Update #139 - Navel Gazing

"For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold his face." Psalm 11:7

Candidasa, Bali, Indonesia

I really like The Message version of the Bible. It gives me a fresh look at verses I have read hundreds of times.

Like the one above. I read it one Saturday morning:

“God’s business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, setting us straight. Once we’re all standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.”

I love things organized, neat, orderly – tidy – so this action of God sounds great to me! But, what would keep me from standing tall? What would keep me bent over and unable to rise? What would prevent me from looking God straight in the eye? Hmmm…navel-gazing.

Wiktionary defines navel-gazing as: excessive focus on oneself; introspection; i.e. an intense spotlight on me and my situations; concentrating on the pressure I am feeling; the fairness or lack-their-of in situations I am experiencing; the pity party with or without other participants I am holding.

What else would keep me from having eye contact with God? Hmmm…comparison.

How come they get a new car? How come they get the great job offer? How come they have a spouse and family and I don’t? How come they have the money to go on vacation? How come? How come? How come?

Why didn’t I get promoted? Why didn’t I have that opportunity presented to me? Why didn’t I get invited? Why can’t I be included? Why can’t I have the same thing offered to me?

Excessive navel-gazing /comparison can be costly. What is weighing you down so you can’t stand tall? What keeps you from bringing your shoulders back and chin up? What causes your back to curve and chest to cave? What pushes you down?

Where is your focus? Yourself? Others? Is it on what others have in comparison to you? Is it on what you lack? Is it on your perceived weakness and inability? Is it on what you want but don’t have?

Or is your focus on the sovereign God? Are you able to look him straight in the eye? More importantly, have you let him come in and organize your life, lay things straight, put things right; clean things out?

God is a God of righteousness and simplicity. He isn’t complicated, he isn’t tricky to understand. Focus on him, let him have access, ask his opinion and things go relatively well, and most likely your life will be blessed. But, spend too much time picking the lint out of your navel and wagging your head to the left and right comparing yourself to others and relational intimacy with God is lost.

What is more important, having the God of the universe looking you in the eye telling you how awesome you are, how treasured you are, how incredible you are – or keeping track of your pain, pressures, and problems while comparing them to others?

I’d rather have the former!

Updates:

• Work – I am almost caught up! We had two events last week admist a HUGE rain / wind storm but they went well.
• Heath – I am back to healthy! My sleeping schedule has finally synched with the local time zone and I am not peetering out at 4pm.
• Travel – Everyone is home safely... even Linda who battled a volanco in Jakarta!

Requests:

• Health – That I will continue my streak of good health, I won’t be susceptible to anything on my next few plane rides, and that my immune system stays strong.
• Travel / Work – I am off to Cairo Monday the 29th for 5 days! My boss and his wife are speaking at a conference there - I get to help with backoffice stuff. Pray that all the travel goes smoothly / safely, we make the right contacts at the conference, we stay healthy, jet lag isn't a problem, and that we articulate God's message when the opportunities arise.

PS Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans!

Update #138 - Father Worship

“The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." John 4:23

Indonesian Honeysuckle - check out the size of that bee!

In John 4 Jesus is having a discussion with the Samaritan woman – most of us know the story. She comes to the well in mid-day to avoid the gossip, condemning stares and judgmental attitude of the locals. On this particular day she runs into a man, who she isn’t supposed to talk or consort with and he tells her not only what is happening in her life today – but what went on before.

She is astute and comprehends this isn’t an ordinary man. “I perceive you are a prophet” she says.

From there they get into a conversation centering around worship – where it should happen, when it should happen, who should attend…

And Jesus says something I have read hundreds of times but never grasped until recently “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” I mentally picked this apart and it went something like this:

• True worshipers – yep, that is what I want to be

• Who worshipping – The Father – hmm, God the father – what about Jesus, Holy Spirit?

• How worshipping – In spirit and truth…OH MY GOODNESS…I have been doing it wrong!

I had never seen the entire trinity present in that verse before. Jesus says true worshippers direct their adoration toward God the Father in Spirit (i.e. Holy Spirit) and Truth (i.e. Jesus, John 14:6, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”). Whoa.

After that revelation sunk in several observations hit me:

• Jesus has to be present for true worship to take place – it is like he opens the door to the throne room (John 14:6 – “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”).

• Holy Spirit has to be present for true worship to take place – You can’t get into the holy of holies where Father God resides without an escort (John 3:5 “If one is not generated out of water and Spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God.”).

• Jesus and Holy Spirit want us to worship God the Father – not them – how many songs and actions are Father God oriented and directed?

Is thanking Jesus via song and action for what he did wrong? Nope. Is adoring Holy Spirit in prose for what he does on an hour by hour basis incorrect? Nope. But, the truest form of worship, according to Jesus in John 4:23 is when he, Holy Spirit and we gather together and pour our hearts out to God the Father.

Knowing this stipulation, how many of us actually worship “in Spirit and Truth”? How many of us let Jesus open the throne room door, ask for the Spirit to escort us and venerate ourselves before the father in abased worship and humility. How much time and effort do we spend just worshipping Father God?

This is something I need to do more of.

Are you a “true worshipper”?

Updates:

Work – We finished the second seminar last Saturday, wrapped with the team on Sunday, spend a few days bonding as a home office team on Monday and Tuesday and then Rebecca and I bundled Brett, Lyn and Gareth into an SUV headed to the airport…and India…while we headed to the shops and beach!

Heath – the first few days of the trip were a bit rocky…the humid air was hard on my recently travailed lungs. Bronchitis resurged as well as an antibiotic reaction. Thank God for foreign pharmacists who can interpret sign language, broken Bahasa Indonesian, and took pity on me. $10 and five days later I felt FANTASTIC!

Travel – Rebecca and I moved to Denpasar today – Bali’s capital – and are day-tripping up the East coast Sunday. I head back to San Francisco on Monday afternoon.

Requests:

Health – That I will continue my streak of good health, I won’t be susceptible to anything on the plane, and that my immune system stays strong.

Travel – I return on the 8th only to leave again the 28th for Cairo… although I am tremendously excited about this opportunity, it is a short turn around with wide temperature discrepancies. My body will barely have time to acclimate to damp NorCal weather before heading to dry, dusty Egypt. Please pray for our host FE as well as for our trip (I am accompanying Brett and Lyn).

P.S. HAPPY HAPPY Birthday to you Kim! You are such a delight in my life!