BUSY! BUSY! BUSY!

Over-extended and over-committed - to what End?

"Next week, I am heading south for a vacation. In two months time, I am planning to start my Harvard off-campus non-credit course on Water Fowl Ornithology. I'm into ducks, piping plovers and cormorants. A bit of a hobby; but increasingly, I find myself running out of spare time. There is such a need in our city for good leadership; I am going to take a run at the mayor's position in the upcoming civic election. My term on the "Citizens for Social Development" Board will last five years with an opportunity to serve a second term. I am just run off my feet. Our architect, after almost a year of work, wants me to look at the plans for our new home tonight. Hopefully we'll be turning the sod within three months. And then it will be the arduous process of selecting finishings, furniture and fangles. After I return from my business trip to Addis Ababa, I hope to organize a neighborhood meeting to start developing a long range plan for a green space bird habitat. I could almost have an anxiety attack just thinking about all I have to do."

A Voice: "Oops, the cloud was lifted today. Pack up and let's clear out. It's time to move on."

Busy Person: "What? What are you talking about? Are you kidding? What about my plans?"

A Voice: "Oh, you aren't familiar with that Old Testament story?

To be sure, the busy person above was not one of the Israelites journeying through the wilderness in Moses' day. After Moses led the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, they journeyed for forty years before they arrived at their 'destination'. Millions of them in one huge camp with their families and all their belongings. At the center of the Camp was their place of worship - The Tabernacle. God was leading them through the wilderness. He sent a cloud down over the Tabernacle during the daytime and a fire above it during the nights. And here's how it worked:

 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle,

the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.

But if the cloud was not taken up,

then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.

(Exodus 40:36-37)

"Moses this is ridiculous! How can I make any concrete plans? I am one of those people who like to have all the bases covered. I need predictability and stability. I plan ahead. This cloud thing - well, I can't settle down at all. I never know when I set up my tent and drive down the pegs whether I'm here just over night, or for a week or for a year. Do you expect me to get up every morning and look towards the Tabernacle to see if the cloud is down or up and organize my day accordingly? This is nuts!"

I think Moses would say: "Yes, that's the way the Lord wants it. We are dependent upon Him for guidance. We are on a journey. We are not wilderness residents. We are just campers passing through, as the Lord directs our steps. Don't pound your tent pegs in too far because you might be pulling them up tomorrow and moving on."

Does God still expect us to live that way in 2011? Paul said: "We walk by faith; not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7. James condemns those who make plans for the future without the Lord's guidance. (James 4:13-17)  Peter referred to Christians not as residents but travelers and pilgrims. Paul cautioned Timothy against getting entangled in the affairs of this life.

"Lord, today I look to You for direction. I don't know what today or tomorrow has in store for me. Lead me Lord; I will follow. Help me to be completely wrapped up in the things that are significant for Eternity and to be untangled from the affairs of this life. Unravel the strings that are holding me back from serving You more. Help me to live more for the Ultimate and less for the Immediate."

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today,

Warmly in Christ

Peter Ramsay

peter@heaven4sure.com

Right Answers BUT Slow Learners

Precisely how many leftovers did you lug to your car after the big summer picnic? How much did you stuff into your trunk after your last family reunion? How many containers or bags did you take back home? Three, five, seven, nine . or do you even have a clue? Usually we remember we either had way too much or far too little or just the right amount. But only a rare person would recall exactly, with science-like precision, how many of these or how much of that was left-over.

At least two huge outdoor picnics are recorded in the Gospels where the Lord Jesus was the star attraction. On one occasion 5000 men plus women and children attended and, starting with five loaves of bread and two fish, He fed the entire crowd. A slightly smaller crowd showed up another day and with seven loaves and a few fish to start with, He did it again.

Shortly after that, Jesus and the disciples got into their boat; no sooner had they set sail when someone realized: "Oops. We've only got one loaf of bread on board and we're all hungry - the thirteen of us. One loaf will never do. This is terrible. Who overlooked this detail? There's nothing worse than a hungry stomach!"

Actually, Jesus was trying to teach them something about the Pharisees but they were so occupied with the measly one loaf to be shared between all of them, they missed His point completely. Right there, on the boat, Jesus popped a surprise quiz:

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him,"Twelve." "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven."  (Mark 8:19-20)

It's interesting. They had the right answers. They remembered specifically and exactly the numbers. Despite everything else going on, those numbers were etched firmly in their brains. They passed the intellectual and memory test with flying colors. But what about the deeper meaning and the spiritual lesson behind such miracles?

 

Jesus asked them: "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?.."How is it you do not understand?"  (Mark 8:17-21)

Intellectually they had the right answers but spiritually they were not grasping the reality of WHO was actually in their midst - the One with whom nothing was, is or ever will be impossible. Right answers but slow learners or should we say - slow believers.

