I just read an article entitled “Tornado record set: 292 in April - and Counting." http://www. msnbc.msn.com/id/42768670. The article called this month “an April to remember” as far as severe weather is concerned. It noted that this April has set a record of 292 confirmed tornadoes in the United States. The number is staggering when compared to the facts that April averages 163 tornadoes and that the old record number of tornadoes for April was 267 which occurred in 1974. The article also noted that there have been over 5,400 severe weather reports so far in April this year - another staggering figure when compared to the average nationwide severe weather reports of 3,300 for the month of April.
So far today, there have been reports of twelve deaths: six in Alabama, five in Mississippi, and one in Arkansas. Life on this earth . . . .
As I continue to watch the Storm Track Doppler Radar on my local tv station, I can’t help but recall the horror that last April 24, 2010 produced in my hometown of Yazoo City, Mississippi. That tornado took lives. Flattened homes and business. Shattered dreams.
It has, indeed, been “an April to remember.” Which brings to mind something - someone - even more important to remember: our God. HE never promised “no storms.” In fact, his word tell us “when” the storms of life come . . . not “if,” but “when” . . . (Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters . . . when you pass through the rivers . . . . When you walk through the fire . . .”). But it also tells us HE will be right there with us, delivering us, protecting us, seeing us through - - (“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. . . “).
Storms happen. All are affected - the good and the evil, the just and the unjust. (Matthew 5:45 “. . . He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”). But, as believers, we have the presence that non-believers don’t have. We have Jesus right there with us - in every storm. We have to remember, to cling to just who Jesus is. HE is the master who rebukes and silences the storms! HE is the one that the storms of life obey. It’s right there for us in Luke 8:24-25 (The Message): “One day he and his disciples got in a boat. ‘Let's cross the lake,’ he said. And off they went. It was smooth sailing, and he fell asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake. Water poured in, and they were about to capsize. They woke Jesus: ‘Master, Master, we're going to drown!’ Getting to his feet, he told the wind, ‘Silence!’ and the waves, ‘Quiet down!’ They did it. The lake became smooth as glass. Then he said to his disciples, ‘Why can't you trust me?’ They were in absolute awe, staggered and stammering, ‘Who is this, anyway? He calls out to the winds and sea, and they do what he tells them!’
The storms keep rolling in this April day. But you know what? I’m gonna blare Casting Crowns’ “Praise You In This Storm” and sing out loud right into my hair-brush microphone just like I used to do to the Carpenters with my cousins, Tracey and Terre.
Here I go . . . are you with me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUWbmtbzDno
“I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say, Amen and it's still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands
And praise the God who gives and takes away
And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands
For You are who You are no matter where I am
And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand
You never left my side and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry, You raised me up again
But my strength is almost gone
How can I carry on if I can't find You
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"
And as You mercy falls I raise my hands
And praise the God who gives and takes away
And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands
For You are who You are no matter where I am
And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand
You never left my side and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands
For You are who You are no matter where I am
And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand
You never left my side and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm”
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
My Conviction
This morning I was so convicted. I was studying Isaiah, my favorite book of the Bible when it happened.
First, why I love the book of Isaiah - I love the book because, though it’s about God’s anger and the coming judgment, it’s also full of hope and encouragement for those of us in captivity. It reveals our God as a God of mercy, grace and compassion. Indeed [did I really just type that? Indeed?], in one of my very favorite verses, it tells us that God - - the God of the whole universe - - longs to be gracious to us. (Isaiah 30:18). How awesome is that? It promises redemption for the remnant. And, incredibly, it challenges us to live beyond our past mistakes - - to actually forget them as God himself has. [Isaiah 43:18-19: Forget the former things! Do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:25: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”]
As an interlude, I stopped, re-read, and reflected upon my very favorite verses from Isaiah and all the promises they hold:
Isaiah 1:18: “. . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Isaiah 4:5-6: “then the Lord will create . . . a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”
Isaiah 30:21: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’.”
Isaiah 32:18: “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
Isaiah 40:11: “See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart...”.
Isaiah 41:10, 13-14: “‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand . . . . For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid . . . for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 42:6-7: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release form the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
Isaiah 43:1-2: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Isaiah 43:4-5: “. . . you are precious and honored in my sight, and . . . I love you . . . . Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
Isaiah 44:21-22: “Remember these things . . . I have made you . . . I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 48:17: “ . . . I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”
Isaiah 49:13" “ . . . for the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.”
Isaiah 49:15-16: “. . . I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hand.”
Isaiah 49:23: “. . . I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
Isaiah 51:3: “The Lord will surely comfort . . . and will look with compassion . . .; he will make . . . deserts like Eden, . . . wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found . . . thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Isaiah 51:12: “I, even I, am he who comforts you.”
