Ryan's Ramblings

Meet Wisdom

I don't know about you, but I need wisdom.  The opposite of wisdom is...foolishness.  I seem to have plenty of that in my life.  Wisdom is an interesting thing in the Bible.  It is always there and always associated with God, but it is hard to get a handle on. 

Wisdom in the Bible is called "wisdom" and is at times referred to as a lady.  Wisdom is personified as one who was with God from the very beginning.  At times it seems as if wisdom is realized in God and at other times wisdom is referenced as something or someone that is alongside of God.  I don't know the answer to this, but I am encouraged as I see that there is an essential connection and relationship between wisdom and God.

As I have shared before, I like to try to read a chapter of Proverbs every day--because I desperately need the wisdom of God in my life.  This morning I read Proverbs 8 and I learned something about wisdom and I thought that I would share it with you.  In Proverbs 8 wisdom is talking and here is what he, she, it, is saying:

• This is where I (Wisdom) am found.  (vs. 1-5)
• This is what I (Wisdom) am worth.  (vs. 6-21)
• These are my (Wisdom's) credentials.  (vs. 22-31)
• This is what you should do as it relates to me (Wisdom).  (vs. 32-36)

Do you need some wisdom today?  Take a look at Proverbs 8 and meet wisdom.

40 Years vs. 11 Days...You Choose

As I was reading the Bible this morning my mind and heart were arrested by a line in Deuteronomy 1:2-3.  In this passage Moses was getting ready to address the Israelites as they were about to enter into the Promised Land.  Here are the introductory comments in the first chapter of Deuteronomy. 

"Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.  But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel..." (NLT)

Wow.  The Israelites spent 40 years on a journey that should have lasted 11 days. That is a tragedy.  It wasn't the distance of the journey that delayed their arrival, but rather it was the path that they chose to take. 

Along with my reading of Deuteronomy 1 this morning I read Psalm 78.  It is a review of the history of the Jewish nation.  Psalm 78 reflects upon and remembers the story of the Israelites from the time of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt to their hopeful days in the midst of King David's reign.  In Psalm 78 I read that God brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, guided them by cloud and by fire, and gave them water to drink and food to eat (which is essentially saying that God gave them life).  And yet...they kept on sinning, they complained, they did not trust God, they rebelled against God and they did not remember Him, His ways, nor His presence in their lives.

They spent 40 years on a journey that should have lasted 11 days because of grumbling, selfishness, a lack of trust in God, rebellion, a failure to remember and reflect upon the ways of God in their lives and...sin.

Wow, they spent 40 years on a journey that should have lasted 11 days...

Sin, grumbling, a self-centered attitude, worry (which is a lack of trust in God), rebellion and ingratitude will lead you down a road that you don't want to travel.  It is a way that will strip you of hope and leave you with regret.  It is path that will rob you of precious years-even entire seasons-of your life.

I don't want to wander for 40 years and waste the precious days of my life.  I suspect that Moses and the Israelites didn't want to be on the 40 year plan either.  But it has been said that,

"Sin will take you further than you want to go.  It will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay."

They spent 40 years on a journey that should have lasted 11 days...

Please note that not everyone missed out on the Promised Land.  Joshua made it.  May we all heed his words:

"...Choose today whom you will serve,...as for me and my family we will serve the LORD." Joshua 25:15 (NLT)

God Knows...

I am currently sitting in a Starbucks in Busan, South Korea overlooking the East Sea (or the Sea of Japan as the Japanese like to refer to it).  It is a beautiful site, an amazing view...nearly breath taking.  But this is not what holds my attention right now.

My mind is captured by something I just read in Psalm 77:19.

"Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters--a pathway no one knew was there!"

As I sit here and look out at the East Sea and read this scripture my mind goes to the context of this psalm.  The children of Israel were following God's direction away from the Egyptian army and suddenly they were stopped by a seemingly IMPOSSIBLE obstacle--the Red Sea.

They were in what most would consider to be a hopeless situation.  There was no conceivable means of escape or salvation for the fleeing Israelites.  From their perspective they ran into a dead-end along the pathway of God.

The rest of the story is nothing less than amazing.  God parted the Red Sea, delivered the Israelites and destroyed the enemy. 

God made a way where there seemed to be no way.

