A Word (or two) from Mark

I think we are all just a bit out of touch with what we really want.  On the one hand, we say we want to live a life of faith.  But believing God for daily bread is a lot easier when there is a full loaf in the kitchen.  It is different when each morning you have to go collect it.  Are we willing to face life with God as our ONLY source?  Given the chance to live by faith, do we really want to live that way?  Wouldn’t you think the Israelites would have learned something about God after 40 years of eating manna? But aren’t we just the same, ignoring past provision in the face of current need?  God wants to use today’s challenges to teach us more about Him.  The question is will we learn?

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Here is one of the things that has been nagging at the corners of my mind recently. The plague of hail. It continues to strike me as such a simple but profound picture of faith. If the Egyptians truly believed God when He said it would hail, there was only one sensible action. Stay inside that day. I have been asking myself what are the sensible actions for the things I say I believe?  Part of what bothers me about this question is it seems too simple.  But the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.  Simple actions reflect simple faith.  No hoopla, no ranting pep talks, just quiet, confident action.  Staying inside when you “know” it is going to hail.

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Moses had an amazing journey.  God prepared this man over an 80 year span for his life work.  God described Moses as someone who He would speak to face to face.  Yet as Moses began the third phase of his life, he was uncertain.  He raised a lot of objections before being willing to do as God asked him to do.  One of the things to note about this is our human tendency to need more than just someone’s word.  God’s word on any matter ought to be sufficient.  But often we need additional support. We ask for a sign; we ask for peace; we ask for the confirmation of others.  At times this may truly be a part of hearing God’s voice.  But at other times, it may well be a reluctance to trust God completely.  As I reflect on Moses’ objections to God’s mission for his life, and I reflect on my own journey I see the same tendency.  As we grow in faith, I think God’s word on any matter becomes enough to calm our fears.  He doesn’t lie.  He doesn’t go back on His promises.  He is worthy of our trust.  Is His word enough for you?

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In the last two messages I did, I talked about knowing God.  They flowed from Daniel 11:32 which says “the people who know their God will display strength and take action.”  This past Sunday, I ended with three practical suggestions.  The first was to bag the reading plan and to slow down.  Stop thinking of maintaining some kind of over all pace (like reading through the Bible in a year.)  Instead, think of reading slowly for understanding.  It is better to read one verse deeply than it is to read a hundred without understanding a word.  The second suggestion was to pray the psalms. The third suggestion was to experiment with quiet.  In the interests of developing both of those suggestions here is an idea from the book The Practice of Prayer by Robert Warren.  (This is a great book on prayer by the way, but it is out of print.)  In the introduction he suggests repeating these two lines from a hymn slowly and carefully as a way of relaxing into a time of listening. The two lines are:

Love light up our mortal frame
Till others catch the living flame. 

Why not experiment over the next couple of weeks with these two lines as a way of entering a time of quiet and meditation.  Isn’t a part of knowing God being filled with His Love?

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Initiative is an important word. In job reviews people are praised for taking initiative. In competitive contests it is the person who takes the initiative at the right time that often “wins”. The opposite of initiative is passivity. Passivity should not be an option for a believer. We are called to care; we are called to work; we are called to our knees. Passivity is abdicating our God given responsibility to be stewards of all that has been given to us. But on the other hand any initiative that is rooted in frantic, desperate attempts at self aggrandizement will accomplish little for God’s kingdom purpose. The way to prevent this is to pattern ourselves after the prophecy in Daniel 11: 32. The people who know their God will display strength and take action. The deeper your walk with God, the greater your understanding will be of what initiatives you should take.

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Daniel’s prayer life is staggering isn’t it? It is not often that we are with people who are given such a sweeping look at the future. What can be lost in this is the reason for this look. It is not primarily so that we can know facts about future. The prophecies were given so that we would understand both God’s control and God’s heart. He had a purpose for Israel after their exile among the nations. I believe He has a purpose for each of us as well. We have to ask ourselves are we willing to embrace that purpose? Jesus makes the bold statement in John 14 that greater works than Jesus’ own works would be done by those who simply had faith in Him. So here’s the question. Do you believe it?

