Be Speechless

I'm nearly speechless.

Hopefully you got the chance tonight to see the amazing lunar eclipse tonight. The artwork God puts on the earth and throughout this universe absolutely amazes me. Our God must be so incredibly creative.

Just think about it.

He (a three-in-one, uncreated, perfect being) has been around forever. He has dwelt with wisdom and filled space with his bigness. Only, in a sense, there isn't any space. So, just because he is a God of creativity, he creates light. (Interestingly, he didn't seem to create darkness...just light to fill it, demonstrating that he is the light). Through this he created what would become the earthly sense of time, something from which God lived and continues to live completely apart. Just these two things are unfathomable. Imagine living in total darkness of which you occupy every space for your entire life (having absolutely nothing else), and then just suddenly having the idea for light and color, and the idea for an abstract sense of time. Yeah, that's right...humanly, that's not really possible (exemplifying the fact that we are creatures and not self-creating). But that was just day one for God.

Day two came and God created the heavens and the earth. Now, even though all there's ever been was an abstract, timeless, dark void, there's suddenly light, color, time, and a physical nature.

But that wasn't enough.


On day three God created seas and land and their separation. On top of creating a planet, God opts to give it both solid and liquid aspects.

And still, God had more creativity coming.

Now, with the earth in place, God decided to add a whole solar system to light up his creation (using his earlier concepts of light and time). And then, just because God really loves creating things, there are birds, fish, land animals, plants...it's amazing.

Yet, God wasn't quite done.

In an incredible act of love and creativity, he created people. Living, breathing, thinking, heart-pumping human beings. And he gave them not just the beautiful Garden of Eden that we tend to think of, but also the rest of the earth. These people were seriously blessed and loved. The only thing was they couldn't eat from this one tree.

And, well...they did.

Unfortunately, the appropriate punishment for this was death. And God is just, so he assured them of their death and many other miserable things while they still lived.

But he was merciful. So, so merciful. He could have not made them or anything in our world in the first place. But he made it anyway.

He could have chosen to kill them the second they messed up. But he didn't.

He could have chosen to leave them hopeless forever. But he didn't.

He let them have children. He gave them the whole earth except for the Garden of Eden. He blessed them with long lives. Best of all, he promised that one day, a Savior would come and offer hope. Justice and mercy have never mingled so beautifully as they have in the being of our God.

That Savior came. Because death was the punishment, but only a righteous person could satisfy the requirement of perfection before a holy God, Jesus came down. God became man.

That's like you becoming your childhood plaything. (Not that we are God's playthings, but I think you get my point.) That's like a US President becoming a rat while still being the President. Yet far, far worse.

It is the king of the whole universe, the one responsible for creating things like we see in space tonight, for designing DNA, for coming up with a concept of time and a sense of light, suddenly reducing himself to the level of something, though once beautiful, which has reduced itself to scum. On top of that, it's that king reduced to scum living the lowest life of all the scum. And then dying the most painful, humiliating death for the lowest of the low scum. While he was still the king.

And yet, Jesus asked for this. This is the really incredible part: he planned this before he ever set the universe in motion. He knew we'd mess up. And he asked the Father for a gift of a redeemed mankind, offering up even his own life. That's how selfless and beautiful this God is, that he would die for his creation, simply to give them redemption. He didn't have to. But he did.

Miraculously, though, he didn't just stay dead. Because he is God, and he promised in milennia past that he would crush death and evil, he did just that. He literally went and defeated death. In other words, he dealt with the devil, did battle in the depths, and arose victorious, because he is God.

And on the third day after his death, he rose to earth. Shortly afterward, he went to heaven to be reunited with his Father, and to do something amazing again: to prepare places for us, broken sinners, in heaven. All we need to do is trust him with our lives. He promises that if we do so, he will send his own spirit to dwell in us and guide our steps.

But, the story gets even better! When all is said and done, when all who have faith in Christ have been called up to him, he will make the final blow on death, causing all those who did not follow him to live separate from him in a miserable place called hell...and bringing heaven onto earth for those who follow him. Literally. The whole earth will be restored and, in the words of the Bible, the lion will lie down with the lamb. There will be no conflict. No pain. No sorrow. Just pure, beautiful love for each other, for the world, and for the God who did all this for us. The God who is so eternal. So creative. So just. So merciful. So loving. So awe-striking. So miraculous. So beautiful. So GOD.

Tonight, I'm looking at the red slowly fading from the moon. And I'm realizing that my role in this whole world isn't really that big. But I know that there is a God out there who is huge and amazing and who loves ME. Who lives in me. Who knows me better than I know myself. Who sustains my very breath. Who has a unique call on my life. Who placed me in the universe. Who gave me hope. Who gives everything its being. Who will never, ever fade. Who lived and died for me. For you. For the broken, messed up world.

And I am speechless.

Shalom.

Meridian

By God's Grace

A remarkable story of some remarkable friends of mine. God is good.

Please share with your friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTcMkiiWKU 

Who You Are

My last post was all about who God is. The God who created things like what you see on the left (Mt. Everest). But I thought maybe it was time to talk about who you are...because of God. Yeah, I figured you'd know there was a catch. :)

Last night I had a brief conversation with one of my friends from debate. It was just a casual conversation about his public school sports teammates, but one little side comment he made struck me, caught me like an unsuspecting fish going for the bait. "If I hadn't been homeschooled, or hadn't been in the family I'm in...I..." Well, the rest was fine too, but that little statement just did a Hallelujah Chorus in my mind. If I hadn't. Wow.

