Really God??

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

Really God??

I’ve been hearing this quite a lot as of late Father, and I’ll admit I’ve even thought it myself more than once in the recent past.  It’s certainly not a query intended out of disrespect Lord, but one usually born of frustration due to trials we, or someone we care about, are going through…

My marriage is falling apart, and my spouse is leaving… Really God??

The job I’ve invested years of hard work and energy in is gone… Really God??

My test results came back and the cancer has returned… Really God??

We’ve run out of money… And I’m not sure what to do… Really God??

My child was born with a serious, incurable disease which threatens to take him from us… Really God??

I feel empty, tired, defeated and sad all the time… Really God??

We all have those moments Father, when we search for the meaning and purpose that only You have; when it feels like the weight of the world sits squarely upon our shoulders, and relief seems to be a distant destination.  And in our limited, broken, earthly shells we cry out… Really God??

When I speak to people going through such trials Lord, I always try to offer the hope and encouragement that Your Promises to us bring…

You promise never to leave our sides…

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

You promise that our needs will be met…

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:28-33 (NIV)

You promise that You will ease our burdened souls…

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

And You promise that You will always love us…

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

Such powerful promises You’ve given to Your Children Father…

In the midst of our struggles, it can be difficult to see the signs of Your love for us through that cloud of pain and fear, but that’s where our Faith carries us on:

Faith that even though we don’t have “The Big Picture” or know why things happen the way they do, You do, and want what’s best for us.

Faith that when we call upon You in our brokenness, You’ll hear our pleas and act on our behalf, whether it’s as we would expect or not.

Faith that when we come to You with a humble and open heart and lay our burdens at Your feet, Your peace and comfort will ease our troubled spirits.

When we rely on our Faith to look beyond the earthly trials we face, and focus on the Blessings and Grace You bring to our lives each day, it begs the question…

Really God??  Thank You!!

Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Prayers of a Leader

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

Well Lord, first off I want to say a quick thank You for a break in the steamy weather we’ve been having.  It’s still good and warm to be sure (90 degrees or so), but the humidity has dropped substantially and the over-100 degree temperatures have abated for the moment.  Based on the forecast things will be getting warmer again soon, but nonetheless the intermission is very much appreciated!

Today Father, I was reading in the Old Testament in 1 Kings, Chapter 3 and came across something that touched my spirit and got me thinking.  It was early on in king Solomon’s reign and while visiting Gibeon to offer sacrifices to You, You came to him in a dream with an amazingly magnanimous offer…

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” – 1 Kings 3:5 (NIV)

Wow… Now that’s a proposition!  The Author of all Creation asking “what can I give to you?”.  For most people, this question would instantly flood their minds with thoughts of wealth, power, longevity or other earthly gifts.  Solomon however, had a slightly different request of You…

“Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 

Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” – 1 Kings 3:7-9 (NIV)

Such a humble, thoughtful answer he gave to You Father!  It makes me wonder what kind of world we’d be living in if all of our leaders petitioned You in such a way?  Or for that matter, what kind of world would it be if we ALL prayed for the strength, wisdom and temperament to serve others selflessly in Your Name…

It’s a powerful and inspiring thought Father, and one I’ll be praying on.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Digging Deeper…

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

You know Lord, I love it when You plant a seed in my heart and it drives me to seek out answers.  Such was the case with the Scripture verse I posted to my Facebook Wall today:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” – 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)

But apparently You weren’t done with me on this one.  Over the following hours, the phrase “Strive for full restoration…” kept running through my head, over and over.  Finally, I decided to do some research on that particular expression in context and see where it led me.

Now Father, as You know I usually reference the New International Version (NIV) Bible as that’s the version that speaks to my heart most often.  However, when I run into a passage that churns in my head one of the first things I do is to compare it to other translations to see it from other perspectives.  In the case of this verse, the variance seems to be significant across translations… even in the case of the previous NIV (1984):

“Finally, brothers, good‑by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” – (NIV 1984)

“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” – (KJV)

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” – (NET)

“And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.” – (MSG)

Wow… There’s obviously some differences there Lord.  Realizing that these translations stem from words that may not have an exact English equivalent, I then decided to dig deeper and see what the Biblical Scholars had to say on this phrase.  From what I found, it appears the original word was Καταρτιζεσθε, which according to Clarke’s Commentary converts to mean : “Be compact; get into joint again; let unity and harmony be restored”.  Other commentaries were similar, but the description that finally settled my heart was from Wesley’s Notes which stated : “Be perfect – Aspire to the highest degree of holiness.”.

