Where Are You?

Last Sunday we continued our new message series, Questions God Asks Us. In week one, we explored the three reasons God asks us questions: (1) to be in relationship with us on God's terms; (2) to give us dignity in the relationship by allowing us to hear and be heard; and (3) to make us like Jesus. In continuing our series, we looked at the question found in Genesis 3:9, "Where are you?"

This question was asked by God of Adam and Eve at the Fall. After eating from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened and they realized they were naked, causing them to make clothes out of fig leaves and go into hiding. God, of course, knew right where they were, but looking at our three reasons, He asked the question to remain relational (even though their sin created a schism); give them dignity by allowing them to answer (like a parent who asks a child what he/she did, even knowing what the answer should be); and to focus back on God's character of honesty to truly make them more like Him (not as the way they were tempted by Satan). 

I think it is interesting to look at the idea that Adam and Eve felt naked. I think this means they felt exposed. We know how this can feel, don't we? Being exposed causes us to feel vulnerable, so we run into hiding. These days we don't do too much sewing of fig leaves, but we certainly know how to hide...perhaps we hide in our jobs, relationships, technology, entertainment, video games, and other forms of escape. Often the things in which we hide are positive and can be quite meaningful, but when we use them to hide from God or others, then we distort their purpose and continue in the schism created by Adam and Eve.

There is good news, though, and that is we have a God who pursues us! Like the Lord walking through the garden to hunt for Adam and Eve essentially saying, "come out, come out, wherever you are...", God speaks into our lives and nudges us to come out of hiding and enter into the relationship for which we were created. Sure, this can make us feel vulnerable when we have to face the questions we don't want to answer, but our relational God, who wants to give us dignity in the relationship so we can be more like Him, wants the most out of us and for us. 

So like God walking through to the Garden of Eden on that fateful day, I ask you the same question, "Where are you?" Are you hiding from God or someone else? Are you pouring your life into good things in a way that distorts purpose? Are you being called out of hiding to face life's vulnerabilities? Come out of hiding and receive the offer of relationship that is being offered to you...the very same relationship for which you were created in the first place!

I hope you will come and join us on Sunday as we continue our series exploring God's question to Cain after Abel's murder: "Where is your brother?" (Genesis 4:9) This week's message will help us consider touchy subjects like forgiveness and reconciliation. Hope to see you then!

From the Eye of the Storm

This past Sunday we began our new message series entitled, Questions GOD Asks Us, which will take us all the way up to Easter morning. The series is an exploration of ten questions asked by GOD to people in the Scriptures – five in the Old Testament and five in the New Testament – that hold relevance for us even today. These questions, as Pastor Mark taught on Sunday, have a three-fold purpose:

1. To help us reset our relational boundaries with GOD, coming to Him on His terms as opposed to ours (Exodus 19:5).
2. To give us dignity in the relationship, so we can work out our salvation with GOD’s help (Philippians 2:12-13).
3. To mold and shape us into the likeness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

When we think about GOD and questions, we probably gravitate toward the questions we have for Him. Since GOD wants to be in relationship with us, we need to pause and allow GOD the time and space to respond, acknowledging that He will often ask questions of us in return. We need to ponder GOD’s replies (even in the form of more questions!), so we can grow in relationship with Him and be made more like Jesus.

In our introductory message (which you can watch by clicking here: http://youtu.be/JR-g2lwxgko), Pastor Mark used Job 38:1-18 to illustrate how GOD used questions in a conversation with Job to reset the boundaries of their relationship. Framing this Scripture passage, we read these words that GOD spoke to Job: “I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers.... Tell me, since you know so much! Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.” The questions that GOD asked Job worked to reset the boundaries of their relationship so Job could learn from, and be comforted by, GOD. As powerful as that concept is, there was a verse in that reading that did not really strike me until after the services were completed. In Job 38:1 – after Job had arrogantly and ignorantly peppered GOD with questions – we see the shift in the narrative: “And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm.”

