Lily Livered Lover

"You no good lily livered low down snake!" I can see him now. I can't remember his name but I can see him. He's a filthy old cowboy with a five day shadow of graying stubble hugging his haggard jaw. Crow's feet frame his squinting eyes. Wretched and crooked teeth, those he has, line his gaping lips. And a Texas drawl spews from his mouth with every word. He looks as if he hasn't had a bath in months if ever. And there he is slamming his rival with degrading and brutal language.

Imagine being cut to the quick by this cowpoke. How low can one get? It is extreme humiliation.

Yet in Ezekiel 16 Sovereign LORD calls Israel to task with these words, "How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman." Whoa, talk about brutal language! However, Israel deserves every word. God goes on to say in the following verses that Israel is unlike all other prostitutes in that her "lovers" don't pay her she pays and runs after them! She bribes them into her bed. She is insatiable in her lewd vigor.

Israel, God's treasure and joy, Israel, His lovely bride, Israel His jewel has prostituted herself. She is a no good lily livered snake; a filthy scum of a harlot. How preposterous is that? How embarrassing? How absurd? It is unreserved humiliation.

It is a passage like this that makes me wonder, "Why did God choose me?" How's that? Yeah, why did God choose me?

I believe that the Bible was written for me. I believe that God has principles for my good in every chapter. I don't believe that anything was put there by chance. So, as I read I look for two things. I look for God and I look for me. I cannot say, "What a bunch of JERKS Israel was! What a complete bunch of IDIOTS! They have the Sovereign LORD wanting to love and care for them and what do they do but look for other lovers. Incredible!" I cannot say that because I so often do the very same thing. Don't you? I hope that you don't!

Human nature, the sin nature, has me as God's enemy. My sin separates me from my LORD. My sin reveals my hatred for the One who loves me dearly. My sin says, "I couldn't care less about your love, sacrifice and desire for me. I want out of this relationship. And NOW!"

I used to read passages like Ezekiel and think, "Israel is unbelievable! How could they do such things to God?" However, the more I've matured over the years the more I see myself in Israel's sandals. I see myself complaining about the lack of food or water in the wilderness of my walk. I see myself blaming God for my lack of direction when all along His pillar of cloud and fire is right there before me in His Word. I blame Him for my lack of desire to pray, read His word or serve Him. "I want OUT!"

The incredible part of this story is that God's love for me never changes! His love is constant, perfect and sweet. He cares for me. He wants to help me. He is always there for me. Amazing isn't it? He has never left me, He will never leave me and He wants a relationship with me. Unbelievable. At times He allows trouble to come my way so that I remember Him. But He is there to pick me up when I fall. How can I not love Him? How can I not give my all to Him? My Father help me to conquer myself and my wayward desires. Help me to love you with Christ-like love. Help me to renew our relationship today. Amen.

Caught up to Paradise - 2 Corinthians 12

Residing in Michigan for over half my life, I had heard about Paradise. Because Paradise is a small town in the Upper Peninsula, you may have never visited there in your life, but you knew it existed. It was WAY up there next to Tahquamenon Falls and nothing else. Where's Tahquamenon Falls? Next to Paradise and nothing else. It's a long way from home. Why all of the talk about Paradise? Because Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 12. There was this guy who had been caught up to Paradise. Not in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but into the REAL Paradise. While there, he'd heard things that he was unable to repeat. What on earth was this? Who was this guy? Here's what was going on. Paul defended his position of Apostleship in chapter eleven and gave the Corinthians an idea of what Apostleship looked like in chapter twelve. It came with great wonders, like seeing or instead hearing unimaginable things. But, too, that position came with a terrible cost. God gave Paul a &q

What to get God for Christmas

Jesus left perfect surroundings, relationships and glory to be born into squalor. He was homeless before birth. His father was a carpenter in a culture where carpentry was a despised trade. His, mother though young and giving birth to her firstborn, had no attendant nurses, helpers or friends. Rather than a pristine hospital, birth was given in the filthy stench of a stable. Romantic? Hardly. This sacrifice brought a life of hardship. Why? Why this odd story? Obedience. God's gift to humanity was His son. Jesus' gift was obedience to the Father. He paid the greatest price. Not because we are special but because he loves His Father. His gift was the perfect gift. Our Father wants obedience for Christmas and every other day for that matter. In Brazil Christmas is becoming commercialized. A phenomenon familiar for years in the United States tickles a growing economy. There is little time for meditation on God's Gift. There are no chestnuts roasting or Jack Frost nippin

Stop Trusting

Isaiah 2:22 says Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? The Prophet is saying that we shouldn't put our trust in humankind because they are so finite. They are not like God, who is infinite. People are fickle. They change their minds. They love you and then hate you in moments. God invites us to trust him completely with everything that we have. He doesn't show himself to us physically or as a spirit. He demands that we have faith. However, he also gives us the faith to trust him. The universe shouts "Creator!" and yet we often ignore the proclamation. This ignorance does not make God's creation any less a physical demonstration of his grandeur. God's boundless being becomes more amazing in his presence within us. How can the infinite God dwell in the mortals he commands us not to trust? Jesus said, "with man it is impossible but with God, all things are possible."

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