God's Gifts

            Dear Reader, the closer I come to understanding God's love for me the more I realize that everything I have is a gift from Him. There is not one good thing in this life that I have "achieved" or bought through my own toiling. All that I have that is good, whether it be tangible or of another realm, is from God. The only thing I've accomplished through my own work is fear, emptiness, sin, and confusion…  those things are not "things" at all… they are the lack of Something. Fear is the lack of faith. Sin and emptiness is the lack of God. Confusion is the lack of vision. See, God gives us all that has substance. God is our Sustainer and our Provider. Sometimes in defeat we say with our shoulders shrugged and our eyebrows peaked, "He gives and takes away…" (Job 1:21). But, I think differently… I think God only gives. If something is "taken" from us, it is only because it has been replaced by what God gives us. Sin can't really be taken away because it is nothing… sin is the lack of God. That is why sin is described as darkness; darkness is nothingness; it is the lack of light. When He enters into our lives, He gives us substance. He gives us light. He gives us all we need.

           

Remember, God gave his one and only son.

           

I think sometimes as Believers we forget about what God has given us. We walk around confused and ashamed. We carry our fear as if we don't have the living God inside of us whose perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). I have recently been intrigued with the idea that God has given and will continue to give us everything that we need to face any struggle. I don't know about you, Reader, but I don't walk in that everyday. I want this entry to be a reminder to you and to me that God did not give us anything that is bad… On the contrary, He gave us all things that are good. His precious blood was spilt on the cross so that we could inherit the glory of God.

           

Check this out:

           

"For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.

                        He gives us grace and glory.

The Lord will withhold no good thing

                        from those who do what is right.

O Lord of Heaven's Armies,

                        what joy for those who trust in you."

                        -Psalm 84:11-12         

"So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him."

                        -Matthew 7:11

"And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself and having given them right standing, he gave them his glory."

                        - Romans 8: 3

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

                        - 2 Timothy 1:7

           

            The important part of all this is not the reading of these verses… the important part is walking in it. Reader, don't simply read these passages and continue in fear. God gave us everything that we need. I have several more verses written down that I could've listed in this entry, but I'm not going to. The Bible is full of information about the gifts that God has given and will continue to give us. As you read God's word and continue through your day, look for those good things that God gave you. Look for those gifts and promises that you are ignoring. We should never be afraid… we should never fall into parasitic sin. God gave us better things than that. He gave us the spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15). His gifts are infinitely better than anything the world gives us. Walk in it!

            

With Ears To Hear

            Last fall I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a retreat for college-aged men and women from my church. I drove my clanking old Jeep up through the spiraled road to Winter Park, Colorado wherein some of the most beautiful pieces of scenery reside. The camp ground was the idyllic location for a weekend getaway. Aaron Stern, the pastor, and the rest of his staff felt compelled to make this weekend a special time designed for quietness. All of the sermons and teachings were written around one word: Solitude. The second day there began with an insightful teaching on what solitude looks like on a day to day basis and expressed the necessity of quietness before the Lord. At the end of the teaching, Aaron encouraged us to leave the chapel and to spend time alone in silence with God.

            I left the chapel and walked directly down the grassy hill and into my lodge. I sat on the edge of my bed and asked God to speak to me. After a few moments, I laid back into my bed. I didn't open my Bible. I didn't speak. I didn't move. I simply waited on God in solitude. I tried to make myself available to Him. It was my expectation to hear a strong, thunderous word of revelation. I waited to hear an answer to the many questions I had at the time. I expected maybe to see a vision or hear a small sentence by which I could live my life everyday. Instead, Reader, I heard Him in a very gentle, inaudible whisper say, I love you.

I love you.

With my eyes closed, I could not stop the smile from crawling across my face! Inexpressible joy came over me like bath water. The whisper was spoken with such empathetic tenderness. It came from the same context as a father who holds his crying baby: He hushes and bounces his child as if to say, I am here… you will be fine. I love you… I'll take care of you… you don't need to cry.

            You see, Dear Reader, God chose not to speak to me in anger or frustration despite my perpetual proclivity to sin and my furiously impatient questioning. He didn't choose to speak with big words or in a prophetic shout. I was searching for answers… He did not provide them. I was waiting to hear words of wisdom… He did not provide them. I wanted just a glimpse of my future or a tangible reference piece… He did not provide that either. Instead, in my quietest moment, God chose to remind me that He loves me. That was all I needed. He filled me with inexplicable love. See, that's the kind of God we serve. That is the essence of His greatness… In His love, we receive the answer to all of our questions. In a strange sort of way, I got what I was looking for. His boundless love holds all truth, assuredness, grace, and prophecy. Our lives begin and end with His love.

            I challenge you, Reader, to have a ears to hear God's love all around you. Listen for the kinds of words He uses. Watch for the kind of scenarios He dresses them with. Be attentive to the instruments he uses and the gloves He wears. I promise, when you choose to open yourself up to Him, He will undoubtedly be revealed. But be prepared… it might not sound like the words you want to hear; it might not look like the picture you wanted Him to paint. No matter, though… He knows best. Receive His body. Receive His love.