So much theological meatiness to jump on there. So much philosophical questioning. So much certainty of the present. So much to praise God about. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's start with the word, "If." The Bible is pretty clear that God is sovereign over every teensy tiny little detail of the whole universe, but he paradoxically acts this way without being a robot operator. Most Christians agree that God knows everything that will go on, but doesn't mandate it. I understand how those conclusions are reached (believe me, I used to think something pretty close to that), but let's dissect that a bit. If God knows everything (which we all agree on), and God is sovereign (which we usually agree on), then God cannot possibly have known everything without having some hand in it. That's the most basic academic argument for God's sovereignty, other than "the Bible says so" (which, by the way, it does).

However, there's another argument that may hit home a bit more for you. Let's put it this way: God knows everything that will happen. He knows, then, that bad things will happen. But he is the God of all justice! If he truly upholds justice, is he going to just let things slide? No. Clearly throughout Scripture God issues judgement upon sinners. But he cannot possibly just fix all the problems. Then he'd have a little more power than your local plumber. God is all-powerful...let's just say he's got the whole world in his hands.

If that's true, then you and I are not random. In fact, the Bible *clearly* indicates that we were designed for a purpose, something the Westminster Catechism summarizes when it says that "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." Not only does God have a purpose on earth, he has an eternal purpose: that every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the God the Father. In a very glorious and mysterious way, God has already determined who will spend all eternity with him. That is, anyone who puts their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, Paul made it clear that anyone who does so does it only because of the quickening of the Spirit. That is, God chooses to wake you from being dead in your sins to being alive in Christ. Nothing you do can make it happen: only God in his glorious mercy.

Whoa. Mind. Blown.

If God really has this great and awesome purpose for you, though, then he has not placed you in your circumstances randomly. You are not just the child of random Joe: you are firstly the child of the one living God, and secondly the child of the earthly parents God has bestowed you with. Whatever your situation, God has placed you there for a reason.

So now I'm guessing I've pretty well clarified that "if" isn't possible. But it gives those kind of statements so much greater meaning. If you don't follow, allow me to expound.

Since "if" is not possible, it means that you are in exactly the right situation for you right now. I'm not saying it's perfect: God's said that the world will not, and by God's very nature of righteousness cannot be perfect until he returns to set the world right. However, you and I can rest in the knowledge that God has a big plan for us, and that he chose this for us for a reason. Take my friend. He's homeschooled, he's from a great Christian family. God did not place him in some other family. He is not in a public school. If God had him in those circumstances, his plans would have been just as good and holy and righteous. But God placed him here. And that means that he gets to do what God is uniquely calling him to do.

In my own life, this is a very relevant issue. Sometimes I struggle with comparison of my circumstances to other friends' circumstances. Or I just wonder "what if." But that God placed me in the Paulton family, with the exact friends I have, the exact knowledge I have, the exact skills I have, right here in Colorado is amazing. It doesn't mean I won't go on and do other things: it means that I can go on and do those other things, because I was uniquely designed to do them.

There's a reason that Paul compared the Church to a body.

² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves^[d] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,^[e] yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

 Maybe you are called to be a doctor. A pastor. A missionary. A politician. A writer. A teacher. An engineer. A musician. An artist.

Whatever you're called to do, the way God uses you will be unique. But here's the cool thing: regardless of what you're called to do specifically, we're all called to do one thing generally: proclaim God's great name, and make it famous in all the earth. Probably one of my favorite verses of all time, one I quote to myself multiple times daily, is 1 Peter 2:9 --

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may declare the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 That's you and me. This is where we talk about the next part. If we were. Here's where it get's hard. The book of Romans puts it better than any other: before Christ, we're dead in our sins. That means that all the people out there who don't know the love of the Lord are dead. Corpses. Rotting souls. That sin that you see is just the maggot coming out. I don't want to be grotesque, but that's what deadness amounts to. Total lifelessness. Because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

We may not know who God has chosen, but we know that he has chosen us to proclaim his glory. Peter isn't the only one who got this. Listen to Jesus himself in Matthew 28:

¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Some doubted, but then he said that he has all authority. And with his authority we are to go out and preach the Gospel to our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our world. When light pierces the darkness, it is a dramatic thing.

Our lives ought to be as Christ's, who though he was pierced, rose again, and lives for the glory of the Father:

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Can you imagine if you were born in a different circumstance? Maybe. But the thought of that drives us to an even greater realization: that we were born in the circumstances we were born in. That we serve the God we serve, and that we are his chosen people. Out of all the people he could have chosen, of the option to kill us all out or create other beings, God chose to live and die and live again for US. You. Me.

Even those in different circumstances are there by God's divine will, perhaps just so that He can use us as light, because HE is God. 

And, even though this post is titled, "Who You Are," I think you'll have to agree with me that this is more about who God is, and who we get to be as a part of it.

Relish in God's goodness, friends, and celebrate your brand-new identity in Christ!

Soli Deo Gloria!

~Meridian

Conquistadors

Joan of Arc, the savior of France

Everybody's heard of them. Not just the Spanish ones, either. Men like Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, and Alfred the Great, among them. All these men were called the great. Why? What makes someone so spectacular as to deserve the title great? 


There was much to it. For a man to really be a "great" man, it seems that by history's standards, he must have great wit, survive some great calamity, be educated by a great man, have a great religious standard, rule or conquer a great kingdom, be great in his treatment of his subjects and soldiers, write a few great things, and stand out as a great leader. Phew. That's a lot of greats.

