He's a Funny One...

Whoever said God doesn't have a sense of humor hasn't read the Bible. 

One of my all-time favorite passages that makes me laugh every time is 1 Samuel 5:1-5. Five verses of pure humor and love. 

When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it to the house of Dagon, their god. Dagon was an icon in their culture. He was their fish god and fertility god and was what they thought the second most powerful god in their culture. Little did the know, the real God was about to rock their world. They sat the ark right by their god. When the people woke up the next morning, they walked in (probably to worship Dagon) and Dagon was on the floor face down in front of the ark. So, they probably thought someone accidentally knocked him over, so they put him back in his spot. The next morning, they walked in the room only to see Dagon once again face down in front of the ark but with his hands and head completely cut off. They stood in awe, realizing the power of the true God and never went across the threshold again.

I have never been able to read this passage without laughing. Our God has such a sense of humor. I picture Him saying, "Oh, you wanna put that stone that you worship right next to me, the God of the universe, the God that made you? Ok, Ok, BOOM BABY. I just destroyed your wimpy little stone...what are you gonna say now?"

As funny as this is, I am so much like the Philistines in that I often worship the TRUE God, but so often will place God right by the idols of my life. I will still worship things in my life that I put before my God. So often, those idols in my life, such as a possession, friends, my own plans, and relationships often fall face down completely destroyed. I can't help but laugh when that happens because I am reminded how silly I am for trying to worship God as well as the stupid little idols in my life. Thankfully, He is gracious enough to destroy our idols since He loves us more than we can imagine. He is jealous for us. God isn't after a half-hearted worshiper, He is after a love affair that passionately consumes our desires, passions, actions, and thoughts. Are you placing your idols next to the living God? 

Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze

If that's the measure you must take to crush the idols

Jerk the pews and all the decorations, too until the congregation's few, then have revival

Tell your friends that this is where the party ends

Until you're broken for your sins, you can't be social

Then seek the Lord and wait for what He has in store

And  know that great is your reward so just be hopeful

...

Shine the light on every corner of your life

Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open

Then read the Word and put to test the things you've heard

Until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked and broken

'Cause you can sing all you want to

Yes. You can sing all you want to 

You can sing all you want to 

And still get it wrong

Oh, worship is more than a song

We must not worship something that's not even worth it

Clear the stage, make some space for the One who deserves it

Anything I put before my God is an idol

Anything I want with all my heart is an idol

Any anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol

And anything that I give all my love is an idol

Jimmy Needham Clear the Stage 

Uncomfortable Grace

As beautiful as grace is, it can be more than uncomfortable at times, but it is still grace.

Out of obedience, they climbed into a boat and sailed off, only to be met by a massive storm. Their boat rocked back and forth and went nowhere for about 8 hours, no matter how hard these men tried to sail out. They painfully tried with all their strength for hour after hour, but everything was against them. They were discouraged. They were exhausted. They were terrified. They were uncomfortable.

Then, as they are sitting there, trying with all their strength to sail out of the storm and make headway, they see what seems like a ghost walking on the water. They cried out, only to find it was Jesus. Seeing how terrified these sailors were, Jesus told them not to be afraid. Then, like a father, entered into their pain with them and got into the boat and calmed the sea.

I'm sure the disciples were wondering where in the world Jesus was. The last time He was with them in a storm, He simply spoke and the storm immediately ceased. I'm sure they probably thought since He was not showing up, He didn't care about them and was not in control. Funny how we are the same, isn't it? Trials come and we immediately think Jesus isn't for us. We immediately think He must not care or He would have stopped our trial and made everything good again.

Jesus' reaction is full of grace and compassion. He doesn't tell them to suck it up. He enters in their pain with them. He crawls into their pain and loves them.

The disciples were doing exactly what they were supposed to do. Jesus had told them to get into a boat and go to the other side. Do you ever feel like you are obediently following your sweet Jesus, and storms come? In those times we are quick to think He is not showing grace; however, He is...He is showing uncomfortable grace.

Jesus placed them in a boat in a storm so He could produce in them what only He can: trust and dependency.

I can relate to the disciples in so many ways. For example, right now I know I am in the exact major the Lord wants me to be in. He has made that clear and I am walking in obedience. However, there is a class that is let's just say placing me on the struggle bus. It's frustrating and I don't always feel like my sweet Jesus is truly helping me. Does He care about something so little? If He cares, why is it such a struggle right now?

It's because he is teaching me dependency through uncomfortable grace. He is showing me grace because He loves me enough to let me struggle as He knows how important and life-giving dependency on Christ is, even when I struggle over and over again through self-reliance. Grace isn't always comfortable, but I am so thankful for storms that teach me the most life-giving things, even when I try to fix them myself before crying out to my sweet Savior.

So often, we are crying out for grace, not realizing we are covered in it. No, it's not the grace of ease and relief, but it's the grace we so desperately need. God is prying our hands open so the things that control us, such as self-reliance and the things that don't truly satisfy us fall freely out of our hands so we can truly grasp the satisfying saving grace of a sweet father that loves us beyond our
inadequacies.

