The Beacon

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord? What more can I say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you’ve done this great thing and made it known to your servant. How great you are, O Sovereign Lord!”
King David’s prayer, 2 Samuel 7:19b-22a

About a year ago I bought a used table saw. I’m not a self-professed home craftsman and had always gotten by with a circular saw and a jigsaw for my home repair projects. But I decided that a table saw would give me the ability to cut lumber in ways that my other tools couldn’t. The main benefit of a table saw is that its powerful blade and adjustable guide allow you to cut long pieces of lumber with a very straight and even edge.

I’d watched or helped other men use table saws before, but it wasn’t until I had my own and started using it by myself that I experienced a much more reverent respect for its power. I gained a respectable fear of its power, because I knew that if I wasn’t careful or was nonchalant in my use of it, I could quickly lose a finger or even cause myself a fatal injury. This tool gave me a power to do good work, to create new things, but I had to be very careful in using it because of its tremendous power to do harm to me.

In King David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7, he spoke reverentially to God, referring to Him again and again as “Sovereign Lord.” David was utterly amazed that God was using him for His purpose and empowering him and his family and even telling him what He would accomplish through him and his offspring in the future. David was awed by God’s power and humbled by God’s use of him.

We often lack this reverential fear of God in the way He uses us and works in our lives. It is one thing to be awed by God’s work in creation and His works described in the Bible, but it is another thing entirely to fear Him in how He works in our own lives, in specific personal events, and in response to our prayers. I have had a couple of people tell me to be careful what I pray for, because they have experienced God answering prayers in ways that they did not expect and which made their lives more challenging or wrestled control over their lives from them, and they had a tangible reverence for God’s power and His faithfulness in answering prayers. Like me using my table saw, if I were nonchalant in my use of that great power of God answering prayer, I might put myself into a dangerous and potentially life-changing position.

I often say a prayer, called the Prayer of Abandonment, which is a risk-taking prayer. Essentially it says, “I abandon myself into Your hands; do with me what you will.” I wonder about some people’s fear of saying this prayer out of their respect for God’s power and faithfulness in answering prayer. My decision to repeat this prayer frequently is based on my faith that God will be with me in whatever He calls me to and that if I fear what He may do with my life, then I am trying to control my own life and I am not really interested in pleasing God or serving His purpose. If we say we are God’s servants and then aren’t willing to serve Him in whatever He asks, then we are liars and our faith is counterfeit.

That table saw can help me to make a straight cut that I could never do under my own guidance using a circular saw or jigsaw. It guides the wood in my hands as I push it forward. I am the one pushing it, but it is the guide that keeps it aligned and on track as the powerful blade rips through the wood creating a smooth and even edge. When it is finished, I marvel at how straight and smooth the board is. I couldn’t have made it that way on my own. And I think the same about God’s power and work in my life.

Respect and trust in God’s power to use you and humbly offer yourself to Him, and surely you will be amazed and grateful at what He does with you in His hands.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).

Some people take offense at this verse because it appears to deny the path to heaven for all non-Christians. But I believe this verse opens God’s kingdom to all. For Jesus is God incarnate and God is love. Jesus embodies God’s love. Thus, this verse can be read as “Love is the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through love.”

For all those who aspire to know and love God, we only know the way, know the truth, and experience abundant life through love. Love is the way of God, love is truth of God, love is life as God created it.

God calls himself “I AM.” Thus, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” can also mean “God is the way and the truth and the life.” God is telling us: “Seek me and you will find life. I am love. Come to know me and you will come to know love, then you will have true life. No one comes to me except through love.”

Jesus said, “If you really knew me, you would know my father as well.” (John 14:7). God sent Jesus, the incarnation of Himself, so that we could know Him by sight. God was no longer unseen. No one had to imagine any longer how God might act if He was a human. We see in the person of Jesus exactly as God intends for us to be. Jesus is the way; He shows the way that we are to be. And that is the way of love. The popular phrase “What would Jesus do?” is axiomatic for “If God were human, what would he do?”.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8). Those who give religion a bad name tend to be those who claim to be religious but lack true love of neighbor, or the capacity to exhibit love fully, as Christ exhibits it. If those who portend to be religious exhibited perfect love, then it might be expected that everyone would desire to be religious. The naysayers of religion expose those who profess to be religious as untrue or unfaithful purveyors of love. This is revealing irony. The apparent opponents of religion are pointing to what authentic religion should be. They are saying what the Apostle John said, “If anyone says ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20)

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:12). The evidence of our love of God is seen in our love of others. As we struggle in trying to love others, especially those whom seem unlovable—to be made complete in love—we must continue to seek and know God’s love for us through the person of Jesus Christ.