Still, this is such a low, low standard for being great. If a man truly was great with every bit of his heart and soul behind it, he would have to do much more. Being truly great would mean to know everything that ever was, is, or ever shall be. It would mean living through life's greatest disasters, and yet having the greatest wealth and privilege as well. To be a great person in your very essence would force a person to be the ultimate educator, to author your own religion, to be the awe of everyone who ever lived, and at the same time the pure hate of these very people. To write the greatest masterpiece ever written, and to make it exceed not by just a little the other works. To be the most powerful leader, and yet the humblest servant. The most loving person, but the one most likely to invoke fear in any individual or group, no matter how powerful. To be nothing but absolute good, and to have no traces of evil or sin in your life. To be God. 


"Wait a minute!," you're thinking, "To be great, you don't have to be God." Well, technically, no, but if you want to come anywhere close to the epitome of greatness, you'll have to come pretty stinking close to being God. Don't hear what I'm not saying: that these men should stop being called great. No, of course not! They were fantastic as men, and I admire them ever so deeply, but the reality is they weren't God. But even the Creator of the Universe -- the Creator of time itself! -- chose not to stop with being great. No, he went much farther.

Willing to suffer, God died on our behalf. We who were ugly, disgusting, unworthy, sinners, an insult to the very name of God -- he died for us. Jonathan Edwards said it well:

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire; be is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times so abominable in his eyes as the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. 'Tis to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you were suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you tip. There is no other reason to be given why you haven't gone to hell since you have sat here in the House of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship; yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you don't this very moment drop down into hell...And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in the door calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to Him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north, and south., many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to Him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

If you couldn't read that, just copy-paste it into a document and enlarge it. It takes up a lot of space, but you need to read it. Now.

The point is, God is completely great in every way, if he would do this for us! And even if he didn't do it, he still is worthy of every praise. 

So why did I call this post "Conquistadors"? I did so because that is what we are called to be. See Matthew 28 and the book of Acts for proof. If we serve such a great God, shouldn't we want to get out there and spread the message of his loving grace toward us? And if this is the case, why shouldn't we be conquistadors for the Cross?

Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, and Constantine are three fantastic examples of rulers who were used by God to save their nations. All three of these men, though, did it partly by conquering in battles, and much by conquering hearts. They showed their people the Living God, and the people wanted more of him. Mini-renaissances happened in these nations. Often it began with a single step of action for the Gospel, which is something each of us should aspire to accomplish. That first step is hardest, and from there you have to go if you've really experienced the love of God. Loving God makes you want others to have him for a king, and it makes you want to serve him in every action. As St. Augustine said, 

"Love God and do what you please."

We should want to spread his kingdom.

How this should be done is a question that has spanned the ages. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed firmly in peace. The Crusades were not afraid of violence. The Separatists of England chose to start over all together. But, regardless of how it is done, there is no question as to what must be done. The how depends on the situation, but the what remains. Go into all the world. And don't turn back. There are two things Mr. Baker told me which I will never forget. The first,

"Move forward, be swift, never let the dust of the earth touch you."

In other words, don't doubt what you're called to do for a single moment if you know you're called to do it. And finally, I leave you with my favorite thing he's ever taught me,

 Theorein- Greek, verb: the act of gazing intently

Mr. Baker showed us a depiction of Moses gazing at the burning bush, awed at the majesty of God. What are you gazing intently upon? Does it strike your heart with terror, and yet with a firm, unshakable love? Is it the God of the Universe, who holding you over the very gates of hell, chose to rescue you and call you his child, his beloved? I challenge you to love him for that, and simply for being God. I challenge you, and myself, and any brother or sister out there, to go all out for this God. Be changed. Tell everyone about him. Dance the dance, sing the song, know the Book, love our Lord. One step can change the world. Be conquistadors.

Meridian

Children, Artwork, and the Providence of God

Today was such a beautiful day. Such an extraordinary, glorious, wonderful day. I had a piano recital, ran errands, and rode my bike. When it was getting late in the afternoon, I suddenly had an urge to paint watercolor. Eagerly, I ran up to my bedroom, dragging my heavy, over-sized box -- filled with my portfolio, paints, paper, pencils, brushes, and palettes-- down to my front yard, where the sun was gradually getting lower in the sky. I tore out a piece of my watercolor paper, and prepared the page for my paints. In a hurry to work while there was light, I splashed blue paint on both sides of the sheet, adding a nice swipe along the top. Then I carefully mixed my greens and my blues in my palette to create a nice color for the evergreens I was painting. Layering this on top of the blue on the sides, I formed the base for my trees. Applying layer after layer, my little landscape was starting to come together. Just then I heard the sweet voice of a young girl, and the heavy, uncoordinated footsteps of a seven-year-old boy. Glancing up, I saw our two next-door neighbor kids come romping on over to see what I was doing.


I love those kids. They make me laugh...every time. At seven and five years old, they are the sweetest little creatures ever. A bit crazy, yes, but still human beings created in the image of God. Nicholas is the quiet one. Samara, his little sister, says everything for him. But regardless of their personalities, they are just fantastic. Their family moved in about two months ago, after our neighbors of nine years left. Theirs is not a Christian home, from what I can tell. Yet God still writes his fingerprints on them.


Anyway, back to my story. Nicholas and Samara came over to check on what I was doing. When they saw that I was painting, they immediately wanted to do so as well. Laughing, I told them they could, and sent Matthew (my brother) inside to get some supplies for them. Making sure they didn't mix the paints, I showed them how to use water to create new colors and add variety to their paintings. I had been out on the grass that is currently dry, and, considering that I am ten years older than they are, my mess was far less significant than theirs. At the end, I packed up my paints and was done due to the darkness and cold, but the two neighbor kids just hopped up and left, taking their little masterpieces with them. At times, that would frustrate me, but not tonight. All I could do was smile, and pick out the dead grass from their messy palettes. These two children, who really are quite untidy, hyper, and chaotic, have been a huge blessing to me. Sometimes, they come knocking on my door at the most inconvenient times. You know, those sort of days where you are practicing piano while reading your homework assignment, and as soon as you are done you jump up and rush out the door? That's what I'm talking about here. At other times it means when I am having friends over to watch a movie. Very inconvenient. Or other days where I'm just in a bad mood. But when I actually do take the time to play with these children, and enjoy them, they are great, and are such a huge blessing to me.