What kind of impossible situation are you up against?  We need look no further than the daily newspaper to be filled with hopelessness.  God is not bound by our perceived realities.  God led the children of Israel down a pathway that no one knew was there--no one except God. 

Are you up against a seemingly impossible situation?

Be encouraged.  God knows...and he knows the way out.

New!

Hi everybody.  This is a just a note to say thanks to all of you for your faithful readership of this blog and please let us be the first to wish you a Happy New Year!  At the time of this writing it is Dec. 31 here in South Korea and the new year of 2009 is just hours away.

Here are a couple of pictures of us at one of our favorite downtown spots here in Daejeon, South Korea.  The lights and the people are amazing during the Christmas season.  We are so thankful to be able to share this time together as a family.

As we move into the new year we all leave behind a 2008 of various experiences and memories.  Hold onto the good, as that is from God, and be done with all the rest.

In Christ all things are new...even 2009.

"...Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

Cling and Keep

I have been reading through the book of I Timothy this week.  I am taking a long, slow look at Paul’s words to his treasured friend.  Paul wants his friend Timothy to grow in relationship with God and he is very clearly speaking into Timothy’s life in a formational way.

Good friends do that—they lovingly talk straight to your heart.

Hey friend, take a look at Paul’s words to Timothy:

“Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you . . .  May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles.  Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear."

                                                .--1 Timothy 1: 18-19 (NLT)

Please go back and read those verses again—slowly.

Put your name in the place of Timothy’s name.  God speaks to us through His word.  Let the inspired words of Paul guide you in your journey with Jesus.  His instructions are for you (and me) and they are to help us fight well in the battles of life.  You know all about the battles don’t you?  But look, the battles are not yours—they are the Lord’s.  Let Him have them.

Cling?  What does that mean? 

To cling is to hold on to something in a “dependent” manner-- “tightly,” “tenaciously” and “firmly.”  Are you clinging to Jesus?  Paul tells us to grab hold and hang on.  In the same breath he exhorts us to keep a clear conscience.  We must keep our hearts, minds and actions pure before God.  We can’t grasp the robe of Jesus with one hand—hold pride, guilt and anger in the other hand and expect to cling to the Lord.  The battles of life rage too fiercely at times.  We must put all aside and hold tightly to Jesus.

Paul loved Timothy enough to talk straight to his heart and God directs those same words directly towards our hearts.  God wants us to heed his instructions, cling to our faith in Jesus and keep our hearts and minds clear before Him.  The battle is the Lord’s and the strength to fight is found only in Him. 

Where do we begin? 

Paul gives us the answer in I Timothy 2:1,

“I urge you, first of all, to pray. . .”

Eugene and Me--praying together

I do not want to be a religious bookkeeper, Lord, but a faith explorer, ready to take risks without counting the cost, ready to love without taking out insurance against suffering, ready to plunge into obedience without calculating my rewards. Amen.
                                                               .— Eugene H. Peterson

Me too. Amen.
           .—Ryan Roberts

His Hands

O God, please help the hungry, the sick, the lonely, the addicted, the discouraged, the unlovely, the orphan, the widow, the lost, the poor……..

“God's method is a person.”
                               .--E. Stanley Jones

Have you ever stopped to think that maybe that “person” is….you?

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
                                       .--Matthew 25:37-40 (NIV)

Facing the Giants

Tonight we watched (again) the movie, Facing the Giants.  I really like this movie.

I was reading some of the things written on the internet about the film.  The responses to the movie vary, and the critics, Christian or otherwise, all have something “critical” to say--especially about the "happily ever after" ending.  I guess I could pick the movie apart too.  But what good is that? 

Like I said, I really like the movie Facing the Giants and there is a lot of good I could say about it but I won’t list the specifics for fear that I might spoil the movie for some people that haven’t seen it yet.  What I will say is that there is a lot of Truth interspersed throughout the story and if you have “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” you might realize God speaking to your heart.

In the story of Facing the Giants there is a commitment to follow God . . . “no matter what.”  For me, the real message of the movie is not in defeating the giants it is in FACING the giants.   Giants cause us to be fearful.  They limit us and mock us. Giants are things we avoid and ignore; they are things that cast a looming shadow over our lives. 

To face the giants means to go with God, to rely on His strength, to live for Him and to trust in Him . . . “no matter what.”  When this is the case—the giants are defeated.  Regardless of how things turn out—the battle is already won. 

Another word for this is…..FAITH.

