Presence of God

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The Hound of Heaven

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; francis-thompson-254x300

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind…

Francis Thompson, The Hound of Heaven

Francis Thompson was a young man in search of himself. His family wanted him to be successful. (Who doesn’t want that for our kids?) He himself wanted the same. More than that, he wanted to earn a look of pride from his father, his mother. But steady work, a wife and family were not in his cards.

I heard a woman speak once. She said, “no one sets out to be a drug addict.” No one chooses a life of waking up in the morning only to be met with that gnawing hunger, every single day. One thing leads to another and it just happens. Francis was addicted to laudunum. Prescribed in 19th century medicine for a variety of ills, no one really knew the devastation it’s deceptive claims would bring.

I set out to read The Hound of Heaven, because it was one of those things I have heard about for years. I didn’t realize I would find a man so broken, so devastated, that he sold matches to passersby on the streets of London to keep from starving. However, his passion for writing didn’t succumb to the same fate his body suffered. He carried his manuscripts with him. He had no full suit of clothes, but he had his papers, pen and ink. When he dropped a package off at the printer’s shop one day, a note of introduction accompanied the manuscript. In it, he apologized for the condition of the offering. He noted the pages had been his constant companion and therefore also bore the ravages of his life.

Sometimes I am struck by the similarities of our cultures. Across continents, cultures and races, we bear the same passions and hurts, the same needs and desires, the same, the same. We are more alike than not. And, it seems, we have the same problems over time! Shouldn’t we have drug addiction licked by now? How about slavery, and the enlightened 21st century version called human trafficking? How about racism? I thought we had that one put away for good. After the peace marches of the 60’s, I thought that baby had grown out of its diapers. One thing I have seen for myself, we each have to learn the truth. No one can beat it into you. It is a common theme at my workplace to have diversity training. Really. That seems like a no-brainer to me. If I want to hang on to my prejudices and biases, is training going to change that? And, if I have already dealt with the reality that people are different from one another and I respect and uphold their right to express themselves differently, how is training going to help me? Sorry, I’ve been holding that one in too long…

So, maybe you’ve guessed, the “Hound of Heaven” is Jesus. Thompson realized everything he has sought, that would bring him love, peace, acceptance, only brought emptiness, chaos, and rejection. The fear of losing himself (to God) was replaced with love so intense and full, it could accept him exactly as he was. The Hound of Heaven pursued him in all his squalor. He need not clean up first.

The “wise”men, were complaining that Jesus spent his time with notorious sinners, even eating with them!

“So Jesus told them this story: ‘If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’” (Luke 15:4-6 NLT)

Jesus doesn’t have a problem with us…we have a problem with Him…we keep running away.

 

 

 

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So, I was wrong…

OK—‘blessed’ is not over-used. It sure seems like it is. Maybe it is not used appropriately. Maybe even thoughtlessly and that is what bothers me. After mulling it over for this post though,

I think I need to get over it!

After all, I love the thought of receiving blessings. If God wants to bless me or you want to extend God’s blessings to me, why should I care how sincere you are?

From ‘googling’ blessed: Use over time for: blessed

Origin

“Old English blēdsian, blētsian, based on blōd ‘blood’ (i.e., originally perhaps ‘mark or consecrate with blood’). The meaning was influenced by its being used to translate Latin benedicere ‘to praise, worship,’ and later by association with bliss.”

Cool, cool, cool. Blood…I had no clue, the derivation of ‘bless’ included a reference to blood. Blood is special in the Bible. When it is used as a seal or sacrifice, it signifies the intensity of the promise. It reminds each party involved in the transaction that blood was shed for this promise, so therefore it cannot be broken. God spoke the WORLD into existence with His WORDS. We are made in HIS image and likeness, therefore, our words matter; they make a difference.

What else does ‘bless, blessing, blessed’ mean? The Bible tells us to ‘bless and not curse’.

Romans 12:14 (NLT) “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.”

One of the things I am learning with blogging is the huge place written words have in interpersonal communications. The written word invokes more thought than the spoken word in its creation, delivery and reception. I have learned more about my new fellow bloggers by reading their sites, than the people I spend everyday working beside. That seems so wrong.

So, while I am strengthening my writing skills, I will pay attention to my spoken words. Pronouncing blessings seems to be a good exercise, beautiful and multi-faceted, yes, like a diamond.

It is multi-faceted because I can bless GOD and my fellow-man for all types of situations, for gifts as well as needs. The dictionary seems to focus on the positive aspects of blessings: favor, fortune, luck, privilege, and happiness. While the Bible says we can be blessed, in even seemingly negative circumstances.

Job 5:17 (NIV) declares: “Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.”

James 1:12 (NIV) “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

Blessing God…that’s an interesting thought. The Scriptures remind us that our words can bless God. There is it again…a reminder that we say things without thinking about them, well at least I do. Maybe that is why I love the song by Matt Redman, 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord). Singing the words creates a moment where I am truly praising the LORD with everything in me. For a moment, I stop thinking about ‘me’ and my needs, my desires. In that moment, I am blessing God just for who He is. I imagine that is what heaven will be like. In His presence all we will want to do is worship (my imaginings). Face-to-face with HIM with our eyes wide open, we will be in awe. We will see, then, the reasons behind suffering and pain, His and ours. We will see HIS love and be overwhelmed.