For a long time, I've really wanted to be a teacher. One of my goals is to take a few children, and give them an education in exactly the way I've been thinking about since kindergarten. :) Then I want to try to get all this information into their heads, get them to read a million great books, and still have them love it. Ultimately, I want them to learn to see life as a gift from God's hand, and to want to embrace the true life that comes only from him. But for the past couple of years I've really been dying to gather up three or four "guinea pigs" to try my methodology on. I know I'm too young, though. About three or four months ago, I was praying about this, because I really do want to start working on this a little more closely, but I need kids I can do it with. And not my siblings. They are already smart, and are a bit too old to start working with right now. Plus, they're my siblings. :) Interestingly, a few weeks later, the new neighbors moved in. They had these two kids, and almost immediately, the kids came over to introduce themselves. The second time I met them, I was playing piano, and they came in with Mandy (my sister) to get water. Samara was a little taken with whatever it was I was playing right at the moment, and hopped down next to me on the piano bench. "Wow...I want to do that!" she said. I wasn't sure what to say, but I asked her if she wanted to learn. Sure enough, she did. So I sat down and taught her to play a C-scale, and identify a whole note. She was thrilled, and began "composing" her own music.


The music didn't really sound all that great, but it was cute. And I was struck by her desire to learn new things. The next time I saw Samara, I was standing in my garage. She marched in with her brother, and asked me to play. I said yes, and asked her what she wanted to play. She didn't know, so I showed her the pogo stick. "Do you know how to use this?" I asked her. She shook her head no, but said (again) that she wanted to learn. Cautiously holding her on, and ensuring she was wearing a helmet, I directed her in jumping up and down. She giggled, and it was rather amusing. The next time, I told her a story. That's just how it goes. And Nicholas is starting to catch on. God has provided me with two children, who just need a little love and attention, right next door! It's interesting, because I never would have thought to teach a little girl the random things I've taught her. Yet, it is exactly what I need to do. And I am still getting to practice my teaching ability, and try out my teaching methods. Maybe someday I'll really get to teach her what I want to. For now, though, I'll teach her what I can, and pour my heart into it, because that's what matters.


God, in his Providence, has placed this little girl right here at exactly the right time. I am thrilled to get to play even a small role in God's work. So, tonight, as I was painting, and laughing at the funny mistakes the two neighbor kids made on their artwork, I just had to stop and reflect. God is amazing. I also found out something really obvious, but random: if you spray your painting with water, and leave it out in the cold, it actually freezes right on your painting. Rather appropriate, considering that I was trying (and miserably failing) at painting a frozen lake. If those kids hadn't come over, I would have gone in sooner, and my painting never would have frozen. But, when Matthew was helping me clean up after them, he noticed the ice. I was amazed, and decided to stick my painting in the freezer to preserve the cool effect. Yet another of God's small providences. :)


Meridian

Psalm 37

He Will Not Forsake His Saints

^[a] Of David.

 ¹ Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
   be not envious of wrongdoers!
²For they will soon fade like the grass
   and wither like the green herb. ³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.^[b]
4 Delight yourself in the LORD,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart.
 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
    trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
   and your justice as the noonday.
 ⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
   over the man who carries out evil devices!
 ⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
⁹ For the evildoers shall be cut off,
   but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
 ¹⁰In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
   though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land
   and delight themselves in abundant peace.
 ¹²The wicked plots against the righteous
   and gnashes his teeth at him,
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
   for he sees that his day is coming.
 ¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
   to bring down the poor and needy,
   to slay those whose way is upright;
¹⁵ their sword shall enter their own heart,
   and their bows shall be broken.
 ¹⁶ Better is the little that the righteous has
   than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
   but the LORD upholds the righteous.
 ¹⁸The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
   and their heritage will remain forever;
¹⁹ they are not put to shame in evil times;
   in the days of famine they have abundance.
 ²⁰But the wicked will perish;
   the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures;
   they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
 ²¹The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
   but the righteous is generous and gives;
²² for those blessed by the LORD^[c] shall inherit the land,
   but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
 ²³The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
   when he delights in his way;
²⁴ though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
   for the LORD upholds his hand.
 ²⁵I have been young, and now am old,
   yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
   or his children begging for bread.
²⁶ He is ever lending generously,
   and his children become a blessing.
 ²⁷ Turn away from evil and do good;
   so shall you dwell forever.
²⁸ For the LORD loves justice;
   he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
   but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land
   and dwell upon it forever.
 ³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
   and his tongue speaks justice.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
   his steps do not slip.
 ³²The wicked watches for the righteous
   and seeks to put him to death.
³³ The LORD will not abandon him to his power
   or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
 ³⁴ Wait for the LORD and keep his way,
   and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
   you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
 ³⁵ I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
   spreading himself like a green laurel tree.^[d]
36 But he passed away,^[e] and behold, he was no more;
   though I sought him, he could not be found.
 ³⁷Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
   for there is a future for the man of peace.
³⁸ But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
   the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
 ³⁹ The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
   he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The LORD helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
   because they take refuge in him.

I love my God. Serving him is AMAZING!!!

