Who you are

"What shall I call you?" Moses asked God.

"Tell your people I AM has sent you."

The interchange between God and Moses fascinates me. You'd think meeting God and having him speak from a holy place (the burning bush) would be enough. That Moses would be saluting and running off to DO THE WORK he was assigned.

But nope.

Moses excuses himself in every possible way. "No one will believe me. I'm not an upfront leader. I'm a lousy public speaker. And how can I convince followers of my genuine call to lead them?"

God gets irritated and sticks to his choice. "Moses, you're going! But I won't hang you out there alone. Your brother will come with you and help you in your weak areas."

Moses, though reluctantly recruited, never looks back. He has heard the NAME that will define his relationship with God forever. It's the NAME that Moses will so reverence that Israel falls in line behind him.

Wikipedia defines the NAME this way:

Hebrew Bible
The word Ehyeh (I will be who I will be) is used a total of 43 places in the Hebrew Bible. ... The importance placed on the phrase, as it is used by God to identify himself in the Burning Bush, stems from the Hebrew conception of monotheism that God exists by himself for himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity; therefore "I am who I am" (ongoing). 

 

The All-Sufficient One.
The Source and Provider, in the past, today, and in the future.
He's all that and more.

So how do we define ourselves in the shadow of the NAME?

1. Acknowledge the difference between the Creator and created things. God is "other." Beyond our understanding forever.
2. He knows us intimately. Your name, my name, our peers and friends ... He knows us all and cares about us day after day.
3. He chose to invite us into friendship with Himself. His intention was always loving relationship between Him and us.
4. He prepared a way for us to reconnect and live alongside Him. (Read about it in John's gospel in the Bible.) He still wants our hearts, though we chose rebellion and independence over harmony and the ultimate freedom to be fully human. 
5. Admit that He has always left the choice of knowing Him in our hands. Talk about free will: he could have made us robotic followers. It's up to me. It's up to you. He's been waiting for us, watching over us, and giving us hints of His loving presence since we were born.

Moses chose to follow. He argued, blamed God for putting him in tough spots, and got frustrated. But he'd strap on his sandals, stand in the Tent of Meeting to encounter God and get direction ... and off he'd go again.

In the process, this shepherd from the back of nowhere became a great leader, lawgiver, and prophet. The name "Moses" is familiar to many people around the world. As a youngster, God had equipped him in Pharaoh's palace and educated him through the finest tutors. Moses forgot who he was until God called him over and said the NAME.

Do you know who you are? Have you heard the NAME calling out to you and giving you purpose, whether you're known in the courts of favor or abandoned on the deserted sands?

Read more:
*I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:25-27 NIV 

*It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly. Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough." Psalm 37:16–19 NLT

*Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Isaiah 5:21 (NIV)

*In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:3 

Moravian Prayer: O Master-builder of creation, may we, like wisdom, rejoice before you always, treasuring instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. Amen.

Black Friday of the heart

The sign of Thanksgiving is a turkey, a reminder of gratitude for the food that helped American pilgrims survive a harsh winter nearly 400 years ago. I doubt that the survivors would recognize their simple feast in our gluttony of food and deserts. Thanksgiving gives cultural permission to eat too much among the comfort of family and friends. I'm glad we have the abundance here to enjoy the feast!

After Thanksgiving, the country goes mad. The sign of post-thanksgiving is "Retail = $X; BUT SALE = $x" on what we call Black Friday. I joined the fray a few years ago to see what the "fuss and fun" was about. The jostling, anxious faces, and greed appalled me. I've never had the stomach to participate again.

Some families or girlfriend groups make a sporting tradition of the occasion, taking the day to compete for bargains and shop together. That's cool -- sort-of. Great that it gets families together. Great that it helps the economy shake off a lethargic fall sales. But ...

I'm going to issue an unwelcome challenge today, based on this question: "Are our traditions and celebrations built more around American values than God's pleasure?"

Every tradition celebrates a core value. Thanksgiving demonstrates our gratitude for God's provisions and human relationships. In the Church, the Eucharist (or Communion) celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus and our ensuing salvation. Baptism showcases the commitment of believers to live for God within the community of faith for the rest of his/her life. We have valuable family traditions, community traditions, and national traditions.

But what does Black Friday memorialize, with its rituals of spending precious life/time marking out deals and routes to stores? Of lining up in the early morning hours for the best bargain? Of spending beyond our budgets to buy things we want but don't need? Of pushing others aside for our "right" in a competition to snatch up temporal goods?

How much time have we (myself included) spent mapping out how to reach our neighbors for Christ? Have we arrived early to church to volunteer for set-up or to welcome those coming to our community of faith? Have we spend beyond our budgets to meet missionary appeals or support church projects? Have we pushed other volunteers and attendees to the forefront for recognition that they are serving and worthy of notice, regardless of our part in serving (or do we snatch the glory "due us" as volunteers or coworkers)?

SOME of you have! And kudos to you. God recognizes the honor due you and will reward every deed done in secret, every effort done for his Glory. He has said he will not share his glory with any others, gods or human. So when we glorify ourselves and stuff, how will God respond to us?