Strive for full restoration…

I love seeing where Your whispers take me Father.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for making Your Presence known through these quiet instructions to my heart.  I pray that You continue to challenge me to dig deeper into Your Word, so as to bring my Walk even closer to Your side.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday: Bridging the Chasm

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

Today Father, I’d like to start the week by thanking You from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful vacation You Graced us with last week.  The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was breathtaking and all of us had a fantastic time away together.  For the first time since starting my business in 1997, I actually made a conscious decision to leave my mobile phone in the cabin and not call into the office each day… It was a practice that I’ll certainly be repeating on future trips.  The personal impact of using that time to focus on my family and on Your Presence, and to recharge my spiritual and emotional batteries can’t be overstated.  It was truly a Blessing to all of us, and I thank You wholeheartedly.

Today’s Meditations Monday Scripture reading comes from the book of John, and addresses an issue that all followers of Christ deal with at some point in their Walk; Disdain and in some cases, persecution for our Faith.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.  That is why the world hates you.  Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.  If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.  They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” – John 15:18-21 (NIV)

Now Lord, I don’t know of any cases where I’ve been outwardly hated for my relationship with You.  However, I have been aware more than once of some people avoiding my company because of the public emphasis I place on Your Word and Your Presence in my life.  These daily chats, along with my outreach efforts and scripture postings make some people uncomfortable, leading them to shy away.  By drawing the division between “children of the world” and the “children of God”, Jesus warns us that the rift between the two would lead to such conflicts, and to not be surprised by it.  Instead, we’re charged to reveal Your Light within us and allow it to bridge the chasm through signs and examples of Your Gracious Love.  The important thing to remember is this; although we will likely see hardships and resistance as Christians in a confused and troubled world, by keeping our gaze fixed firmly on Jesus, we’re assured the strength and peace to stand firm against the world around us.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NIV)

It’s lovely to be back Father.  🙂

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Mon… Tuesday?

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

What a wonderful weekends’ respite that was Father!  I’m not usually a big fan of three-day-weekends as I tend to try to fit too much in, and end up more tired than usual.  This past several days however, we were Blessed to be able to spend time with family and friends, get some things done around the house, and yet still have ample time to rest and recuperate.  All-in-all, it was a lovely long weekend and I thank You for such Blessings in our lives.

Well Father, as yesterday was a holiday and I didn’t post our conversation to phatherphil.org, I thought I’d fly in the face of convention and write a Meditations Monday article… On Tuesday.  I know Lord, I’m a rebel.  🙂

Today’s Scripture comes from the Book of Romans, Chapter 8.  In this passage, the Apostle Paul is discussing our suffering while here on Earth, and how we should be looking at it in the context of Your Plan:

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” – Romans 8:18-21 (NIV)

This is a terribly important piece of Truth Father, and one that all of us overlook from time to time.  Our existence here is a season; temporary, and in the eternal scheme of things, brief.  And while the suffering, trials and tribulations we go through may seem overwhelming upon occasion, their magnitude and duration pales in comparison to the glory those who are one with Christ will receive when finally raised up in Your Kingdom.  Paul also emphasizes the passing nature of our Earthly problems in 2nd Corinthians where he states:

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

If we indeed view our trials here as “light and momentary”, and focus on the “eternal glory” that awaits those who persevere and preserve in the Love of Christ, then our burdens take on a completely different perspective… Through Your Eyes Lord.

Heavenly Father, as we begin this week’s endeavors I pray for Your guidance and assistance in assigning the proper level of importance to our burdens.  Please anchor our Spirits in Christ Jesus, and instill in our hearts a glimpse of the wonder and glory that is to come.  Amen.

~Phather Phil