Changing the world through our daily struggles

Have you ever felt like you are reaching for something you will never quite get your hands on? It's right there, waiting to be done...You want to change the world. You want to do something great. Hold that certain job. Write that award-winning novel. Visit Antarctica. But you are so bogged down by daily life, it seems it will never happen. Things keep getting in the way. Or maybe it's just that the right opportunities aren't there. Whatever your case, you aren't alone. Countless others have faced this same plight. But, God is his gracious sovereignty will fulfill your dreams when he fulfills your dreams. As I brought up recently, St. Augustine once said that, "He serves you best who is not so anxious to hear from you what he wills as to will what he hears from you." Sometimes, we must surrender dreams, and exchange them for God's will, which is always the most glorious path in the long run. Quite honestly, I don't even know why I am posting this today. Perhaps it is because I recently heard that one of my friends, Sarah, who has had a life-long dream of going to Oxford, is going to be attending this coming semester. Maybe it is because of the music I'm listening to. I don't know. But, at any rate, I just felt like I needed to share a few things with you.

First, this passage after David realizes that his dreams will be fulfilled I by his son Solomon. It is interesting to note David's reaction to this knowledge. Rather than being frustrated, saddened, jealous, or even passively submissive to God, he ensures that it will be all ready for Solomon to take over.

1 Chronicles 22

 ¹Then David said, "Here shall be the house of the LORD God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel."

David Prepares for Temple Building

 ²David commanded to gather together the resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. ³David also provided great quantities of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing, ⁴and cedar timbers without number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David. ⁵For David said, "Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it." So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.

Solomon Charged to Build the Temple

 ⁶Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁷David said to Solomon, "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. ⁸But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. ⁹Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ¹⁰ He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.' ¹¹"Now, my son, the LORD be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the LORD your God, as he has spoken concerning you. ¹² Only, may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the LORD your God. ¹³ Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed. ¹⁴With great pains I have provided for the house of the LORD 100,000 talents^[a] of gold, a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone, too, I have provided. To these you must add. ¹⁵You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working ¹⁶gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and work! The LORD be with you!"
 ¹⁷David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸"Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not given you peace on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and his people. ¹⁹Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the LORD." 


Isn't this remarkable? David got everything ready for Solomon.

In this second example I want to share with you, it is a movie trailer. But it is as true a story as the story of David. If you haven't seen Amazing Grace, stop reading this and go watch it.

Wow. That's all I can say when I think about this man's life. Realize God's plans, and let them be your dreams. You may just change the world.

May God bless you in your pursuit to follow him!

Meridian

How the Classics Have Formed My Worldview: On Serving God

It's been a few days since I promised to post. :) School has been heavy, but I do actually have a Socrates quote that I was able to use in today's post. Enjoy. =D

Classical quotation:
"When mind runs mad, dishonors God,
And worships self and senseless pride,
The Law eternal wields the rod."
-Euripides
Scriptural evidence: But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed...You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. -Romans 2:5, 2:23
My interpretation: This one is pretty self explanatory. Essentially, these two selections from Ancient literature and the Bible say exactly the same thing. We could even rearrange the Euripides quotation so that it would be in the same order as the Biblical passage. It would read like this (some transliteration done here for the purpose of making sense):

When mind worships self, the Law eternal wields the rod.
The mind runs mad and dishonors God.

Or something like that. Not very poetic, but you get the idea. :)

Classical quotation:
"He serves you best who is not so anxious to hear from you what he wills as to will what he hears from you." -St. Augustine
Scriptural evidence: ...Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. -Luke 22:42 AND "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us." -1 John 5:14
My interpretation: Even Jesus prayed this way! We must present our petitions before God, but we must also be willing to hear whatever God will have us hear, and to make that our will, rather than trying to force our petty agendas on a God who rules the universe.

Classical quotation: 
"And His will is our peace;
it is that sea to which wholly moves
what He and Nature create."
-Dante 
Scriptural evidence:  ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known^[c] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." 
-Ephesians 1:7-10
My interpretation: Dante had it almost exactly right here. The only thing I would change, based on this passage from Ephesians, and other Scriptural passages, is that God actually creates nature, and nature obeys him...in one sense, you could interpret that to be Dante's meaning, which is what I will do for my purposes here. Isn't it remarkable the sense of security that the reader hears in Paul's voice when you read this passage? Indeed, God's will should be our peace, because his will is over everything.

Classical quotation:
"God must surely always be represented as he really is, whether the poet is writing epic, lyric, or tragedy." 
-Socrates (or Plato, whichever you will accredit it to from Republic)
Scriptural evidence:   
²⁴ "If I have made gold my trust
   or called fine gold my confidence,
²⁵ if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
   or because my hand had found much,
²⁶ if I have looked at the sun^[e] when it shone,
   or the moon moving in splendor,
²⁷ and my heart has been secretly enticed,
   and my mouth has kissed my hand,
²⁸ this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
   for I would have been false to God above. 
-Job 31:25-28
My interpretation: It's interesting how we can, in the words of Job, be "false" to God in so many different ways, often through our actions, and other times our words, as Socrates points out. We are better, though, to intentionally give him the credit due his name than to fall into the pit of not honoring God and ending up having to learn the hard way that he really does control everything. God is amazing, and I think it's about time he started getting some credit, at least from me.

Thanking God for the breath I have now through him, the snow that's falling down by his command, the strength he gives me to move forward each day, and the gift of his Son Jesus Christ at the cross.

