We have already started eating from this year’s apple crop! One of the earliest varieties to ripen in the Pacific Northwest is the Ginger Gold…so good and sweet and crunchy and juicy! The rest of this year’s apple crop is just around the bend! An expression used in the Old Testament book of Zechariah is quite remarkable. In verse 8 of chapter 2 is this parenthetical phrase–‘for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye’. A gentle reminder from Lord through His prophet of how He feels about us–we’re the ‘apple of His eye’. But what does that mean exactly? The ‘apple of the eye’ is a poetic way of speaking about the pupil in our eye. The eye is one of the most complex organs created by God in our bodies. But have something touch it, and the pain can be excruciating. A few years back my wife and I stayed at the old lodge at Crater Lake in Oregon. Gorgeous volcano-created lake, deep as deep can be producing the bluest water we’d ever seen. We drove to the other side of the lake, parked our van and walked down a rather steep and lengthy trail to the water’s edge of Crater Lake. But what a windy day it was. Blowing in all directions. That’s when a very tiny stone flew up in the air, got behind my sunglasses and lodged itself firmly in the side of my eye. Ooooh the pain! It was piercing and constant and unrelenting. And this was in the side of my eyeball. The pupil is even more tender and vulnerable, as you can imagine. Back to the Bible–so, we are like the apple of God’s eye to Him. He feels for us with an intensity we can hardly imagine. Let that sink in…think about what was just written. But let me be honest here. How many times have I felt, not what I believed, but felt that God seemed way out there in outer space; and me, I’m just little old me, down here in but a tiny corner of this great big world. Anybody out there? Does He care? Can He find us? And hear us? And help us? With those questions of the heart, we need to hear and let sink in again and again that parenthetical phrase. As the apple of God’s eye, our troubles and worries and fears are as close to Him, to His heart, to His eyes as they can possibly be. Whether we feel it or not, whether we open our eyes of belief, God loves us and whatever gets in our eyes, gets in His. Whatever grabs our hearts has been in His all along. Agreed? Are you with me? Let me recommend, as I am to myself, reading Zechariah chapter 2 but also to keep repeating all day long, and all week long, and all month long, just keep going and repeating, ‘I am the apple of God’s eye’! That’s better even than a Ginger Gold apple!
Monthly Archives: August 2014
WHY DO I MAKE THINGS SO DIFFICULT FOR MYSELF?……..Read Haggai 2: 1-5
As I read my Bible, it just seems that everyone is making godly living so difficult and so out-of-reach. God gives 10 commandments, He asks us to love Him and our neighbors and ourselves, to consult Him all-the-time, to enjoy the life He has given us, to live with a freedom that only a believer can really experience. And yet–you know what I’m going to say. We make our Christian life so difficult. Maybe I should speak only for myself. I fret…I worry…I plan and then remember to ask God to bless MY plans…I bicker and complain, judge and criticize. Or I try and try to figure out God’s will for my life or maybe just for the next week or month. What should I do, specifically? I want to know but He’s in His quiet mood. So, I sit around, moping, waiting for His call…and more waiting. All of the above adds not one blessing to my daily enjoyment of life in Jesus. And I know that. I know what I’m doing. We’re not stupid, are we? Or is it just me, so inclined? Doubt it! The Word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai in the Old Testament. God’s people are returning to the land of Israel from years and years in exile in Babylon, and are being encouraged to complete the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar . But the people are just so discouraged, so down-heartened with this small, dull and unglamourous Temple of the Lord. They’re stuck in their past. Remembering and remembering a glory that is no more. So, God asks that remnant a good question–‘who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?'(verse 3) I look back on my life– it’s not what it should have been, what it could have been…but so what? I can’t live in the past. Hopefully, I can and have learned a few things from those times and troubles. But now is the time, the Lord says, to ‘be strong’…’be strong’…’be strong’–‘and work’. Do what you know you can and want to do for Him. I’m going to keep on blogging and writing and giving out tracts and working toward that devotional book that’s on my heart and mind and soul. Those desires, I believe, have come from the Lord Himself to me. And to you? And stop worrying and calculating burning up those little gray cells. He says that ‘For I am with you’ (verse 4) and that ‘my Spirit remains among you’ (verse 5). He’s with me now…He’s with you now! Don’t make life so difficult. He says 3 times to be strong as if the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be right there shoulder-to-shoulder with us giving us His and their strength to do the work that our heart calls us to do. He gives us those desires that are in our hearts, and He’ll give us the strength to fulfill those very desires. But don’t just sit back and be a spiritual couch-potato. He says to work…to get busy for Him…forget the fears and worries, and begin to lean into the wind of the Holy Spirit –and just see where His boat takes us. It’s going to be a great ride. Smooth sailing ahead! Head winds, sure! They’ll just move us along even faster! Are you with me? Be strong…and work!
