Ezekiel 37:10 – Well Worded

So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army. Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭10‬ NLT

Think about the last time you needed the right words for someone and couldn’t find them. We all have those moments. Worse than not finding the words, this is a high stakes conversation. You need to get the right information to this person, right now!

High stakes conversations probably happen more often than you think in your life. This is why we’re called to speak life to people. To choose our words well, to convey hard truth with love but sans sugar-coating.

Quit trying to find those words on your own. When a conversation turns high stakes, pray immediately for discernment and for God to give you His words of life-affirming truth.

It is only through these words that God will raise up His army!

Jeremiah 31:33 – God the Author

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33 NLT

“Trapped” is a sensation all of the animal kingdom can feel in their flesh. Every one of us feels it at times. Trapped in a job, a relationship, a temptation, a sin.

It’s not a facade, it’s the condition of life. Well, at least of this life. God has imprinted deeply upon you from the time He created your spirit. The tension of all the things in this life can take your eyes off of God, despite it being that very tension that we all feel because of God’s imprint.

Humanity is the story God has decided to tell. Each day, each decision you’ve made, is part of that story. Each one today will become a part of that story. What part of the story are you writing today?

Friends, I apologize for my absence the past few weeks. I’ve been busy collecting some stories you’ll be seeing over the next few days. Thanks for your patience, and for being here with me today.

Isaiah 37:20 – So What?

Now, O lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O lord, are God. ” Isaiah 37:20 NLT

I know something about you: you hate to be sold, but you love to buy. It’s true, right? You enjoy buying things, particularly things you’re been working toward purchasing, like a house. At the same time, the half of the commercials on TV, i.e., the ones you watch, represent millions spent on a national ad campaign and the only response you would have if you bothered is “so what?” Whatever they put in front of you didn’t show you something you wanted to buy, so they failed to sell.

If you’ve been praying about something for what seems like forever, perhaps God isn’t buying what you’re selling? I’m not suggesting God only answers prayer when you put together a perfect sales pitch. God gives us countless examples of how to pray to Him. The examples God gives of answered prayers typically have a component that addresses the “so what” question with God in a singular way: so that God will be glorified.

Challenge yourself to find this particular “so that” in your requests to God. If you already have it, make sure you’re bringing it to god that way. If you can’t find this “so that” in the prayer, maybe it’s time to check your compass? Is it pointing North? Not sure: run your “so that” past a trusted Christ follower. This not only invites them to pray with and for you, but also can help you strip the emotion off of what your dealing with and make sure you have your eyes on God’s will as you pray.

Ezekiel 37:9 – Blowing Bubbles

Then He said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’” Ezekiel 37:9 NLT

Image courtesy Mama Joules

We got some bubbles this week, which for a three year old is a little like winning the lottery. So we went outside to blow some bubbles. So I fought to get the wand out of the container, and finally raised the wand to blow some bubbles. Before I could, they were streaming across the yard and my son took off chasing them. He must have chased a nearly endless stream of bubbles for about 10 minutes. Finally he wore out a bit and decided he wanted to blow bubbles.

Me: I don’t think you can buddy.
M: But I want to.
Me: Well I haven’t been blowing the bubbles.
M: (giggly) Yes you haaave!
Me: No, watch. (Dip wand, raise hand, watch bubbles fly.) What happened?
M: THE WIND BLEW THE BUBBLES!
Me: And who tells the wind to blow?
M: God and Jesus.
Me: So who blew the bubbles?
M: Jesus.
Me: That’s right buddy.

Where’s the area in your life where all you want to do is blow bubbles? The place where, every time you seem to get things lined up, something changes? Not for the worse, necessarily, nor for the better; just differently than you intended? If God is sending wind your way, He may just be trying to help you along. It can be tough to follow God’s will when you’re busy resetting for your own.

Are you trying to blow the bubbles, rather than letting God blow them so you can chase them?

This week, I’m sensing I need to connect deeper with God via creation. If you have something in creation you connect deeply with God through, please let me know so I can learn with you. Also, I wasn’t consciously aware Earth Day was this week, until it came and went. You can decide whether that’s coincidental or not.

Zechariah 7:5 – The Bus Stop

“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?” Zechariah 7:5 NIV

Alright, quick hand vote: who has trouble praying? Oh, you’re in public? OK, well, uh, raise your left eyebrow then. (And if you did that, please post a link to the selfie in the comments, because that would be hilarious and we all need that today.) But seriously. Prayer can be challenging. It can feel routine, ritualistic, even empty, if you’re at an intersection waiting to hear from God whether one of these routes is the turn-off He has in store for you.

So what’s a gal/guy to do? You know better than to pick the path on your own and the bus stop put up to sell advertising has been nice, but your butt’s fallen asleep and it’s starting to rain. Ooo, maybe that’s God in the Audi coming to pick me up!