Confession time: I've overspent on things I want, just like you have. When my husband has noted our credit card entries, I have given him "good reasons" for expenditures. But God has been speaking to me about the values of time spend earning that money, time invested in maintaining the goods acquired, and the clutter in our lives because I've focused on acquisition of goods rather than on "treasures in heaven," things that matter to God.

At SBL last week (a conference of Bible scholars), presenters commented on the rituals of societies. Like us, the peoples of scripture celebrated passages of time, rites of birth, puberty, marriage, and death, and other significant times of life. The Canaanites of biblical times ritually sacrificed humans, as did later Aztecs, to appease their gods and ensure prosperity.

Today, on Black Friday in the USA, I'm examining the expenditures, the full house, and time spent on things that don't last. We've set up the tree and hauled the decoration boxes into the living room. A friend comes Monday to celebrate the beginning of the season by helping me decorate it. However, I will take time today for soul-relief, quietly reflecting on scripture, searching my heart to consider the month ahead in light of my spiritual formation. I'm asking:

1. What is important? - to God - and to His Church - and to us / me? Do these values align?
2. How am we demonstrating our core values? Has the world pressed us into its mold?
3. How can we glorify God and bless others in the coming Christmas season by living by true and eternal values?
4. Once the shopping season and Christmas celebrations are over, what will remain? Trash and wrapping paper? Excess stuff jammed into closets and cupboards? Fights over who got the best gift? Disappointment that we didn't get the present we hoped for? 

Will you and I waken to the New Year with a sense of satisfaction, brimming with soul treasures and memories of God-among-us in His Presence and Glory? That's my desire! What's your deepest wish for Christmas this year?

Read more:
*God said, “I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:13

*Show me your glory, I pray. Exodus 33:18

*Then Jesus took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to the disciples, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” Mark 14:23-24

*Jesus revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. John 2:11

Moravian Prayer: Lord, we admit that it is often personal glory that we seek. Today let us seek your glory; for when we see it fully we will be blessed. That blessing is far greater reward than any personal achievement. Together we look both outward and inward to see your presence.

Father, you give us signs of your promises each day. Help us to be aware of the signs you show us today. Amen.

Releasing the rules.

"They thought inner holiness would be proved by external separation from the world. So they invented rules for dress, behavior, and relationships that would show their dedication to God."

I'm writing about Evangelicals and early Pentecostals in the first decades of C20. Missionary men and women set standards for converts overseas, too. Sometimes the "Christianeeze" was pure silliness. Lou Page apologized to her family in a letter from Fiji: "Sorry that our toddler is barefooted. Our shoes have worn out and it is very hot here." What?! She feared the judgment of her parents and siblings because her kids were shoe-less, which would have been the sign of an awful or impoverished family in the United States.

When our kids were growing up, they experimented with weird fashions. Our daughter wore black for over a year, when Goth trends were just beginning to appear. We were choosing our arguments carefully at the time, so we stipulated modestly... regardless of color. She wore long-sleeved shirts and dropped her hair over her eyes. But she wasn't un-dressed, so we let it go. We could have had great fights with her, but why? We wanted her to love Jesus, and she seemed to be on shaky spiritual ground for a bit.

Fashion ranked low on our child-rearing priority scale. Our boys have dressed well and poorly. One wore parkas in summer and left the house in T-shirts in winter. Another wore the same outfit all week, though he showered every day. We could have made much ado about nothing. Eventually, they outgrew their quirks.

Families shun each other over disagreements about holiday traditions, furniture placement, and other unimportant things. Churches seem to split over the color of the carpet, the length of the hem, and theological quibbles. Is our Heavenly Father pleased?

Jesus scolded those who made rules to define the faith of others. By the time he grew up, Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes had hundreds of little qualifiers to demonstrate holiness. It's really sad to read about early Pentecostals and 'holiness movements' who thought their rules would make God happier.

We keep trying to help God along with our additions to his grace. Sure, he expects us to align ourselves with his nature in worship, truth, honesty, faithfulness, goodness. (Read the 10 Commandments for basic alignment with him. They're not just laws. They're reflections of what he's like.)

This coming year, I'd like to be open to new ideas about a life devoted to God. I have a few "should" and "could" items to let slide, expectations that are not life-changers and some that may not even be realistic. I want to release my fears and failures to wallow in God's pool of forgiveness, sprinkling his abundance on those around me. Spiritual peace with God expresses itself in righteousness and joy, even if we wear more jeans than dresses, sweep our porch only when we notice the pine needles cluttering it, and wash the front door only when the doggie paw prints catch our eyes.

What are you willing to let go at the end of this year, to hold tightly to God's hands?

Read more:
*Psalm 148:1-6 Zechariah 10,11; Revelation 20:1-10

*From heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die. Psalm 102:19-20

*Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

Moravian Prayer: As this year draws to an end, empower us to let go of all that holds us down: our burdens, our shame, and our fears. Free us, Lord and Savior, and hear us when we call. Amen.