My New Spot

God and I meet here. We just started meeting here because I finally have a chair to sit on. (75% off at Target. I love my wife!) Not that you need a chair to meet with God. I just like a chair because I like to sit down and drink some coffee when I meet with my friends. God just happens to be one of my friends. He also happens to be the most loving, forgiving, understanding, patient, and wisest friend I have. As a result I am learning that I need to shut up and listen to what He has to say a lot more. I tend to use many words when I talk to God but when He speaks there are usually very few. His few words always convey more information than my many. I like that. It is cool. It is so humbling. He speaks through so many things yet uses so few words. He speaks through his written Word, through the warmth of the sunshine and the coolness of the breeze. Through the chirp of the birds and the strength of the trees. God is awesome.

Can You Zip It?

Is keeping something secret really that difficult? Is keeping something to yourself wrong? I think it's no secret that most of us don't believe in secrecy. Anonymity is not our thing. We want people to know how smart, successful, and generous we are. We seem to come up with subtle, socially acceptable ways to promote ourselves and our image. If we give money we seem to want to tell others or give to causes where our name gets out. We tell where we serve or volunteer. We name drop about people we know. Does every good deed need to be shared with the world? Does every juicy secret we hear have to be shared in our next conversation? Didn't Jesus model this for us? I found several times where Jesus told others to keep their mouths shut about things he did.(Thanks to an exhaustive concordance) Like the leper in Mark 1; Peter, James and John in Mark 9;and the parents of the dead girl Jesus brought back to life in Luke 8. Other verses that come to mind about keeping our mouths shut about what we do are Matthew 6:1-6. We can do special and secret things for God alone and he will delight in them more because we did them with a pure heart and not for recognition or reward. Jesus gave generously and graciously not looking for a return. He did it for one reason and for one purpose; to honor his Father. Secrecy acknowledges that not all good deeds need public recognition and not all information is public information. Some things just don't need to be shared. We all have choices about what we say and don't say. Sometimes keeping our mouths shut brings honor to God and to each other. It's a great way to prevent further gossip, slander and rumors. (I think there is a verse about that somewhere too but I'm too lazy to look it up now) When we keep our mouths shut we create trust. We create a safe place for people to be who they are without fear. We also learn how to give, serve and love others without recognition, which ultimately brings glory to our heavenly Father. So, can you zip it?

Stand In Awe

As I read and study Ecclesiastes, I have come to one conclusion. This book understands me better than I understand it.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

This verse hits home with me. I'm so quick to run my mouth to God, but it is within the inner stillness that He speaks to me most clearly. It is there, alone with Him, that He becomes so real in my inner spirit. It is there that I "see" Him transform my perception of his word. It is in that stillness that I sense and know his presence. This is where He interacts with me deepening my convictions through his word and spirit. So why do I insist on dominating the conversation?