Image courtesy Note to Fred.

Hmm, probably wasn’t God.

Throughout the bible, we see stories of God interacting with us to change the course of our collective stories. Not incidentally, we also see as many times when people, individually or collectively, are trying to get God’s attention. Each time, it’s an example of how stubbornly toddler-like we are our whole lives and how gracious a Father He is. Re-read the verse. We’re all like, “God, we’re doing what you said,” and God just calmly responds with a soft tone but a piercing question. I don’t know about you, but I can feel the gentleness in the question reading it as our loving Father intended while I can also hear the sarcasm I sincerely hope Zechariah delivered with the message.

If you find yourself at that bus stop today; if you find direction from God elusive; if God doesn’t seem to be responding to your prayers: I would encourage you to examine your motives. Are you seeking God’s will? Or are you seeking God’s approval for your choice? Are you asking God multiple choice questions while He’s trying to paint a picture with your story? Are you maybe missing the opportunity to do God’s work right there, at the bus stop, because you’re too busy trying to peek around the corner to see what’s next for you?

God, thank You for Your patience. Thank You for giving us another another chance. God, help us to see our actions as you see them. Help us to seek Your will in our lives and Your work in this world. If we’re at the bus stop because we don’t see what you see, open our eyes Lord. If we’re waiting because we’ve heard from You but struggled with Your instruction, then make us willing to be willing Father.

If you’re waiting today, I hope this helps:

I can’t locate the original image source, but here’s where I have it stored on Pinterest.

P.S. This note as written with someone very important in mind, whom I know has struggled with, and conquered, this challenge. Happy Birthday!

2 Samuel 19:20 – Dental Repentance

I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king.” 2 Samuel 19:20 NLT

Know what’s a lot of fun? Going to the dentist. I mused on Facebook at my last cleaning appointment that I was there for my “semi-annual shaming.” Today I was back to, of all things, have a filling replaced. As they’re taking my blood pressure and pointing out its high, I noticed my anxiety for the first time. This is by no means my first filling; I mean I was there for repair work on repair work. How did I let this happen?

As I pondered that, I realized it’s not any different than how most of our sins are committed. Our culture has sloped the path, so that even standing still will ultimately result in sliding into sin. Gradual sin, culturally-approved sin, but life-destructing sin nonetheless. I think this is why prayer is hard for a lot of us. Learning about God and about the sins others commit, or even reading Paul’s instruction about our own sins is easy.

Owning our sin to God is hard. And when we talk to Him, we know not only that we have sinned but also that we need to talk to God about it. So we avoid talking to Him about our sin the same way we avoid talking about our sins with others we’ve sinned against. (Lose you there? See yesterday’s post.) Take the anxiety out of the equation. Just talk. God’s always listening.

As I found myself anxiously lying in the dentist’s chair waiting for half my head to go numb, I knew what I needed in that moment and I knew how to ask God. You know what you need to pray about today.

P.S. If you’re still struggling with having a conversation with God, check out the last 5-6 minutes of this:

http://vimeo.com/89914471

Zephaniah 1:7 – Soon

Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord ’s judgment is near. The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. Zephaniah 1:7 NLT

Perhaps you like a good meme. I know I do. (Also, to save you the mild embarrassment I suffered, it’s like “meem,” not “me-me.”) Most of them are just amusing ways to make fun of everyday awkward situations that humans encounter. One of them is a bit creepier, because you know, people are all creepy. This collection/expression of memes is simply dubbed “soon.” My favorite is this:

Image courtesy Know Your Meme

Creepy right? Why did I show you that. Weren’t you reading? It amuses me. But anyway. “Soon” seems very ambiguous in and of itself, right? How ambiguous? So much so that it is the one word God gave John to describe when He would return. After all, isn’t that the case-in-point for an ambiguous statement? God, when will you return to rescue us from this world? Soon. Yeah, uh, I can’t find that on a calendar. Can you help me out? Sure, soon. Did you say June? No, soon.

If your getting caught up in “when” I think your missing the bigger picture. And I know that your initial response was “that’s the point!” Yeah, no. If you knew God was coming in 10 days, would you work harder to convince the people you love of the worthiness of repentance than if you knew He was coming in 10,000 days? Don’t lie to me. Actually, this is a screen. Don’t lie to yourself! That’s the fact. The problem with that is no one is guaranteed a tomorrow. just because tomorrow looks like a given doesn’t mean it will ever come. And how many people have you ever proven God’s love to in 10 days? God gives you a set amount of time in which to do His work on the earth, to be His influence on the earth, and a specific set of skills from His Spirit with which to do the work.

