Your job is to speak

Today: Ezekiel 1-4

I'll admit: The book of Ezekiel opens up in kind of a...weird...way. There's a prophet who has a science fiction-like vision from God. God speaks to him and tells him to do some things that are kind of odd (laying on one side for 390 days? And the other for 40? Eating food cooked on a fire fueled by human--or cow--dung?). Yet in the middle of things that seem strange to read, there are glimpses of God's familiar hand at work.

When God called Ezekiel, He used some words that I think He'd say to any Christ followers today. Take a look at these two excerpts where God is talking to Ezekiel about the people:

They're a bunch of rebels.

Your job is to speak to them.

Whether they listen is not your concern.

They're hardened rebels...

...They won't listen to you because they won't listen to me.

They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin.

But I'll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs.

I'll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite.

Don't let them intimidate you.

Don't be afraid of them,

even though they're a bunch of rebels."

I think it's interesting that God called Ezekiel to do some things that were a bit strange and to do something that He calls all of us to do--to tell other people about Him.

One thing God didn't call Ezekiel--or us--to do? Save people. We are called to talk with people about God and share His love with them, but they choose whether or not to listen and accept Him. God is the Savior! He's gracious enough not only to give people salvation, but to give them free will. God didn't create robots, but human beings. He wants us to love Him, but He doesn't force us into submission. Love is always a choice.

Tomorrow: Ezekiel 5-8

Will you go?

Today: Isaiah 5-8

What would you do if you heard God's voice...and He personally asked you to represent Him somewhere?

In today's passage, the prophet Isaiah continued to hear God's messages to His people. God was angry and hurt because the people He loved kept disregarding His Word and ignoring Him. They pursued idols and ignored justice. God wasn't happy, but He wanted His people to hear His perspective. He wanted a messenger to connect with the people. Here's how the prophet Isaiah recalled it:

And then I heard the voice of the Master:

"Whom shall I send?

Who will go for us?"

I spoke up,

"I'll go.

Send me!"

This may look like a short and simple paragraph on your computer screen and mine, but the implications behind this brief conversation are absolutely HUGE. Here are a few things I realized:

• Isaiah heard and recognized God's voice.
  
  How did that happen exactly? Here we don't read that God spoke to Isaiah from a burning bush or a donkey (that happened to other people in the Bible, though!). Isaiah heard and recognized God's voice. Was it audible? Or did he hear and recognize God's voice in his spirit?
  
  I don't know for sure in this case, but I do know that recognizing God's voice can be like recognizing the voice of a parent or best friend. You don't need to hear, "Hi--this is Mom," or even see her signature on your birthday card...you just know your mom's voice because whether it's audible or written, it's so familiar to you.
  
  How does that familiarity happen with God? I think it's from knowing what He's said before in His Word and in your life. When you know what He's said before, you get to know His heart and His character--and God's voice is always consistent with His nature.
  
• God wanted to send a person to deliver His message.
  
  I realize this fact is pretty basic, but have you ever wondered why? I mean--God is God, right? He doesn't need anything, especially imperfect people to deliver His message. God's all-powerful. Sometimes, He gets His message out through means other than people (e.g. nature, donkeys, miracles, etc.).
  
  So why did He use Isaiah? And why does He continue to use people today?
  
  I don't know for sure, but I think part of the answer is because He wants to give people an opportunity to serve and to be "in" on His purpose at work. What an awesome responsibility and honor!
  
  Another possibility? Using imperfect people to do His work allows His miraculous power to shine. When God works through people, it's like putting a toddler in the driver's seat of a Ferrari. If the toddler won the Indy 500, it would be pretty obvious to anyone that a miracle happened. Likewise, when people are used for God's purpose, it makes His power even clearer.

I started this post with a few questions, "What would you do if you heard God's voice...and He personally asked you to represent Him somewhere?" You've probably guessed that these questions are a bit of a set-up...because God has already called you and I and asked us to represent Him. You may not be called like Isaiah to speak to a nation, but you could be called to talk with your family about Jesus, to live as an example at your workplace or to share God's love with the homeless in your city.

Will you listen? Will you go? Will you speak?

Tomorrow: Isaiah 9-12

The graduation speech

Today: Proverbs 1-3

Do you know what people are most afraid of?

It's not dying, a terrorist attack or even spiders.

It's public speaking.

One of the weird things about me? I actually like it.

Almost 11 years ago I was preparing to speak at my high school graduation ceremony (it was on June 4--I do remember that!). I had 10-15 minutes to address my classmates and a room filled with about 1,000 of their parents, friends and relatives. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I'm sure I prayed a lot beforehand...and tried to sound smart, funny, inspiring, deep and challenging. It was a lofty goal for an 18-year old speaker with 10 minutes on the clock.

What do you say when your life is about to change forever?

What do you say when you don't want to say "goodbye"?

What do you say when you just want to cry...and laugh...together?

I wish that I said something like this:

Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.

Tie them around your neck;

carve their initials on your heart.

Earn a reputation for living well

in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do,

everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.

Run to God!

Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;

don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;

a father's delight is behind all this.

That's a pretty good speech, right? I thought about ending it early...with the "Your barns will burst and your wine vats will brim over" line. But I think the last paragraph is important--perhaps the MOST important. It's a reminder that God may sometimes correct us because He loves us. More importantly, He delights in us:

• When we hold tight to Love and Loyalty...and when we see the folly of our indifference and betrayal,
  
• When we trust Him and when we see that we're not completely in charge,
  
• When we listen to Him and when we learn from our mistakes,
  
• When we honor Him and when we learn to depend on His provision, and
  
• When we love Him through it all...because He's always there loving us SO MUCH more.