Cherishing God’s Love,

Doug

Last night I awoke in the middle of the night and semi-consciously began to worry; nothing specific had yet entered my mind, but I experienced a recurrent and familiar gnawing feeling of bearing a burden, of not being in control, of being imperfect. Then suddenly I was overcome by a peace. I became aware that if I let go of myself, and imagine myself only as God’s vessel, being used by Him only for His purpose, then I have no cares, no burdens, nothing to worry about. My life, and every moment—everything!— is in His hands.

I realized that any anxiety that I have comes from my own desires to satisfy myself and to be in control. If my only desire is to satisfy God, and I let go of any desire to please myself, then I have the peace that Jesus promises me (John 14:27). Anything I experience, including difficulties, challenges, suffering, pain, or hardships, I should receive with thanksgiving, because it will be God’s desire for me and intended for my growth and development in Him (1 Timothy 4:4). I have nothing to fear because He is with me (Psalm 23:4). And in that moment of letting go of myself, I felt complete peace and I was soon back asleep. But more importantly, the memory of this Spirit-given vision was with me when I awakened this morning.

Read and pray on these scriptures. Then let go and let God. 

In His hands,

Doug

“The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” Abigail Van Buren

It is often said by people who are critical of churches that the church is full of hypocrites, people who say they believe one thing, but do not act consistent with that belief. Because none of us is perfect, we are indeed all hypocrites. We do say and do things that belie or contradict our faith. So we the church, are a bunch of hypocrites. We admit our sin. But we remain in the church, because we want to become better.

We would benefit from thinking of and promoting the church as a hospital for sinners. On this earth, everyone of is in imperfect conditions, suffering from the infection of sin. We are all ill, sick, and diseased. Those who want to be healed, to get better, to become whole, come to the hospital we call church. We self admit ourselves into this institution, because we have diagnosed our disease and are seeking treatment. Everyone in this place we call church is sick, but yearning for healing. We cannot hide our wounds; in fact, as Christians, the one we follow, Christ, is known by his wounds. It is by his wounds that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24). By admitting our sins, by revealing our wounds, we are acknowledging that we are sick and desire to be healed.

The next time someone tells you that the church is just a bunch of hypocrites, admit that that is true, and then give them the reason for the hope that you have — and make clear that the church is a hospital for sinners, a place where the patients are willing to openly display their wounds and are seeking healing by the Physician who has promised to heal all those who admit their unsound condition. And then, invite them to come with you and seek healing for themselves.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on your stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

These verses are about goodness. We are made in the image of God, and so, as God is good, so are we. Jesus uses the metaphors of salt and light, which makes food taste good and enables us to see good, to instruct us in being purveyors and communicators of our inherent goodness. We are agents of God in the world. God is known not only by His creation and His Word, but by His followers. If we are not faithful witnesses to God’s goodness, His Kingdom is darkened.

Our pastor has exhorted us to be salt and light to the world. He has challenged us to be intentional in inviting people to come to church with us. Not just friends and neighbors, but mere acquaintances and complete strangers alike. Not just one or two, but at least 5 a week. “They” say it takes about 7 weeks of repeating a behavior to make it a habit, so don’t make this a one-week or one-month deal.

As a Christian, not inviting people to church is like being a light and hiding under a bowl. Not telling people about what it’s like to walk with God is like being salt but not tasting salty. Remember that you are salt and light. You are the goodness of God wrapped up in yourself. Don’t keep it wrapped up.

Being good is not just being nice. In Isaiah 1:16-17, the Lord says, “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Doing good is more than just being kind and generous; it also requires speaking out and standing firm when evil raises its ugly head and threatens to harm or take advantage of those who cannot stand up for themselves.

