Steep your life in God

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matthew 6:30-34, The Message)

That word “steep” immediately conjures up, in my mind, making a cup of tea. To make a proper cup of tea, you pour the hot water over the leaves or the tea bag. And then you let the hot water do its work. The heat and the currents and eddies that are created by the slight variations in the temperature of the water serve to bring out the very best flavor the tea has to offer. After about five minutes of steeping the tea and the water have achieved a lovely balance of flavor and warmth. The dry tea, by itself, isn't much. But when surrounded and infused by the hot water, it becomes quite extraordinary.

So it is with our lives. When we give God our entire attention, when we turn over the security and cares and worry of our lives over to God, surround ourselves with God, if you will, then we'll find that our needs are met and our concerns are addressed. When we let God's presence surround us and permeate our lives, God draws out of the very best...our lives achieve a beautiful balance.

How do we steep our lives in God? I think it looks a little different for each person. Worship allows us to express our love for God and hear the Good News of our Savior Jesus Christ. Worship is also the place where we are reminded of the ways God has been taking care of us…we are reminded of God's faithfulness to us. Reading the Bible and regular times of prayer can help God's presence infuse our lives with hope and confidence. Fellowship and serving together make God's presence known in our lives and in the lives of others. One other powerful “steeping” practice is simply paying attention to how God has provided for you in the past. Keep track of God's gracious giving and respond with thanksgiving.

Jesus is offering us a choice…not a hard one to make...but a hard one to live out. Will we live our lives enveloped by worry or let our lives be surrounded and steeped in God? God created us...God loves us...God knows what you and I need. May you and I live conscious of God's gracious giving and steep our lives in God's presence!

Don't miss the signs...

Read Matthew 2:1-3

Remember the classic animated cartoon The Roadrunner? He couldn’t be caught. Wile E. Coyote would be chasing the Roadrunner and he would pass by a sign. The signs might say “Road Closed” or “Watch out for falling rock” or my favorite “US Army minefield—KEEP OUT!” Well, you know what happens. He never pays attention to the sign. The roadrunner speeds through unharmed, but Wile E. Coyote crashes, blows up, or falls off a cliff. All because he missed seeing the sign.

Paying attention to signs of God’s presence is one of life’s great challenges. Our culture provides us with vast amounts of information, an abundance of entertainment, a multitude of time-wasting, mind-numbing diversions, and a boatload of stresses, worries, and challenges. In our very noisy, busy, violent, crazy-paced world it is often very difficult to tell if God is present or active in our lives. Even in church, it is hard to shift our focus from ourselves and our stuff to giving God attention. The common result being that we miss signs of God’s appearing.

The magi were scholars and priests from a far-away land. Their journey would bring them several hundred miles to Bethlehem. They studied the movement of the planets and stars and other celestial events. The ancients believed there were meanings behind these celestial movements and events. They understood that the special star they saw signified the birth of an important king. In all likelihood they had studied the Jewish Scriptures and, as they saw where the star was leading them, they began to understand its significance. The King of the Jews was born!

Compare them with Herod. He lived at the center of this great event. But he did not see the signs. He had chief priests and scholars to advise him…they missed the signs, too. They were so wrapped up in their own stuff that they missed the signs of God’s appearing. When Herod heard the news he was disturbed. He was focused on his own stuff—his status, his power, and the trouble such a person would give him. He missed the exciting possibilities of God’s appearing.

Herod’s world had little room for God. On the other hand, the Magi dedicated their lives to looking for signs of the Divine. That made all the difference in receiving the Good News of Jesus’ birth.

In this Christmas season I invite you to look for God’s presence in the people, places and circumstances of your life. The proclamation of Christmas is that, in Jesus, God is with us. Don’t miss the signs!

