Down from the Heavens

Posted on April 6, 2015 by wamplerp

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI love you, Lord , my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord , who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord ; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.  He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord , at the blast of breath from your nostrils. – Psalm 18:1-15

The image I get while I am reading the beginning of this passage is of a people tied up in knots, both physical and spiritual, crying out to God for help. The image of God’s response is quite scary “Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it”…to quote Dan Aykroyd from Ghostbusters… “real wrath of God stuff”.

The clouds part and down comes God with dark clouds at his feet. This mode of arrival is reminiscent of a passage back in 2 Samuel 22:8-14, when God shows up Riding on Rain Clouds.  The description of God in 2 Samuel is word for word the same as this psalm…a reflection.

It sounds like God shows up in one incredible thunder and lightening storm. I have experienced some pretty impressive thunderstorms. Just after we moved to Michigan we had lightening strike close enough to the house to take out most of our electronics. It even took out our oven!  Luckily no one was hurt and we got to know our new insurance agent pretty well.

Another storm that I will never forget is one that came just after we had set up our tent on a trip to the west coast. We were passing through Minnesota and had stopped for the night. I can still remember sitting in our tent with lightening flashing so often that we thought someone was shining their headlights into our tent. To be honest it kind of felt like God had shown up at our campsite as is described in this passage.  The power of this storm was awe, and fear, inspiring.

We ended up deciding we should make a break for the car so at least we would have the protection of the rubber tires in case of a lightening strike. We all made it to the car safely.  My wife likes to remind me that she was the last one out of the tent and had to fight a stuck tent zipper while me and the kids sat in the car wondering what was taking her so long. Drenched and tired we sat in the car listening to Blue Bayou by Linda Ronstadt…very surreal. You can imagine I felt like a bit of heal when the lyrics came to:

I feel so bad I got a worried mind
I’m so lonesome all the time
Since I left my baby behind…

All came out right in the end and I learned an important lesson about trusting God in the midst of a storm.  I also gained a healthy respect for staying on God’s good side :).

 Prayer: God thank You for watching our for my family amid the storm and seeing us through all of life’s storms.

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Eddying Out – Resurrection

Posted on April 5, 2015 by wamplerp

IMGP6544Rejoice in the Resurrection!  God came, he conquered death, but not only death but all the messy mistakes we make every day.  He went “all in” for us…He just wants us to return the favor.  Have a blessed Easter!

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26

Prayer: God thank You for coming to rescue us and sacrificing so much for us children.

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The Praise of Children and Infants

Posted on April 4, 2015 by wamplerp

IMGP5507Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?  You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.  You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! – Psalms 8:1-9

What an interesting and unexpected riffle here in the Psalms…”You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants”.  I am surprised and just a little bit confused by this statement.  What do children and infants have to do with the glory of the Heavens?

As I have prayed and reflected about this passage the only way I can make sense of this is if God is referring to all of us when He says “children and infants”.  Perhaps He is plumbing the depths of the complex and dynamic relationship between us and Him.  We are but children and infants to Him but yet we are somehow also able to participate in the Glory of the Heavens.

I guess when I think about it that was the essential message of Jesus.  We are to become as children, and God wants us to come join the Kingdom of Heaven and be with Him forever (i.e. become part of the Glory of Heaven).  “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3.

It seems like God is reminding us that the only way we can contribute to His Glory is by approaching Him, and the Kingdom of Heaven, like Children.  We cannot approach it with a posture of pride – thinking we are all that…and that we are going to bring our own intelligence and mature spirit to contribute to Heaven.  Heaven does not need it.  What Heaven needs is humble hearts able to acknowledge God’s Majesty.

With great power comes great responsibility…God has made us”a little lower than the angels” and given us great power to rule over the things of this earth….flocks, fish, birds, animals, everything…but we must do it with humility and prayer.

This verse begins and ends with a recognition of God’s majesty.  That seems like a good model for life.  If we begin and end each day with this same recognition it may go a long way toward maintaining a proper posture and perspective.

Prayer: God help me to start and end each day with a recognition of Your majesty and become as a child to join your kingdom.

Posted in Christian Community, Covenant, Discernment, Faith, Following God, Free Will, God's Love for Us, Heaven, Nature, Obedience, Psalms, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, Trusting God | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Unfailing Love

Posted on April 3, 2015 by wamplerp

182737_870188233865_3761969_nLord , do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord , for I am faint; heal me, Lord , for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord , how long? Turn, Lord , and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame. – Psalm 6:1-10

A soul in deep anguish…this could have been a song sung by Job during his sojourn in the storm.  The writer of this Psalm says something that I was yearning for Job to say — “save me because of your unfailing love”.  As far as I can tell he really never did, but that is what God has promised — to save us with his unfailing love.  This is an especially poignant message as we approach Easter and our celebration of God’s unfailing love.

