“God is in the Details”
“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.)
“God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.)
“Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus)
God does not micromanage, but God is a God of the details. As I was thinking about my students (many of whom live in Florida) and praying for them this morning, I was greatly comforted by the thought that God knows every one of them by name. God knows where they are and how they are. In fact, God has a detailed understanding of the entire universe.
And then I thought of the saying about the devil being in the details. Why on earth should we recognize the presence of evil, but ignore the presence and wisdom and compassion of God?
Jesus told his followers not to worry. God has a detailed understanding of them. They don’t and we don’t have to understand much. However, we do need to understand that God understands the details of our individual and collective lives.
I don’t have a lot of hair left, but I don’t know precisely how many there are. I don’t know how many days I have left on this planet, either. But God knows. Maybe that is enough.
“Grandma’s Pump”
When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort of.
We had running water, if we ran to fetch it from the well or, when the well ran dry, from the pond. Grandma, on the other hand, had a handpump inside her house, just off her kitchen. I was very impressed!
However, in the mornings when we got up, the pump had lost its prime. There was just air in the line, and you couldn’t get a drop of water out of it, no matter how hard you pumped. My grandmother solved this problem in a very simple manner: She had a small bucket with water in it beside the pump. Each evening, she pumped some water into the bucket so that, in the morning, she could pour it down the pump shaft while working the pump handle.
Voila! Water!
I was thinking about Grandma’s pump in connection with a recent phone conversation with a twelve-step friend. We were talking about the importance of how we start our day and how difficult it is to get started on doing the next right thing. Grandma’s pump came to my mind, and a thought-provoking question flowed out of it: What thing or things can I do to prime my pump?
Of course, this question itself is a way of priming of the pump and is useful in all sorts of ways.
- How do I prime my pump spiritually? For me, this involves prayer, the Bible, and meditation.
- How do I prime my pump physical? Two things that I have been doing regularly of late are walking (and a little running or jogging) about 7,000 steps and doing stretches and weights.
- How do I prime my pump mentally? I am trying to learn something new every day. For example, I get a word-of-the day from Anu Garg. Today’s word was “Penelopean”. (No, I’m not telling you what it means. Think about it, try to figure out on your own what it means, and then look it up. You might want to sign up with Anu Garg to get his daily words.) I am also learning a little Spanish.
- How do I prime my pump relationally? For me, this basically means connecting in a positive way with my little dog Laylah, my twelve-step friends, and my wife, Sharon. (No, these are not listed in the order of importance. They are listed in the order of when I encounter this little furry critter and my human posse.)
It would probably be a good idea to make a list in the evening as to how I plan to prime the pump the next day. Grandma needed a bucket. I need a bucket list. Not a bucket list of exotic locations to visit or difficult things to do, just a bucket list of things to prime the pump.[1]
[1] This post was produced without the aid of AI. Hopefully, it was produced with some sort of intelligence.
“Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out”
Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one of the greatest.
He wasn’t the greatest in terms of size. (I heard that, one time a coach in the minors told him he simply wasn’t big enough to ever make the majors.) Perhaps did not have the most innate talent. But he worked very hard. And I think it’s safe to say that he made the majors.
He was, in many ways, an inspiration to a lot of us. I still run to first base when I get a walk in softball. I have, however, pretty much given up on head-first slides—for now.
Another member of the senior softball league I play in, Wayne, wrote the following:
“My son wore #14 all during select baseball. I told him, ‘If I ever see you not hustle, you will take off your jersey and wear it inside out.’ He never had to do it.”
Now, I call myself a “Christ-follower”. Sometimes, I am more of a “Christ-stumbler”. But I am going to try to find a t-shirt that says something like “Jesus is King”, and every time I think, say, or do something that is un-Christlike, I am taking my personal #14 off and wearing it inside-out for at least an hour. Perhaps I’ll stumble less and follow more closely that way.
“Passing Along the Love (and a Link)”
Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I get into bad habits (like procrastination) so easily. I also get out of good habits (like posting something every day) equally easily. So, perhaps tomorrow, you’ll get something written by me. God is a God of miracles! Consistency is a daily miracle which I need to cultivate.