Meridian

How the Classics Have Formed My Worldview: On Human Nature

Over the next few days I want to do some posts quoting the classics and showing how classical literature has formed my worldview, formed Western society, and confirmed the formation of Christian doctrine. I am now in my fourth year of officially studying the classics, and I am thriving on it. Hopefully I will be posting 3 quotes or so for 3-5 days, depending on how many quotes I dig out of my files. Some people lately have been questioning my classic-reading, and some of my worldview as well, so here I present you with something of an explanation, including Bible references to back myself up. :) The Bible is my basis for all these things, but I want to show how reading the classics is beneficial to the Christian. Some things I can guarantee you you will wholeheartedly agree with, and others you will strongly disagree with, but here I go anyway. Today's topic: Human nature.

Classical quotation: "You wish to be called righteous, rather than to act right." -Aeschylus
Scriptural evidence: ¹ Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ² "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." ³He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" -Matthew 15:1-3
My interpretation: The Pharisees are known to Christians for their hypocrisy. Yet, in some passages, Jesus actually compares any human to a Pharisee. We all want to be called righteous people. Everybody, whether admittedly or not, wants to be reverenced. But we kind of want to be the bad guy, too. This is sin in our lives. Aeschylus had it exactly right: we all want to be known as the good guy, but secretly, we don't want to bother with actually being the good guy.

Classical quotation:
"The soul, which is created apt for love,
The moment pleasure wakes it into act,
To any pleasant thing is swift to move.


Your apprehension draws from some real fact
An inward image, which it shows to you,
And by that image doth the soul attract;


And if the soul, attracted, yearns thereto,
That yearning's love; 'tis nature doth secure,
Her band in you, which pleasure knits anew.


And as fire mounts, urged upward by the pure
Impulsion of its form, which must aspire
Toward its own matter, where 'twill best endure,


So the enamoured soul falls to desire-
A motion spiritual- nor rest can find
Till its loved object it enjoy entire.


Now canst thou see how wholly those are blind
To truth, who think all love is laudable
Just in itself, no matter of what kind."
-Dante

Scriptural evidence: "but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." -Mark 4:19
My interpretation: Go back to Genesis 1. Read it. In the beginning, whenever God created anything, he called it "good." Then read 1 John 4. You'll discover that God is love. While you're at, skip back to Genesis 3. Then read Mark 4. Read the whole chapter. If you want to know the end of the story, read the book of Romans. But for now let's focus on man's sin problem. See, we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1), and we have been declared good by God. This God is love (1 John 4), which means that if we are created in his image we have a love capacity as well. But we have a sin problem (Genesis 3), and so we are left broken, and no longer good. We are all born that way. We are marred by sin. Still, God in his goodness has left us with pieces of himself, because he loves us still. So, we go after anything resembling love. Sometimes we get it. Other times, we miss. More often than not, we get a generic replica of the real thing. Many times, it turns out to be worse than that: it is folly, sin. Satan messes with us. Read The Screwtape Letters if you want to know how. Dante was right: we are blind, and completely hopeless. We need a Savior (book of Romans) to take our sin and desperation completely away.

Classical quotation:
"My sin was all the more incurable because I imagined that I was not a sinner." -St. Augustine
Scriptural evidence: "³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. ⁴In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants^[a] for Jesus’ sake."
-2 Corinthians 4:3-5
My interpretation: the Gospel that is veiled proclaims that men are sinners. This is a secret kept by the world that Satan would have no man know, but the work of Christ prevents him from having his way.   At some point or other, whether here on earth in finding salvation through Christ, or at the judgement day when all men who are not already proclaiming Christ as king shall be condemned, all men shall have to see their sin for what it is. Still, man's nature will reign for a little while in every human (except for Jesus, of course). Thus, we are like Augustine. We do not understand our own sin until God's revelation touches us.

Today I talked a lot about sin. There is hope though! I love this hymn, and I hope it penetrates you as deeply when you are reading this as it penetrates me now.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound;
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear;
And Grace my fears relieved!
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come.
'Twas Grace that brought me safe thus far,
And Grace will lead me home.

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun;
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we've first begun.

In Awe of Him,
Meridian

Everything I Know about Life I Learned from Mr. Baker

Well, not really. Actually, there have been so many amazing people in my life who have taught me a lot about God, love, and life. And certainly not everything Mr. Baker said was his own idea. In fact, most of it probably was just anonymous quoting. But I still think it is high time I pay Mr. Baker the tribute he is due by posting some of the amazing things I've learned from him in the past year-and-a-half.

---
To be a pilgrim you must:
Receive grace
Perceive that the earth is not going to last
Accept that fact and
Embrace it by acting upon it

The Christian's mission is to move forward as pilgrims, going so fast, "Move forward be swift, never let the dust of the earth touch you."

---
Our sins are a sign of a lack of love, and they will only be reduced by the sovereign sanctification of God.

---
This one's from Augustine, but Mr. B still introduced me to it:
"What parent would be so stupidly curious as to send their child to school to find out what the teacher thinks?" -St. Augustine

---
Greek/Latin words Mr. B has taught me:
Cred- to believe
Heuresis- discovery, or "I have found it!"
Theorein- to gaze intently upon
Imago Dei- image of God
Kanon- the essential duties, functions, and offices of an art
Inventio/Heuresis- system or method for finding arguments
Dispositio/Taxis- effective or orderly arrangement of the parts and points
Elocutio/Lexis/Hermeneia/Phrasis- choice of words in phrases or clauses
-noia- mind
Metanoia- hindsight
Pronoia- foresight
Kairos- right time, opportunity, occasion, or season


---
Salvation is grace invading our otherwise godless world.

---
Ability bribes and absolute ability bribes absolutely.

---
It's one thing to have resolve. It's another to have faith. It's another thing to have faith that God will honor your resolve, inspired by him.

---
Love your neighbor as yourself loving God.

