Just Floating Along God's River

…There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.

 I was in the corner store of our neighborhood the other day, and the clerk, who I have been praying for and periodically witnessing to says to me, “Hey man, I need to tell you something really important.” So I lean in to listen and he says, “You have some special power I wanted to tell you about.” Well, I was flattered, to say the least, but I assured him that I have no special powers. Again he said I did, so I asked him "What is this special power he thought I had?"

So he goes on to remind me of the time about three years ago when I had told him to come outside and look at this painting I had in the back of my pickup truck. It was an old, oil painting that was tearing away from the frame. I had it in the truck because someone had donated some furniture to our transitional housing complex, and we didn’t need any paintings. That day he had mentioned that he was just moving into a new apartment, and it was looking pretty bare. So I asked him if he wanted that painting to spruce up his place a little bit. It was a nice painting. I don’t even recall what it was a painting of, today. But he surely remembers.

He goes on to tell me how he stared at that oil painting for a couple of days, and then decided he would go out and by a canvas and some oil paints. Well as he’s relaying this story to me, grinning from ear to ear, he says, “That was the day I discovered that I had a passion for art.” This guy is about twenty-four or five years old, and was already in college while working at the store, but now he had stumbled upon a new found love. The next semester he enrolls in an art course. He showed me some pictures of his paintings that he has on his cell phone, and this guy is really, really good.

To make a long story short, he believes that I have the power to show people their destinies, or something along those lines. Again I assured him that I have no special power for any of that. But what I did tell him was, every morning when I get up, I pray and ask God to use me however He will that day. And obviously, Jesus wanted to show this guy that He had placed a gift in him that until this day, he wasn’t aware of. Jesus just used me to do it. I told him that God directs people’s steps that are committed to Him, and want to be used to bring Him glory. Sometimes we are aware that God is directing us, most times we are not.

I believe that there is a flow to the moving of the Spirit of God, kind of like a river flows. I believe that when we are plugged in to our Lord through prayer and intimacy, it’s like we are just floating along God’s river. And this makes Jesus very glad. You can’t even imagine what stock I now have to be able to speak into this young man’s life. I now have influence like I never had before. I firmly believe God is up to something in this young man’s life. What do you think?

…To be continued

A River Runs Through It

Psalm 46:4a “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God…”

            When I think of rivers, I picture a steady, flowing source of life giving water. I know wherever a river flows there is life. A river can bring life and satisfaction to huge swaths of land and crops. A healthy, flowing river can be used to water farms, animals, and people for miles around it. In many parts of the world, and especially in the Bible lands, the rivers are such a source of nourishment that people even worshipped (past and present tense) them. You only need to read the Old Testament books to see how dependent the Egyptians were on the Nile.

            Here in this verse, there is a river (life-giving flow) that makes the “city of God” glad. I’m sure this writer may have Jerusalem in mind on an earthly note, but it makes me think of the steady stream of souls into heaven. It also brings to my mind the cleansing flow that a body of believers can be to the world around it. We are called to be cleansed by the washing of the water of the word, and we are also to have fountains of living water coming out of our most inward parts. We as committed believers can actually be the force that God uses to stock the ponds of Paradise. As in all things, Jesus infuses us with his love, his spirit, and his word, while we turn and share with our faith community, and the world at large. We become his little streams spilling out in every direction all over the place.

Being a Christian, and in recovery, and a staff member at Grace Place Properties (transitional housing & Recovery program), I get to spend a lot of time around folks who are struggling to exit horribly, addictive lifestyles. I get to witness on a daily basis the wonderful works of God. I get to be involved in having discussions and informal meetings in which people sit around and tell each other how good God has been in there lives recently.

Earlier today, one of our participants was sitting around with others of us, sharing how God had answered his prayer to see his kids on Father’s Day! Let me tell you, just hearing how the Lord had shaped the circumstances to make that near impossibility happen for him, was like taking a gigantic drink of cold water out of a river flowing with God’s mercy. I could tell you a thousand stories just like that one in which people who have not been around the river of God’s blessing and protection, have begun to come alive with amazement at just how much God loves them, and how much and long he has been waiting to have their attention to show them. He really shows up and shows out when we just trust him.