There have been times in our past when God has amazed us by doing something in our lives. We remember specific things He did for us, including the greatest miracle of all - our salvation. But are you filled with doubt today? Intellectually you have the right answers and you can spout out the relevant verses but, just now, everything looks so impossible, unlikely, unstoppable or unattainable. Right answers but a slow learner - slow to believe?

Child of God, don't forget what He has done in the past and remember WHO He is and what He is capable of doing. Hebrews 11:6

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today,

Warmly in Christ,

Peter Ramsay

peter@heaven4sure.com

God's Expectations for Me

Have you ever felt that there is a huge gap between your performance and the expectations others have for you? At home, that huge gap can cause some tension and domestic discussions. At work, when your performance doesn't measure up to the employer's expectations - yikes! Trouble is in the works. Gently, at first, you may be told: "Shape up or ship out." But after the second and third visit to your manager's office things become very serious. In fact, that's when you need to start getting serious about finding another job.

Unfortunately, sometimes parents are not specific about their expectations and misunderstandings occur. It also happens on the job as well. The employer has 'assumed' that you know exactly what she expects of you and you only find out there is a big problem when you happen to cross a boundary she had established but never communicated to you. That's awkward and miserable.

The children of Israel had no excuse. Moses communicated God's expectations for His people in very crystal clear words.

 

"And now, Israel,

what does the LORD your God require of you,

but to fear the LORD your God,

to walk in all His ways and to love Him,

to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes.for your good?

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

God's expectations for His people today are no different. He expects the same thing from me today, tomorrow and for the rest of my Christian journey until the curtain closes on my life on the planet. When the Lord Jesus said: "Follow Me," what do you think He meant? Was it something merely physical and geographical that could be measured by kilometres per day? Or did He have something much more in mind?

The Lord Jesus said He always did the things that pleased his Father. (John 8:29) The Perfect example. But that's what God expects me to do each day as well; it's all about pleasing HIM - not pleasing myself. That's the Christian's goal - to please Him in every single thing we do. Paul told Titus that the saved slaves of his day should, in every conceivable and possible way, conduct themselves to ensure that they are "adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour."   Every single thing we do we should be able to do it with God's approval and blessing upon it and pleasure over it.  Again Paul wrote: "Whatever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord." Colossians 3:23. Christ is to have first place in everything in our individual lives - pre-eminence in our lives and in the church and in creation. (Colossians 1:18)

God's expectations for my life are clear. Are they clear for your life as well? The idea you are flirting with, the decision you are thinking about making, the choice you are weighing up or the life (public or secret) you are living - is it in sync with God's expectations for you?

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today,

Warmly in Christ

Peter Ramsay

peter@heaven4sure.com

TELL HIM EVERYTHING

You probably don't tell people everything that's on your mind - nor should you. There may be things on your mind you should never divulge to another person. Some will say: "I thought I was to be honest." You are. But does that give you the right to share the honest feelings of your heart indiscriminately? God appreciates someone who carefully guards the door of their mouth and utters words with caution and wisdom.

Having said that, there is One in whom you can confide and with whom you can share all. Read this verse:

Trust in Him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

Psalm 62:8

You can read the verse in many ways. Try emphasizing one word over another as you read it. Your appreciation of the verse will be enhanced. In your mind, capitalize the word TRUST and then do some thinking -  in whom or in what have I been trusting - myself, my intelligence, my friends? Or emphasize the word ALL.  All times - the good times and bad times too. There are some days we would like to erase from our memories; possibly times when we were angry with God or filled with bitterness or flooded by questions. ALL includes even those times!

But the phrase to emphasize today is: POUR OUT.  Sometimes we get so formal in our prayers, a listener could very easily think we were reciting a prayer from a prayer book.  The Hebrew meaning of the phrase is very vivid: dump it all out! Spill your inner fears and thoughts out before the Lord - regardless of the order in which they may gush out! Spill the thoughts out like water; dump the thoughts out before Him. Shed them out like blood spurting from a severed artery. Let them 'gush' out! 

It is the same word that Hannah used in 1Samuel 1:15, 16 when Eli the priest accused her of being 'out of it', or drunk!  She assured him that she had not lost her marbles nor was she drunk. She said: "Don't think for a minute that I'm a bad woman or that I have been dipping into the sauce or pouring out wine or beer!  I have been pouring - but not wine.  I've been pouring out my heart to the Lord. I have been desperately unhappy and angry and that's the reason I have been praying and pouring it all out for so long."

Our prayers can become so technical, professional, sophisticated and formal!  In times of trouble, we forget that when we sneak away into a private area to be alone with God, we don't have to restrain ourselves any longer.  We don't have to keep it all in anymore; nor do we have to let it out slowly in calm, measured, and controlled words.  Once we are alone with Him we can let our inner turmoils, distresses, and our conflicting thoughts burst out!

