Flashback Favorite: Is Jesus boring?

Is Jesus boring?
Originally posted on April 19, 2018

One of the keys to good parenting that I’ve discovered over the years is to be so predictable that I’m boring…at least when it comes to discipline and behavioral expectations – first for myself, and then for my children.  While it may have looked ‘boring’ at a surface level or even felt ‘boring’ to me, the consistency of my character provided the foundation for relationship with my children.

Especially through their younger years, our relationship always seemed to go smoother when I was most consistent.  It’s as if they took a measure of comfort in knowing not just the boundaries, but who their dad is as a person.  When I was out of sorts, they could sense it, and they became unsteady.  Looking back, the season when I was traveling extensively for work certainly took a toll on our family dynamic.  Dad wasn’t consistently there, and it showed.

However, the flip side also rang true.  The times when I was consistently tuned in to both who I am with God and what my purpose is for my children – those seasons have resulted in some of our best family memories.  (Notice I didn’t say easiest, I said best…and there is often a difference)

My consistency came directly from my connection to God.  He is our ultimate example for the parent-child relationship, such that His consistency of character (from the surface level) may even appear ‘boring’.  But when we lean into His consistency of character, we find the things we cannot achieve anywhere else in life – identity, perspective, foundation, and purpose.

But it’s hard to rely on God for those things.  We struggle with the idea that we must earn everything, including relationships.  We don’t want to admit dependency or, quite frankly, our inner-most need for it.  And this is where the recipients of the letter we call Hebrews were in danger of slipping.  The author had already shown them Jesus’ fulfillment of Mosaic law and superiority over its decrees, but there would be the temptation for them to go back to trying to build a relationship with God based upon what actions they choose.

The author addressed this concern both as a warning and an encouragement:

Hebrews 13:8-9
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by foods, since those involved in them have not benefited.

The author says his readers cannot establish their relationship with God due to the ceremonial foods they would eat, or rituals they follow.  The people’s activities were shadows that pointed to Jesus and the relationship with God only He could provide. 

Jesus hasn’t changed.  Jesus doesn’t change.  Who He was in the Old Testament, who He is in the New Testament, and who He will be in eternity future is the same Great God who loves us unconditionally, entirely based upon grace.

If you come across any teaching that even suggests otherwise, don’t be led astray.  Reject such foolishness.  We cannot earn God’s love, by cash now or on credit later.  We cannot do enough good things today to earn the start of a relationship with Jesus.  We cannot do enough good deeds later to justify His investment of eternal life in us.  No matter what we’ve done, are doing, or will do – our standing with God is entirely established by grace.

We will not find His consistency boring; rather His consistent character will show us our true identity, proper perspective, a solid foundation, a life’s purpose, and a heart established by grace.  Most of all, His consistent character shows us…Him.

Don’t be led astray.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Believe me, I swear!

Growing up, it seemed like any time another kid wanted to be believed, he would say something like, “I swear on my mother’s life” or “I swear to God”.  It was because he wanted to be seen as telling the truth, no matter how outlandish his claim was.  Even still now, among adults, I hear similar phrases like, “That’s the God’s-honest truth” or “May God strike me down if I’m lying” or simply “On God”. 

These qualifiers have always seemed to me as, well, a little weird to say.  And apparently, so did Jesus’ half-brother James:

James 5:12
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.  But let your “yes” mean “yes”, and your “no” mean “no”, so that you won’t fall under judgment.

Another translation for so that you won’t fall under judgment would be so that you won’t fall into hypocrisy.  Ouch.  No one wants the stigma of being viewed as a hypocrite.  This thought isn’t unique to James, either.  Because his big-brother Jesus covered this same topic in His Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:33-37
Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, “You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord”.  But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.  Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.  But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’, and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’.  Anything more than this is from the evil one.

How bad of a look is it if we’re “swearing” by heaven or by earth…and we are actually wrong on whatever it is we’re trying to convince others about?  We have no control over the heavens, the earth, or what color our hair naturally grows out as.  So what does all this “swearing” mean?  A whole lotta nothing, honestly.  But wow, phrases like this are commonly said in today’s culture.  It’s as if we’re so used to people not following through that we need an extra layer of promise to get people to believe us.

