How Great is our God?

I'm reading through the Bible again this year, but using a different format. It takes me through an Old Testament book, then a New Testament book while, at the same time, taking me through Psalms, Proverbs and Isaiah. My reading this morning was from late in Genesis where Joseph is being reunited with the brothers who sold him into slavery. In the meantime, Joseph has become second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.

When he finally reveals himself as the brother whom they had long assumed was dead, he makes the profound statement, three times, that God had sent him ahead of his brothers to make sure they would survive the wide spread famine. ("God sent me before you to preserve life." "God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth..." "..it was not you who sent me here, but God.")

God is able to use even our worst sins and worst intentions and worst decisions as part of the fabric of His plan and purpose to bring about good and His glory. That does not make those sins, intentions and decisions good. It makes our God great. His purposes will not be hindered, even with our waywardness. Don't ask me to explain the intricacies of how this all works together. I know I sin. I know God works all things together for good without being the author of my sin. That is as close as I can get to explaining the providence of God as it relates to my free will.

Our God is great who "causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)

Happy Anniversary to Me

It was one year ago last night that I was meeting with my Home Fellowship Group on the Central Coast of California. We were listening to a Hugh Hewitt CD. He talked about the importance of Christians engaging their culture. Hugh is big on blogs and suggested every pastor should have one. My group looked at me and I caved. I went home that night, set up blog and wrote a brief introduction to the process. The next day, one year ago today, I wrote my first "real" blog. After a few weeks I was discouraged by the lack of response (I thought surely millions would engage me in dialogue about the pithy, erudite comments I had written.), but then I realized this process was more for me than for those who might read it. By the very discipline of putting my thoughts, random as they are, down on the electronic page, I was able to see more clearly what I had been thinking about and what God had been doing in my life.

So, I continue to write. It's only about once a week (with that long break between October and May when the transition hit the hardest), but it helps me. If you've read something that helps you, too, that's an added blessing.

Better Together

Having been recently uprooted from long-term relationships and ministry connections, I have become even more aware of the importance of "life together." My wife and I are plotting a home group where we can know and be known by a small group of Christians who will be able to encourage and challenge us in our relationship with Jesus. We need other believers who will help keep us from lying to ourselves about how we are doing spiritually, emotionally and relationally. It is possible, even with close relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ, to hide what is going on in our lives. But it is more difficult.

When God created mankind, He said that it was not good to be alone. I know the primary application of the passage refers to a marriage relationship, but as the redemption story unfolds in Scripture it is clear that God also had in mind the community of faith, the family of God, who will walk alongside us in this journey. I believe it was Augustine who said that a person cannot have God as his Father who does not have the church as his mother. We were meant to be in relationship with God in the context of a relationship with other children of God. It is the rare and difficult situation where a Christian is an "only child." It happens in countries in which Christians are persecuted or who are geographically isolated. But this is not the norm in God's Kingdom. T.S. Elliott wrote, "What life have you if you have not life together?" As I often say, "The Christian life was meant to be personal, but it was never meant to be private."

Being 90

My mother-in-law turned 90 a few weeks ago. Last weekend we held an extravaganza in her honor. She rode in on a large motorcycle, driven by one of her sons-in-law. She had a decorated faux leather jacket and decorated tennis shoes. She is everyone's hero. But for me, what sets her apart is not so much her longevity, as impressive as that is, but her faithful walk with Christ. She's been through a lot in her 90 years, but she has held on to Jesus because she knows He is hanging on to her. She doesn't doubt that her Savior is ever present to her. She doesn't doubt His goodness, even when the circumstances seem to point to the contrary. She doesn't doubt His love for her, even when the people around her act unlovely and sometimes even unlovable.

Yes, Anina is my hero. Not for the length of her life, but for the depth of her faith.