HOW ABOUT A NICE PIECE OF HUMBLE PIE!……..Read John 1:19-34
I’ve eaten lots of humble pie in my adult lifetime. During the time, each piece didn’t taste too good. But later, upon reflection, allowing the Lord to use all kinds of experiences in my life, the taste improved. It moved from bitter, to tolerable, to nourishing and then good for me. There were those years when I pastored a church of over 600 members, the most prestigious church in town, with growth all around including adding an assistant pastor to the staff within my first year. I was publishing articles in lots of Christian magazines, I was moving up the ladder, I was just plain full of myself! And then, the rug was pulled out from under me, the rungs of the ladder I was climbing up just fell apart and my feet let go. And humpty-dumpty came a tumblin’ down! I was hurt. I was bitter. I was cast afloat in an unknown sea on a boat full of holes. That was over 30 years ago now, and seems like someone else’s story. Not mine– for I’ve learned that humble pie is good for the soul when the pie I was eating acted like poison for me. I thank the Lord for a hard fall, because He was underneath catching me and cradling me in His arms, placing me upright to go forward for Him this time, for His purposes this time, for His glory this time. This time proved to be better time. This pie nourishes and satisfies. Have you had such an experience? Maybe you’re in one now. Possibly, you know someone likewise hurt and hurting. Don’t be afraid of disappointments and failures in life. The Lord will use them for His purposes in a most cleansing way. You’ll be surprised, as I was, at His grace even on the darkest of nights, even when your stomach just can’t stop churning with fear from the unknown. By the way, have you read those verses in the Gospel of John yet? They’re about John the Baptist. And a verse that I’ve read hundreds of times just flew at me off the pages of my Bible this morning. It’s verse 20. Read it now, if you would. John the Baptist is a genuinely humble man. Just think about all the thousands of people who have left the big city of Jerusalem to come out into the desert to hear him preach. All the converts…all those who repented…all who were baptized. Seemed like just everyone was going to him. I wonder how I would have felt with that kind of response going on? Probably would have gone to my head, sorry to say! But not John, the other one, the Baptist. No, verse 20 makes it crystal clear who he is not. The Greek of this verse is extremely complex, the wording however is as clear as a bell–you ask him who he is and he states without a doubt confessing and likewise denying and then confessing again that he is not the coming Messiah, that Jesus is the One and Only Son Of God, the Anointed One. John is but a voice, a spokesman for the Prophet who brings God’s truth to the world. He baptizes while Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin and the sin of the world, then and now. John knows who he is. He’s a voice. He’s comfortable being the voice who tells of the One coming. And that’s humble pie for each of us. To tell of Jesus. To testify of Him. To praise Him and pray to Him. To love Him no matter where we are or the circumstances we find ourselves in. No matter what, we lift up His name–not mine or yours but His. Hmn…that’s good pie! Humble pie ala mode! Pass me another piece, will you?!
A VERSE TO DYE FOR!……Read Hebrew 4: 12-13
Over the years, 9 as a Presbyterian minister and 14 as the pastor of the United Christian Church here where we live in Aberdeen, Washington, I’ve visited lots of parishioners in various hospitals. At Englewood Hospital in New Jersey, where my two sons were born. Even peddling and riding my French moped, a Motobacane, across the George Washington Bridge to New York City’s Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital; and then, of course, many hospitals and nursing homes and rehab centers in our Western Washington area for the past umpteenth years. Many times patients needed to have a procedure involving a special dye that would bring to light in the network of veins and arteries in the human body problems that could only be detected in this way. A special dye that brings something to light. Something that needs attention. Something that we’re missing on our own, something that needs correction. Spiritually, that special dye that brings to light is God’s Word, the Bible. In the New Testament book of Hebrews, the author writes that ‘…the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.’ Like a dye that brings to light, the Bible will open up our lives and attitudes to God’s scrutiny like nothing else can or will. Let me suggest that if you don’t want to change in any way, if you are just so satisfied with yourself as you are, if you like everything about yourself and want to hang on to what you know is contrary to God and His ways, then don’t read the Bible! Now let me say that when I read God’s Word, of course, there is such comfort and hope and encouragement from cover to cover, but that’s not the complete story. No, like a surgeon who needs to remove something that is playing havoc with our health, so God’s Word will cut and penetrate and get right to the heart and marrow and joint of where I and we need some change. As they say, ‘no pain, no gain’. So, don’t shy away from the Divine Surgeon and His Word–it’s all for our own good as we desire to be more like His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus died so that the dye of the Word would save us and cleanse us making us more useful for His Kingdom. ‘I’m ready, Doctor Jesus…do your work, show me what I can’t see on my own, make me more like yourself!’