It might not seem like a big deal to simply let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’, and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’, but the difference is that it will stand out in comparison to what people have typically experienced.  If that statement sounds far-fetched, I would have likely agreed with you, if it weren’t for a recent experience at work.

I was given a small task of updating a few accounts, so I contacted each of the account owners via email on a Friday, telling them that their account credentials would change on the following Wednesday afternoon.  Then, on that next Wednesday afternoon, I communicated their updates.  I thought nothing of the task until I received an email back from one of the account owners with the following statement:

Thank you for making this process so smooth!

I was pretty surprised at getting a “thank you”, but also really surprised at being told that I made the whole thing “so smooth!”  All I did was follow through with what I said I would do – and that apparently stood out to this particular person, enough for him to feel the need to express his gratitude to me.

It was still just a small thing…or was it?  If we are to be Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), then it is appropriate for us to be reliable ambassadors.  If we’re not following through on the “small things” or we have to “swear” or “On God” what we say…how will they believe us when the opportunity comes to talk about the most important thing they could ever know?

And it’s really just as simple as James and Jesus made it out to be – let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’, and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

AI tried to write this blog. Here’s what happened.

I have been looking into AI quite a bit recently.  Mostly for my day job, but also for my own curiosity.  The company I work for provides a fair bit of training and information about AI uses, but we’re also encouraged to find new ways of utilizing this tool in our day-to-day jobs.  While that information and skill set is helpful to develop in our current economy, my personal curiosity has been more focused on how we, as a society, will cope with the massive disruptions that are (honestly) just over the next horizon.

A common use of AI today is to get help creating written content.  Anywhere in the writing process can be assisted by AI tools – whether you’re simply brainstorming ideas, looking for feedback on a final product, or anywhere in between.  I’ve been aware of these capabilities for some time, but I’ve resisted checking into AI’s ability to completely write up a blog post.  To be honest, my avoidance has been more of a pride thing than anything else…I believe I do a decent job on my own with writing.  This has been a reliable skill for me since the time we started writing three-paragraph essays in junior high school.  To give you just one example, for a season of my career, I actually taught technical writing for laboratory investigations to chemists and Quality Control management.  While others may rejoice in getting help with their writing tasks, I’ve been feeling a little threatened.  So, I’ve actively avoided exploring AI’s capabilities here.

Until last Wednesday, anyway.  I decided that I would finally take a look at what I’m up against.  I’ve used an AI model called Perplexity for a little less than a year, primarily as a search engine.  It’s not been perfect, but on the whole, it does a good job.  So, last Wednesday, I asked it the following prompt:

Write a blog post in the voice of the author in http://www.trustingson.com/the-word. It should be no more than 600 words. The topic is from Ruth 4, the generational impact of Ruth and Boaz's actions on their subsequent family line.

Now, I had preached on this chapter for my church back in May but I have not written a blog on this topic, so I was curious how close it would come to getting the topic right, but also how well it could do writing as if it were me. 

The result?  To be honest, what came out (in about 30 seconds) wasn't too far off.  I'd give it an 80% score...which is pretty scary.  There are a handful of “rules” that I go by when I write a blog, and the AI didn’t follow all of them.  But I could have easily asked it to refine the post by these additional parameters to achieve a final product that sounded even closer to my style of writing. 

I then showed the AI draft to my wife, with my head hung a little as she read through the text.  Although she was insistent that what she read "wasn't me" – I still felt like I had been kicked in the teeth.  Something that I’d always considered a strength was now easily produced with no real effort.  I then turned my attention to finishing up last Thursday’s blog My dog hates to wait.  So do I.  And I felt lousy about the AI situation for the whole next day.

