God as the basis of covenant success

The Lord God is with you

The Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. — Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. — “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”—“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

As long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. — “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today. . . Lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’” — “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not given you peace on every side?”

Gen. 39:3; Ps. 128:1, 2; Ps. 37:3, 4; Josh. 1:9; Mat. 6:33; 2 Chron. 26:5; Deut. 8:11, 17; 1 Chron. 22:18

Let my heart become more consciously Thy home

Thou whose Name is called Jesus

Words: Jean S Pigott (1845-1882)
Tune: All Saints (Darmstadt)

Thou whose Name is called Jesus,
Risen Lord of life and power,
O it is so sweet to trust Thee
Every day and every hour!
Of Thy wondrous grace I sing,
Savior, Counselor and King.

Thou canst keep my feet from falling,
Even my poor wayward feet -
Thou who dost present me faultless,
In Thy righteousness complete;
Jesus, Lord, in knowing Thee,
O what strength and victory!

All the sin in me, my Savior,
Thou canst conquer and subdue;
With Thy sanctifying power
Permeate my spirit through;
Let Thy government increase,
Risen, crowned, Prince of Peace.

Thou canst keep me upward looking,
Ever upward in Thy face;
Thou canst make me stand, upholden
By the greatness of Thy grace;
Every promise of Thy Word
Now I claim from Thee, dear Lord.

O what joy to trust Thee, Jesus,
Mighty Victor o'er the grave,
And to learn amid earth's shadows
Thine unceasing power to save!
Only those who prove Thee know
What the grace Thou dost bestow.

Make my life a bright outshining
Of Thy life, that all may see
Thine own resurrection power
Mightily put forth in me;
Ever let my heart become
Yet more consciously Thy home.

Selah.

A word for the day: God is both sun and shield

A sun and shield

For the Lord God is both sun and shield;
He will give grace and glory;
No good thing will the Lord withhold
from those who walk with integrity.
O Lord of hosts,
happy are they who put their trust in you!

Selah.

We perish if we cease from prayer

Lord, teach us how to pray aright

Words: James Montgomery, 1819
Tune: Windsor

Lord, teach us how to pray aright,
with reverence and with fear;
though dust and ashes in thy sight,
we may, we must draw near.

We perish if we cease from prayer,
O grant us power to pray!
And when to meet thee we prepare,
Lord, meet us by the way.

God of all grace, we bring to thee
a broken, contrite heart;
give, what thine eye delights to see,
truth in the inward part.

Faith in the only sacrifice
that can for sin atone;
to build our hopes, to fix our eyes,
on Christ, on Christ alone;

Patience to watch and wait and weep,
though mercy long delay;
courage our fainting souls to keep,
and trust thee though thou slay.

Give these, and then thy will be done;
thus strengthened with all might,
we through thy Spirit and thy Son,
shall pray, and pray aright.

Selah.

True faith rests upon the character of God

Faith is more than believing the evidence

…Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar. As it is written, ‘That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings…’ Romans 3:4

by A.W. Tozer

Faith based upon reason may be faith of a kind, but it is not the character of Bible faith, for it follows the evidence infallibly and has nothing of a moral or spiritual nature in it.

Neither can the absence of faith based upon reason be held against anyone, for the evidence, not the individual, decides the verdict. To send a man to hell whose only crime was the follow evidence straight to its proper conclusion would be a palpable injustice; to justify a sinner on the grounds that he had made up his mind according to the plain facts would be to make salvation the result of the workings of a common law of the mind as applicable to Judas as to Paul.

It would take salvation out of the realm of the volitional and place it in the mental, where, according to Scriptures, it surely does not belong!

True faith rests upon the character of God and asks to further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie. It is enough that God said it, and if the statement should contradict every one of the five senses and all the conclusions of logic as well, still the believer continues to believe!

“Let God be true, but every man a liar,” is the language of true faith. Heaven approves such faith because it rises above mere proofs and rests in the bosom of God!

Selah.

A long term agreeing with God

A call to walking with God

C.H. Spurgeon

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3.