A NOSE BY ANY OTHER NAME!………Read Exodus 34:6
My father had a rather good-sized nose! This was by his own admission! He would often kid about it and say that when he came down with a cold, he got his money’s worth! That was my Dad! Loved to kid, loved to laugh and was loved by many people. Can’t remember anyone who didn’t like my Dad. He was just a great guy. Hardly perfect but someone you liked to be around. Even with that large nose of his! That was part of his charm too…don’t you like people who can laugh at themselves? I can sense that you’re wondering where I’m going with this! Maybe I’m wondering also? No, I’ve a point here and it’s not on the top of my head! Have you read our Scripture verse yet? Might as well start at the beginning of chapter 34. Here the Lord is passing in front of Moses on Mount Sinai proclaiming who He is, His being and His character. It’s just a wonderful, power-packed section from the Torah. Read it again. The Lord tells us how compassionate He is, how gracious and giving, He’s slow to anger, forgiving not just easy things but ‘wickedness, rebellion and sin’. As the gospel song says, ‘What a Might God We Serve’. Mighty and loving and compassionate…oh, we could go on-and-on all day and night–and we probably should. Stop griping… and keep glorifying! That’s a good motto for today and every day. Yes? But back to Exodus 34, in that list of attributes of the Lord is the expression ‘slow to anger’. Maybe you know that in the Hebrew that phrase is literally ‘long of nose’. My father would have let out a good laugh at that one. Yes, for the Lord to be patient and long-suffering and slow to anger is for Him to be ‘long of nose’. Now, what does that mean? The Hebrew people pictured the blood in the body as travelling from the tip of your toes to the end of your nose as quite a long journey. They felt that that aptly describes someone who is not a hot-head, not having a short-fuse but someone with patience and a long fuse! If God were otherwise, we’d all perish in a matter of a few seconds–with me going first of all. But God hangs in there with us, He waits for us like that patient father in the prodigal son story, He lets the anger-blood take the long journey allowing us to come to our spiritual senses, permitting us to come back to Him, to repent and accept His gift of Jesus Christ. All His waiting is for our good and His glory. His long nose points the way home, to His home, and our eternal home in heaven. I’m glad I had the father I had with the nose he had. And I’m real glad our Heavenly Father has a long nose of patience and acceptance. Aren’t you glad you have that same Father in Heaven?
INTO DAVY JONES’ LOCKER!……….Read Micah 7:19
Only one verse for you today, but packed with wonderful meaning from our Lord’s Word, the Bible. The Prophet Micah is encouraging his people Israel that God will have compassion on them once ‘again’. God’s anger will not last forever–as a matter of fact He is a long-suffering and patient God(now that’s for next time!). He will ‘again’ have compassion on His people, then and now. That’s for us, for me and you! We’re included. And now comes even more good news–how could there be more? But there is! Micah tells us that God ‘will tread our sins underfoot.’ He won’t point His finger at us in accusation. He won’t hold our sins over our heads or shove them in our faces. No, He’ll trample them underfoot, blot them out, grind them into the tiny grains of sand so that it will be impossible to ever find them again. I remember losing a good watch while down the shore in New Jersey, at the beach. Can’t dredge up the brand now but it was not a Timex and certainly not a Rolex! But then it hit me…where’s my watch? In a panic, running back to where I had been at the beach or so I thought, trying to find that expensive watch. Gone…gone…gone. That’s the bad news. The good news is that our sins when confessed to God, covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, realizing how damaging our sins have been to us, others and of course God Himself–are ‘tread underfoot’. Thank God today…our sins, under His foot. Gone…gone…gone. Thank God! But Micah tells us more, even better news. God ‘hurls our iniquities into the depths of the sea’. When I just typed this, I realized that I left out the word ‘all’ from the Bible verse. It reads– ‘hurls all our iniquities into the depths of the sea’. All of them. Not just the ‘white lies’ or the ones we think rather harmless and therefore easy for God to forgive. No, all of them. Even the ones we have never shared with anyone. The ones that shame us even to this day. All of them, He promises. And where does He hurl them? Into the depths, the deepest part of the seas and oceans. That’s pretty deep. I remember being on a cruise ship in the Caribbean approaching some tropical island we were going to dock at for the day. Many of us were out on deck to see this beautiful and colorful island in the sun. The woman next to me, who told me she was a lawyer from Washington DC, had a marvelous camera in her hand that looked real pricey, when digital cameras first came out with all those bells and whistles. People were packed in tight on those decks, all squeezed in like sardines. And more and more passengers kept pushing and shoving. You guessed it…this poor woman standing next to me was shoved by someone behind her and that camera went flying out of her hands over the railing straight into the depths of the sea, right into Davy Jones’ Locker never to be seen again. That’s the bad news. The good news is that our sins, in God’s hands, not pushed or shoved, but willingly, are tossed into the depths of the sea. Glub…glub…glub…gone! Let me recommend to myself first of all and then to you as well—leave them there. God has put up a ‘no swimming’ sign and a ‘no fishing’ sign right where they went down. Thank God…can you feel the release and relief God wants us to have? Can you? Can I?
