Contrite and Lowly?

And it shall be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way."  For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." 

In a beautiful and stunning passage in Isaiah 57 (there's more; read and savor it all), we hear of God dwelling in this amazing place: High and Holy. 

Meditate on that a minute.  It is above all things, this place, and holier than we can imagine in our craziest dreams.  It is the throne room of the Creator of the Universe, the Mighty One, the only true King.  It sparkles with perfection.

Now that you have a finite picture in your head of this infinite place, hover over the words that describe where else He dwells:  with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive . . . 

If this doesn't make you want to be contrite and lowly, I don't know what would.  God condescends to those of us who live repentantly and humbly, knowing our place and living contentedly in it. 

He comes down to dwell with those whose hearts break with sorrow, those who swim daily in pain, who understand their dependence in all things on Him, who come to Him for rest and refreshment. 

He Lives There. 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  And we have seen His glory. 

Hallelujah. 

 

Stars!

Do you know there are stars in the sky? 

I mean lots and lots of stars?  We live in the city, under a canopy of lovely trees, so it is a rare occasion when we see a skyful of stars.  We saw them this week as we headed home from Door County; I made my dear one stop the car on a deserted road next to a cornfield, turn off the car, and stand outside so we could see.  The Milky Way!  It's still up there!  We hadn't seen that for a decade, if then. 

As I contemplated that umbrella over us covered with pinholes, especially once we got back in the car and I stared through the sunroof at it, I marveled that God chose to place life on one little tiny planet flung out into the midst of it all.  And that that planet had everything it needed to sustain that life--distance from sun and moon and other stars.  And that He created that life with a word.  And that He then descended to that life in the form of a man, to rescue that little tiny speck of life from destruction.  And that that life is us.  Me. 

Wow.  Such a God we have.  Such a God who loves us. 

Step outside where there is no city light, soon, and wonder at the greatness of our God. 

Dwelling Among Us

I know I've used this picture before, but it so fearfully represents God's descent to earth to rescue us.  Don't you think so?  Of course, God wasn't afraid to become man, but even so it was quite a descent.

In Tuesday Bible study yesterday, this: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). 

This is an amazing thought, that the God who created all things, even the farthest stars and galaxies, multiplied millions upon millions of heavenly and earthly bodies, became One who was created.  He took on the flesh that belonged to the earth, that was part of His created world.  The flesh that was created in His image became fully His.  He was born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). 

The women at study mentioned the various ways we can put this; it's fascinating to think about: 
             The Supernatural took on the natural.
             The Infinite became finite.
             The Immortal took on mortality. 
             The Creator became the created.
             The Word became flesh. 

And He chose to dwell among us.  Among flesh.  Among sinners. 

Praise Him. 

 

The Happiest Chapter

I've found it:  the happiest chapter in all of Scripture.  And it's in Isaiah, a book I used to believe was all about judgment and darkness.  Here it is in its entirety - Isaiah 55.

Come, everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price.

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

3 Incline your ear, and come to me;

hear, that your soul may live;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast, sure love for David.

4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander for the peoples.

5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,

and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,

because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,

for he has glorified you.

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

7 let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

 

 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

12 “For you shall go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and the hills before you

shall break forth into singing,

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13 instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;

instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;

and it shall make a name for the Lord,

an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

 

Don't you agree that that is a very happy chapter?  We are invited by the King of the Universe, the One whose wrath against our sin has been satisfied, to take freely what He has given, salvation, without cost.  To have the joy He bled to give.  To love and enjoy His Word, to find our delight in Him, to return to Him and be satisfied. 

 

We are called to come, to listen, to delight, to go out in joy.  And that's just the first hour of the day! 

 

What happy lives are ours, to have such a God.  Delight in Him this day. 

 

Then share what you believe is the happiest chapter in Scripture. 

 

 

 



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Grapes and Such

Do you remember the Hebrew spies?  The ones that came back carrying the huge clusters of grapes out of Canaan, then turned around and whined about how "they're going to git us if we go in thar!" like a bunch of lily-livered cowards? 