The text reminds us that this agreement gives us power to walk with God. May we be enabled to claim this privilege which divine grace has bestowed on us: power to walk with God in daily, habitual, friendly, intimate, joyous communion. Believer, you can walk with God this very day. He is as near to thee as he was to Abraham beneath the oak at Mamre, or Moses at the back of the desert. He is as willing to show thee his love as he was to reveal himself to Daniel on the banks of Ulai, or to Ezekiel by the streams of Chebar. Thou hast no greater distance this day between thee and thy God, than Jacob had when he laid hold upon the angel and prevailed. He is thy father, as truly as he was the father of the people whom he covered by day with a cloud, and cheered by night with a pillar of fire; and though no Shekinah lights up a golden mercy-seat, yet the throne of grace is quite as glorious and even more accessible than in the days of old. He shall hide thee in his pavilion, as he did his servant David; yea, in the secret of the tabernacle shall be thy hiding-place. Enoch’s privilege was not peculiar to him; it is thy birthright: claim it. Noah’s high honor of walking with God was not reserved for him alone; it belongs to thee also, shut in as thou art in the Ark of the Covenant, and saved from the deluge of divine wrath. It should be the Christian’s delight to be always with his God; walking with him in unbroken fellowship. Enoch did not take ‘a turn or two with God,’ but he walked with him four hundred years. O that we might cease to be with our God as wayfaring men who tarry but for a night: may we dwell in God, and may he dwell in us.

Walking implies action; and our actions should always be in the Lord. The Christian, whatsoever he eateth, or drinketh, or doeth, should do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the Father by him. Walking has in it the thought of progress; but all our progress should be with God. As we are rooted and grounded in Christ, so we must ask to grow up in him; ever abiding in our highest moments with God, and never imagining or conceiving any progress which shall remove us from humble confidence in him. Beloved brother in the Lord, it may be that thy heart is agreed with God, and yet thou hast lost for a time thy walking with him; be not at ease in thy soul till thou hast regained it. Search thine own heart by the light of the Word and of the Holy Spirit; and when thou knowest thyself to be agreed with God, through Him who is our peace, hesitate not to draw near with holy confidence to thy Father and thy God, notwithstanding all thy past wanderings; for he welcomes thee to walk with him, seeing that thou art agreed.

Selah.

All the paths of the Lord are faithful

All the paths of the Lord are loving and faithful.

Psalm 25:10

All means all

Amy Carmichael

All the paths…

I have pondered this verse lately and found that it feeds my spirit.

All does not mean, “all – except the paths I am walking now,” or “nearly all – except this especially difficult and painful path.” All must mean all.

So, your path with its unexplained sorrow or turmoil, and mine with its sharp flints and briers – and both our paths, with their unexplained perplexity, their sheer mystery – they are His paths, on which He will show himself loving and faithful. Nothing else; nothing less.

I am resting my heart on this word. It bears me up on eagle’s wings. It gives me courage and song and sweetness, too – that sweetness of spirit which is death to lose even for a half-hour.

I remember in times past almost desperately repeating to myself these lines, written as though spoken from the lips of our Lord:

Am I not enough, My own –
not enough for you?
Am I not enough, My own –
I, forever and alone,
I, needing you?

It was a long time before I could honestly answer, “Yes, you alone are enough for me.” I remember the turmoil of soul that I experienced before committing myself to follow Him on whatever path He would lead – remember as if it were yesterday. But at last – oh the rest that came to me when I lifted up my head and followed! For in acceptance there lies peace.

God bless you and utter satisfy your heart… with himself.

Prayer

My Father, you alone… you yourself are enough for me.

No matter what path you lead me on today, it is not strange and unknown to you…

Only let me go with your presence!

Selah.

Amy Carmichael, Candles in the Dark, p. 46.

Thoughts between daughter and Father VI

A silent song

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?
Deep calls to deep…
By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life!

Psalm 42:5, 7-8

The daughter greatly wished to make a “Song of Lovely Things,” to sing to her Beloved – but she could not find the singing-words.

She heard the voice of her Beloved saying,

“You are walking a road where all who love Me walk. Some of them walked this way singing, and they’ve left their songs behind them. Find their songs. Sing their words. They will be your song to Me.”

