But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. Gen 8:1
Zakat often translated "remember"
but in reference to God, it conveys “thought about” or “turned attention to” (compare 19:29; 30:22). God’s purpose for the flood is accomplished, so He turns His attention back to Noah and the ark.
God doesn't remember our sins, rather chooses to turn his attention elsewhere. Not in a way a parent may when uncomfortable with confrontation, but in such as way as to conform to his nature.
The brokenness of the human heart is the main source of pain and disappointment along the trail of hopelessness. There is no clearer picture of what we distinctly are apart from the the mighty grace of God than described in Jeremiah 17:9-10.
However, God chooses to redeem that brokenness daily in His promises and faithfulness, manifestly found in the relationships he forges in our life with others. Satan would have some think and feel they are isolated, alone and unworthy of absolute affection. Even in Proverbs 18:1, the writer intimates the person who isolates himself seeks that which is contrary to the desires of God. Isolation is necessary, but not as a means for self pity and loathing, but as a means of refreshing and quieting our soul before God.
I'm reminded of the absolute necessity for man to be bound to God through others at Zach's Graduation Party last night. What immeasurable joy and elation it is to be gathered together in His name to celebrate milestones God has made possible.
The timeline of Zach's life was represented as well-
people who were there as he was formed in his mother's womb;
friends and family who saw him crawl, walk, speak for the first time.
those who saw him at his dedication.
Those who shared his joy when Noah was born.
those who saw his first day of school.
his first sport played and his laying out of his uniform.
first bible memory verse;
first time really broken over sin;
Saying yes to The Lord
first crush;
Big move to a new school.
First broken bone (and not the last!)
First trip to Disney.
First day of High School.
First home run, tackle and 3 pointer.
Baptism.
Surrender.
Love.
Joy.
Loss.
Restoration.
Zach doesn't know all the stories of how God has weaved the people he's known back together again. Maybe someday we will share with him the faithfulness of God in these areas. All he knows it that he's loved and he saw them in one place last night.
I've been reading an article from an excerpt of Ravi Zacharias' book, The Grand Weaver called "Threads of Forgiveness" and have found myself swimming in deep waters of thought.
Ravi writes about an encounter with a young lady who saw her father throw acid on her mother to mar her beauty and keep the mother from other men. Here is the excerpt:
While at a conference in another country, I was approached by a young
woman, who asked if she could talk to me privately. Once we found a
couple of chairs and sat down to talk, I learned that she was miles away
from the land of her birth and had lived through some horrendous
experiences. She had a beautiful mother, but her father, as she worded
it, did not have the same admirable looks. Through an arranged marriage,
they had begun their lives together, but the father always resented his
wife’s looks and the many compliments given to her, while none ever
came his way. His distorted thinking took him beyond jealousy to fears
that some man might lure her away, and so he made his plan to snuff out
any such possibility. One day, he returned home, and while talking to
his wife in their bedroom, he reached into his bag, grabbed a bottle of
acid, and flung the contents into her face. In one instant, he turned
his wife’s face from beautiful to horrendously scarred. He then turned
and fled from the house.
At the point of our conversation, two decades had gone by since
mother and daughter had last seen him. The young woman, now in her
twenties, had been a little girl when this tragic event took place, and
yet the bitterness in her heart remained as fresh as the day she saw her
mother’s face turned from beauty to ugliness—so hideous that it forced
the little one to cover her own face so she wouldn’t have to see what
had been done.
But the story did not end there. Just a few days before our
conversation, the mother, who had raised the family on her own, had
heard from the husband who had deserted her. He was dying of cancer and
living alone. He wondered if she would take him back and care for him in
this last stage of his illness. The audacious plea outraged this young
woman. But the mother, a devout follower of Jesus Christ, pleaded with
her children to let her take him back and care for him as he prepared to
die.
Forgiveness is an act of obedience and is awfully tricky ground for a human heart to navigate. I have found myself going back and forth on the justification of my own indignation and the inability to release those indignities into the hands of God.
The minute I find myself wrapped in pride of having taking no offense, there are a handful of offenses I've gladly accepted into my heart and let them make a quite comfortable home. There is little doubt, on my best days, I'd be with the majority of this family in turning the father away. I'd turn him away with conviction and a teaspoon of pride.