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Antiochus Epiphanes was the name I couldn’t remember Sunday. As with any interpretation of prophecy there are multiple views. Some argue that the details of his life do not fit exactly with the details prophesied in Daniel 8. That certainly could be something you could study. Clearly though the prophecy Daniel was given prepares God’s people to expect difficult times ahead. Although there are different interpretations possible for these prophetic passages, the theme of God’s sovereignty remains central. God is in control. His sovereignty rules over all. (Psalm 103: 19) That truth should help us face all that comes our way in faith and confidence. He is not surprised by anything, so His promises can be trusted.

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i have a deep love for the Christmas season.  Christmas day was the one day a year when my family spent the whole day together, eating, opening gifts, playing games.  I have fond memories of the smiles and laughter of those days.  As an adult I often find myself rushed right up until Christmas Day.  There are church activities to be involved with and plan.  The yearly Christmas Eve service is always a special time, but it doesn’t seem that I take a deep breath until it is over.

On Saturday, this past week, I was in a crowded shopping center.  It was a bit difficult getting in and out because of the traffic.  But I was all alone, doing a bit of last minute shopping, so I just slowed down.  I didn’t rush.  I didn’t hurry.  I walked to a few different stores, rather than moving my car.  And somewhere in the middle of my trek across the parking lot, my spirit lightened.  I started to hum and smile and whistle.  In slowing down I remembered something.  I remembered what is at the core of this season.  Jesus.  He came as the most amazing gift that God could have ever given us.  Nothing can ever take that gift away from us. And embracing that in the middle of a parking lot made me smile.

So in the midst of this season, and with the coming New Year… I hope you are able to slow down and find the simple joy that only this gift can give you.  Merry Christmas.

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As those of you close to Grace know, the past three weeks have been incredibly difficult. But in the midst of the heartache there is a bright gleam of hope. God says clearly that He reproves those He loves. When the Lord brings a bright light to shine on what is wrong, it is not because He is mean or vindictive. We all accept the fact that a doctor giving us difficult news does it for our well being. He would not hide the truth from us, hoping the problem would go away. So too, neither should we expect God to do this. He exposes the wrong so that we can be cleansed and healed. Certainly when truth exposes error, when what has been assumed is exposed as a lie, there can be a sense of uncertainty.  But my own journey through the grief of these past days has been turning into hope. God loves us. Even when we make mistakes, God still loves us.  Our true end is not earthly. God wants us to live in eternity with Him in the glory of His kingdom. Paul calls our present difficulties “momentary light affliction” and then says it produces an eternal weight of glory. The Lord is truly purifying us. Let us welcome all His works in our lives.

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The scriptures are filled with tantalizing glimpses of heaven.  Thrones, myriads of attendants, living creatures, fire and glory are just some of the elements mentioned as people describe these visions.  The beauty and holiness pictured are often in stark contrast to the turmoil we see around us, played out both in our individual lives and on the global scene.  This contrast  is extremely apparent in Daniel 7. But let’s be honest.  Most of the time our focus is not on the heavenly scene.  Most of the time we are looking around…looking at circumstances…looking at the turmoil. As a result we become anxious or fearful.  But in Hebrews 4: 14 we are told to draw near with confidence to the “throne of grace” so that we can find mercy and grace in our times of need. So even though we may not “see” heaven the way the prophets did in these visions, we get to enter heaven through prayer.  So where is your focus?  Are you looking around, or you going before the throne?  Are you looking to circumstances or are you looking up?  Why not take some time to read some of these glimpses, like Isaiah 6 or Revelation 4 in addition to Daniel 7?  See what happens to your fear as you shift your focus.

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