And dyou murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord ehated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, fto give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us, Moses reminds them in Deuteronomy 1:27.   These are amazing words the Israelites uttered, especially considering all that the Lord God had done for them in rescuing them from Egypt. 

We actually can't believe they could say something so stupid.  Really?  God brought you all this way to kill you?  He passed over your houses in Egypt, while killing all the Egyptians' firstborn, just so He could slaughter you in the wilderness by the hands of the Canaanites?  He heaped up the Red Sea along the side so you could walk through on dry - DRY! - land, then brought it back to cover your Egyptian pursuers only to destroy you in the very land He promised to give you? 

And we shake our heads in disgust at their unbelief.   

But wait a minute.  Honestly now, how often have you felt that the Lord hated you?  Or at least was ignoring you?  Didn't consider your prayer/plight worth His time?  The ceiling above your prayers felt like concrete. 

Everyone else is seeing answered prayer, sometimes miraculously, but God doesn't really care about your difficulties. 

 

Never mind the envy factor inherent in those thoughts.  What about the daft understanding of God inherent there?  This is the very God who created, chose, and rescued us from our slavery in the land of Sin and Satan.  This the God who came and died FOR us in this land.  The God of amazing love and kindness. 

 

Remember under your concrete ceilings this God.  Know Him as the God who has rescued you. And when you feel that whine rising in your heart and throat, remember. 

 

He is not yet finished rescuing you. 



Weeds!

There's one good thing about never having lived in Eden. 

I'm used to weeds. 

Can you imagine what it was like the first time Adam and Eve saw one as they were tending their new plot of land outside of the garden?  And knowing sin as I do, it was probably one of those weeds that you pull without getting the root, so you know you're going to have to deal with it again. 

I had a bunch of those today.  And I dread seeing them again next year, because I left all the roots intact. 

Of course, the most devastating thing about Adam and Eve's sin was that they had broken their sweet, untainted fellowship with God.  That was profoundly earth-shattering. 

But then there were all the other irritations that come with sin: arguments with each other, whiny sons, hot, ill, and bruised selves.  Hating oneself, and hating each other. (See Titus 3:3)  And of course, weeds. 

 

What a mess.  And if it hadn't been Adam, it would have been me.  Or you.  



 

 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.(Titus 3:4-7 ESV)

 

Amazing love, how can it be?  That Thou, my God, should die for me?  What grace.  I savor it this day from the weed patch of my yard and my life.   

 

What is our hope?  A day without weeds still to come.  And even now, the weeds of sin kept at bay because of His mercy and kindness. 

 

Look to Him this day to get at that root in your heart. Don't ever get used to the weeds of sin there.  Know Him who pours out His mercy on you.  Savor Him and His Word.  Be at rest.



 

 



 



Envy and Pride

 

 

A friend and I walk/bike on the Fox River Trail regularly.  We chat and catch up with one another's schedules and kids, now grandkids.  We talk about dresses for our children's weddings.  We share what we're each learning and teaching in our respective Bible classes.  It's good. 

This week we spoke about our desire for affirmation from people, which really derives from envy, which ultimately derives from pride. 

Why do we want affirmation so badly?  Because we want to be loved as much as or more than that person seems to be getting loved and praised. 

What is our envy about?  It means that we really believe that someone's getting a better deal than we are, that I resent the fact that God seems to be blessing that person more than me.  I want what she has and God is mean to not let me have it.  At it's most basic level, that's it.  Whining against God. 

Remember the cucumbers of Egypt?  (See notes on September 4th.)

I really believe that I ought to have something that God has withheld.  That I should have been God, making these decisions.  That if I were God, I'd treat me better than that. 

I ought to get hurled out of heaven along with Lucifer for that sort of pride. 

Oh women, we need to repent of our envy and our pride.  God is the Creator and Sustainer of all, and He is all-wise and all-loving.  He knows what He is doing, and it is always for our good.  All that He does is good. 

How can we doubt that when this is true:  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)  Let that generosity of His soak into your very pores and make you more thankful for your life and circumstances than you have ever been. 

 

And then grab a girlfriend and take a long walk, challenging each other to think rightly and delighting in all His benefits to you. 

