So I've been reading through the book of Daniel lately and chapter 4 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture in recent memory. It's just really intriguing to me-the whole thing.
King Nebuchadnezzar does not give God the credit He deserves. He thinks too much of himself and in return, God takes away, of all things, his sanity. This great king of Babylon, king of a thriving people group, is scrounging around like a wild animal for 7 years eating grass. 7...YEARS. And finally he realizes that only God is great. This whole thing went down in verse 29-30.
"...he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The King reflected and said 'Is this not Babylon the great, which i myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty."
Immediately, he lost it-went crazy and was eating grass. Interesting because it doesn't say that he was proclaiming this to anyone in great number. He didn'y write about it in the Babylonian newspaper...he merely reflected on this idea...this idea that he built this great kingdom. He was just making an observation, possibly to himself. Maybe no one else was even around. But his observation was that he was awesome and that God was not the source of his power and wealth and greatness. He didn't exactly say that; but he said it by the refrain of saying it.
God took away everything that King Nebuchadnezzar had and that is when the king finally got sense knocked into him. It took him acting like an animal for 7 years before he finally realized that only God deserves words like that.
The scary thing about this is that I believe God will do whatever he has to do in order to get our attention. When we don't see our own errors in life, God will eventually help us see them with more clarity than we probably needed. And it doesn't have to just be this issue of self-glorification. It can be a continuous life of a sin, a continuous life of gossip, a life consumed of only apathy, a life of lies, a life of double standards, a life of hypocrisy, a life of judgmentalism, a life of pride.
But could it also be smaller issues also? Issues not seen by others? Personal issues? Mental issues? Issues that people don't see; but maybe God notices.
A life of continuous missed opportunities of evangelism, a life of carelessness, a life of conforming to cultural normality, a life of shallow friendships, a life of no accountability, a life that is comfortable with not growing spiritually.
I believe that God reacted this way towards Nebuchadnezzar because the king essentially declared himself as greater than God-and God's just not going to live with that. But how long until God decides that you or I need a wake up call as well? How long until we just need a little "prodding"?
Is it possible that eventually God will wake me up? Wake you up?
I believe that God will do anything it takes to get our attention.
I'd like to keep my sanity...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Joy
The sweetest thing happened to me today...but its greatness extends over weeks of time:
About a month ago, Craig and I were at a Royals game (which was almost assuredly a Royals win) when Brayan Pena hit a foul ball towards us. I corraled that ball and was real happy. Well, whenever there is a foulball, the ushers have to fill out an incident report--for safety reasons i guess...who knows. Anyway, this old lady usher came down to make sure we were ok and she began filling out her incident card. Usually they only fill out what section the ball was hit to and what time...but I saw there was a place for a name and address and more. So I asked her if I could fill out the whole thing--I wanted the Royals to forever have my name on file. She laughed a cute old lady laugh and said sure.
As she was looking over my information, she noticed that she delivers papers to my house as another side job that she has with the Kansas City Star. So I asked her a legitimate question: I said, "next time you deliver a paper to my house, can you wrap a Royals tshirt in there?" She said she would try and I never expected it to happen.
Yesterday--weeeeeks after our first encounter went down, the old lady (I wish I could remember her name!) showed up on my doorstep, holding two Royals shirts-the ringer tee one
and the retro one! She asked me which one I wanted and gave me the retro one because I didn't have that one. And then she left. I had a Royals shirt delivered right to my door. What a nice old woman!
I am the luckiest...
About a month ago, Craig and I were at a Royals game (which was almost assuredly a Royals win) when Brayan Pena hit a foul ball towards us. I corraled that ball and was real happy. Well, whenever there is a foulball, the ushers have to fill out an incident report--for safety reasons i guess...who knows. Anyway, this old lady usher came down to make sure we were ok and she began filling out her incident card. Usually they only fill out what section the ball was hit to and what time...but I saw there was a place for a name and address and more. So I asked her if I could fill out the whole thing--I wanted the Royals to forever have my name on file. She laughed a cute old lady laugh and said sure.
