God is Hiding in Plain Sight
God is Hiding in Plain Sight In The Fiddler in the Subway, Gene Weingarten recounts the story of Joshua Bell, a celebrated violinist who traded the grandeur of sold-out concert halls for the humdrum of a Washington, D.C. subway station. … Continue reading →
Consumed by Fire
As a boy, I used to make fishing sinkers from lead-head nails that I melted using my father’s kerosene blow torch. I loved watching the surface start to soften then melt into a liquid pool of metal. When that had happened, I would get a stick and scrape across the molten lead and reveal the bright metal that hid below the surface. I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but I was refining the lead each time I melted it and scraped off the burned impurities. The fire didn’t burn the lead, but it did consume the impurities. All that was left for me to do was scrape the dross away.
I’ve had a number of discussions over the past 6 months that have focused on metaphors used in the Bible. One common metaphor was fire. The first mention in the Bible is the covenant that God made with Abraham (Gen 15:17), and the last is the Revelation 8:5 where the angel throws fire from God’s alter onto the earth. Between those two stories there are many other references to fire, with the most famous being
- the story of Moses and the burning bush,
- the three men in the fiery furnace,
- the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost
In many, if not most of the discussions I was part of, the primary view of fire was a destroyer. Given that many of the references to fire in the Bible are associated with God, I wonder if this has shaped our view of God, and why some people see God as a destroyer, and Jesus is the saviour who saves us from God’s destruction.
Some people see God as the destroyer, and Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross as our means of escape from God’s fiery judgement. Jesus effectively becomes our fire insurance policy protecting us from an angry God.
Given that the Bible says Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God, then why are we willing to keep a judgemental and punishing image of God, when nothing in Jesus’ life lines up with that view? I want to suggest a different perspective.
God’s fire spoken of throughout the Bible is a purifying fire which only destroys the impurities. The Bible also says that we are made in God’s image, so we know that we are not the impurities which will get consumed in the fire. Remember the story of the men in the fiery furnace? They didn’t get burned, they didn’t even smell of smoke. The only things that were consumed were the bonds that kept them from being free.
God is interested in our freedom, we were made to be free. Free to love, free to live in all that God has for us. Our bonds are what God consumes in the fire, God is setting us free to be who we were created to be. God’s fire is not for our punishment or judgement, it is for our freedom.
PRAYER From Symeon Metaphrastes (900 – 987)
I am communing with fire. Of myself, I am but straw but, O miracle, I feel myself suddenly blazing like Moses’ burning bush of old…. You have given me your flesh as food. You who are a fire which consumes the unworthy, do not burn me, O my Creator, but rather slip into my members, into all my joints, into my loins and into my heart. Consume the thorns of all my sins, purify my soul, sanctify my heart, strengthen the tendons of my knees and my bones, illumine my five senses, and establish my wholly in your love.
Amen.
Attitudes, Actions and Outcomes
Acknowledging and accepting my place on the Autism spectrum was a relatively straightforward task. It required me to be honest about my own habits and ways of living in the world and in my marriage.
Living with it and allowing that acceptance to reshape my marriage was quite another story. This required me to be self-aware in a way that I had never been before.
In my book “An Intentional Marriage – Tools For A Stronger Relationship”, I gave significant space to explore ways that I had to change; firstly looking at my attitudes, those parts of me that no one else could see, then considering my outward actions and how they affected my wife and relationship.
I was aware that restoring my marriage would be a lifetime journey that required me to be intentional on a whole new level but I truly didn’t understand how much effort was required to be consistently intentional.
The book was released earlier this year, and for the remainder of this blog, I’ll use the present tense because I’m still processing these changes in my daily life. I am a work in progress …
Consistently intentional and intentionally consistent.
Consistency requires a level of personal awareness that I had avoided, largely because it took so much effort.
I constantly struggle to maintain the level of intentionality that my wife and marriage deserves, especially with my attitudes. Wanting to change is only the first step, albeit a major one! Living out the change is hard. In my book I likened it to high-performance athletes who discipline themselves daily to achieve a goal. On a flight a few years ago, I sat next to a long-distance cyclist who clocks up 1000km (600 miles) each week simply to stay in peak performance. I was stunned at his level of commitment to his sport, but I’m sure he is not alone, because all athletes who are at the peak of their sport must put in hours of hard work every day to reach then maintain that level of fitness.