I have many, many more thoughts on this verse. So stay tuned for the next river ride we’ll take as soon as I can get it all down on paper. Be blessed!

…To be continued.

Overwhelmed! Psalm 46:3

…Psalm 46 continues!

Psalm 46:3 “Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”

Our writer goes on here to describe even more woes in the life of this scene. When I think of waters roaring and being troubled, I immediately picture a deep churning of the sea. Violent undertows mixed with heaving waves crashing against a shoreline. I’m being pulled this way then pushed that way, only to return to the start to go around and around again, without having any control over the situation. Is there anything going on inside of you that feels like that? Maybe it has been there for a while, and it just keeps repeating itself, over and over again. Trusting God can be a lot like that. Everything in our area seems to be pressuring us to make a decision, or choose a direction and go, but we don’t have peace, and we are trying our best to wait for God. And there is an abiding anxiousness, and we bite the lip, grind the teeth, and wring the hands.

If that wasn’t enough, people remind us what our gut is telling us, “Trust God!” But it’s not bringing us comfort like it usually does because the devil is haranguing us to no end in our minds. Let me pause for a moment in my horrific description of this passage and remind us, it’s probably not just your gut telling you to, “Trust God!” It is, in fact, the Holy Spirit trying to break you free from your troublesome worry. He is in you. A promise given to us by Jesus, sent by the Father, to guide us in our time of need. A real Person, who has unlimited understanding, and who loves us dearly. It is His job to lead us into green pastures, and beside still waters, and to restore, refresh our souls. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father and will impress upon us His will if we will do the hard part of asking, listening, and waiting for His counsel.

As we get back to our verse, the picture is now of the mountains swelling, ready to burst open with a huge release of pressure. It’s like there is red hot, molten lava just brimming below the edge of the mouth ready to explode upon the nearest unsuspecting victim. These things are so unpredictable. Are you ever walking around on a low boil, ready to blow your top at any moment? All it takes is just one more disappointment, unwanted surprise, or one of life’s many letdowns, and pop-goes-the-weasel. A violent storm hurls forth from a tiny opening in our faith walk and we vomit uncontrollably all over anyone or thing in our path. If so, it’s our fault for not trusting in the Lord. My Bible teaches me that two are better of than one, and a three-fold cord is not easily broken. I should be trusting God and talking to someone in my life who has my trust, and I have permission to talk to them about anything going on inside me. In Recovery we call this a Sponsor.

If I am walking around on a low boil it’s because I’m stuffing my feelings, and not sharing them with someone who cares about me. This makes me that swelling mountain, and it’s my fault. When these kinds of things are going on inside of us we have to have an outlet. We have to, on purpose, seek out someone who will be there to help us navigate our way back to Jesus, who is our refuge and strength and our ever-present help in the time of trouble. The Bible teaches us to confess our sins (faults, mistakes, insensitivities, resentments, etc…) to one another so that we may be healed (healthy). And to quickly make amends for harm I’ve done to others, and to quickly forgive others for harm they’ve done to me. This enables me to keep a pure heart. Blessed are the pure in heart! This enables me to not be that swelling mountain, walking around all the time on a low boil ready to explode. These area the kinds of things we learn and live by in Celebrate Recovery. These are the commands given us by the Lord Jesus Himself, to love one another, and to help carry one another’s burdens.

Hang in there for my next installment on the next verse in Psalm 46. The writer’s heart is about to remember God in a beautifully descriptive way, and I don’t want you to miss it.

Psalm 46 to be continued…

Overwhelmed! Psalm 46:2

Overwhelmed

Psalm 46:2 “Therefore we will not fear even though the earth be removed. And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”

Watch out now! This is another bold declaration by the writer. Here again we see the complete confidence being claimed in the Lord. This is a pretty scary scene being portrayed for us. Fear causes paralysis. Fear can stop a huge momentum in its tracks when it comes to humans. There is a reason that Jesus says, “Fear not!” so many times in the New Testament. It’s exactly because of this type of ominous activity that is eventually going to happen in all of our lives. It shouldn’t be the normal day-to-day stuff that life is made of, but on occasion terrible and tragic trouble comes to us.

