when window cleaning isn't enough: ch. 7 of "Hearing God"

I have been reading through “Hearing God” by Dallas Willard. He has gone through the different ways that God speaks to people, and focuses on how incredibly ordinary the people that God spoke to in the Bible were. They doubted, they were not sure it was God speaking. They didn’t always like what God said. God does not speak only to saints. However.  In Chapter 7, he revisits the core of why God speaks to some and not others (or, rather, why some people hear him and others do not)

            Willard is talking about the process of Christ cleansing us from our sin: “Christ through his word removes the old routines in the heart and mind- the old routines of thought…and in their place he puts something else: his thoughts, his attitudes, his beliefs….We now have the character to which listening for God’s voice is natural” (p.200).

            Maybe I am the only one to be struck by this. I was hoping that hearing God was just a matter of cleaning the windows a little, and finding a quiet spot somehow. But it is not just the windows that are dirty. The inside of the house- of ourselves- needs to be gutted and remodeled to be more like Christ.

            It is fruitless to try so hard to strain our ears to hear words when we do not follow the words God has already given us through the Bible. Of course, God speaks to whoever He wants to. But let us not have the audacity to assume there is some kind of shortcut to hearing God. That we don’t have to go through the hard work of letting God change our thoughts, our attitudes, our actions for the very self-seeking satisfaction of hearing God. Let us instead bravely do what we are called to do, and let God change us.

            There is no time to waste.  The situation in Ferguson has been too heavy on my heart for me to even write about (see the link to Jennie Allen’s post on the LiveOak Facebook page). There are countless other examples of how badly the world needs us to be more like Christ. Choose whatever breaks your heart the most, and ask God how you need to change.  If you are bold enough, let me know how it goes!
Beth Kropf

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fleece

I keep thinking about what David (oh how I hope that’s his name, our guest speaker on Sunday!) about the idea of a fleece.  It shows such a lack of faith for us to ask for one, and yet God met Gideon where he was and provided evidence. I wonder how God would feel about us setting out a fleece now. How absurd would it feel to set out a bathmat and say “God, if you want me to do this, soak the bathmat but leave the rest of the grass dry?” Do we even have enough faith to trust the answer? Or would we attribute a wet rug to a strange anomaly?

            I haven’t written about “Hearing God” in a while for a rather dumb reason. I lost my place in my Kindle. However, wherever I was when I was last reading, Williard talked about a good way to verify that we are hearing God is to receive confirmation from someone who knows nothing of the issue. I’ve never had that happen, but I think it would be pretty amazing. Maybe a little spooky, but mostly amazing and God-honoring.

            Let’s be the kind of community that can help each other navigate the waters of faith and signs. Whether we set out a fleece or not, let us listen and look for God to speak to us.

Beth Kropf

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the circle

I really enjoy our new series, and I am always moved by the story of the adulterous woman that everyone but Jesus wanted to stone. It speaks to how strong the group mentality is. Obviously this was a different culture, and adultery was taken much more seriously then. However, it saddens me to think that no one else rose to this woman’s defense. No lover, no friend, no family member. No one else thought she deserved a chance to change. I wish we could know how she felt to see this man Jesus step inside the circle to save her.

            I am sure I have written about this before, but it is so important: Let us not throw stones. It seems an obvious statement when taken literally. But they wanted to throw stones for punishment and judgment. What does that look like in our culture today? Punishment and judgment is not the responsibility of the individual. Let us not hurl words to injure and alienate. Let us step inside the circle. Because we have all sinned. It is only through admitting this that Jesus can save us.

Beth Kropf

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what should we be building?

I enjoyed Scott’s sermon about Nehemiah.  It captured so well the relationship between God and believers.  It is easy to shake our heads and how quickly the Israelites strayed from the covenant and began worshiping idols. And yet if we consider modern day equivalents, it is so much easier to see ourselves. How often do we commit to avoiding a sin, only to find ourselves immersed in it, sometimes seconds later?

            When Scott was talking about the list of things the Israelites had to do and not do, I thought about what God might say if He gave us that list today. What if it said things like “Though shalt not speed. Though shalt recycle every single piece of paper. Thou shalt not eat more than three cookies a day”? These examples may seem absurd, and yet there are many broad commandments in the New Testament we would be wise to think about in specific terms. What does it look like today to love your neighbor?

 Nehemiah took the time to reflect, and rolled up his sleeves to get to work.  Let us be like Nehemiah and complete the work God has laid out for us. What should we be building? What should we commit to avoiding? I don’t know of anyone who is tempted to build a golden calf, but we all have these subtle idols, internally or externally. We are going to mess up. We’re going to walk away from what God has promised. He is a faithful, steadfast husband waiting for His bride. He does not change. He does not love us less. Let us become quicker to see our idols, quicker to repent, and quicker to get back to God’s work. The world needs us.

Beth Kropf

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Considering Silence

In “Hearing God,”  Williard talks about how God always responds to us. He says “Often God does not give us what we ask for, but I believe that he will always answer, always respond to us in some way.” I read this a couple of weeks ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t know whether or not I agree with Williard. But I wonder sometimes if God doesn’t speak to us more directly because we are not ready for the answer. Or we are not open to hearing the answer. But I certainly hate to think that I am just not listening closely enough and missing some message from God.

            I ask you, dear reader, to join me in wrestling with the concept of what we think of as God’s silence. What might be blocking us from hearing God? What mighty things would God be able to accomplish if we were able to hear Him more clearly?
Beth Kropf

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Mother's Day

Mother’s Day always makes me reflect on women as a whole, especially in Scripture. It’s important to note that despite all of the grievances against women as a gender throughout Church history, Jesus Himself was always very respectful towards women. He never treated a woman as inferior to a man. It was a woman who first saw Jesus resurrected. And, God chose to honor women by having the Savior be born from a woman. He didn’t have to do that. Jesus could have been beamed down from heaven or hatched from an egg. Strange things happened in Scripture. For more thoughts on the relationship between God and women, I recommend the book Jesus Feminist  by Sarah Bessey. http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Feminist-Invitation-Revisit-Bibles/dp/1476717257

            I appreciate Caz talking about how Mother’s Day is sometimes a difficult day. For me, holidays have become increasingly harder, as my family lives in Ohio. (I haven’t even posted my blog for Easter, it was so sad!) My mom is amazing, and I so wanted to honor her this morning by reading a poem I wrote for her. That didn’t happen, so I’m posting it here. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I miss you and I love you to pieces.

She is

1.

sometimes the greatest acts of love are omissions

the family history withheld

to avoid tainting my innocent adoration of grandparents

the nosy questions others so freely asked

the opinions of too tight clothes and too arrogant boyfriends

2.

a girl whose mother would hand her a hot dog on the porch for dinner

asked me what I had had for dinner that night

I answered “chicken, rolls, green beans.”

“Where did you go?” She asked.

I frowned in confusion and answered, “my mom made it,”

Not appreciating until so much later the effort made to cook after working all day

3.

I always knew she would be at my side when I gave birth

Even as I passed my due date, she cancelled her flight to stay

knowing she would lose her job

4.

she is the strongest hand beneath me

the sweetest melody carrying me

the brightest gem never dimming

© 2014 Elizabeth Kropf

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