---
God is in operation 24/7, and so is his peace- why not be a vessel of that?

---
These next three are from Aristotle (but still taught by Mr. Baker):
"Rhetoric is or may be defined as, the faculty for discovering the available means of persuasion in reference to any subject whatever."

"An art brings into being that which is capable of being other than it is."

"The prerequisite to style is clarity."

---
In rhetoric, we are discovering what is already available: the means of persuasion.

---
Ethics can be thought of in two dimensions: horizontal (man to man), and vertical (man to God). I must love myself as God loves me. But wherever this love is spilled over, those two lines must come together. And together they form...a cross.

---
You have to ask the right questions in order to keep your feet on.

---
Humans are complex. To address a human is to address hearts that feel emotion, minds capable of reason, and wills choosing desires and acting on them. Those three cannot be separated.

---
Any debate on earth is happening not just in the presence of other men, but also in the presence of heaven.

---
Do you want to be one of those Americans who sits back and says, "America's broken. Oh well."? Or do you want to be an American who sees that America is broken and sick, and who wants to heal it?

---
Earth is the human barnyard.

---
No solution without cooperation, and no cooperation without assent.

---
God's truth can never be reduced to over-simplification.

---
I'm waiting for the presidential candidate who comes along and says, 'Our country is in a mess, and I'm not going to fix it in two years. If you think I am going to, don't vote for me!'

Well, Mr. Baker, here's to you. Thanks for all you've taught me so far, and I am eagerly awaiting more!

Meridian

Sunsets, Landscapes, and the Glory of God

Don't you just love sunsets? The sky starts to get just slightly golden. Then the gold turns to a hint of orange. As the sun starts to set behind the mountains, the little crevice where the sun is still peeking out has turned itself a glorious orange. The sky turns pink, all the while maintaining the background colors of gold and bright blue, yet while showing that little bit of orange behind the mountains. When the sun finally is completely out of sight, the orange crevice has turned to crimson, and the area surrounding it is orange. Beyond that is the pink, and then the gold, followed by the now muted blue. The mountains are looking more and more of a navy color, but that little hint of purple on top of the snow that caps the peaks indicates that the sky plays tricks on the eyes. Finally, these colors start to disappear, and what's left is gold just behind the mountains, mixed with the dark clouds worthy of a painting. Above this is a lit blue, and the sky grows darker and darker until the blue sky more closely resembles charcoal or dark wash jeans. One by one, the stars make their debut, and the moon shines brightly amidst the darkness. A few clouds surround it, but none cover it. Rather, they are illuminated by the moonlight, creating a pleasant glow around their edges.

Seeing all these beautiful colors gets me wondering: if there is a God who *created* all this beauty and wonder, what is he like? Surely the Bible only begins to express his glory. Sometimes I just stop and imagine myself at the depths of the sea, immersed in all the wonder there. Then, traveling upward, I begin to see different creatures and plants. Reaching the surface, I am awestruck by the seeming endlessness of the ocean. Swimming toward land, I find myself eventually on the shores of a sandy beach with palm trees all around. Basking in the sunshine a while, I continue to go through a rainforest. As I come out of this, I walk for a while on the plains, and then turn toward a desert. After enjoying the mysteries there for a while, I head in the direction of civilization. A bit in that path, I find a forest with all sorts of trees in it. I enjoy that and am overwhelmed at the peacefulness therein. When I come out of the forest, I am in a barren land where the sun is hot and the earth is clay. Climbing up in this landscape, I discover I am in the mountains, where a waterfall is trickling over a cliff into a great rushing river. Up here, the air is clean and the atmosphere is calming. Still, it is getting cold and snow is beginning to fall, so I start heading down the other side. As I go down, the thinness of the the air begins to disappear, the snow is less in quantity, and the foothills start coming into view below me. They are green! Quickly, I run down to take in this glory.

Glancing up, I am struck at the majesty of the mountain I just came down. Then, looking below me, I see a valley with flowers and streams and all sorts of other little wonders. Going down there, I am overcome with a sensation of joy. After a little dance with no one in particular, I continue on my journey. I see all sorts of things as I head North...cliffs, waterfalls, groves, industrial sites, forests...the list goes on and on. Finally, though, I stop on an icy shore. Before me, the water is cold. That is, what water has not been frozen. I am somewhere in the Arctic Circle.

Looking around me, I see everything cold. It's starting to get to me, though it is glorious and wonderful in its own unique way. I glance up. This glance, however, turns into much more. I gaze at the wonder above me. The sun is beginning to set, and as the colors fade, the stars are coming out. The moon is full, and it shines very brightly. As I look at this beauty, I realize how I have never seen such a sight before in the sky. The sky is beginning to dance! Stars fall here and there, planets twinkle far away, galaxies appear little by little, and colorful lights are filling the sky. How incredible! By some supernatural power, I am taken up into space. There I see the earth from afar. Then I see our Solar System. Then the Milky Way begins to appear as a whole. Moving out, the cluster of galaxies to which the Milky Way belongs starts to show itself. Then, all the galaxies and nebulae in the universe appear. Finally, I am looking at the universe, and suddenly, at the hand of God holding it all.

Doesn't that strike you with awe? The God who created all of this is amazing! And yet he loves every one of us with an extreme, passionate, overwhelming love. That he would send his Son to die for us, WE! who are fallen people, sinners, is a remarkable, inconceivable gift. That Christ would willingly die for something he did not do, in order to pay for every mistake we've ever made, tells us that we are severely loved. To deny such love is simply to not understand it. God is amazing, beautiful, compassionate, loving, creative...This God is my God, and he's worth serving!

