So the argument that I’m submitting to all of you is, that joy is something that each of us has in our hearts. Even if you are the saddest person and you haven’t smiled in years, you have a joy, a gladness in your heart, that may in some way be blocked or sealed away because you may not feel that there’s any reason to access it, but it’s there, and the key is learning how to dig into those reservoirs and draw from those wells of joy."

I'm letting Rabbi Jacobsen do all the work today.  I'll comment tomorrow.  Have a great day!

  

Choose Life

Please forgive me for not "seeing you tomorrow", which is what I posted A WEEK AGO.  I'm starting to seriously think that 41 is the age of senility, at least for me!  I'm forgetful!

A couple of prayer requests, if you happen to remember - my father-in-law is at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.  He had a radiation procedure today to shrink a lesion that rests on both his optic nerve and his brain.  Things went well today, please remember him though, and pray that things will continue to go well.

Also pray for me - I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with life these days!  I've got no more going on than normal, but . . . do you ever have those times?  Maybe I'm just being whiny.

And finally, I have another family member who needs prayer.  I would love to share the burden with you, but I don't even know what it is.  But God does, and the more people praying for this invisible request, the better.

Let's go back to Romans.  "There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!"  Romans 5:3-5, The Message

Last week we talked about the term, "passionate patience."  Let's move back a step - "we continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles."  We all know how that feels, yeah?  To have trouble everywhere we turn, where there's no good answer - just less bad ones.

We know that we are supposed to endure, get through, hold on.  Tie a knot in the end of the rope and hang on (have you ever seen the poster with the kitten hanging on the end of the rope with this saying on it?  Gotta say that kitten creeps me out).  But Romans paints a bit different picture.  Paul tells us we aren't just supposed to survive.  We're supposed to thrive!

How in the heck are we supposed to do that?  How are you supposed to shout praise when your home life is falling apart, or you can't rub two dimes together, or you're sick and not getting better?  Where is that praise supposed to come from?

Come on, everybody say it with me.  All together now!  It comes from Jesus.  Ok, I know, that's the Sunday School answer.  But what's one of the first things we let go of when we are going through trials like what i mentioned above?  Our time with Jesus, right?  The Bible sits on our desk or table or worse yet - we have no idea where it is.  We might call out to Jesus to ask Him to take our pain away.  But we don't seek Him with the same intensity we do at other times, looking for ways to worship Him.

It's almost as if when we are going through these deeply difficult times, the thing we are actually enduring - is Jesus.  We endure our Bible reading, even though we aren't getting anything out of it.  We deal with going to church, even though worship is the farthest thing from our minds.  And we mumble through some sort of prayer, even though we aren't even sure what we are saying. 

We can't shout our praises when all we are choosing to think about it is our troubles.  Notice, I used the word, choosing.  It's our choice to praise or not.  It our choice what to focus on.  Deuteronomy 30 says, "Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."  (19-20)

It's not easy to to make that choice.  It's not easy to shout praise - not just praise, but to shout praise! - when are world is crumbling down.  Deuteronomy doesn't say that it's an easy choice.  But it is OUR choice.

Tomorrow I want to finish up this topic, and I'll be using some information from Rabbi Simon Jacobsen.  Until then!

Round 'Em Up!

So I was just getting started blogging again, but took a week's vacation.  Then school was out for 3 days because of snow.  So now I'm back at it - hopefully for a while again!  Sorry for the lapse, I know how much you miss me when I'm not here!  wink wink  This week's scriptures will be from Romans 5 & 6.

"There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!"  Romans 5:3-5, The Message

Those verses about make me quiver!  There's so much meat just in these few words.  Let's start with the term, "passionate patience."  I don't know about you, but patience is not something I've really ever been all that passionate about!  I've always looked at virtues like patience as something that happens when I'm not really looking for it.  But this scripture implies that we are searching it out, pursuing it!

But look at the NIV version:  "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance . . ."  Suffering (or troubles) produce (develop) perseverance (patience).  Where does the "passionate" come from?

When you look up the words produce and develop in the dictionary, there are definitions that might not ordinarily come to mind.  For example, produce:   to bring into existence; give rise to; cause.  To bring into existence by intellectual or creative ability.  To birth.  And also, develop:  to bring out the capabilities or possibilities of; bring to a more advanced or effective state. 

Sure, we can also find definitions for these words that are more passive and suggest a "sit back and let it happen" attitude.  But these definitions inspire me to be ready - to be available - to be an effective vessel that God can use to cause, or bring out, or birth these qualities within me.

In other words, I don't want to "sit back and wait" for patience to develop in me.  I want to be passionate about pursuing patience!  Those of you who know me well are laughing right now.  Not naming any names (Rebekah, Stephen . . . all of you!) but you know who you are!  Patience is definitely NOT my defining characteristic.

But as a mom, I think how much my son can learn from me when my patience with him is not shown through deep breaths and clenched teeth, but through a joyful spirit.  When he tests me - and oh, he tests me! - how much more effective my parenting will be with a passionate spirit, instead of a controlling disposition.

My mom always said, "Never pray for patience.  That's when God will give you stuff to force you to be patient!"  But I say, let's do it!  Let's pray that God will find in us willing vessels to create passionate patience in!

Keep blazing for Christ!  See you tomorrow!
   

There's a Third Choice

 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.  But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"  And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."  Matthew 14:25-33

What a wonderful story.  In just a few short verses, there are highs and lows, major action, a twist of fate, and a twist of faith.  I have heard sermons where Peter is both commended and faulted for his response to Jesus.  Yes, he took the step out of the boat, but yes, he doubted and feared.

I think this story reminds us that there are three choices in life.  The good way, the bad way, and God's way.  Just like with Peter - at first, it appears that Peter can do one of two things:  he can sink, or he can swim.  But then he sees, there's a third choice - he can walk!

The world will try to limit your options.  But God's options are so much higher than what the world can ever imagine.  With God's help, you can walk!!  Right on top of that water, on those waves, in that wind.  God doesn't need calm to bring peace.

Notice that the waves didn't diminish because Jesus was there.  They kept right on dancing and scaring the disciples to death!  I wonder what would have happened to Peter if he would have focused just on Jesus for one second more.  Just one.  Maybe that would have been enough for him to forget the waves and walk all the way to Jesus.

This is just like our lives today.  We can have God's peace despite the fact the storm still rages around us.  We don't have to choose between sinking or swimming.  We can soar!  The waves will still crash, the lightning still flash, the thunder still roar-but in the midst, there is peace. 


So in your storm, which choice will you make?  Will you sink, cowering in fear as the waves cover you?  Will you swim, depleting what little strength you have to try to get through this trial?  Or will you simply reach out your hand, and take the hand of the One who loves you, and walk?

Three choices.  Which one is yours today?