The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

As I was studying in the Word a couple of days ago, something I was reading suddenly stirred up a very poignant and personal memory of an intimate experience that Piper and I enjoyed together and then laughed over for years to come.  The experience seemed to be a perfect fit with the verse of scripture that I was reading and would have made a terrific example for me to use if I were ever to write about and or preach on the point that Paul was making in the epistle I was studying… But, because of the intimate nature of the experience, it was something that I could never share in a public setting!

Nevertheless, the memory made me sigh as I re-lived the event and then smile and laugh aloud, at the humorous and potentially embarrassing outcome that we privately recalled through the years.  My verbal response to the memory caused the dog who was lounging on the couch behind me in my study, to whimper as if he wanted to know what all the commotion was about… So, I turned in my chair and proceeded to tell him the entire story. 

He just kind of stared at me the whole time while I re-lived the experience and laughed again at the humor involved, but had to wipe away a tear knowing that I’ll never get to experience another private moment with Piper like that again… at least until I get to heaven… and I’m not even sure if those kinds of experiences even happen there!

I paused for a moment after telling my story to Fiver, and pondered the thought that I shared with him and stated “You know, now that Piper is gone on to her heavenly reward, I do not have anyone with whom I feel confident and trust in enough to share my most private and intimate thoughts with anymore… except for you!”

As I’ve stated many times before, Piper and I had developed such a love and trust for each other that I felt that I could share anything with her.  From my deepest and most sensitive thoughts to my wildest imaginations, I was an open book to her… as she was to me.  We enjoyed the freedom to share the Good, the Bad and the Ugly with each other and were always assured that what we shared was kept in the closest of confidence.

That private memory and the thought of sharing the Good, the Bad and the Ugly with each other came to mind again today, as I took a quick peek back at my notes from the last few weeks concerning the authority behind the NAME of Jesus and the Living and Active Word of God.  Hebrews 4:12-13 in the Weymouth New Testament declares,

“For God's Message (His Word) is full of life and power, and is keener than the sharpest two-edged sword. It pierces even to the severance of soul from spirit, and penetrates between the joints and the marrow, and it can discern the secret thoughts and purposes of the heart.  And no created thing (ie; you and me) is able to escape its scrutiny; but everything lies bare and completely exposed before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” 

We discussed the reality of the Living and Active power of the Word working in our lives in our last blog post, but what caught my eye this morning was the rest of that verse and the following, which talks about the Words ability “to discern the secret thoughts and purposes of the heart…” and… how everything in us “lies bare and completely exposed before” Him.

It suddenly dawned on me, that just like the way Piper and I shared everything with each other… including the Good, the Bad and the sometimes Ugly things in our lives, when we sit down and commune with God in His Word… we do the same with Him!

When we study the Word, we are in effect, communicating with God and in doing so, get to know all the intimate details, promises, blessings and warnings of God as stated in His Word… but at the same time (just like with Piper and I over the years), we open ourselves up for Him to see all the intimate and private details of our lives… including the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

For you see, our time spent in the Word should be a dynamic and honest two-way communication between us and God… at least I believe that is the way that our heavenly Father desires it to be.

From our earliest dating days in high school, I always felt like I could share anything with Piper, she just had that sweet, kind and non-judgmental demeanor about her… but if I ever did try to hide something from her, she would most likely have noticed and it would have tended to erode the wonderful trust, openness and sense of security we enjoyed in our conversations and life together.

So, that’s the way I always aim to enter into my daily conversations with God in His Word.  I don’t want anything that might hinder the trustful and secure relationship that He and I have developed over the past 50 some years to come between us.

I may not currently have the close, trusting and intimate relationship with another individual on this earth like Piper and I developed and enjoyed, but I DO still enjoy an ever-increasing close, personal and intimate two-way relationship with the Lord through my regular interactions with Him in His written Word.  It’s the kind of relationship that I feel safe and secure in and stay hungry enough to continually learn all about Him… as well as being confident enough to allow Him to see and help me through the Good, the Bad and the sometimes Ugly areas in my life.

What do you think about that? 

Is that the kind of relationship that you and the Father enjoy through the regular study of His Word?  If not… There is no better time to begin the relationship than TODAY!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there and to the precious Mom’s that have gone on before us!  I pray that each of you have a safe and enjoyable weekend!