The Great Listener

Today: Psalm 66-69

Listening--really listening--may be a skill that's becoming a lost art.

How many times have you been at a coffee shop designed for community and conversations...only to see a bunch of people on laptops and cell phones? How many times have you been at lunch or dinner with people who answered their phones and/or used text messaging? (For some interesting stats about texting, check out this article.) Besides technological distractions, sometimes people are bad listeners because they're not fully engaged in a conversation...perhaps they're thinking about something completely different or distracted by other things around them. In some moments, I've definitely been guilty of being a bad listener myself.

Someone who is definitely a good listener? God. According to David in today's passage, He's an especially good listener to those who aren't "cozy with evil," but believe in Him. Check it out:

All believers, come here and listen,

let me tell you what God did for me.

I called out to him with my mouth,

my tongue shaped the sounds of music.

If I had been cozy with evil,

the Lord would never have listened.

But he most surely did listen,

he came on the double when he heard my prayer.

Blessed be God: he didn't turn a deaf ear,

he stayed with me, loyal in his love.

I love how David describes God as one "loyal in love." That's also rare--but absolutely amazing.

Tomorrow: Psalm 70-73

Plain listening

Today: 1 Samuel 15-17

It's entirely possible to do the right thing the wrong way or with the wrong heart--especially when you fail to listen.

Today's passage included a story about Saul that depicted this concept. God instructed Saul to completely wipe out an enemy. He specifically instructed Saul to leave no living thing. However, Saul kept the best livestock and let the king live. He said that he was planning to sacrifice the best livestock and wealth to God. Really?!? Here's how the prophet Samuel responded:

Then Samuel said,

Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—

empty rituals just for show?

He wants you to listen to him!

Plain listening is the thing,

not staging a lavish religious production.

Not doing what God tells you

is far worse than fooling around in the occult.

Getting self-important around God

is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors.

Because you said No to God's command,

he says No to your kingship.

Saul tried to outplay God--which never works. It's not like God asked him for anything he wasn't capable of doing. God just wanted him to listen and obey. God's focus was on Saul's motives and his heart.

Tomorrow: 1 Samuel 18-20

When a donkey talks, it's time to listen

Today: Numbers 21-22

If you have animals, you've probably talked to them at some point (it's okay to admit it--you've probably at least tried to teach them commands). But what would you do if one day, your pet talked back? What if it wasn't just one word at a time like a parrot (believe it or not, I actually had a talking parrot at one point in time!), but what if your pet engaged with you in conversation?

I'd seriously freak out--or feel like I suddenly landed in the middle of a Disney movie and just start singing back. :)

Joking aside, a talking Harley (my other--canine--roommate) would definitely get my attention. In today's passage, God actually made a donkey talk to get the attention of Balaam, a prophet.

Balaam was on his way to meet up with some guys who summoned him and asked him to put a curse on the Israelites (God's people). When Balaam's donkey backed off from the road (as donkeys sometimes do) and refused to move forward toward the meeting, Balaam beat the donkey three times. The donkey talked back and wasn't exactly thrilled about the beating. God opened Balaam's eyes to see why the donkey was backing off from the road--an angel of the Lord was standing in her way. Here's what it says:

God's angel said to him:

"Why have you beaten your poor donkey these three times?

I have come here to block your way

because you're getting way ahead of yourself.

The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times.

If she hadn't, I would have killed you by this time, but not the donkey.

I would have let her off."
Balaam said to God's angel,

"I have sinned.

I had no idea you were standing in the road blocking my way..."

When I read that today, I had a "whoa" moment. Here are a few of the things I thought as I read this story:

1. God can really use anything to speak to us. If He used an ass, He can certainly use a friend, church, book, television show, child, blog post...anything!

2. Don't beat the messengers in your life...they might be doing God's work. Balaam beat his trusted donkey three times and said to God later, "I had no idea you were standing in the road blocking my way..." Particularly if your "messengers" are people you generally trust and respect (perhaps close friends, parents, mentors, leaders, etc.), they likely have your best interest at heart. Don't shrug off their advice, feedback or constructive criticism. Most of time, I think you can even learn something from people you don't even like or trust (including "what NOT to do").

3. God's not a genie. He doesn't always answer with "yes"--and sometimes, that's to our benefit. Especially today, I think there are a lot of modern Christians (myself included at times) who believe that if God loves them, everything they need and want will happen. Not true. God promises to always love us and meet our needs--but He does not promise to grant every wish instantaneously. I've seen what looks like "no" or negative answers from God--things like layoffs, serious illness or even death--turn into beautiful things that He used to move people into better circumstances (e.g. better jobs, miracle healing) or to bring them closer to Him.

4. "Blockades" aren't always from the Devil or simple obstacles you need to find a detour around. This point is kind of in line with my third observation. Sometimes we see things as obstacles when really, they are meant as gates to block us from hurting ourselves or others. Sometimes blockades are there for reasons we don't understand--and may be there to push us in totally different, God-led directions. For example, imagine an unemployed person getting a "no" for a job at a great company. The "no" might seem like a blockade, but maybe it's because something totally different and truly in line with the person's purpose is waiting ahead. Sometimes this truth can only be found in hindsight--but think about "blockades" that helped push you in the right direction before. It happens.

5. Blockades aren't always permanent. In Balaam's case, God used the blockade to get his attention, but then allowed Balaam to proceed into the city. Sometimes God calls us to remain patient before bulldozing ahead toward something we're not ready for yet (hello, single people who have charged ahead into bad relationships...).

If there's one thing I want to leave you with today it's this: When a donkey talks, it's time to listen.

Tomorrow: Numbers 23-25