Dear God, This Sucks!

Being completely honest with God is not always easy but it's simple. Throughout the scriptures, we find the word "cry." In the Psalms, in some of the writings of the prophets, we're encouraged to "cry out." Jesus wept. God was angry at man. All of these things add up to honesty. I think that God longs for us to be honest with him.

Why aren't we always honest with God? I've been learning how vital it is to my life to be emotionally connected with God by simply expressing my feelings with him. Especially when they're not very pretty. I used to think that I had to use "holy language" or something, as if the God of the Universe couldn't handle a pip-squeak like me getting a few things off of my chest.

If something is really bothering my wife and I, we have to deal with it. Typically it's because I've messed up. I'm angry and she's angry. So what happens if we don't share it? Distance. Why should it be any different with God?

I'm learning that as I share my deepest feelings with God, (unedited) I am able to trust and love him more completely. I so desperately need a place to "tell it like it is" and I've found no better place than the ears of Jesus.

May we all learn how to walk through the wreckage of our lives in the comfort of knowing God hears us.

Simplicity

I can easily make things in life so completely complicated that I drown out a healthy dose of rest and simplicity. As I was praying this morning, I was reminded of the simplicity of Jesus' words and stories. I was also drawn back to the simplicity of just knowing him and being with him.

There's a story in the Bible about two women, Mary & Martha. So, Jesus goes to their house, and once Jesus sits down, Mary goes to hang out with him while Martha is still scurrying around the house trying to tidy things up. Jesus tells Martha, "Hey, you should just chill with us, like Mary's doing." At least, that's the story in a nutshell.

There are countless times in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) where you can find stuff like, "Jesus walked out of the woods to come be with his disciples, or Jesus went out to pray all by himself in a natural setting, or Jesus went to be by himself to pray. All of these things were hitting me and I thought:

The best thing I can do for myself or anyone else in life, is to simply be with God.

I did this painting a while back, and I was drawn to a lot of symbolism in it. The sheep, the shadow of the trees, the lock (door) and the wood, as well as the map. All of which are Biblical references to one's journey not only to Salvation but through Sanctification as well. Which is a little funny to use those terms when it's a picture of a bunch of sheep. Ah well.

PROSKUNEO

PROSKUNEO is the greek word used in the New Testament (Covenant) for WORSHIP. What's interesting about this word is that it comes from two different words in the Greek that give us "To move towards as if to kiss, and to bow down, lay prostrate or worship." Now, I'm not a student of Greek, but I trust W.E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. So, I'll take his word for it.

I used to think of worship as something that is really stiff and rigid, and had to involve an organ of some kind and a suit and tie. Over the years, I've come to discover worship as a wide variety of things. I've worshiped God jumping up and down, with my hands raised, flat on the floor, silent as a stone, and I've even learned how to worship God to an organ while wearing a suit.

The trouble with me is that I struggle to make it a part of my every day experience. And while studying the very word "worship," I came to understand something very clear. We were created to have relationship with other people, and with God. The very nature of our interaction with people shouldn't be different than our interactions with God. People cry, God cries. When we cry, (hopefully) a friend cries with us. So does God!

When I fell in love with Robin, I wanted to KISS her!

I wouldn't have kissed her without really knowing her. And yet I find myself in places where it's hard to worship God - and it's because there's something about his Character that I'm NOT getting. Worship is an intimate thing. God desires to woo us into that intimate place, not force us or guilt us into it. How horrible would it be if I said to my wife, "Hey, you really need to kiss me right now!" That's not fun.

I think the word Proskuneo really says it all. Worship is a vulnerable thing when we worship in Spirit and Truth. When we come to God as rag-tag and beat up as we are, or whatever state we're in - that we're being honest. No masks, no fluff. No Sunday morning smile (unless it's authentic). That's where God longs to draw us.

When the reality of where we are collides with the truth of who he is, the human heart can not help but be wooed to a place where it so desires to kiss the face of God.