God-shaped Vacuum

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing.  It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.” (Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662)


I've been blessed to grow up in a godly home. Can't tell you how thankful I am for that. Some would say, and I sometimes felt, that I was sheltered and naive. Still, there's been PLENTY of opportunity to breathe the culture of Manitoba, Ontario, Minnesota and Wisconsin...with modest ventures beyond. I'm not an isolationist.



But I do think there are times when my devotional connection with God has been a neglected and weak, and I've felt at least a bit of that God-shaped vacuum. Sometimes it takes a few days to realize that the funk I'm in is of my own doing, since I'm not giving enough attention to my inner life, my spirit.


Filling that God-shaped vacuum is a lifelong pursuit, one that requires faith, trust and time. That's one thing I like about the pensive Pensees of Pascal: they're deep, reflective, meditative. That's a powerful channel for God to move through in the filling of our souls.


Solomon of ancient Israel said it like this: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

Facedown Worship

From Matt Redman’s Facedown:

“Facedown worship always begins as a posture of the heart. It’s people so desperate for the increase of Christ that they find themselves decreasing to the ground in an act of reverent submission. When a soul is so captivated by the Almighty, to bend low in true and total surrender seems the only appropriate response.

On several different occasions, the Bible allows us a glimpse into an open heaven. Each time is a window of revelation through which we discover more of what worship looks like before the heavenly throne. And there’s a whole lot of facedown worship going on. In Revelation, John encounters the risen and exalted Jesus, whose eyes blaze like fire and whose face is shining like the sun in all its brilliance. Overwhelmed to the core, John shrinks to the ground in reverence and fear (see Revelation 1). A few chapters later, the elders too are falling down in holy devotion.”

God, increase in my life today. Help me decrease, not in my wholeness and personhood, but in my arrogance and selfishness. Lift me up to be humble.

American Christmas

We had our American Christmas tonight, 10 days early so it works with our Canada trip. Our whole family was home, including Megan’s boyfriend, Tim. Grandpa John and Grandma Joanne were over too. 

Colleen’s Japanese Chicken was a huge hit at dinner. Megan and Tim played some LOUD games of Dutch Blitz with each other. Then, after dinner but before presents, the Christmas story: Luke 2:1-20. I read it myself this year and then prayed blessing over everyone in the room, and thankfulness for the coming of baby Jesus.

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

And then it was presents, hugs, pictures, coffee and dessert, and bedtime on a school night! Thanks God for an amazing evening. Jesus, thanks for stepping into our very needy world…and for making a way.

In Repentance and Rest, In Quietness and Trust

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
       "In repentance and rest is your salvation,
       in quietness and trust is your strength,
       but you would have none of it. (Isaiah 30:15)

God, tonight I don’t want “none of it”; I want “it”. I want your salvation and your strength through repentance and rest, through quietness and trust. As I lay down, I rest in you. However my day measures up, I’m yours and I’m “in”. Come, rest. Come, Lord.

Merrilyn Frying Bruce's Fish Filets

Walked through the kitchen just now and Col is griddling up some chicken as part of her Japanese Chicken dish for tomorrow night. It’s a spectacular meal! We’ll be celebrating our American Christmas tomorrow night since we’re leaving Christmas Eve for Canada.

Seeing the chicken battered up and sizzling took me right back to Kenora, Ontario in my high school years. Dad loved to throw the canoe on top of the car and head out the Jones Road for a few hours of quiet time with the fish. He’d come back with three or four and clean them on top of the freezer, just out the back door of the house on Tetroe Road. I can see the fish eyes looking at me as they waited their turn, fins flipping back and forth just a bit.

Then Mom would take those filets and flour ‘em up and fry ‘em up. It smells quite a bit like that right here and now. And we were home.

Thoughts on Heaven

So I'm having a peaceful moment before I start into a big project this afternoon. I love peaceful moments. They have a heavenish feel. I'm home, in my office, watching the December snow melt and drip a bit on my south-facing windows. I'm surrounded by walls of books, and officey things, and I'm thinking about heaven. Heaven must be a bit like an English manor.

Manors are often grand, like a castle, but still personal and warm. I can see the window where my office would be. Somehow I'd have responsibilities, the kind of responsibilities that you feel you have the resources to look after. But there would always be time to sit around a warm fire with family and friends.

Heaven's not going to be about the mansions, though I think we'll be well accommodated. There will be a palace and throne more majestic than The White House, Neuschwanstein Castle and the Taj Majal rolled into one. But if what I know of God is true, we'll be awestruck by the gentle humility that comes together with the power of Creator God.


Jesus, the Humble King, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...we'll be overwhelmed by the love of our servant monarch.


Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. Grant us your peace.


 ¹Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.²And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" ³But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
 ⁶Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits^[a] of God sent out into all the earth.⁷He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song:
   "You are worthy to take the scroll
      and to open its seals,
   because you were slain,
      and with your blood you purchased men for God
      from every tribe and language and people and nation.
 ¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
      and they will reign on the earth."
 ¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹²In a loud voice they sang:
   "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
   and honor and glory and praise!"
 ¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
   "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
   be praise and honor and glory and power,
         for ever and ever!" ¹⁴The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 5:1-14

Wow, the peaceful moment gets pretty raucous! But everything is set right, and Yahweh is the LORD, and the peace is both transcendent and imminent. It's out of this world, and it's right here.

Heaven must be a bit like an English manor.

Intelligent Design

I came across this story tonight and it left me a bit awestruck. Granted, I'm already an Intelligent Design proponent. Granted, there's much more statistical, empirical proof for design than this simple illustration. But the story itself is compelling, even though the real odds for intelligent design are exponentially greater even than this.