There is no doubt that Job was going through the proverbial storms of life. He had been inundated with loss, struggle, and calamity, and he wanted to know why. So Job 38:1 tells us that GOD replied, but it started while Job was in the eye of the storm. If you think about a hurricane, you will recall that the leading edge of the storm first hits, and then the eye, which is calm compared to the rest of the storm. Once the eye passes, however, the second part of the storm hits. In this case, the first part of the storm was Job’s calamity and second part of that storm is GOD’s reply to Job. This GOD-driven part of the conversation starts in chapter 38 and goes all the way through chapter 41. Then, as chapter 42 begins, we read Job’s reply to GOD:

“[GOD] asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’ I (Job) admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. [GOD] told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ I (Job) admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!”

So often we take our questions to GOD and dump them at His feet without providing GOD the time and space to reply. When we allow GOD time to reply, however, even in the form of more questions, we can discover the answers that we seek firsthand – with our own eyes and ears – from the very One who spun the universe into motion.

Up next in our series we will explore the first question in our series: Where Are You? GOD asked this question of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden right after the Fall (Genesis 3:1-13). GOD knew exactly where they were, but asked that question not just to probe Adam and Eve for their physical location, but their relational proximity to GOD as well.

Just as Adam and Eve were hiding, we have the tendency to hide from GOD and others when enduring the storms of life. As we hear GOD ask the question, “Where Are You?” you must consider if you are physically or figuratively hiding from GOD. Then, you can emerge from your hiding and meet the One who is relentlessly pursuing your heart for the salvation of your soul.

Have a great rest of the week and I hope to see you Sunday as we explore GOD’s question: “Where are you?”

The Heart of the Matter

This past weekend I had the privilege of serving in a retreat for students that’s prime purpose is to show and share the love of God with others. After coming home, I find myself humbly returning to the core concept of the weekend message – God loves you! It seems like such a simple concept, but it can take a lifetime to comprehend.

As I reflect over my life and how God has revealed His love to me, it is obvious just how much I still have to learn. Living life with such a powerful and loving God inspires me, empowers me, and encourages me, but it also has the ability to intimidate me, convict me, and challenge me. I hear Jesus say that I am to love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, AND my neighbor as myself. The truth is the moment I think I have it down, something happens that shows me just how far I have to go.

Rock-n-roll singer, Don Henley, had a line in his hit song, The Heart of the Matter, which says, “The more I know, the less I understand, and all the things I thought I’d figured out, I have to learn again. I’ve been trying to get down to the heart of the matter, but my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter; but I think it’s about forgiveness…” This represents something known as The Island Theory which states that the more we know, the more we realize how much we do not know. For me, just when I think I have it all figured out, God does, says, reveals, withholds, inspires, convicts, or challenges me with something new that stretches my faith and helps me grow.

Over the past month in worship, we have been exploring the power of God and how it changes the human heart. The Bible teaches that our faith is to rest on God’s power. This is the power that first brought life to our barren planet and the same power that brings new life to our barren lives. Theologian, Søren Kierkegaard once wrote, God creates out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. Yes, to be sure, but He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners."

I am a sinner. I am no saint. After a time of being confronted with God’s relentless pursuit of my heart, I am being called to consider what that means and to commit my life anew to knowing and showing the love of God. It is true that the more I know, the less I understand, but the best news is that God is still revealing His heart and molding me into the person I am called to be. The trick for me, though, is to acknowledge my powerlessness (something we human beings are reluctant to do) and accept God’s gift of grace. As Romans 5.6&8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I suppose this is the heart of the matter: we are all sinners and powerless to save ourselves. God’s relentless pursuit of us shows us that even though we are powerless, we are loved! God’s forgiveness – the same power that makes saints out of sinners – is the mobilized love that empowers us for the sake of sharing His love with the world. It might be harder to understand at certain times than others, but it doesn’t change the fact that God loves you with a powerful love to bring you into His eternal family. Saints out of sinners sinners. Powerful, isn’t it?