Simply You

I have to make a confession. I am an introvert. Big time. On a test I took several years ago, intended to reveal where you would be on the "introvert/extrovert" scale, I was almost pegged on the introverted side.

This surprised me at the time. As a pastor, I wondered if this would be my undoing. I mean, would my preferences for smaller circles of friends, having a conversation with one person at at time and giving that person my focus, my tendency to kind of be in the background at social gatherings, never feeling terribly comfortable being the gregarious type, really enjoying just being at home with my family and a good book, or out in nature with peace and quiet... doesn't seem like the typical pastor's personality. By the way, being an introvert doesn't make one a recluse. I can be outgoing and be an introvert. It's all about where you get your energy. I have to get away to recharge. Others need to be around people.

I must say that a chapter like Matthew 6 is a life-saver for me. Here are some highlights...

"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so you don't make a performance out of it... don't call attention to yourself... When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it-quietly and unobtrusively... And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production... just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage... Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (selections taken from The Message).

What I have discovered is that it is better to embrace who you are and be that person, regardless of your role. Who you are is far more important than a role. What you do flows out of who you are far more than the role "assigned" to you. So, if I am an introvert, operate as an introvert! I have learned to be OK with focusing on the one. Sometimes people have to wait a little longer, and that's OK. It isn't personal, it is simply my nature to finish one conversation. I think this may reveal why interruptions have always annoyed me so much (well, that and not getting used to interruptions--I don't have any siblings). The compulsion to finish with one causes irritation when it seems like I am being prevented from doing so. Knowing this, it becomes important to adjust accordingly. I cannot be offended by the interruptions, for who someone else is plays into how they operate differently. I have to challenge myself to make people not feel "left out."

But the good news in all of this is that, before God--as His child, as a husband and father, as a friend, as a pastor--I am free to be myself! I don't have to be someone else's definition of success or a role. I am responsible to Him! When my attention is on Him, I lose the anxiety to put on a front for people.

This is my example. What is yours? Are you a fellow introvert? (Introverts unite! In their own homes! By themselves!). Are you an extrovert? (I feel for you... having to, mostly, stay home over the last couple of months has probably been more difficult for you than for me). But, to the question... do you feel you can be yourself? Before God? Before others? No matter who you are, when you are engaged in worship, prayer, service, etc... Who is your audience?

Here's what I think God wants from any of us: For each of us to be our true selves. He wants to be your audience. He wants you to stay in the moment with him, unconcerned with the past or the future, and unconcerned with the flawed perceptions of others. He wants, simply, you!

He loves you! Not someone's ideal version of you, but you! He made you like you are, like no other. The best worship ever has nothing to do with liturgy or a specific spiritual practice. The best worship is you, being yourself, your attention on God, in the moment with the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Simply be you!

Rooted

I love trees. In my front yard, when I was a kid, there was this massive oak tree. If a squirrel ran up there, our dog would stare up there for hours, long past when the squirrel had probably jumped to 5 other tree. It was terrific for the shade it gave the house, though, and beautifully strong. Another one was a fairly large hemlock. In the winter, it would provide shelter from snow, and it’s branches would bend to the ground to form a magnificent little teepee shelter. Every spring, not too far away, fields of rhododendron would bloom bright pink—the “Pink Beds” just odd the Blue Ridge Parkway—and the dogwoods would flower in their pinks and whites.

They were there every year. They were consistent, productive in what they were there for, and felt timeless.

The Psalmist wrote, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” (Psalms‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

To delight means to be consumed by something in this context. One finds pleasure in... has a day-and-night longing for whatever that is. For this author, to be consumed by the Law of the Lord—Torah, to the author—is to be consumed by God Himself, for Torah is the ultimate revelation of God to him, at that time (Jesus Christ had not yet come in the flesh).

Maybe this sounds simplistic. But I want a life with roots, productivity, and staying power in the purpose for which God put me on earth.

I suspect you may also want this. If so, I cannot give a stronger recommendation that God’s Word—the Bible. Make it the first thing you think about when you get up and the last thing you think of before you retire for the night.

