The Logic of Illogical Joy: James 1:2

James 1:2 "See/regard/visualize/consider it as  ALL pure joy/occasions for rejoicing/gladness, my brothers, whenever you fall into various purifications [Refiner's Fire], because you know that the purifying of your persuasion [of who God really is, - HIS responsibility to accomplish - Hebrews 12:3] develops patient waiting.  Patient waiting must complete its work, that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything [in your being formed into His image]."

In our humanity it seems quite illogical to have joy/gladness about things that are painful in life and in ourselves (pain, scarcity, disease, death, wars, brutality, etc. etc.) but James 1:2 enjoins us to "see/regard/visualize/consider it ALL pure joy/gladness".  So how is it logical to do so (and how can one be able to do so)?

I find that the tool of visualizing all that I see and experience in my life and all that I see in the world within the context of it ALL being from the Hand of The Wise, All-Powerful Creator who IS LOVE (agape: Gr. perfect caring about and for) makes it logical to be content and even be glad about everything that exists, since ALL has been brought into existence/ordained by Him. 

There are various tools that develop my expertise at visualizing ALL from Him:  Scripture reading & study, other inspirational literature, inspirational music, dancing, singing, fellowship and encouragement from others, reaching out to others to tell them the really good news.  Different tools will minister more strongly to each person.  You will find what works for YOU and finding what supports your development of your "vision" by experimenting and Him showing you what He has designed that speaks to your heart.

Our evaluation of what occurs in our life and in the world is primarily and understandably oriented to our "fleshly"/earthbound human needs, fears, pains (as ordained by Him as part of His process for each of us as individuals.

It takes practice to develop the orientation that all that we see in ourselves and in this world is God working out His will of creating a race of spiritual, eternal beings (ALL humanity) that will be his "bride", his companion, one with Him through eternity.

2 Corinthians 4:18 "so we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are earthly/temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Isaiah 45:6-7 "I am the I AM Always AM and there is NO other.  Forming light AND creating darkness; causing well -being AND creating calamity.  I am the I AM Always Am who does ALL these.

Psalm 131:2 "I have calmed and quieted my soul (being/personhood).  Like a young (weaned) child in its mother's arms, I am content."

Once we have strengthened this practice, this kind of vision, it is LOGICAL to have contentment and, yes, at times even joy as we see His Hand as giving ALL.

• How good is your spiritual vision in this way?
• How do you support it becoming stronger?
• Are there any exceptions in you or in your life to seeing ALL as His gift (often in very difficult packages for our "fleshly" selves)? Can you look at ALL that is painful or difficult for you or the world and practice putting it in this context?
• How can you improve your vision that ALL is from Him (what speaks to you to build this up in you)?

It's very O.K.  - in fact part of the process of what He has Ordained for your creation into His image - for you to go back & forth in this process (pushups of falling into the "flesh" and pushing up into the spiritual view.  When you are angry, despairing, questioning, "sinful" (Greek: missing the mark of His perfection) about what you see/experience in "the flesh", that is part of His perfect process ordained for you individually also.  And it is important to praise Him for all of what you don't like in yourself also, another way of reinforcing your contentment/joy in even that, seeing nothing as outside of His ordained perfect will and timing in each of our formation.  Isaiah 64:8 "But O I AM Always Am, You are our Father.  We are the clay and you the Former (Potter) and the work of Your Hand are we ALL":).

June

"ALL You Have Made WILL Praise You" Psalm 145

The scripture I want to bring to you this morning is Psalm 145. As I often do, I will substitute the more accurate translation of words such as the inaccurate LORD for the accurate translation of God's personal "name" (nature/character/essence) that He gave to Moses - YHWH: I AM ALWAYS AM - and subsequently combined with other modifiers to express various aspects of His nature (Ex: I AM ALWAYS AM  Healer - YHWH Rapha). Although YHWH occurs over 5,000 times in the Old Testament, it is consistently replaced with the capitalized word, LORD, which is not its translation in the Hebrew.  In a few translations the word Jehovah is substituted.  But this is just a poor attempt in English to sound similar to the Hebrew word, but, again, is not the translation and therefore, omits the original meaning given by God.

Psalm 145

¹ I will exalt you, my God the King;
    I will praise your name (nature/character/essence) for ever and ever.
² Every day I will praise you
    and extol your name (nature/character/essence) for ever and ever.

³ Great is the I AM Always AM and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
⁴ One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
⁵ They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
⁶ They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
⁷ They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

⁸ The I AM Always AM is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.

⁹ The I AM Always AM is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.
¹⁰ All your works praise you, I AM Always AM;
    your faithful people extol you.
¹¹ They tell of the glory of your kingdom
    and speak of your might,
¹² so that all people may know of your mighty acts
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures through all generations.