Ravi goes onto write:
In this story, we see all the elements of the human fall and the power of
a redeemed heart. Morality alone would dictate that he gets what he
deserves.
A redeemed heart says, “Let me bind his wounds because what
needs attention is his soul.” Morality alone says, “There is nothing
reasonable in the man’s request.”
The redeemed heart says, “The reason
by which we live is the heart of mercy that does not keep a ledger.”
Morality says, “It’s all about whether you think it’s right or not.”
The
redeemed heart says, “What would God have me do in this situation?”
Morality says, “Make your own judgments.”
The redeemed heart says,
“Don’t make a judgment unless you are willing to be judged by the same
standard.”
In short, morality is a double-edged sword. It cuts the very
one who wields it, even as it seeks to mangle the other.
The double edged sword we often wield has little to do with God's word and more with our offenses taken. The greatest offense ever wrought upon the heart of man is the Cross. Man's need for forgiveness and redemption are at the heart of any peace or joy we can find in this life, yet paradoxically, it appears there is more joy in keeping offenses while denying the power of redemption found at the Cross.
Perhaps it is to keep the barriers nice and strong, so our own hearts are protected from this sin soaked life. There is a fortress in our hearts we can build and if it were not so, I suppose the need for God being a Mighty Fortress might not ever need mentioning. But Psalm 46:1 does indeed mention it. God knew our hearts and he knows our little games we play to keep it in tact. Jeremiah 17:9-10 is quite clear.
I deceive myself when I build false fortresses. I wield a weapon in which I have little skill. Dangerous in my hands to myself and those around me.
Ravi continues,
I have often wondered if many who name the name of Jesus have missed
this truth. I think, too, that in missing this, we miss the larger point
often hidden in what appears to be the main point. When we stand before
God, it would not surprise me to find out that the real point of the
story of the prodigal son was really the older brother; that the real
point of the good Samaritan was the priest and the Levite who went on
their way; that the real point of the women arriving first at the tomb
was that the disciples hadn’t; that the real point of the story of Job
was the moralizing friends. Those who play by the rules sometimes think
that this is all there is to it and that they merit their due reward.
Yet God repeatedly points out that without the redemption of the heart,
all moralizing is hollow.
In the garden it was not we who were set up but we who tried to set
God up by blaming him for the situation and then wishing to redefine
everything. Had we obeyed everything, we still would have lost if we had
errantly concluded that we deserved what the garden offered. What,
then, of the moral law in the believer?
Entitlement is a pillar of the human heart. If I do good, I want a reward. If I do bad, I want an excuse and someone else to blame. If someone else does good, I want to minimize the accomplishment and if someone else does bad, well, what did you expect with the way they live?
Ravi then cites C.S. Lewis' brilliant book, The Screwtape Letters:
C. S. Lewis has a remarkable little illustration in his book The Screwtape Letters.
The senior devil is coaching the younger one on how to seduce a person
who hangs between belief and disbelief in the Enemy (the Enemy here
being God). So the younger one sets to work on keeping this man from
turning to God. But in the end, after all the tricks and seductions, the
individual is “lost to the Enemy.” When the defeated junior devil
returns, the senior one laments and asks, “How did this happen? How did
you let this one get away?”
“I don’t know,” says the young imp. “But every morning he used to
take a long walk, just to be quiet and reflective. And then, every
evening he would read a good book. Somehow during those books and walks,
the Enemy must have gotten his voice through to him.”
“That’s where you made your mistake,” says the veteran. “You should
have allowed him to take that walk purely for physical exercise. You
should have had him read that book just so he could quote it to others.
In allowing him to enjoy pure pleasures, you put him within the Enemy’s
reach.”
The motivation in morality must be birthed from the Spirit of God and not ourselves. If it originates with ourselves than no glad handing is going to be enough. If I can earn anything, I will. I will feel very good about it. So good, in fact, I may make mention of it a few times.
I've found myself reading books to get quotes, to work out to look healthier and to pray to somehow please God. In each of those moments there is a distinct feel where I could point to a thought that escaped: "Isn't God pleased with me? Yes, He must be very pleased. I bet nobody else in the world can do this."
