The Visible God

“He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove.”
— Matthew 3:16
What would it be like to see God? Would we respond to him differently than those in the first century? Would we respond to him differently than we do today? Would we act any differently at all?
I wonder if we would be more willing to follow him if we could see him? I wonder if we would be more willing to believe in him if we could have the kind of representation that John the Baptist had? According to John 1:33 he knew that the Messiah would come to him to be baptized. I have to wonder if he lived the life that he did because he was waiting on the Messiah to come to him, or if he lived the life that he did because he was called by God, or if it was because he understood what God asks of all of us. In any case, he lived the life that he did in faith. Faith that he had heard God. Faith that the Messiah was coming in his lifetime. Faith that the Messiah (and God the Father ) wanted him to call others to repentance. Remember that he did not see the Messiah and the Spirit of God until after he had done as God asked him to do.
God is always with us. He is always here to help us do what he asks us to do. We simply need to pray that God would open our eyes to see him!

Slippery Paths

I was glad to see the white stuff flying yesterday and the night before. I love snow. I love to drive in snow. I Love to see it pile up in the yard. I love to see it stick to the trees in the field next to us. I just love snow. The kids don't really like to play in it any more. Actually, they never really did. I guess they just don't like to get all dressed up for a few short minutes of fun. I was surprised to see that drivers in the mountains aren't really any better than on the flat lands however. Not all of them, but enough of them to scare me. It was always interesting for me to sit in the park and watch the college kids in my hometown drive up and down the hills in their four-wheel-drives. It never ceased to amaze me how they missed the concept that four-wheel-drive doesn't help you stop on snow and ice. They assumed that the extra traction would help them stop too. Although I supposed it went along with some of the half-truths they were getting in secular college. The way I figure it, truth is what gives us traction for our lives. When we don't have the truth, don't understand the truth, or misunderstand what truth is, we find ourselves slipping all over the place. Going slower helps a little, but only if we are slowing down to learn more. having a Bible on the shelf is kind of like assuming that four-wheel-drive helps you stay on the road all the time. If we never pick it up and read it however, it can't help us at all. We will still slip and slide as it sits there beckoning us to read and understand. Don't find yourself sliding off the slippery paths of life because you are too busy or too sure of your knowledge to read again and again and ask for help in understanding. Psalm 26:2-4 "Test me, oh Lord, and try me, examine my heart and mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, not do I consort with hypocrites." Let's make that our prayer and motto.

Wondrous Variety

Watching people create things inspires me. People truly shine when they are focused on clay, or marble, or paper and pencil, or computer, or paint and canvas. The "creative juices" get to flowing and they arrive at a place of meditation and spiritual peace. Maybe it's the nature of God in us as Creator that is being tapped into. Maybe it is the desire to have something new. I believe God likes new things. The psalmist tell us to sing a new song to Him. He rejoiced at each stage of creation. Personally, when it has been a long time since I tried something new (food, a genre of book, an activity, etc.) I start to get stuck in a bad rut. Someone said that a rut is just a grave with the ends knocked out. I'm not advocating reckless abandon to the lifestyle of Christianity!!! But, I wonder if God does want us to enjoy our world and try new things more often? My favorite line from, one of my favorite movies (Robin Hood with Kevin Costner), is when the little girl asks why Morgan Freeman's character is black. She asks if God painted him. When he replies yes, she asks why. He responds, because Ala loves wondrous variety. I don't believe he had the god correct, but he did have His desire for creativity and variety right!
Spend sometime on a new creative project today. Find out where your hidden talents may be that you can use for God's glory. Sing a new song to God at the very least. See what God will produce from your willingness to try new things with Him.

Fanatics

It sure is hard to draw a crowd anymore. Unless you have a Dallas Cowboys Stadium size big screen and all the action that goes with it, that is. It used to be that a name like Billy Graham would draw just as big of a crowd. In the 1850's the politicians in Chicago could draw a crowd to rival the Superbowl. But, people are so busy being entertained elsewhere that they need a really big name or a really big event to give up their time.

That's why I feel it is growing more and more important to build relationships with people in order to bring them to Christ; a task that is equally difficult to do. People value their privacy just as much as they do their independence and time. But, it is a task that is worth the effort. Many people are aware of the name of and man Jesus (according to the book UnChristian most of the teens and twenties coming up are aware of Jesus and His teaching), but not too many people trust those who follow Him. So, we need to develop relationships based on honesty and transparency. They think we have an agenda to make them one of us and that is all (again according to UnChristian). We must build relationships that show we care about them as people! That means we have the freedom to concentrate on one person at a time. We don't have to go out today and win the whole world for Jesus. If we are attempting to impact one person for Him this year, we will make a difference!

Unfinished Business

Exodus 40:1-16

When the Israelites had finished the work on the Tabernacle (an elaborate tent that would be used to house the presence of God and for the sacrifices of Israel to Him) some may have thought they were finished. But, God came to Moses and gave him further instructions. He told him to begin setting up the tent and all of the devices used for worship and sacrifice. Some of the Israelites may have been content with making these items, but God was not content until the first sacrifice was made. Incidentally, the setting up of the place of worship was to happen all in one day; the first day of the year.

The New Year is a good time to finish unfinished business. Whether it is a relationship gone south, a practice of piety you felt you needed to begin, giving in some area of your life, or painting the house. This month is a good time to take down all those projects from the shelf and dust them off. To ask for forgiveness from that one you offended. To forgive that one who offended you. To begin a sacrifice of giving to those who need more than you. To begin saying yes to God more and no to yourself more often.

Don't let the Devil hold it over your head and tell you you're a failure for not having finished. Just get in there and do what you can. Let God, through the Holy Spirit, give you the passion and the strength to finish what you started!