"God is a refuge for us."  There are very few people we could ever trust enough to tell them everything that is going on inside our heads. But we can get alone with the Lord and tell Him every single thing, including the darkest and most intense thoughts of our hearts. He is a safe place for us to allow our pent up emotions and fears to gush forth!  He is a shelter, a refuge for us. 

And you need to know this: He will not shun you after you tell Him everything; nor will He think less of you. In fact, He will draw you nearer to Himself, because you have expressed such confidence in Him to be able to share the deepest secrets of your heart.  That's the intimacy with us that He craves.  So He loves it when we spill it all out before Him. He will prove Himself to us once again that He is a Refuge for us. Because of a Christian's position in Christ Jesus we can come to the throne of grace with boldness, confidence and liberty, and there freely tell the Lord all our mind, and all that is in our heart. (Hebrews 4:16, Romans 8:26-28)

Do you have anything to pour out today?

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today,

Warmly in Christ,

Peter Ramsay

peter@heaven4sure.com

Eye Catcher with God

AN EYE CATCHER WITH GOD

Imagine someone positively taking a second look at you. Imagine someone sifting through 391 resumes and your resume catches their eye. They dig it out from the pile and set it alone on the desk. Throughout the day it gets picked up and looked at repeatedly as the employer reads and re-reads portions of it. Imagine getting the call about your dream job and the employer says: "You have exactly what I've been looking for." How much would that call mean to you?

Multiply the thrill of that call a thousand times. Imagine God scanning the globe. Not 391 people but 7 billion earth dwellers - no trifling number for sure! He's looking for something.

4,670,534,111:     "No. Flaunts self. Too showy."

4,670,534,112:     "No. Heart seething with bitterness and stubbornness."

4,670,534,113:     "No. 'Look at me. See me.' attitude.

4,670,534,114:     "No.  Rabid envy, jealousy and covetousness within."

4,670,534,115:     "No. All external. Shallow internally."

4,670,534,116:     "..Just a minute. Pause. A second look. Yes! Exactly what I've been looking for! Now this is what I value. All the other displays, below the cheap tinsel external wrapping, which incidentally, doesn't do a thing for Me, were sadly lacking and disappointing. What I see in 4,670,534,116 not only catches My eyes but it thrills and delights My heart. It is of great value to Me."

Of course, this is only a weak human analogy. We think in terms of numbers - but God knows names and hearts. Now try reading these verses:

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward

-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-

rather let it be the hidden person of the heart,

with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which is very precious in the sight of God."

(1Peter 3:3-4)

Really, the most expensive clothing, the shiniest luxury vehicles, the brightest and most tasteful jewellery, the coolest hair displays and the fanciest of homes and furniture - are all the trappings of this age that catch the eyes of the world but fails to impress the Lord.  They are perks for our enjoyment - not His. The context for the verse above is women, but the adornment that God values in all of us is what He can see and appreciate in the hidden person of the heart. What He values is the hidden me because that's who I really am - and nothing more before the Lord.

Sincerity, humility, simplicity, modesty, and dignity should be five distinguishing features of our Christian lifestyle. Read the Epistles and see how frequently these five Christian lifestyle qualities surface in the teachings of the New Testament. If the hidden person of the heart is right - the externals in our life will be right as well. But the opposite of that is not necessarily true.

What's my primary adornment - external or internal? Am I working hard to catch and please the eye of God or the eye of the world around me?

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today,

Peter Ramsay

Bad Day for a Good Man

It was another one of those days for Moses, the leader of God's people. (Numbers 11) Everyone was whining and complaining - unhappy with this and disgruntled over that and well - the issue today was the menu. They were sick and tired of manna - gagging at the thought of eating another bite. A movement in the massive wilderness camp spread from tent to tent. A bunch of Egyptians who had mixed and mingled with the people of God fuelled the fires of discontent. "Yeah, this is brutal. Remember the awesome gourmet meals we had in Egypt? Fish, leeks, onions and garlic - even cucumbers! This manna is a pathetic excuse for food."

Moses seemed to be discouraged and he took the matter to the Lord in prayer. He didn't hold back when he expressed his feelings to the Lord. "Lord, this is rough. I'm swamped with all their complaints. Why did You give me this humongous burden to carry? I never conceived all these children. They're not mine. So why have You laid the burden of them all on my shoulders? It's way too heavy for me to carry alone. I'm just one man and I feel my frailty. So You said, You'd give them meat to eat because they are sick of manna flakes and cakes - but really, if all the fish of the sea were gathered together in one place and we caught them all - would that even be enough to feed well over a million people?"

