Posts Tagged: God

“Applauding the Sunset”

On February 9, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


“Praise the LORD!

Praise, O servants of the LORD,

praise the name of the LORD!

Blessed be the name of the LORD

from this time forth and forevermore!

From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the LORD is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:3, Christian Standard Bible)

One of the nicest parts of being at the beach on the gulf side of Florida is watching the sunsets.  And one of the nicest parts of that is watching it with other people.  Kids—especially girls—dance in the sand.  Couples kiss.  Some older couples dance.

But one of the sweetest things is that many people applaud when the sun goes down.

Why not?!  We applaud after a wonderful performance at a concert or a play.  Every sunset is a wonderful performance.

I don’t know how many of those who applaud the sunset are Christ-followers.  But I do know this: To praise the art is not far removed from praising the artist.  There is always still hope for those who appreciate beauty.  It is when people are no longer able to see the beauty around them that I am most fearful.

I do not believe that an appreciation of nature will save you, but I do believe that such appreciation holds promise.  The world’s beauty may only be a portico outside the house of God, but perhaps if you appreciate the portico long enough, you may ask yourself the crucial question, “I wonder who lives here?”  Perhaps you may even see that the door is open, and that there the smells of a truly Home-cooked meal are wafting from the kitchen.  Perhaps you will gather all your courage, humility, and faith, and go in to meet the Artist.

, ,

“God and Weather of All Kinds”

On January 9, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

DTEB, “God and Weather of All Kinds”

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Yesterday dawned warm and clear.  There was a beautiful sunrise just as I came out of the church where my Tuesday morning twelve-step group meets.  A few lovely pink clouds were scudding along the sky, but down below it was very still.  It was a wonderful, holy moment.  I stood still and knew that God is God.

The day ended with clouds, wind, and plummeting temperatures.

My emotions, like the weather, can change very quickly.  In fact, my emotions often change with the weather.  I was a bit down in the windy and cold late afternoon.  In fact, I probably had Sensory Affective Disorder before it became popular, probably before it even had a name.

But perhaps there is a glory in clouds and cold howling wind as well.  An ancient psalm indicates that at least one person sensed this.

“Psa. 148:7        Praise the LORD from the earth,

               you great sea creatures and all deeps,

8             fire and hail, snow and mist,

               stormy wind fulfilling his word!” (English Standard Version)

Perhaps everything praises God.  The psalmist says that even the wrath of man praises God (Psalm 76:10).  Perhaps I just don’t have the ears to hear those praises.  Fortunately, God does.

God’s “Godness” and God’s goodness are not dependent on either the external weather or my own internal weather.  I need to recognize and celebrate this.

, , , , , , ,

DTEB, The Sinner with a Capital T”

On February 24, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

My wife and I are reading through a book entitled Set Your Heart Free.  It is part of the 30 Days with a Great Spiritual Teacher series, which is published by Ave Maria Press.  Set Your Heart Free is a modern paraphrase of selections from St. Francis de Sales.  Good stuff, which I heartily recommend!

Day twenty-four says (in part) the following: “Whenever your spirit is troubled, take some advice from St. Augustine: ‘Make haste, like David, to cry out: “Have mercy on me, O Lord,” that he may stretch forth his hand to moderate your anger or whatever it is that troubles you.’” (p. 82)

All through the day, the reading encourages us to pray, “Have mercy on me, O Lord.” (p. 83)

My mind immediately went to the prayer of the publican in Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, in Luke 18:9-14.  The tax collector knew, beyond any shadow of doubt, that he was a sinner.  No, not simply a sinner!  The Greek has the definite article before the word “sinner.”  The tax collector cried out, “God, be merciful to me the sinner!”

Nowadays, there is a lot of anger in our world.  Political divisiveness seems to be magnified by our social media.  I must confess that I sometimes wonder if it should be called anti-social media.

What would help to diminish the anger, at least a bit?  I wish I knew.  But I can tell you what works for me when I actually practice it: The realization that I am the sinner, that I am the one in need of mercy—this makes it difficult for me to maintain an angry attitude toward others.

So, when I am inclined to be angry with the Democrats or the Republicans (I take turns on that), or with the conservative media or the liberal media (I take turns on that, too), then I need to remember that I am the sinner.

