God Humbles Himself?

I was reading Psalm 113 earlier today and verse 6 says, 'Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth?' I've always loved this verse, but today it arrested me more than before.  As human beings, it seems that one of the LAST things we want to do is humble ourselves. Yet, God Himself humbles Himself! And, it's not an act that has nothing to do with us! He humbles Himself to behold (to stop & gaze or ponder) the things that are in the earth. That's us, folks! I'd have to assume from this verse that it's not JUST us, but certainly it includes us. Isn't that amazing? We should be filled with awe that He does this. How little and/or seldom do I/we really stop to consider that our God is HUMBLE? This makes me think of Psalm 144:3, 'O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?' After all, He doesn't HAVE to...He's God, very God. He could have put us here and let us fend for ourselves, ('and may the best man win!') then evaluated us at the time of our death and...frankly, what choice would He have but to put us in Hell for eternity? Who, apart from the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ could possibly EARN Heaven as their eternal home? I know some very upstanding people, yet even they couldn't earn Heaven as their eternal home. Another verse comes to mind:  Romans 3:²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Uh oh! The second word in that verse is 'ALL.' NO exceptions! In our present culture, we don't think that way, do we? Not much (to us) is all-inclusive is it, either on the positive side OR the negative side. After all, we've become of the mindset that even if a child hasn't proven himself capable of moving on to the next grade, we can't possible damage his self-esteem by holding him back. Oh, there are so many more examples, that time doesn't permit!

Anyway, since this is getting rather lengthy, let us take the time to pause, behold, the fact that our God is humble (actively, not passively) and, that being the case, should we not strive to be or do any less?

A Work of Art

So many times when I'm holding Percy, I tell him he's a little work of art. And he is. But, as I told him that this morning, I entered into a deeper awareness of the fact that you and I, too, are works of art, created by a Master Designer, Who makes no mistakes and Who is the Auther of beauty...beauty as defined by Him, not us. (That's another whole post all by itself! His definition of so many things as compared to how we define certain things)

But, you may be like me in the regard of not thinking of yourself as beautiful, cute, pretty or whatever term is most appealing to you. If you know me well, there are some who have referred to me as cute, pretty, etc., but I always think, 'Oh, they just like or love me, so that's why they think that.' Yet, I would tell you that (y)our outer beauty is so connected to (y)our inner beauty.

I remember in my very first office job, there was a lady that was quite striking in appearance. She always looked 'just so.' So, especially being in my early 20's, I was rather intimidated by her. Well, one night her team bowled against my team. (Yes, we were both on the company bowling league. Do they even do that anymore?) She kept score and so did I. Well, long story short, I was rather UNimpressed by her at the end of the evening and decided looks aren't everything! On the flip side of the coin, there was (same company) a little gal who worked in the section behind me. Now, at that point in time, we all had scheduled break times, so I'd see her every day walking with her friends on their way to the cafeteria. I always thought to myself, 'That is one of the homeliest girls I've ever seen.' Well, some time after that, I got to know her and what a delight she was! She had such a cute personality, she became cute in my eyes instead of homely.

This has been quite a detour, but, all this to say that He designed each of us. He created us to be beautiful in His eyes. Now, I do believe He very well knows what we consider beautiful and what we consider downright ugly. We all know not everyone is beautiful or even cute. We've all seen some pretty ugly people, haven't we? Yet, anybody who knows Him can be transformed into one who is beautiful because He lives in us. Does that change our physical features? No, obviously, but I'm sure you've met or know certain people that at first glance are not too attractive. Then, you get to know them...even just a little bit...and you discover an inner beauty that arrests you! This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 4:6, that says, 'For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.'

So, my friend, don't focus on your outer beauty or lack thereof. Let His beauty shine through you! Then you will be truly beautiful, inside and out.   <3

Privacy

One time, many years ago, I was reading Jeremiah 17:9 ~  The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? After I read it, it occurred to me how cool it is that what's in our hearts is private. (I was about two years old in the Lord at the time). I reveled in the realization that when I'm talking to you, you can't see what's in my heart and I can't see what's in yours! You may say, big deal, I already knew that. But...have you ever really thought about it? Our God is so exceedingly gracious that He set it up this way. He didn't have to. We could have computer screens on our foreheads showing what we're REALLY thinking when our good friend asks, 'How do you like my new hairdo?' (and you DON'T like it!) Maybe, in a few cases, this would be a good thing. It would certainly keep us honest, wouldn't it? NO MORE WHITE LIES!  :)

But, really, isn't it a wonderful thing? It's a two-way street. Not only am I protected, but so are you! Once again, He has given us a choice. We can be honest with each other, or we can not be honest with each other. Of course, He wants us to be honest with each other, yet with grace and diplomacy. You might ask me what I think about that guy you're dating. I might think he's a major jerk. But, because you can't see what's in my heart, I can tactfully say, 'You might want to check him out pretty thoroughly before you get too deeply involved with him.'