But for now, we bless HIM with faith. We don’t see fully, we don’t understand fully, but we know He came to live here as one of us and gave us directions as to how to live. We know He gave us HIS WORD to remind, to teach, to comfort, to encourage. And, we bless others. Those we love and those we don’t love. Those that love us and those that hurt us. I saw an incredible video yesterday that I will end with. You must watch it. I don’t know this little one’s age. She is truly one of the ‘little ones’ Jesus said we must be like. Notice her words. She is blessing God, her friend, and her enemies. I am absolutely sure God was blessed by this child’s words, (stay long enough to hear her song at the end). Sat-7 Myriam

Let me bless you…

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT) “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,  the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”

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God Loves YOU SO MUCH!

Before Jesus came to earth, suffered and died for our indiscretions (rebellion and sin against God), the Presence of God was resident in only one place: the Holy of Holies. Wherever Israel set up camp, the ‘temple’ was also set up. At first it was a tent with surrounding grounds bordered by curtains. Then later, with King Solomon, an actual temple was built. It consisted of three sections: the Outer Court, Inner Court and the Holy of Holies.

All people could enter the Outer Court. Only the priests could enter the Inner Court and only with restrictions such as: no alcoholic drinks, no diseases, and no reason to be unclean or defiled. But, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. He could go behind the veil that separated the Inner Court from the Presence of God usually only once a year and only after an elaborate purification process. If he failed to perform the purification process properly or had some other reason to be unworthy to enter the Presence, he would drop dead in the Presence of God. Evidently this happened on occasion, because it was customary to tie a rope around the High Priest’s leg when he went in, in case he did die. No one wanted to go in after the body, but with the rope, they could just drag him out.

After the death of Jesus, when He said ‘it is finished’ and the curtain was torn in two, then symbolically, God was giving all men the ability to enter His Presence.

50 days later at the celebration of Pentecost, the Presence of God dwelling with His people became a reality. The Spirit of God appeared suddenly in the Upper Room as a mighty rushing wind where the 120 were gathered. They were gathered there because Jesus had told them (Acts 1: 4-5) to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father.

When the wind came—the Holy Spirit appeared as a fire, which split and rested on each person there. They then carried with them the Holy Spirit as evidenced among other things by speaking in foreign tongues and prophesying.

About 4000 years of planning, teaching, prophesying, and sacrificing led up to the death and resurrection of Christ. Then 50 days later, God sealed the deal. Ephesians 1: 13-14 says:

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

We do not belong to ourselves.

We were purchased with a price.

1 Cor 6:19-20 (NLT) “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

Doll and Pocketknife

My dad was an air conditioner repairman when I was little, before I was in kindergarten. At that time it was me and two little sisters plus my mom and dad. Christmas was special, but we didn’t have a lot of spare cash. My favorite toy as a child was my Tiny Tears. I remember how amazing she was. She had rockabye eyes; she could drink cry real tears and wet her diaper! Guys, I know you understand how cool this was—right?

Well, back in the day—if you were a guy—you probably had a pocketknife with you all the time! (Check your pocket—got one now?) What do a doll and a pocketknife have to do with my thoughts here? Think about it—what do these things represent to us? Fun, special times, maybe sacrifice, family memories, comfort, can all be tied up in this knife or this doll.

Now, you are not a doll or pocketknife to God—and you are WAY MORE precious to Him than that doll was to me. He knows every cute little thing you do. Every funny word, every nice gesture, every hair on your head—He knows and delights in them all. Read Psalm 139 if you want a CRAZY list of everything God knows about us! Or, read Psalm 121, if you want some reassurance that HE NEVER SLEEPS, HE IS NEVER OFF HIS GAME, and yes—that means He knows you.

You are so precious to God that, when you tell Him you want to be a member of His family and confess your sin, and put your faith in what Jesus did on the cross; Ephesians chapter 1 says he seals you with the Holy Spirit.

Did you read the passage above in Ephesians? Did you REALLY read it? Here it is again,

“You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Wow! You can be sealed. You can be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit! Think about that as you go about your business this next week. I would bet the Israelites would be pretty pumped about that thought!

I know it is changing me—just focusing on that one thought. How will it change you? Will it give you great peace? Will it make you more careful how you go about your day? Probably both! My parents paid for me to get braces on my teeth when I was in High School. I so appreciated the sacrifice they made, that I have always taken care of my teeth; making regular dental appointments, etc., This has meant something to me for all my adult life–and that is just braces on my teeth.

Find something that means a lot to you—a picture, a pocketknife—put it where you can see it. Every time you see it, let it remind you that God is watching and rejoicing over you. Zephaniah 3:17 says

“For the lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”