Waiting on the “Good Stuff”

So tonight, in an incident with my 4 year old son, I had a snapshot of my life with the Lord over the last three years or so. We had some ice cream to give the children as dessert, but we require them to clean their plates before dessert is served. Tonight we decided not to tell them what the dessert was until it was time to bring it out. My son got done quickly so as to get the “prize”, and came to me to ask for his promised reward. His sister was not quite done, and there were some other reasons it wasn’t the right time to bring out the treats. The exchange went something like this:

Son: “Daddy, can I have my prize now?”

Daddy: “It’s not quite the right time buddy. Not just yet.”

Son, starting to cry and complain: “But I finished my food…”

Daddy, stopping the fussing in its tracks: “Now wait a minute, I just want you to wait patiently until I decide the time is right. We’ll bring out the good stuff in a minute.”

Son, still struggling to hold back the tears: “But how long do I have to wait?”

Daddy, starting to tear up himself because he sees the parallel to what God has been asking of him these last few years, and having compassion on the struggle within his son to wait: “Son, do you trust me?”

Son: “Yes.”

Daddy: “Do you believe me when I say that the good stuff is coming later?”

Son: “Yes”

Daddy, fighting back tears because he didn’t expect to be on the “Father” side of this discussion after so many times speaking like the “Son”, and also because his tears are causing more struggle in his boy: “All right, then I just need you to wait on me to decide when the time is right. It will be ok. I promise the good stuff is coming later.”

Son, finally submitting quietly, though still with tears in his eyes: “Yes, sir.”

And then of course this Daddy had to swallow the big old lump in his throat and compose himself. I realized I had just been given a mini-moment of understanding into the heart of God when he asks us to wait. There was no way for my son to really understand, even if I had told him, the nuances of reasoning that went into asking him to wait for his reward. He just simply had to trust me to make good on my promise, and to love him, and to know exactly when and where to bring out “the good stuff.”

And how much is that like what I have been dealing with God about. Asking me to wait on Him, with no hint or inclination that what I hope for will be realized any time soon. “But how long do I have to wait?” ) He just says wait. But I think he knows what he is doing, and I trust him to be a good Father.

Thank the Lord that he is a better father than I am! And if I, “being evil, know how to give good gifts unto [my] children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Matt. 7:11

The Butterfly Effect

Here is a quote I came across today that I decided was worth sharing. It comes from Steve McVey in his book “Grace Walk”.

“It is important to see yourself as God sees you. You know how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly through the process of metamorphosis. The caterpillar weaves a cocoon around itself and a short time later emerges as a butterfly.

“If you were to see a butterfly, it would never occur to you to say, ‘Hey, everybody! Come look at this good-looking converted worm!’ Why not? After all, it was a worm. And it was ‘converted.’ No, now it is a new creature, and you don’t think of it in terms of what it was. You see it as it is now – a butterfly.  

Amazing video from space station

Here is a link to my other blog, with a post about a video I found to be amazing!

http://wp.me/pDdp6-32

God’s Name: A Pathway to More of Christ

John 17:26 – And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

These words of Jesus, spoken at the very end of his “High Priestly Prayer”, give us an important key to growing in the love of Christ, and really to having more of Himself in us. Jesus said he would declare the NAME of the Father to his disciples. (i.e. you and I.) And for what purpose? That the love which the Father had for Christ might be in us, and so that Jesus himself might also be in us. In essence, that the Divine Love might fill us and overflow to others. This is at least one purpose of knowing the names of God.

Names of God? You may say, “But I thought he just had one name?” Actually, he is referred to by several in the Scriptures. Father, Father of Lights, YHVH, Adoni, I AM, Elohim, etc. This only scratches the surface, and doesn’t even count all the many names of Christ. You might think of them as titles if that helps you understand the concept better. 

A name reflects the identity of the person who carries that name. It also often reveals the character of the person. It certainly did in the Bible, and most definitely does reveal the character of God. One of my mentors, Dr. Jim Logan, once said that the key to a deep prayer life is to know and study the names of God.

Here is a partial list to get you started:

El Shaddai – God Almighty

El Elyon – God Most High

Adonai – Lord, Master

YHVH – LORD

YHVH Raah – The Lord my Shepherd

YHVH Yirah – The Lord will Provide

YHVH Shallom – The Lord is Peace

El Olam – The Everlasting God

El Emeth – The God of Truth

And here is an article or two that have some further information on these and other names.

http://bible.org/article/names-god

http://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm

As you study these, remember the purpose of knowing them. Jesus said it will help us to be full of the love of God, and the life of Christ, if we will pay attention as He himself “declares” these names unto us.

A Leader God Honors – Part 3

And the conclusion of a lengthy sermon. Yeah, I don’t think this one qualifies as a “sermonette”. A little too long for that. )

Application to Men

So how do we apply these lessons in our lives today? How does a man living in this day and age put into practice these principles illustrated in the life of Saul and Jonathan?

A Leader God Honors – Part 2

Continuing the series on leadership, begun last time with part 1:

What about the other leader? What about the one that God honors with a great victory? Actually it comes from an unlikely corner. In fact, from a person you would not expect to be a great leader if you consider who his father was. The leader God honored was Jonathan, Saul’s son.

Jonathan and his armor bearer attack!

In 1 Samuel 14 we read of what happened to young prince Jonathan and his armor bearer. The nobility of his actions stand in stark contrast to the behavior of his father in the same situation. We can observe four things in Jonathan’s actions and his statements that are solid, manly qualities that all men should seek after. He had great faith, he was full of courage, he displayed wisdom, and was submitted to God’s will. 

A Leader God Honors – Part 1

Today everyone is interested in leadership. There are books and magazines and seminars on everything from leadership principles to leadership styles, even dressing like a leader. But what does God think about leadership? Lots of books on that too, actually. So, without wanting to sound redundant, I present a “case study” of sorts on two leaders in Scripture. Maybe that will give us some helpful insight into this important issue.

Let us observe what type of leader God chooses to honor. What are the elements that made this particular leader outstanding? And we should also observe a leader which displeased God, and why. Much can be gained through the comparison.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

First let’s look at King Saul in 1 Samuel 13.