Remember the famous quote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” That’s the crux of Jesus’ message in Matthew 5:13-16. If we aren’t good, then we are good for nothing, and we will be trampled by the world, by those whose who are blind to God’s presence. God’s goodness is seen in His son, Jesus Christ, and in Jesus’ faithful disciples. Our goodness is unseen if it is not put into practice.

Thomas Keating, the Cistercian monk behind the Centering Prayer movement, puts it this way: “The fundamental goodness of human nature, like the mystery of the Trinity, Grace, and Incarnation, is an essential element of the Christian faith. This basic core of goodness is capable of unlimited development, indeed, of becoming transformed into Christ and deified. Our basic core of goodness is our true Self. Its center of gravity is God. The acceptance of our basic goodness is a quantum leap in the spiritual journey.”

You are a lamp. Take it out of its box and plug it in. Turn it on and remove the lamp shade. Let your light be bright and shine in all directions!

You are a salt shaker. Wipe the crud off the top and throw in some rice to soak up any unwanted moisture. Shake your shaker vigorously and let your salt flow freely and generously!

For goodness’ sake, be salty and bright!

Doug

Last Saturday, July 28, I celebrated the beginning of one person’s lifelong journey of faith, and consoled another person whose brother’s lifelong journey had come to an end. In the early afternoon I witnessed the baptism of Karma Metzger in Santa Rosa Sound, with Rev. David Morris and Rev. Stuart Worth administering the sacrament. As Karma came out of the water, all who attended reveled in the beauty of the day, the place, and the symbolic act of beginning life anew. Then in the late afternoon I spoke by phone with Dr. Augusta Simon, whose brother, Luther, passed away at age 66. As I shared in Augusta’s sorrow and burdens, I gave my gratitude to God that Luther, who suffered multiple diseases his whole life long, was now experiencing a new fullness of life in the presence of our Triune God.

The passing of our lives seem to accelerate as we get older. When we are young, we think we have near eternity to live our lives, but then as we pass the milestones of 30 and 40, it seems like life is getting away from us, and by age 50 and 60, we are looking backward more than forward. Those of us in the later decades of our lives should offer counsel to those in adolescent and early adulthood about making early decisions on how to live one’s life for God and not for ourselves. What a blessing it is to receive that wise counsel as a young person and thus to be motivated to offer the same wisdom to those younger than you who are approaching independence.

May we treat faith with the same preciousness that we treat life, and may we seek to pass our faith along to others even more than we desire to prolong our own earthly lives.

To His honor,

Doug

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8:1-9

Why should we be awestruck by anything in nature? Why should we perceive beauty in nature? Isn’t it only because God made us that way? If we were somehow created by random, natural forces, why would we be humbled or inspired by natural things and events? Why would we appreciate beauty or find wonder in our natural surroundings? Do you think a sea turtle finds beauty in the sunrise? Do you think a bald eagle is awestruck by the peaks of the Rocky Mountains? Do you think a whale ponders the vastness of the ocean and is humbled?

I believe our perceptions of this world are direct evidence that God created us and that He created humans uniquely to be awed by His magnificence as displayed in His creation. We can hardly take it in—perceive it, comprehend it—let alone understand how He was able to create such an incredibly vast, interconnected, and complex Universe. Albert Einstein said “The more I study science, the more I believe in God.” He believed that science is God’s thoughts. As a scientist myself, I appreciate the notion that a scientist is someone who wants to understand God’s thoughts.

Psalm 8 conveys this sense of wonder about the celestial bodies we observe, questioning God why we should have such a high place in this awesome universe that He created. Why should we have minds that try to comprehend that which we perceive as awesome? The physicist, Freeman Dyson, said, “I do not make any clear distinction between mind and God. God is what mind becomes when it passes beyond the scale of our comprehension.” When something is beyond our comprehension, we worship it because it is greater than us. God created us with a desire to know Him, though we can never fully comprehend Him. Therefore, we will worship Him forever.

Humbly,

Doug

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4, NIV).

We seem to forget that as Christians, we live in a fallen world (Genesis 3). We dwell on earthly things instead of heavenly things (Colossians 3:2). And so, we forget that there is a place of perfection that we were meant for. God created a perfect universe, a paradise where we were intended to dwell, to abide with Him. Though we are totally depraved and lack moral ability, God has given us the free gift of salvation. In our accepting Christ, He has pardoned us from our sins and destined us for His kingdom at the second coming of King Jesus.