Next comes an interesting turn of phrase — “Among the dead no one proclaims your name”.  What is the meaning of this statement?  It is a bit like the pirate mantra “dead men tell no tales”.  This seems to be saying that we had better do our “proclaiming” of God’s name while we are alive.

The person in this passage seems to have lost hope and is consumed with weeping, shedding samples of an anguished soul.  In fact weeping so much that these tears to God fill the furniture.  God hears the cry for help and overwhelms our enemies with shame and anguish — God has our backs.  He will always come for us when we feel lost and alone, just like He did when He showed up in Galilee.

Prayer: Thank you God for loving us, comforting us when we feel lost and alone, and sending you Son for us to follow.

Posted in Christian Community, Christianity, Covenant, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Healing, Heaven, Love for the Lost, Obedience, Psalms, reconciliation, Redemption, The Nature of God, Trusting God | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tehillim- Mirror Ponds

Posted on April 2, 2015 by wamplerp

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Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord , and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. – Psalm 1:1-6

This passage is the first water reference in the book of Psalms. Apparently the original Hebrew word used to refer to this collection of songs was Tehillim meaning “Praises”. My sense is that this collection of poetry, songs, and instructions was used like many modern Christian churches use a hymnal, or in the case of some churches a computer projector. There is apparently still quite a bit of debate among scholars about the origin, age, attribution of the Psalms. Perhaps echoes of some of the past water imagery used in the bible will shed some light on this….we shall see.

I anticipate that the Psalms will be a bit like a calm lake reflecting the majesty and beauty of nearby mountains. The Psalms reflect God’s glory, power, and majesty as the post-exilic Israelites knew and experienced it — just like modern Christian songs of praise reflect our love and understanding of God as followers of “the way”.

The water imagery in this passage is familiar. Several previous passages have contained similar word pictures of God’s followers planting themselves by the river, the one river, and sinking their roots deep into the bank so they can reach the water. This verse provides some additional reasons why this is a good idea, namely that doing so will allow us to 1) yield fruit in season; 2) have leaves that do not wither; and 3) be prosperous in whatever we do.

I take the statement to “yield fruit in season” to mean — have the ability to do what God needs us to do when He needs us to do it. That means being in tune with what God is doing so we know when our “fruit” is “in season”. This also implies that there are times when we should withhold our “fruit” when the season is not right for our fruit. This is a welcome message for someone like me who tends to operate in full on or full off mode. This passage gives us permission to simply rest by the river during some “seasons”.

I think all of us feel like our leaves are withering at times when life bears down on us like the hot sun on a summer day. This passage assures us that if we remain planted by the stream God will provide the living water we need to not only not wither, but to grow strong and big amid life’s challenges. We will have the deep roots to remain fruitful during dry spiritual times that seem to be part of the natural spiritual cycle.

Lastly, we will be prosperous in whatever we do. I do not take this to mean monetary wealth, but rather spiritual wealth and depth. Prosperous means healthy roots, stems, stalks, leaves, and fruit (in season) — a healthy productive plant….not a sickly tree with a pile of “fruit” in the garage.

Prayer: God help me to know when to bear fruit and when to simply rest by the river.

Posted in Christian Community, Christian Leadership, Christianity, Covenant, Faith, Following God, God's Love for Us, Life Together, Nature, Obedience, Psalms, religion, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God, wealth, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eddying Out – After the Storm

Posted on April 1, 2015 by wamplerp

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Well yesterday’s post marked the last verse related to water in the book of Job. Job does have a good ending in that Job’s relationships and life are restored by God….but wow what a finally …Behemoths and Leviathans oh my.

This post also marks my 275th post to this blog and so I thought it would be a good time to eddy out and relfect for a minute on the tumultuous float through the book of Job. There was plenty of “funny water” and turbulence to make the float interesting. But there were several hidden wells along the way too.

Tomorrow I begin the book of Psalms, which I must admit I am excited to explore. There are many well known water passages that we will float by in the Pslams…as the deer pants for streams of water. It will be interesting to see how God weaves water into the different format and style of the Psalms.

I have noticed that many of the modern worship songs we sing at our church contain water imagery. I suspect there will be many interesting and amazing deep pools in the Psalms that we can linger in and explore.