And then, on Friday morning…God sent someone to rip me out of my funk.  Greg, who was also mentored by Joe Rheney and has been receiving THE WORD emails since way back when Joe was writing them, decided to drop me a message.  Here’s part of what he said:

Among the many things Joe helped us to grow in, was discovering and using our spiritual gifts. Mine is that of an encourager and comforter. I encourage you to continue your ministry with the same passion you started with and to finish with the goal and prize of hearing the words “Well done, good and faithful servant”. I personally value what you share in the pursuit reaching the finish line. Your insights, explanations, inspirations, and interpretations are an outward expression of your love and devotion to our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

I…I was stunned.  I didn’t know what to say or how to quell the multitude of emotions that started to swirl in my mind and through my chest.  God saw my funk of an attitude and prompted Greg to send me a note of encouragement.  God saw me.  And he sent help.

Throughout the New Testament, believers are often told to encourage one another.  Here are just two examples:

Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day (of Christ’s return) approaching.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

Thank you, Greg.  Thank you for using your gifts to support the body of Christ – even though you had no idea how much I needed it.  Thank you for listening to God’s prompt to use His gift in your life.

For everyone else, please follow Greg’s example and use your gifts to build up those around you.  Despite whatever technological advancements come next, we are still to consider one another in order to provoke love and good works…encouraging each other because our savior is coming soon.

I won’t be using AI to write THE WORD…simply because there is great value in my struggle and learnings from the Scripture, both for me and for you.  Besides, how can I claim that the Bible will change your life if I’m using a tool that keeps the Bible from changing mine?

I’ll keep using my gifts, even if it takes longer to complete my work.  It’s better that way.

I believe the same is true for the gifts and abilities God gave to you, too.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

My dog hates to wait. So do I.

How’s your summer treating you?  Our temps in North Carolina have ramped up significantly in the last week – so much so that I’ve had to make a major adjustment to our family’s schedule.

I work from home, and although my days are filled with online meetings, I can typically step out for a short mid-morning walk with the dog.  This timing has benefits for both of us: he can do his morning business, and I can get a moment to clear my head away from talking to people on a computer screen.  If the morning is crazy-hectic, he may have to wait until lunchtime (but that’s a rarity).  He also normally gets walked after I log off for the day at 5:00pm.

Our pup loves this schedule, and if we deviate from it, he is certain to let me know.  First, he’ll come bump my leg with his nose.  If that doesn’t get me up and moving, he’ll try whining a little bit.  Then, he’ll escalate to just flat-out staring at me…off the side of my desk, with his eyes just barely above the edge, not blinking.  Just eye pressure.  Willing me to pay attention and take him outside.  His requests for the 5:00pm walk can start as early as 3:30pm, but they certainly intensify if we haven’t left by a little after our usual 5:00pm schedule.

However…the recent heat has forced us to change our schedule.  Now, we get a walk in before I start working and before the sun bears down on us – and of course, he doesn’t mind at all going out early.  But the after work walk?  That’s been pushed well into the evening, waiting until the sun is nearly gone for the day.  It’s just too hot for him otherwise.  The scorching pavement on his paws and the thick, humid air while walking around the neighborhood has him panting and overheated in no time.  So, we wait.

But like I said, he doesn’t like to wait.  In fact, he’s whining a bit right now as I type this out (it’s 5:47pm).  Not because he needs to do his business, but because he just wants to go and sniff and explore.   He doesn’t understand thermometer readings and heat indexes and the fact that extreme heat causes the most weather-related deaths in the US each year.  He just wants what he wants, and he expects me to provide it for him.

You’ve probably already drawn the same parallel and conclusion that I have.  When it comes to how I want God to intervene in my life…I can be a lot like my dog.  I don’t like to wait.  I’m certain my schedule is the best schedule.  I tend to whine if I don’t get what I want, when I think I should get it.  Never mind that God understands the real temperature of the situation and my ability to handle it at the moment…

Our ability to wait on God’s timing isn’t so much a lack of patience on our part.  Rather, it’s a lack of trust in God doing His part on His timing.  That stings a little bit, doesn’t it?  Yeah, me too.

