When the Answer Comes...

"To you, LORD, I give my whole heart; a heart filled with praise for I am grateful. Before the gods, my heart sings praises to You and You alone."--Psalm 138:1, Voice

In some Bible translations, the headline over this psalm is "Praise for Answered Prayer." And then we move right along and keep reading. All the while, it shouts:

"Hey, wait a second...How often do you remember to do this? How often do you forget to give more than a mental nod of appreciation to God when He answers? You pray long and hard and don't give up, which is good, and when the answer finally comes, do you take it for granted? Do you, without even realizing it, chalk it up to circumstances of the day that just happened to turn out right, or worse, think it was something you finally figured out on your own?"

I'm about to say that I don't like this headline very much. But then it suddenly and graciously changes its tone:

"Do you remember what that radio host said the other day about what has changed the most since social media became all the rage? Right: People are noticeably angrier and more critical and unhinged. As if you hadn't noticed. Everyone has an opinion on everything and they just let it fly. Gratitude is hard to find. Definitely not what God had in mind for His creation."

"Maybe you can't change all of that, but it's pretty easy for you to change you--and if you and a bunch of others get on board with this more often, who knows what kind of counterculture goodness could begin to happen? Cultivating good fruit from a gratitude attitude begins with remembering to be genuinely thankful for the big stuff and the small stuff. When the answer comes, when God comes through even in an unexpected way, cultivating good fruit means going to Him and letting Him know with your own words--not out of some obligation but out of that gratitude-attitude relationship you are seeking to nurture. This is a huge deal. Remember what Jesus said in the encounter with the ten lepers..."

(Momentary detour to check out whether that's true... Headline nails it again.)

"...See, God loves to hear your voice. Yes, your voice. Whether you think you can't sing on any given day or if you tend to fumble over the words in your spontaneous prayer, it makes no difference to God. That's because if you believe and love His Son, then you are His kid. It's not what you do, it's who you are--family. Mind-blowing. So you see, 'Praise for Answered Prayer' isn't just a headline like you think it is, it's the only way to live the life that gives glory to your forever Father for all blessings, name them one-by-one, great and small. You know this, and you've done this in spurts before. But 'more' is better.

"Besides, look what happens to your insides, remember? You begin to feel refreshed, energized, and at rest. Furrowed brows and grumpiness and sighing lose their grip. You find fault in others and things much less often, and celebrate people for who they are in God's eyes much more often. Not always easy, and not all at it once, but it happens. Because that's Heaven's countercultural goodness at work in you."

"So, let these four little words serve as a repeated road marker along this fantastic Journey; a reminder that while God often will indeed work through circumstances or you and your great ideas to answer your prayers, it all originates from His good and wonderful hand. All of it. Always. Follow in the steps of the psalmist and don't hold back: 'my heart sings praises to You and You alone.'"

So be it, LORD, for all who come this way.

"Thou that hast given so much to me, give me one thing more: a grateful heart--not thankful when it pleaseth me, as if Thy blessings had spare days, but such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise." (George Herbert)

Living the 'Greater Than...' Life

"The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of our awesome God, reflecting God’s Shekinah glory--the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine--and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His Father’s essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things--the entire physical and spiritual universe--by His powerful word, carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal. When He Himself, and no other, had by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin accomplished purification from sins, and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down--revealing His completed work--at the right hand of the Majesty on high, revealing His Divine authority, having become as much superior to angels, since He has inherited a more excellent and glorious name than they [that is, 'Son'—the name above all names]." (Hebrews 1:3-4, Amplified)

Those may be two of the greatest run-on sentences ever. They help kick our moments of ho-hum, take-it-for-granted Christianity off their snooze rocker and reawaken the wonder and wow of our high calling as followers (not just admirers) of the Savior of the world. Bible scholar Thomas Schofield adds further fuel: "The key concept throughout the Book of Hebrews is superiority...Christ is better than [fill in the blank]...."

