RELATING TO GOD (Psalm 18)

Oh, my, how to choose? Psalm 18, which looks at character, or Psalm 19, which is the best Old Testament passage on God's revelation--by nature and by word, and has a marvelous poem describing the Law?

I will leave you to read Psalm 19 on your own. (Do take the time. It's well worth it!) Instead, I'll dive into a pair of verses that fascinate me:

To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. (Psalm 18:25-26, MSG)

This verse reminds me of one of my pet theories. Fact: All people are made in the image of God. That means a number of things, including our ability to create, but I think it has a corollary. Every human is unique, and each and everyone of us reflects something unique about God.

We understand God in terms of our makeup. Well, those positive qualities, like faithfulness, blamelessness,purity. He's not devious.

For instance, I a almost overbalance toward the mercy end of the mercy/justice continuum. God of course has a perfect balance, but He shows Himself to me in His love and mercy. If He dealt with me in the way that I deserve, with justice, I would cower in the corner and be too afraid to obey. I would try to be perfect, and fail, and give up trying. So while my mind agrees that God is a God of justice, and understand the equation of Calvary for the sin of the world, my heart feels the second-chance (and third and fourth and so on) God.

Let's look at the qualities David lists: Faithful, blameless.

Faithful implies loyalty, an unswerving allegiance.
Blameless: To me, this is more of a legalistic quality, a list of do's and don'ts, such attending church and not viewing x-rated movies.
Pure: 100% commitment, no contamination.

I'm not blameless, far from it. Loyal? Even in my darkest moments, I have never deserted the Christian faith, and more importantly, the God whom we worship. I haven't always been loyal to Christian institution. I went through a period of six months when I attend no church, after a deeply painful church experience. Pure? Probably not. There are areas of my life that I hold back. Unwilling to accept God's Lordship over them.

Devious? Departing from the correct path? No, I don't think so. Not as a pattern of life.

So how do I feel God shows himself to me? Well, I know that God is faitful and blameless (more than blameless, he is holy and righteous). But over the years I have come to experience God's purity, His devotion to me, no matter what. He is there. In the words of Corrie ten Boom, "There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still." She learned it in a Nazi concentration camp. God didn't send me to such a terrible school, but divorce, incest, my daughter's suicide. . .I came to know God's love and devotion to me in the darkest times.

Love and mercy, as I said.

How do you relate to God? How do you experience Him relating to you?

Favorite verse: May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight. (Psalm 19:14, MSG)

The End - The first (Deuteronomy 32-34)

This is the first year I have reached the end of the five books of the law with regret. Genesis always gives me a buzz, but I slow down when I which the temple construction in Exodus and Leviticus has me reading words and not thinking.

But making myself really think about what I was reading has blessed me beyond measure, and I pray it has touched your lives as well.  The word of God is indeed a sharp, two-edged sword.  It is harsh and frightening--and it is close up and personal.

Choosing which words of wisdom from the end of Moses's sermon (and life) is like trying to choose from a box of chocolates. They're all so good, and they all reflect themes we've touched on over and over. So I'll give you yet another list.

OUR REASON FOR READING THESE OLD, DRY BOOKS: Read up on what happened before you were born; dig into the past, understand your roots. (Deuteronomy 32:6-7).  
     Oh boy, have I learned a lot about my roots. When I scratched the surface, I discovered truths as relevant today as they were 3400 years ago, and the same passionate God seeking a relationship with me.

BY THE END OF DEUTERONOMY, WE ARE READY TO FLY: He was like an eagle hovering over its nest, overshadowing its young, then spreading its wings, lifting them into the air, teaching them to fly. (Deuteronomy 32:10-14, MSG)
   But the only way I learn how to fly is to be dropped in mid-air--straight into the fight for the promised land. As a friend said, scary and exhilerating at the same time.

GOD IS GOD, AND WE CAN'T ESCAPE HIM. I bring death and I give life, I wound and I heal--there is no way of getting away from or around me! (Deuteronomy 32:39-42, MSG)
       Like it or not, God is there. We either join Him or fight Him, but we can't ignore Him.

GOD IS GOD, AND HE WILL NEVER ABANDON US. God's beloved; God's permanent residence. Encircled by God all day long, within whom God is at home. (Deuteronomy 33:12, MSG)

In summary  - God wishes for us to live with

THE SMILE OF THE BURNING-BUSH DWELLER

(Deuteronomy 32:13-17, MSG)

BLESSED OR CURSED? (Deuteronomy 28)

I confess, I struggle with today's verses. What they seem to say don't connect with my experience.