King Solomon pointed this out in his collection of wisdom sayings:

Proverbs 19:2 (NIV)
Desire without knowledge is not good – how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

If my dog has hasty feet and tries to run outside when the door opens, he’s going to be met with a humid wall of heat that could cause him problems.  If we get hasty feet and run ahead of what God intends for us, we will miss the way He had planned for us to walk.  For me, running ahead of God has always led to more heartache than I anticipated.  While recovery and redemption are available, God always prefers that we make the wise choice and avoid the broken paths. 

And sometimes, the wise choice is to wait.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

When I feel like I can’t keep up

Life can move at a frantic pace.  We use all sorts of phrases to describe it.  How many of these have you said?

These days are flying by.
This month has been a blur.
This year is moving so fast.
We’re doing everything at 100 mph.

It’s not just the unrelenting forward progression of time that has us feeling like we can’t keep up…it’s also the volume of events and responsibilities that get jammed into the swiftly moving stream of minutes.  No matter what grade level you’re in, there is homework in nearly every subject.  All of our jobs have multiple projects, events, or responsibilities that must be simultaneously managed.  It’s impossible to stay up-to-date on all the news – local, national, and global.  Social media always has more notifications and content for you to follow up on. 

Our hobbies have the ability to leave us feeling a bit overwhelmed, as well.  Keeping up with multiple sports teams and leagues; the latest movies and streaming shows; and online video games can feel like a part-time job.  Don’t forget to exercise.  And you know you should read that book.  Gotta eat healthy.  Go to church, be involved more than just showing up on Sunday.  The cleaning chores around the house never end, and a broken appliance is never a welcomed situation.  Make friends, keep friends, and be nice to strangers.  Stay in contact with your family, near and far away. 

Then multiply by the number of people in your family.  Add 10 points for good measure, for all the things I forgot to list. 

Oh yeah…and remember everyone (including ourselves) is sinful, broken, and selfish.  That won’t complicate much, will it?

I’m feeling a little stressed just writing all that down.  I imagine you’re feeling the same after reading it.

I was challenged recently with the words Paul wrote to the believers in the region of Galatia.  And with that challenge came a perspective that will help relieve the stress of life’s pace we all feel:

Galatians 5:16
I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.

A little bit later, Paul adds:

Galatians 5:22, 25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

So, if living by the Spirit is living out the fruit of the Spirit in the various parts of our lives, what is Paul talking about when he says to keep in step with the Spirit? 

This is a question of pacing, so I find it super-interesting that just a few verses prior, Paul’s prescribed pace is to walk by the Spirit.  The average human walks a pace of 3 mph.  Looking back at the life of Jesus, we don’t see him hitching a ride on a horse or chariot.  He walked everywhere.  He did life and ministry at a pace of 3 mph.  I have to wonder if we have trouble knowing God’s desire for us or recognizing His leading us because we’re just moving too fast.

If Jesus is moving at 3 mph, and I’m moving at 100 mph – who is following whom?

We must intentionally add slowness into our days.  Carve out some time, protect those boundaries, and put everything on pause for just a few moments.  During that time, ask God to show you His pace for your day.

Doing so will guarantee that you won’t get everything done for the day.  But you will have done the best thing you could do for today.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Them boys came to work

Sometimes, weekend plans can be completely scrapped due to unexpected events, especially when you are a homeowner.  You cannot predict when most appliances will need repair, or when a piece of furniture breaks, or when you’ll find a water leak in the yard…it just comes with the territory of owning/managing property.  This past week for me – it was a tree that suddenly collapsed in our yard.

This past Thursday, we had a soaking rain with lightly gusting winds.  However, the weather wasn’t the cause of the damage so much as it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Or that broke the massive tree limb, anyway.

Bradford Pear trees are a non-native species to North Carolina that property developers loved to plant in the 90s and early 2000s due to their rapid growth and pretty spring flowering.  However, they have many drawbacks – their aggressive growth can be invasive, with sprawling root structures that outcompete native trees for resources.  Their pretty white flowers also stink – like dead fish.  Lastly, and most consequential to my weekend plans, their branches are often weakly attached to the trunk. 