But the daughter became full of grief, because there came a day when she could find to words to sing – neither her own, nor those of others. And yet she wanted with all her heart and soul and mind to ascend to higher places, to stand in the presence of her Beloved…

And He who is love eternal whispered,

“Then I, too, will approach you, silent in my love.”

And the daughter entered into this silence, to meet the eternal Beloved there…

And after a while there was a sound in the gentle stillness, a voice that whispered,

“Even your silence is, to Me, a song of lovely things…”

Prayer

My Father, there are reasons why I could feel downcast. When I think about some parts of my life it’s hard to pray – even harder to worship in freedom…
…relationships that are difficult…
…dreams and goals that are crumbling…
…old hurts that wound me over and over…

Some parts of me feel cold and wordless…

Is the problem that I’ve buried some things deep inside? Are you patiently calling – through days and months – for me to open up to you at some deeper level?

Today, Father, I trust you to go deeper.

Selah.

Note: More thoughts from the private conversation of Amy Carmichael, as she talked to her Father about the issues of life and personal challenges around her. God used her to rescue many young girls from ritual Hindu temple prostitution, and wrought miracles through her prayer life. Here is glimpse into that prayer life. May it bless you today!

He commands even this, so don’t despair!

Even this…

Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!

Luke 8:25

Amy Carmichael

Even.

Is there something you are facing – whether in your outer circumstances or your inner character – that seems impossible to command? Something that has baffled you and outwitted you a thousand times, and appears that it will win over you in the end? Something as deaf to your command as the wind, or wild waters?

Don’t despair. Don’t shrug and give up.

Our Lord – your Lord and mine – can command even the most difficult, unruly thing that seems as if it will never be commanded.

Let His word ‘even’ be a comfort to you. He who commands even the winds and water [and they must obey Him] – He can say to that ‘even’ of yours, “Peace, be still…”

And there will come for you ‘a great calm’ [Mark 4:39].

…Remember that there is nothing you are asked to do in your own strength. Not the least thing, nor the greatest:

God, who is all the while supplying the impulse [to obey and to overcome], giving you the power of inner resolve [to see it through to victory], is also giving you the strength to perform [under pressure] and carry out His good pleasure. [Philippians 2:13, Way’s translation]

All the tremendous forces of nature – weather and politics and human nature too – are at the beck and call of our God. Each has only a faint shadow of the spiritual power that is His, and that He is ready to send forth for us.

Isn’t that amazing?

How utterly foolish it is to plead weakness when we – even you and I – may move into the stream of that power. If only we will…

Prayer

My Father, I choose your strength over my weakness!

For today, I will step out of the role of Lord and Judge… and I’ll strike the word ‘impossible’ from my thoughts…

Selah.

Amy Carmichael, Thou Givest – They Gather, pp. 19-20.

The heights for which Christ took hold of me

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me — everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength!

Philippians 3:12, 14; 4:8-9, 13

This evening the clouds lay low on the mountains

The Lord reigns forever…
and the righteous stand firm forever…
and the fruit of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

Psalm 9:7; Proverbs 10:25; Isaiah 32:17

Clouds

Amy Carmichael

This evening the clouds lay low on the mountains, so that sometimes we could hardly see the familiar peaks. Sometimes the stars, too, were nearly all covered. But always, just when it seemed as though the mountains were going to be quite lost in the mist, the higher peaks pushed out, and whereas the dimmer stars were veiled, the brighter ones shone through.

Even supposing the clouds had wholly covered the face of the mountains, and not a star shone through the piled up masses, the mountains would still have stood steadfast and the stars would not have ceased to shine. I thought of this, and found it very comforting, simple as it is.

Our feelings do not affect God’s facts. They may blow up, like clouds, and cover the eternal things that we do most truly believe. We may not see the shining of the promises – but still they shine! And the strength of the hills that is His also, is not for one most less because of our human weakness.

Heaven is no dream. Feelings go and come, like clouds. But the “hills and stars” abide!

Prayer

My Father, I will anchor my self, my thoughts and my will, in these facts:

You are.

You rule in heaven and on the earth.

You call me “righteous” because I am in Jesus, your Son.

No matter what it may seem, I will stand firm forever.

Selah.