And if to that we can say "this, I believe," then perhaps it's time to make a t-shirt or bumper sticker or one of those reminder wrist bands that looks something like this:

hebrews 1:3-4

Because this symbol not only clearly says "greater than"--both who He is, and who we are in Him as we keep on walking this Walk (..."the One who lives within you is greater than the one in this world")--it also serves as an encouraging reminder to daily, perseveringly, and practically seek to live the "greater than" life as His beloved and chosen reflectors... imperfections and all. To remember that because He is greater than all, His grace is sufficient for every stumble, every task, every difficulty, and as the hymn-writer says, even more wonderful than that: "grace that is greater than all our sin."

And then, as we go, wherever we go, during our day, it can help remind ourselves that the "greater than" life should also look like, well, something rather oxymoronic: humble passion. 

A lot of this...

"Grow in the loving-favor that Christ gives you. Learn to know our Lord Jesus Christ better. He is the One Who saves. May He have all the shining-greatness now and forever. Let it be so." 

And a whole lot more of this...

"Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first. In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts."

Lord, those two run-on sentences may make us want to shout. But don't let it stop there. If You who are greater than all came not to be served but to serve others, help us to turn our everyday thinking inside out, to remember to passionately live and reflect the You who is in us, even in the littlest of things. Who knows what You might do? ...

"The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His." (Francis Chan)

We've Been Set Up (In a Very Good Way)

“And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for Your truth and Your wisdom; Then, I’ll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed.”—Psalms 119:45-46, Message

It is good to love the Word of God, to have the Word shape our lives, to trust in it, to depend on it, to guard it in mind and heart. Especially in these times of extreme confusion and uncertainty, it is far better to fully engage in Extreme Bible Reading than to train half-heartedly; or worse, to sit on the sidelines satisfied with mixing junk food and an occasional workout.  But it’s also easy to stand so firmly on the wonderful truths and wisdom of the Word that the incredible Person of the Word gets stuck to the ribs of our insides, and we forget the part about letting Him out through us for others to not just hear, but see and touch.

Or, maybe more accurately, we don't really know how to go about it without being weird. Who can do this?

 

It seems like a small step, but a simple day-starter prayer, “Word of God, speak; open my eyes and help me be aware of what You're doing as I stride freely through the wide open spaces of a new day,” could wind up triggering an incredible faith-building or even Life-changing moment in the most ordinary of places. It's also one you can be sure to which God will always reply, "Yes and amen."

“All around us — where we work, play and live — is an absolute setup. God has uniquely placed us in the center of His kingdom activity, and He has specially gifted us to be and to express Good News to those in whom He has already been working. Our only task is to open our eyes and ears to begin to see signs of His presence and to touch all around us…”

— Gary Best, “Naturally Supernatural”

Positive ID

"When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours." (Romans 1:12, New Living Translation)

Some days are better than others, but the best one are not necessarily when everything seems to go well. In fact, some of the very best ones may not be going great at all. The best days are when you get a text, an email, a card in the mailbox, a phone call, or even a look-in-the-eye conversation that digs through all the dirt, rubble, and mud of what the daily grind can do to a person...and unearths not more of same, but gold.

Finding treasure in who someone is in God's eyes (no matter what others have said or labeled in the past, or the negative, accusatory tapes that play from time to time), and then showing it to them, is more than a "don't worry, be happy" moment. It is one of the juciest fruits of a lifestyle of worship. It is rebroadcasting the truth of who God is and how He sees us. And not just in general terms, but the way in which He uniquely made and shines through you and me in some fashion.

From the calling of young Joshua to be a leader, to the calling of the first Christ-ones to hold fast to what is true, to life on planet earth in late August 2016, God's good and forth-telling message has been the same:

"From the beginning of time, I have ordained encouragement, and it is good, and it has a purpose beyond speaking mere words. Because when you encourage someone in Me, you don't just make them feel good, you strengthen them for who they really are in My eyes, and for the Great Adventure I have for them ahead. Even if it is just strength to take the next step. Even if it is something as simple and rock-solid true as this positive ID: 'See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown us, that we should be permitted to be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are!...' And if someone beats you to it today and calls out the gold in you, please....pay it forward (yes, that was My idea, too)."

