Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Get A Life
Welcome Sandra, link provided to the left, to the BlogFellowship. She
always gave me an impression of quiet competence as we worked together at
Mosaic in Beverly Hills. Hints of passion came out when she got hold of a
camera, but this didn't happen often. Read her Blog and you'll find another
person, one much different from the diffident-seeming Temple Slave.
If you make the Most High your dwelling--
even the Lord, who is my refuge--
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent. (Psalm 91:9-13, NIV)
Lu yesterday posted a quick message about "her number," based on a little
quiz on a Web site. I went there and took the quiz, coming up a 5, just as
Lu is. The most interesting question asked me to choose what, on a list of
8 or 9 items, I was most afraid of. It was hard to choose because I was
afraid of all of them.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like the cedars of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, "The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. (Psalm 92:12-15, NIV)
I am righteous. Not by anything I've done, but because God made me so.
Instead of having confidence in that righteousness, confidence based on
God's character, I'm very timid. I'm always afraid of making mistakes and
being shown the door.
Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said "My foot is slipping,"
your love, O Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul. (Psalm 94:16-19, NIV)
It's just too good to be true. Someday the ugly truth will come out from
behind this beautiful facade.
But, has not God demonstrated over and over how He will support my feet
when they slip? How about the time I decided to do a little trick on a
snowy street, putting my old Volkswagen into a slide and then, not acting
quickly enough to recover, watching as we slid toward two parked cars. My
car stopped with its left front corner neatly placed between the two cars,
almost touching both. I had no money then.
Does not God dare me to live a much larger life than I'm used to? Does He
not offer me His resources freely? I'm like the mouse stealing crumbs from
God's banquet table and sneaking away so as not to be caught. How long will
it be before I believe that what He has put on the table is for me?
I wonder what a rich life is like. I know such a life has nothing to do
with big houses, trips to Las Vegas, or even very good cameras. Real
richness is something else, a real wonder of which the popular
interpretations are pale imitations, a gift from God's big heart. He
doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that He will have to teach me to
recognize it.
God wants us. It's simple.
2004 November 24 (morning, to Blog and WEML)
always gave me an impression of quiet competence as we worked together at
Mosaic in Beverly Hills. Hints of passion came out when she got hold of a
camera, but this didn't happen often. Read her Blog and you'll find another
person, one much different from the diffident-seeming Temple Slave.
If you make the Most High your dwelling--
even the Lord, who is my refuge--
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent. (Psalm 91:9-13, NIV)
Lu yesterday posted a quick message about "her number," based on a little
quiz on a Web site. I went there and took the quiz, coming up a 5, just as
Lu is. The most interesting question asked me to choose what, on a list of
8 or 9 items, I was most afraid of. It was hard to choose because I was
afraid of all of them.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like the cedars of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, "The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. (Psalm 92:12-15, NIV)
I am righteous. Not by anything I've done, but because God made me so.
Instead of having confidence in that righteousness, confidence based on
God's character, I'm very timid. I'm always afraid of making mistakes and
being shown the door.
Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said "My foot is slipping,"
your love, O Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul. (Psalm 94:16-19, NIV)
It's just too good to be true. Someday the ugly truth will come out from
behind this beautiful facade.
But, has not God demonstrated over and over how He will support my feet
when they slip? How about the time I decided to do a little trick on a
snowy street, putting my old Volkswagen into a slide and then, not acting
quickly enough to recover, watching as we slid toward two parked cars. My
car stopped with its left front corner neatly placed between the two cars,
almost touching both. I had no money then.
Does not God dare me to live a much larger life than I'm used to? Does He
not offer me His resources freely? I'm like the mouse stealing crumbs from
God's banquet table and sneaking away so as not to be caught. How long will
it be before I believe that what He has put on the table is for me?
I wonder what a rich life is like. I know such a life has nothing to do
with big houses, trips to Las Vegas, or even very good cameras. Real
richness is something else, a real wonder of which the popular
interpretations are pale imitations, a gift from God's big heart. He
doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that He will have to teach me to
recognize it.
God wants us. It's simple.
2004 November 24 (morning, to Blog and WEML)
# posted by Larry @ 08:52 
