Life. Interrupted. Week 8 Day 1
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied. Then God said,
"Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey… Genesis 22:1-3 (NIV)
I’m not sure what is harder to believe: God’s request or Abraham’s compliance. Put yourself in Abraham’s shoes. What would be going through your head? “Are you kidding me? After all that we’ve been through to get this boy, now you want you want me to kill him? God, you are wearing me out on this.” Wouldn’t you feel frustrated and confused?
Abraham didn’t show any of these emotions. He just got up the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took Isaac up the mountain. Maybe Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). Maybe Abraham had finally reached a place after several decades where he could trust God completely. He was at a very different place in his relationship with God. Abraham knew that he could trust God.
Throughout Abraham’s journey, he faced many failures and doubts, and he grew in his relationship with God. There really is no other place for a human to grow. Abraham started out more or less as a blank slate when he was called by God (Genesis 12). He trusted God enough to move, but he really didn’t know God.
When you begin to pile up Abraham’s problems: Sarai and the Egyptians, the promise and infertility, Hagar and Ishmael, Sodom and Gomorrah, doubting and laughter, you would think that Abraham’s faith would be devastated. Yet, the circumstances of his life provided fertile ground for Abraham to grow in his relationship with God. If Abraham had waited for things to calm down before he started growing spiritually, he still might be waiting today.
What test are you facing today? Is there something that God is asking you to give up? God will strip away everything that hinders our dependence on Him. The amount of struggle and drama is really up to you.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The Days of Haagen-Dazs and LA Law
Life. Interrupted. Week 7 Day 5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Psalm 68:5-6
God provides what we lack. To the fatherless, He is our Father. To the husbandless, He is the spouse. For the lonely, He provides community. For the prisoners, He sets their hearts free. But, the rebellious, the disobedient, the self-willed, the God-has-abandoned-me-so-I’ll-just-do-it-myself crowd, they end up in an unpleasant place.
I was single until I was 35 years old. Now, while there were great days when I knew that I could do whatever I wanted and nobody would care. There were also sad days when I knew nobody would care about whatever I did. I’d blow up the black balloons and drown my sorrows in gallons of Haagen-Dazs and episodes of LA Law.
Now before you started feeling sorry for me (or ridiculing me), here’s the deal: my situation was my choice. There were people all around me. And, of course, there was God who loved me.
God wants to give us what we need to live our lives for Him. God has great plans for us. “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). He has the desire and ability to lead us into satisfying, relationally-rich lives, if we are willing.
As my friend, Al Cleveland says, “It seems all I can control is the amount of resistance I offer against his leading. He seems quite determined to save me from myself.”
How much resistance are you putting up today? What do you need today? How can you step out of the way and let God provide?
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Psalm 68:5-6
God provides what we lack. To the fatherless, He is our Father. To the husbandless, He is the spouse. For the lonely, He provides community. For the prisoners, He sets their hearts free. But, the rebellious, the disobedient, the self-willed, the God-has-abandoned-me-so-I’ll-just-do-it-myself crowd, they end up in an unpleasant place.
I was single until I was 35 years old. Now, while there were great days when I knew that I could do whatever I wanted and nobody would care. There were also sad days when I knew nobody would care about whatever I did. I’d blow up the black balloons and drown my sorrows in gallons of Haagen-Dazs and episodes of LA Law.
Now before you started feeling sorry for me (or ridiculing me), here’s the deal: my situation was my choice. There were people all around me. And, of course, there was God who loved me.
God wants to give us what we need to live our lives for Him. God has great plans for us. “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). He has the desire and ability to lead us into satisfying, relationally-rich lives, if we are willing.
As my friend, Al Cleveland says, “It seems all I can control is the amount of resistance I offer against his leading. He seems quite determined to save me from myself.”
How much resistance are you putting up today? What do you need today? How can you step out of the way and let God provide?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
My apologies to Aaron Keyes...
Aaron Keyes is the songwriter of "Not Guilty Anymore," not Aaron Shust. My apologies for the confusion. It's an awesome song.
Not Guilty Anymore
Life. Interrupted. Week 7 Day 4
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
“Though every act of sin is forgivable, the effects of some are not erasable.” – Chuck Swindoll
Why was Ishmael even there that day? Didn’t Ishmael’s birth come as a result of Sarah’s scheming? Now that Sarah had the “perfect,” promised family, her resentment for the “extended” family was clear. But, beyond Ishmael’s taunts and the family’s dysfunction, Ishmael was also a reminder of Abraham and Sarah’s unfaithfulness to God. Ishmael represented more than just a rowdy teenager. Ishmael represented their shame.
How do we feel when we face reminders of our past? Even though we have been forgiven, even though we have victory in that area, it’s easy to feel guilty and ashamed. Our pride is offended at the idea that we could have ever done such a thing.
Aaron Keyes sings God’s affirmation to us in Not Guilty Anymore: “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, doesn’t matter what you’re coming from, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been. Hear me tell you, I forgive.