But, the other/real issue here is...you can't see the sin in my heart and I can't see the sin in yours. We all harbor sin in our hearts...past, present and future. When you and I are out together having coffee or lunch, you can't see all the horrid sins I committed since I've become His daughter. I can't see the sins you're contemplating committing. Neither of us can see the sin in each other that even we don't know is lurking there! He alone knows these things and because He is such a gentleman, full of grace and truth (per John 1:14), He has given us the privilege of privacy concerning such. Really...do you know of any other 'little-g' god who is as gracious as He is? And what other god is so ready to forgive? He is waiting for us to recognize our sins and bring them to Him, confessing them for what they are and trusting Him to forgive us and cleanse us rather than shame us and display our wicked behavior before others. Oh, what a GOOD God we belong to! I thank Him for the privacy He has given us which we so take for granted! (But He probably knew NONE of us would even like each other had He not!)   :)

Who is king?

As I was reading the account of King Uzziah earlier today, I was reminded of this quote, "God permits what He hates in order to accomplish what He loves. I'm not sure who to give credit to for this quote, but I think I heard it from Charles Stanley. Now, you may be wondering, what or which account of Uzziah?

It's from 2 Chronicles 26, where Uzziah decides he's going to burn incense on the altar of incense. If you're not familiar with this story, it has some great instruction for us. To summarize, Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king and he did right in the sight of the LORD according to all that his father Amaziah had done. (per 2 Chr 26:3,4) However, after many years of success, he forgot his allegiance to his LORD. He forgot that God is the ultimate King, not him. This reminds me of King Nebuchadnezzar, also, although he wasn't a believer in the Most High before God humbled him to eating grass for seven years. He was afterward, though!

2 Chronicles 26 goes on in verse 16 to say, "But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense."  Long story short, because of this brazen act, Uzziah was struck with leprosy. Well, guess Who struck him with leprosy? The King he was subject to, but had forgotten he was subject to! You may think this is a rather severe punishment for an act you consider no big deal. Well, it was a big deal to God! He had previously set aside this act ONLY for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who were consecrated to burn incense. (per 2 Chr 26:18) Verse 21 tells us, 'King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD.' Now it's not recorded whether King Uzziah repented or not, but, we ALWAYS have those two choices when God disciplines us...we can repent and humble ourselves before Him or we can become bitter and blame Him for our act of rebellion, angry at Him for the consequences we have to suffer for our sin.

This reminds me of my mother. She had polio in her left arm as a child. She told me the doctor gave her a little red rubber ball to squeeze in order to regain strength and muscle tone in that arm. She told me, "But I didn't do it," with a sneer, like she was so smart to do other than what the doctor told her to do. Well, as an adult, guess who she blamed for having a left arm that was thinner and weaker than her right arm? You guessed it! She blamed the Lord! I told her one time that the Lord loved her and her response was, 'Then why did He give me THIS?' (referring to her left arm) She never took accountability for her own failure to follow the instruction the doctor gave her.


All this to say that God disciplines us for our own good, that we may repent and turn our heart humbly back to Him to be molded by His loving hand into what He designed us to be before the foundation of the world. So, the next time you think He is being harsh with you or another, remember the saying I quoted at the beginning:  God permits what He hates in order to accomplish what He loves. And, you might ask yourself, 'Who is on the throne of my heart? Him? Or me?'

Constituted for Heaven

On the very first page of "What is Man?" by T. Austin-Sparks, he wrote: As the crawling caterpillar or silkworm has to spin its shroud and yield that form of life in order to awaken in a new order, break through into a new world as a beautiful moth or butterfly, so has man now to pass out of one order and be constituted anew with faculties and capacities for a higher.

I think most believers have heard the story of the butterfly and the analogy as presented above, but I wonder how aware we are of our need to be constituted for the change we are all looking forward to. How willing are we (really) to 'yield that form of life (we currently know) in order to awaken in a new order?' It's so easy to just think, 'Oh, yes, I was an ugly caterpillar, accepted Christ, then He made me into a beautiful butterfly!' Yes, that, too, is a fitting analogy, but let's not stop there.

Are we intentionally preparing ourselves to pass out of this order of life to be fit for the higher life He has in mind for us? (both here AND in eternity) This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 3:15 that says, 'If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.' Fire destroys all that it touches, with the exception of gold (and possibly other substances of which I'm not aware).
So, what does it mean, that this person will suffer loss? One commentator puts it this way: He shall be injuriously affected by this forever. It shall be a detriment to him to all eternity. The effects shall be felt in all his residence in heaven; not producing misery, but attending him with the consciousness that he might have been raised to superior bliss in the eternal abode. The phrase here literally means, "he shall be mulcted." The word is a law term, and means that he shall be fined; i.e., he shall suffer detriment.