So, during a typical NC rainstorm last Thursday, one of the massive limbs on our Bradford Pear broke off and dropped into our front yard.  Thankfully, it didn’t land on the house or in the street.  However, the crashing limb so severely ripped the trunk that there was no saving the tree.  I snapped a picture and sent it to our church’s men’s group chat, lamenting that I suddenly had new plans for the weekend.  These are the guys that meet weekly on Zoom to go through the Scriptures, sometimes a book, or we take the time to check in on each other.  The group has been rolling for years and it’s always good when we can catch a lunch together or find another way to hang out, outside of saying hello on Sundays.

Since we live in the county and not in a city, the debris removal was totally on me.  Immediately, guys were offering chainsaws and assistance.  From Friday evening to Saturday evening, multiple guys showed up in waves to help, with a couple of them bringing an extra family member to assist.  With chainsaws and a pole saw, we lopped off several still-attached branches, took down the tree, and cut it up.  We were able to haul the debris off to one guy’s nearby burn pile.

Left to myself, on my own time and with just my own effort, a tree that size would have taken me two weeks to take down and likely another two weeks of shuttling everything in my truck to the local compost facility.  Or, at least, I’d have to pay someone two grand to come do it all for me.

Instead, with about 6 hours of work over a 26-hour time period, 5 guys from the men’s group (plus 2 of their family members)…everything was done.  Them boys came to work.  And my neighbors noticed.

Here’s a few quotes from some of the guys in the neighborhood, at different points of the process:

Neighbor 1 (while work was on-going): “Are these guys from your church group?”
Me: “Yeah”
Neighbor 1: “That’s pretty cool.”

Me: (everything hauled away, I’m raking the last of the leaves) “I had some good friends come help me out.”
Neighbor 2: “I hope that if I’m ever in a similar situation, I can pull off what you did to get some help.”

Me: (after everything was done, during a dog walk) “Yeah, my men’s group from church jumped in to help me.”
Neighbor 3: (rubbing his chin) “Huh.  How about that?”

I’m pretty sure none of these men have believed in Jesus for eternal life.  But because of my tree-wrecked weekend plans, they all had front-row seats to the kind of community God made us for.  What they saw was a live-action application of one of Jesus’ teachings in His famous Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world.  A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

My neighborhood saw our light shine, and I was able to tell many of them where that light was coming from.  My undesired inconvenience became my opportunity to talk about God.  I think we all could use a perspective like that when our plans are interrupted.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Honey is sweet, but this is sweeter

I love me some honey.

A peanut butter and honey sammich always hits the spot.  Honey drizzled on a hot, buttered biscuit just makes it better.  And if you’ve ever eaten pizza at Beau Jo’s in Colorado, you know that you gotta enjoy that leftover pizza crust by dipping it into some honey.

It’s not just good, it’s also good for you – especially if you can get it from local hives.  Raw, local honey is rich in antioxidants and nutrients; has antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties; and contains prebiotics.  When we first moved to West Virginia, my allergies went haywire from being exposed to all the new flora.  So, I sought out some local honey.  Every day, a little went into my morning coffee, and eventually, my seasonal allergies weren’t a problem anymore.

While honey is readily available for us at farmer’s markets and in grocery stores, it wasn’t that way during Bible times.  Refined sugars were not available.  Most of the time, fruit (like dates, grapes, or figs) was boiled and concentrated down into a thick syrup, which was then used as a sweetener.  However, bee honey was the sweetest substance known in the Middle East.  It was rare enough to be considered a luxury.  Even a small amount was suitable as a gift to an important person.

With that scarcity in mind, take a look at this advice King Solomon gave to his son:

Proverbs 24:13-14
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate;
realize that wisdom is the same for you.
If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will never fade.

When I read this, my first thought was, “I’ve never had honeycomb before.  I wonder what that’s like?”.  Fortunately, I have a friend who has several bee hives and was willing to share some honeycomb.  Let me tell you…if you haven’t had it before, it is an experience.  A delicious experience, to be exact.  The warmth of your mouth immediately collapses the wax comb structure, and your mouth is flooded with rich sweetness.  Although your first instinct is to start chewing the wax, your best bet is to simply suck on the collapsed comb and enjoy the honey.  I would also suggest spitting out the wax – you could eat it, but I don’t want to.

