Awaiting

Awaiting

I think I miss out on a whole segment of life because I’m a man. We men are wired certain ways. Traditionally, we have been typecast into being the hunter-gatherer; the female, the nurturer. Women shop, men purchase. Men charge the mall as though they are overtaking a strongly fortified castle. Females saunter about from store to store as though it is a flowery meadow, taking in the sights.

I realize there are many exceptions to all of those statements, but there are certainly differences (other than anatomy), generally speaking, between male and female. These differences are what cause men to miss out on so much. Let’s go back to the mall example. If I need a shirt, I go to the store where I typically find shirts that I like. If they have what I want, I purchase the shirt and leave the mall. My wife would look in all the stores to see if there might be something she liked better, or could get at a better price. Amazingly, she “finds” all kinds of deals that she didn’t even know were there.

Let me get to the point of this article. When dealing with our relationship with God, men usually take a more direct approach to things. We look in the Bible to find the answer or solution we seek. We pray for the need at hand. We worship when it’s time to worship. Women seem to approach God with a more contemplative demeanor. They tend to be more relational. This brings me to the thought that sparked this whole dialogue.

My friend, Ed Chinn, shared a quote with me recently by Simone Weil, who wrote, “What is most important cannot be searched for, it must be awaited.” Immediately I went to passages of scripture like, “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened.” Also, “I press toward the mark of the calling we have in Christ Jesus.” Those are manly scriptures. How can this comment by Simone Weil be true?

Then I recalled some other passages, like, “The eyes of the Lord roam to and fro throughout the whole earth looking for those whose heart is perfect toward Him.” There is nothing about “searching” in this passage, only “awaiting.” Without going much further here, for sake of time, let me tell you where I have come to land on this. I believe “awaiting” in this instance is our exercise of faith.

You see, we do seek after the Lord, but we must do so in faith, expecting. Even in our searching we have to keep our hearts open to “find” what the Lord has for us in every moment of every day. If we do not “await” His coming, even in the mundane, we will miss out on so much of life. Maybe us guys need some help from you ladies on this one. Teach us how to “await” so we will not miss the Lord when He appears.

Secrets – A Poem

Secrets – A Poem

by Dudley M. Harris

It never seems to happen intentionally

A bit of information, an accidental glimpse

Knowledge you can’t un-know

Now part of your portents

You want to tell your new-found truth

To a trusted friend or public writ

The problem comes when pressed to share

You withhold a tiny bit

Like a flake of gold in the miner’s pan

It glistens in the light

A treasure, it seems, you hold so dear

A secret – your delight

What makes it seem more special still

Is when others find you have one

The coy demeanor, inflected voice

You beam brighter than the sun

Secrets do not always gain

In value with their age

Sometimes it’s like a cancerous growth

Small and harmless, in deadly rage

When brought to light before you want

A secret can bring great pain

Just speak the truth when first you voice

Your peace will always remain

© Kurios Publishing. 6 August 2015

Psalm 1 – The Progression of Man

Psalm 1 – The Progression of Man

Psalm 1:1-6 (ESV)

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The first psalm gives us an interesting look at progressions. Our lives consist of a series of progressions. We even call them the “ages” of man: newborn, toddler, adolescence, teenager, adult, elderly. (There are many other lists, but this one makes sense to me.)

Each age is a progression. This psalm gives us some insight into both positive and negative progressions. It begins with the negative. The psalmist starts by describing things that a blessed person would not do.

The sequence is as follows: walk, stand, sit. When you apply this sequence to the life of a follower of Christ it demonstrates how one might fall back from their commitment they made. Paul describes the Christian life as “running the race.” With this in mind, let’s look at the steps given in Psalm 1.

When we stop running, we begin to walk. This seems to be relatively harmless. We get weary, we just want to get our breath. However, when we slow our pace we become more vulnerable to the counsel of others that do not have our best interest in mind. Some of these voices may be the reason we slowed down in the first place. It is always dangerous to leave the jetstream of the Holy Spirit.

Once we have broken stride we become even more vulnerable to other influences. The psalmist calls them “sinners.” We begin to stand. Standing indicates lack of mobility. If you are not moving forward in your walk with Christ you become more vulnerable to temptations. This halted state can then lead us to just “sit down” among the scornful. The Hebrew word for scornful is “loots”, which means, “make mouths.”

