Making God's Day

The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. (Genesis 6:6)

I used to read the account of the great Flood in the Bible, the story of Noah and his family, and see an angry, fuming God. It's not there. God was grieved and sad. This is just one example that God has emotions and his heart is stirred by what we do.We can bring God joy, and we can bring him sadness and pain.

God is fully fulfilled within His own being. God does not need you, but He desires you... and me. While God doesn't need a thing, still he made us to reach out to him and perhaps find him. To do so, he would have had to make himself vulnerable to the process he created. Amazing.

One of my favorite authors, John Fisher, has "sometimes wondered if God didn't purposely create a need (a desire) in himself for us when he made us, thus making him open to both the pain and the joy of a relationship."

When working on his first novel, "Saint Ben" John explores the idea of what happens when one takes the Pascalian idea of a "God-shaped vacuum in every human heart" and turns it around. What if there is a Jim-shaped hole in the heart of God, just the size to fit my rebellious, moody, and all-too-often selfish self? What if there is a you-shaped hole in the heart of God?

That God would carve out a place for us in his heart is a mystery. That we would fulfill it is privilege worthy of life itself. So go ahead; make God's day. Seek after Him. Bring him joy and not sorrow. The choice is yours. Just know that His heart is for you, He desires a personal and intimate relationship with each one of His children.

Rendering Sin Powerless

On the cross, Jesus took care of the penalty for your sins. In one sense, sin is no longer an issue as far as a relationship with God is concerned. It won't keep Him from you or, as a result, you from Him. You don't have to get rid of it to come to Him and He no longer holds your sins against you. What would be the point of Jesus dying on the cross if you are expected to pay God back every time you sin?

That is not to say that God ignores your sins or takes sin lightly. God hates sin, not because it of what it does to Him, but because of what sin does to His children. While the penalty has been paid, the power of sin still wreaks havoc in people's lives. That is why sin is still an issue and that is what God wants to change.

The further you get from the things that destroy your life the better off you are. God truly loves putting distance between you and death. God doesn’t want you caged in a cycle of repetition, where you repeat the same destructive acts over and over, causing damage to your own life and the life of everyone connected to you.

As we live each day with Him, God untwists what sin has twisted in us and in the process sets us free from the power of sin in our lives--rendering sin powerless. God does not want to punish you for your sins (that was taken care of on the cross), He wants to cure you from sin and its negative effects in your life.

God doesn't keep a record of wrongs--there is no need to. But God also doesn't keep a record of rights either--He doesn’t need a reason to love you and bless you. God doesn't want to punish you, He wants to heal you. He wants to undo some of the damage your sin and selfishness has caused.

We cannot experience that healing and new life apart from a daily, intimate relationship with God. "Come to me, all you who are worn out and loaded down with heavy burdens, and I will give you rest", was Jesus invitation. He is alive and that invitation is still extended today.

God Keeps No Record of Wrongs

God is love. Love keeps no record of wrongs. This unique kind of love is unconditional and transformational.

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more..." (Isaiah 43:25)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; (Psalm 103:11-13)

What happens in a relationship when one or both parties keeps a record of the other party’s wrongs and mistakes? Keeping a record of wrongs kills relationship. In most divorces one of both parties kept meticulous record of the other person’s faults.

If God keeps a record of wrongs then our relationship with Him is based on performance and intimacy is impossible—you can never perform good enough often enough. Since real relationship is not based on performance there is no need to keep score.

Most people who believe in God do not believe this about Him, but it is true. God keeps no record of wrongs. He will never throw your past in your face or use your mistakes as ammunition or leverage. We are never more like God than when we put down our scorecards--the ones we keep on other people, and the one we keep on ourselves.

Sensitive God

The word "sensitive" has two meanings and they are opposites.

Sometimes it is said of a person that they are "sensitive". It is a warning. They are easily offended because they are focused on themselves. Your're often told that you'd be wise to "walk on eggshells" around them. You want to be careful not to "rub them the wrong way."

The other kind of "sensitve" person is rarely offended. They are not focused on themselves but on the needs of others. You can tell them anything, even be bluntly honest, and they can handle it.

Which one of these describes your God?

You can be grateful that God is the latter. If He were like the first description you and I would never have a chance. He is sensitive to your struggles and invites you, welcomes you, into His presence.

Wonderful Weekend

Spent Friday in a theme park with the boy-child. His school choir was in a regional competition after which all the groups headed into the park with the awards ceremony and trophy presentation scheduled just before closing time. We had a blast! His school racked up: four trophies (3 first place), a couple of "Superior" ratings (the highest), and a couple of ribbons for individual performances.

Best news of the weekend: My friend who had not awakened from laparoscopic gall bladder surgery four weeks ago opened his eyes and was waving. When I finally got to see him Sunday evening he was sitting up and we had a nice, although brief, chat. I didn't realize until later that he was riding a bed pan and I had come at a most inopportune time.

Sunday morning as part of our worship service we surprised the group with a renewal of wedding vows ceremony right in the middle of the sermon. They are celebrating their tenth anniversary this week.

Their love story began twelve and a half years ago. She was the mother of two girls, ages 9 and 6, whose husband/daddy had recently divorced the family. The hero of our story had a painful past himself; he and his wife going separate ways after the death of a child.

So these two wounded people met for the first time, at a softball game of all places. Introduced by a friend of hers, who happened to be a co-worker of his. A friendship grew and blossomed. They dated for over two years.

The time came when they believed that marriage was the next step in their relationship. It was time to make known to their family and friends that this was a permanent relationship, and in their hearts they were committed to each other for a lifetime.

On the day of the wedding, as they exchanged vows and rings, the handsome groom not only gave a ring to his new bride, but matching rings to her daughters; for now he considered them his daughters as well.

Not only was a marriage born that day, but also a family. God has added to it over the years and God has continually moved in their hearts to heal past pains. God is doing something new and wonderful.

They adopted a little girl seven years ago, and the oldest daughter has married so there's now a son-in-law in the mix. It was neat as they exchanged their vows which included the phrase, "I still take you..."