01/14/11 - MUFHH - Isaiah 6:8

The model of the call of Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8 sounds like a general call, but Isaiah got to the presence of God by God's devices rather than his own. So it was a general question, but a limited audience. Disciples were called individually, and Paul had to be knocked off his horse and blinded before he heard the call of Jesus. But hasn't every believer already received that particular call to 'follow'? I think it's the call after the initial one that throws believers. Unbelievers don't even wonder about such a thing. After the initial specific call, comes the general call to obedience. I think that is what have missed and still wrestle with today. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that I sense I have made mistakes that hamper my ability to hear and obey. That would make now a perfect time for spiritual disciplines to make me more accessible to God. I have amends to make, pride to crush and swallow, and my Savior to seek in solitude.

01/13/11 - MUFHH - Mark 4:10

In Mark 4, Jesus teaches in parables, and everyone is confused, even the disciples. When they were alone, the disciples asked about the parables and Jesus explained them. They may have not wanted to disrupt their Master with questions, or they may not have wanted to have the crowds catch on that they didn't get it either. In any case, while alone with Jesus,  they received additional explanation. Part of the explanation is His acknowledgement that he is intentionally confusing people with the parables. Clarity is available only to the disciples. I guess what I come away with is two things. First, simply accept that much of what God may say to me may be confusing. Second, get alone with Him to receive clarity.

01/12/11 - The Value of Group Bible Study

I have eaten early, finished my coffee, and read my devotional. This morning I go to a new group to study the Bible. They don't know me, nor do they expect me. I go because I need Bible study. I go to this one because they meet early in the morning. I heard of them from someone who attends that church. I don't. I go because I see my need to study the Bible; not simply read it and be subject to my own thoughts, but those of others. I need to be challenged with new perspectives and new passages. I still need the alone-time with God, so I took that first. But here I go into uncomfortable circumstances to meet another need. May God use me to bless them, and be glorified overshadowing me.

01/11/11 - MUFHH - Luke 23:26

If I choose to 'take up my cross', what if there is someone like Simon of Cyrene who is affected? What if my sacrificial obedience to Jesus costs others? Do I scale back my obedience to minimize or remove the cost to others? Or perhaps, I'm not the general but the soldier. Perhaps my role is obedience, and how that obedience fits into the objectives of my Master is not mine to worry about. Perhaps knowing that the overall objective is to glorify God is enough. Maybe concerning myself with how others view me because my obedience is inconvenient to them is really more prideful than considerate. Maybe what I imagined to be the cost of obedience is both different and cheaper than it really is. Well, enough going on about it, 'Geronimo!'

01/10/11 - MUFHH - Acts 26:18

In Acts 26:18 Paul is quoting Jesus as He gives Paul marching orders. I find interesting the inclusiveness of the results. Gentiles are the intended audience of these things (see the previous verses). But their inheritance is in those being made holy by Jesus. So they have a portion among those set apart for Jesus' use apart from any common use they may have had before. Am I sure that is what I signed on for? YES! And yet, I find it difficult to keep that perspective daily. I often forget that my life events,  even mundane ones, are holy rather than common merely because I am holy. They are God's events where He is using me for a purpose of His design. So my boredom or complacency is extremely unbecoming of a servant to the king. That mindset will take some training for me. Perhaps if I can change my weight, I can change my mind about this too. That would make me more accessable to God. That would be a success.

01/09/11 - MUFHH - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

In I Thessalonians 5:23, Paul expresses a wish on behalf of believers.  He is closing the letter, and this is one of those expected elements of polite letter-writing in his day. It is an interesting selection though. Complete in number of human elements (spirit, soul, and body) , and complete sanctification in a holistic sense, brought about by the God of Peace for the day of Jesus' arrival. This, then is the sum of the rest of this life; the perfecting work of the God of Peace to keep me blamelessly intact until Jesus comes. I confess I don't make His job easy. But my job is to let Him do His.

01/08/11 - MUFHH - Genesis 22:9

In Genesis 22, Abraham is asked to give his eternal mark back to God. Isaac represents Abraham's promise from God, and the extension of his life with Sarah. So God uses this incident to purge Abraham of any hold on the things here. Am I holding onto things here, things that will eventually fail? What touched or built by human hands does not wind up as ruin an trash? Am I ready, have already begun to wander afield from the stuff of this life, the "bios" of a life style wrapped in a culture and deep fried in a fading vogue? I think so, but not on every level. I have my "hold-out" items I don't want to give up. God, I'm sure, will purge me of those eventually. Oh goody.