Let me share with you my approach. I have a daily reading and journaling plan. Each day, I read a minimum of one chapter from the selections shown. I don’t really put a specific time on how long it takes, but I allow enough time to at least do the one chapter. Throughout the year, here is my schedule:

Sunday: PsalmsMonday: Genesis - 2nd SamuelTuesday: Matthew, Mark, LukeWednesday: 1 Kings - Song of Solomon (excluding Psalms)Thursday: John, Acts, RevelationFriday: Isaiah-MalachiSabbath: Romans-Jude
After I read, I journal. On one side of the journal, I write out a passage from my reading, my thoughts on that passage, and a prayer. On the other side, I may write out a little teaching or sermon idea based on my reading, or a sentence or two of gratitude and a little proverb of my own making.
Each day, I also try and commit one verse to memory, using the “Bible Memory” app (free from the App Store for smart phones or tablets).
Whatever works for you, do it! Find yourself in passionate pursuit of God! Start today!

The Primacy of Blessing

Genesis 1

22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”...

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”...

Genesis 2

3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation...

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. If we are honest, gift-giving, while celebrated as something almost commercial by many, has a lot to do with making it what it is. There are some that feel this is not appropriate, but I disagree. The opportunity to bless friends and family, even if for a moment, is appropriate to do. Yes, it is possible to be opulent, but not necessary.

There is joy in both blessing people with a meaningful gift, and being blessed with a meaningful gift. That someone sacrifices for another to bring them joy is a wonderful thing. Sometimes, there is that one person who just seems to know what gift would be the most meaningful. As a child, my aunt would often send something I liked. As an adult, my sister-in-law has given me some of the best shirts I ever wore (seriously, she has a great eye for stuff I would not necessarily buy for myself, but winds up looking great).

When I was 12 years old, my parents bought me a trombone. The presentation was incredible. They woke me up extremely early with an "emergency," that there was a group playing a special Christmas early morning gig nearby and they needed a trombone player right away. They drove me down to the school auditorium (we lived on the campus of Mt. Pisgah Academy near Asheville, North Carolina, where they taught at the time). I walked in to Christmas music playing, but there was no one and nothing in there except a spotlight on a big, wrapped box on the stage. My dad's voice came over the PA system, telling me to unwrap the box and open it. I was really in a fog at this point still, but went over are started to unwrap it, revealing a brand new, very nice trombone. I was over-the-top ecstatic! That present wound up paying itself back, too, as playing that trombone got me scholarship money for all the years I attended school at Southern Adventist University.

I am convinced that God blesses us to give gifts to others, because I feel it helps us to understand Him a bit better. He has always given the best gifts.

In Genesis 1, two times we read about God blessing living beings. To all living beings he "blesses" them with the ability and purpose to procreate and fill the earth with life. That theme of separating and filling finds its completion in this, but filling was not enough. God goes further and "blesses" humanity with the purpose of reigning over what He created... subduing it and governing it. But that was not enough yet! At the beginning of Genesis 2, God "blesses" a day, which sounds strange, but the end result was really a blessing for creation. In this, He blesses the seventh day of creation with rest (stopping what He was doing), making it holy (set apart). The reason was because that was the day He stopped the act of creation. It was a day for creation to stop their own work and set apart that day to enjoy and appreciate what God had done the prior six days.

To "bless" was a special thing. It came from the word, "barak." The word can also mean to "kneel." If you look at the Hebrew letters that form this word, the "B" (bet) was created to denote a house, or container, or full vessel. The "R" (resh) was meant to represent the "head," or leader, and a channel of sorts. The "K" was meant to represent an empty cup, or outstretched, cupped hands. There were no vowels in the Hebrew alphabet, and Hebrew reads right-to-left. So, the word for "bless" carried meaning: "Full House" + "Head-Vessel" + "Empty Vessel." It is the picture one giving to one who is ready to receive.

In essence, what God did was to gift living creatures and a day with purpose: to procreate and fill (all creatures), to reign over creation (humanity), and to set apart the seventh-day for the purpose of rest and the enjoyment of what God had done--create & give purpose!

I have received and have given some pretty good gifts (at least I think I have), but what God gifted this world with is unmatchable. God gives the best gifts.

God really only asks us of one gift: thanksgiving and praise. These are but reflections on His goodness and what He has done. It is the only thing we can really even give Him.

So let's start honoring this word. Who is God? What about His character is most meaningful to you? What has He done in your life, and can thanksgiving become a habit?