So, here is the link. Enjoy!
https://centerforactionandcontemplation.forwardtomyfriend.com/d-ikikdkehl-C1E40D6B-euythjt-l-g
Down to Earth Believer
“Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses”
“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Acts 1:4 ¶ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
Acts 1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The Ascension
Acts 1:6 ¶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (English Standard Version)
Recently, while preparing for a small group Bible study group meeting, I suddenly noticed the obvious. Jesus does not tell his disciples that they will witness. Rather, Jesus tells them that will be witnesses.
Now you might ask, “What is the difference?” I am so glad that I am writing this post, because I can anticipate questions that you may not even be asking. I HAVE THE POWER!
Of course, there may not actually be a difference. After all, a witness is a person who witnesses. Right?
Well, yes, but being a witness is more than simply something we do. Being a witness is something we are.
Think about it for a minute. Let’s say that you witness a crime. Does it matter the sort of person you are? You bet it does! If you are a person who is prone to exaggeration or who has any number of other problems or issues, that might get in the way of being a good witness. If a blind man says to the police, “I saw the whole thing, officer,” his testimony might not be very persuasive in a court of law.
Fundamentally, a witness must be an honest person, a careful observer, and not have a vested interest in giving a particular testimony about the matter at hand. Character matters. I think that many of us who name the name of Christ have forgotten that. I have often forgotten this myself. The saying that comes to mind is “Your life is screaming so loud that I can’t hear a word you’re saying.”
I have occasionally known people who didn’t need to say much about Jesus because they were consistently Christ-like. I haven’t known many folks like that. I have seldom been that person. But some people do exist.
Being Christ-like—also known as being witnesses to Christ—is not something we can do by our own willpower. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come upon the original disciples to give them the power to be his witnesses. I don’t think this promise was merely for them. Their experience of divine filling is a template and an exemplar for every generation and every person. To be witnesses we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we’ll be witnessing without being witnesses. And this would mean that we are not doing Jesus any favors. As a friend of mine said many decades ago, “The Christian life is awfully hard to live without God.”
“A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands”
A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years.
So, while I was running hot water over my hands in the church’s men’s room, I prayed out loud. (Hey! Don’t you judge me! After all, the Bible says that we are to pray without ceasing, right?)
“God, my hands hurt a lot. If I am doing something I shouldn’t or if I’m not doing something I should, please let me know what to avoid or do to participate in my own healing. I do believe in miracles, so if you want to do something miraculously immediate, it would not hurt my feelings. On the other hand, if my pain would in some way glorify you, don’t take it away. May not pain or any miracle take precedence over loving You and others, LORD.”
And whether it was God directly, or the prayer itself, or the hot water, or all of the above, my hands did suddenly start feeling better. Altars aren’t the only place where prayers can be answered. Sometimes bathrooms will work, thank you very much!
“Waiting and Seeking”
“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
Lam. 3:23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lam. 3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lam. 3:25 ¶ The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
Lam. 3:26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.” (English Standard Version)
Lamentations is about the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in the 6th century B. C. It is a book filled with raw emotion and darkness. The shines through in the verses that lead off this post, but immediately, the Darkness reasserts itself.
But even remembered sunlight is good. We need to take seriously the pain and the darkness, but we also need to remember the Light. And what is this Light? It goes by many names: the goodness of God, mercy, and deliverance are three of those names.
Faith taps into the goodness of God, his mercy, his deliverance. But faith has two seemingly contradictory aspects. Did you notice those “contradictions” in vs. 25? Let me highlight them for you.
“The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.”
Waiting and seeking: which one should we do? Both! The Christian faith does not, cannot, choose between action and meditation. It embraces both. Are there some Christians who tend to be better at action, while other individual Christ-followers are more contemplative? Probably so. However, we all need both. Seeking means there are things we can do to experience the presence of God. Here is a very partial list:
- Pray.
- Read the Scriptures.
- Worship with other believers.
- Worship by yourself.
- Do works of love for others.
- Commune with nature. (God is not nature, but it is God’s creation.)
But waiting and hoping is also important. We cannot compel God’s presence by our actions, even if God does require them. Our works are required, but are not sufficient. If we were simply told to seek, we would wind up with either pride because we might think we’re seeking really diligently, or we would end up with despair because we would know that we’re not really seeking all that diligently. And neither pride nor despair are ways of finding the One who is seeking us.
