honesty

God doesn't attend pity parties.

God doesn't attend pity parties.

Jeremiah 15

This chapter contains one of several personal prayers by Jeremiah that were written down for posterity. And it comes as no surprise that Jeremiah’s not having a pleasant time of it: “Lord, you understand; remember me and care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors. You are long-suffering—do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for your sake… Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? You are to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails.” (vs 15, 18)

God wants your heart.

God wants your heart.

Isaiah 29

In this chapter, God reveals what the object of His desire is when it comes to worship: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” (vs 13-14)

God hates hypocrisy.

God hates hypocrisy.

Isaiah 1

In this first chapter of Isaiah, God reveals Himself as someone who has little interest in religious traditions: “‘The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.’” (vs 11-14)

God keeps His word.

God keeps His word.

Ecclesiastes 5

A few years ago, I went to see the musical Jersey Boys. It’s the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and it’s a pretty wild story! But nothing floored me more than the revelation that Frankie Valli and songwriter Bob Gaudio (who was, for a time, also one of the group’s singers) have maintained for more than 40 years a personal partnership contract sealed with a handshake.

God plants people.

God plants people.

Proverbs 12

One of my favorite television programs to watch is Judge Judy. Judge Sheindlin is a no-nonsense judge who doesn’t hold back what she’s thinking from the litigants who come into her courtroom. And one of the things she says often (especially to people who have lied or are trying to lie to her!) is, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to have a good memory.”

God is not seductive.

God is not seductive.

Proverbs 7

It seems rather ironic that Solomon wrote so much about women. Since he ended up with 700 wives and/or concubines, it would seem he either didn’t take his own wise advice… or he gained some of his wisdom through unfortunate experience! Either way, I think we can learn something very important about God by comparing Him with the women Solomon has been referencing in the last few chapters of Proverbs:

God is a... hater?

God is a... hater?

Proverbs 6

If there is one, overarching theme to the Bible, it must be that God is love. He is like a fierce Momma Bear who will do anything, absolutely anything, to protect His children. (And, you know, we’re all His children.) But because we spend so much time using that word love to describe God, it’s easy to forget that the Bible describes Him as hating things, too. (Notice I said things, not people.)

God wants to be your girlfriend.

God wants to be your girlfriend.

Psalm 55

Okay, so the title of this blog is aimed at women, not men (just in case you guys were starting to sweat a little bit). Although what I am about to say in this blog applies just as equally to men as it does to women. Guys aren’t the only ones who have girlfriends. Girls have girlfriends, too—you know, the kind you can talk to on the phone for hours or stay up half the night giggling with. For girls, a good girlfriend is someone to whom you feel comfortable pouring out your heart—down to the very last, nitty gritty detail. Most guys have an equivalent to the girlfriend relationship—someone they feel comfortable being completely honest with, except it often doesn’t involve as much talking.

God is totally above board.

God is totally above board.

Psalm 15

In English, when we say that somebody is “above board,” it means that they deal completely honestly and fairly with others. Ironically, its origins are from the gambling world: In a card game, if a person put their hand “below the board” (sideboard was a common word for table), it was easier for them to cheat. Keeping their hand “above board” ruled out the option of dishonesty.

God wants us to be real.

God wants us to be real.

Job 34

Didn’t Elihu say he had something new to add to the conversation? Instead, he ends up repackaging and regurgitating the arguments of his older, supposedly-not-as-wise counterparts: “Job claims that he is innocent, that God refuses to give him justice. He asks, How could I lie and say I am wrong? I am fatally wounded, but I am sinless. Have you ever seen anyone like this man Job? He never shows respect for God. He likes the company of evil people and goes around with sinners. He says that it never does any good to try to follow God’s will.” (vs 5-9)

God subjects Himself to our scrutiny.

God subjects Himself to our scrutiny.

Job 33

Well, what can we say about Elihu? Except that he is insufferably wordy—it took him a chapter and a half to say “I’m going to speak!”—and fearfully pompous—”Be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” (vs 33) He hasn’t even really gotten around to any major points yet, although my suspicion is that he won’t have much to add to the conversation. (We’ll see.)

God can handle our emotions.

God can handle our emotions.

Job 6

When Job opens his mouth to reply to Eliphaz, one thing is clear: He is angry. "Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams... Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid." (vs 14-15, 21)

God tells the whole truth.

God tells the whole truth.

2 Kings 15

Well, what can you say about a chapter like 2 Kings 15? It’s nothing but a discouraging report of a succession of evil kings—each one seemingly worse than the last! Plus, it seemed to be the same story over and over again: A king comes to the throne, is evil, and doesn’t reign very long until he is assassinated. Then, the person who assassinated the previous king comes to the throne, is evil, and doesn’t reign very long until he is assassinated. Over and over again.

The Confrontational Creator {ex14:16-17}

Photo © shutterstock.com/Melnik

Photo © shutterstock.com/Melnik

The problem with sin is that we
want to have our cake
and eat it too,
just like Pharaoh,
who wanted to have his slaves
and free them too.

But not to decide
is to decide,
and not to give in
is to remain stubborn

and that has an effect.

We all think
/or want to believe/
that no matter
what we choose
we automatically
revert back to
this neutral default place
after each decision,
that our choices
don't have any lasting
consequences.

But that's ridiculous.

If you've lived in darkness
your entire life
and someone suddenly
turns on a light
you are no longer a person
who has only known darkness.

You cannot return
to saying that you do not know
what light looks like.
You may say it still,
all right,
but in your heart
you know it's not true

and that has an effect.

God is the Light of the World,
that Great Confronter who
scouts out
runs down
and passionately pursues
His darkness-dwelling
children.

He would not dream
of letting you remain
forever in your darkness.
He knows nothing of
live and let live,
has no hands-off policy,
and is generally unaccommodating.

He does not prefer to avoid confrontation.

As surely as He lives,
you live,
and as surely as He lives,
you will experience Him.

And when you do,
you cannot return
to saying that you have never
experienced Him.
You may say it still,
all right,
but in your heart
you will know it's not true

and that will have an effect.

And if you persist
in ignoring or avoiding reality
for long enough
you may just find yourself
in a chariot
at the edge of the sea,
unable to bat an eyelash
at the rising walls of water,
unable to wonder how or why the briny deep
is drawing back to reveal dry ground,
unable to think twice
before rushing headlong
into the foregone destruction
of a hardened heart.