Giving us life

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.” --John 14:18-19

With the Winter Olympics recently concluded, I am reminded of one of the great Olympic moments from a couple of decades ago. If you followed the Olympics, NBC was using video from this in their promotional spots to capture the Olympic spirit. Derek Redmond, a young British runner, lay on the track at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Moments before he had been a shoo-in to win his semi-final heat in the 400-meter and qualify for the Olympic finals. Now only 175 meters from the finish line, he is sprawled on the ground, holding his right hamstring.

Derek’s father, Jim, seeing his son in trouble, begins to race down from the top row of the stands. He is pushing toward the track. He has no right or credential or permission to be on the track, but all he can think about is getting to his son, to help him up.

On the track, Derek realizes that his dream of an Olympic medal is gone. Tears pour down Derek’s face. But he’s determined to finish. He turns down assistance from the medical crew, lifts himself to his feet, and starts hobbling down the track. One painful step at a time, Derek limps onward, and the fans rise to their feet to cheer him on.

At that moment, Jim Redmond reaches the bottom of the stands, vaults over the railing, dodges a security guard, and runs to his son. Jim reaches his son at the final curve, about 120 meters from the finish line, and wraps his arm around his waist. “I’m here, son,” Jim says gently, hugging his boy, “We’ll finish together.” Together, arm in arm, father and son struggle toward the finish line with 65,000 people cheering, clapping and crying. Just a few steps from the end, with the crowd in an absolute frenzy, Jim releases the grip he has on his son so that Derek can cross the finish line by himself.

That scene of togetherness at the finish line illustrates our relationship with the Holy Spirit. We have never been left to run the race of life alone. Jesus’ presence remains with us in the form of God’s Holy Spirit. “Because I live,” Jesus promises his followers, “you also will live.” The Good News is that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our bodies through the Spirit that dwells within us (Romans 8:11). No matter what comes our way we can hold tight to the promise that Jesus gives life—life in this world, and life in the world to come.

We belong to Jesus Christ, and his Spirit gives us life. This is Good News for any of us who find ourselves limping toward the finish line of life.

Celebrate God's Presence

Simeon took [the child Jesus] in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:28-32, NRSV)

(Read Luke 2:22-38 for the whole story)

Can you imagine a Christmas season that lasted 80 years?

This Christmas season has left me with an appreciation for Simeon and Anna. Both of these devout people had been waiting their whole lives for Christmas. Anna had been waiting 80 years “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (v. 38). We don’t know Simeon’s age, but the context of the passage suggests that he was an old man as well. He had been “looking forward to the consolation of Israel” (v. 25) his whole life. They have been looking for God’s deliverer, God’s anointed one, God’s Messiah for decades. And both of them recognize in Jesus that God’s Messiah has arrived! Though their season of waiting had been long, each responded in the same way. They gave God praise for what God had done. The powers of their perception were pretty remarkable. Because what did they see really?

On the surface Simeon and Anna saw a very young baby boy, brought to them by devout parents. They would have seen a road-weary family fulfilling their obligations according to Jewish law. Every male child was treated in the very same way. Nothing would have necessarily distinguished them from any other devout family.

Seeing beyond the surface to the presence of God in things is a great challenge of the spiritual life. A common proverb of our culture is “Seeing is believing.” We depend on the concrete. We rely on fact and reason. We put stock in the values, attitudes, and wisdom of contemporary culture. This can dull our perception of a timeless God acting in unique ways to redeem us in our skeptical, broken world. Our vision for God’s presence can become impaired by the fatigue, temptations, distractions, and anxieties of our lives. It’s difficult to praise God when we don’t perceive God’s presence and action.

I think we get to a place of praising God now, and throughout the year, when we operate on Simeon and Anna’s principle of looking for God’s presence. They believed in God’s salvation, so they were able to see more than the obvious. They recognized God’s active presence in the world. With their attitude of watching, they understood the tremendous significance of the baby Jesus. This enabled them to immediately respond by blessing and praising God.

When we are looking for God’s consolation…

when we are looking for God’s redemption…

when we are looking for God’s presence…

God appears even in the most unlikely of places!

May you see many opportunities to celebrate God’s presence in the coming year!