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Not to be bitter but better
Out of the abundance
(via The Door (When He Speaks part 3))
Getting Personal With "The Force"
Bible Reading: Proverbs 8:17-21 I love all who love me. Those who search for me will surely find me. Proverbs 8:17 REMEMBER THE FIRST trilogy of the Star Wars movies? Luke Skywalker was the big hero in those three films. In the first movie Skywalker, having just escaped from the Sandpeople, stands in the quarters of Obi-Wan Kenobi on the planet of Tatooine. Luke has just learned that Obi-Wan was the Jedi Knight who had fought in the Clone Wars with Luke's father. Obi-Wan gives Luke a light-saber that once belonged to Luke's father and, in the course of the conversation, mentions "the Force." "The Force?" Luke says. Obi-Wan responds, "Well, the Force is what gives the Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together." The idea of the Force sounds spookily familiar because the Force is what many people imagine God to be. They picture God as a faceless, formless energy, an impersonal force that mysteriously surrounds and guides the universe. But that's a myth. Sure, God does surround and guide the universe. He is everywhere. He is Spirit. But he is not some mysterious, elusive energy force out there somewhere. He is not a thing or an it. The astounding thing about God is that he is a person. Read again Proverbs 8:17 at the top of this page. Notice the personal pronouns: "I... me . . ." Does that sound like cosmic energy talking? God is referred to in the Bible as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He told his name to Moses. He revealed himself to the boy Samuel. He spoke to Isaiah in the temple. He told Jeremiah, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb" (Jeremiah 1:5). King David called him a "Father to the fatherless, defender of widows" (Psalm 68:5). And all Christians have been "adopted into his family" so that we may call him "Father, dear Father" (Romans 8:15). God, the true God, is personally interested in you. He knows your name. "See," he says to his people, "I have written your name on my hand" (Isaiah 49:16). "He cares about what happens to you," the apostle Peter says (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus says that "the very hairs on your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:30). And God promises that "when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you" (Jeremiah 29:12-14). Those are personal promises that could come only from a loving, personal God. REFLECT: How would you explain to a friend why it matters that God is personal? PRAY: Ask God to make these incredibly important truths clear to you.
God on Patrol
God on Patrol Bible Reading: Psalm 16:1-11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:11 MANY PEOPLE THINK of God as a cosmic cop standing in the center of the universe—like a police officer gunning you down with his radar detector. "Hey, you!" he snarls. "Yeah, you! You look like you're having fun over there. Well, cut it out! And you with the video. What's it rated? PG-13? R? Hand it over, slow and easy. And who's lip-locked in that dark corner? Is that you, Kaitlin? And Jake-I should have known. We'll have no more of that. Not while I'm on patrol." All I want to do is have a little fun. But God just wants to spoil it for me. Have you ever thought that way? The same folks who see God as the ultimate party-pooper imagine the devil as a fun-loving guy aiming only to help people enjoy themselves. That's a lie. The devil doesn't care if you have fun. He hates your guts. He will eat you up. Peter says that the devil is always "looking for some victim to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). A guide once told a group of tourists in Israel that they were probably used to seeing shepherds driving sheep through the fields and roads. "But in Palestine," he pointed out, "things are different. The shepherd always leads the way, going in front of the flock." The tourists were amused when the first flock of sheep that happened along was being driven, not led as the guide had explained. Embarrassed, the guide asked the man, "How is it that you are driving these sheep? I've always thought that Eastern shepherds lead their sheep." "Oh," replied the man, "that's true. The shepherd does lead his sheep. But I'm not a shepherd. I'm a butcher." Satan is a butcher. He isn't interested in giving you pleasure or happiness. He only means to chew you up and spit you out. If you want to really see him at work, read Job 2:1-8 to see what he did to righteous Job. And that's just what he wants to do to you. So don't think of the devil as an outrageously fun dude just waiting to pack your life with extreme excitement. Jesus dashed that myth when he said, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). The devil doesn't care if you have fun. His only goal is to steal and kill and destroy you. God's goal is the exact opposite. Jesus said, "My purpose is to give life in all its fullness" (John 10:10). God wants you to experience a jam-packed, joyful life. REFLECT: Are you experiencing the full and joyful life Jesus promised, or are you just trying to keep God from getting mad at you? PRAY: Talk that over with God today.