Struck by God's grace,

Meridian

Isaiah 55: Pt. 7- Come that you may know God

For me, this week has been a really incredible week of learning and soaking in the grace of God. Today I want to conclude my little mini-series by summing up everything I've been finding in this deeply rich passage.

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

 ¹ "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.
³Incline 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;
⁷let 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.
⁸For 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,
¹¹so 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."

To conclude this series, let's look at this one more time, verse by verse, in just a sentence or two each verse.

Vs. 1: God is calling us to come to him!

Vs. 2: If we come, we must come bare before him, so that he can be sufficient for us.

Vs. 3: When we come, we can listen. If we listen and hear, then we will live.

Vs. 4: When we listen, we should become leaders and witnesses.

Vs. 5: When we witness, the nations will come.

Vs. 6: When the nations come, they will seek God, and we must show them how.

Vs. 7: If they seek God, they will leave their wicked ways and God will have compassion on them.

Vs. 8: In his compassion, God is so different from us.

Vs. 9: God's ways are not our ways: he is so much greater and higher!

Vs. 10: In his greatness, God speaks his word, and it stays and takes root.

Vs. 11: Not only does God's word take root, it also succeeds in whatever it does.

Vs. 12: As God's word succeeds, joy and peace will result among the nations-- even the mountains will worship him!

Vs. 13: This joy and peace will be everlasting, and God's reign will be forever.

Isn't this just remarkable? What a mighty God we serve!

Isaiah 55: Pt. 3- Seek that God will be found

On day four of my journey through this passage, and just gaining from it so much! Today I want to illustrate the importance of seeking God, and the benefits therein.

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

 ¹ "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.
³Incline 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."

Doesn't this just move you every time? I know it does that to me. Another notable aspect in here is how God calls us to seek him.

Vs. 6: Have you ever gone to a store, seen that perfect item, and then decided to wait? Of course, when you decided you were going to go ahead and get it, it was gone. Seeking God is not at all like shopping for the perfect fit, but it does relate. God, though eternal, will not always be available. You have been given your life at this moment in time so that you can seek God right now, and have him forever. The moment you leave this earth, though, that chance is gone. And it's not a chance worth taking! God assures eternal punishment of sins in hell for those who do not put their trust in him. But to everyone who does surrender all to him, he promises eternal rewards and joy with him in heaven forever. So, while you are able to grasp God right now, it would be a choice worth making. He is near, and he loves you. Jesus his Son was sent to die for your sins- and then on the third day he rose again so that we might be glorified with him in heaven! What greater God can you serve? He does not promise an easy, or even sinless life, on this earth. Think of heaven, though. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? It is far better to seek God now, and enjoy life with him forever.

Vs. 7: The question you may be asking if you have not already made this commitment is the question of how all this works. This verse answers the question. We are all wicked, evil, bad, however you want to describe it. Even if we did mostly good things, we still all do bad things. And a good judge, I hope we can all agree, would never say that someone who needs to be punished for a crime should get away because of all the good things he's done. It just doesn't work that way. God must punish sin. This is why he sent his sinless Son to die- because any sinful man (yes, that is all of us) would not be able to atone for sin. Only God can do that. So we first must turn to him, and then he will remove all that through the blood of his Son. What an amazing gift! Then God will draw you close to him and he will forgive and love you, seeing you as holy and as his own child.

This is the gospel at its most fundamental level: Take it, and live!

Tomorrow: Know, that you may worship

Living by his Grace,

Meridian

Isaiah 55: Pt. 1- Listen that you may drink deeply

Hello all!

In this four-part series, I want to take a look at one of my favorite Scriptural passages: Isaiah 55. In this passage, God, after showing his wrath, reveals his love to his people. Today I want to examine verses 1-3. Properly titled, "The Compassion of the Lord," it gives a beautiful, rich, and inspiring word to live by. I hope that this passage will bless you as much as it has blessed me. All Scripture quotations are ESV, courtesy of www.biblegateway.com

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

 ¹ "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.
³Incline 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."

Verse 1: These words are beautiful, refreshing, and utterly inspiring. Sometimes, in our daily rushed American lives, we become thirsty. We are workaholics, people who are so consumed with what we are doing that we can easily forget to pause and simply listen to what God has to say to us. At other times, we want to come, but are so lacking and impoverished for God and grace in life that we shrink away, viewing God as too great, or pricey for us to be able to grasp onto him. Yet, as we think these things, turning to Scripture shows us that we are exactly the kind of people he wants to come to him. He tells us here in this passage that we are welcome before him, even without money. In fact, he wants us to come without anything, and to be freely given the bread of Life.

Verse 2: What if we try to purchase bread with what we do have? God tells us (his People) in this passage that it is a waste to try to do this, because all we can purchase is stuff. There is nothing wrong with having stuff, but God doesn't want that to be our priority. If we earnestly seek him, we will find our satisfaction in him and nothing else will matter. God ought to be everything to us, because he will provide for us all we will ever need. Period.

Verse 3: What does it mean to "earnestly seek God?" This passage provides a glimpse of what it entails. First, we must listen. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone where you did all the talking? It probably didn't work very well, and it also couldn't have been very fun. We must "incline our ears" and listen to God! When we listen, we then must come naked before him, open to receive his grace. Only then can we live. We must lose our lives to gain them. Then, and then only, can we begin to truly understand the love and grace of God. This is the Gospel at its most fundamental level. Isn't it beautiful?

I love this passage so much. I hope you will join me as this week I will be meditating every day on this passage, and seeking to understand God's love and grace just a bit deeper.

Next time: Isaiah 55: Pt. 2- Lead that the nations might follow

Till then,
Resting in His Grace.

Meridian