Prayer: God as I begin reading the Psalms I pray that you will bring light into the dark places, peace amid turbulent passages, and wisdom to my wanderings.

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Leviathan

Posted on March 31, 2015 by wamplerp

No one is fierce enough to rouse it.  Who then is able to stand against me?  Who has a claim against me that I must pay?  Everything under heaven belongs to me.  I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.   Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor ?   Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?   Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;   each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.   They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.   Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.   Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.   Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.   Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.   Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.   The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.   Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.   When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.   The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.   Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.   Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it.   A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.   Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.   It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.   It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.   Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear.   It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud. – Job 41:12-34

OK I must admit I am a little perplexed by the diversion that God is taking in describing these interesting, and scary, creatures like the behemoth of yesterday’s passage and the leviathan of today’s passage.  How did we get from God speaking in response to Elihu, Job’s friends, and Job to this almost clinical description of large scary creatures.

The beginning of this description of Leviathan starts out like it could be referring to a large alligator or caiman, but then toward the middle of passage it get’s a bit mythical and surreal…”Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.   Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.   Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.”  This sounds very much like a cross between Smaug from the Hobbit and the Loch Ness Monster…I am perplexed.

How in the world did we get from God describing Himself as the Father of the Rain to a fire breathing dragon?  Who or what is the Leviathan?  Is it meant as a metaphor for something or someone?  If so who or what?  This is one of those passages that I will have to continue to pray about and perhaps some time down the river I will be able to look back with increased understanding.  At the moment this and the last passage almost seem to be grafted onto God’s response from the storm for Job.

The only possible meaning I can take away from this passage is that perhaps God is trying to get across the reality that the earth is a big and scary place with “creatures” far too resilient and dangerous to battle with our puny earthly weapons.  If we are not able stand against Leviathan how much less can we stand against the God.

I am reminded of a scene from Lord of the Rings when Bilbo Baggins accuses Gandalf of trying to take his ring.  Gandalf transforms into a very scary wizard for a short time and says “Bilbo Baggins! Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks! I am not trying to rob you! I’m trying to help you”  In a way perhaps God is doing something similar here.  He wants Elihu, Job’s friends, and Job to understand that He is incredibly powerful and He is trying to help them at the same time.

Prayer: God this is one of those passages that I do not fully understand.  Help me to pass through this rapid and continue on the journey with the confidence that one day I will understand.

 

Posted in Conflict, Covenant, Death and Dying, Discernment, Faith, Following God, Heaven, Job, Miracles, Nature, Obedience, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Behemoth

Posted on March 30, 2015 by wamplerp

Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.   What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!   Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.   Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.   It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.   The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.   Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.   The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.   A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.   Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose? – Job 40:15-24

Ah we now arrive at a tricky bit of water. This is a much debated passage. It is often used by those who believe that the earth is young to somehow force all the rich geologic history of the earth into the narrative provided in the bible. They feel  the need to merge the human history recounted in the bible with the earth history that the rocks record of a time long before humans walked the earth. The history of earth includes many events not described in the bible. Does this mean that the bible is therefore somehow unreliable or inaccurate, or alternatively does it mean that those who study earth history like myself are wrong? I do not believe so on both counts.

The bible is mostly about relationships between people and between God and people. The bible also provides valuable insight into the spiritual dimension of the world and our own souls. When natural events like floods and storms intersect with things going on between man and God these events are described. I do not think the bible was ever intended to be read as a text for understanding earth history any more than a geology textbook is intended to teach us about human interactions and spiritual truths.

So let us return to this passage from Job. The term behemoth and the description that follows has been cited by some as a description of a dinosaur and thus proof that man and dinosaurs coexisted. This is then used to support a belief that the earth was created roughly 6,900 years ago. Those who espouse this belief are termed young earthers. As a geologist and scientist I believe the geologic evidence is clear and unambiguous the earth is much older than 6,900 years. There is no geologic evidence that humans, or even humanoid creatures, existed during the time of the dinosaurs. There are many commentaries that explore this passage and the meaning of it’s various parts so I will not cover this stretch of water again.

So where does that leave us? God is describing a water dwelling creature that is a vegetarian and has very strong loins and big legs…could be a hippopotamus…I honestly do not know. My interpretation and understanding of this passage does not change my faith or belief in God. I am more concerned about learning about the God who loves me deeply, and who wants to carry me like a son or daughter, than I am learning about whether the behemoth in this passage was an elephant, hippopotamus, or something else entirely. If I get distracted from pursuing and knowing knowing God by a passage like this then perhaps I am just “counting clouds“.