You’ve seen this. Sometimes one will stand behind a person and mock them by acting as though they are speaking. They are scoffing them. I have seen this far too many times when people begin to drift away from their relationship with the Lord. They begin to mock the very ones that desire to see God’s best fulfilled in their life. You do not arrive at this place quickly. It is a progression, and it begins by simply slowing down the pace at which you pursue the Lord.

The good news is, there is a way out. The psalmist then follows with another progression; a positive one: delight, meditate, plant, fruit. If you feel your passion for the Lord has waned from where you once were in your relationship with Him, the path back is simple. Even if you have never slowed your pace of pursuit of the Lord, the progression will keep you seeking harder than ever.

It begins with delighting in the Word of God, the Bible. Not only do you delight in reading it, you begin to meditate on what the Lord has said. Meditation is not some far Eastern cult practice. Christian meditation on scripture is where you simply consider what it says, and then allow the Holy Spirit to reveal how it applies to your life. The simple definition of meditate is, “to engage in contemplation or reflection.” It doesn’t require any special training or equipment, or even location. Just give yourself some room and time to think about what the Bible says about you.

When you develop the habit of reading and contemplating scripture you will become planted, or established, in the things of God. This will give you renewed strength and stamina to resume “The Race” for the Kingdom. Once you are back in the jetstream of the Holy Spirit, running with the Lord’s Wind, you begin to bear fruit. It really is that simple.

Regardless of where you are in the progressions mentioned above, realize that God is ready to meet you with grace to pursue Him. It is only by grace that we can run, and it is only by grace that we even know the Lord. Resist the temptation to stop running. If you find yourself off course, walking, standing, or even sitting, God’s grace is still available for you.

Book of Life – A Poem

Book of Life – A Poem

By Dudley M. Harris

Your Word, O Lord, is like a bottle of ink.

My tongue is as the writer’s quill

When dipped into the inkwell deep

Words on my life-page become Your will

Chapter by chapter You write with ease

Weaving a master tale

Each noun and verb like poetry

The protagonist cannot fail

When the leading role seems headed for loss

You quickly come to guide

With effortless power restoring his hope

Again safe in Your love to abide

Page by page the biography morphs

From the story of just a man

As the subject is changed, from glory to glory

All according to His plan

Each day the image becomes ever clear

That of the only Begotten

The Author has the same story in mind

For every single person

With the final verse written, the story thus told

I stand at the Master’s feet

Amazed at the life you’ve given me

In Jesus, now complete

© Kurios Publishing 05 October 2015

Sober

Sober

Note: I wrote this a while back. The reference to time would be closer to 3-4 years ago.

I don’t know if I have ever considered the word “sober” as mentioned in scripture, but I believe I have come to that place in recent days. I don’t know how else to describe it. In the past few days several friends have encountered some life-changing events. Not the good kind. They didn’t get the promotion at work, or gifted with a new car or house, or receive word of promise for a worry-free future.

No. They received word that a precious daughter on the verge of launching into the prime of life may have a debilitating disease. They found out their precious young daughter is not developing properly. They learned their father/husband/grandfather/friend is facing the most difficult struggle of his life.

Singing the fast songs at church will not change their circumstance. Hearing a well-phrased sermon on how to be a good church member does not give them substance.

No. They need something of substance that can secure them in this tumultuous sea of fear. They need hope. They need a Savior.

I love to hear encouraging words. It’s part of my love language. I love giving encouragement. I love to do things for people. However, in times like those described earlier encouragement does not overcome the raucous din of the news bombarding the very core of their faith.

It is in moments like these that I remember the verse in Psalm 11.

Psalm 11:3 (ESV) if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

It is in these times that we “sober up”, become fully aware of our mortality, and realize that without God we are hopeless. However, WITH God there is always hope! I believe the psalmist was having one of these moments when they penned Psalm 18.

Psalm 18:1-2 (ESV) I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

If the foundations are removed it means you are down to bedrock. There is nowhere left to go. You have reached “the bottom”, but you have found the Lord. He can build your life again, if you allow Him. If He is the foundation your life will be firmly anchored for any storm that may present itself.

Peter encouraged those in his day with these words, and God preserved them as counsel for us to live by today.

1 Peter 5:8-11 (ESV) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

It is time to sober up.