Maintaining the balance between expecting a miracle and walking in the mundane:

A LITTLE AT A TIME

I appreciate taking giant leaps. I totally believe in the God of miracles. Even in the ordinary realm of getting from one place to another, as much as I dislike standing in line, being X-rayed, and asking myself a million times if I have my passport, I really like getting in a plane and getting out thousands of miles away a few hours later. Right now, my prayer list contains requests for a couple of things that fall in the shock and awe category. Yet, while I pray for, wait for, even expect--on my more faith-full days--the amazing, I need to not despise the mundane. Again, "Blessed are the Balanced."I (OK, the point could be made that people who have enough sense to not stand on beach balls, especially if they weigh a couple of tons are truly blessed, but cut me some slack.) I look at one of the times in Bible history that was weighted down with miracles, the months surrounding God's deliverance of his people from Egypt, yet in the midst of Divine plagues, paths through the sea, pillars of fire and bread from heaven there was the totally ordinary exercise of walking. How did the people of Israel get from Egypt to Canaan? On the one hand, the answer is, "It was through a series of miracles." In another way, though, it is entirely accurate to say, "They walked." I'm working to balance on those two realities, and I'm not doing it with nearly as much grace as a large pachyderm doing a circus trick. Here are some of the realities, as I see reality that I'm seeking to hold in the right tension. I can't turn loose of either end:   God expects me to do my very best today < > My best is insufficient. God generally uses human instruments < > All those human instruments, including me are terribly inadequate. The miraculous is not miraculous to God, and the mundane is full of God's hidden (to me) hand of providence. I ought to be properly concerned, but I should not worry. If you see me wobbling, you are seeing correctly. I identify with the man who proclaimed, "I do believe!" but before he drew another breath asked, "Help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). I don't know, but I figure some of you have the same struggles. It's not only something to think about; it's something to pray about. Let's work on it together. It's STTA (Something To Think About).  Here is a different presentation of the Good News in Christ. You can find several ways to explore the Message of Grace here.

Profoundly Mundane:

Something to Think About for December 24, 2014:

Something To Think About, Simplcity:

I often start my day, doing what I'm doing now, in the predawn on Christmas Eve.  I look for something that jogs the mind--the unexpected twist--or something cute--the kind of thing that brings an "aww," especially from the ladies--or the holy grail, something profound.  I'm not even sure how to adequately define profundity.  It has to do with great power and wisdom being packed into a few words.  The Book of Proverbs is packed with the profound.  To hijack Judge Potter Stewart's words.  "I know [profundity] when I see it."  This is what I mostly see:   Most of Life is not profound. The word mundane was invented to describe the day-to-day process that we call life. Some two Millennia ago the life into which God the Son enteredwas mundane, profoundly mundane.  Jesus' home was not one where daily existence could be taken for granted.  Later, when He taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."  He spoke not only from the perfect knowledge of Divinity--pray this way, because in the grand scheme of the universe this is what you should say--but from an understanding that came from human experience.  Joseph, and almost surely Jesus, after Joseph's death, knew the daily concern for making sure that there was food for the family.  I think Jesus had prayed that prayer on occasions when the cupboard was bare.  When He spoke of going the extra mile, rendering to Caesar his due, turning the other cheek, and being ready to forgive, profound as those concepts are, we need to remember that all of these virtues had been practiced thousands of times in the very mundane setting of a home and small business that had to deal with unreasonable people in a land controlled by foreigners. In describing the incarnation, here and here, the Bible presents no "wink,wink" version of God becoming man.  He was, and continues to be, in heaven, human.  As I think about the totality of that "emptying" (Philippians 2) of Himself, I find great encouragement to come to Him.  That is a point that is powerfully made in Hebrews 2 and 4. Jesus did not just come and visit the high-points of human existence.  At the end of most of His of His 12,000 or so days, the answer to the universal question was, "Not much." On Christmas Eve 2015, that's profound. It's Something To Think About. Here is a site where you can find out about Jesus Christ and His plan for you.  You'll find several opportunities to explore.  If we can help you, let us know.  covingtonbiblechurch.com