truth – Page 36 – Broken Believers

Listening In

“That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.”

Luke 24:13-14, NLT

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.”

Malachi 3:16

These verses compliment each other. The disciples were walking and talking, each situation creating a supernatural moment. We can involve the Holy Spirit of God listening to us conversing with each other; it seems He wants to be involved when we talk about Jesus with each other. In Malachi, we see a “scroll of remembrance” being written. And in Luke’s account, the resurrected Jesus shows up himself.

The disciples are not named in either account. It seems God enjoys reaching out to ‘no-namers’— the obscure and the anonymous. I suppose this might mean that we are all equally important or significant. But the Lord himself decides that. What we do and say really does matter in the ‘heavens.’ If and when we speak of Him, it is noted and sometimes even focused upon by God. We are being, in a sense, ‘recorded.’

The mundane becomes special when He is the topic of conversation.

There are few casual words when He is the subject of discussion. When we speak of him truly, we should realize we are being recorded. In a sense, there is someone listening to what we say. And it matters.

Malachi tells us of ‘the fear of the Lord.’ I suppose this phrase means that we have an esteem or reverence of God’s place in our lives. But fear can also mean ‘awe’ at His presence. When we speak of Him perhaps we should tremble a bit, knowing that our Creator and Judge is incredibly present.

I suppose that this kind of ‘monitoring’ should make us hyper-aware of his presence. We can do nothing without his awareness. But we love anonymity, and the false idea we are not heard. Perhaps we believe that we are not significant enough to warrant such detection. But we are. What we say is being recorded in heaven.

I want to leave you with this idea.

Animated Dust

¹^{8 “}I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

Luke 15:18-19, NLT

“In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

Luke 17:10

I admit it. I am flawed. I am a contradiction inside of an enigma– at times more a devil than an angel. And today I fancy no pretenses to righteousness. But I can tell you all about sin, I’m thinking that maybe I’ll sell tickets. I’m the spiritual version of “the elephant man.” But yet, I still know that I’m completely loved and secure through faith.

I’m convinced that God’s ability to hold me outweighs all of my sin. His mercy is continually refreshed and continues to exceed my iniquity by a massive margin. I can try to blame my erratic behavior on my mental illness, as I’m reasonably certain that it has something to do with things.

“At best we are but clay, animated dust; but viewed as sinners, we are monsters indeed. Let it be published in heaven as a miracle that the Lord Jesus should set His heart’s love upon people like us.”

Alistair Begg

I will never have it together. At best I can only keep coming back to this Grace that has decided “to never let me go.” I only stand, only because He makes it so. I’ve given up trying to be worthy enough. I seem to chase a ‘laser pointer’ like a over-caffeinated cat, and it is starting to get a little old. (But maybe this time I’ll finally catch it.) Writer Anne Lamott wryly explained her own issues:

“I thought such awful thoughts that I cannot even say them out loud because they would make Jesus want to drink gin straight out of the cat dish.”

Anne Lamott

The Holy Scriptures never put human beings on a pedestal. We are never seen as noble or excellent specimens of righteousness. We sin in deed and in thought continually. The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector tells us that a consciousness of sin and a holy God is the only way to be declared just. Both men were rascals, but only one admitted it.

We sin sins of commission and also of omission daily. In fact, I have determined that I have sinned more as a believer than I ever did as a non-believer. This shouldn’t be a surprise, but it is. I’ve been pretty busy the last 32 years. I have been ‘ungodly,’ on more than one occasion.

I want to encourage you today in Him. Life can be such a grind, and your hope anemic. But consider Him who has come for you. Let Jesus take your heaviness, ask Him for His peace. A fair exchange, don”t you think?

Something Out of the Ordinary

“You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your river of delights.”

Psalm 36:8, NLT

God is the exclusive source of everything good. His goodness is quantified in the word “abundance.” We have made the discovery, that the spring from which all want to draw from is actually a full fledged river full of wonderful things. We come thirsty for something, anything that will quench our terrible yearning for the real and true.

God’s extravagance is unduly excessive it seems. It is limitless in scope, and endless in imagination. There is food and drink (of the Spirit) that constantly pours out on His people. All we can do is to revel in His grace, and receive from His mercy.

The children of Israel was supplied with manna while in the wilderness. Our Father provided for them, and provides for us as well. Let no one leave His pantry without filling their pockets with His outrageous grace. We receive all that He gives.

“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

Imagine winning the Lottery, a phone call tells you that you’ve just won 325 million dollars! If it was me I suppose, that once the shock wears off, I would be ready to be a financial blessing to my friends, family and Church. Having been the recipient of incredible wealth, I want to share with others. However wonderful that might seem, we really shouldn’t put God’s grace is such worldly concepts.

Yet sometimes we need to step back and look again at God’s generosity to us. Sometimes we lose track of all that He has done. It is good to reacquaint ourselves to this incredible thing He has done on our behalf.

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

Ephesians 3:20

We have been internally altered by the presence of God. Our genetic code has been changed. He has done something amazing in our hearts. What He has done is described as ‘infinitely more’ than our wildest dreams. I believe that some have ‘hijacked’ these kind of verses to teach that “God wants you rich.” This is called ‘the prosperity gospel’ and it really can be a bad thing. I believe in His prosperity, but it certainly isn’t linked to my material possessions. To do this distorts the message of the Gospel.

Our blessings come, and come some more, and keep coming. Everywhere we look we should see a spiritual blessing. It’s like we live with a God that can’t contain Himself. He rushes to pour out on us significant promises. My Bible becomes a ‘treasure map’ leading me to my true destination.

Spilling the Apple Cart

“Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.”

Proverbs 23:23

“May it be the real me, that seeks and finds the real You.”

I’m not much for ‘written’ prayers. I guess it’s an ingrown reaction to ‘religion,’ of which I’m highly suspicious. But I’m willing to accept reciting prayers and even liturgy, if only they don’t develop into a ‘replacement’ for the Holy Spirit. And that is hard to do. The last couple of months, I started praying this ‘one sentence’ prayer. It came to me, out of the blue, but has echoed through the deepest part of me. It is a desire to be real– authentic, and true.

“May it be the real me, that meets with the real You.”

The last several months have been difficult for me. I suppose I was going through the motions: writing, praying, reading. Spiritually I guess, feeling kind of phony and ‘detached’ from anything real. You can only varnish something for the 1000th time before you really need to take it back to bare wood. I feel like that was what I was doing. But I couldn’t figure out ‘how.’

Lately I feel ‘brand new.’ Issues that have plagued me for years are being stripped away. When I started praying with this ‘new’ prayer, and combined with meaning, the heavens just seemed to open up. It’s not the ‘pretend’ me, seeking a ‘pretend’ God anymore.

I sincerely hope, with all my heart, that just maybe this will touch you. I’m not into ‘knocking over any apple carts.’ But I feel compelled to share this experience with the hope you might walk into something real. May the ‘real’ God reveal Himself to the ‘real’ you.

“That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.”

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.”

The mundane becomes special when He is the topic of conversation.

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“Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.”

“May it be the real me, that seeks and finds the real You.”

“May it be the real me, that meets with the real You.”

Share this:

“That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.”