"It is easy to laugh at men's ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word." (William Barclay)

Living Large, One Step At a Time

"A man’s mind plans his way as he journeys through life,
But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.”—Proverbs 16:9, Amplified

If you are a goal-oriented, tackle-the-list, dream big “what-if?” dreams kind of person (and everyone is to some extent), then it’s good to know that God is on our side. He built us that way, and He thinks goals and plans and thoughtful strategies are a very good thing. In fact, when choosing to be a Kingdom person, they’re essential.

And yet, there is this as well: We think paths and highways to the goal line; God is more into steps, one at a time. 

Many of those steps seem very routine if not boring. Because while He may be cheering on our goals and dreams, God always seems to be more excited about growing roots in the soil of the day-to-day, when not much seems to be happening (even if most of it is pleasant), or when things don’t make much sense, the hours are full of distraction, and everything seems far-removed from any cherished goal or dream. It is here, where we all live most of our lives, where God seems to know best that faithfulness and trust must take root and grow strong for the challenges and trials and stresses—including those pertaining to our goals and dreams—that will inevitably come along.

Even the testing of everything in which we say we believe,which is just about any routine day you turn on the news.

The upside-down simplicity of God’s call on our lives may not be so much about arriving at the huge thing we’re planning or dreaming about, but rather learning to walk in friendship with Him in all things big and small. Especially the small and ordinary of the moment, of the gift of today—to tune in to what He might be seeing, to hear what He is saying now or has already said in His Word for this particular moment, this busy sidewalk, this loved one or friend, this life situation. To know, as friend walking with Friend, when to be silent and just pray, and when to respond...

Lord, help me to remember that in the goodness of setting goals and dreaming big dreams to not only strive to keep things simple, but also to keep it personal. You are called "our Father" for a good reason. So, let my first goal for this simple walk with You always be 'today'—even right now, when no one is around to see. Let my conversation with You be unending, unreligious, and filled with hope even amidst a lot of questions, and to remember that You are perfectly cool with grammatically incorrect sentences, and then to listen—to be still and listen for Your good pace as You direct each one of my steps so very well. And then especially, to remember this:

"Your prayers need not be labored or lengthy or grandiose—for your Father knows what you need before you ever ask Him. Your prayers, rather, should be simple, like this:
Our Father in heaven, let Your name remain holy.
Bring about Your kingdom. 
Manifest Your will here on earth, as it is manifest in heaven.
Give us each day that day’s bread—no more, no less.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive those who owe us something. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
But let Your kingdom be, and let it be powerful and glorious forever. Amen."

(Matthew 6:7-13, Voice)

Good News in the Midst of Any Storm

“Only by Your power can we push back our enemies; only in Your Name can we trample our foes.”—Psalm 44:5, New Living Translation

The Sons of Korah who penned several of the Psalms weren’t just random people in history to be brushed aside. First, they were in King David’s inner circle of servants of the Lord: musicians, songwriters, and writers, and with a prophetic gifting. We can relate to them in the sense that, in this Great Adventure we’re on, there’s nothing better than to be so intimate with the King that all that you are and do is driven for His pleasure and yours (but mostly, His). But we can also relate to the Korah guys in another way: They were warriors, familiar with battles of good vs. evil in all of its manifestations, goodness vs. injustice, and of ones (a lot, in fact) that simply didn’t seem fair or make any sense.

Even if you’re in a good place this morning, and your “Life is Good” t-shirt feels especially comfortable, the Sons of Korah in Psalm 44 offer some great nuggets on dealing positively with the battles of life smorgasbord the next time they show up. Because even though no one signs up for them, as Jesus reminds us, we all get them simply because broken things, broken systems, and broken people have always been the end result of Eden gone bad.