Good Ol' Days Part 2

We all have good ol' days.  We look back with longing, hunger even, to the days when life was easier.  Less responsibilities, more fun, fewer wrinkles (oh wait, that's just me), more money or more contentment with less money.

Thirty-four years ago, in August 1979, I moved from Merrillan, Wisconsin, a town of 500 people, to Green Bay, a town of 100,000.  I loved my little town in western Wisconsin, with its small-town values, one-block shopping, short walk to the school where I taught.  But God led me from there in a series of near-miraculous answers to prayer, and here I was in a multi-unit apartment building, far from friends and comforts.  And while I was happy to be here, I mourned the loss of so much intimacy that comes with small-town living.  I longed for the good ol' days. 

There came a night when I was so sad and lonely in this big place that I cried out to God:  Surely I've misread your signs, God, and I came here without your permission.  Surely I'm out of Your will for my life.  Surely, the cucumbers and leeks in Merrillan were much tastier than they are here. [See Numbers 11:4]  Oh Lord, I will quit my job today if that's what You want.  Just give me friends and comfort again!

What I failed to understand about God's will for me was that it isn't always easy and comfortable and pleasant.  Sometimes it's hard, and requires suffering.  If God's purposes for us are always to draw us to Himself in trust and joy and to make us like Himself (see Romans 8:29), then there will be times it won't feel good. 

The same was true for the Israelites.  God loved them and wanted them to trust Him as they came out of the furnace of Egypt.  Instead they complained and whined and wept. 

In my weeping that night in 1979, I opened the Scriptures randomly and came upon Psalm 30:5: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.  It was enough.  I knew God had heard my prayer, and was in the process of answering. 

Little did I know then that a week or so later, I would meet my best friend for life, Dennis. 

God always knows the end of the story from the beginning.  Can you trust Him for that? 

Please share your stories of learning to trust with us below.

The Good Ol' Days

 

The good ol' days.  Things were always better back then.  Even the Israelites, newly come from Egypt, thought so. And they were right:  Oh that we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing [oh right, and those bricks were free too, weren't they?], the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.  But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at. [Oh, the manna that God provided when you were hungry, that you only had to collect each morning and eat?  That manna, you mean?]  See Numbers chapter 11. 

They even went so far as to weep. 

Those Israelites, we say.  What was the matter with them?  God just rescued them from slavery, for heaven's sake!   

And then this morning, I was looking online for a white leather couch.  Never mind that all my couches are perfectly fine; they aren't all leather. 

And I'm whining that summer is almost over.  And that the Brewers are so terrible this year.  And that gas prices are going up.  And that I have sand in my teeth from my day at the beach.  

Oh, that I had meat to eat. 

There's nothing new under the sun, is there?  More on this tomorrow. 

Good Gifts

 

Well, the hydrangeas in the garden are turning green; its' getting on fall.  Almost time to change the wardrobe again.  Don't you love Wisconsin seasons?

Quick answer: What is the chief end of man?  Come on, you have this. 

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 

There's a mouthful. 

As I continue meditating on Ephesians 1, I see that all the gifts that God lavishes on us ought to point us back to Him.  Yet we love to take those gifts and run away from Him with them, blessing our good fortune. 

Paul calls us here to bless God because of the blessings with which we are blessed.  His blessings to us serve to magnify Him and His great goodness to us.  After you've noted all the verbs in this passage, note the reasons for those gifts:  to the praise of His glorious grace, that we should be holy and blameless before him, to unite all things in him, to the praise of His glory, to the praise of His glory. 

We see His purpose  over and under and through it all.  In His abundant and undeserved love for us, He proclaims His glory and His beauty and His kindness and His love.  Our salvation honors Him and announces His sweet condescension to us sinners.  Our inheritance points to a God who alone does far more abundantly than all we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).  There are no words in our language to adequately describe His goodness and majesty. 

Can we enjoy this God?  Now that we belong to Him, we can.  He is not a God far off, but One that is as near as our hearts, where He dwells.  Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations (Psalm 90:1).  .

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

 

Today, glorify this God who dwells within, and enjoy Him forever.