The danger of a self satisfying life is it is antithetical to a life that weaves threads of forgiveness. If I have no need to forgive because everyone around me is the problem and the source of my ills, why on earth would I need to forgive? Of course, that life also misses the biggest need of forgiveness (and the biggest offense taken, too) through Christ because of the offenses I've committed against the absolute Moral Being.
Ravi goes on,
Lewis’s brilliant insight applies to morality as well. Pure morality
points you to the purest one of all. When impure, it points you to
yourself. The purer your habits, the closer to God you will come.
Moralizing from impure motives takes you away from God.
Let all goodness draw you nearer, and let all goodness flow from you
to point others to the source of all goodness. God’s conditions in the
garden of Eden were not a setup, any more than the temptation of Jesus
in the wilderness was a setup or that the long journey to Egypt was a
setup. God wants us to understand our own hearts, and nothing shows this
more than the stringent demands of a law that discloses we are not
God — and neither had we better play God. Once we understand this and
turn to him, we find out the truth of what the psalmist wrote: “To all
perfection I see a limit, but [the Lord’s] commands are boundless”
(Psalm 119:96). True fulfillment and the possibility of boundless
enjoyment come when we do life God’s way. When we do it our way, we only
enslave ourselves.
Many years ago (and doesn't that sound rich!), YWAM (Youth With a Mission) put out a CD titled, "Dreams of God". It is and was an excellent worship CD and the cover had a picture of a silhouetted man holding the earth in his cradled arms. I've searched the interwebs to no avail for that picture.
However, another picture came to mind regarding the Dreams of God and it is found in Matthew 23:37. To take some liberty, this is a Dream of God. Longing to take his kids and hold them. There are days when I wish my sons were still that age, young enough to come barreling into my lap with a book and say, "Daddy, Read." Good moments, and I think most parents would like to keep their kids that age, or at the very least, have those days visit once a month. I'm mindful those are the times that are precious and, conversely, there have been days where most parents have thought, "Grow Up!" So, yea, it's a beautiful paradox.
Here's an illustration from a story I read regarding what Jesus spoke of in the verse above:
Mother hen seemed to have a terrible time trying to get those
fast-moving, hardheaded chicks to obey. She would cluck them to her,
settle down on them to keep them warm, and then, one by one, we would
see heads start peeping out from all directions. She would settle down
again and fluff out some more, and in a moment, heads would all pop out
again. Hard as she would try, those chicks were deter mined something
was more interesting than staying warm and safe under her wings.
The chicks were only a few days old when the weather forecaster
predicted a hard freeze. We threw extra hay in the barn, shut all the
windows and doors, and watched as the horses snuggled together in their
cozy stalls. The chickens all nested for the evening in their chicken
house side. The hen and her brood settled in their soft nest. As we
could have predicted, those curious little chicks would not stay under
her. She went all through the routine fluff and rearranged several
times, but heads continued popping out. We left for the night, wondering
if the hen would ever get a wink of sleep because of these 14
rebellious chicks. When we opened the farm doors the next morning, the mother hen's
usual patience gave way to panic. With agitation and frenzy, she cackled
incessantly. Strewn around her were eight frozen dead chicks. The other
six were huddled together deep under her feathers, never moving.(1) (emphasis mine)
As Jesus mentioned, Jerusalem was not willing to be under anything, let alone the protective place afforded by God. In the case of the story above, six knew their place and eight didn't. I don't think that ratio is indicative of anything with us, but it is interesting how the eight chicks were that close to the protection of the mother and didn't go back.
At some point, they were probably instinctively aware they were in trouble but were at a point too late to make it back. They, no doubt, heard the concerned calls from Mom, but maybe they wanted to get just a bit further before turning back, or maybe they were already on their way back and didn't make it. I can imagine the communication between the Hen and the chicks in those last moments. Can you hear them?
"Yea, Mom, I got it."
"Yea, Dad, Whatever you say."
"Yes, God, but not today."
Guess what? Jerusalem isn't alone.
There is quote above my wife's office reading "It's never too late to turn the day around". It takes some turning and effort, but it can be done. Likewise, it's never too late to turn your life around.