, , , , , , , , , , ,

“Overcoming ______________ (fill in the blank): Breaking the Wizard’s Wand”  

On April 26, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Years ago, a Bible study group that I led was discussing how we tend to let other people define us.  This is especially the case when we are little.  In particular, parents, siblings, school classmates, teachers, and coaches have a huge influence on us.

One of the members of the study group used the analogy of a wizard.  Wizards have wands, with which they can wield a lot of power for good or for ill.  When we are little, we don’t have much (if any) choice about who has power over us.

However, as we mature, we ourselves actually are the ones who give people their wands, although we may not realize that we’ve given them power over us.

Then, this member of the group went on to say something I’ll never forget: “When we are adults, we have the right to demand that a wand be returned to us, if the wizard hasn’t used the wand for our good.”

So, here is what I sometimes do: I visualize a certain person to whom I have given a wand.  If I do not like the way in which they are practicing their wizardry, I visualize myself saying to them, “I need the wand that I gave you back.”

Then, I visualize myself breaking the wand over my knee.

A friend of mine (who is so insightful that he should be doing his own blog) said to me this morning, “Resentment gives other people a lot of control over us.”  Indeed it does!  Perhaps it would be helpful if I broke a wand named “resentment” over my knee.  Resentment is a wand that places me under an evil spell in a hurry.

Above all, as I have said in an earlier blog, I tend to resent myself.  I make a lousy wizard for anyone else.  But I’m not good at being a wizard to myself, either.  Paul said that he didn’t want the Corinthians judging others, and that he himself did not judge even himself (1 Corinthians 4:3).  Perhaps if I stopped judging myself, I would stop having so many resentments against myself.

However, no matter what you want to overcome, whether it is resentment or something else, it may be time that you broke some wizards’ wands.  That is why this post is entitled “Overcoming ____________.”  You fill in the blank.  Whatever evil spell you are under, you have the right to break the wizard’s wand.  Indeed, you have not only the right; indeed, you have the responsibility to do so.

And then there is God.  God is not a wizard.  God does not wield a wand.  Rather, God is a loving heavenly Father, who wants all of us to be free.  I believe that God will help you to identify the evil, controlling wizards in your life.  If you aren’t strong enough to break their wands, rest assured that God is able to do so.

, , , , , , ,

GOD AND SMALL BOYS WILL PROVIDE

On August 15, 2016 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 “Do you think God is just going to give us buckets of money?”

The above question was posed to me by frugal, hard-working, worried wife.

My wife and I were talking about her admittedly very stressful job, and when she should retire.  Retirement is coming soon, but not nearly soon enough.  I’m afraid that the decision is nearly as stressful as the job.  (No, it probably isn’t!  But it is stressful.)

I tend to say that I think God will take care of us, no matter what.

Note carefully how I expressed my “sort-of” faith in the preceding sentence: I tend to say that I think God will take care of us, no matter what.  Most of the time, I struggle to trust God, but I talk a good game.

We decided to go to the Cincinnati Nature Center.  We have a membership there.  Affordable fun, if not cheap thrills.  I’m not sure we were prepared to meet God there, but apparently God was prepared to meet us.

As we prepared to walk down to the lake, we passed a dispenser of fish-and-turtle-food pellets.  My wife asked if we should buy some.  “No,” I said, rather grumpily, “it costs a quarter.”

It was a hot, humid Saturday afternoon, and there weren’t a lot of people there.  However, as we walked on the boardwalk around the lake, there was a lady and a little boy—about four years old, I would guess.  The little boy had a brown paper bag.  The little guy reached into the bag, came over to us, and handed my wife and I one fish-and-turtle-food pellet a piece.

My wife and I were blown away by the little guy’s generosity and thoughtfulness.  A few minutes later, he gave us some more pellets.  This time, we each had about five pellets to throw in the water for the fish and turtles!

Angels come in all shapes and sizes.  A four-year-old boy was a messenger of God to my wife and me today.  There were no buckets of money from on high, but a few graciously given food pellets helped us to turn our attitudes around, at least for a little while.

I hope that you (and I) will be on the lookout for God’s messengers today.  They come bearing good gifts from the Father of lights.

, , , , ,
Follow on Feedly