All my friends have big buts...

All my friends have big buts:

I know God can, but...
I want to go, but...
I should do more, but....
We would adopt, but....
I shouldn't be anxious, but...

These are samples from recent conversations. Some are my words, some belong to others. There is a paradox of being a Believer but lacking belief. We are called to be faithful yet lack faith. We are called to follow but afraid to make the first step. We believe, but not in the provision and ability of the One in whom we believe.

There is hope, it comes with the words "but God..."

Psalms 49:15
But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.

Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalms 75:6-7
For not from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the desert comes exaltation; But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.

Mark 2:7b
“who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Acts 2:24
But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Romans 5:8-9
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

1 Corinthians 1:27
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

2 Corinthians 7:6a
But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us...

Ephesians 2:4-10
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

1 Thessalonians 2:4
but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.

I guess our buts look pretty small when we look at it that way.

They say it's love....

     We have some wonderful friends in John and Rachael. She is a classic extrovert who rarely hesitates to share pretty much anything with us. He is a quiet guy with a quick wit. One Sunday following a meal we had the privilege of hearing about the early years of their marriage.

     John is a professional musician. He plays the tuba. He plays the tuba well enough to get paid to play it. I know a dozen people who claim to be able to play the guitar, only one is good enough to get paid to do it. In contrast I know one person who plays tuba, and he is a pro.
     When John and Rachael met, he was in his Senior year of college, she was a Freshman. He practiced his tuba six hours a day, every day. He told her before they got married that to love him, was to love his tuba.
     After they married he would take his tuba when they went on vacation. They would all go to the park so he could practice. Evidently, tuba playing is not acceptable in most hotels.
     She referred to the tuba as “his mistress” teasingly, but she admitted she was a bit jealous too. She would try to entice him to be late for practices and rehearsals to gain the upper hand over the giant brass “other woman”.
     John was certainly not a bad guy, but rather, he was committed to his art in a way musicians are prone to be (and some of us should be). He carried his tuba two miles to and from class every day. He had a raw talent, commitment, and level of skill that propelled him into a life as a professional musician. He was able to achieve that mountaintop that the rest of us non-talented, Rock Band playing, karaoke singing, pretenders dream of.
     She told us how one night, while they were lying in bed, he said, “Rachel, if something were to happen and I had to choose between you and the tuba, I would choose you.” She said it was sincere and loving, and one of the sweetest things he had ever said to her.
     They have been married long enough to have four beautiful children. They share a beautiful house together on their small farm where they raise chickens, mules, pigs, and a cow. They are thoughtful Believers who always have an encouraging word on their lips and joy in their hearts. And I believe they share a level of commitment to one another that is enviable. He knows she is committed to him by putting up with his tuba playing. She knows he is committed to her even more that he is committed to his music, and that is saying something.

It is hot in Texas...

            I spent August in Houston, Texas, and it was hot. It wasn’t “hot” like one would describe the inside of a fresh out of the oven biscuit. It was HOT as in what the biscuit feels like when it is in the oven. It was hot in the shade. It was hot in the pool. It was hot at the beach. It was so hot chickens were laying boiled eggs. OK, so the last one is an exaggeration, but the others are not.

            Now at this point someone would say “uh, Dave, you were in Texas in August, of course it was hot. It is always hot in Texas in August.” And that someone is right of course. It is hot because the Sun rises every morning and shines all across the long summer days. It sets each evening in the West, allowing a brief respite. But the next morning, the Sun once again rises in the East and burns its way across the sky, making it hot in Houston. If I go back to Houston next August it will be hot, and that is a wonderful thing.

            In Colossians 1:13 Paul says this about God “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.” (ESV)

            Paul then follows that up with this: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17 ESV).

            The very same person “in whom we have redemption” is also the one in whom “all things hold together. The Sun rises and sets because He holds it together. It is hot in Texas every August because Jesus Christ holds it together. The surety of knowing the Sun will rise in the morning and set in the evening, and the day will be hot, is a wonderful reminder that a Believer’s redemption and forgiveness are also sure and secure. With that much evidence, why would we ever doubt?