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Eternal Joy, God's Nearness

With-ness – Communion with God

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As I prepare to write on our deck, our little shih apso rescue dog yelps from our porch to join me. On Good Friday, she was found roaming the streets. We picked her up for adoption the next day and named her Lily[1]. Lily longs to be with us every second of the day. Without us, she pines with compassionate longing.

Scripture confirms that God’s desire to be with us is even more intense than Lily’s. Us communing with God is a major theme in the Bible. He created us so that we could enjoy fellowship with Him and, by doing so, bring Him glory.[2] It brings Him great pleasure to share Himself with us. So much so that He was willing to send forth His only Son to die on a Roman cross to restore our fellowship, broken by our sin.[3]

Trusting God's outcome

Impacting, but Leaving the Outcome to God

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Growing up in the south in the 60s, before pro teams moved to Atlanta, Charlotte and Florida, there were no locally teams to choose from. So, as a kid, I picked the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics and Baltimore Colts. A strange geographical mix, but I’ve remained faithfully loyal through lean years and championships.

One of my heroes all these years has been Bobby Richardson, second baseman for the Yankees from 1955 until 1966. Winner of three world championships, five gold gloves and eight All Star appearances, he is the only player in MLB history to win the World Series MVP for the losing team. But for all his heroics on the field Bobby is most known for his influence off the field.

This summer, some friends and I met Bobby[1] at a restaurant in his hometown of Sumter, South Carolina. We’d all read his book, Impact Player, and he was gracious enough to invite us to his favorite restaurant to discuss it. We wanted to pay for his lunch, but when we discovered the restaurant didn’t take credit cards, he picked up the tab. Awkward! Bobby then invited us back to his house to meet his wife and to see his baseball memorabilia.

God's Greater Purposes

Nearsighted? Corrective Lens not Required

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My childhood was somewhat magical. We grew up with only an acre field separating us from our maternal grandparents. On late summer afternoons, my grandfather, Pop, would tell me to get my glove. My cousins would join me if they were around. He’d then hit pop flies to us in the field between our houses. We absolutely loved it.

On one such occasion, Polly, my older cousin, told me the baseball looked like a cotton ball to her because she was so nearsighted. I think it was the first time I’d heard the term. I would soon develop the condition myself. However, what impresses me today is how nearsighted I can be spiritually.

Nearsightedness – “A condition in which close objects appear clearly, but far ones don’t.”

Unrelenting

Until the Darkness Fades

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Lord, there are giants in the land. And unlike Goliath, these giants don’t seem to be going away any time soon. People we love are sick. Relationships are broken. Loved ones don’t know Your love and are destined to an eternity without You. Folks are lonely, addicted, jobless and homeless. When we see these troubles we can easily become discouraged.

Yet, you tell us to expect troubles and to remain courageous.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33 NIV).”

Knowing this, and realizing Your greater purposes, we keep asking for Your light to shine in the darkness, around us and in us until the darkness fades.

A Firm Anchor for our Soul, Being okay in spite of great pain

Embracing God’s Greater Story Even in Our Pain

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I have a friend who’s been through a host of medical problems. They’ve been through a procedure which left them with an irritating, painful reminder of their difficulties. Sometimes the symptoms can cause isolation and loneliness. They’re trying to fight, but sometimes the pain is overwhelmingly discouraging. Physical and emotional pain can rule the day. And who can blame them?

My friend’s situation is only one of countless examples of life not turning out as we’ve planned. How do we make sure our happiness is not anchored to something we can lose?

Eternal Joy, God's Greater Purposes

Done Trying to Fix Life? (Embrace God’s Greater Story)

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Have you ever been so into watching a movie or TV series you forgot about the ‘real world’ for a while? I suppose that’s part of the appeal. For a period of time we can get so lost in what’s happening on the other side of a screen, we forget about the duties and challenges which we’ll face when we’re done. Or maybe we’ll watch another episode.

In his book, A Different Kind of Happiness, Larry Crabb awakens us to the fact that we’re all part of an eternal reality which supersedes what goes on before our eyes. This larger story, orchestrated by God, will not be thwarted. Crabb calls us to stop focusing on the temporary world and our endless pursuit of happiness. He calls this kind of circumstantial happiness – second thing happiness.

Rather he urges us to travel the narrow road of seeking what he calls first thing happiness or joy. First thing happiness is unaffected by how our lives are going because it flows from God’s larger story. He says loving like Jesus is what keeps us in the flow of God’s greater purposes.

“Loving like Jesus, self-sacrificially and not self protectively, produces first thing happiness.”

Rejoicing in Life's Moments

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life.

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I have a good friend named Ches who, when introduced to something new, will bring it to his nose to smell it. Until recently, I thought this quite odd, but now I’m seeing he may be on to something.

I was introduced to the word “quiddity” in the book, Surprised By Joy, C.S. Lewis’ autobiography. Of his friend, A. K. Hamilton Jenkins, Lewis wrote that he “seemed to be able to enjoy everything, even ugliness.”From Jenkins’ example, Lewis learned to, “attempt total surrender to whatever atmosphere was offering at the moment; in a squalid town to seek out those places where it’s squalor rose to grimness and almost grandeur,” He called this a “serious, yet gleeful determination to rub one’s nose in the very quiddity of each thing, to rejoice in its being (so magnificently) what it was.”

How could a fuller understanding and application of Quiddity change your life?

Crucified with Christ, Dying that we might Live

Death, the Path to Life

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“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24 Picture this: You and a couple of your closest friends are on a journey together. I mean these are close friends. In fact you’ve pretty much spent … Continue reading Death, the Path to Life →

Hearts

Near to the Broken Hearted

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The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18 Whether we know it or not, we all suffer from a broken heart. Knowing this is the first step towards healing. But how we choose to mend it is the key to whether we are comforted and eventually … Continue reading Near to the Broken Hearted →