We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means
doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case,
the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. - C.S. Lewis
So, what? What does this have to do with the Dreams of God? Well, it's more like the Dreams of Parents and understanding that what we want for our kids isn't going to happen just the way we'd like.
God does have dreams for us. Not literally, because, you know, he doesn't sleep! Psalm 121:4
Yet, he shows his heart for us in this verse and it is somewhat startling, if you've never thought of God in that way. The hen is quite vulnerable. A hen isn't leaving her brood in those moments of protection. That leaves the hen in quite a place if some chicks run off, or if she becomes prey.
God is near to all of us (Acts 17:27) and he's calling out to come under
his wings. Not continuously under his wings, because we've got to grow
up and all, but when protection is needed, there is a place. But the act
of coming under His wings is something we must do. Watch this video and see what the hen does and what the last chick does:
The chicks have to be present and in the spot, so to speak, and the hen does the rest. You've got to be there. Now, certainly, God can meet us where we are, but God has institutionalized certain protective places such as the family and church (the gathering of believers anyplace). More abstract places such as obedience and submission are places of protection, just not so visible of a haven. That type of haven is more for protection of our soul and mind.
At any rate, our sons and daughters are going to do some things outside of those coverings. Things we do not want for them. And there are times the things we do want for them are not going to happen, either. Parent's dreams either fade or are fulfilled in the midst of decisions by their sons and daughters.
Sometimes that is a good thing. Some of our dreams for our kids are simply ours. There are plenty of stories, songs and novels about this phenomenon. Yet, every parent must experience and awaken to it.
God has his dreams for us, we have our dreams for our own kids and one day, our kids will have dreams for their own kids, too.
I would say God's dreams for his kids are of the much purer variety and will ultimately lead to our good. That isn't too much of a stretch. But we've got to be "place" for God to offer some things found exclusively under his wings.
Proverbs 10:4-5, among the many jewels of wisdom found in Proverbs, is explicit in the remedy for poverty: Work.
God qualifies what work is in the NT. Colossians 3:23 says anything my hands find to do.
Furthermore, work is worship to God and it is what God does, that is, he works. John 5:17 tells us what God is doing in perpetuity.
"There can be no joy in living without joy in work." - Thomas Aquinas
"Work is the refuge of those who have nothing better to do" - Oscar Wilde
The ancient, biblical truth is work is a form of imitation of God, an activity which brings healing to the soul and acts as an avenue of worship to God(1).
In the Hebrew text, work can mean both to worship or to labor. They are tied together and we shouldn't separate them so as to lose our sense of purpose and value, found only in Him and through the life he gives us.
Thank The Lord for your work, no matter the chore or vocation, and give it to Him in worship.
1) CBN Blog, 1/28/11, Dr Corne Bekker, "Work As Worship"
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings There are roads we all must travel to become the person God has intended. All that is different is the means by which we go along those roads.
It seems the road to Atlanta, as well as the roads in Atlanta, is littered with signs reading "Danger, Men under Construction".
Well, at least that is how it feels to me.
C.S. Lewis commented on God doing work on us in this illuminating passage:
Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in
to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is
doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof
and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not
surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way
that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth
is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different
house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here,
putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.
You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is
building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
I remember getting "asked" to leave my Mom's house when I was a junior in high school. I can't remember the events leading up to the point at which my Mom had reached the breaking point, but all I know is I was out. I moved in with my step dad and his wife for the remainder of that year and through my senior year.
It was a tricky time and I didn't have much room for error.
A few months into my stay, I was given the opportunity to drive the prized possession: the clutchless Orange Volkswagen. One night, on my way to a youth group gathering, I went down a famously dangerous road, at night, after rain.
The road was steep downhill and had a sharp turn coming out of the downhill portion. The thing everyone liked to do was to coast down the hill, day or night. I had never done it and thought that night would be a good time to try it, once again, at night.
I tried it. Hit a tree. Knocked myself out. Totaled the VW and staggered to a house to call home.
Dangerous road. Sometimes we know the dangers, and continue on; in the wisest of moments we may actually apply what we've learned. Other times, we simply go through life and get introduced to them for the first time.
