Under His Wings

There is a discussion overhere on God and what He is like. If you like big theological discussions and hot topics, head on over.

A whole new world opened up to me when I began to see things from a different perspective. I have learned that we in the west see things from a different perspective than people in the east, which is the perspective the Bible was written from. We in the west see things abstractly, the east concretely. These are the images shown in the Bible.

If you were to close your eyes right now and I said things like "omnipotent, omniscient, spirit, powerful," could you form a picture in your mind? Not likely? But, if I were to say, "father, shepherd, rock," that is a little better isn't it. These are the kinds of images God uses to describe Himself for us.

Last year a man named Ray Vanderlaan spoke at a church in our area. During the course of one of his talks he asked some wonderful questions. What does God look like? I have descibed this above. He also asked, "Do you know what God tastes like?" The ancient Jewish people knew that God tastes like honey because when they were taught Torah honey was placed on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and they traced the letters with their pinky fingers and licked them off. Now, "Do you know what God smells like?" God smells like roast lamb from the morning and evening sacrifice. This would be a wonderful smell to the people. They loved to be in the presence of God.

God invades our world. He is not some out there God. There is not a separation between secular and spiritual. All of our lives are lived in His Presence. We walk with Him.

For His Name's Sake.

Yes, this is a picture of David in victory over Goliath. This picture has great relevance for the church today. Let me show you.

I recently came across a small phrase in Colossians 2:19, "not holding fast to the head," which directed my thinking back to Deuteronomy where God tells us to hold fast to Him.

"For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him," Deut. 11:22

"So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days," Deut. 30:19-20

There are numerous places in the New Testament which talk about Jesus being the Head of the church:

"He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." Col. 1:18

"and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God." Col. 2:19

"because we are members of His body." Ephesians 5:30

Biblically, when you want to kill a giant, you cut off his head because the head is the source of life. Jesus said that He came to give us life and that more abundantly. (John 10:10) Why then is the church turning to manmade methods to attract the world to come in? Why are so many Christians still unsatisfied and hurting? Why does there seem to be no difference between the church and the world? Because we have not held fast to the Head.

Holding fast to the Head involves obeying His commandments out of love for Him. Jesus also said, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." (John 14:15) It is a covenant relationship that must be separate from worldliness and sin. When we obey His commandments and walk in His ways He gives us Life, He gives Himself. In Reality. Everyday. Here. Now.

For His Name's Sake.

I love to study the Scriptures. I love to notice why certain words were placed in certain ways. Words have meaning. The writers of Scripture had purposes they wanted to convey to their target audiences. We know that Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, trying to show them that Jesus was the Messiah. Therefore, he often showed them how prophecy had been fulfilled in the man, Jesus. Likewise, we know that Luke was trying to give a detailed account of Jesus' life, so he went about interviewing people, giving many little details in his narrative.

There is one place in Scripture where God describes Himself. Imagine. The King of the universe telling mere men what He is like. Does He compare Himself to what we make Him out to be?

Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." Ex. 34:6-7

Notice the characteristics that God says of Himself: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth. Let's stop here a moment. There are many today that want to say that the Old Testament is no longer for today. They even go so far as to say that they would not wat to worship that "violent" God of the Old Testament. But, wait a minute. Everything that God said about Himself in these verses so far is not about violence, is it? In fact the Hebrew word translated, "lovingkindness" is "chesed" which means "grace." Now that sounds familiar. "Full of grace and truth." Hummm.

Going on....who keeps lovingkindness (grace) for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.... God has to be a God of justice. We wouldn't want it any other way. A loving father does not allow his errant child to go undisciplined. Neither will a holy and just God. He keeps His promises.If my child should become the victim of a horrible crime, I would want the perpetrator justly punished. God has made provision for that in His word. Even now His people suffer terribly, even unjustly, all over the world. One day He is coming and He will bring justice for His people. He will not leave the guilty unpunished.

Jesus, the Messiah, came and showed us the perfect representation of what God is like. The same God that we often picture in our mind as a violent, wrathful, God in the Old Testament is the Loving God that sent His son. We too often have a distorted view of Him. He really is a Loving Father. He is abounding in grace and truth. He is worthy of our praise and our obedience.

For His Name's Sake.

I've been mulling over a couple of words lately. Accepting and knowing. Many people in Christianity today talk about accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour. What does this mean exactly? Does it mean praying a prayer that says, "I believe in you"? Does it mean believing that "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life"? Does it mean finally coming to the place where you admit that, yes there is a God, you can accept that so you come to change your way of thinking or your value system?

The dictionary definition of the word accept includes these things:

• to receive something offered
• to be admitted to a group
• to regard as true, right, or proper
• to endure
• to answer affirmatively

Would these definitions fit into what a response to the gospel would entail? Yes, Scripture says that salvation is a gift of grace so we receive it. Yes, we are admitted to a group when we believe and answer affirmatively. But, is that all there is too it? Or is there something more?