There is much good news flowing from the Korah boys—things we know, perhaps, but tend to forget in the heat of the moment….

• It’s good to remember that in the battles of life, while it is true we are to put on the spiritual armor that the Lord has provided us, and to stand our ground, we can rest assured that God's motive is always love and never meanness; the battle and outcome is always His on our behalf because of His great heart toward us. (“They [those who have gone before us] did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was Your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from Your face that helped them, for You loved them.” —vs. 3)

• It’s good to remember that while battles may make us more vulnerable when we are tired, we shouldn't be shocked when they show up while “Life is Good,” and we feel especially tight with God.  (“All this has happened though we have not forgotten You. We have not violated your covenant.”—vs. 17). Life happens to all, but He is in it all for the good, even when He seems nowhere to be found: "He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you."

• It’s good to remember that God is not shocked with our “Where are You?!” cries. (“Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Get up! Do not reject us forever. Why do you look the other way?”—vs. 23-24). God not only can handle it, He may even delight in it in a sense because it is a sign of relationship, of “get real” communion. He longs for that intimate fellowship with us more than anything, just as He has since Adam walked in the garden. Seek Him—He cares for you, even in the midst of this whatever.

• It’s good to remember that in our “Where are You?!” to stir up faith-building truths of His faithfulness at all other times in your life, of promises always kept, of a Love that will never, ever quit. (“Rise up! Help us! Ransom us because of Your unfailing love.”—vs. 26)

 

It’s especially good to remember the best news of all: “In the world, you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer—take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted! For I have overcome the world. I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.”—John 16:33, Amplified Classic

“Believing in the Gospel is not a passive, one-time decision; it is an active, continual fight for faith in what God says is noble, true, and good. We fight to believe that Jesus is more precious, satisfying, and thrilling than anything else this world has to offer. This is faith in the Gospel: the grand announcement that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and evil through His own death and resurrection, and is making all things new — even us.” — Jonathan Dodson, “Gospel-centered Discipleship”

Unshakable Things Worth Repeating

O God, my heart is steadfast, in the confidence of faith; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises, even with all the faculties and powers of one created in Your image… For Your mercy and loving-kindness are great and high as the heavens. Your truth and faithfulness reach to the skies!”—Psalm 108:1, 4 Amplified

No matter how crazy and uncertain things may get during any given day or week, there is power and hope in following the psalmist’s lead and regularly speaking out some unshakable things:

God’s MERCY is poured out to us daily

God’s LOVING-KINDNESS is relentlessly embracing us

God’s TRUTH is ready to break through to stabilize and drive us forward, and

God’s FAITHFULNESS is behind us, ahead of us, all around us, and living through us.

What could be better news than that? But wait...“I will sing, yes, I will sing praises…” Once is good, but the psalmist is on to something here: more is better! Because even unshakable things spoken, and unshakable things internalized only once may not immediately quell low energy or mood that, on their own, would rather not even hum a few bars. But say them again, think them again, choose to believe it all again, and something miraculous begins to occur:

The pity party leaves the building—the building that is you. And in its place, God’s power and love begin to once more fill the void like waves at high tide, reminding your soul for the umpteenth time that they are as enormous as He promised they would be.

The power is not in the song, or in the shout, or in the verbalization. The power of praise is in the Truth and faith behind it all (even weak faith), believing without necessarily “feeling it,”  and in choosing to declare to the enemies of doubt, confusion, and whatever else tries to knock us on our keister that “…though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet!” 

If my heart is overwhelmed and I cannot hear Your voice
I’ll hold on to what is true though I cannot see
If the storms of life they come and the road ahead gets steep
I will lift these hands in faith
I will believe
I remind myself of all that You’ve done
And the life I have because of Your Son...

("Love Came Down" - Brian Johnson)