Tick Talk…Tick Talk…Tick Talk…

I was bored today so I present this: click

Farmers’ Insurance

Did know you can now get automotive insurance for your pet? Really! If your pet’s traveling in your auto you can rest assured that if you’re involved in a traffic accident and your pet should become injured they’re covered. Wow! You have no idea how great that makes travel.
I do have a few questions though. If my dog is on my lap with his head stuck out the window, is he covered or does he have to be found in an pet restraint device? What if he’s laying in the back window at the time of the accident? Or what about laying on the back of the seat like a head rest?
Does the insurance include medical transport to the nearest veterinary hospital? Who gets extracted first from the vehicle if its crushed, me or the pet? Is my per covered if he’s an occupant in someone else’s car?
What species limits are there? Dog, cat, cow, pig, snake, cougar, fox, rabbit, hamster?
I always figured my insurance should be reduced if I had a dog traveling with like Lassie, because Lassie always seemed to get his family out of dangerous situations. (Never mind the fact they were idiots to get themselves into these dangerous situations in the first place). I have a dog who could easily pull me out of a flaming car. Well, maybe not quite, but he could open the door and release my seat belt …… okay……. IF there were a fire he would risk potential injury to pee on it giving me just enough time to drag myself out of the car …….. okay, okay, reality is he would stumble out of the car, walk a few feet away and start liking himself for ten minutes while I burned to a crisp. Stupid dog! Of course my cat would be an all together different story…..no there’s a cat boy! I know for a fact that that cat ……… never mind ….. actually he’d stay in the car waiting for me to finally give in release his seat belt then open the car door for him so he wouldn’t have to bother freeing himself then look back at me wanting to be fed, which is probably why I don’t take them for rides in the car any more. Stupid animals!

Sit Down, Shut Up and Listen

I want to offer part one of two focusing on the intriguing desire among the evangelical church to have God “manifest himself in their midsts”. It’s by no means a comprehensive effort but it might help a little with the frustration of wondering why God seems hesitant to show Himself among us. This first may seem a bit long but I didn’t know where to separate one and two. Two should be shorter than one.

So often within Christian circles we ask (and often lean towards insisting) that God show Himself to us, manifesting His presence before us that we might behold His glory. Usually this request is presented in the midst of our corporate gatherings squarely on the heels of a unanimous confession acknowledging our “dry and empty” spiritual condition.
“If God were to show up we could do more! If God were to manifest His presence we could be more, accomplish more, and yes, even believe more! This we could do if we just had some sign that God is with us! Show us your Glory God!”
My observation could be seen as being a bit critical or an exaggeration if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve been in and around evangelical circles for well over thirty years and have been witness to this repetitive occurrence both from the position of laity and as pastoral staff, so let’s be honest, we do it, a lot.
Another reason given for this corporate “calling forth” of God is so that we may “know Him” better. Unfortunately this wanting to know comes with a glaring disclaimer anchored to it; IF ONLY. “God, ‘if only’ you would show yourself, THEN ….”
And so it goes.
I learned something a long time ago as it relates to God, something I love to offer as part of teaching worship and it plays an intimate role both in our ability to function as part of the body of Christ and as worshipers of God in this astonishing relationship between created and Creator. It doesn’t require a vast amount of theological rhetoric because if a child can faithfully and effectively walk in the truth of what God has declared concerning Himself then a few simple scriptures shall suffice for this.

Jesus said this in prayer with His Father in John 17:
“And THIS is eternal life, that they may KNOW you the only true God and your Son Jesus Christ whom You have sent.“