STAYING WITH THE SAME THOUGHT……..Read Micah 7: 18-20
Last time we were reflecting (after all, the blog is called “Reflections…”!)on the great forgiveness of our Lord and Savior. How He just loves to free us from our sins. He’s just crazy about you…and me! In our Scripture for today, the Old Testament Prophet Micah talks about God’s anger not lasting forever. God lets go of our sins. He pardons and forgives us when we humbly come to Him in repentance–just like children to a loving parent. And then we learn that ‘He delights to show mercy'(verse 18). If it were me, I’d forgive but with lots of strings attached or with applause of self-congratulations at how generous I am! Feed and stroke my ego, if you want me to forgive you! Not our God, though– thank God! He delights to forgive us who are ‘His inheritance'(verse 18). He loves to give and lives to give and forgive. That’s quite a world of difference in attitude between God and me. You too? Maybe I’m the only one! But there’s more in these Scriptures as we stay with the same thought from last time. Micah tells us that God has a great big heart of ‘compassion'(verse 19). Compassion means to feel for others, to have a passion that seeks to get close to someone else with whatever they are going through,not just the good times but all the time. I remember taking a social mobility test years ago for a job I wanted. I had no idea what the questions were leading to, what they were concluding about me. I had no idea, silly me. But I was honest and answered all those weird questions about how I would handle a situation or how I’d best like to use my free time or whatever as I can’t remember all of the questions right now. And what did they conclude about me, personally? My social mobility? I couldn’t believe it, what I was seeing on paper. They said I was ‘distant and aloof’. How dare they! I’m going off by myself and they can just go fly a kite!! Well, I got the job anyway, and did rather well indeed. Who knows, I may be a bit distant and aloof, but what I do know for sure is that God is not. No way, Jose! He’s filled with compassion, with feeling for us. He loves us and loves to be there with us and for us. Remember, whatever happens to us as believers in Jesus Christ, we’re in good hands. So, keep repeating over and over again–‘I’m in good hands’. And you are. And so am I. But wait, I’ve got more for next time so keep reading those couple verses from our friend, the Prophet Micah! Are you with me?
WHO? …….. Read Micah 7: 18-20
When I was a little boy (I was one once!), a old neighbor who lived across the street, named Fred Gray,back in Millburn, New Jersey in the ’50’s, used to call me ‘Johnnie What’. I guess he called me that because I kept asking him ‘what’ that was all about. What does that mean? What did you say? Inquisitive little guy was I who probably wore out his welcome like Dennis the Menace with Mr. Wilson! I liked Mr. Gray in spite of ‘what’ he might have said! Today’s Bible reading is not about ‘what’ but ‘who’. The Old Testament prophet Micah poses a real important question in life–‘who is a God like you…?'(verse 18). Who? As if calling for a decision as to who God really is. And then Micah tells us some wonderful, affirming, uplifting and encouraging– characteristics of our God, the One and Only. Read those 3 short verses again. And again. Aren’t they amazing? Meditate on them today and tomorrow also. Roll them around in your mind as good medicine for the soul. Who is like our God? He pardons our sin. Called up before the judge to give account for our sins, and instead of receiving our just sentence we find that the judge just pardons us. We’re free…to go and live for Him. Free and pardoned! Then Micah says, ‘He forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance’–God lets go of where and when we’ve gone over the line, stepped out of bounds, even though we may be few in number, but a mere remnant, yet He says that we are His inheritance. We are…His precious legacy. When the spiritual last will-and-testament in Heaven is read, those of us who believe in Jesus Christ are awarded to God Himself! Better than gold and silver, homes and money, cars and power position…yes, that’s what we are to God! Chew on that for a moment. Verse 19 tells us more about who God is– He never stays angry with us for long, never holds a grudge, never looks for salt to toss into our wounds– but the Bible says He ‘delights to show mercy’. Now grace, they say, is receiving what I don’t deserve. Mercy is not receiving what I do deserve. I’ll take God’s mercy any day! Both come to us from Him freely and joyously and generously like a stream that never runs dry. It’s His delight to shower blessings of mercy on each of His children, His inheritance. Why is this so hard to comprehend, let alone believe? For me, it’s just knowing myself. Looking in the mirror of my life with so many failings and foibles, sins by whatever name you may choose. Here I am dragging up everything from my past and God draws along side of me saying that He loves to forgive me, He lives to set me free–and not just me. You too! Next time I want to spend more time in these wonderful verses from the prophet Micah. Okay? There’s so much here and you could write your own blog if you would just spend some extra time today asking the Lord in prayer to open these verses from the Bible to your mind and heart…to free you of all that old, excess baggage. It would be worth is all!
Reflections out of time 