Isaiah 51:16: “I have . . . covered you with the shadow of my hand . . . “.
Isaiah 52:12: “. . . for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”
Isaiah 54:7-8: “‘For a brief moment I abandoned you, BUT with deep compassion, I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, BUT with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord your Redeemer’.”
Isaiah 54:10: “‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you’.”
Isaiah 57:18: “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him . . . “.
Isaiah 58:8-9, 11: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I . . . . The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Isaiah 60:19-20: “. . . for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. . . the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”
Isaiah 61:1-3: He sent his prophet to “ . . . bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve . . . [to] bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
Isaiah 63:9: “In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
Now - the conviction that struck me so heavily. I fail miserably in my approach to God. Most often, I approach him casually. Occasionally, flippantly. Sometimes, even begrudgingly. It struck me as I was studying Isaiah 6. There, Isaiah found himself in the presence of God - a holy God - so holy that the whole earth is filled with his glory. [Isaiah 6:3]. He recognized how very sinful he was (how can one not recognize his or her own great sinfulness when contrasted to the magnificent glory of God?) and cried out an anguished “Woe to me! I am ruined!” In response and through his great mercy, God provided the atonement for the sin and the guilt Isaiah felt.
The reference to atonement led me to Leviticus 16 which describes the Day of Atonement. And there it was. Verse 2: “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most High Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover’.” As I reflected on that verse, God brought another to my mind and I flipped quickly to it. Exodus 3:5: “‘Do not come any closer,’God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground’.” I saw the notes I had made in the margin of my Bible on some prior occasion which directed me to two other verses - Joshua 5:15 [“The commander of the Lord’s army replied [to Joshua], ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy’.”] and Acts 7:33 [where Stephen repeated God’s mandate to Moses from Exodus 3:5].
And the conviction fell on me like a magnificent weight: my approach to God matters to God. He is holy - - three times holy as pointed out in Isaiah 6:3. More directly, HE is God, and I am not (even though I so often try to control and direct my own life). His thoughts and ways are not my thoughts and ways. His thoughts and ways are higher than my thoughts and ways “as the heavens are higher than the earth.” [Isaiah 55:8-9]. He is Magnificent. Omniscient. Omnipresent. Omnipotent. Omnific. Perfection. Vigilant. Holy. Sinless. Sanctified. Love. Compassionate. Patient. Righteous. Gracious. Benevolent. Merciful. Just. Unceasing. Unchanging. Tenacious. Long-suffering. Tolerant. Forgiving. Consuming. Redeeming. Healing. Reliable. Trustworthy. Glorious. And, yet, I sometimes jump out of bed in the morning without pausing to seek him. Throw up a flippant “help me” prayer during the day when I am in need. Fall asleep during my bedtime prayers. Manage to get my kids to school on time and myself to work on time; yet, walk into God’s house late, Sunday after Sunday. Dress “appropriately” for work; yet, sometimes, much more casually to enter into God’s house. I make appointments with him I fail to keep. Show up late for other appointments I’ve made with him. I talk and talk and talk to him, pouring out my needs and heart’s desires. Yet, I rarely listen to him. I plan each detail of my life, and ask him to bless my plans. Yet, I fail to consult him regarding his plans for those details. I take my good news and my disappointments to friends, family members, and Sunday School teachers first, only turning to him when all else have fallen short or failed (or, more precisely, refused to simply validate or affirm MY thought, position or desire). I use his name frivolously “Oh my God!”. I ignore him. I complain to him and about him. I pout with him. I get angry with him. I am more inviting and welcoming to a stranger who shows up at my door than I am to the God who saved me and redeemed me (at a very high price).
The weight of this conviction overwhelms me as the recognition of his sin and guilt overwhelmed Isaiah. Like Isaiah, all I can cry out is: Woe to me! I too am ruined. I too am a sinful person, living a sinful life, among sinful people. God help me!
First, why I love the book of Isaiah - I love the book because, though it’s about God’s anger and the coming judgment, it’s also full of hope and encouragement for those of us in captivity. It reveals our God as a God of mercy, grace and compassion. Indeed [did I really just type that? Indeed?], in one of my very favorite verses, it tells us that God - - the God of the whole universe - - longs to be gracious to us. (Isaiah 30:18). How awesome is that? It promises redemption for the remnant. And, incredibly, it challenges us to live beyond our past mistakes - - to actually forget them as God himself has. [Isaiah 43:18-19: Forget the former things! Do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:25: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”]
As an interlude, I stopped, re-read, and reflected upon my very favorite verses from Isaiah and all the promises they hold:
Isaiah 1:18: “. . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Isaiah 4:5-6: “then the Lord will create . . . a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”
Isaiah 30:21: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’.”
