Chronicles Reflections

I've been doing some "light" reading in Chronicles. Recently, in my journey of reading through the Bible this year, I've been coming across not a few kings in Judah whose lives, while being listed as “mostly good” as far as their deeds were concerned, were followed by the denunciation: Nevertheless, they did not follow Adonai wholeheartedly.

Amatzyahu was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Y’ho‘adan, from Yerushalayim. He did what was right from Adonai’s perspective, but not wholeheartedly.

We had this whole discussion about it the other morning while we were having coffee on the deck, which got me thinking: “What does it look like to follow God wholeheartedly?”

Amaziah started off being a good King, but then he went into battle against Edom, and ended up bringing back their gods (by which I assumed is meant idols) and setting them up alongside YHVH, the one true living God.

After Amatzyahu returned from the slaughter of the people from Edom, he brought the gods of the people of Se‘ir and set them up as his own gods, prostrating himself before them and offering incense to them.  

In what ways does God look at us and see us doing the very same thing? 

I think if we are going to examine that, we're going to have to define what we consider a god, what we consider to be wholehearted.

In our western church and in our western society in general, there is such a syncretism - a blending of the sacred and the common. God called us to be set apart, but what does that actually look like in real life? We are a blend of cultures and traditions with a long history of adopting cherished practices which are generations removed from our pagan ancestors. In our eyes, we reason that those practices have been “redeemed” somehow, when in fact, Scripture says nothing of the sort. We as humans have been redeemed, but we are told to “put aside foreign gods”, the sins “which cling so closely”, and “renounce disgraceful ways”. We are quick to criticize the Pharisees, but we too “leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

Does being set apart just mean putting on nice clothes and walking through the church doors one day a week? Is that really what it takes to be set apart? If so, we have millions of people doing just that but living their lives looking exactly like the rest of the world. So my question remains, what exactly are they set apart from?

Somehow I don’t think we define it the same way God does.

• Moses outlined how clothing, decorative items, food, people, and even land could be “set apart for God”

• Jesus said that he had been set apart for holiness, so that [we] too may be set apart for holiness by means of the truth. 

• Jesus was set apart by his having been resurrected from the dead.

• Paul calls us to offer ourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. He further says we are “freed from sin and enslaved to God” which “consists in being made holy, set apart for God, and its end result is eternal life.”

And why are we to be set apart? Ezekiel explains it:

…’The nations will know that I am Adonai ,’ says Adonai Elohim , ‘when, before their eyes, I am set apart through you to be regarded as holy.’

The whole reason we are to live our lives set apart, whole-hearted unto God is so that the rest of the world will see a difference in us - AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD. I am not saying we need to thump our Big Black Bibles in their faces and doom them to hell. Living a life set apart means just that: We Look Different from the rest of the world.

Everyone of us has our own list of things that pull us away from wholeheartedness. I could make a list, but that would be my list - and it’s most likely that the things I struggle with don’t even attract you, and vice versa. I think the question comes down to: what am I seeking, spending time on, wishing for, or worrying about that does not portray the Truth of Who God Is?

If we don’t know Who God Is, then we will have a hard time discerning those answers. I make it a practice while reading my Bible to use a blue colored pencil to highlight statements of truth about Who God is. As I do that, it helps form a clearer, more accurate picture of how God is portrayed in His Word - which is usually a whole lot different from how the rest of the world portrays him! 

Following Him wholeheartedly just means to me that I need to be living my life lined up with the belief that God really is who He said He is, not what I think He should look like, what I heard from someone else that He looks like, or what the world says He looks like. The truth is: He loves me. He has a good plan for my life - but it does not have to line up with my expectations or desires, because He is God and I am not. Living anything different would be putting myself in His place. 

I hope that in so doing, I will be able to say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:

…:our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand… But if not… we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

And with Job:

“Though he slay me, I will hope in him…”

What is He Worth?

I had an odd dream last night, which for me is nothing unusual. Most of my dreams are convoluted, to say the least, and better left on the pillow than remembering for any prophetic value. 

This time, the question was posed about a well-known person in the entertainment industry: What is he worth? 

My immediate thought was: To whom? 

What we are worth is first of all going to be answered by how we define the word WORTH. And it then depends on who is answering the question: His CPA or financial advisor? His studio? His ex-wife? His mother? 

What any one of us is worth depends on pretty much the same criteria. But the opinion many don’t consider asking about is not of a person or an entity, it is of the One who created us - who knew us before we were formed. 

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them. 