Amy Carmichael, Edges of His Ways: March 27 journal.

The glorious difficulty of walking with God

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:20-21

One step at a time

Amy Carmichael

I believe that, in guiding us, God deals with us as He dealt with the Israelites as He led them out of the Egypt.

The first crossing of the sea was made very easy. The guidance could not have been simpler. The east wind blew and divided the sea before the people had to cross. Not so much as a foot was wet, except perhaps by a wind-driven spray. Moreover, it was impossible, as it were, to disobey, since they were pursued by Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen [Exodus 14].

But how different it was on second occasion!

The priests had to walk into the strong current of a flooded river and stand still there. What an order to scoff at, and what it sight it would pose to other men! But it was not until they obeyed – without a particle of visible proof that they were doing right – and carried the ark right into the river, that the water rolled back before them [Joshua 3].

So it may be for us, as we go on with God.

You and I may be called again and again to walk right into our own ‘rivers,’ whatever they may be – to wet our feet in them. We may be called to do what nobody understands except those to whom the word of guidance is given – and with it, His promise too.

But understand this: The word must come first, and also His promise. You and I must be sure of what we are called to do, and with an inward conviction that absolutely nothing can shake. In my own case, again and again, I have had to wet my feet in the water… Only God and those who have to walk in that path know how hard this kind of faith-life can be. But He does know. And when the people around us don’t hear the words and voice we have heard, and only say, “It thunders…,” then He comes near and we know Him as we never knew Him before…

If only the next step is clear, then the one thing to do is take it! Don’t pledge your Lord or yourself to any steps beyond what you know. You don’t see them yet.

Once when I was climbing at night, in a forest before there was a made path, I learned what was meant by the words of Psalm 119:105:

Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.

I had only a lantern, and I had to hold it very low or I would certainly have slipped on those rough rocks.

We don’t walk spiritually by electric light, but by a hand-held lantern. And a lantern shows only the next step – not several steps ahead.

Prayer

My Father, there are so many paths I could walk – so many ways to choose. And there are certain decisions I must make that lead me around and around, until my heart is in confusion.

Today, I will fix my heart on this truth:

When I feel confused, there will always come a light, held low so that my feet won’t stumble – a sure light that will shine on each step of my path.

Thank you, Father, that you will speak the counsels of your word to me.

Selah.

Amy Carmichael, Candles in the Dark, pp. 41-43.

Discipleship transcends comprehension

Discipleship not limited to understanding

Martin Luther presents a high view of discipleship, through the eyes of Jesus, as if Jesus is talking to all of us. Jesus speaks to us:

Child, discipleship is not limited to what you can understand – it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own understanding, and I will help you to comprehend...

Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. In this way Abraham went forth from his father, not knowing where he was going. That is the way of the cross. You cannot find it in yourself, so you must let Me lead you as though you were a blind man.

Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is contrary to all that you choose or contrive or desire – that is the road you must take. It is to this path that I call you, and in this sense that you must be my disciple. [1]

Not uti, but frui

When religious professionals tried to put God in a box, Jesus replied, “God is not the God of the dead, but the living.” He is the ever living God, transcending our categories of thought and even our rote religious observance. He will not be put in a coffin of human control. We try to contain God, to manage God, but God ever and always breaks our categories: God will not be managed. As Augustine said, ‘God can never be uti [utilized] but must always be frui [enjoyed and related].’ Uti brings despair and self power, eventual emptiness. Frui brings abiding fruition.

Why? The ever living God shatters our little preconceptions and worlds: He is infinitely more than we would contain ‘in freezing coats of mail’ [Theilicke].

God can only be experienced and related to, not grasped.

He calls us, like Abraham and Sarah, to a land which we know not of: It is here that following God gets uncomfortable. But when we embrace it, as a child, we enter such beauty and such meaning as the world cannot comprehend...

Ever Living God

Perhaps it is best expressed in art form, this dance with the Living God! Tonight I praise Him, with Darlene Zschech and Hillsong:

Ever Living God
Maker of all the earth…
Everlasting King
Our eternal praise belongs to You!

All of the honor
All of the glory to You!