What If It Was?

I was thinking this morning, that while I may not be a fan of Oklahoma’s flat terrain… I am very thankful for the neighborhood in which I live.  And I was reminded of this today, as Fiver and I walked out onto the green commons area between our house and the city golf course.  As we began our walk, I mentioned to Fiver that there was something pleasing about the sights, sounds and smells that greeted us on this warm Saturday morning. 

To me it was a welcoming day with the golf carts and their colorfully clad occupants dotting the course, the sounds of moms and dads cheering on their kids with whatever sport was being played at the large city park on the opposite side of the course, the honking of geese and Mallard ducks flying overhead (and on my lawn earlier in the day), the distinctive sound of an old WWII fighter flying overhead and on the return walk, the rumbling of a classic Harley meandering through the streets and a couple F16 Fighting Falcons passing over from the Air National Guard base at the somewhat nearby Tulsa International airport.

I would imagine that all of us have sights and sounds of things that bring us pleasure.  I’ve mentioned many times of how much the sounds of my wife’s voice brought extreme joy to my heart.  Whether it was looking forward to sitting in front of her in high school English… a year before we began to date… and later as a couple walking around the high school, local Junior College and then the University campus that we attended, or getting a call from her at work years after we were married and had four children… there was just something about that all familiar, sweet jingle that carried her words that would set my world at peace and let me know that I was needed and loved.

As you’re reading this post today, I bet that someone special to you is dancing across the portals of your memory.  Who is that individual… and why are they so special to you?

I’ve been thinking a lot about that question during my Bible Study throughout this last week.  It has been one of those occasions in my daily time with the Lord, that I seem to be stuck on the initial statement of one particular verse.  That portion of scripture is found in the book of Hebrews where the writer penned this thought saying,

“God's word is living and active…” (Hebrews 4:12A – God’s Word ©)

In my wife’s old 1974 version of the illustrated Living Bible, she underlined this paraphrase that states,

“For whatever God says to us is full of living power…”

The recent Remedy New Testament expands the verse by explaining,

“For the word of God is the living and active revelation of the truth about God, his methods and principles, and the real basis of life in the universe...”

And in his 1906 book, “The Letters of St Paul to Seven Churches and Three Friends with the Letter to the Hebrews” Arthur S. Way translates the verse as,

“For God’s word, on which I base my argument, is not a thing of the past nor is it something eternal to us: (but) it is still living and instinctive with energy.”

The reoccurring questions that kept popping up in my mind as I read and reread this verse from as many translations, commentaries and Greek dictionaries that I could get my hands on was… “What if it was?” and “What if every Christian approached the daily study of their Bibles (and the way they lived their lives for that matter) with the foregone conclusion that the Word of God,

is not a thing of the past nor is it something eternal to us: (but) it is still living and instinctive with energy (or active power).?”

The Cambridge Bible in its commentary for this scripture reveals that

“The Word of God” in this verse is “reference to the written and spoken word of God and of the force and almost personality of which the writer shows so strong a sense. (for to him) The word is no dead utterance of the past, but a living power for ever!”

So, with that potentially life-changing thought in mind, I’ll ask you the same question that I have been asking myself all week.  “What if it was?  Would we live our life differently in the way we approach the activities (good, bad, indifferent, fun or threatening) that we regularly face, as well as the way we interact with the various people that come into our lives on a daily basis?”

Hummmm… Now that’s something to ponder!

I like what the Cambridge Bible says as to the strong sense of force and the personality of God that comes out through the Word that the writer of Hebrews presents to us. I don’t know about you… but that statement sure rings true for my personal interactions with God as I study His Word. 

When I see one of my Bibles in my house, I am reminded of the warmth and joy that I always felt when I thought of my wife Piper over the years… because it’s the same feeling I get when I look at my Bible!  To me, it is not just a book, but a good friend whose loving, kind and generous personality comes out with active force and power that can and does work in my life… as I actively, specifically and expectantly put it to work in my daily routine.

How about you? How do you see and or live Hebrews 4:12?  Is it the personality of God communicating with you?

What if it Was?

Have a great weekend as you ponder and decide about today’s post…