The steady, unrelenting approach of Him

Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to Him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” Joshua 7:19

We cannot hide from the LORD God.

And His love will stop at nothing to bring us to repentance.

Confession is an act of worship, acknowledging that He is God and I most certainly am not.

And even under the pressure of leading a tumultuous multitude in conquering the Promised Land after an unexpected loss, and even though the consequences were fierce, Joshua was able to approach the thief with kindness, and tenderly call him “my son.”

This moment, the stoning of Achan and his daughters and his animals, is hard. But a clear picture of not to mess with the Living God who detests sin. Yet while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, taking this holy reconciliation upon Himself.

Yesterday I read aloud to my class my selected monologue from Lewis, modeling proper tone and pause and poise, “who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words compelle intrare, compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of man, and His compulsion is our liberation.”

Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on him was laid.

Amen.

Free, free indeed.

The fringe of His garment

And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent around to all that region and brought to Him all who were sick and implored Him that they might only touch the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat. Matthew 14:34-Matthew 15:2

So I watched a Youtube of Nicole at Burning Man yesterday. Actually, three times. Nicole showed it to me, then I watched it with mom and then I watched it with Alan.  

And the thing is about Burning Man, is that the people of that place recognized Him.  And they stood outside His tent and His umbrella and implored Him that they might only touch the fringe of His garment. And they were made well.  And tears of joy streaked down their faces and smeared their face paint.  And it was ok.  

And there was not much talk of the sinner’s prayer or The Four Spiritual Laws or The Roman Road that I know so well from my childhood.  But there were stories, lots of stories, of healing and repentance. And this guy came back and we talked and prayed for four hours, and this lady was from Harvard, and this lady was a witch and had a serpent living in her.

And the big takeaway that Nicole has from being in that place is that God is bigger and more glorious than all of our traditions.  And He is at work to will and to work for His good pleasure. And He has been chasing these beloved lambs for a lifetime, calling them home. And what a joy to be there to welcome them, celebrating with joy before the angels of God over each lost sinner who repents.

I don't want to be a Pharisee, no, no, no.

Save us, Lord; we are perishing

And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them,“Go.” Matthew 8:31

This is the “even the winds and the waves” section of the story of God Walking Among Us.  The leper, the heathen soldier, the didn’t-even-seem-to-ask-person-lying-in-bed, the shoving crowds, those of little faith, and yes, especially the demons turned to Jesus and He replied, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.”

And then there’s me.  

Yesterday afternoon, as I was driving Shaun/Jinching home from a moderately successful day at school, I considered my prayer list as of late.  And really, I was reflecting on the very check, check, check tone about it.  God has been faithfully moving beyond my paltry expectations.  Actually, it is more like the “¡Pum!  ¡Pum!  ¡Pum! ¡Corrían para arriba!  ¡Corrían para abajo! excitement from my Cat in the Hat skit for my Spanish classes.  He is on the move.  This is the good news all around me.

Ah, yes, and then there’s me.  

Who sometimes is guilty of that very lack of awareness which called down Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 

Repent.  Mr. Spurgeon vigorously delineates this call to “Repent and believe ye the gospel," even as Christ spake to the waves and said, "Be still," and they were still, and to the winds, "Be calm," and they were quiet, so when we speak to your proud heart it yields because of the grace that accompanies the word, and you repent and believe the gospel. This command, while it has an immediate power, has also a continual force. "Repent ye, and believe the gospel," is advice to the young beginner, and it is advice to the old grey-headed Christian, for this is our life all the way through—"Repent ye, and believe the gospel."

The good news.  May I believe and live in the truth and presence of the gospel today in joy and gratitude. Awareness. A continual force of repentance. Of turning and seeing life as it really is, beyond my harried shuffle.

Sifting through empty pods

opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

Today, I am praying for those askers, for those knockers, and for those seekers.  Lifting them up to the LORD and asking How Long? And while they wait, Dear Father in Heaven Who Would Not Give His Child a Stone, please comfort their hearts and fill up their bellies.  Because our flesh is so very bound up in time, and I am one of these.  

And dear Poppa, for the others, those who are not asking, those who are not knocking, those who are not seeking, I lift them up to the LORD and ask How Long? Those of us careening through life, squandered our property in reckless living, I ask for mercy. And yes, so very often the most merciful gift is that of point of pain, the pause of feeding the pigs, longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.  

I will never forget little seventh-grade Ben Winslow’s joyful gallivanting when he wrapped his brain around the Lewis observation: God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Dear Father in Heaven Goes After the One That is Lost, I trust You to seek until You find, because it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Because our flesh is so very bound up in time, and I am one of these. 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

The word translated as 'repentance' is the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia), "after/behind one's mind,” which is a compound word of the preposition 'meta' (after, with), and the verb 'noeo' (to perceive, to think, the result of perceiving or observing). In this compound word the preposition combines the two meanings of time and change, which may be denoted by 'after' and 'different'; so that the whole compound means: to think differently after. Metanoia is therefore primarily an afterthought, different from the former thought; a change of mind accompanied by change of conduct, "change of mind and heart,” or, "change of consciousness.”

Dear LORD, Today may I ask, may I knock, may I seek. Your Spirit at work in me, lead me to repentance, Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul until Thee.