"Grace will enable you to face shocking truths about yourself that you have hesitated to consider, while freeing you from being self-consciously introspective. Grace will confront you with profound weaknesses, and at the same time bless you with new-found strength. Grace will tell you again and again what you aren't, while welcoming you again and again to what you can now be. Grace will make you as uncomfortable as you have ever been, while offering you a more lasting comfort than you have never before known .Grace will work to drive you to the end of yourself, while it invites you to fresh starts and new beginnings. Grace will dash your ill-founded hopes, but never walk away and leave you hopeless. Grace will decimate your little kingdom of one as it introduces you to a much, much better King. Grace will expose to you the extent of your blindness as it gives you eyes to see what you so desperately need to see. Grace will make you sadder than you have ever been, while it gives you greater cause for celebration than you have ever known." John Piper

Are you experiencing uncomfortable grace right now? Our sweet Jesus uses it to develop in us what only He can. During that struggle, He enjoys being a father to us, as He gently and lovingly enters into our pain. Will you let Him in? He has the power to stop every trial, hurt, and heart ache with a single word, but that is not what is always best for us. He loves you enough to make things uncomfortable at times.

Mark 6:45-52

Yielding Inadequacies

If there's one thing I have learned about my sweet Jesus this month it's that He is adequate. I am not.
I used to think I was adequate. Now, I know I am not even close, but I serve a God who is. I serve a God that enjoys using the most inadequate people in the most illogical situations so that it is clear that He is the one that is adequate. 

Christ Shows His adequacy to change the world and do things beyond our imagination if we yield our inadequacy to Him.

While I knew I was not adequate, but He was, I lived as if I was adequate to do anything.

I will never forget sitting at a table on January 30th this year reading through Psalm 36. I got to verse 6-7, which says "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights." That verse stuck out big time but I couldn't figure out why. Then, the word refuge stuck out big time but I couldn't figure out why. Little did I know, the Lord was about to blow my mind three minutes after reading this. After reading through this verse a few times, the Lord revealed to me He was calling me to work with prostitutes in Madagascar, and teach them the new trade of jewelry making, which has always been one of my favorite hobbies. Then, He started putting the puzzle pieces together. The coffee shop He has called me to start will not only sell the jewelry those precious ladies will be making, but will support the organization I now feel called to start, which will act like a place of REFUGE for those women. This refuge will be a place for these broken-hearted women and children to come to in order to be loved on. 
Ok, Lord. Mind blown. I remember thinking, "you mean you are not only calling me to start a coffee shop, but to start a new organization for prostitutes? That sounds great, but believe me, I am so inadequate for this. I have never even worked with prostitutes. How am I going to be able to understand the deep, crushing, hurt they have experienced? I am so inadequate."

Then, He simply responded, "Yeah, you are. But, I'm not."

I sat there at the table and started laughing. He sure does love taking the most inadequate people and using them. Not for their own glory, but for His, since it is clear in those moments where the strength comes from.

Throughout the Bible, God delights in taking the most broken  and inadequate people and using them to meet the needs of other people. 

One of my favorite moments in the Bible is when Jesus walks up to Matthew, the tax collector, in the midst of his sin and brokenness and calls Him to follow Him. He immediately follows Jesus as he is in awe that Jesus would walk up to one of the most hated men in the town and love Him enough, even in the middle of his sin. (Mark 2:13-17)

He is adequate despite of our brokenness and sin.

Another one of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus narrows Gideon's army down from 33,000 to 300 to defeat an army of well over a 100,000 men. "The Lord said to Gideon, The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel boast over me, saying 'My own hand has saved me'." That's like God telling me to lift an elephant. That's not logically possible. My scrawny arms would fall off before that was possible. (Judges 6)

He is adequate despite our doubts and  and inadequacy.

Then, there's the story of the young shepherd, David. David, the youngest of his brothers was delivering food to his brothers during a war against the Philistines, when He knew God called him to fight against the giant clothed from head-to-toe in thick armor. The king quickly replied, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from youth" (1 Samuel 17:33). When I think about David, I think back to my glory days (except not) back in high school, during basketball games. Every once in a while we would get switched during a pick and I would end up with Bertha, the Amazon woman....at the post position....pretty sure they planned that one. That was always terrifying. I feel ya, David. Once they agreed to let the little guy go against the giant, they started putting heavy armor on him. Knowing that he did not want to try this with his own strength, he took it off and proceeded to pick up stones to fight Goliath with. "You come with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (1 Samuel 17:45). Sometimes, I feel like a small shepherd boy with a few pebbles in my hand facing a world with a spear. 

He is adequate despite our pebbles and lack of strength.

"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God, Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:4-5).

Have you yielded all of your inadequacies to God, so He can trade it in for His perfect and sovereign sufficiency? We are not adequate, but He is.