Too deep for words

Romans 8:26

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words

My dad's health has taken a turn that make it very difficult for him to express himself in words. He is able, with great effort, to say a few words or an occasional phrase. One phrase that he is still able to say is, "I love you too."  These are words that I treasure.

My dad's inability to express himself in words is a frustration to him.  He so much wants to speak, but most of his vocalization is, like we read in Romans 8:26, groanings.

God hears our groanings. He himself groans with us. In those places where words fail, His Spirit groans on our behalf. He knows intimately the meaning of each cry of our heart. What love, what compassion, what identification and friendship, what understanding...he has taken our groanings upon himself.

Perfect Fear?

In 1 John 4:18 there is a familiar, frequently quoted verse:

"Perfect love casts out fear."

But have you ever turned the phrase around?

Perfect fear casts out love. This is also true.  Proverbs 8:13a says "To fear the Lord is to hate evil".

I am reminded of a Keith Green song: "You love the World and You're Avoiding Me".



God, teach us such a perfect fear that hates evil!

When a song crashes and burns

Today in church, as is my most normal practice, I chose the song for during the offering while listening to the sermon.  I do this to try to target most closely what I sense that God's Spirit is saying to us in our Sunday morning time together.  This morning I picked Keith Green's "How Can They Live Without Jesus".  I have done this song before, but not for a while.  I quickly wrote out the words during the sermon so that I wouldn't suffer from lyrical memory lapse in the middle of the song.

Then I got up to sing the song.  It started out OK until I got to the place where it goes into a different key...and I couldn't find what chord to use.  I kept singing and fumbling with trying to get the guitar back on track...without any success.  It was truly a crash and burn offering song.  I felt sorry for the people who had to listen.  It was painful. I felt sorry for those that I knew were visiting our church for the first time.  What kind of impression were they getting?  Ouch!

So what about when we crash and burn?  What about when our offering falls so far short of what we had intended to share?

Blessed.  Yes, blessed.

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Blessed are you when your song crashes and burns, for you will again see clearly your dependence on God. Blessed are you when your song crashes and burns, for you will pray that the message can still somehow reach the hearts of the hearers, despite your weakness (a great prayer to pray when the song goes right too, by the way). Yes, blessed are you when your song crashes and burns.  You are still held in the hands of a loving God whose love is not based on some level of performance, but purely on who He is.

Yes, blessed.