Honey from the comb is as fresh and raw as it gets, but as a son of King Solomon, you know this young man knew what honeycomb tasted like.  He understood how rare of a treat it was, because someone had to harvest it from the wild, wherever bees would make their hive – a hole in the ground, a hollow tree, or in a rock crevice.

King Solomon is taking something his son recognizes – and probably really enjoys – and uses it as an analogy for the value of wisdom.  Honey is good, rare, and sweet…but so is wisdom.  When we find wisdom, we need to taste and experience it, just like honeycomb.

Wisdom is sweet, too, but better…because it gives a future and an unfading hope.  The sweetness of wisdom doesn’t just last for a moment, but it continues on with you.

There is a catch, though.  King Solomon admitted that there is one.  Note that he said, “if you find it”.  Wisdom and honeycomb also share this characteristic: they must be sought out.  We must be willing to put in the effort and take the time to find it.

Are you willing to search for it?  You won’t find anything sweeter. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The littlest psalm

If something is both well done and done well, we typically assume it was done on a large scale.  A master’s degree thesis paper can easily end up over 100 pages long, with PhD papers reaching up to 300 pages.  We’re impressed by large collections of art, cars, or historical artifacts.  Huge bridges and tall buildings receive ooohs and aaahs that single-story structures do not.  People with millions of social media followers are clearly better and more newsworthy than someone who has less than 100 followers, right? 

We’re so used to being wowed by the large, that it’s easy to skip over the small.  I think that kind of mindset can sneak into our personal Bible study and Sunday services, as well.  While most sermons will talk about Jesus – and rightfully so, He is the focus and reason for everything – if the preacher’s topic involves someone else in the Bible, odds are it’ll be about Abraham, Moses, or David.  This is certainly understandable, as these three men partnered with God in great ways to bring out His plan and purpose for humanity.  However, if we only talk about God in relation to “the big three” then we will miss out on seeing God in the lives of people like Ruth, Philemon, or John Mark.

And what of our worship songs?  The trend in recent years has been to repeat the chorus of a song 7x, 9x, 11x, or more.  But that’s not entirely something new…the longest psalm in the Bible is Psalm 119, which holds 176 verses (notably not repeating the same words over and over, either). 

That said, brevity and simple, clear truth was not lost on the psalm composers.  Just before Psalm 119 – the longest psalm – is Psalm 117, which is the shortest psalm.  Psalm 117 consists of just two verses and 23 words in total (only 17 words in Hebrew).  This psalm definitely qualifies as “small but mighty” when you look at what the composer wanted people to sing:

Psalm 117:1-2
Praise the Lord, all nations!
Glorify Him, all people!
For His faithful love to us is great;
the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.
Hallelujah!

Whether your day has been good or your day has been a struggle – being reminded of God’s faithfulness makes the day better.  Remembering that we are not alone, that the Creator of the Universe is active and interested in our lives is a source of both comfort and confidence.

The words faithful love come from the Hebrew word hesed – which is hard to wrap the full meaning of the word into English, but here is a good description of what the psalm’s author had in mind when he wrote about God’s hesed toward us:

It is an unfailing love, a loyal love, devotion, kindness, based on a covenant relationship between the two parties.

The Israelites had their covenant with God, and we have ours through Jesus.  We don’t deserve that kind of love and loyalty.  We can’t earn it or do anything to convince Him that we’re worth it.  The only thing we can do is accept His choice for how He loves and then receive it.

That is how God feels about us…and remembering God’s hesed toward us brings up the praise we find in Psalm 117, the littlest psalm.  Praise the Lord, indeed!

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Passing down diamonds

There’s been a big change in our family this year: our younger son proposed to his girlfriend – and she said YES!  She’s a wonderful girl, and we’re thrilled for the both of them.