God gives the best gifts. Today, give God the best gift you can give Him!

The Primacy of Word

3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light...

6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened...

9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened...

11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened...

14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened...

20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21 So God created...

24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened...

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
27  So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

(Selections from Genesis 1, NLT)

There are times when I speak to my kids, but it seems like I am speaking into a strange vacuity that only exists when I, or my wife, happen to speak to them. "I need you to get ready to go to the church," I might say. A few minutes later: "Hey, you two, we have to leave in 15 minutes, time to get ready!" Finally, "HEY! GET UP OFF THE COUCH AND GET READY NOW! THIS IS THE THIRD TIME!"

I suppose every parent knows the struggle. We cannot always speak action from inactivity. At times we cannot create the desired result when people are floating around in their own "void," and what we wish we could just speak into existence often has to be coerced.

Maybe it has to do with the foundation laid. If you have not laid a foundation of love, structure, order, and vitality, you can't just expect a child to hop to it at a moment's notice.

I find the order of creation--specifically what and how God spoke things to be--to be enlightening. Consider the pattern of "filling" that God accomplishes.

• Day 1: He speaks light into existence... darkness and death are driven away (life cannot exist in what we read about, pre-creation).
• Day 4: The parallel: He speaks lights into existence, putting the activity of future living beings into order.
• Day 2: He speaks an expanse into existence... Chaos was given boundaries. Water was, to the Hebrew mind, a place of disorder and chaos and death. A space for life had to exist.
• Day 5: The parallel: He speaks the creatures of sky and water into existence, filling both with life, His Word empowering each to further fill the earth with life after its kind. Even a place of seeming "chaos and death" was filled with life.
• Day 3: He speaks land and sea into existence, further bordering off the places of apparent order and chaos. He speaks the plant life into existence, filling the earth with what would sustain the life He would soon create. Sometimes overlooked is the fact that the sea itself also contains its own kinds of vegetation that could feed the life it houses!
• Day 6: The creatures of the land are created, filling it with life, also being empowered to expand life. Mankind was created with particular purpose, to govern over the order of life God created.

All of this happens by the Word of God. Interestingly, God did not speak and mankind just came to be. Before humanity was even made, we see God filling this creation with purpose that exceeds the purpose of any other created thing.

God speaks foundations of life into existence (often speaking separation into existence to make this possible... see my earlier post, "Primacy of Separation"). God speaks into existence the life that fills these foundations.

When He speaks, God separates and fills with life and purpose!

God still speaks. I will not attempt to define the boundaries of how He speaks. I know He speaks through His Word, Scripture. He speaks His Word through Holy Spirit. He speaks through people. He speaks in dreams and visions. He speaks through thoughts. There are surely other methods I have not thought of. But He does speak!

Maybe He is speaking a "separation from chaos" into your life today. Maybe He is speaking a foundational message you need. Maybe He is speaking boundaries into your existence. Maybe He is speaking something life-giving to you.

Of these kinds of words, maybe of others, how has God spoken to you? What could He be speaking to you today?

The Primacy of Separation

6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.”...

9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good...

14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened.

(From Genesis 1, NLT)

One day contains 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, and 86,400 seconds. Each of us are guaranteed nothing, and those days, minutes, and seconds go by quickly. If we are honest, we confess that the next second is not known.

One day contains a lot. According to an article in cnbc.com, "Average in America is a prison--here's what it looks like and how you can break free," published February 7, 2018, the average American watches 33 hours of TV a week (closing on 283 minutes per day, or just under 20% of the day);  works 34.4 hours per week (not quite 5 hours a day over 7 days, or almost 295 minutes, just over 20% of one day); spends 116 minutes per day on social media (about 8% of the day); spends 5 hours per day on their cell phone (about 20%); and exercises 17 minutes per day (just over 1%).

This is the day of your typical, American, rat-race day. To put it in another way of the Rodentia order, it is the kind of day most of us jump on the hamster wheel for.