“A Pastor or a Teacher?”
I went to the Asbury University President’s Brunch yesterday morning with Sharon. It was billed as a non-fundraiser. I have learned to be skeptical of such claims. However, it really wasn’t a fundraiser! It was a wonderful time. The university paid for everything, including valet parking. It was good to meet new people, all of whom had some connection to this university that I love. I came more alive in this setting. Years ago, a good friend who was also one of my students in a New Testament Greek class, said “You come alive in the classroom.” Lois was right. Apparently, I even come alive in academic settings at the Westin Hotel.
I got a chance to chat for several minutes with Kevin Brown, Asbury’s president. He was very generous with his time. He heard a bit of my story. I told him that I had been a pastor for a long time and am now teaching online courses for Southeastern University. After listening, Dr. Brown asked me a very thought-provoking question: “Would you say that you are primarily a teacher or a pastor to your students?”
Simple yes-or-no questions can bring me to a screeching halt. Like a deer caught in the middle of the road, I stopped, unable to go this way or that. If you stop in the middle of the road, you sometimes get struck by the truth. That is what happened to me.
My wife walked up as I was struggling with the answer. When she was apprized of the question, she responded with one word: “Both.” My wife has a way of cutting to the chase.
Here is the thing as best I understand the “thing”: We are all called to help others along in our pilgrimage. The word “pastor” historically means “shepherd”. A shepherd—at least a good one—takes good care of his flock. So does a good professor. So does any person who does any kind of good work. Moms, dads, nurses, doctors, counselors, utility workers, engineers, and everyone else who does anything else that is at all worthwhile have the privilege and responsibility of caring for others. No exceptions.
And we all do learn from one another. Or, at least, we should. Therefore, we are all teachers. We may not know it, but we are. We teach by our words, but more so by our deeds. We teach by our silent attitudes. We teach by returning or making phone calls.
So, while it may be true that the words “pastor” and “teacher” may be defined more narrowly, they also have some broader and deeper connotations. As good as Dr. Brown’s question was, there is an even more profound question: “Am I being a good pastor-teacher today? Am I building people up? How can I do better at that?
“Even When We Mess Up”
One of my students in the Luke-Acts course I’m teaching right now online made a very perceptive comment in a post to another student’s work. She and the other student, Mackenzie, agreed on an excellent point: God can even use our mess-ups for his purposes and glory.
Here is Victoria’s comment:
“Mackenzie, your perspective on how “each character [in Luke] fulfills the will of God in some way or another” is quite interesting. While a character like Peter can find himself denying Christ in chapter 22, it remains evident in the chapters before that God is using Peter to advance His Kingdom. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that you would even argue that this event of Peter denying Jesus “fulfills the will of God in some way or another.” I do believe that God should not, can not, and will not be limited by our actions. I believe He has the ultimate and final authority in how the events that play out over time will affect the advancement of His Kingdom.” (Victoria Damian, used with her permission.)
When I was a pastor, I did some teachings on the Apostle Simon Peter. One of my visual aids was a graph which showed the ups and downs of the Rock on which Christ was to build his church. The chart had sharp spikes upward, followed almost immediately by plunges well below the base line. Of course, after the coming of the Holy Spirit (recorded in Acts 2), the progress was perhaps less spectacular, but far more sustained. However, even in Acts, Peter had his ups and downs.
What does all this tell us about ourselves and about God? When it comes to us, Peter’s erratic discipleship could give us some hope and comfort. A lot of us (and I speak from experience here) are anything but consistent. Sometimes we wonder, “Can God use such an up-and-down person as me?” Looking at Peter, I would say that the answer is a resounding “Yes!” We can take some hope and comfort from this, as well as the determination to go on.
In terms of God, Peter is a sign to us all that God can, does, and will still use us. Messing up does not mean that God has given up on us. Yes, we certainly need to repent. Yes, we need to do things differently. But God does, in fact, use us. I have heard it said that God used cracked pots. I have also heard that God uses crackpots.
Good thing! Also, God thing!
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