The I AM Always AM is trustworthy in all he promises
    and faithful in all he does.
¹⁴ The I AM Always AM upholds all who fall
    and lifts up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food at the proper time.
¹⁶ You open your hand
    and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

¹⁷ The I AM Always AM is righteous in all his ways
    and faithful in all he does.
¹⁸ The I AM Always AM is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The I AM Always AM watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak in praise of the I AM Always AM.

    Let every creature praise his holy name (nature/character/essence)

    for ever and ever.

 

Since I find universal reconciliation and eternal life completely substantiated in the scriptures, some of the verses that are particularly dear to me are:

• ⁹ The I AM Always AM is good to all;
      he has compassion on all he has made. [Since everything including all men are His Handiwork - Isaiah 64:8 -  it is completely logical and just that He should have compassion on all that He has made.]
• ¹⁰ All your works praise you, I AM Always AM; [Since our judgments are earthbound and our perception of what is "good" and "bad" proceed from that, we do not generally comprehend that all works are ultimately His works but for HIS eternal purposes. Those things that we interpret as "bad" occurrences, we do not see as "praising" Him.  But again, it is the limitation of our understanding in not yet being able to comprehend that everything that occurs IS PRAISING HIM.] 
• ¹⁴ The I AM Always AM upholds all who fall
      and lifts up all who are bowed down. [Since He is the one who ordains everything for His ultimate purposes, of course it is His responsibility to uphold what He sovereignly ordained to fall and lift up all who He caused to be "bowed down".]
• ¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,
      and you give them their food at the proper time. [Here "their food" is everything anything that He created needs to attain His ultimate loving, eternal purpose for it/them - that of existing with Him in fellowship and joy eternally.  The "proper time" is echoed in Ecclesiastes 3:2 " There is an appointed time for every purpose under heaven.]
• ¹⁶ You open your hand
      and satisfy the desires of every living thing. [The most basic desire of every living thing is to exist AND to exist in comfort and joy - in whatever way that being/entity experiences joy.  We may be surprised in eternity how algae, snails, and leaves experience "joy".  We certainly have the example in scripture of creation "praising", "singing" and the trees "clapping their hands".  How limited our imaginations here are of what eternal fellowship and communication will look like when it arrives.]

And as you see above, I have substituted the word "name" for its fuller Hebrew meaning of nature/character/essence.  Check out my blog article on the implications in both the Old and New Testament of the fuller meaning of the word "name" in the scriptures (2/17/17, 2/28/17


Still Rejoicing for ALL,
June

• 
  
  

Day by Day Hymn 1865

The following hymn, originally written in Sweden in 1865 by Lina Sandell and subsequently translated into English  by A.L. Skoog, encourages me that this life is very difficult, but is from  the Hand of a wise and loving heavenly Father who "Gives to each day what He deems best".  For my human experience, this is most often painful.  But is logical taken into the promises of "the refiner's fire"  (Our God is a consuming fire; God is Love) that are making us each into a unique expression of His image, based our formation by Him via our genetics and life experiences.  And I have no "proof" that God even exists.  But my heart and logic comfort me that visioning life in this way is the only way to experience "serenity" in the process.  Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous: "and I can have no serenity until I accept every person (especially me), thing, situation as exactly as it is supposed to be at the moment.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake."

Day By Day 1865

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best--
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in eve'ry tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Still Rejoicing for ALL,

June

I Am Perfect and My Pathway is Perfect Because HE is Perfect

In the past I have spent significant time on each of my theological blog posts.  As I have shared, for the past two years, God has added responsibilities (death of my son-in-law and more involvement with my daughter and their two children; late-life-baby for my other daughter for whom I have become "nanny" every other week) to my "perfect path" that are HIS priorities over and above my having as much time to add to my blog.  So I am going to experiment with doing shorter blog entries, likely based on a scripture He has brought, if and as He ordains.

__________________________________________

This first attempt is based on a scripture He gave this morning: Psalm 18:31-32 "For who is God besides the I AM Always AM?  And who is the Rock except our God?  It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect."

The second has a similar core concept: Matthew 5:48 "You are perfect since your Father in heaven is perfect."

And a supporting scripture: Isaiah 64:8 But O I AM Always AM, You are our Father; we are the clay and you the Former (Potter) and the work of Your Hand are we ALL."

So, from a human/material perspective our "paths" do not "appear" perfect.  And from a human perspective we do not "appear" perfect.  But if God is there, having ordained His creation of each of us and path for each of us, for HIS purposes, our paths are perfect at every point AND we, as HIS "pots" are perfect at every point in His formation of us to His ultimate end of each of us uniquely reflecting His image. 

Our judgments of what is even "good" are almost always based on our human evaluation of what we and our "path" looks like.  Which is understandable since, for this time period HE has limited our vision and understanding.  1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known."

But He asks us to see everything as given by HIM for His ultimate purposes in eternity and in ALL of us.  AND He asks us to see each and every human being as having been given a perfect path for His purposes and being perfect for His purposes.

Isaiah 46:10 "My purpose will be established and I will accomplish ALL my good pleasure."

Still Rejoicing for ALL,

June