a potter's hands

i was listening to a podcast today. actually, i was listening to a couple podcasts: one on the gospels and one on marriage. the gospel one is the one i’d like to focus on for the moment (though the marriage one will play in here a bit).

the podcasts were from solid rock church in portland, oregon. the gospels one started out with looking at the entirety of the gospel, or the “good news”…i.e. the entire Bible. and they started with creation. the guy who was speaking said that God created all the creatures of the earth. God made adam the head of the creatures, the dude in charge. adam was the one who gave all the other creatures names and was put there to take care of the garden and everything inside the garden. now when mr. podcast guy was talking about this, i started getting this mental image…let me try to paint that image for you.

picture this.

you’ve got a guy (i’ll give you a hint -- that’s God). well God decides one day that He wants to show off His creativity, His power. He wants to create. so He makes this world, because that’s definitely what most people do when they want to be creative…they create an entire universe. but He’s God, He can do whatever He wants. so He creates a world.

now try to picture Him. i pictured him as an older gentlemen with a kind face and a big white tunic (yes stereotypical i know but go with me here) and a leather apron. now that we’ve pictured God, picture Him standing above a wooden table. He’s creating, molding things out of clay. now i pictured Him creating all of the creatures: hand-placing the spots on the giraffes, making the puppy tails, smoothing out the cat whiskers, etc. and then He comes to us. God created man in His own image, and He created male and female. He put His own personal touch and creativity on everything, He made everything unique.

now if you made something that you poured your energy and creativity into, i’m assuming that you would really like it. in fact you would most probably love it, care about it, want the best for it. meaning you wouldn’t just let some schmuck come in and steal your creation, or damage your creation. you would protect it, make sure that no harm could come to it and that it wouldn’t break. that’s how I imagined God feeling about His creation. He made us, unique and different, and created each of us and knows us personally (psalm 139). i mean if we feel that way, then how much more does the One who created us feel that way? we are His, we belong to Him. He loves us, and wants the best for us (jeremiah 29:11). we are His creation.

but then something happened that God had known about, but it wasn’t a part of His perfect plan. He created us to live in relationship with Him, and be with Him. we were created for relationship, that’s part of the reason we crave relationship so much. the reason eve was even created was because God said that it was not good for adam to be alone, so He made eve. we were created for relationship, and for relationship with God. but then sin entered the picture. sin creates a wall between us and God, it impacts us and says that we cannot live with Him. its like a black goop…it permeates our lives in everything. if we let it, it will push God and His goodness out of our lives.

so. God intervened. He knew that sin wouldn’t allow us to be with Him, or experience Him in His fullness like we were created to. sin was a barrier, it was a gap. so God sent His son to earth. now this is the part i want you to get. God sent His son to earth. this is kinda one of those monumental life-changing moments. without Jesus, we would all be going to hell because of sin. sin had invaded our lives so much that we needed something to atone for our sin, because God and sin can’t live in the same room (essentially). if God hadn’t sent Jesus, we would be going to hell. I mean c’mon now, we deserve hell because we rejected God, we said no to Him, we gave into temptation. and that choice changed man-kind. it allowed the sin nature to join our human nature. it was separation from God. and so, God in His grace and mercy, sent Jesus to earth.

think about when you were little. you know when you stole that cookie off the counter, you would usually get punished for it right? like no dessert for the rest of the day or go to your room till dad gets home (always hated that one) or something. well what if someone stepped in and said “i’ll go to her room instead”, or “let me not have dessert for the rest of the day”, you would be blown away because why would someone step in to take the punishment for something that they didn’t do? You know that you deserve the punishment, because you did the wrong thing and that other person was completely innocent, and so they don’t deserve it. but because that person loved you so much, they were willing to take the punishment for you. you would feel so loved and valued and special after that, to think that someone cared that much about you? that is basically what Jesus did for us. He stepped in and said “let me die for him so that he doesn’t have to. yes I know he deserves it, but let me pay that price because I love him”. okay. do you even fully understand what this means? it means we don’t have to die. just take a second to think about that. we. dont. have. to. die. someone who loves us so very much was willing to take our death for us. 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