Eternal life is found in “knowing” God, not simply in acknowledging the possibility of the existence of God upon hearing a profession, being found at religious gatherings, church functions, or knowing a lot of information about God, but rather it comes through the willingness to divinely participate “within” the very nature of God Himself through an intimate and purposeful yielding of ourselves towards Him in response to what He has declared to be true about Himself.
There’s a scripture where God says to those receiving judgement before His throne, “Depart from me!”, and He justifies His irrevocable decision with this statement of truth, “I never KNEW you!” “Depart from me, I never knew you!.” This isn’t, “Depart from me I don’t know you”, but rather, “Never”; “I fail to recognize Myself in you, My presences is not at work within you!” These were very surprised folks indeed for they had done all the “spiritual stuff” we desire God to do in our corporate gatherings (hmm). Here God is referring to the total disregard on the part of the condemned to have acted toward the human condition in a manner that would give evidence of His indwelling presence and nature, the same way He acted on their behalf by sending His Son. In this same scene there’s an acknowledgment of the kindness present in those with whom He was pleased, their acts on the other hand being consistent with the way He made Himself known through the loving obedience demonstrated in his Son. In them He “knew” Himself. There are boundless amounts of scriptures to support the non negotiable importance of “knowing” God and with just these few scriptures one would think the single most important thing we could spend our time teaching the faithful is how to “know” God, especially when we consider the fact that eternal life is found “in” Him and Him alone.
Jesus said, “I only do what I see the Father doing and say what I hear the Father saying”, “I did not come to glorify myself but to glorify the One who sent me”. Jesus also declared this concerning himself, “I am the image of the invisible God, he who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus made it very clear that everything He said and did was for the sake of making His Father known to the world and the world known to His Father.
Is this not the very celebration we have in Christ? “Emanuel, God with us”? In Christ we have forgiveness of sins, we are washed clean by His blood that we may approach the very throne of God we’ve also been given the Holy Spirit who indwells us that we may know the very mind and thoughts of God and He ours? I doubt seriously that we’re going to be judged by how many times during the course of our lives we kicked the enemies butt, boasted in the authority that was ours as kingdom people or if we believed without a doubt that earthly wealth, provision and prosperity were surely ours in Christ.
God extends to us a very simple offer which I believe is the key to our knowing Him.

“Be still“

“Be still and know that I am God.“

God, because He is, IS pre-existent sovereign assurance, He IS confidence and contentment, unshakable peace and rest, He’s not A pre-existent sovereign assurance, confidence and contentment, unshakable peace and rest, He IS all of this within Himself. These “attributes” are established upon and are found exclusively in God’s “knowing” that He IS God and because of that He’s void of having to seek any thing or need outside Himself in order to be found complete. He is holy and wholly complete in all things simply by virtue of Himself and in that truth He’s void of striving and therefore He IS rest. The world finds itself in the grip of two conditions which are the root of most conflict and suffering, they are strife (striving) and unrest (lack of contentment and peace); seeking to attain what one believes they lack, need or are entitled to for happiness and seek to attain it at the expense of others, this leads to most strife and unrest we see and experience today.
To know God the individual finds himself free of strife and unrest regardless of their social, economic, physical condition or situation.
To clearly understand and effectively participate in this truth is critical to our finding contentment in the day to day of the temporal world in which we live.

When given the chance to share with young people it’s this one spiritual truth I choose to focus on, “Be still and know that I am God”.
To properly expound on this for the sake of convincing would take an exhaustive amount of writing and an equal amount of time but as I mentioned a child can easily lay hold of and experience this wondrous revelation, marveling in the glorious manifestation of God for themselves. The reason for the simplicity is because it’s God himself who puts forth the offering to “be” still in the first place and it’s God, who in the midst of our being still, freely provides revelation into the Divine Mystery who dwells in unapproachable light. God allows us refuge in a sovereign sanctuary of spiritual rest and contentment where we may freely commune with Him void of the distractions of the world a place where we are instructed to simply “be witness to”.
For the majority of christians, knowing God through the act of being still is a rare practice, instead we tend to throw ourselves headlong into the busy rush of corporate church life believing we will somehow come to know God through weeks of teaching, one more small group, wading through study guides, ordained oratories, reading the current best seller or dutiful participation in events that strain our weekly calendars believing that heaping some how equates to healthy. Sadly the majority of these well intentioned “to do’s” are often the cause of our spiritual distraction. Participation does not equate to presence. Just because God says, “where two or more are gathered there I am in their midst,” doesn’t mean we won’t totally ignore Him in these gatherings. Rushing through a gauntlet of religious experience does not produce rest, it can easily consume our energy and lessen our ability to know true communion.
All of these “going ons” can make us believe we’re having fellowship with God when actually we’re having our own individual fellowship experience in the midst of a corporate gathering (It’s like attending the state fair, there’s thousands of other people but your there to “experience it” for yourself). It’s as old as the fall in the garden and is actually built upon the same offer laid before Adam and Eve (I might dive into this at a later time) by the one who “was the craftiest of all of the creatures in the garden”. It’s the same charge Jesus brought before the religious leaders who were doing all the “stuff” but who He declared, “didn’t know His Father”, and that “their father was the devil”. Not knowing God while trying to “do church” will find the body flailing in a swamp of fruitless over spiritualized effort.
While trying to lead several million unemployed, whining brick makers through a desert wasteland Moses didn’t find the ability or strength to continue in his formidable task simply by dispersing responsibility to others, rather he dwelt for hours in the Tent of Fellowship (tent of meeting) with God, as did Joshua. David too spent endless hours in this same quiet solitude, both in his youth and adult life. Jesus separated himself from everyone else to spend time with the Father and this same habit was practiced by the prophets as well,THEN they went out and “did”. The Samaritan woman worshiped without knowing and such was her life, as she came to know Jesus her life changed and other’s as well a result of her “now knowing”. Corporate gatherings don’t guarantee a greater knowing of God through seeking manifestations or revelations because most who enter in seek to receive “something” for themselves. We should give somber consideration to entering into our gatherings empty handed, rather we should have in our possession at least some treasure associated with knowing God, treasure He offers and bestows upon us simply in our having been still before Him. Could our corporate gathers be defined by the bringing forth of these treasures in abundant numbers for all to see, hear, and receive as a demonstrative witness of His glory, power and blessing among us?
The people who were truly blessed in scripture, both old and new testament, were those who really saw, heard, beheld, savored and rested in the words and revelation of God.