This morning in my Bible reading I read Daniel chapter 3.  It is the story about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar.  The three friends were facing the incinerator because they would not bow down and worship a GIANT golden statue of the king.  God was their rock, their fortress and their deliverer and He was the only one worthy of their worship and adoration.

It is an amazing account—the king throws them into the fiery furnace and when he looks in to see their charred remains he can’t believe his eyes.  Instead of being dead, the three guys are very much alive and they are not alone!  God is with them! 

Take a look at the words of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego before they were thrown into the fiery furnace.  King Nebuchadnezzar threatened them with their lives if they didn’t worship the statue and they replied,

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

Did you catch that?  “But even if he does not….”  In other words, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, “NO MATTER WHAT we will serve the Lord.”  That is FAITH.

Giants are a problem.  They stand between us and God’s promises.  Long ago, King David, a giant killer of old, penned these words:

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
         My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
         My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD. . .
                                              .--Psalm 18:1-3

Life is hard, giants are real and not all stories turn out happily ever after.  But don’t leave the theater yet.  Let the credits roll and at the very end you will find a cross, an empty tomb and the loving savior, Jesus Christ.

He is our strength, our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, our shield, our salvation and our stronghold.  Giants and fiery furnaces don’t bother Jesus.

In Him all we need to do is have FAITH and face the giants—He will do the defeating.

Rudeness

I guess it is a little bit of culture shock. 

In my return to the U.S. and to the Western lifestyle I have been somewhat stunned at the way in which we treat each other.  I am shocked at how rude we are to one another. 

However, here in Hawaii I have found that every interaction I have had with the local Hawaiian people has been lovely. They have been kind, patient, helpful and pleasant.  Maybe it is all in the context of tourism and good customer service but regardless, it is wonderful.

The tourists here in Hawaii are another story.  The self-centeredness and rudeness seems to ooze from their very pores.  The impatient-"I'm gonna get mine," attitude is unsettling.  I am afraid that it is so unsettling because it looks a lot like......me.

This past year of living in South Korea has left me with a different look at how people can and should treat one another. The Korean people are rather stoic.  They don't smile often but when they do it is warm and heartfelt.  Their service to others is selfless and impeccable.  As they drive streets packed with cars in what I would consider wild driving conditions--there is nary a hint of road rage.  It is amazing--thousands of people living together in the area of one city block and they do so respectfully.....even lovingly.

I know that the South Korean culture and behavior is greatly affected by Confucianism and Buddhism-respect for elders and one another, with a strong focus upon social harmony.  As I look at the lives of the Koreans and their interactions with one another, I see something that has a hint of truth in it--a hint of Jesus.    

I am going to stop before I ramble into comparative criticism.  I can't speak for the Korean people, the Hawaiian locals, or even for the mainland dwelling American citizen-even though I am one (sort of).  I can only speak for myself.  I am first and foremost a Christian, and when I speak (or live), I speak up for Jesus.  What am I saying?  What should I be saying? 

What should I be saying and doing when things don't go my way?  When the service is poor?  When the conditions are less than perfect?  When.....?

The Apostle Paul offers some suggestions.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:16-18 

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."  Philippians 2:3

Reminder to myself:  Paul's admonitions apply to friends, family, spouses, kids, in-laws, out-laws and fellow church members too.

Castles In the Sand

Why do I do what I do?  Where do I put my energies-and why?

In the book of Mark, Jesus asks, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Last week I visited Korea Nazarene University in Cheonan, South Korea.  While I was there I met a man named Hamanda from Tanzania, Africa.  Hamanda was finishing up a theology degree at KNU and was looking into attending my alma mater, Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.  He wants to pursue a Masters Degree in Social Work.

I inquired as to why Hamanda wanted to get a Masters Degree in Social Work.  I wondered what type of career plan he had in mind.  His answer left me stunned.  Through tears he shared with me that he wanted to get the advanced degree and to return to Tanzania.  He explained to me that there are thousands of orphaned children in Tanzania whose parents have abandoned them or have died of Aids.  Hamanda wants to help the orphans of Tanzania.  He explained to me that with a Masters Degree in Social Work he will be able to work within the governmental system of Tanzania to bring about help for the thousands of needy children in his homeland.

Wow.  Why do I do what I do?

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

I am praying for Hamanda and I am praying for myself-that I might have a heart like Hamanda's.