If you’re blessed enough for God to give you 10,000 or more days in this world in His service, you should expect to account for each of them. I suspect one way God will measure your service on earth is in the number of His children you brought home. Stop acting like that’s a test you can cram for! Whether God has one 10,000-day project for you in the life of a family member or one hundred 100-day projects, He’s giving you this time to change, not just lives, but eternities. If that’s not enough, 1) maybe google some verse on humility and then 2) check this out:

When you pray today, thank God for the people who paved the road for you to Christ. Thank God for the grace He had no reason to give you but gave anyway. Ask God to help you use His tools and to show you to His work.

Don’t start your work soon. That’s when God will be here.

Isaiah 42:5 – Group Project

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, Isaiah 42:6 NIV

Image courtesy 9gag

Forgetting the movie(s) inspiring this image, it’s great. It’s spot on. If you ever worked on any kind of project, you’ve met each of these characters. You may even have been each of these characters on various projects.

This is a great example of human nature. There’s no consistency. Consistency in performing well, in doing good is so valuable because it is so unnatural. Projects always show this weaknesses because they create perfect constraints against changing variables (people)

When you take time to understand your sin, to inventory all your misdeeds, it can be challenging to see why God did it. You know which member of the project team He is. God always keeps His end of the deal. This isn’t hard to imagine of God. But, that His decision, when we failed to deliver at all (let alone inconsistently!), was to pick up our slack, to do our work for us.

It was always God’s plan to send a Son to sacrifice for us. It was always His plan to do all the work to reunite with us. The only thing we have to do is let Him do the work.

You know where you have trouble handing something over to God to work on. Pray over that today. Pray for weakness, that you will have to give it up to God. Pray for healing when He pries it from you. Pray for consistency in handing new challenges over to God.

Isaiah 45:23 – Unspoken Truth?

“I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to me. ” Isaiah 45:23 NLT

Luke recorded for us from Paul’s trip to Athens a key passage, where Paul used quotes from Greek poets which showed that even a culture as pagan as theirs was bumping into the idea of our singular, creator God. Fast forward a few thousand years, and I’m chatting with one of my middle school guys and another leader one night about the all-important topic of superheroes. We got onto the topic of how far behind I was in the Avengers’ movies and started chatting about Marvel’s The Avengers movie itself. I brought up that, between the script writer and Tom Hiddleston, Loki had a few lines that nearly plagiarizes God:

Image courtesy Atomic Anxiety

“It’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright leer of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end you will always kneel.”

Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Marvel’s The Avengers

Just as it were with the poets of Ancient Greece, so it is with Hollywood script writers and actors today. They have an innate sense of God, but are so “diminished” from the joy He provides that when they portray a deity, the best representation they can muster is an exaggerated human. Obvi, this phrasing isn’t anything like how God would, or did, phrase it.

Just as this “coincidence” was a opportunity for Paul, it’s important for us to see when our errant culture bumps into God so we can use these events to point others to the one true God. I think Loki’s lines give us that opportunity. Here’s my remix, if you will:

It is a truth of humanity that we crave God. The bright leer of freedom obscures our view of God, diminishing our joy and leaving us scrambling for power and identity. We were made to submit our lives to God. In the end, we will, all of us, kneel before God and swear allegiance to Him.

The more you look for lost people, the more you will see that they’re already bumping in to God. We must be there to show the lost what they have found on their own!

When you pray today, ask God to give you eyes for the lost. To help you see signs of the people you know who are already bumping into God. Pray that God will use you, will speak His truth through you, to help them see the life He has waiting for them.

Malachi 3:6 – Because God

For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3:6 KJV

Image courtesy godmoves.me

KJV? Yep, that happened. No, we talked about asking why yesterday. Because God. We have to make an effort every time we read scripture to remember “because God.” This is our story, but only because God wrote it for us. Only because God wrote us into it.

That’s why Malachi is great to study. It’s the shortest case study ever in “because God.” Malachi was very direct in his messages from God, so you don’t need an M-Div to dissect it for you. This is God at point blank. His message here, picking up from yesterday, is “the only reason I haven’t wiped all of you Israelites off the face of the planet is because I keep my promises.”

It’s not because of anything they did, it’s actually in spite of everything they did. God kept His promise because He is God.

Bringing us a few millennia forward, guess what’s changed? Yup, nothing. God hasn’t changed. His promises still stand firm. We haven’t changed. We still make promises to God about what we’re going to change. Or we just ignore God. Or we ask about God
of others, “why?” Or we try to bargain with God.

We still miss that nothing God does is because of us. He does it for us. Because God loves us. Because God loves you.

When you pray today, thank God again. Thank Him for blessing us with grace and for showing us mercy when we deserved to be destroyed. Thank God for “because God.”