Our son worked hard to make sure the ring he offered was just right.  He had several conversations with the jeweler about the layout, shape, stone size, etc. as they constructed the ring.  The final design incorporated a main diamond with two smaller diamonds, one on each side.  The ring is quite pretty, and it looks good on her.

What’s special for my wife is that the two smaller diamonds came from a ring that she owns, but rarely wore any more.  The ring was a gift from her father.  He gave it to her when she was a teenager.  She’s delighted to have contributed to the new ring, being able to pass down a gift like that, now to a third generation.

This got me thinking about what else we have passed down to the next generation as our son and his bride-to-be begin to plan a wedding and rest of their lives together.  What we pass on, especially to our children, has always been an important topic to God.  You see this theme repeatedly throughout Scripture.  Here are just a few examples:

Moses speaking to the Israelites:

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

A psalm written by Asaph:

Psalm 78:1-4
My people, hear my instruction; listen to the words from my mouth.
I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past –
things we have heard and known and that our ancestors have passed down to us.
We will not hide them from their children, but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, His might, and the wonderous works He has performed.

A psalm written by David:

Psalm 145:4
One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts.

Paul writing to his protégé, Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:1-2
You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

It’s mind-blowing to think that the Creator of the Universe has given us the responsibility of sharing His reputation to the generations that come after us.  Out of all the mechanisms He could have used…He chooses to work in and through broken, flawed humans to tell other broken, flawed humans that there is more to life than being stuck as broken and flawed.

So, if we take an honest look at what we are saying and how we are living…what are we passing down to the next generation?  Is it something valuable, like diamonds?  Or is it something that just looks shiny but has no real worth?

We all have something about God we can share.  Don’t beat yourself up if you feel that what you have to offer isn’t the biggest diamond…because all the diamonds in the setting work together to make something beautiful.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Is God good?

I have been sick for the past week and was unable to finish the next post. So instead of something new this week, I’ll leave you with a question we all need to wrestle with from time to time:

Is God good?
Originally posted on June 12, 2015

I just stared at him blankly.  No one had ever asked me that question before.

I had just finished sharing a brief version of my life story, my journey with God up to that point in my life.  I had talked about being raised the church, accepting Christ as my savior at eight years old, and listed off the major difficulties I had either caused or someone else had caused me to live through.  I had also discussed how I saw God at work in those situations and in me during those times…and then the leader of the small men’s group asked me a follow up question.

Ken, it’s great that you recognize how and when God has worked in your life.  But I need to ask you…Is God good?

My mind swirled with this question as the other guys in the group stared back at me, waiting for my answer.  I stammered an answer that God is God, and what He does is what He wants to do.  The group leader wouldn’t let me off that easy, though.  He pressed in again:

Ken, I didn’t ask if God was in charge.  I asked you if He is good.  Do you believe that God is good?

Although he didn’t bring up this specific passage, the group leader was asking if I viewed God the same way that the author of Psalm 119 did.  Look for yourself to find how the author viewed the goodness of God:

Psalm 119:65-72
Lord, You have treated Your servant well, just as You promised.
Teach me good judgment and discernment, for I rely on Your commands.
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.
You are good, and You do what is good; teach me Your statutes.
The arrogant have smeared me with lies, but I obey Your precepts with all my heart.
Their hearts are hard and insensitive, but I delight in Your instruction.
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I could learn Your statutes.
Instruction from Your lips is better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

The benefit of hindsight allows the psalmist to say that God had treated Your servant well, just as You promised.  Even though the author went astray and subsequently was afflicted and humbled by his errors, he was able to recognize God’s purposeful movements in his life.

Not only did he acknowledge to God that You are good, and You do what is good, his next response is the proof of his understanding – teach me Your statutes.  When we truly believe that God is good and that He has promised us good, we are drawn to Him and we want to learn from Him.  We naturally lean into those whom we believe are for us and on our side.

That’s what the men’s leader was trying to get me, and the rest of the group, to understand.  When we are able to tell God You are good, and You do what is good – that is when we are ready to lean into God and let Him speak into our lives.

So I’ll put the question to you – Is God good?

Keep Pressing,
Ken