To God be the Glory

This last Sunday, our pastor preached on Ananias and Sapphira. They dropped dead for lying to God.
(Acts 4:32-35; 5:1-11)

As we say in California, "That's harsh." Why so violent a punishment? Where was the crime? They lied by pretending they were offering it all. The lying, I think, is intertwined with the hunger for glory. I think the real problem is they were trying to steal a piece of the glory. Reminds me of another biblical couple that were decieved when they were told they could "be like God." Maybe Ananias and Sapphira wanted people to whisper their name in praise of their generosity, even though it's direct opposition to the Holy Spirit's purpose for unity in the Church. It's no innocent mistake, it's the devisive, snake-like, sinister lie that would doom the Church if left untreated. They suffered a swift and serious consequence that left an IMPRINT on the future church from it's very beginnings. Makes you think twice about trying to sneak honor that belongs to God. It's the original sin all over again. Here's another illustration from Acts 12:

Herod came dressed in his royal robes. He sat down on his throne and made a speech. 22The people shouted, "You speak more like a god than a man!" 23At once an angel from the Lord struck him down because he took the honor that belonged to God. Later, Herod was eaten by worms and died.

Wow. God must mean business about this. He wants ALL the glory. It just gave me some food for thought for the week, and the desire to take personal inventory of my motives. Have I reached out my hand to squirrel away for a rainy day what belongs to God? or, Have I taken a moment of pleasure by recieving any praise that belongs to God? Am I relying on my own skills or talents to accomplish the work of the Holy Spirit? It was a good reflection for me this week.

Faith Giggles

I was attending North Central University and it was my senior year. Also, I was poor. I had bus money to get to my inner city school where I was student teaching and that was about it. I had worked until 1am preparing lessons, but had no money or transportation to go out and get materials. As it was, I left my apartment at 5am to get the bus. (Some of you have much better "poor" stories than this, so I'll stop there.)

I walked out of my apartment into the quiet city of Minneapolis. It was still dark, and I was so tired. Thankfully the freezing cold woke me up a bit. Amazed at the utter silence and peace of the snow-covered city, I began to chat with God. I told God that I needed glass bottles for my science lesson at school that morning!!, and that I really couldn't do my lesson or be evaluated without them!!, and that my future career was hanging in the balance, and God if you really wanted to, you could have those glass bottles waiting for me at the bus stop!! Then I heard a laugh. Not aloud, but I got this mental picture of God laughing. WHAT? Again I prayed, "God...if you REALLY want to...they could be there waiting for me." Then I chuckled at the absurdity. Why would God honor such a random petition? Then we laughed together, and God said to me, "Say it out-loud, so that when it happens, you'll know it was me." So I spoke out into the quiet city, "GOD! If YOU really want to do it, you can have those glass bottles waiting for me at the bus stop!" There. I said it. Out loud. Now I was a crazy street person just like all the rest, talking out loud to the invisible.

I saw the bus aproaching the stop and began to make a run for it, sluggishly in the snow. The bus pulled up and stopped just as I ran up. I saw a brown bag beside the trash-can at the bus stop, and in a single fluid movement, I scooped up the bag and stepped onto the bus. I sat down breathlessly and looked at my mystery bag. How disgusting. I picked up a bag by a city trash can! But there was God smiling again. I opened my bag, and there were 5 empty glass bottles. No caps. No paper lables. Not your traditional miracle, but I like it. I read a devotional from Dan Betzer's Facebook today about faith, and it reminded me of this incident. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for. (Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.) Those bottles, were real, and God's REAL answer to a very specific request. Those bottles didn't last, but here's what did: a lovely moment smiling with my God, creater of the universe and provider of my every need. Something changed in me after that, and I haven't prayed the same way since.

From teaching in snowy Minneapolis to being a missionary in mild Oaxaca, God continues to stretch and challenge my faith. That's why sometimes I still get the giggles when praying for healing, or for an open womb, or for whatever we cry out to God for. I can see God, as I told a friend recently, "tickled pink," to grant you the desires of your heart! By the way, this is shockingly, socially inappropriate. Good thing Jesus doesn't care about that. I love the song we sing here in Mexico, for the redemption of this giant nation, "Si tuvieras fe como un grano de mostaza..."  Matthew 17:20...for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

My prayer career started out by praying for glass bottles; that was real and fun. In the last few years, I've started praying for couples to have babies; that got MORE real and WAY more fun! (What's more tangible than a baby?) Now I'm praying (with many others), for revival for the nation of Mexico, for a Holy Spirit outpouring, and for the poor to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. It's an impossible request. Look at the dark and disturbing reports. How dare I even speak it?! Yet, I still can't help remembering those glass bottles, and the smiling God who gave them to me...

May 5, 2011

My first blog was in January and I had illusions of posting every week with deep thoughts. Lost among all these deep thoughts, I forgot my password. I tried various configurations of every password I could think of- to no avail. I was rejected as I appealed to regain access to my blog. (They probably couldn't see my lower lip sticking out.) Today, as I prepared to surrender my blog name and create a new blog, I think I had one of those magical moments that Olympians experience after years of discipline and training- my fingers magically flowed and my mind shifted to automatic to type in the correct password. A very loose analogy, I know, but that's as close as I get to Olympian comparisons. So as not to overwhelm myself, I'll just post the verse that spoke to me out of my devotion today. Proverbs 14:30 "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." 

I really don't want rotten bones. And I really DO want life in my body. It spoke to me. (I confess, sometimes I DO miss those US shopping opportunities!) Today, I'm laying it all down and chosing to be satisfied with Jesus, and have a heart at peace. Rotten bones sounds- well, rotten.