Chicago: OrchestraHall

So here it is:

"Consider further the case of Artur Rubinstein. Imagine it's 1971 and you are at Orchestra Hall in Chicago listening to Rubinstein perform. As you listen to him perform Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, you think to yourself, I know the man I'm listening to right now is a wonderful musician, but there's an outside possibility that he doesn't know the first thing about music and the he is just banging away at the piano haphazardly. The fact that Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody was cascading from Rubinstein's fingers would thus merely be a happy accident.

Mind Like Water

I got a tip a few years ago to check out productivity guru David Allen. I did and I'm hooked. The centerpiece of his system is a book by the title Getting Things Done. While it's a lifelong pursuit, much of my personal organization is modeled on his ideas. Great tips on customizing Microsoft Outlook, too, for more efficiency. Interested? Here's a sample from a David Allen email. See what you think. Mind Like Water Even very important things can be on cruise control and not on your mind. If your attention is being grabbed, then there's almost an inverse relationship there. The degree to which your attention is being grabbed is the degree to which you are not free to place your attention where and how you want to. So, if nothing else, it's just a pure practical idea that, if you can get rid of the demons that are grabbing hold of your brain and shaking it around—whether that's buy cat food or reconsidering your career—then it will give you a lot more freedom to be thinking about those things in more creative ways or not have to think about them at all. In Getting Things Done, this is a key practice I discuss in the very first chapter:

A Little Bit of Light

OK, I’m not an art critic. I do, however, have fairly strong emotional responses to visual art and especially music. My favorite musician, Phil Keaggy, gives his take on Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Starry Night, in the song, A Little Bit of Light…another one of my five-star songs. Phil’s got more fives in my collection than any other artist. Click on the title if you want to listen along in another window. Use the best audio you can…big difference… My take is after the lyrics.

A Little Bit of Light

I lie here staring at the starry night
Vincent Van Gogh you really got it right
Your brush strokes paint the darkness in your life
Behind every brush stroke I find
A little bit of light

 The sound and the fury kept me up all night
Count no count – you got me all uptight
The struggle for the soul is a terrible fight
Behind every word I find
A little bit of light

It's a beautiful thing to see through the eye
Of pain and heartache laid into the night
You run from the darkness in this life
But if you turn around you'll find
A little bit of light

The blackest sea would tell a tale
Of journeys the chosen few have prevailed
The failing dream could reach the highest height
And love comes tumbling down in a little bit of light
A little bit of light

 Don't forget the sunflowers or the lilies fair
The spotted horses and that old black bear
Laughter turns the tears we often cry
And joy comes crashing in
In a little bit of light

It's a beautiful thing to see through the eyes
Of pain and heartache laid into the night
Don’t run from the darkness in this life
Cause if you turn around you'll find
A little bit of light

Lyrics by Keith Moore, Music by Phil Keaggy, c 1998 Bridge Building Music and Word Music

Mr. Hovi

Neil Diamond got the ball rolling with his TV concert in New York City tonight. The stroll down memory lane got me thinking about junior high at Lakewood School in Kenora, Ontario. I got to surfing tunes on Grooveshark and bumped into some Burton Cummings. Anyone remember Stand Tall?

Grace, The Beggar's Kingdom

Another quote from Blue Like Jazz, from Chapter 7, Grace, The Beggar's Kingdom: pages 83-85 – "Enlightenment came in an unexpected place: a grocery store. I was on my way over Mount Hood to spend some time in the high desert with a few friends. I was driving alone and decided to stop in at Safeway to pick up some provisions for the weekend.

While standing in line at the checkout counter, the lady in front of me pulled out food stamps to pay for groceries. I had never seen food stamps before. They were more colorful than I imagined and looked more like money than stamps. It was obvious that she unfolded the currency that she, I., and the checkout girl were quite uncomfortable with the interaction. I wish there was something I could do. I wished I could pay for her groceries myself, but to do so would have been to cause a greater scene.

Thumpin

It all started back in Kenora, Ontario. Some friends were getting a band together and the missing piece was the bass guitar. It was 9th grade and my family was new in town, with my parents moving there to pastor a church. I had piano lessons when I was younger, until my pushback finally got to be too much. I took guitar lessons for a while before we left Brandon and I kinda liked that. But now, a bassist was needed.

I remember the first bass, a starter model for sure, graciously provided by my parents. I had a couple of books but mostly it was "Somebody start playin' and I'll figure something out." Then it was mix tapes with band songs, over and over until it felt good. Not the worst way to learn an instrument: just get into the music.

Blue Like Jazz

Page ix – “I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Baghdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened.”

*****

So here it is, my first book review. Actually, it's more of a book sample...hope that's OK. I love this book! I read it last summer on family vacation at a beautiful lake spot in northern Minnesota. I have this passion for what feels real inside of me to be presented credibly to people in my circles. I think Donald Miller does a lot of that in Blue Like Jazz. He's put words and stories to dozens of the deep things I feel.

Wonderful World, Chris Eaton

Last stop before bed tonight: one of my 5 star mp3s. I've never listened so closely to the lyrics. Unbelievable! I always caught the "wonderful" part and never really heard the reality of the pain that came before. This is so good.

It's like Romans 8:26,28 from The Message: Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. ...That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

 Wonderful World

I have shouldered the blame far too long
I have hidden my light under a cloud
Only in these days of release
Have I understood mercy and grace

Music

The fall of 1988 was one of the most intense seasons of my life. I was a 20-year-old junior at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis and I felt a drive and determination to grab all of life in one huge handful.

One of my methods was to take huge amounts of time every day to connect spiritually with my Creator. It wasn't uncommon to take 2 or 3 hours a day and just pour through the scriptures and journal and walk. I wouldn't let myself go to bed until I'd had at least 75 minutes of this sort of devotional quiet time. Reckless, but amazing! More on that another day.

Flash back a few months to my sophomore year.