I believe there is a difference between accepting and knowing the Lord Jesus. I think the distinction makes a huge difference in the way we think, speak, and act. Those who know their Lord and have a relationship with Him seek to please Him and walk in His ways. Those who don't want the benefits of the relationship without the responsibility.

We could make a very simple analogy in a marriage relationship. Let's say that a young man, we will call him Clyde, married a young woman, by the name of Hilda. They become Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Somebody. They now have an identity of being husband and wife. They accept each other as huband and wife. However, if handsome Clyde worked on Wall Street and darling Hilda was a movie star and lived in Hollywood they wouldn't have much of a relationship. They would only live for themselves unless one, or both of them, were willing to compromise for the betterment of the relationship. You can't have a loving, enduring, know-and-trust-your-spouse-for-the-long-haul marriage without dwelling together in the dailies of life.

So it is with knowing Christ.

"He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."(2 Cor. 5:15)

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15)

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. " (John 14:23)

In Scripture the word "know" is a covenant term. It is used of the marriage relationship. God wants to dwell with His people. He wants a relationship with us.

In Philppians 3 Paul says that he counts all things as rubbish that he may know Messiah. Oh, that this would be my prayer also. Not that I would only accept Him to get a ticket into heaven, but that I would have a covenant relationship with Him. That I would have a love-trust of Him and seek to do whatever He says. I want to know Him more.

For His Name's Sake.

Hannah is taking a photography class at the high school this semester. She absolutely loves it. She is learning so much. Last week her topic was landscapes so we set out together to find appropriate material. These are a couple of her finished products. Aren't they great! Actually, the barn came up quite by accident. We got stuck in the driveway of a house when we were turning around to get the river shot. We had to go down by the house to turn around. Low and behold, there was this great barn! It now hangs in my kitchen.

To my horror, I had an accident yesterday. We were attending the district solo and ensemble day for my children. My son had just performed his baritone solo at 8:00 in the morning. I packed up my parafernalia and proceeded to drop my camera onto the tile floor. Yes, there was a shattering of glass. As far as we can tell, only the UV protective covering was shattered. We removed the the glass when we got home, but the frame is so badly bent that we cannot remove it from the camera. The lens cover will no longer fit. Hannah took a couple of shots and the camera seems to be working, but we will have to wait until the film develops, I guess.

What does one share in a meme on marriage secrets when she has been married for nearly 23 years? Just as I say when I am speaking about my children, it has all been a work of God's grace.

Our marriages become better as we conform our thinking to the mind of Christ and seek to think and walk Biblically. One way in which this is radically seen is in the story of Isaac and Rebekah. "Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her;"Gen. 24:67. Isaac took Rebekah as his wife and then he loved her, which is different than how the world walks in love. I choose to love my husband because he is the husband I have and the husband God gave me. Love is a choice. If I choose to love Buck the way he is, God is glorfied.

I found an interesting secret to my marriage while doing a study on "bond-servant." The bond-servant is the slave who is free to leave his master, but out of love for his master commits himself to the master's lifelong service for whatever the master desires. Jesus showed us how to be bond-servants. Paul, James, Peter, and John all call themselves bond-servants. Mary, the mother of Jesus, said she was a bond-servant. The book of Revelation is written to bond-servants. Being a bond-servant is a choice. In studying this topic I looked up the word, "master," and I found these words: strong, king, superintendent of household affairs, husband, captain, champion. This transformed my thinking about my husband. The Scriptures tell us to submit to our husbands as unto the Lord. This is a choice that I make. I lay down my life as I would to my master, my Saviour. My husband's countenance changes when I call him my champion. He just beams. There are so many things in the world today that are demolishing the idea of men and masculinity. There are so many forces at work that seek to tear my husband apart. He needs someone in his life who loves him, sees him as her knight in shining armor, her champion.

I want my home to be a place of shalom for him, a place of wholeness and rest. He should have a place where he feels safe and where he can share whatever is on his heart. Part of this is in knowing my husband. I need to know how he is different from other men, not to compare him with others, or to wish he were like others, but to esteem him as the gift that God has given to me. I need to get my eyes off myself and seek to meet his needs. I need to know how he processes information, how he deals with stress, how he communitcates and how I can be a helpmeet to him in each of life's situations.

How can I bless my husband and bring life to him? How can I seek everyday to meet his needs instead of whining that he doesn't meet mine. The Lord will supply all that I need. The Lord will accomplish what concerns me. Mature love is a process. We grow together. God is in the process of making us one. How wonderful it will be at the end of my days to have someone with whom I can look back on all the memories which we have shared.

For His Name's Sake.