This Post is Rated R (Hey, It's in the Bible!)
What do you think the chances of me getting a whole new personality and outlook on life would be? I guess not too great unless I suffer some sort of traumatic brain injury, which doesn't sound too fun. I am not going to blog about food becuase I am overwhelmed and don't think I have what it takes to do what I think we should do. But I'm not writing about that. It's just that I wish I was this super-motivated, I-can-do-anything, go-getter instead of this I-hate-to-fail perfectionist who gets overwhelmed by learning a different technique for applying nail polish. Ugh.
So, instead of dwelling on how I will never be able to afford organic food or grow my own and how I'll never master the art of making homemade everything, (yes, it's true...I'm an optimist), I thought I'd share a great idea we came up with in my accountability group the other night. Get ready, because it's good. Ready? It's called...
Bible Verse or It Ain't
I know! I think it could be the next gameshow craze to sweep the nation. We give you a phrase or sentence and you have to guess whether or not it's actually found in the Bible.
Okay, round 1:
"The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!”
No? (Loud buzzer!) Wrong! It's found in Proverbs 30. Didn't think you'd find the word "suckers" in the Bible, huh?
Round 2:
"Hate the sin, love the sinner."
What do you think? Yes? (Buzzer again!) Sorry, that's Gandhi. Nice guy, but didn't write the Bible.
Round 3:
"She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse."
No way? Are you sure? (Annoying buzzer, louder than ever!) Actually, that uplifting verse is found in Ezekiel 23.
You just never know what little gems you're going to find when reading God's Word. It's so funny that you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you've read a book of the Bible before but, when reading it again, find something that seems so incredibly memorable yet you can't ever remember laying eyes on before. Weird. I must have slept through that part.
The passage in Ezekiel where this R-rated verse above is found is obviously a little shocking in its language and descriptions of Israel, God's chosen and beloved people. The Lord is recounting for His people their prostitution with pagan nations and His disgust toward them. His people, who have been given all of His promises for life and provision and to whom He has revealed Himself and with whom He has dwelt, have run to pagan kings to make alliances to, insure their earthly well-being and security in a way that seems best to them. They have chosen to give themselves and their allegience to mere men, and men who do not acknowledge God's existence or authority at that, rather than trust in the One from whom true security comes. As a result, the Lord has turned His back on them in disgust and has promised to pour out His wrath on a people He wanted to bless.
Prostitute, lusted, defiled, lewdness, promiscuous. We would be horrified if these words were used to describe us in a literal, physical sense. But really, isn't it more horrifying to think that the Lord used those words to describe His dearly loved people's hearts? It's so easy to look at those silly, dense Isrealites and wonder how they could screw everything up so badly, but it doesn't take us long to realize we do the same things. And we have so much less of an excuse to do so.
We've been given God's Word, hundreds of years of testimonies from God's people, the revelation of the mystery of the gospel, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! Yet how often do we find ourselves, in our American bubble of insurance and retirement plans and smart financial planning, depending on something other than Almighty God for our security? Um, that'd be most everyday in my life. My friends and I discuss often what the Christian life is supposed to look like in terms of possessions and finances. It's so hard to pinpoint because, in the end, it's a matter of the heart. (Still, we want to know what a truly God-centered heart would look like in terms of our bank accounts.) If we're relying on money in the bank (or anything other than the Lord) for security, then we're prostituting ourselves. For me, I think I won't truly know what I'm relying on until there's no other option than God.
Saying all of this scares me...so obviously I'm not trusting fully in the Lord. "Is He going to take it all away?" That's what we ask so many times. But maybe we should be asking, "Why do I care if He takes it away? I've still got everything I need...a good and loving and all-powerful Savior who has no need for bank accounts." Still, I want to cry, "Lord, this sounds good on the blog, but please don't put me to the test!"
When the rubber meets the road, though, I'm learning to trust Him. I don't want to be labeled a whore by the One who loves me so because I've chosen a cheap imitation of security over the real deal. The Lord's seemingly harsh words toward His people still come from a heart of love because He tells us over and over and over again to choose the real thing and so many times we still go for the trash heap. By His loving-kindness and grace, may we begin to choose well.
Listen to God's heartfelt cry toward His people in Psalm 81. How He longs to fill us if we will just open our mouths.
8 “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.
O Israel, if you would only listen to me!
9 You must never have a foreign god;
you must not bow down before a false god.
10 For it was I, the LORD your God,
who rescued you from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
11 “But no, my people wouldn’t listen.
Israel did not want me around.
12 So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
living according to their own ideas.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me!
Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
14 How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
How soon my hands would be upon their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him;
they would be doomed forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”
So, instead of dwelling on how I will never be able to afford organic food or grow my own and how I'll never master the art of making homemade everything, (yes, it's true...I'm an optimist), I thought I'd share a great idea we came up with in my accountability group the other night. Get ready, because it's good. Ready? It's called...
Bible Verse or It Ain't
I know! I think it could be the next gameshow craze to sweep the nation. We give you a phrase or sentence and you have to guess whether or not it's actually found in the Bible.
Okay, round 1:
"The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!”
No? (Loud buzzer!) Wrong! It's found in Proverbs 30. Didn't think you'd find the word "suckers" in the Bible, huh?
Round 2:
"Hate the sin, love the sinner."
What do you think? Yes? (Buzzer again!) Sorry, that's Gandhi. Nice guy, but didn't write the Bible.
Round 3:
"She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse."
No way? Are you sure? (Annoying buzzer, louder than ever!) Actually, that uplifting verse is found in Ezekiel 23.
You just never know what little gems you're going to find when reading God's Word. It's so funny that you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you've read a book of the Bible before but, when reading it again, find something that seems so incredibly memorable yet you can't ever remember laying eyes on before. Weird. I must have slept through that part.
The passage in Ezekiel where this R-rated verse above is found is obviously a little shocking in its language and descriptions of Israel, God's chosen and beloved people. The Lord is recounting for His people their prostitution with pagan nations and His disgust toward them. His people, who have been given all of His promises for life and provision and to whom He has revealed Himself and with whom He has dwelt, have run to pagan kings to make alliances to, insure their earthly well-being and security in a way that seems best to them. They have chosen to give themselves and their allegience to mere men, and men who do not acknowledge God's existence or authority at that, rather than trust in the One from whom true security comes. As a result, the Lord has turned His back on them in disgust and has promised to pour out His wrath on a people He wanted to bless.
Prostitute, lusted, defiled, lewdness, promiscuous. We would be horrified if these words were used to describe us in a literal, physical sense. But really, isn't it more horrifying to think that the Lord used those words to describe His dearly loved people's hearts? It's so easy to look at those silly, dense Isrealites and wonder how they could screw everything up so badly, but it doesn't take us long to realize we do the same things. And we have so much less of an excuse to do so.
We've been given God's Word, hundreds of years of testimonies from God's people, the revelation of the mystery of the gospel, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! Yet how often do we find ourselves, in our American bubble of insurance and retirement plans and smart financial planning, depending on something other than Almighty God for our security? Um, that'd be most everyday in my life. My friends and I discuss often what the Christian life is supposed to look like in terms of possessions and finances. It's so hard to pinpoint because, in the end, it's a matter of the heart. (Still, we want to know what a truly God-centered heart would look like in terms of our bank accounts.) If we're relying on money in the bank (or anything other than the Lord) for security, then we're prostituting ourselves. For me, I think I won't truly know what I'm relying on until there's no other option than God.
Saying all of this scares me...so obviously I'm not trusting fully in the Lord. "Is He going to take it all away?" That's what we ask so many times. But maybe we should be asking, "Why do I care if He takes it away? I've still got everything I need...a good and loving and all-powerful Savior who has no need for bank accounts." Still, I want to cry, "Lord, this sounds good on the blog, but please don't put me to the test!"
When the rubber meets the road, though, I'm learning to trust Him. I don't want to be labeled a whore by the One who loves me so because I've chosen a cheap imitation of security over the real deal. The Lord's seemingly harsh words toward His people still come from a heart of love because He tells us over and over and over again to choose the real thing and so many times we still go for the trash heap. By His loving-kindness and grace, may we begin to choose well.
Listen to God's heartfelt cry toward His people in Psalm 81. How He longs to fill us if we will just open our mouths.
8 “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.
O Israel, if you would only listen to me!
9 You must never have a foreign god;
you must not bow down before a false god.
10 For it was I, the LORD your God,
who rescued you from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
11 “But no, my people wouldn’t listen.
Israel did not want me around.
12 So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
living according to their own ideas.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me!
Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
14 How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
How soon my hands would be upon their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him;
they would be doomed forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”
Preach it sister. And I mean it Amy. Thank you for these encouraging words. We just have to read through Hosea to see what God thinks of our sin and our idoltry. And He still loves us though! Oh, that I would run to Him today instead of all my idols that can't satsify!
ReplyDeleteI love your rated R post! Makes up for the "happy little tummies" comment completely. You're so funny!
ReplyDelete