Archive for March, 2007

27
Mar

Mr. Jones and Our Seven Longings

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Categories: Heart and music

Sitting outside the new coffee place in town, enjoying the Sunday afternoon breeze - an old familiar song came on the speaker. It was Counting Crows famous “Mr. Jones and Me” song, “La la la la la la yeah” the song began. I had been sitting inside, where everyone, including the workers, had been staring agape at the teenage couple outside by the fountain that were embarrassingly making out for all to see. Many people were laughing, hard not to I guess, but it made me think about what I’ve heard taught about the “Seven Longings of the Human Heart“.

These kids were simply trying to fulfill these longings, afar off from actually doing so, and in their giddy foolishness ignored the world around them as they plunged head-long (literally) after their longings. I wanted to go interrupt them, not to tell them to leave, but to kindly remark that their love for each other would never ultimately satisfy. To point them to the love of Jesus, the truest, purest love man could ever know, not only as the foundation and fulfillment of their own hearts’ longings, but for the purer enjoyment of their own human relationship with each other. But, unfortunately or not, I didn’t. I went outside.

And the Counting Crows front-man began to howl out the loud-speaker. As the familiar tune played, I realized - this is the PERFECT song to articulate the Seven Longings of the Human Heart! Seriously, check out these lyrics below:

1. Longing for Beauty. “We all want something beautiful, man I wish I was beautiful.”

2. Longing to be Fascinated. “Come dance this silence down through the morning! Cut Maria! Show me some of them Spanish dances and pass me the bottle, Mr. Jones!”

3. Longing to be Great. “I want to be a lion. Yeah! Everybody wants to pass as cats, we all want to be big big stars - but we don’t know why and we don’t know how…”

4. Longing to have Intimacy. “Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women. She’s looking at you, man, theres’ got to be somebody for me!”

5. Longing to be Enjoyed. “When I look at the television I wanna see me, staring right back at me!!”

6. Longing to be Whole-Hearted. “I want to be Bob Dylan….I will paint my picture, blue and red, and black and gray. All of the beautiful colors are very very meaningful…if I knew Picasso, I’d buy myself a gray guitar and play!

7. Longing to make a Lasting Impact. “Mr. Jones and me look into the future…where everybody loves me, I will never be lonely….I’m going to be just about as happy as I can be!”

So here’s to you - crows that count! You have counted for us very clearly the seven longings in each and every human heart. Here’s to finding your longings in that which satisfies ultimately, Jesus the Christ.

27
Mar

Reflections on Psalm 46 - The Omnipresent, Advancing Fortress

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Categories: Psalms

Psalm 46:4 - There is a river whose streams make glad, the city of our God, the Holy Habitation of the Most High.

This verse is in the context of a psalm about the end of the age, God bringing and establishing peace by bringing “desolations” (vs.8) on the earth. The Prince of Peace’s fury is unleashed as the harvest of righteousness and wickedness is being brought to full measure during this time (Matt. 13). In this time that is so terrible that it must be shortened or no flesh should survive (Matt. 24), and increasingly more so until then - the people of God are exhorted to look unto the Lord as a mighty fortress, and a refuge in that time of trouble.

Though the earth be removed and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, we can trust in the heart of our God. He is for us, and His intentions are pure towards us! God is “in the midst” of His holy habitation, and though the nations shall rage against His leadership and His supremacy, He can not be shaken. No matter what the news says or who is elected where and when - we, who are in Him, should not fear at all, as “the Lord of hosts is with us.” (vs. 7) And if He is for us, who can be against us? Oh, my soul, take remembrance of this wherever I go!

However, God is not merely staying put in that holy habitation, blocking us from all harm and keeping us safe in a defensive posture. Consider that He is actually the one that is “bringing desolations to the earth”. God actually desolates the earth to end war. What a statement! God’s wrath actually brings peace. He “breaks the bow and shatters the spear and burns the chariots with fire.” (vs. 9) God is the One on the offensive. And we are tucked in the shadow of His wings.

Romans 16:20 says it is the “God of peace that will soon crush Satan underneath our feet.” The gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church, and gates are not offensive weapons, but defensive. The stronghold of the Lord, the fortress of our God, is the place of refuge, but also the place of offensive victory, tearing down the strongholds of the enemy and advancing the Kingdom of God in violent supernatural power.

We are not speaking of physical war, as “we wrestle not with flesh and blood” and “our weapons are not carnal but mighty, pulling down strongholds and every idea or imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” (2 Cor. 10:4) From the place of the shelter of the Most High, where the knowledge of God is pure because the experiential revelation of Christ is near and dear, God wages war, even through the saints, against the powers of darkness that keep people and the earth in bondage. God will destroy the earth, not entirely, but using the least severe means necessary to bring about the greatest harvest of souls at the deepest level of love without violating any man’s free will.