Renewal, Part II: Transformation

"Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. "

                        -Romans 12:1

Dear Reader, I cannot express to you in words how phenomenally enlightening God's transforming power is. Not long after we are seduced and wooed by the grace of God, we find ourselves in a new world. Our sky is no longer a painting that rests on an easel but is an infinite realm of space fit for clouds, stars, and planets… our one-dimensional landscape turns into miles and miles of oceans and hillsides that teem with life. Trying to explain what life is like before God is like explaining to an unborn child what music sounds like; the child wouldn't even know what words are, let alone what they mean or how they are put together in description. This drastic renewal comes not by anything we can do, but by what God does in us. All we can do is surrender in meekness to His power.

One of the big parts of our lives that changes in the believer's heart is in the area of our finances. Our money becomes His money. Tithe, the first ten percent of our income set aside for God's purpose, is often misconceived by believers and unbelievers alike. We often think of this practice as God taking ten percent of our income. However, the transformed believer who now sees money as an instrument, understands that it as God allowing us to have ninety percent! This necessitates stewardship. Financial stress is lifted off because it is not our money to begin with and we know that He will always provide for us. Our level of success is not defined by money. Our hope and joy does not rest in money. We work for the glory of God and He receives all of our proceeds. Why do we try to trust our own feeble minds to manage our money? Why do we get depressed at the thought of a recession? Because we think we're living in a make-believe dollhouse world where Monopoly money actually has value. We forget that the Kingdom of God is not of this world.

            Our social interactions are given purpose by the Holy Spirit as well. When the believer realizes that he is simply a glove that is filled by the hand of God, the words he chooses to speak to colleagues, family members, best friends, and everyone around him are carefully articulated. James said, "If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check" (James 3:2). James suggests here that our tongue controls our entire body. What we say and how we say it is more crucial than we tend to think. Those around us hear the words we say. It would behoove us to be mindful of what we say and to leave space where space is needed. Dear Reader, I am certain that you and I have both been in situations where we absentmindedly let our tongue spew what's on our minds. We must be more disciplined than that. Our words, and the attitude behind them, hold much weight! When we envision what the Holy Spirit would say in our stead, better words (and less of them, I might add) come out of us. With His help we enter into pure conversations and exit from ones full of gossip, slander, and lust. With His help we speak up when we need to confront. With His help we speak with sincerity and confidence. With His help we speak to others with respect, consideration and encouragement… We begin to treat others better than ourselves. Remember, when a Pharisee asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is he responded with, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matt. 22:37-39) We should treat everyone around us with love… only love… because He first love us. This is a completely foreign task to the unbeliever.

            Our careers and jobs take on a new meaning as well. The stress of finding the best career path falls in the shadow of our greater purpose: to lead others to the saving grace and unending love of Jesus Christ. This recently became a reality to me. For almost a year now, I have made my living by playing the drums. It was only a few months into it when I realized that, like my job at the department store, playing drums was only the "means of transportation", if you will, to complete my real "job." Yeah, playing drums is what I do, but when the Holy Spirit conquered me, I understood that the importance and value in what I do comes from the interactions with the people in the audience and the other bands we might play with. The true mission comes to life when I deny myself and let God speak through me. Otherwise, I am simply playing parts… I am simply a chair with no legs… a garden with paper flowers.

            Perhaps the most important renewed definition we receive from God is that of sin. The transformed believer understands sin as the separation from God. That is the worst scenario he can conjure up! To be separated from God is to lose consciousness of the truest reality. The Holy Spirit teaches us to see sin as the common ground between all of humanity. We are all sinners. See, Reader, when we realize that sin is separation from God and that we have all sinned, we gain a clearer understanding of salvation. Our old sin life is not forgotten, but it is now held closer than ever before as it is provides the testimony of the saved. The forgetting is God's work, not ours. We must never forget the miry, putrid past from which God lovingly spared us. With this new definition of sin, we get to the point where we hate sin. We as believers come to loath anything that looks like it might lodge it's nose between the Lover and His beloved. Our salvation is what gives us life. With a misunderstanding of sin comes a misunderstanding of God's power and the unforgettable beauty of our salvation.

            I could write for days and days about all of the things that change when we encounter God, Reader, but I will leave it at these four areas. As I said, everything changes. Our very lives take on new meaning. God transforms the way that we think until "we have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor. 2:16)

            So, Dear Reader, let the power of God envelope you. Let Him captivate your thoughts. When He enters in, nothing can stand in the way and you will see the power of renewal and transformation. We spend hours and hours debating with one another about who God is… God's definition. Let us instead allow God to define us. Look no further for explanation because the Spirit wants to explain to you who you really are. I promise, when you begin to see who you are in Christ and see the world as He does, your life will radically change. No longer do we need to pace around on a stage with actors and memorized lines. This is not a play… God in all His power is the truest form of reality.