Habits can be good. You should develop wholesome healthy habits.
But habits can become mindless and heartless routines.
The Christian life is full of good habits, but these habits often degenerate into empty shells, dry husks of what they were meant to be. Habits can actually start to become a shield and a screen against what God desires to do in your life. Don't hide behind your habits while keeping your heart, soul and mind far away from the uncomfortable light of God, the light of God that both reveals you to be worse than you ever dared believe, but loved more than you had ever dared hope. God's light both wounds and heals.
Reconnect your habits to your heart. Let God ignite that flame in your soul again.
Splash. Ahhhhh. The cool water brings amazing relief from the giant torch in the sky. It seems to be determined to burn a hole straight through Texas, but I’m safe as I lazily kick and slide my way through the pool’s blue chlorinated water. It is good to be alive!
I remember the last time I was here. My sentiments were not so positive. Life can crush you. We are all weak. I am weak.
Rewind. I remember being in the same pool and talking to the same friend. I struggled as I attempted to grasp onto the promises of God - “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” Psalm 30:5b. I didn’t feel God. I didn’t feel much of anything. And I certainly didn’t feel like the darkness was temporary.
But joy comes in the morning. God has allowed me to experience a golden drop of resurrection. Same pool. Same chlorinated water. Same Texas sun. But joy instead of mourning. God has done and continues to do his slow and careful work of healing. He has blessed me by allowing me to experience a little of what resurrection means.
But my experience is only a small taste of what is to come. The world if full of pain. More than we can handle. It is a broken place. But God is bringing resurrection. All God’s children look to the future with hope. We know that God is bringing life into this dead place. Oftentimes we feel lost as we attempt to cling to God’s promise. The darkness is overwhelming.
But someday the entire world will be bathed in the light of resurrection. Same people, same earth, same Texas sky. But different. It will be this world renewed, cleansed of all pain and hurt and left with only joy. Everything will be filled with the joy of unhindered communion with God.
This is the destiny of those who trust in the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus come quickly!
I remember the last time I was here. My sentiments were not so positive. Life can crush you. We are all weak. I am weak.
Rewind. I remember being in the same pool and talking to the same friend. I struggled as I attempted to grasp onto the promises of God - “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” Psalm 30:5b. I didn’t feel God. I didn’t feel much of anything. And I certainly didn’t feel like the darkness was temporary.
But joy comes in the morning. God has allowed me to experience a golden drop of resurrection. Same pool. Same chlorinated water. Same Texas sun. But joy instead of mourning. God has done and continues to do his slow and careful work of healing. He has blessed me by allowing me to experience a little of what resurrection means.
But my experience is only a small taste of what is to come. The world if full of pain. More than we can handle. It is a broken place. But God is bringing resurrection. All God’s children look to the future with hope. We know that God is bringing life into this dead place. Oftentimes we feel lost as we attempt to cling to God’s promise. The darkness is overwhelming.
But someday the entire world will be bathed in the light of resurrection. Same people, same earth, same Texas sky. But different. It will be this world renewed, cleansed of all pain and hurt and left with only joy. Everything will be filled with the joy of unhindered communion with God.
This is the destiny of those who trust in the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus come quickly!
Some things annoy me. One thing that really annoys me is when someone gets that far-away look in their eye and proclaims, “Oh, how I miss those old hymns! Their lyrics were just so theologically rich and deep!” Now, I totally understand the frustration felt after singing the same stanza 20 plus times in a row, over and over again, repetitively during a modern praise chorus. (And they don’t even use synonyms). That’s enough to drive even the angelic beings before God’s throne crazy.
But "those old hymns” can be horrible! They often reek of downright heresy.
Case in point: “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, written in 1845 and contained in most hymnals. Check out this doozy!
SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER, SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
MAY I THY CONSOLATION SHARE
TILL, FROM MOUNT PISGAH'S LOFTY HEIGHT
I VIEW MY HOME, AND TAKE MY FLIGHT
THIS ROBE OF FLESH I'LL DROP AND RISE
TO SEIZE THE EVERLASTING PRIZE
AND SHOUT, WHILE PASSING THROUGH THE AIR
FAREWELL, FAREWELL, SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
Wow. Since when did the Bible teach us to start looking forward to escaping the husk of our flesh so we could float far far away into the nebulous ether of “heaven”, leaving prayer far behind? Compare to Chris Tomlin’s “I Will Rise”. The modern praise song wins the “Award for Theological Excellence” by a long shot.