The first verse says, All these blessings will come down on you and spread beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God. (from Deuteronomy 28:1-6, MSG)

The second one says, God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you've tried to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you--all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me. (Deuteronomy 28:20, MSG)

Black and white. Either/or. The chapter is written in a way that suggests that God blesses people who listen to his voice with material prosperity, and rains down disaster on people who disobey until until there is nothing left. 

I must say, I love the descriptions. Blessings that spread beyond me? Kind of like answers to prayer that are pressed down and running over, so much blessing that I leak and spill it and other around me are blessed too. I want to be that kind of person.

But I'm afraid I identify more with the feeling of confusion and contrariness, when life doesn't turn out the way I expected it to and fights what I want to do. I have a friend right now who probably would shout a loud "amen." She's stuck in a dangerous and discouraging job. She wants to write full time; she's close to getting a contract that would make that possible. At just this time--when her dream is within sight--her husband's salary was cut in half. Confused? Yes. Contrary? Definitely. But she's not involved with any evil pursuits.

I'm going to get all writerly on you and look at the words used.

People are blessed when they respond to the voice of God. In short, respond means to reply or react. Respond stops short of "obey."  It suggests that God and I are in a relationship, a conversation. He talks, and I not only listen, but I talk back. 

Relationship, not perfection. 

Abandon, not surprisingly, implies the opposite. A person who abandons God has given up control of her life to someone else. He not only has stopped listening, he no longer intends to obey. 

Disowns. Divorces. Abandons. Alienates. Choose your word.

I have no easy answer here, except to offer this hope: God longs for our response. If we feel that life is confusing and contrary, we can talk with him about it.

And a testimony: In the times I have felt the most confused and contrary, blessing has spilled from me to others. God has blessed others through me. 

GOD'S TENANT FARMERS (Leviticus 25)

Make no mistake about it.  In God's economy, God owns us. He bought us with a price. Jesus traded His death for ours. The only choice we have is whether we accept the purchase or not; we can refuse it.

That thought came to me in reading Leviticus 25 this morning. In it, God says, "The land cannot be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are foreigners—you’re my tenants."  Later He says, "Treat him as a hired hand," in prohibiting slave trading between Israelites.

Every fifty years, Israel celebrated the year of jubilee.  Land was returned to ancestral owners, and slaves were set free. 

I am God's tenant. What on earth does that mean? A few thoughts:

• God provides what I need to work. 
• I should hold onto things lightly. They don't really belong to me, in any case.
• God expects us to maintain and improve what He gives to us.
• I should treat others as fellow tenants--I am no better nor worse than they are. We have an equal position before God. 
• God expects a return on His investment. He expects farmers to sow seeds and harvest. He expects teachers to teach. He expects writers--gulp--to write and share what they have written. 

As God's tenant, what do you feel He is asking you to do today?

MOTIVATION (Leviticus 19-20)

God summarizes what He has already said in Exodus and Leviticus so far in today's two chapters--along with pausing every few verses to remind us why we should obey. Each reason is repeated at least once:

• Be holy because I, your God, am holy.
• Fear your God. I am God.
• I am God, your God.

These reasons remind of the answers God gives when we ask Him "why does evil flourish?" (Job are Habakkuk are good examples.) Because I am God and You are not.

Except God points out--I am your God. We are holy in terms of our standing; we have been set apart by God as His children.  

In Facebook speak, our status would read that we are "in a relationship."

So instead of seeing a stern God as judge He says, "Fear me. Be holy as I am. I am your God and you'll get in trouble if you disobey me," He wants me to hear, "Fear me. I have called You to be separate, part of My family. Revel in it. Learn the kingdom rules and enjoy all of its benefits."

In my prayer journal today, I wrote my motivations for obedience. 

Father, it is my delight and joy to serve You. But Your commands to obey You because You are my God leave me. . . unmotivated.

Or is it ultimately why I do obey You? Because You are my God. Because we are in relationship? If you were not my God, my very personal God, would I even care? 

I am holy because You have set me apart, but you want me to do holy. This is a case where actions are meant to reflect the truth. 

As I  follow You, stumbling along the road some times, but seeking to go where You lead--I am living a holy life, because I am living the life You have called me to. 

Holiness includes the lists of dos and don'ts. But there is so much more. 

Being holy as You are holy also means I treat others the way I want to be treated. Holiness is not a solitary act; it is a way of life that measures everything and every person I touch.

May Your light, love, truth, burn away the dross in me, that others will see more and more of Your reflected glory.

Amen.