but here’s the deal. i don’t know if we ever even realize that. i know i take it for granted sometimes. being raised in a christian household, the concept of “Jesus died to take away my sins” is so known that i could say it in my sleep. no big deal. but when you actually think about it, yes it is a big deal. and it makes me wonder, do i actually believe it? do i really believe that Jesus died to take away my sins? really? because i think if i did i would live my life a little bit differently. when you put your life in the light of God and His grace and mercy, it makes you realize something…at least it makes me realize something. and that is that i only exist [one] because of God and His grace, and [two] i only need to live my life to praise Him. that’s it. that. is. it. then why don’t i live my life like that? why don’t i live my life for the glory of Him? why don’t i live my life telling everyone about the One who saved me from death? do i really believe what i claim to believe? do you? and does anyone else know that? live in the grace and freedom you have been given and claim it as your life. because when we pledge our life to Him, He dang well better be our life. 

שתיקה

"i cried out to God for help; i cried out to God to hear me. when i was in distress, i sought the Lord; at night i stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. i remembered you, o God, and i groaned; i mused, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; i was too troubled to speak. i thought about the former days, the years of long ago; i remembered my songs in the night. my heart mused and my spirit inquired: will the Lord reject forever? will He never show his favor again? has His unfailing love vanished forever? has His promised failed for all time? has God forgotten to be merciful? has He in anger withheld His compassion? then i thought, 'to this i will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.' i will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, i will remember your miracles of long ago. i will mediate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. your ways, O God, are holy. what god is so great as our God? you are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." psalm 77:1-14

i've been thinking a lot lately about silence. i remember my choir director once told me that even silence is singing. you don't have any noise coming out, but it is still very much a part of singing. without silence, people would just continue to sing and sing and sing. but composers write silence into their works, to give their piece body and character, to give it a certain feeling. it gives you a time to reflect. a time to think. a time to be left alone to your thoughts. silence is as much a part of music as the notes are. and silence is as much a part of our lives as the noisy or busy parts are.

there are many times recently in my life that i have asked and asked and prayed and prayed and pleaded and pleaded for direction in my life, for some sort of answer concerning something, and yet God remains silent. and i'm not going to lie, that can be super frustrating. there are passages that say "ask and it will be given". well my reaction, if i were to be honest, is usually "God, i'm asking, and you aren't responding or giving or anything. a little help would be nice, thank you very much". i know that's probably not the Christian response or the Biblical one or anything. but that's how i feel sometimes.

but here's the deal. just like silence is as much a part of music as the singing is, silence is just as much a part of  speaking as the actually speaking part.

here's what i love about king david. kind david was chosen by God to be king, and it is so evident in so many ways how God spoke to him, how God used him, how God was working in david's life. yet david still made so many mistakes. the above passage was actually written by him. now you wouldn't think that someone like david would feel that God was distant and silent. but he did, and he wrote it down here. in the first part of the psalm, he explained his frustration and his irritation. he said how he was feeling. i cried out to God for help; i cried out to God to hear me. when i was in distress, i sought the Lord. will the Lord reject forever? will He never show his favor again? david was lost. david was confused. he didn't understand why God would be silent. he too wondered and questioned. but then he ends it with a solution, with something to do. while i think david was about as distressed and frustrated as i sometimes am, he came up with a solution (and normally i don't...i just remain distressed and frustrated). he said that in the times where he feels God is distant and stagnant, then he will choose to remember how God worked long ago. that he will remember the deeds of the Lord from long ago. that he will choose to still praise God.

i guess my purpose in writing this was to share that passage with you. i can't write it much better than david did, so i will just let the passage speak. but i challenge you, like i will be challenging myself, to remember God's faithfulness in times of silent. we never know why He is silent, or maybe He isn't silent at all but He's just not speaking the way we were expecting. but nonetheless, He will always be faithful. so remember how He has worked in your life, and how He has spoken. and then wait expectantly for Him to speak again. but maybe He orchestrates those times of silence for us to reflect on His work in our lives, i don't really know. but i do know this: that God has a plan for our lives, plans not to harm us but give us a hope and a future and that he works all things together for the good of those who love Him. He works in our lives for His glory. in the end, i am confident that He will be glorified, even if it takes times of silence.

la vérité de Dieu

"for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. amen." - Romans 1:25 NASB

i was reading through romans yesterday and came across this verse. now i've read romans probably close to twenty times in my lifetime, and i could have sworn that i've never read this verse before. i must have, because i have read this chapter. in fact the verse was underlined, so yes, i have read it before. but i never have thought about it. what does it mean to exchange the truth of God for a lie? and why did that resonate so much in my heart?