Just a quick breakdown of why this hymn is so awful:
But "those old hymns” can be horrible! They often reek of downright heresy.
Case in point: “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, written in 1845 and contained in most hymnals. Check out this doozy!
SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER, SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
MAY I THY CONSOLATION SHARE
TILL, FROM MOUNT PISGAH'S LOFTY HEIGHT
I VIEW MY HOME, AND TAKE MY FLIGHT
THIS ROBE OF FLESH I'LL DROP AND RISE
TO SEIZE THE EVERLASTING PRIZE
AND SHOUT, WHILE PASSING THROUGH THE AIR
FAREWELL, FAREWELL, SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
Wow. Since when did the Bible teach us to start looking forward to escaping the husk of our flesh so we could float far far away into the nebulous ether of “heaven”, leaving prayer far behind? Compare to Chris Tomlin’s “I Will Rise”. The modern praise song wins the “Award for Theological Excellence” by a long shot.
Just a quick breakdown of why this hymn is so awful:
- The Bible teaches that death is an enemy, not a friend which liberates us from our body. (1 Cor 15:26)
- Death is the sowing of our corrupted body into the ground, so that on the day of resurrection it will germinate and sprout into our perfected and glorified physical body. Our body puts on immortality. (I Cor 15:43 and 53)
- Prayer will continue into eternity and will be amazing. (Rev 4:11)
Listened to a good sermon yesterday. The sermon focused on God’s leading of Israel through the desert (Exod. 13:17-22). One of the sermon points caught me off guard. It hit home.
Have you ever felt like God led you somewhere only to find out that you needed to retrace your steps? That’s difficult for a goal-driven person, such as myself. But sometimes God leads you to somewhere, in order to lead you backwards. But going backwards feels like failure. It feels like you’ve been abandoned by God. Didn’t you lead me here God? What? Why God are you now leading that direction? I thought we were going this way? Didn’t we just come from there?
But for God the closest distance between two points is not a straight line. The closest distance zigs and zags. Sometimes it goes one direction and then goes back exactly the same way it came. The closest distance between two points is a straight line as long as you don’t add another dimension or two. Just ask Einstein. God’s limitations are not ours. God’s vantage point dictates a better way then a straight line. His path is the shortest distance to eternal life.
Trust him. He knows what he is doing.
Sometimes God Leads Us Backwards
Have you ever felt like God led you somewhere only to find out that you needed to retrace your steps? That’s difficult for a goal-driven person, such as myself. But sometimes God leads you to somewhere, in order to lead you backwards. But going backwards feels like failure. It feels like you’ve been abandoned by God. Didn’t you lead me here God? What? Why God are you now leading that direction? I thought we were going this way? Didn’t we just come from there?
But for God the closest distance between two points is not a straight line. The closest distance zigs and zags. Sometimes it goes one direction and then goes back exactly the same way it came. The closest distance between two points is a straight line as long as you don’t add another dimension or two. Just ask Einstein. God’s limitations are not ours. God’s vantage point dictates a better way then a straight line. His path is the shortest distance to eternal life.
Trust him. He knows what he is doing.
My Girl “Koine”
A romantic night
By candlelight
Cuddling up with an old book
I'm dating Greek
A table for two
Sushi, tofu
But she's Mediterranean
I'm dating Greek
An object of grace
In any case
Her form is sleek and beautiful
I'm dating Greek
Present in my dreams
And so it seems
I think of her continuously
I'm dating Greek
It's just you and me
When we are free
Spending time together alone
I'm dating Greek
At times it is tough
Her moods are rough
But we sit down and work through it
I'm dating Greek
Getting serious
The two of us
Still together through every test
I'm dating Greek
- written by Kurt Hein
A romantic night
By candlelight
Cuddling up with an old book
I'm dating Greek
A table for two
Sushi, tofu
But she's Mediterranean
I'm dating Greek
An object of grace
In any case
Her form is sleek and beautiful
I'm dating Greek
Present in my dreams
And so it seems
I think of her continuously
I'm dating Greek
It's just you and me
When we are free
Spending time together alone
I'm dating Greek
At times it is tough
Her moods are rough
But we sit down and work through it
I'm dating Greek
Getting serious
The two of us
Still together through every test
I'm dating Greek
- written by Kurt Hein
We've been studying a bit about "source criticism" in seminary class recently. It is a field plagued with endless speculation based on minimal evidence. The whole idea is to "find" the original source material upon which the books of the Bible were based. This "search" quickly devolves into thousands of pages of inherently unprovable assumptions and conjecture. It isn't fun reading either. Trust me. They claim to have theories but their ideas barely deserve to be called hypotheses. In the end, although the source critic claims multiple sources were rewritten and reworked multiple times through many editors... not a single such source can be found in the real world. None. So ironically, I'm going to keep my faith in the Bible as the Word of God until you can come up with some real evidence for your disbelief.