Does anyone else find this way dangerous and chaotic? I think it is due to its aimlessness. If we do not order our lives, we just fall into the hamster wheel of life and keep running until we are dead. The same article quoted above points out the habits that set successful people apart from the average: 

• They pursue their own dreams and goals, and not those of parents, family, or friends.
• They engage in deliberate practices.
• They don't rely on passion or motivation. They forge good daily habits that put them on autopilot for success.
• They don't stop trying, and because of this, they hit that "lucky spot."
• They are frugal.
• They do not gossip.
• They read to learn, spending 30 minutes or more each day to gain knowledge about their career, craft, or industry.
• They experiment.
• They seek feedback.
• They create a blueprint for the life they desire.

All of these acts separate them from the chaos of life and order them for success. This is not unlike what God did for us at creation, and what He did created such a blueprint for humanity's success.

Consider His actions from the verses above:

• God separated light (which reveals) from darkness (which obscures). 
• God separated the waters (a place of death and chaos) above from the waters below, creating sky (heavens, or atmosphere, the abode of God to the Hebrew).
• God separated sea (chaos and death) from land (order).
• God created the lights to govern (bring order to) humanity's days.

Consider the purpose and activities God gave to humanity in the creation story:

• "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and govern it. Reign over..." (verse 28).
• God gave humanity a defined purpose, to work the ground from which the man was created in the Garden God created as his home (Genesis 2:7-8, 15).

God separated so we could live apart from chaos and death. He separated so we live in the open, without shame, and with order. He separated so that life could thrive as He intended it.

God separates so He can give us His kind of life! Even now, He can separate us from the chaos of the "hamster wheel" of life so we can live a life worth living! He can separate us (another word for making separate is to make "holy," actually) to being citizens of His Kingdom, even as we live in this world, and I dare say most people need to see how awesome that is before they will be part of His Kingdom.

What has God separated you to? Is it a matter of living with greater intentionality, following the patterns of success that, to be honest, are more Godly patterns of living anyway? Is it a matter of being reminded of your purpose to care for what God has given you to care for? Could it be that some of us may need to be separated from a phone? A relationship? A job? A habit of chaos for a habit of growth?

What is your purpose? What does it mean for God to "separate" you from chaos to order? What habits of intentionality can you form that lead you to the awesome life God wants for you?

The Primacy of Presence

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

Miracles witnessed make for unforgettable memories. A few of mine, all of which came with anointing with oil, include...

• Praying over two women, on two separate occasions, who had cancer, yet each of whom attended their next doctor's appointment to hear the doctor say, "You do not have cancer!"
• Praying with another woman who was diagnosed with MS the night she was in pain from symptoms. After prayer, the pain was gone and did not return!
• Praying over a man with diagnosed HIV and learning the next week that the doctors said he did not have HIV!

Original misdiagnosis? Maybe. Who is to say that the God I serve did not orchestrate a healing in such a way as this as well? All I believe is that God hand was in the healing, regardless of our human explanations.

Miracles uncomfirmed can be confusing and disheartening. There are prayers I have prayed that did not come out as I would have chosen, or as someone else would have chosen. I witnessed prayers over a deceased loved one once, prayers praying for an instant resurrection, that seemed to go unanswered and left a wife disillusioned.

I have come to the conclusion that we are praying for the Presence of God in such situations. His Presence brings both healing and miracles... and the wisdom to understand what is needed versus what we want. Clearly, they don't always match up. However, we learn some important things about the first mention in Scripture of the Presence of God that may help us.

The truth of the Creation story's beginning--the "genesis of Genesis," if you will--is the invasion of God into the place of nothingness, the place which lacked life. The Bible teaches that the earth was without form and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. Water was, to the Hebrews from which Moses (who authored this account) came, a place of confusion and death. When they faced the Red Sea, they were challenged to place a foot into the place of water, and when the waters covered the Egyptians, death came with it. Darkness was a place of secrecy (and also a source of confusion), a place of things hidden, and was complemented by the "emptiness" of the verse.

The Spirit of God enters all of this, and everything changes.

• His Presence is the beginning of bringing order from chaos. The story tells us that the dry land emerged from the chaos.
• His Presence brings secrecy into the open. The story tells us that He speaks light into existence. Darkness cannot exist when there is light present.
• His Presence fills emptiness. The story tells us that the world, over the course of 6 days, was filled with the infrastructure to support life, was given that which would order life's times, was filled with the life itself, and that the life was given purpose.

The Creation story is the the primacy of who God is and the primacy of His Presence--bringing order from chaos, openness from secrecy, light from darkness, fullness from emptiness, and life from death.