As she was looking over my information, she noticed that she delivers papers to my house as another side job that she has with the Kansas City Star. So I asked her a legitimate question: I said, "next time you deliver a paper to my house, can you wrap a Royals tshirt in there?" She said she would try and I never expected it to happen.
Yesterday--weeeeeks after our first encounter went down, the old lady (I wish I could remember her name!) showed up on my doorstep, holding two Royals shirts-the ringer tee one
I am the luckiest...
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Recognition At Its Finest
Acknowledgment is something that all people enjoy. Whether they admit to it or not, a little bit of acknowledgment feels just right. You do something nice for someone else and there is some satisfaction just with knowing that you helped them-but it's a bonus if you get some of that acknowledgment for it. This I know full well.
I'm interning under a lead pastor at a church, Evangel Temple, this summer. A few weeks ago, the Care Ministry Pastor approached me and said, "Kenny, I was talking to Pastor Jason this morning and he told me that you are doing a great job this summer. He probably will never tell you that, but I want you to know that he said it." I tell myself that I don't need acknowledgment and that I don't need to be recognized. That may be true. I don't need it, but I'm never going to rebuke it. I may on the outside...but my insides know me better. Someone who I greatly respect had acknowledged the work I had been doing. Yes please. Acknowledgment.
I was reading in Hosea tonight. This is an incredible story of how God chooses to love, despite the dumb things that Israel had been doing. In Hosea 2:8 it says, "She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold which they used for Baal." The very first thing that came to my mind was "what have I not been acknowledging?"
God had been all these people could have asked for. He was a provider, protector, deliverer, giver, encourager, their source of hope and happiness, and their lover. He loved them in spite of their sinful selves. And even though God was all these things for them, they not only did not acknowledge this fact, but they took the blessings and the gifts that God gave them and turned around and used them on a false god. A one-two combo to the gut.
The initial jab-they did not acknowledge His unconditional greatness towards them.
The haymaker-they took His unmerited blessings and used them in appreciation of another god.
So I am forced to look at my own life and say "what have I failed to acknowledge from God? What gifts have I been given and turned around and used them for dull purposes and immature gains." God consistently gives me everything I need; He can fulfill my every desire; yet I often run in vain towards other things for fulfillment. I do not acknowledge God enough. I do not acknowledge the greatness that He is.
An acknowledgment of my inability to acknowledge my true provider, giver, and lover.
An acknowledgment that I can no longer claim ignorance of this.
I'm interning under a lead pastor at a church, Evangel Temple, this summer. A few weeks ago, the Care Ministry Pastor approached me and said, "Kenny, I was talking to Pastor Jason this morning and he told me that you are doing a great job this summer. He probably will never tell you that, but I want you to know that he said it." I tell myself that I don't need acknowledgment and that I don't need to be recognized. That may be true. I don't need it, but I'm never going to rebuke it. I may on the outside...but my insides know me better. Someone who I greatly respect had acknowledged the work I had been doing. Yes please. Acknowledgment.
I was reading in Hosea tonight. This is an incredible story of how God chooses to love, despite the dumb things that Israel had been doing. In Hosea 2:8 it says, "She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold which they used for Baal." The very first thing that came to my mind was "what have I not been acknowledging?"
God had been all these people could have asked for. He was a provider, protector, deliverer, giver, encourager, their source of hope and happiness, and their lover. He loved them in spite of their sinful selves. And even though God was all these things for them, they not only did not acknowledge this fact, but they took the blessings and the gifts that God gave them and turned around and used them on a false god. A one-two combo to the gut.
The initial jab-they did not acknowledge His unconditional greatness towards them.
The haymaker-they took His unmerited blessings and used them in appreciation of another god.
So I am forced to look at my own life and say "what have I failed to acknowledge from God? What gifts have I been given and turned around and used them for dull purposes and immature gains." God consistently gives me everything I need; He can fulfill my every desire; yet I often run in vain towards other things for fulfillment. I do not acknowledge God enough. I do not acknowledge the greatness that He is.
An acknowledgment of my inability to acknowledge my true provider, giver, and lover.
An acknowledgment that I can no longer claim ignorance of this.
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