My daily goal is to think of ways to build strength into my marriage, such as the Long Hug (pg. 123) which we do every morning while our coffee machine does its thing. In the book, I gave this tool a five-star rating for effectiveness, and I still hold that view. While we are hugging for those 20-30 seconds, I focus on my wife and am mindful of her input into my life. However, as with all actions, there can be a temptation to turn it into a habit that becomes a routine, which ends up losing meaning. Being consistently intentional requires that I make a deliberate choice to start fresh every day. I must think differently before I can act differently. Attitudes beget actions. When I think consistently, I start to act consistently.
Being intentionally consistent is subtly different. I have to choose to be consistent in my thoughts, words and actions. I need to apply that same intentionality to my habits and routines. They must become more consistent, more in line with the change I want in my relationship. I find this is much harder than being consistently intentional. Just this week, I was negligent in my thoughts and actions, which hurt my wife and the relationship. I took my eye off the goal, neglected a promise, and I got caught up in old ways of thinking. As a result, my actions lapsed back into old habits.
In a recent “Just The Guys” podcast, I made the comment that my wife’s grace to me is that she holds me to an accountable standard when I miss the mark. She values the relationship enough to call me to account, and to make me stop long enough to recognise what I’ve done that has damaged the relationship. While painful to experience, I appreciate her tenacity and unwillingness to let me slide. She deserves better, she knows it, and I need to be reminded when I forget.
Accepting that I’m on the ASD-1 spectrum is not an excuse for me to stop trying to relate to my wife in a more emotionally mature way. It doesn’t come as naturally as my technical and logical skills, but I keep reminding myself that I do have a right hemisphere in my brain, so I can adapt and learn new ways of relating. I am not defective; I simply need to learn new skills.
In my book, I close the second section with the following comments:
“Success hinges on our intentional decision to hope for a new and better outcome, be honest with ourselves about our own contribution to the issues that are present in the relationship, and our willingness to maintain an unwavering dedication to achieving our goals.
“Earlier (in the book), I asked why most people don’t live the best life now. Perhaps it is time to define what I think that means. Our best life is not based on health, wealth, or possessions. While these might make life easier, they don’t make life more fulfilling. We are at our best when we are in strong, secure, and vibrant relationships with other people, and especially in the deepest and most intimate relationship which is experienced within a marriage or life partnership. I would also add that a strong spiritual belief in the unshakable love of God, and an active spiritual life which celebrates that belief will strengthen our ability to live authentically.
“I know that everyone’s journey is unique, and though experiences may be similar, life is experienced from one’s own individual perspective. I don’t expect that your journey will have the same starting point or destination but I hope there are enough similarities to make this book a useful resource. To the degree that truth is universal, I trust that the truths I learned will apply in your life.
“Living an intentional life requires commitment. First and foremost, it is a daily choice to maintain momentum because nothing in our world is self-sustaining, including our habits. It also requires practical application. Use the ideas in Section 2 of this book, or the myriad of resources about intentionality which are available on the Internet, to inject new life into your relationship. Your partner will thank you and your relationship will improve. On her website, Gone Minimal, Julia Swann summarizes it well,
“By consciously aligning actions with values and priorities, individuals can create a more fulfilling, purpose-driven, and meaningful life”.[i]
“The goal of intentionality is awareness, not perfection, consequently I have yet to gain mastery in any of the subjects covered in this book, but I am making progress. Home is not rebuilt in a day because intentionality is a long game and requires consistency all the way. It is a journey.
“I hope and pray that you find these tips and tools useful and that your relationship becomes all it can be.”
“An Intentional Marriage – Tools For A Stronger Relationship” is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook formats.
Did God Really Say That?
So asked the serpent in Genesis ch3 and as is often the case, the devil is in the detail. So much of what we Christians are told we must do is not much different from the serpent’s famous words. Let’s … Continue reading →
Who Are God’s Children?
Today’s post is by David Adams, and is copied from his FaceBook page:
Paul told the unbelieving Athenians that we are all God’s offspring. Many people don’t believe that everyone is a child of God. They believe a decision has to be made in order for you to be born again, or more correctly born from above.