You are wonderful, marvelous, forever
Beautiful, Prince of Peace, Faithful One, forever…


Ever Living God
Maker of all the earth…
Everlasting King
Our eternal praise belongs to You!

All of the honor
All of the glory to You!

You are wonderful, marvelous, forever
Beautiful, Prince of Peace, Faithful One, forever…

Take the place of all honor,
Take the place above all thrones,
Take the place of all power:
You are the One
Glorious!

You are wonderful, marvelous, forever
Beautiful, Prince of Peace, Faithful One, forever…

Take the place of all honor,
Take the place above all thrones,
Take the place of all power:
You are the One
Glorious!

Jesus!

In worship and obedience

There is a place, by the seashore of life, to dance in grace, to release constriction, to release the need to manage God, the need to control Him in safety, to release the false categories of comprehension and social wisdom that we put on Him...and just embrace His greatness, worshiping Him in utter freedom.

In Perelandra, C.S. Lewis presents human temptation as a choice between a fixed land or a life-land that moves with the waves, at the will of Creator. The Tempter tempts the lady to choose the fixed land, where she can manage her next day, her person and wished and wants. But in her spirit she knows that she is called to the wave, to cast herself on the waves and let her Maker bring her to the king, her chosen. And after great battle, she wins out…to the wave and calling…to her intended, great glory!

We can only know God [and destiny] in worship and obedience: two sides of the coin of divine relation.

Thus, the Living God calls each of us to the dance, the wave, with Him. And yes, Jesus still speaks in 21st century calling!

Child, discipleship is not limited to what you can understand – it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own understanding, and I will help you to comprehend.

May we join Him there…on the waves, to destiny! Further in and higher up...

Alleluia!

Fire that brings new life

Tonight during informal prayer someone shared with the group a lesson that he learned from the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens. Quite amazingly, the pine cones of that area are so tightly knit, so wound, wrapped and sealed with resin that only fire could open them and allow the seeds to grow.

These pine cones are of such nature that only the disaster of fire could cause them to begin to grow; only great heat could open them to new life and beauty.

So from the ashes of that great disaster, molten fire and eruption...a new forest has sprung: the smell of verdant pines, sage-brush flowers and fireweed, the chatter of squirrels and call of songbirds...new growth wrapping old destruction -- these seeds of life only released through intense heat...apparent, total devastation.

The point that this person made for our prayer was that God knows what He is about, and knows what it takes to release the new life He intends. Even when there is great fire in our current life, the lesson is not destruction, but renewal: there are seeds being opened by present trial...whereby God will bless us throughout future generations!

Listen to how one article describes the current beauty of this new volcanic forest, grown from the ashes of great fire:

Nurtured by the ash-enriched soil, aspen saplings and small lodgepole pines are slowly but steadily replacing the mature stands of lodgepole pine consumed by the flames. Surrounding meadows are dappled with bright blue splashes of lupine and flax, contrasting with purplish pink fireweed. Woodpeckers feast on the insect-riddled remains of the older stands, while mountain bluebirds dart among the wildflowers...

Examine the recovering forest. See how new growth overruns charred tree trunks. Run your hands over a boulder literally baked by a wall of flames from the Wolf Lake fire. Sit on one of the trail's benches and test your senses. Close your eyes and listen to chirping songbirds, catch the rustle of scurrying ground squirrels and the flutter of aspen leaves. Breathe in the pungent aroma of sage-brush and the rich fragrance of pine. Understand that when fires race across meadows and through forests, the flames don't signal an end but...regeneration.

As one forest sign says: "Lightning has been starting fires for thousands of years, yet forests have not vanished."

Indeed!

It seems somewhere I hear a Voice say:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior...

Since you are precious in My sight, You are honored, and I have loved you...fear not, for I am with you -- you who are called by My name, whom I have created for My glory!

Alleluia!

Amen.

God is not boring!

I recently remarked to a friend that following God is never boring. And she agreed: kingdom life is a wild and wonderful dance, challenging, yes! -- utterly challenging sometimes -- but never boring!

However, many people live between inner anxiety and boredom, anxiety and boredom… and attendant escapism. Most people spend their lives running from their true self, not knowing why.