The earth being removed is a serious ordeal of gigantic proportions. The earth, here in this verse, I see in stark contrast against the Lord in the first verse. As humans, we tend to put our trust in that which we can see, smell, taste, feel, or hear. You know, what we call the material world. But this writer is telling us not to put too much stock in these things because they can be shaken, while the Lord God Almighty is our refuge and strength and is not moved by any agitation of any magnitude. He cannot be shaken or removed. He is steady, He is faithful, and He is true!

I tend to not even think about the ground under my feet. I have never been in an earthquake. I have always trusted in stable support beneath me. Is there something in your life that you have always trusted to be there and now it’s not there? Has that steady part of your life all of a sudden come up missing or shaky? If so, you’re not unlike most of us who take earthly things for granted. Just because something has always been there for us, does not mean it will always remain there. Any of us who have ever lost a job, a friend, or a loved one, can attest to that. Earthly possessions do not last. God our savior is everlasting. In the Book of Colossians we are instructed to keep our minds on things above, not on things of the earth beneath. There is a reason for this. This material world is finite, unstable, and waning, ever since sin and death entered into God’s original design for creation. The Bible teaches us that heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of our God will stand forever. You can take that to the bank and start a trust with it…

I tend to count on my routines. They’re safe, predictable, and comfortable. When the earth (My neat and tidy little world) violently shakes, when the ground under me (My foundational ideas about how life should be) thrusts and sinks causing mountains and valleys, and when agitating circumstances (Unplanned events which make me squirm and kick) pound against me, I have to remember my God is my refuge and strength, He is in attendance in my fractured world with me. He is not moved by what is seriously moving me. I must keep my focus while everything is spinning wildly about me. I must grab hold of the rock that is higher than I. The Lord God Almighty who is never moved or shaken.

We all need to be able to stand. If what I am standing on isn’t sure, I will fall. Falling down is a natural part of life, but it shouldn’t be the norm for a mature adult. Is there something you are standing on that is not God’s truth? If so, when challenged by the word that thing will let you down, cause you to stumble, or make you tip over. Jesus talks about building our house on solid ground (God’s truth) not on sinking sand (our opinions about what is truth). If we take the wrong stance it may not be readily apparent that we have chosen poorly, but once the wind and the rain come, and the earth is removed, our opinions of truth will collapse. So why wait? Let us be brave enough to check our life against His word, and see if there is any place where we are standing upright that will eventually betray us and cause us to sink.

Speaking of sinking, this last part of the verse talks about a force so strong that it casts the mountains into the midst of the sea. Can you say extinction! That’s the type of world disaster being described here. A real world killer. Lights out the party’s over. The proverbial fat lady is singing…

As I think about what it means for a rather gigantic object to be heaved into a major body of water, I can only think one thing, “TSUNAMI!” Tsunami’s cause big waves, raise water lines at the shore, and flood everything, sometimes even for miles inland. It is a wave, or waves, of destruction that will carry everything in their path away. Nothing can stop one of these tidal monsters. There is no force on earth greater than rushing water. Have you ever been devastated by a rush of force in your life that carried some things of yours away? IS there something, right now that you are thinking of, as we are discussing this, which was dear to you, and now seems to have been just swept out of your life? According to this verse, it happens. Maybe you’ll see it again downstream, or maybe you won’t, but this makes it time to turn to God, who has not been swept away, who is not of this earth, and therefore is able to help you withstand this flood. He says in His word that He will help us when the floodwaters try to overtake us. We will not sink with Him as our strength. 

I, Declare! Psalm 46 Bible Lesson Notes

Psalm 46--I Declare!

1. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

To declare- is to make clearly known; state or announce openly, formally, etc…to say positively or emphatically…to state strongly ones opinion.

Oh what great advantage it is to us to start everything we do with this declaration.  Holding nothing back, the psalmist establishes the ground-marker that will set the tone for anything and everything he writes after this. To declare to the world and to myself, “God is, God is refuge, and God is strength” is absolutely necessary for a robust beginning to our day. Already my faith and trust are lifted. Already I am watching whatever comes next shrink as my God gets bigger and bigger. The problem with sinful thinking is, I get magnified and God diminishes. The great thing about the Bible is, it keeps Him on the throne and glorious, and me on my knees and beseeching Him.

