Daily Reflections on Ps. 139:17-18 (Keeping Focused on the Right Things)

There's just something about looking at the stars at night. On a cloudless night, away from all the city lights, gazing into the starry heavens is just amazing. I remember when I was kid, my dad got me a telescope so that I could gaze more deeply into the universe. I had gotten into space from the time I listened to John Glenn orbiting the earth. But my interest heightened after the first landing on the moon. My dad and I got out the telescope to look closely for the astronauts landing site.

It was easy to see the moon and some of the terrain, but my little telescope didn't allow me to see any of the stars real close even at maximum power. They still were so far away. It really hit me how vast the universe really was and how really small I was in comparison. It got me thinking how vast God must be to have created it all. I was in awe of Him. The expanse of God's power and thoughts blew me away.

The psalmist talks about the vastness of God's thoughts in Psalm 139. God's wisdom, His understanding, His knowledge is unfathomable. Like the universe there is no end to them. It dawned on me one day that God understood and knew all about nuclear fission long before we discovered it, because He laid out the principles. We have may a hard time with quantum mechanics and string theory, but God just smirks at our quandary over it. There is nothing He doesn't know. The most complex questions of our universe is child's play to God.

Yet of all the things God knows, the focus of His thoughts are on us. Now that blows me away. I keep going back to Psalm 8 and crying out, "O God, how majestic your are. What is man that you think about us? about me?" Yet He does. I'm the object of His thoughts. That's incredible. He's got a whole universe to consider and deal with and He is thinking about me first and foremost. He knows the number of hairs on my head. He knows when I have a hang nail. Unbelievable! He's thinking of me and He's thinking of you this very moment. He knows my thoughts right this instance.

If with all that God has to do in the universe He's focused on each of us, on me, then how can I be too busy to think about Him. And better yet, how can I be too busy for my spouse or my family? God has a whole lot more on His plate than I do. And if He can stay focused on us, individually, what excuse do I have not to focus on the people who are closest to me? I know that I'm not God and have physical limitations, and after all there is only so much time in the day. However, it ought to help prioritize what's really important in my life. My responsibilities, my stuff, my agenda isn't nearly as involved or important as God's, so if God thinks that focusing on the people He loves above all else is vital, maybe there's a lesson for me.

God, you are so awesome. I'm am drawn to your majestic nature. I'm drawn not just because you have unlimited knowledge and power. I'm drawn because you're focused on me and demonstrate that love to me. Help me to have the same kind of thoughtfulness and focus on my wife and family. Give me the insight, wisdom, strength, timing and love I need to express to my loved ones.

Daily Reflections on Lk. 19:1-10 (Can a Person Really Change?)

Transformation is an amazing thing, especially when it happens to a person. It's often been said that people don't change, that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. It's probably true to some extent, yet I tend to be an optimist. People can change, well sort of. I don't mean a Jekyll and Hyde sort of change. I mean really change.

Obviously, people change their minds all the time. Politicians change their views from one stump to the next. I've always heard that changing your mind is a ladies prerogative. But that's not exactly what I was thinking. Changing your thinking, yes. Changing your mind, not really.

My observation is that people can't change by themselves. They need help. Self determination and accountability can help, but the moment we let go of the wheel or lose our accountability we have a tendency to steer out of control and fall back into the same old patterns.

Yet, I firmly believe that people can change. I read the story of Zacchaeus, and I see obvious transformation. What made the difference? How was he able to change. Not through self will, but through the power of Jesus. Jesus is able to create change in us by helping us change thought process. Not doubt little, tax collector Zac was a mess. Not a lot of real friends. People thought of him as a "sinner." We might think "crook." Yet through his encounter with Christ, he was changed.

It's really a great phrase, one of my favorite in the Bible. "He (Jesus) has gone to be a guest of a 'sinner.'" That's one of the most encouraging passages. It tells me that Jesus wants to connect with people like me and you and even those with a not so hot reputation. It tells me that there is hope for me. It tells me change is possible for me. When I see Zac's transformation, I'm excited about the possibilities for me and others.

Jesus' response to the life change of Zac, "Today salvation has come to this house." If it can come to that crook's, Zacchaeus, it certainly can come to mine. It reminds me that Jesus loves me so much that He's willing to come looking for me in my plight. When He finds me, He loves me for who I am. Yet, He loves me so deeply that He won't let me stay there.

Change is possible through Jesus. I don't have to stay the way I am. Even thought Jesus invited Himself to Zac's house, He prefers that we invite Him to our house.

Jesus, come hang out at my house. I need you. Change me. Change my heart. Change my thinking to your way of thinking.

Daily Reflections on Mt. 6:19-24 (Pornification of America)

Driving down the road I was channel surfing the AM dial in my car. I hit on the Laura Engram Show. She was talking about the pornification of America. She caught my attention so I paused my scan. She talked about the mind numbing effects of soft porn ads, i.e. Paris Hilton car sudsing ad or the Hardee’s/Carls Jr. hamburger ads and others. She was talking about the decay of society and the debase morals which were becoming the norm in advertising and our culture. She was urging listeners to stand up and take back America as part of her Power to the People drive.

Jesus noted the power of our visual stimulation on the heart here in Mt. 6. He said that when the eye is good, so is the heart. When the eye is bad, a darkness consumes the heart. Pornography isn’t the only darkening catalyst. Greed, power, lust, envy, bitterness, anger, hatred, partying, pride, sex, materialism, selfishness are also things that can darken the heart. Over eating (the biblical word is “gluttony”) or lethargy (commonly known as “couch potato”) can also lead to a darkened heart.

What you focus on is what you ultimately become or what consumes you. Whatever gains your attention shapes your thoughts, your behavior, your life. When I used to take kids to church camp or on spiritual retreats, we forbade bringing radios, ipods, mp3’s, and even gameboys. Anything that could distract from focusing on God, we requested, even demanded, be left behind or at least in the suit case for the period time we were there. It was always amazing to me what God was able to do in young people’s lives when their eyes were focused on Jesus and His Word.

It was also amazingly weird when we hit the world again and stuff that came over the radio. Listening every day to as Engram says the pornification of America, our minds to become numb to it. We don’t notice what’s happening. It’s like the frog in a pot of water that doesn’t jump out as long you turn up the heat slowly. It eventually kills it. But when you’re away from the world’s stuff and focusing on listening to God for an extended period of time, it’s almost like culture shock to hear and watch and see the stuff coming over the airways, cable and fiber optic lines.

If the eye is good, the whole body is full of light. If the eye is bad, the whole body is full of darkness.

God, I’m choosing to focus on you. I’m keeping my eyes fixed on the finish line and the author and perfecter of my faith. I can’t go live in a monastery or hide in some cave, so I need you to light my path. Show me the light so that I can follow you and your path.