Isaiah 32:18: “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
Isaiah 40:11: “See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart...”.
Isaiah 41:10, 13-14: “‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand . . . . For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid . . . for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 42:6-7: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release form the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
Isaiah 43:1-2: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Isaiah 43:4-5: “. . . you are precious and honored in my sight, and . . . I love you . . . . Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
Isaiah 44:21-22: “Remember these things . . . I have made you . . . I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 48:17: “ . . . I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”
Isaiah 49:13" “ . . . for the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.”
Isaiah 49:15-16: “. . . I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hand.”
Isaiah 49:23: “. . . I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
Isaiah 51:3: “The Lord will surely comfort . . . and will look with compassion . . .; he will make . . . deserts like Eden, . . . wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found . . . thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Isaiah 51:12: “I, even I, am he who comforts you.”
Isaiah 51:16: “I have . . . covered you with the shadow of my hand . . . “.
Isaiah 52:12: “. . . for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”
Isaiah 54:7-8: “‘For a brief moment I abandoned you, BUT with deep compassion, I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, BUT with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord your Redeemer’.”
Isaiah 54:10: “‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you’.”
Isaiah 57:18: “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him . . . “.
Isaiah 58:8-9, 11: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I . . . . The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Isaiah 60:19-20: “. . . for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. . . the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”
Isaiah 61:1-3: He sent his prophet to “ . . . bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve . . . [to] bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
Isaiah 63:9: “In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
Now - the conviction that struck me so heavily. I fail miserably in my approach to God. Most often, I approach him casually. Occasionally, flippantly. Sometimes, even begrudgingly. It struck me as I was studying Isaiah 6. There, Isaiah found himself in the presence of God - a holy God - so holy that the whole earth is filled with his glory. [Isaiah 6:3]. He recognized how very sinful he was (how can one not recognize his or her own great sinfulness when contrasted to the magnificent glory of God?) and cried out an anguished “Woe to me! I am ruined!” In response and through his great mercy, God provided the atonement for the sin and the guilt Isaiah felt.
The reference to atonement led me to Leviticus 16 which describes the Day of Atonement. And there it was. Verse 2: “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most High Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover’.” As I reflected on that verse, God brought another to my mind and I flipped quickly to it. Exodus 3:5: “‘Do not come any closer,’God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground’.” I saw the notes I had made in the margin of my Bible on some prior occasion which directed me to two other verses - Joshua 5:15 [“The commander of the Lord’s army replied [to Joshua], ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy’.”] and Acts 7:33 [where Stephen repeated God’s mandate to Moses from Exodus 3:5].
And the conviction fell on me like a magnificent weight: my approach to God matters to God. He is holy - - three times holy as pointed out in Isaiah 6:3. More directly, HE is God, and I am not (even though I so often try to control and direct my own life). His thoughts and ways are not my thoughts and ways. His thoughts and ways are higher than my thoughts and ways “as the heavens are higher than the earth.” [Isaiah 55:8-9]. He is Magnificent. Omniscient. Omnipresent. Omnipotent. Omnific. Perfection. Vigilant. Holy. Sinless. Sanctified. Love. Compassionate. Patient. Righteous. Gracious. Benevolent. Merciful. Just. Unceasing. Unchanging. Tenacious. Long-suffering. Tolerant. Forgiving. Consuming. Redeeming. Healing. Reliable. Trustworthy. Glorious. And, yet, I sometimes jump out of bed in the morning without pausing to seek him. Throw up a flippant “help me” prayer during the day when I am in need. Fall asleep during my bedtime prayers. Manage to get my kids to school on time and myself to work on time; yet, walk into God’s house late, Sunday after Sunday. Dress “appropriately” for work; yet, sometimes, much more casually to enter into God’s house. I make appointments with him I fail to keep. Show up late for other appointments I’ve made with him. I talk and talk and talk to him, pouring out my needs and heart’s desires. Yet, I rarely listen to him. I plan each detail of my life, and ask him to bless my plans. Yet, I fail to consult him regarding his plans for those details. I take my good news and my disappointments to friends, family members, and Sunday School teachers first, only turning to him when all else have fallen short or failed (or, more precisely, refused to simply validate or affirm MY thought, position or desire). I use his name frivolously “Oh my God!”. I ignore him. I complain to him and about him. I pout with him. I get angry with him. I am more inviting and welcoming to a stranger who shows up at my door than I am to the God who saved me and redeemed me (at a very high price).
The weight of this conviction overwhelms me as the recognition of his sin and guilt overwhelmed Isaiah. Like Isaiah, all I can cry out is: Woe to me! I too am ruined. I too am a sinful person, living a sinful life, among sinful people. God help me!
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