The power of a solid declaration lifts my mind off of its worry and onto His power. We have a saying in recovery, “As I focus on the problem, the problem grows larger, but as I focus on the solution, the solution grows larger.” Our God is our solution. Whenever someone comes to me and has a problem that is weighing them down, all I usually do is redirect their thoughts toward the One who has the solution. Like a good traffic sign I remind them of the standard, of the declaration. If “God is!” is our declaration, then let’s start everything right there.

Our writer here describes God as our refuge first. A refuge is described as a person or thing that gives shelter, help, or comfort; a place of safety. God is our place of safety. We can run to Him to be protected from the dangers of this world.  A refuge is a place set aside for the safety and protection of a specific group. A refuge is a place where we can grow, a place where we can thrive, and a place where we can play without fear of danger. Our refuge is the Lord God Almighty. Nothing escapes His attention. No, one or many, can stand against Him. Nobody can snatch us from His grasp. We are safe in Him!

His strength is infinite. My strength pales in comparison to say the least. The God who spoke and the universe came into existence, formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed life into his nostrils, and it was so, is our strength. The God who says to us, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls.” The God who says, “My power is made perfect in your weakness” is our strength. We are earthly pots designed to carry heavenly treasures. I don’t know how He does it, but His word says He can fill us, carry us, watch over us, walk with us, conceal us, conform us, reason with us, lift us, humble us, teach us, and glorify us, as we glorify Him. Who can fathom His strength and power? No one. But we are not called to understand His strength; we are called to lean on it. Nothing can separate us from Him.

“…A very present help in the time of trouble.”

Present- being at the specified or understood place; at hand, in attendance.

Oh man, is that good or what? God, at this time, is being described by our author to be right here, right now, on the scene. He is not a God far away. He is not like the moon, just hanging around just out of reach, aloof, dead, lifeless, and uncaring. He is present! He is vibrant. He is ready. He already is…Not just a present help, but a very present help. Wow! What great joy it is to know that He is here with us, and well able toward us.

This verse goes on to say, “…in the time of trouble.” Our God is not afraid. He is not baffled. He is not hard to reach, especially when we are in trouble and at our most ready to make a mistake or even make things worse. When we panic, He is very present. When we are confused, He is very present. When we are helpless and scared, He is very present. When we are in trouble, He is very present. Oh thank you, Jesus that you are very present.

What is troubling you? Are you utilizing His presence? Let me say it again, are you aware of His presence in your time of trouble? Write it on your heart, write it on your memory, write it on your bathroom mirror if you have to, but get it front of your face so often that it becomes your natural (supernatural) default position. Declare it out loud everyday, and don’t forget to share it with others. The Lord God Almighty is your daddy, and He is right here, very present, anytime you need Him, especially if you are going through a time of trouble.

To be continued…

Recharging Superman: Sin Is My Kryptonite

Who would have ever guessed the Superman figure created by Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster in 1932 would become the mega-popular icon in American culture that it is today? Everywhere you turn you will find images and fans of the Super Hero. There is no doubt about it everyone loves the Superman.  Why shouldn’t they? We all need to know there is a force greater than ourselves in the universe, fighting for the good of all mankind! Yep, even as an adult, Superman is my hero, and lately I’ve been thinking about him…

There is much I could say about my hero, but this article is about something that struck me recently about the nature of Superman. As great as he was, he still had a major weakness—Kryptonite. He could not be within a few yards of this vitality sapping substance without losing his great strength. In a matter of moments, in the presence of Kryptonite, the man of steel would drop to his knees like melting butter. We have seen it time and time again during his many battles with the conniving Lex Luther, his arch nemesis. It occurred to me that we too have a very crafty and cunning nemesis who is always tempting us to get closer and closer to our Kryptonite. I know my Kryptonite—sin. Sin is a terrible strength zapper. It drains the very life out of me as I struggle with the trials and tribulations in my life.