Paul and Peter agree that all of humanity born into Adam,( without their permission I might add) died when Jesus hung on the cross. They were all raised, or born from above by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
The book of Hebrews tells us that God chastens every son that He receives. It also tells us that those that don’t receive chastening are bastards. A lot of people never stopped to think this through. They think that those that don’t receive chastening aren’t God’s children. Then why would God be chastening them if they weren’t His children?
If someone is a bastard, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a father. In biblical days it simply meant that they didn’t know who their father was. Most of the world doesn’t know that God is their Father, and that He loves them with an everlasting love.
Before I forget, let me tell you what the word chastening means. It simply means to discipline in order to correct. It isn’t always pleasant when God corrects us, but God’s correction of us has more to do with our thinking than it does our behavior. It has to do with God pointing out the truth, even though sometimes the truth hurts. We have grown so used to believing lies about God and ourselves, that it leads to an inner struggle when we are confronted with the truth.
Some people think that once they make a decision for the Lord, it causes God to change His mind about them, and then no He longer holds their sin against them. The truth is, that God isn’t holding anyone’s sin against them, whether they believe or not. He never was. The reason Jesus died on the cross was to show us that God loves us, and love keeps no record of wrongs. The blood of Jesus is to cleanse our conscience from sin. God was in Christ on the cross not counting our sins against us.
Most of what the church teaches about sin is simply behavior modification, without a real change of mind. True repentance is when we agree with what God says about us. That causes us to think differently about God and the whole human race which is made in His image.
Most of the church teaches about a double-minded God, that is either not powerful enough to save everyone, or else they think God is unwilling to save everyone. When I talk like this, people think I’m talking about God forcing people to come to Him. What I’m actually talking about, is God’s unfailing love and its ability to persuade everyone, either in this life or later.
Threats of hell and punishment only lead to people fearing God and never quite sure if they can trust Him. They speak of God’s unconditional love out of one side of their mouth, and then talk about how people will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and suffer eternal torment forever. People like this never feel confident in the work of the cross.
They don’t understand that the Lake of Fire is God’s passionate undying love for us, that burns away everything that isn’t in the image of God, purifying us and revealing the image of God within us. The River of Life flows into the Lake of Fire. The whole world is salted in fire right now. It is the consuming fire of God’s love.
It saddens me that people see our Heavenly Father as some sort of double-minded God because they think He loves us only until we die. They think He loves believers more than unbelievers, and if you don’t trust Him now, you won’t have a chance later. No chance in hell.
God is a good, good Father, and one day everyone will see this truth. The thing that torments people, is the lies we believe about God. You can tell it’s a lie if it makes you afraid of God. Fear has torment, but God is love, and love casts out fear.
OUR GOOD DAD, it is encouraging to know that even though not everyone sees you the way you really are, one day everyone will remember and turn to you. They will joyfully acknowledge you, without fear of punishment.
Grace and peace. Amen.
God Is In Control – Really?
I really wish I could write as well as John Pavlovitz, I mean it, I REALLY wish I could write with the passion that he pulls up in some of his posts. Some are rants, and some are gold. This one is golden and is as good as any I’ve ever read by him.
Please read it and let me know what you think in the Comments below.
Jesus Died to Save the Whales
Saint Francis of Assisi is famously known for referring to nature as his siblings when he called them “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” From his theological perspective, he shared the natural world with the animals and birds. God was the creator … Continue reading →
Lent Devotional 2024
One of the strengths of the traditional church is the adherence to the historic Church Calendar, which takes followers on an annual journey through the phases of Jesus’ live, starting at Advent and moving through to his ascension. This takes … Continue reading →
The Beauty of the Lord
Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings offer insights into the artist’s beliefs, experiences, and perceptions of God and the world, but sometimes his paintings were just an outpouring of joy. That appears to the be case with some of his paintings of … Continue reading →
Advent 2023-Week 3
I have been following Skye Jethani’s devotionals this week as he looks at the women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy. He has some good comments, so I’ll paste them here as they appeared in his blog. “Although modern Christians often think … Continue reading →