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Category Archives: Relationship

A Frightening God

04 Aug

In reference to Exodus 19:17-20:21:

There are several reasons why the Israelites don’t want to be close to God. Yahweh’s behavior in this passage is intimidating, with all the lightning, thunder, smoke and explosions (reminiscent of the enchanter Tim in The Holy Grail). Who would want to get close to all that fire and noise?

Yahweh does distance himself here from his people, but he does it for a purpose. He has just delivered them from Egyptian bondage, and lest they think he will protect them no matter how they behave, he wants them to revere him, particularly as he delivers the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17). They need to understand that he is holy, powerful, and concerned about obedience.

But in this incident, even as Yahweh is loud and frightful, he is also near and tangible. At the beginning of the passage, Moses brings the people out of their camp for the purpose of meeting God. God doesn’t allow them to come close, but there’s a good reason for that: he’s trying to protect them from harm.

God Behaving Badly by David Lamb

 
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Posted by on August 4, 2011 in Belief, Discipleship, God, Growth, Lamb, Motivation, Relationship

 

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A Quick Spiritual Transaction

05 May

I think we often treat God like we do a vending machine. When you walk up to a vending machine, you expect to insert the appropriate amount of money, press the correct number or code, and out will pop whatever you were hungry for. The whole process takes about forty-five seconds.

We expect the same thing with God. Maybe not consciously. Maybe we’d never say it. But we still assume that if we do all the right things, say all the right things, and have the right attitude, we can simply press a magic spiritual button and get whatever it is we desire in the moment. We are looking for a quick spiritual transaction that doesn’t necessarily lead to a deeper lever of intimacy but gives us what we want. And like children, we want it now!

Plan B by Pete Wilson

 
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Posted by on May 5, 2011 in Belief, Discipleship, Faith, God, Idols, Life, Perspective, Relationship, Spirituality, Wilson

 

The Unknown Parts of God

14 Apr

Yesterday as I was driving around town I was pondering the statement, “God wants to be known.” I deeply believe that God does not hide. While He is mysterious, He desires us to know and experience Him through relationship. Jesus’ prayer with the disciples before His crucifixion recorded in John 17 talks about the knowledge of God that comes through relationship.

While I believe in God’s desire to be known, I have an issue with the unknown parts of God’s character. There are things that He has not answered about the way He works and about His character. My assumption that He wants to be known creates a tension with what He has not revealed through His word, His creation, and His community.

I have a couple of options on how to handle this situation. The first is to state that what He has not revealed to us is not important to knowing Him. The questions we have about Him in these areas are not important to understanding Him. The second option is to state that what He has not revealed is not comprehensible to us now either because of sinfulness or how we are created. This means that the boundaries of our humanness will always limit our knowledge of Him.

This forced me back to an assumption in my understanding of God’s desire to be known, does relationship mean a journey to complete knowledge?

 
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Posted by on April 14, 2011 in Belief, Christianity, Faith, God, Growth, Learning, Relationship

 

>From Death to Life

14 Jun

>My wife and I have great conversations on I-20. It happens because it is one of the few times we have uninterrupted moments to talk. It is through those uninterrupted times we will finally get to conversations beyond managing life to the deeper desires and dreams we have for our lives.

On our recent return trip, I broached a topic that I had wanted to talk about for a while. I knew it would not be easy but I also knew it would be well worth it after the fact. It centered on my desire to go back to school to pursue a doctorate.

She knew this was a desire I have had from other conversations. As I got into the conversation I remembered praying to God that He would let it go well. It went great! But it did not go the way I wanted. Through tears, a dream I had died.

It did not die because of lack of support or understanding. It died because, as my wife does so well in my life, truth came into focus. My dream was about chasing prestige and approval rather than anything else. It was painful to let go. It had been my little god for a while. But it was time to face the fact that it needed to be put to death. It did not die easily. It had been my focus and the object of my affection. But in the light of truth, the simplicity of its idolatry came to light.

God did not just remove the idol but replaced it with something better. The more we talked, the more I began to get a clearer picture of how giftedness, desire, and dreams might come together. It did not smooth away all the pain but it helped to provide hope and clarity to the process. It will be fun to see this new dream find its expression.

 
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Posted by on June 14, 2010 in Dreams, Faith, Honesty, Idols, Relationship, Trust

 

>Taking a Break

29 Apr

>I am at a point where I better understand God’s wisdom in providing times of rest and reflection for His people. I am getting away for a week and I am also going to try and get unplugged. I have not had this kind of feeling in a long time. But I am aware of it now. I am looking forward to seeing what God has for me to see and learn as I take a break.

 
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Posted by on April 29, 2010 in Pause, Perspective, Reflection, Relationship, Rest

 

>Saying "Goodbye" and We Never Said "Hello"

24 Mar

>About two years ago, I started following Michael Spencer online through Internet Monk. He wrote with an honesty about his faith and life that communicated deeply with me. I found a resonance with him and the way he communicated. There were times I would laugh and cry as I read his blog. I felt connected to him in a small way though we had never met.

Micheal is now in the last stages of his battle with cancer. It was a quick thief. Through following him and his story, I have seen the power of asking questions, being open about struggle, and the call to follow, at times, without understanding. Micheal has pointed me back to the person of Christ time and time again. I am grateful that we will both get to meet Him.

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2010 in Christ, Christianity, Faith, internet, Loss, Relationship, Trust

 

>Having more going on than you understand?

13 Mar

>My computer is causing me all kinds of problems. There is nothing like have an great tool and not understanding it well enough to make it work the way it was designed to run. I think that is how most of us live our lives. We understand somethings but not the whole well enough. Even being in a relationship with God, we are not going to be able to understand it all. That is why we must trust Him.

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2010 in Faith, Life, Relationship, Trust

 
 
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