Humans are instinctively afraid of God breaking into their lives. For when God breaks in, we see not only God, but our true self… and that is disturbing. In seeing true self, we are not happy serving serve false self. And, in such acceptance of God, we lose false control. And we are most comfortable with control!

So we flee the divine encounter. But we then live in unstated boredom, disconnected from vital life… and unconsciously anxious over the lack.

Of course we can’t admit boredom or anxiety!

But it can be seen in any number of ways that humans manage inner pain…calculated risk, adrenaline rush, masking behavior, numbing chemicals and endless activity.

Not far from my PA home is a bridge in WV, the [second] highest bridge in the US. It is an imposing sight, tucked between two mountain ranges, spanning vast height. People have died bungee/chute jumping from this bridge, but others are still compelled to make the jump. One girl from near my hometown usually made the pilgrimage to this bridge, to jump once a year. An intelligent girl, very beautiful… but driven to risk the jump: “Why?” I asked myself. I looked over the edge of that bridge and asked, “Why?” As I’ve grown in understanding, I think I see the answer.

It’s a human issue.

Without this dance of abundant life, without embracing God and our true self, we live our lives between boredom and anxiety. We have to risk our lives [moderately, of course!] to prove that we are alive. But after the jump, after the ride, after the scare, after the thrill, after the entertainment, when the money is spent and the adrenaline wears off, anxiety is still rooted deep within, and boredom creeps around the soul. The false self still lurks.

I’ve seen this even in religious ways, where Christians use such things as the Bible to hold God at arms length. Other good people use family, church, tradition and service of God to manage God: they can’t be ‘happy’ hearing of true self, and present reality, so they close off those voices any way they can – even if it takes ‘buying off’ God and conscience in good activity.

Brian Stoffregan tells a Jewish tale of stale life – how even learning, education and erudition can be used to ‘manage’ God.

A Jewish Story: Stale Ancestors -- Stale Learning

Usually the orthodox rabbis of Europe boasted distinguished rabbinical genealogies, but Rabbi Yechiel of Ostrowce was an exception. He was the son of a simple baker and he inherited some of the forthright qualities of a man of the people.

Once, when a number of rabbis had gathered at some festivity, each began to boast of his eminent rabbinical ancestors. When Rabbi Yechiel's turn came, he replied gravely, "In my family, I'm the first eminent ancestor."

His colleagues were shocked by this piece of impudence, but said nothing. Immediately after, the rabbis began to expound Torah. Each one was asked to hold forth on a text culled from the sayings of one of his distinguished rabbinical ancestors.

One after another the rabbis delivered their learned dissertations. At last it came time for Rabbi Yechiel to say something. He arose and said, "My masters, my father was a baker. He taught me that only fresh bread was appetizing and that I must avoid the stale. This can also apply to learning."

And with that Rabbi Yechiel sat down.

Thank you, Rabbi Yechiel!

To be true, we must flee the stale, the managed, the contrived: the false thrill of false self.

For God is not boring.

He is alive. He is here. He is making demands of our true self.

And we must respond.

C. S. Lewis makes the strong point that we are all about God if we can manage Him. But when it comes to the place where God manages us, finds us, reveals Himself and our true self, we turn away.

It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone. "Look out!" we cry, "It’s alive." And therefore this is the very point at which so many draw back – I would have done so myself if I could – and proceed no further with Christianity. An "impersonal God" -- well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads -- better still. A formless, life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap -- best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband -- that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was there a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion…suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us? [2]

Supposing He has found us?

All we can do is turn to face our divine Adversary, and find in the facing that He is not against our true self at all, but speaking death to our false self.

In facing Him we find ourselves, and gradually lose the urges of false control and false life.

In facing Him we risk all -- all we can conceive or imagine -- and yet find real thrill in return: distilled droplets of the Eternal that last forever.

For God is not boring!

God is Life!

Alleluia!

Amen.

Eagle over New River
_______________________

[1] A Jewish Story: Stale Ancestors -- Stale Learning [from A Treasury of Jewish Folklore: Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom and Folk Songs of the Jewish People, Edited by Nathan Ausubel, p 51.]

[2] C. S. Lewis, Miracles, Chapter 11.