“You’re not guilty anymore. You’re not filthy anymore. I love you, mercy is yours. You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore. I love you, mercy is yours.”
The things we are so ashamed of are reminders of God’s grace.
Click HERE to listen.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
“Though every act of sin is forgivable, the effects of some are not erasable.” – Chuck Swindoll
Why was Ishmael even there that day? Didn’t Ishmael’s birth come as a result of Sarah’s scheming? Now that Sarah had the “perfect,” promised family, her resentment for the “extended” family was clear. But, beyond Ishmael’s taunts and the family’s dysfunction, Ishmael was also a reminder of Abraham and Sarah’s unfaithfulness to God. Ishmael represented more than just a rowdy teenager. Ishmael represented their shame.
How do we feel when we face reminders of our past? Even though we have been forgiven, even though we have victory in that area, it’s easy to feel guilty and ashamed. Our pride is offended at the idea that we could have ever done such a thing.
Aaron Keyes sings God’s affirmation to us in Not Guilty Anymore: “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, doesn’t matter what you’re coming from, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been. Hear me tell you, I forgive.
“You’re not guilty anymore. You’re not filthy anymore. I love you, mercy is yours. You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore. I love you, mercy is yours.”
The things we are so ashamed of are reminders of God’s grace.
Click HERE to listen.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
You're Invited to Talk Back
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I'd love to hear what you think.
I'd love to hear what you think.
Is Your Life “It’s Complicated” or “Mayberry”?
Life. Interrupted. Week 7 Day 3
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. Genesis 21:17-21 (NIV)
Abraham’s family situation was complicated. It certainly wasn’t Mayberry. Now that God had given Abraham and Sarah the heir to the promise, they didn’t need a spare. At Sarah’s prompting and with God’s direction (Genesis 21:11-13), Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away.
Was Ishmael a mistake? Was Ishmael a problem that would never be resolved? Ishmael was out of Abraham’s family, but not out of God’s blessing.
Regardless of who you are, how you got here, or what you’ve done, God loves you and wants to bless you. That’s just Who God is. If you feel that you don’t deserve God’s blessing, well, that’s how it’s supposed to be. You and I don’t deserve God’s blessing.
God loves you, and there’s really nothing you can do about that.
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. Genesis 21:17-21 (NIV)
Abraham’s family situation was complicated. It certainly wasn’t Mayberry. Now that God had given Abraham and Sarah the heir to the promise, they didn’t need a spare. At Sarah’s prompting and with God’s direction (Genesis 21:11-13), Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away.
Was Ishmael a mistake? Was Ishmael a problem that would never be resolved? Ishmael was out of Abraham’s family, but not out of God’s blessing.
Regardless of who you are, how you got here, or what you’ve done, God loves you and wants to bless you. That’s just Who God is. If you feel that you don’t deserve God’s blessing, well, that’s how it’s supposed to be. You and I don’t deserve God’s blessing.
God loves you, and there’s really nothing you can do about that.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Are You Stingy with God’s Grace?
Life. Interrupted. Week 7 Day 2
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." Genesis 21:8-10 (NIV)
Sarah faced a common, but unbecoming dilemma. She had received God’s grace, but she refused to offer God’s grace to others. Sure there was some sibling rivalry between Ishmael and Isaac as well as plenty of tension between Sarah and Hagar. It was not your typical step family situation, if there is a typical one.
God never intended for us to hoard His grace. He gives grace to save us (Ephesians 2:8-9) and grace to sustain us (2 Corinthians 12:9). God also gives His grace for us to give to others. In 1 Peter 4:10 we read, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.” How do we administer God’s grace? “Administer” used here is the same word as “stewardship.” Everyone who receives God’s grace has become a steward or manager of God’s grace. It’s our job to extend God’s grace to those around us by using our spiritual gifts (charismata or “grace gifts”).
How has God blessed you with His grace? How can you extend God’s grace through forgiveness, encouragement, mercy or helps today?
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." Genesis 21:8-10 (NIV)
Sarah faced a common, but unbecoming dilemma. She had received God’s grace, but she refused to offer God’s grace to others. Sure there was some sibling rivalry between Ishmael and Isaac as well as plenty of tension between Sarah and Hagar. It was not your typical step family situation, if there is a typical one.
God never intended for us to hoard His grace. He gives grace to save us (Ephesians 2:8-9) and grace to sustain us (2 Corinthians 12:9). God also gives His grace for us to give to others. In 1 Peter 4:10 we read, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.” How do we administer God’s grace? “Administer” used here is the same word as “stewardship.” Everyone who receives God’s grace has become a steward or manager of God’s grace. It’s our job to extend God’s grace to those around us by using our spiritual gifts (charismata or “grace gifts”).
How has God blessed you with His grace? How can you extend God’s grace through forgiveness, encouragement, mercy or helps today?
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