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.
(Psalm 62 ESV)
The context of the Psalm is a stressed-out David. His enemies are wearing on him with their constant duplicity and hypocrisy. His ability to keep up under the burden is growing thin.
But he waits before the LORD in silence. Like Christ, when the pressures of life get him down, David seeks a quite place to simply sit in silence before God.
David confesses that he is weak but his God is strong. God alone is his salvation, his rock, and his refuge. This is the confession of true faith. Those that truly know God know that they bring nothing to the table. God alone is their salvation. They are totally helpless and left completely in his hands. This is what grace means.
David encourages the people to pour out their hearts before the Lord. This beautiful imagery hearkens back to the ancient practice of drink offerings. In the Old Testament the believers would take their best grains, oil, water, wine and pour them out onto the ground in front of God as an offering to him. Nothing was left in the bowl. It was poured out completely to God. God doesn't want us to fix everything in our life before coming to him. He wants us to bring all the contents of our burdened and weary hearts and pour it out entirely before Him. He desires that all that is in us becomes entirely his. Keep nothing back.
Whether we are "successful" in this life means nothing to God. Both those that are rich and poor are as heavy as a breath of wind. All of life without God quickly passes and waifs away.
But God has spoken! The beautiful and amazing truth of Christianity is that God has spoken. We are not left without a way to find God, because God has found us. God through his speaking has communicated to us. He has spoken to us through his Word, the Logos, Christ Jesus. Finding God is no longer a mystery. God is found in Jesus.
And Jesus showed the world the power and steadfast love of God. Through the self-sacrificing love that defeating sin on the cross and death in the resurrection, God has given us a certain and unshakable foundation for hope.
The enemies of death, sin, and spiritual darkness were defeated on the cross, and Christ is coming to destroy them completely. Justice and renewal are coming. They are assured. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.
(Psalm 62 ESV)
The context of the Psalm is a stressed-out David. His enemies are wearing on him with their constant duplicity and hypocrisy. His ability to keep up under the burden is growing thin.
But he waits before the LORD in silence. Like Christ, when the pressures of life get him down, David seeks a quite place to simply sit in silence before God.
David confesses that he is weak but his God is strong. God alone is his salvation, his rock, and his refuge. This is the confession of true faith. Those that truly know God know that they bring nothing to the table. God alone is their salvation. They are totally helpless and left completely in his hands. This is what grace means.
David encourages the people to pour out their hearts before the Lord. This beautiful imagery hearkens back to the ancient practice of drink offerings. In the Old Testament the believers would take their best grains, oil, water, wine and pour them out onto the ground in front of God as an offering to him. Nothing was left in the bowl. It was poured out completely to God. God doesn't want us to fix everything in our life before coming to him. He wants us to bring all the contents of our burdened and weary hearts and pour it out entirely before Him. He desires that all that is in us becomes entirely his. Keep nothing back.
Whether we are "successful" in this life means nothing to God. Both those that are rich and poor are as heavy as a breath of wind. All of life without God quickly passes and waifs away.
But God has spoken! The beautiful and amazing truth of Christianity is that God has spoken. We are not left without a way to find God, because God has found us. God through his speaking has communicated to us. He has spoken to us through his Word, the Logos, Christ Jesus. Finding God is no longer a mystery. God is found in Jesus.
And Jesus showed the world the power and steadfast love of God. Through the self-sacrificing love that defeating sin on the cross and death in the resurrection, God has given us a certain and unshakable foundation for hope.
The enemies of death, sin, and spiritual darkness were defeated on the cross, and Christ is coming to destroy them completely. Justice and renewal are coming. They are assured. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
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