When I witness the miraculous intervention of God today, I have to think that such activity is the norm with God. We call it a miracle, but is it really? Is it possible that the "miraculous" brining of life from death and decay is really what God has done all along? What His Presence has always brought? 

When I do not witness what I feel I should, is it possible that I can accept that God will yet bring light into my confusion? Understanding where something is now hidden from me? Wisdom out of my chaos? Maybe it happens now, maybe later, maybe in eternity, but I have to believe it will happen!

I believe that the God of creation is the God who is King and directs the affairs of the universe, including the part of it I inhabit. I believe that the God who is King of kings and Lord of lords is present, and His Presence still brings life.

How have you experienced the life-bringing, order-inducing, purpose-giving Presence of God in your life? What reassures you that He is in control and that this is the best possible thing that can happen for you even when you cannot see it in the moment?

Primacy - "God Created"

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

Not long ago, I paid a bit of money to be able to have access to records to records of my family online. I found "ancestry.org" to be a useful tool, actually. I saw government and public records--census data, voting records, birth certificates, etc.--containing names of family members long gone. They would contain interesting (and even sometimes a bit unfortunate) tidbits of information as to what they did, where they lived, and even what was going on at the time they were in particular places.

I was able to trace my ancestry through Ellis Island through one side of the family. I even found out I likely had a direct relative who sailed over on the Mayflower and could have been one of the first English teachers on the continent (interesting to me since my father has taught English for much of his career). I found records extending into England/Wales, France, Germany, and Norway. I discovered family who had been married in a church in Bristol, UK, a place I visited years ago while I was still in college. I found out I was related to the founder of the Mayo Clinic, and also am a distant relative of Howard Dean (on the democratic ticket for vice president in 2004, of "yeeeeeeeeaaaahhhhh!!!" fame during the campaign). There are Johnsons, Beckers, Fogelsangers, Bearys, Andrews, Perdues, Mullins, Harpers, Largents, Gilliams, Riches, Wilcoxes... all kinds of names in there.

Well, all of that is interesting enough to others, but to me it was important to know something at least of where I came from. I found out more than I ever thought I would!

Reverse the clock several millennia, and put yourself in the position of a freed slave, whose family has been enslaved for centuries. Your ancestors came to Egypt during a famine, a move you are sure God orchestrated. But over time, proximity to the worship practices and religious beliefs of the host nation likely seeped in a little. Maybe you would have been one who wondered--where am I from?

When he wrote Genesis, Moses, I am sure, wanted to remind his great big family (fellow Hebrews) exactly where they came from and exactly who their God was.

What he first wrote, in Genesis 1, would have been of primary importance to communicate:

1. God is King. It isn't Pharaoh. It isn't any of their gods. It is God--Elohim, the ruler, which when put into the plural intensive of that meaning translates as "the true God."
2. The King created. There is not a god in Egypt who could do this. He fashioned His creation with care and thoughtfulness and purpose.
3. Everything that would follow, in anything that Moses would write, is rightfully seen through the lens he creates in Genesis 1:
• God's Presence brings order from chaos.
• God's Word brings existence.
• God's intention is life.
• God's blessing is purpose.

If you were a Hebrew, having just been released from slavery, having just walked through the Red Sea, and facing a barren wilderness with a people who did not yet know how to be a nation, I would think this lens would be reassuring and would drive them to dependence on this. It did not always work out that way, as one would discover from reading the rest of Moses' writings (Genesis - Deuteronomy, or what they called "Torah," or "The Law"). But all of what God would say and do could be read with that in mind.

How about you? What is your chaos? How can belief that "God brings order out of chaos" help sustain you in the midst of chaos?

What can God's Word bring to existence in your life that is not there right now, that you need?

If you believe that God's intention is life--real life as He intended it--does that have any impact on your decision making? How you live each day? How you see the actions of God in your life?

Do you consider your purpose--what you are doing right now--to be God's blessing? I'm not talking about just your job or career, but your day-in, day-out reason for existence. Caring for what God cares for. Partnering with Him on His mission. Are you doing that, and do you see it as blessing?

May you feel God's Presence today. May His Word speak life into you, the life worth living, even that eternal life experience in the temporal of now. May He speak His purpose for you into your heart.