Did you ever have a day like that? Perhaps Moses failed in his discouragement but the other side of the coin is: the Lord loves it when we are 'real' with Him. Not irreverent - but real. The Lord responded: "Don't worry Moses. My arm is not too short to reach down there and do such a miracle. I am able. Trust me. And to lighten your burden, I will share the same Spirit who empowers you with seventy other elders here in this camp. Go pick them out."

Moses selected seventy men and asked them to join him at the tabernacle to see what God would do. Sixty eight showed up and the power of God came down and all of them began prophesying with the evident power of God. But Eldad and Medad stayed right in the camp, failing to join the others.

A boy spotted the two men prophesying in the middle of the camp and ran to tell Moses. Young Joshua overheard the report and quickly said to Moses: "Such things ought not to be. They are dead wrong. Moses, you must put a swift stop to this immediately." Here's Moses' response:

But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake?

Would that all the LORD's people were prophets,

that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!"

(Numbers 11:29)

What a man of God Moses was! No, he wasn't perfect. He got discouraged earlier in the day and complained to the Lord - but who wouldn't!  However, in the case of the two men, observe his unselfish noble motives; his excellent spirit, free from envy and free from any effort to promote himself. It was all about God's glory and His power being displayed. If God was choosing a different means to display His power, who was he to squash it, question it or hinder it?  Moses' words were very similar to Christ's response in Mark 9:39. We can't put limits on God; He can work through whomever and however He chooses and we should always rejoice when He does, without a critical or harsh spirit. Such was Moses' spirit of grace and largeness of heart and depth of spirituality.

Apart from your bouts of discouragement, how is your heart before the Lord?

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.

Warmly in Christ,

Peter Ramsay

peter@heaven4sure.com

Self Disclosure is Exposure

With whom do you share the details of your life? What's the latest count on the friends you have on Facebook? The grand total as of today is ____? And what details and messages are you sharing with your friends?

• "I just kissed my incredibly beautiful wife. What a sweetheart!"
• "Charlie, I always knew you were the greatest son a mother could ever ask for."
• "mmmmm.....more please."
• "Grrrrrh, why can a guy u love be so annoying!"
• "Shhhh. My first date. I think she is the one."

Really, are those personal details of your life appropriate content for all your so-called friends to read? Some of it is borderline pride and often pride comes before a fall. Revealing the thoughts of your heart to your 1311 friends - is that really a good thing to do? Have you ever wondered or even worried about what you've posted on Facebook? Even after you removed it the next day, have you ever had to explain it? "It was just how I was feeling that day. Don't read too much into it."

If you were personally with those 1311 people one on one would you hit them with any one of the above updates - right off the bat? Or might you save some of those details for a handful of your closest friends or even your closest friend in real life? Are those the type of things you would quickly share in a three minute encounter with high school friends if you met them this weekend or with work associates or neighbours?

Have you ever prayed about how you can use social media like Facebook for your personal benefit and for the benefit of others and God's glory? Ask the Lord to make you sensitive to what would be good to share and what is not necessary to share and what is totally inappropriate to share.

Yes, it is true - we are to live transparent lives. That simply means that if ever anyone was to investigate my private life, what they uncovered would not damage or destroy my public credibility. Don't confuse transparency with exposure and broadcasting private matters in your life.

Is there a Biblical example?

"The Lord confides in (shares His secrets with)

 those that fear (reverence, respect) Him;

He makes His covenant known to them."

Psalm 25:14

There are some things we know about God. The incredible universe around us reveals unavoidable and obvious aspects of God.  When the Lord Jesus came to earth, according to Hebrews Chapter 1, He was the revelation of God. But then there is the 'deliberate' secret-sharing when intimacy deepens and the Spirit of God enlightens us and gives us a greater appreciation of our Great God and Saviour. The more we spend time with Him by reading His Word and in prayer, the more we get to know Him and His secrets.

God shared secrets with Abraham only because of the relationship He enjoyed with him. He is called 'a friend of God.' Daniel knew His God.  Who would ever doubt his loyalty and faithfulness to God? It is no small wonder then that we read God revealed secrets to Daniel. "The Lord confides and shares His secrets ONLY with those who fear, honor, and respect Him." (Only is implied.)

Remember that self-disclosure is exposure. Trace the qualities of wisdom and discretion throughout the Word of God - two qualities God values. The Proverbs speak often about fools who are always blabbing and speaking their mind and sharing everything that is on their heart, with no control over the doors of their mouth - the very opposite of a wise person.

"Lord, help me to share with others only details that are helpful and wise to share - information and details that You would want me to share. For the things that are tempting to share but would grieve You if I did so, give me the strength to keep it to myself."

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.

Warmly in Christ,

Peter Ramsay

peter@heaven4sure.com