Bible

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The Life of the Party

Did you know that God loves a good party?

If the average Christian is asked to describe God, we usually come up with terms like holy, perfect, provider, healer, good, all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, and so forth. Of course, these are all accurate, and we do well to keep them in mind.

Non-believers are often less upbeat. God has quite the reputation as a glowering wet blanket, someone who thinks that if it’s fun, it’s sinful. Unfortunately, churches with rules such as no dancing, no playing cards, (and certainly no alcoholic beverages), build into that stereotype. It appears that God really needs a new PR firm. (Oh, wait, that’s the Church’s job!)

This may come as quite a surprise, but I’d like to point out that God really is a fun sort of guy.

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Measuring God’s Approval Rating

I’ve been grumbling way too much lately. Whining. Complaining. I hadn’t even realized that I’d gotten into the habit until my long-suffering husband pointed it out. And when he did, I didn’t exactly feel a rush of appreciation—“Gee honey, you’re right, thank you so much for telling me that I’ve been a grouch.” Instead, I retreated to my wife-cave (hey, if men can have caves, why not women?) and sulked. I even complained to God about Pete’s remarks! Then, gently but firmly, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to what I’d been doing. Sheesh. How embarrassing.

In the Evangelical Hierarchy of Sins, complaining isn’t the worst offense. In fact, I doubt we’d put it in the top ten. But God has a different perspective.

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Being a Know-It-All

As I wrote a couple of months ago, I was particularly struck by this passage in 2 Peter 1:5-8. It could be viewed as God’s steps to success:

… make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ve shared some of my thoughts about faith and goodness; the next quality Peter mentions is knowledge.

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Goodness Me

Last month, I wrote about how faith is an essential foundation for effectiveness and productivity, according to 2 Peter 1:3-8. Now I want to look at the second of God’s “Steps to Success”—goodness.

When I was growing up, my parents frequently commented on how “good” I was. It’s true that I tended to be obedient—and when I wasn’t, well, I was pretty good at not getting caught! But this isn’t the kind of “good” that Peter means.

While “good” can mean “satisfactory,” God has higher standards. I was a satisfactory child, but I certainly wasn’t good in the Biblical sense!

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God’s “Steps to Success”

On most mornings, I grab my breakfast and a cup of tea, open my Bible, and start the day with God…  so it happened that last week I, while munching on scrambled eggs and toast, I read 2 Peter 1:3, 5-8.

[Jesus’] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness….

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I immediately fixated on that last sentence. Who wants to be ineffective and unproductive? The chart-topping sales of The Purpose-Driven Life tells us that this is a Big Deal for us believers. It is certainly a concern of mine. In fact, after our kids grew up and moved out I spent a lot of years wondering and praying about what God would have me do with the rest of my life. I felt very ineffective and unproductive, and it was quite depressing.

I should have spent more time hearing what Peter (and God through him)  had to say here.

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What Would You Say?

Warning: I’m going to ask you to think today.

What would you say to Mr. Benson?

I was relaxing, happily following a succession of links from blog to blog, when I came across Ryan Benson’s “Stump an Atheist” site. Since I used to be an atheist, I was quite curious to hear his perspective. After reading his “about” page, several recent posts, and his hilarious FAQ, I found that I totally agree with him: he is the friendliest atheist on the web.

As he says in his introduction:

Don’t let the title of this blog mislead you; I’m not on a crusade to convert. This is not a challenge to you; it’s a challenge to me. I am not a New Atheist writer; I am a writer who happens to be a new atheist.

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Pruning for Fruitfulness

I’ve been moping around the house a lot lately, feeling moderately miserable. It’s nothing earth-shattering—nothing that won’t mend in time. I’ve just been feeling a bit of emotional pain.

God’s been after me with a pair of pruning shears.

Yeah, ouch.

As a gardener, I’m very familiar with the whys and wherefores of pruning. Jesus must have been familiar with pruning as well. He uses the analogy a number of times, especially in John 15, when he says: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:1-2, italics mine).

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For God’s Sake

Everyone knows the 23rd Psalm:  “The Lord is my shepherd….”[1] It’s probably the most beloved chapter in the entire Bible. We love the first two verses that continue, “… I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.” Green pastures and quiet waters sound lovely. I’d like that! That’s all about me enjoying life.

But how many people notice the second half of verse three? “… He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.” That’s all about God. Not us. His name. Not ours.

We had some good friends over to dinner last night. They do a lot of ministry in China and other southeast Asian countries. We were kept on the edges of our seats as they related stories about how God is working in that part of the world. The sick are being healed, the Word is being taught, people are coming to the Lord in droves. The kingdom of God is advancing.

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