God spoke in human words

God spoke in human words. Think about that for a moment…






God created everything that is; he holds the power to make what isn’t yet; he orchestrates the atoms and atom bombs; he knits babies in their mommy’s tummy; he guides the hearts of dictators. Adam and Eve did not obey him and so he kicked them out of the wonderful Garden he had given them. He could have stopped. He never had to create in the first place and then when he did his snot-nosed creatures flicked him off…



But then God spoke. He could have spoken in some Heavenly tongue that was unutterable to humans. He could have babbled in the language of humans but with logic and ideas that would cause our little pea brains to explode like a peep in the microwave! But he didn’t. God spoke kindly and gently and understandable and clearly to us.



He could have told us useless things like why the sky is blue or why gnats exist. He told us that we have sinned and need him; he told us the story about how he loves us and will redeem us; to eventually make us all unscrewed up.



Words can hurt; words kill. But sometimes words make alive and give hope. God spoke and the amazing thing is he didn’t have to.

we: individualism and the loss of us

I just finished reading the books Ezra and Nehemiah. Wonderful and easy reads, I recommend them. Two things stuck out to me: the ‘gracious hand’ of God and ‘we.’



‘Gracious hand’ This is referenced to God in both books. As the book of Nehemiah draws out in a spectacularly sweeping narrative of Israel’s history—good and bad—he highlights that throughout, God has been gracious to his chosen people. The people of Israel and Judah were exiled, taken captive, explicitly because of their disobedience to the God who not only made them but saved them! And God, making good on his promise, is restoring his people and bringing them back to his promised land. So God is being over-the-top gracious with these people who keep turning their backs on him (see even the last few chapters of Nehemiah and how the people still disobeyed right when the wall was finished). But this term is not merely applied to the big, clear, abundant mercy which God had on his chosen ones; rather, the ‘gracious hand’ of God was intervening in the kings palace, with the faithful who peered over the rubbled walls to prevent the enemy from attacking, the many builders of both the Temple and the wall, and even setting God’s enemies against themselves. The hand of God was clearly gracious in big AND minor day-to-day ways. This hasn’t changed with those who are his today.



‘We’ I don’t much like the concept of we and frankly, it ain’t American…. I hope that sounds really stupid to you because it is… but I still believe too much of the statement to be proud of. In Ezra and Nehemiah the leaders, the real, good, actual, for the good of others, leaders knew this reality of ‘we.’ When the leader would confess his sins he would say all the sins everyone committed. ‘Oh he is saying that because he did all the sins in his heart.’ No he isn’t! He is saying that because he is so connected with his people that their sins are his sins—in a sense—; their failure his; their successes, his; their happiness, his. We don’t have this today. It is so foreign to us we would laugh at it if it knocked on our front door. The idea of ‘we’ is how the people of God work. Described as a body and bride, branches, etc… it us the Modern reader who is off, not the NT or OT people. When the people of God see themselves as a ‘we’ instead of a me and them things change; people are cared for; sins are forgiven; God is worshipped; the world drools at our peace and laughter. True love reigns, not some dumb rainbow, unicorn, weird guy with a `fro holding a neon John 3:16 sign at sporting events… no, love is where hurt is because love, from God, is the only thing which heals. It should not be a surprise that many of the minor prophets were prophesying against injustices against those whou had no power to protect themselves: the leaders were seeing opportunities to forward themselves and not help their brothers and sisters; remember also the beginning of Proverbs 31, to speak out for those who have no voice--'we' is in play; 'we' are all filled with eternal souls and 'we' all need our God.


God is a ‘we,’ an ‘our’ and if we are his, so we become.

psalm 73

(My apologies for the weird format, I cannot get it set right. Chrystal is not a weird formater. brian mcdaniel)

“Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.
I was so foolish and ignorant – I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
Yet still I belong to you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
My health ma fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”
Psalm 73: 21-28 (NLT)

The temptation is not to trust.
        A simple temptation.
        Dissatisfaction, "is it for nothing, I am keeping my heart pure?" (v. 13)
Not the prosperity of the wicked as the psalm says, but the lack of my own satisfaction, this is bitterness, this in an impure heart; the temptation not to trust, to imagine that providence and sovereignty are others gain and not wait on the Lord, or to wait with bitterness.
        I recluse to my own sanctuary where I am right and righteous judge of my circumstances.
        My mind works its deceptions, imaginations, and devious musings. It is not the right place to go.
                 I must go to the Lord's sanctuary (v. 17). It is where He reveals destiny; the destiny of the
                 wicked and of the righteous.

Quickly, I realize:
I am bitter, I am the fool, I am the ignorant one.
          I am torn up inside, I deceived myself, I trusted in myself; I do not wait on the counsel of the Lord,
          I rush.
          BUT!
          I still belong to the Lord, even unto my animal instincts - to fight, to flee, to survive.
                   What must survive? What am I surviving?
                            My flesh will certainly fail.
                            My spirit will certainly grow weak.
                            Do I flee or fight only to abandon and perish?
                   Let my heart not fail! Let God be the strength of my heart - Lord lead me to a glorious
                   destiny! Let my heart be pure that I may see you.

Dissatisfaction and bitterness are easy temptations. I may be quite laid back, seemingly content in most life situations, appearing to be calm in turbulence, yet do I really have contentment and calm, am I really satisfied and free of bitterness? If you believe I am content, that I am always calm, you don't know me very well. I wouldn’t say I'm the type to burst or blow up...I mull things over, and over, and over...you get the point. As I mull over my life, I do ask "is it for nothing?" I also ask, "is it for everything?" Between the two questions, I find the answer. It is not for nothing, but I alone cannot attain to everything. IF it is for nothing, I perish deserving of the full wrath of God for abandon. IF it is for everything, I perish deserving the full wrath of God for not attaining. IF it is for Christ, I live. So I must trust. I am satisfied in Christ's satisfaction and in that satisfaction there can be no bitterness.

I must go to the Lord's sanctuary to meditate on his sovereignty and be reminded that He judges the secrets of man by Christ.

(post by Chrystal Bate)