So, when we're just about to speak 'that little white lie,' cheat on our taxes, just take one peek at internet porn, or even 'just' gossip about our brother or sister in Christ, let us remember we are affecting our eternal abode. May we ask ourselves, 'Is it really worth it?' and trust the One Whose name is Truth to do or say the right thing. Blessings to you to become an astoundingly beautiful butterfly!

A New Bookshelf

I bought a new bookshelf a while back. I immediately began to rearrange all my books. I'd had some sitting on the floor, hence the decision to buy a new bookshelf. Well, I've taken way too long to redo my books, so I started again this evening. Part of the problem is that I start 'peeking' into some of them and get sidetracked. I have a GREAT library! (truly)

Well, I decided I MUST share this paragraph from one of them. It is "Abba's Child," by Brennan Manning. I find it so appropriate for so many. 'Christians who remain in hiding continue to live the lie. We deny the reality of our sin. In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others. We cling to our bad feelings and beat ourselves with the past when what we should do is let go. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, guilt is an idol. But when we dare to live as forgiven men and women, we join the wounded healers and draw closer to Jesus." Isn't that powerful? I love it. Who can minister more effectively to a wounded person than another who has been similarly wounded and healed?

I'm constantly amazed at how many fantastic books have been written and at how many songs have been written, played and sung by so many immensely talented artists. Some of them aren't even written to glorify Him, but are still great works. Of course, the best ones are the ones that DO glorify Him and they will last throughout eternity. And yet, people are STILL writing more books and music! I doubt that will ever stop. As Psalm 139:14 says, (paraphrased) we are fearfully and wonderfully made. David penned this, speaking of himself, but I suspect it applies to all humans, since He made us in His image.

I rejoice in the writings of so many, books and music both. It is a pleasure and a privilege to own as many as I do. Thank You, Lord! You are the Author of all true creativity and expression, which cannot be contained, but must be shared with others who need it, or merely enjoy it.

Questions for God, Part 2

I was reading Genesis today. As I was reading verses 6:19 & 20, (And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.), it occurred to me...what if Noah would have stepped on Mr. & Mrs. Cockroach? YEAH!!! Nobody who's ever lived since Noah would have had to put up with those nasty varmints! I could say he'd have been a hero, but that's not true. We'd have never known to be thankful to him for this deed! I wonder if he was tempted...and not just with cockroaches. Maybe Noah had other 'living things' he particularly disliked, like spiders or snakes. Surely he must have been tempted!

Anyway, I thought that was an interesting contemplation. Life could have been very different for a lot of people if Noah had disobeyed God and taken things into his own hands (or feet). I mean, think of all those for whom cockroaches are a daily nuisance! Or those who live in areas where snakes are a menace...or alligators! aarrgh! How about rats? ugh!

But, verse 6:18 says that God told him He'd establish His covenant with him...before entering the ark. And, in verses 6:8&9, it's recorded that Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. It also says Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Ah, well...so much for stepping on the cockroaches.

Of course, this causes me to wonder what I'd have done. I would consider it an act of love to mankind to step on Mr & Mrs Cockroach. But, obviously, God had SOME reason for sending them with all the others. (Yes, this was AFTER the curse...) Then I have to wonder, how different is this thinking than that of Abram and Sarai? They weren't necessarily thinking about all of mankind, although that may have entered in. After all, God had already told Abram he'd have 'descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.' (Gen 13:16) So, they may have just been 'helping God out.' I mean, I'm sure they didn't want people to think God was a liar! But, I suspect the driving factor was their desire to have a child and, for Sarai, to have the reproach of barrenness removed. Look at the consequences we've lived with ever since because of the decision they made to 'help God out' instead of waiting on Him to do what He'd already told them He would do.

Hmmm...how often do we give in to this same kind of thinking? sigh...more often than we'd all probably like to admit. Especially here in the good old US of A, we are used to 'instant.' Instant cocoa, instant info when we press the enter key on our computer keyboard, instant money when we go to the ATM...and the list goes on. We aren't used to waiting and we put that same mentality on God. Then we make a decision and act on it because we decide God either didn't hear us or He forgot. (RIGHT!) Then, at some point, sooner or later, we realize we should have waited and have to live with the consequences of that decision. And that's often not fun, or even downright tragic. How many bad marriages are born from this kind of thinking? How many illegitimate babies are born...or aborted?

May we stop before we act and consider whether it's Him leading us or whether we're unwilling to wait on the One Who knows the outcome of our decision. May we all, in this new year of 2011, do this and be willing to assess our seemingly harmless decisions...first and foremost out of love and obedience to the One Who saved us, or just to be wise! In this case, self-protection would be a GOOD thing!