i've been wrestling with a lot of doubt lately, though i think that every one does at some point in their college career. i think, overall, the biggest doubt that has crossed my mind in the past year is this: why am i alive. which stems into almost a million and one sub-doubts, like did God really create me with a purpose, does He really love me, why am I here, what am I supposed to be doing, is God really working in my life, is God really directing my life, does he really have a plan? i'm sure you each have your own sub-doubts you could add to this. a friend told me a couple days ago that he knew he was exactly where God wanted him to be right now. who knows about the future, but for right now he was sure he was where he was supposed to be. and it got me thinking: am i where God wants me to be right now?

lets look at the word truth.

truth

   [trooth]  Show IPA

noun

1.

the true or actual state of a matter

2.

a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like

3.

the state or character of being true.

4.

actuality or actual existence.

now truth actually stems from the word true.

true

   [troo]  Show IPA 

adjective

1.

being in accordance with the actual state or conditions;conforming to reality or fact; not false

2.

real; genuine; authentic

3.

sincere; not deceitful

4.

firm in allegiance; loyal; faithful; steadfast

5.

being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something

so truth is real, genuine, authentic, sincere, not deceitful. 

one of the biggest ways that i think the devil gets to people is through lies, especially to women. even in the last week i can think of many lies i myself have thought, as well as many lies i have heard. lies like i'm not good enough, not pretty/handsome enough, not smart enough, i don't have enough friends, i'm not very talented, i'm not that cool, God can't use me, i've done too much to be used by God, i'm not **insert qualification here**;. so then we take those lies and start to believe them. but the lies work like little bulldozers: they tear down the walls made out of truths. but the more they tear down the more energy and power they gain, because the walls of truth are getting shorter and shorter and can't keep very many lies out. then they replace the walls made of truth with walls made of lies. 

i remember last week thinking that God didn't really have a plan for my life. i mean, how could He? i'm not incredibly smart, and i can't play sports to save my life, and i have so many heart issues that i can't seem to deal with - so why in the world would He have a plan for me. however, God's truth says that He knows the plans He has for me, and they are plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future (jeremiah 29:11). but as soon as i started to even contemplate the devil's lie, i began to exchange God's truth for a lie. 

how about dealing with self worth? not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not the right hair, etc. well the truth of God says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (psalm 139:14). exchanging the truth of beauty for a lie.

the lie that God doesn't really love you or want to bless you? it is God's desire to lavish his love on you (1 john 3:1) and he will rejoice over you with singing (zephaniah 3:17) for you are his treasured possession (exodus 19:5) exchanging the truth of love for a lie.

what about thinking that God will never use your desires, that He won't give you a job you actually enjoy? that you are destined to doing what you don't like? it is God who gave you the desires (philippians 2:13, ephesians 3:20) and he created you with them. exchanging the truth of creativity for a lie.

you've done too much for Him to love/use you? He is not counting your sins (2 corinthians 5:18-19) and there is nothing that can seperate you from His love (romans 8:38-39) exchanging the truth of forgiveness for a lie.

we exchange the truth of God for a lie almost all the time. but thats actually really stupid. because were taking the words of the devil, someone who is know for lying and stealing and cheating and there are countless accounts of his deceit in the Bible, to replace God's word, someone who is faithful and true, who never lies, who has never given us a reason not to believe him. if you think about it, its really stupid.

final thing: context. 

"for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. for even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened...therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. amen...and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved" (romans 1:20-21, 24-25, 28)

exchanging the truth of God for a lie is not a measly matter. it is actually quite ghastly. because these people exchanged God's truth for a lie, they dug themselves a dugout in the heart of the devils deceit and eventually God just gave them over to the deceit. 

so i guess that the reason for writing this is just for encouragement. to encourage anyone who is struggling with the devil's lies to pursue God's truth. and to take captive that truth and believe that instead of the lies. God is a God of truth. and He desires for you to live in truth, and not be held captive by lies.

the truth will set you free. 

***many of the scripture references above came from this publication: father's love letter *** Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications © 1999-2011 www.FathersLoveLetter.com