In parenting, it is hard to know, when taking the offense for your son or daughter, if it is for them or for you. Clearly there are times when it is evident. But I'm referring to encountering these emotions for the first time (or perhaps seven or eight) and then struggling to navigate them without crashing the VW.
I've crashed the VW again.
Our first trip to Atlanta was very frustrating. Yes, unmet expectations play a part at any level of frustration. Z was with the 18u team after having just turned 17. We knew going into this summer it would be his toughest challenge in baseball. We didn't know he would appear in only two of those games out of six in Atlanta with no communication from the coaching staff to Z.
Z communicated with his coach regarding his role and the opportunity to find a team within the organization with which to gain more time. Over the years of coaching, I've learned what's important to the parents isn't necessarily important to the athlete, so there's no need for me or my wife to speak for our sons thereby muddying the already murky waters. We know how that works.
So, we all agreed the best thing for Z was to move to the 17u team for the remainder of the summer. The hitch was this team was coming back to Atlanta for another tourney two weeks after we were getting back from the first trip.
So, we are here again and, true to any proving ground God uses, guess what happens the first game? If you guess Z wasn't in the starting lineup, you guessed correctly.
My reaction? I vacillated between submitting to God for greater purposes and petty thoughts of "why are we here again, doing this? What a waste of time and money! Stewardship! Etc!".
{sarcasm tag}I'm getting the hang of this Christian living. {\sarcasm tag}
In between texts of my wife telling me to let it go and enjoy and God telling me the same, I really tried to keep perspective. But, I'm an irrational parent in select sports. So, I pouted.
I confess this is new ground, I don't handle this well. The practical side of me as a coach knows what is going on but the impractical side sees conspiracy and other nefarious factors at work.
I asked Z after the game about his thoughts and for the first time, he admitted to checking out and couldn't wait for the last out so he could leave. I was already in the car. We've had to discuss how to be a good teammate when not playing, but quite frankly that hasn't ever been a point to have to discuss...until this summer. That's why this summer has been good for both of us.
PERSPECTIVE. Get some.
But, what a perfect time to get him to go to Cracker Barrel. He was all in. Our boys have a serious dislike for all things Cracker Barrel. I don't know if it is rocking chairs or the Gaither Vocal Band tracks. Z says he liked it last night, but we were drowning our sorrows together with Sprites, cornbread and pancakes, so I'm sure that helped. It just opens the door for more Cracker Barrel. I bought a Gaither Vocal Band Reunion CD, because you can't walk out of Cracker Barrel without buying something, and we played it on the way back to the hotel. I made him clap his hands to "When the Role Is Called Up Yonder" and by the time we got back to the hotel, all was right in the world again.
Matthew 6:33-34 is always pertinent to our will and God's will. Tension in our lives always comes down to when the wills are in conflict. Our prayer is more emphatically today, "nevertheless, not my will, but Your will be done".
Z and I moseyed our way to downtown Atlanta in hopes of getting into the World of Coca-Cola. A half and hour and two parking garages later, we made a run for Bobby Dodd Stadium, where the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech play football.
The first sign we were supposed to go inside the stadium was a small parking lot next to the stadium with its gates open, as construction men were working on...something. The next sign was an open gate into the stadium.
You should walk through open doors (and gates) badges or not, unless there happens to be wild boars in the entry way.
We did go through the gate, and it was narrow, so we felt like God was in it. We worked our way on to the field, walking from one end to the other.
Z at the upper level end zone walkway
Home Sideline w/ a view of our favorite Atlanta Building, which is a bank, which has no observatory (we checked)
Z and I at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium
On The Home Side Sideline
We tried most of the doors below the stadium in hopes of finding their weight room, which we eventually did, but it, too, was locked.
It was a simple, fun time of exploration and daring. Z can now lay claim to being on Tech's baseball field and football field. Here are some pictures of the non-baseball event.
We also stumbled onto another classic landmark, The Varsity. We remember watching on the Travel Channel about good eats across America, and The Varsity was on the show.
The Varsity did not disappoint. Even after having eaten a couple of hours earlier.
Z entering the Awesome Zone
We then got lost with a GPS from Hertz that boasts, "Never Get Lost".
Finally out of downtown, we got back to our rain soaked hotel only to hear Flash Flood Warnings are in effect until Sunday morning.