Prayer: God you have created a complicated and beautiful planet. Help me to learn about both the hands and heart that formed it and the amazing processes that continue to shape and form it.

Posted in Discernment, Faith, Following God, God's Love for Us, Job, Miracles, Nature, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Counting Clouds

Posted on March 29, 2015 by wamplerp

IMGP4927Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?   Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?   Who gives the ibis wisdom  or gives the rooster understanding?    Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? – Job 38:31-38

The education of Elihu (and me) continues in this passage. God is making it clear just how much we can know and how much God knows. The Father of the rain wants to make it clear that we cannot determine our own destiny any more than we can re-position the stars, no matter how much we might desire to do so.

God poses the rhetorical question “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? What an interesting way to phrase this. Elihu and Job’s friends have been raising their voices to the clouds as they tried to rebuke Job for doing the same.  God is saying that they do not have the understanding needed to advise anyone about how “clouds” behave or operate.

Ultimately God is the source of the living water that nourishes our spiritually thirsty souls. He provides the rains that we need when we need them. Sometimes this feels like a deluge of God’s rain and other times it feel like a gentle rain on tender plants.

Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Counting clouds has no meaning from a scientific perspective. Clouds are not discrete, they have no distinct boundary, and they are in continuous motion.  All of these attributes clouds share with God.  How could one count them? Kind of like trying to count or categorize God.  We are foolish to try just as Elihu and Job’s friends were foolish to think they could categorize and know the mind of God in the case of Job’s “storm”.

I think we are guilty of trying to “count clouds” when we try through our many efforts to connect with God through religious traditions.  None of these traditions are in themselves bad, but I sometimes wonder if they are missing the point.  Maybe all these efforts are the equivalent of trying to “count clouds”, and we need to sit back and simply gaze in wonder at “the clouds high above us“, relish the times when we are surrounded by the dew, enjoy the gentle rains, and endure the deluges with confidence that God will send the rain when, and how, we need it.

This verse has really turned into a hidden well for me.  I think it will become for me like the Meribah Test that I found back in the book of Numbers (Numbers 20:23-24).  In that case the question was “is what I am doing leading people toward or away from God”.  In the case of the “counting clouds” test the question will be “are my efforts drawing my soul closer to God or am I just counting clouds”.

Prayer: God thank You for this hidden well.  I want to do more than just count clouds.  I want to know You deeply and intimately through experience.

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Does the Rain Have a Father?

Posted on March 28, 2015 by wamplerp

Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?   Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?   Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.   “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?   Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?   Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!   “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,   which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?   What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?   Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,   to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert,   to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?   Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?   From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? – Job 38:16-30

God continues His response to Elihu, Job’s three friends, and Job.  Job retained an appreciation for the deep truths that God is sharing even in the midst of his storm.  He could see the light even in the midst of darkness.

God poses two very important rhetorical questions in this passage.  What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?  These are two of most important and profound questions I have come upon so far in my float through the bible.

God seems to be saying that there is a spiritual reality beyond this world from which we all came (“surely you know, for you were already born!” and to which we all return.  And there is a place separated from this light that is dark (the earth?).  It seems like God is hinting that when we are born we remember this place of light and as we live “many years” we can forget about this place and become accustomed to the dark.  I reflected on this in previous rabbit trail called “Rabbit Trail #7 – Cave Dwellers“.

After this interesting foray into the meaning of light and dark God returns to some amazing water imagery…”have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle”.  God seems to be saying that there are in fact times when God’s Rain will fall on the righteous and the wicked and it may be difficult for us to understand.

God continues by giving a pretty accurate description of the process of erosion and storm hydrology.  God makes the point that the turbulent waters are sometimes not meant for us but are in fact for an “uninhabited desert”.  The same storm that causes grass to sprout in a desolate wasteland can cause destruction and death.  It is all part of the spiritual cycle.

Then comes one of the most amazing philosophical statements in this passage, “Does the rain have a father?”.  In essence the question is – does God control nature?  This is a difficult question to answer.  God created the underlying Logos, or reason, underlying all of nature and the processes that operate in nature.  So in that sense God is the Father of the rain, the dew, storms, and everything else in nature.  But does he command each and every event in nature?  I am not sure, but does it actually matter?  God has adopted us as his children…that is what matters to me.

Prayer: God you are the Father of the rain.  Thank you for adopting us as Your children.

Posted in Christianity, Covenant, Death and Dying, Faith, Following God, God's Love for Us, Heaven, Job, religion, Sin, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments