Lifeverse

For the longest time I resisted the idea of having a lifeverse. I thought, “Why limit myself to just one . . . ? I don’t want just one – I want them all!”

But back in the spring the idea of having a verse that applied to my life in a special way began to gain momentum. It was an idea that kept surfacing and resurfacing. It was in things I read. It was on the lips of people I talked to. I guess really the idea is not that you necessarily pick a verse that you want to be special. It’s more about coming to recognize a verse that has been on the signposts of your own road again and again.

So I began to think and reflect. And think. And feel. And before long it came to me. It was probably one of the first passages that I highlighted in my bible (when I started doing that . . . probably back in Crusaders). In particular, it was a verse that God had shown himself faithful to me again and again throughout the big (and small) life decisions I’ve made so far.

I landed on my verse when we were on vacation. Sitting on the beach with Kristy, I was all proud of my recent discovery and figured I would go ahead and impress her. So I brought up the topic of the lifeverse and asked her if she had one (thinking that I was the only special one).

Without hesitating she said, “Yep.”

“What is it?”

“Matthew 6:33.”

I sat there for a few moments. Pause.

“No way.”

“What?”

“That’s MINE! Lifeverse stealer.”

[Let this be a lesson to all you potential lifeverse people: other people might have the same lifeverse as you. And that’s ok.]

So as much fun as it might be to write here that we proceeded to get in a big wrestling match – the truth is: how cool is that? That my wife has the same lifeverse as me? That’s another good sign that we’re a match made in heaven.

[By the way – here’s the verse: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” ESV - - - Jeff’s supplemental note: which “things”? all the things you need.]

As I’ve sought to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness first, he has always provided me with (at the very least) my needs (so often much much more). Recently with increasing frequency our needs are being met through the generousity of friends and family responding obediently and graciously to God’s prompting.

Not long after my happy discoveries ((1) discovering my own lifeverse (2) discovering who I shared it with) I was reading Luke 4. While Jesus probably wouldn’t join the fray, “HEY GUYS! I’ve got a lifeverse TOO!” - - his quotation of Isaiah 61 at the beginning of his ministry comes kind of close to a lifeverse (“kinda” = hundreds of prophecies in the OT refer specifically to him, the NT tells his story and unpacks his ministry, and he is . . . the incarnate Word of God. But just go along with me.)

So, you can go ahead and read Luke 4: 18-19 where Jesus quotes part of Isaiah 61, but let me quote a little larger chunk of it:

The Year of the LORD’s Favor

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

(Isaiah 61:1-4 ESV)

Pretty cool, huh?

When we first come to faith in Christ, and we begin our journey as his followers and apprentices – it’s exciting! Part of our excitement comes from what we receive. We are fresh recipients and experiencers of God’s grace and forgiveness. Everything becomes fresh again. Broken hearts are bound up, liberty is proclaimed to captives (us).

But as time goes by, things can get stunted in our Christ-following if we stop at just receiving from him. The intention is that we grow into his likeness and take on his ministry. We go from being recipients to becoming dispensers (but note: as we grow in the dispensing we grow even more in the receiving. That’s just the way God is.)

We become the ones to bring good news to the poor.

With that good news, we are sent to bind up the brokenhearted.

To proclaim liberty for the captives.

To open the prisons of those who are bound.

To comfort those who mourn.

To rebuild where there has been destruction.

And on and on . . .


How do we get there? Read the latest Christian book with buzz? Go to the best conferences and hear the best speakers?

Those things may help, but I like what Richard Foster writes in his book Celebration of Discipline:

“To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ . . . In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts after him: to desire the things he desires, to love the things he loves, to will the things he wills. Progressively we are taught to see things from his point of view.”

Progressively we are changed to embody Isaiah 61 (and all the other lifeverses) more and more. In light of how well he said it in the above paragraph, I’d like to give Richard Foster the last word here:

“All who have walked with God have viewed prayer as the main business of their lives.”

Beyond Rational (Curveballs Part 2)

My last post about Coldplay and Rick Astley was devoid of content. After opening my blog a few times over the past few days (kind of half-consciously seeing if anything new had been posted . . . resisting the knowledge that it would have to be me who posted anything . . .) and repeatedly seeing that random story of misadventure in radio . . .

. . . something finally took shape.

Last week I watched a little bit of an episode of The Hour with George Strombolopolous (sp? have mercy on me). His guests were the guys that made the Religulous movie. You can google it, but the basic premise of the movie is that religions are irrational and thereby, religious people are irrational.

In the interview they gave their version of various bible stories, and even a summary of their version of the Godhead sending Jesus to earth to die for the sins of humanity. And they lumped it all together saying: "Rational people don't believe things like this."

I haven't seen the movie (I suspect that if I did I'd have a lot more to mull over) but I've mulled this interview over a bit and have a couple of thoughts.

Among other things, these guys were referring to (specifically) the bible as being a book of fairy tales - - - full of things that "don't happen." The bible is full of irrationalities. Thereby: people who read and believe such things are irrational. Their implication: Christians are (1) not worthy of (at the very least) their respect (2) dangerous.

Well. I agree. I disagree.

The Bible IS a strange book. It's full of all kinds of not so normal occurrences. That's kind of the point. Who is the main character of the Bible? Always, it is God. If the main character of the Bible is a creator God, who not only created us, but also the universe we live in, and the laws that govern it . . . then I think it would be rational that he would reveal himself to us in ways that show he actually is in control of (i.e. above, outside of, not limited to) the laws of nature (that mercifully allow us to exist in a world that is predictable - nature wise).

It's not a perfect illustration - but thinking otherwise would kind of be like basketball players rejecting James Naismith (creator of basketball) if they found him not abiding by the rules of basketball in his everyday life. "How could he be the creator of basketball? He travels, he double dribbles . . . sometimes he's nowhere close to a basketball."

It would be a huge let down if God was really strapped and confined by what he set in order. Don't you think?

My other thought stemmed out of the title of my last post. "Curveball: Never Gonna Give You Up." I guess if the Bible was purely rational, and if God was purely rational = = he probably would have given up on us (read: wiped us all out) by now.

Imagine creating a little village of lego people (. . . strangely similar in ability to us . . . just smaller). Except they refuse to listen to you, they actually heap abuse on you, and many actually spend their lives denying your existence.

A rational response would be: "Why put up with guff from lego people? I'm going to put them back in the box, and maybe try again . . . or just forget the whole thing altogether." (Again, not a perfect illustration . . .)

Strict rationality in our relationships with one another will leave most of us wounded and alone because we hurt each other (insert Bono: "then we do it again"), we break trust etc. etc. What are the irrational ointments that make relationships with one another possible? Grace and mercy (two things the Bible reveals God is full of). And what about forgiveness? Not always a rational thing either. How about . . . love? Purely rational and reasonable? I like Foy Vance's lyric: "You can only love, what you die for (baaaabe)."

And that's just between people. Even more mind blowing is the irrational message of the Bible - that no matter what we do, God likes tossing curveballs. God could probably throw a mean fastball too, but the curveballs he likes best are: grace, mercy, forgiveness, unconditional love. No matter what we've done, or what we do God says (sings - even more tunefully than Rick Astley): "I'll never give up on you. Acknowledge your need of my forgiveness, and my ability to provide it and wipe your slate clean through the sacrifice made by my Son, know the depth of my love for you, know the good plans I have for you, know the pleasure of simply being in my presence. You don't deserve it, no one deserves it - - - but that's what I AM like. I take great pleasure in knowing you, you knowing me, and having you walk with Me through the life I've given you."

Pretty irrational huh?