The Bible talks about “casting aside all sin and anything that will weigh us down.” in this race we call life. Sin is dead weight. The runner cannot win the race if he is carrying dead weight. We racerunners must have a way to throw off the weight of sin when we realize Satan has tempted us too close to our Kryptonite…

Superman fans know that he had a way to escape from the power of Kryptonite and to recharge himself. When he would finally get far enough away from the Kryptonite to regain a little power, he would leap to his feet and take off flying high above the clouds into the presence of the sun! The sun’s energy would then replenish his vitality and strength so he could return and once again to triumph over evil.

Now I am certainly not comparing myself to Superman, “The Man of Steel,” but like him, I have found a way to break away from sin—to get myself “recharged,” just as Superman did. I must pull back from my sin, leap into the Word for strength, and then flee into the presence of the Son! The Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, is my sun!

 God told Abraham, “I Am your sun and your shield and your exceedingly great reward,” and this is still true today for us. We must often be in the presence of the Son in order to be infused with His love and power. We must be in the presence of the Son who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Just as the creators of Superman made a way for him to recharge, so too our Creator has designed a way for us to recharge. (As a matter of fact, I would argue that Superman’s makers probably copied the idea from God, since we were created just a little before the Caped Crusader!)

Psalm 29:11 states, “The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” Are you spending time in the presence of the Son? If you are in need of a recharge the Lord Jesus says to you, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Isaiah 40:31 says it like this, “But those who wait (sit in His presence) upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Now that sounds like a real recharge to me!

So my question to you is, what are you waiting for? It’s sure not God, because He is way ahead of you, extending His grace. Come! Recharge your spirit in the presence of the Son!

God of Blunders (Mine)

Have you ever really blown it? I mean you had it all worked out in your thinking, but when you went to take action you just messed it all up. Your heart was right, you had good counsel, you even double checked to make sure most of it was sound logic. But still that thing you intended to be good just came out bad. Well, I have. As a matter of fact I seem to do it on a regular basis. The more I read in the Bible about Peter's early ministry years the better I feel because no one, and I mean no one, blew it from time to time like Peter. Well, except me. I was watching the movie "The Passion" the other night and was reminded that even though it was God's will for the temple police to come and take Jesus into custody, Peter all of a sudden pulls out a sword and cuts off one of the men's ears. Where he got the sword I'll never know. And on top of that many commentators believe that he was actually aiming for the soldiers head and just missed. You talk about blunders. This was a major thinking error to say the least.

In the scene taken from the Bible Jesus picks up the ear and restores it to the side of his capture's head.    What a picture of grace. Was he healing the man to show mercy and grace or was Jesus doing what he always does in so many of our lives, fixing a blunder? I believe it was both. Jesus knew Peter's heart was right, he was just trying to protect his master, but he did it in haste and it got messy. Thank God he remembers our frame that we are but dust. God is so good to us, especially when we blunder.

I entitled this blog "God of Blunders" because we make 'em.  Blunder is defined in the dictionary as 1) to move clumsily or carelessly; flounder; stumble. 2) to make a foolish or stupid mistake. 3) to say or do clumsily or poorly; bungle. That about sums up some of my least favorite maneuvers in my short time in ministry. I am so glad that God knew what he was getting when he found me. Because if he didn't know then what he knows now, I would have been in trouble. Now all I need to do is to remember to extend that same grace to others. The other day I made a negative statement about a seriously hurting prospect in search of solace from a cruel world. Granted most of the cruelty was self-inflicted, but who am I to judge anyone so prematurely. I couldn't believe the arrogance and negativity I heard that had just come out of my own mouth. This person hadn't been off the streets three days and I was ready to turn them back over to a life of misery in my thinking. Well, let me assure you the Holy Spirit wasn't going to let me get away with that. He quickly reminded me of my own utter desperations just 10 years ago and how anyone looking at me would of said, "He's probably not going to make it." How would I have felt?

You know what? The Holy Spirit is right as always. So I had to swallow my pride, acknowledge my blunder, ask the Lord for mercy, and turn right around and pickup the phone to recant my statement with hat in hand. And you know what's even better than that? After I did all that I felt the peace and warmth and love of God come all over me. Imagine that, God really does give beauty for ashes. So next time you really blow it, clumsily stumble, flounder or bungle be sure to remember the God of Blunders is ready, willing, and able to turn our blunders into his wonders. Be blessed.