I am seeing stars

Tonight at LIFE group we were looking at Isaiah 40:18-31. If you aren't in a LIFE group or haven't looked at this passage recently, Isaiah is preaching to the Israelites and is encouraging them to compare God to idols, kings, and anything else we tend to trust. In verse 26 Isaiah says, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. . ." As I read that I imagined God, sitting on his throne, calling out the stars from their daytime slumber, and commanding them to take their place in the night sky. I can just hear God saying, "Orion- let's go! Grab your sword, wash your armpit and get out there!" "Twin dippers- to your places!"

But then this crazy thought hit me- that took my breath away for a moment. As Isaiah was preparing this message, he may have been sitting on a hill in the middle of the night visualizing these events. And he no doubt looked at the big dipper, Pleiades, and even Betelgeuse (the armpit), and imagined God calling them to their posts. Isaiah looked at the very same stars that I see 2,800 years later! I can barely imagine Mr. Isaiah, the temple and the idols fashioned by silversmiths. But I can walk outside right now, look up and see the very same stars that inspired Isaiah to write his words of rebuke and encouragement.

Wow- our creator God is awesome and awe-inspiring!

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves- Additional Thoughts

A few years ago I attended a seminar taught by a well-respected pastor and church leader. During a lecture on preaching, he stated that every sermon should answer 2 questions: So What? and Now What?

So this week I was thinking about last Sunday's message, and I realized that a person might well walk away asking himself, "now what?" Such a question might include the following inner dialogue: "That was a great message preached by a truly astounding a extremely good-looking preacher. And the idea that God has blessings waiting for me if I will only allow him respond to his grace and leading- well that sounds great and I want in on the blessings. But how? And how do I involve God in the process on a regular basis?" I mean, if a guy spends his workdays hanging sheetrock, how does he allow God in on the process in order to experience the blessings that come from living God's way?

Maybe I am just inexperienced and extremely shallow or naive, but I think it comes down to 2 practices: prayer and the Word. Before I embark on a project, I ought to talk with God and verbally invite him to join me and help me. Before I make a decision I must stop and ask God for guidance- and then give him enough time to say the answer enough times for me to finally listen. The funny thing about prayer is that we have no idea how it works, but we know that it works. When we pray, good things happen, we tend to make better decisions, and life works better. When we don't pray, the opposite happens. Then, when we try to explain why, we become confused and frustrated- and sometimes quit praying. (I find it interesting, though that we keep driving our cars even though most of us have no idea how they work). So the first part is pray- pray early and pray often. Trust me, it will work. You will soon see God taking a more visible role in your life- and you will see the blessings.

Second, I must stay in the Word. I cannot faithfully follow Christ and obey his commands if I don't know where he is going or what he wants me to do. Listen to the Word at church, read it daily, study it with a LIFE group- just get into God's Word, the Bible.

So there is the simple but not easy answer for what now: prayer and the Word.