We ought to focus our every thought and action on our heavenly destination, yet we act like this broken place where we dwell can be made whole by our own plans and efforts. We create unnecessary burdens for ourselves by seeking to fix a world that is beyond our ability to fix. We cannot even save ourselves, let alone others, or the worldly things around us.

The world is broken.  If we focus our view on the world, we find loss, pain, hurt, sorrow, tears, evil, temptation, and every kind of evil done by humans. We should expect all these things to continue until God’s kingdom comes in final victory. But God gives us Himself to sustain ourselves in this broken world and to offer love and help to others around us. He gives us Himself as Savior, the Ultimate Hope. So, in accepting our circumstances in this fallen world, He gives us all we need and calls us to be prepared for the new heaven and the new earth. That is what the Lord’s Prayer is all about: Desiring God’s kingdom to come on Earth and in the days until then, asking Him to provide our daily needs, to protect us against evil and temptation, to forgive each other as He forgives us, and to acknowledge and worship Him in His Power, Kingdom, and Glory.

To say the Lord’s Prayer daily is to remind us that we live in a broken world, but we are constantly watching, waiting, and anticipating the new heaven and the new earth, where we will experience the perfection of God that He created us for.

In His hands,

Doug

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sew or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27

In listening recently to an interview of Irish poet, Michael Longley, I learned a new word: insouciance. It means a calm, relaxed state; a feeling of not worrying about anything.

I think we can only achieve that state by trusting in God, by recognizing that we are not God, we are not in charge of the universe, and that God is good. He is with us, and He desires to give us refuge, to care for us, and to give us good gifts. If we live by fully accepting those things, that is, if we live by faith, then we can be insouciant.

Modernity has led us away from insouciance. The more we have come to understand and gain control of our world and our lives, the more we take control and shoulder responsibility for our lives’ outcome. Though God wants us to take responsibility for ourselves and live life according to His moral law, there is much beyond our control, which He wants us to leave to Him, to trust that He will provide.

Matthew 6:25-34 is Jesus’ teaching about not worrying. He tells us that we are more valuable to God than the birds of the air and that God will take care of us just as he sees to the needs of all the birds. We cannot add a single hour to our life by worrying. Worrying achieves nothing, but signifies a lack of faith in God and His love and care for you. Not only does worrying not do any good, it hurts us. Worrying and stress eat us up inside and causes a host of unhealthy conditions in our bodies.

We can find rest in God. Jesus tells us to give Him our burdens. What a wonderful God! He wants to help us, to make our lives a tribute of faith in Him rather than a teetering tower of decisions and actions that require constant vigilance and rebalancing, lest it topple and destroy everything we have built.

Isn’t it time for you to give your worries over to the One who cares for you and actually has the power to change you and your life’s situations?

In His strength,

Doug

I confess, Lord, that I’ve lived my whole life trusting in myself for strength. Only on a few occasions — my Mother’s death and my son’s bout with cancer—have I turned to you and given up and rested in your peace. Day by day I plan and think and act on my own without looking to you for guidance, without prayer, without turning over my plans and deeds to you. But instead of even asking you to bless my plans and acts, I should ask you to show me where you want me to serve you, what you want me to do each day.

Where do you want me to serve you this day? Father, do whatever you need to do in order to make me more fruitful. Let me be your handiwork, not my own. Use me for your purposes, redirect me when I move in directions you do not intend for me. Let me be encouraged to join your work instead of initiating my own.

Almighty God, may I confess my sins and weaknesses and be humble always. Let me be more and more dependent on you. Let my spirit be poor that I may be filled by your Spirit. I repent of my pride, my self-sufficiency, my superiority. Let me be uncertain of all I think I know. Let me be humble, letting others teach me. Help me to be like a child, curious and inquisitive with no sense of knowing anything. Let me empty out all my categories, all my systems for judging, all my artificial structures for placing myself on top.

Lord, I thank you for this time together, for showing me your perfect path for me. Thank you for all the blessings you have given me, all the free gifts you have lavished on me. All my sins are before me, but as I confess them, you wash them all away. Sanctify me, O Lord, through the work of your Holy Spirit.

In humble adoration,

Doug