Psalm 139:13-16 

This was the verse given to me as a young, newly-married person - someone who did not see herself through a proper lens. The older we get, the longer it takes to filter out the noise of everything that life has dished out to us, but understanding who we really are and how we are valued by the One who designed and created us is the starting place and the best platform on which to build our true sense of self-worth.

When we can see our value from the eyes of one who loves us - our innermost being - that puts all of the rest into proper perspective. It frames how we live, what we in turn value, and how we treat others. 

What are Your 2 Mites?

Last night I was hoping to have some lucid dreams that had significance instead of the goofy mixed up ones that I could barely remember in the morning. Something that I asked for as I lay in bed was a peaceful rest. 

What came to me was somewhat of a lesson, or an amalgamation of things I have been hearing over the past days and weeks. Somewhat of an "aha! moment," if you will.

A little over a week ago, Andrew taught about the parable of the talents. Now, I don't think it was a mistake or a coincidence that the original language was translated as "talents." Yes, it did refer to money in the original culture, but the application is so much broader than how we steward our money. How we steward the character qualities, the gifts that God has given us, is equally as important as we learn to discern how God is working in our lives.

It came to me in the form of a dream last night in which I was trying to convey the concept to my friend Tami who teaches and loves on the young children at church. What a perfect age to start learning what it looks like for God to be working in and through you to accomplish His greater plan. 

I started thinking of people I know who are gifted in areas that I am lacking. My friend Denyse has the uncanny ability to SEE people who are overlooked by others and make them feel SEEN. People who are shy, introverted, or wounded easily pop onto her radar, and she does not shirk at singling them out, talking to them, hearing their story, and often - if the situation warrants it - doing something to help when there is a need to be met. She is also gifted with what we jokingly call the "Martha Stewart anointing." No one I know can organize and pull off a simple or a special gathering so creatively and elegantly and all the while make people feel welcome and right at home.

With so many good examples in the friends that I have, I could go on for quite awhile listing their talents or gifts, but I think maybe just elaborating on a few will get the thought across of how we can be on the lookout to recognize - and possibly call out - these qualities and gifts where we see them.

Recognizing gifts we see in others can go a long way toward nurturing and growing a gift that is maybe unseen by the one with that particular talent. I know people who are gifted with numbers and arithmetic - to the point that they can merely look at a long list of numbers and tell you within a few dollars what the total is. They are also gifted with understanding statistics and how to apply them to practical matters, such as investing, saving, budgeting, and managing resources. This gift has translated to helping people with limited resources and blessing the local church and beyond.

As important and meaningful as such talents as music, acting, writing, and other gifts of artistic expression are, how we use them to bless others and thereby glorify God is equally - if not more important. Years ago, there was a father who brought his twin sons regularly to mow lawns and rake leaves at the church. Not only was he quietly displaying a gift of service, he was instilling in his sons the importance of giving back to bless others. It is not insignificant that Jesus pointed out to the disciples the widow who gave 2 mites. The amount of money we give, the "significance" that others attribute to our talent is irrelevant when it does not bring honor to God and further His kingdom in the lives of others and our community.

Comforting the sick or bereaved, standing up for the marginalized, sewing quilts for the veteran's home or foster agency, singing in a rest home, giving half of your sandwich to someone on the playground who "forgot" their lunch, walking 2 miles through the park with friends with friends to raise funds to feed the homeless or provide clean water in an African village, speaking truth to someone who has been living a life deceived by lies... there are so many ways and instances where we think we only have 2 mites, but God is able and regularly shows up and multiplies our meagre talents and gifts to transform and reform.

And all this, because we ask.

Anxious and Annoying

I had an interesting conversation this morning with a former NorthState resident; we were commenting on the sudden and unexpected death of our Congressman Doug LaMalfa that hit the news this morning. Not everyone in our district was a fan of Doug, as evidenced by the weekly protesters outside of our business complex where he had his office.

I must have indicated some hesitation in my response, because she surmised that I was "non political." 

No - not even an inch. I decided long ago that "being political" was a not just a waste of my time and energy - seriously, what of anything that I could do would make a difference? (Aside from voting, of course.) I told her that getting myself worked up about what the bigwigs were up to just made me anxious and annoying, not to mention the rise in my blood pressure.

And I will admit to being more than a bit snarky at the protesters every week as I crossed their "picket line."

I did like Doug, and was sorry to hear the sad news. I think it is telling when people are glad to hear about the death of someone they disagree with. Besides that, "This world is not my home."

RIP Congressman LaMalfa