God is our refuge, and our fortress, but “Come, behold the marvelous works [active tense] of our God”. Jesus said “my Father is always working, and therefore so am I” (John 5:17) And “The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8) The Trinity is tirelessly working to destroy the kingdom of darkness and reveal the Kingdom of the Light, and the more that we abide in Christ, the more we understand for ourselves the knowledge of God (who He is), and therefore understand and have security in the fortress that He is, beholding the marvelous works of the Lord that we may worship in Spirit and Truth.

Imagine - the omnipotent, omnipresent, and transcendent God - and we are in the midst of Him! This omnipresent, transcendent fortress that makes desolations on the earth to destroy the works of the devil and bring an end to war! His eyes are like fire, His voice like the sound of rushing waters!

Speaking of water, what then is the stream that flows into this habitation, which makes the people, who are already in the midst of God Himself, glad? (vs. 4)

18
Mar

On the Joy of Being the Lord’s on THAT Day

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Categories: Heart and end-times

What a serious thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Dreadful, powerful, necessary. As Jesus said, better to fall on the rock and be broken, than to have the rock fall on you and you be crushed to pieces. What a joy it will be on that great and terrible day of the Lord, the day He will split the sky with a shout and descend like a conquering King, the ultimate champion’s title emblazoned on His leg, the same color as His eyes of fire, while a sword comes forth from His mouth to bring retribution on His enemies.

What a joy that I will be behind Him and not in front of Him! No spectacle on earth could compare to that great event, as the sun and moon are darkened to allow for the shining of the brilliant one. And how terrible will be His jealousy, for it will be a bridegroom’s fury as He comes to destroy the one who has touched the apple of His eye. Woe to the enemy of the King on His wedding day. He shall be consumed by the breath of His mouth.

What a joy that I will be behind Him and not in front of Him! For as Mark 13, Matt 24, 1 Thess 4, and 1 Cor. 15 so beautifully describe, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sounding of the last trumpet and the voice of the archangel, my body shall be gloriously changed, transformed, and raptured up to fulfill Jesus high-priestly prayer in John 17 - “Father, I desire that they would be with me where I am.” I will be taken up to be with Him where He is, and then taken down with Him to where He will be going, to establish righteousness on the earth through an increasing government from Jerusalem that will have no end (Isa. 2).

Oh, the wonder of meditating on being His on that great and terrible day! For many will cry out for the rocks to fall on them and kill them, but they will not. The Rock of Ages, instead will crush them to pieces. Lord Jesus, may I fall on you now!

15
Mar

On the Joy of Being the Lord’s Today

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Categories: Heart

Today. I’m more than alive - more than free. My head has been lifted up above my enemies! I have a higher vision to understand who the God of the Universe is. I have a higher vision to know that He really does love me, even like me, and has invited me to love Him and work with Him on things that are really important to Him. Things like His Word, His love, and His kingdom come on this earth in my life and the lives of those around me. And in the process, I start to realize why He likes these things so much and I begin to really like them too.

My heart fills with joy as I think about God’s perfect leadership over my life. Because I’ve been deceived as to what real leadership is by my former master, God’s perfect leadership seems to include my confusion as to why I am where I am, doing what I’m doing, and things like that. His leadership allows me to be restless, so that I can learn to seek Him, learn to understand His ways, and learn to be excitedly surprised when He peels back the veil as to the reasons why He is doing what He is doing in my life. Like a lover who leaves rose pedals along a beaten path, God continues to draw me along, with a smile on His face and His gentle whisper in my heart. And His leadership always prepares me step by step for a deeper understanding of Him, and a greater fellowship with Him doing the things that are really important to Him, and more and more so, to me.

I’m the Lord’s today because He gave all for me to be His today. He rescued me from my former slave-driver. He even gives me new mercy every morning in case I forget, which I’m prone to often do. His Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, guiding my path only with what is necessary to inspire more hunger for Him. This is a stark contrast to my former master’s ways. Oppositely, he would seem to show me everything ahead of time, all the “great” things I could and would have, promising all these pleasures and successes, alluring me with things and stuff, never himself - and then when I would follow after I would only fall deeper and deeper in darkness. The “prize” was always a vanishing mist, always promised by never given. In contrast to the Lord, the more I walked after the former master’s ways, the less I learned, the more unprepared for life I was, the more unsatisfied I was in my relationships, and though I may have appeared confident, the more and more deluded I became about who I was and what my purpose was.

God’s leadership style is so different, but so perfect. He shows me little by little, allowing me to enjoy Him and His ways now and beckoning me on even though the path is difficult. Satan’s leadership is terribly alluring, but incredibly horrifying. He shows me everything and anything I “think” I want, allowing me to destroy myself with my ways and dragging me along into misery, though the way seems “smooth” ahead. God always prepares me for truth, Satan would always devastates me with lies. God sets me up for love, joy, and freedom, Satan would always set me up for hate, bitterness, and bondage.

Oh the joy of being the Lord’s Today!