Sometimes Sovereignty Sucks (kinda)

God always provides opportunities for us to be like Him, to participate in His nature throwing off what we are in our fallen human condition to put on the glory that is Him. Most use the term transformation, myself included, which is a good and accurate term because we are being transformed by the renewing of our minds to mature as sons and daughters of God seeking to walk in newness of life. This is often an exercise in personal behavior, hearing what is true, right and holy and agreeing by our will (as the result of a changed heart), to act in a manner that allows God to be seen. But there’s an additional transformation which can occur that doesn’t always require a manifested response, a transformation witnessed only within the depths of a mans soul under the illumination of the Spirit of God, unable to be defined by mere words yet fully understood by the intimacy of revelation, graciously bestowed upon us by the One who makes such gifts known. This transformation has no required act associated with it, no devoted service or benevolent effort as evidence that it indwells. This transformations response is devoted to Thee Everlasting, it’s for God alone, it’s not for anyone or anything just Him. It’s a transformation that leaves before me no other revelation to consider but Him, to ponder Him, to see Him, to gaze upon and remain fixed upon nothing other than the specific eternal truth God has made known of Himself. Unfortunately, for the rebellious, fallen heart, this illumination reveals an unmanageable truth which offers no escape short of death along with a yielded confession that God alone is truly sovereign. Let me explain.
Five weeks prior to this blog being posted we were blessed with our very first grand child, a girl. It’s extremely hard thing to wrap your head and heart around a life changing miracle like this but you try any way. When I hold her we both look at each other from the position of this being a totally new experience trying to figure each other out, her me, and me her. I’m new to her and she to me. You hold, touch and enjoy, savoring every fragment of time spent together. In order to spend additional time with her I’ve put her photo on the screen of my laptop, it replaces having to pull a picture out of your wallet (smart). When I look at her I am all to aware of the fact that I’m fifty years old into my life and she but just five weeks. If she should live to the average measure of her years she will live well beyond the rest mine. As a grandfather and a father my concern and desire is that she be protected, watched over, guided, instructed and defended. This natural tendency is especially true when I see her at this point in her life, totally helpless to do any of these things for herself. She has her father and mother, (our daughter and son-in-law) who have a love for her I can never know and they too seek to give her the guidance and protection she needs. But still, my heart can’t help but want to be there for her all the way through, to make sure she hears, that she receive, believes, accepts, arrives, finishes strong, and that she remain. I start questioning my fruit, “Have I planted a strong enough foundation in my daughter that will allow her, along with her husband, to guide and direct this new born life along a path of righteousness? Will they endure, persevere and love her regardless of the hardships yet to come? Will they not lose sight of the eternal treasure of being presented before the throne of God as a declaration of His glorious power?
There are many truths about God which are easy to accept, truths we can act on respond to or participate in but truth that declares, “God is sovereign” is excruciatingly painful at times. This truth says there are certain things we aren’t allowed to act upon, we don’t get to participate or “ensure”. We aren’t given the ability to “see beyond”. God alone knows certain things, HE is the Beginning and the End and has established the days of each mans life. Sadly the soul that wants to “ensure” is limited by the constraints of his own mortality and for him there may be no assurance of clarity or resolution present in this truth only confession and a resolve, for the temporal man comfort and satisfaction may only be found in the act of humble surrender.
So here I sit grappling with the sovereignty of God, starring into the wondrous face of a little bundle of awe, desperately desiring to “ensure” for her, knowing all to well I must concede to the truth that she is of Him, by Him, for Him, and through Him. My response?
Savor ….. and be satisfied