The Hand of God

Recently NASA scientists took an amazing photo of a pulsar.  Using their Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) NASA astronomers captured this incredible image of an exploding star nearly 17,000 light-years away.  This amazing pulsar wind nebula has been nicknamed "The Hand of God" as it appears to be a ghostly hand reaching outward.  The high energy x-rays captured for the first time by NuSTAR have been colored blue and are combined with earlier photos of the same pulsar taken by the Chandra Observatory which show the lower energy emissions in green and red.

The Hand Of God (courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/McGill)

While astronomers often use fanciful names to describe items seen in space to capture our imagination, it seemed interesting that they would dub this one as such.  In the Bible there are many references to "The Hand of God" with three that I think are very encouraging and relate to this amazing photo.  First, please note the image seems to show the right hand - this is the hand of power.  Psalm 110:1 tells us "The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” " (ESV)  What an encouraging promise from an all-powerful God to know that we have access to His power that can secure us from "enemies" such as anger, or fear, or doubt, and other things that come against us.  Secondly, when we are under the influence of the Hand of God, submitting and listening to Him, we find His word full of comfort and encouragement coming to us.  "The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there." - Ezekiel 1:3 (ESV).  Finally, when we humble ourselves under His Hand, He exalts at the proper time.  "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you" - 1 Peter 5:6 (ESV).  While the photo may be descriptive in its naming this "The Hand of God" because of what it looks like, it is so great to know that God is way closer that 17,000 light years away from us, in fact, we read in Isaiah 49:16 that God does not forget us but has "engraved you on the palms of my hands" (ESV).  

Wholly Holey

A hole in the pocket is like a bank vault without a lock, or an investment in a Ponzi scheme.  Everything entrusted there is at risk.

All the dreaming, motivation, faithfulness & sweaty work is dribbled away, diminished and lost because of the breach in the britches.  Put hard earned cash in a pocket with holes and there’ll be little to nothing to show for it when you get home.  The problem is not in the effort to earn, but in the failure to secure the weak areas.

An Old Testament prophet of Israel named Haggai fingered this for the nation. “He who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes,” he wrote (Haggai 1:6).  

What put holes in Israel’s bag? 

Neglecting their relationship with God. 

Leaving God out of their lives was like leaving open seams in bags of gold.  Neglecting the spiritual devotion poked holes in the best intentions and efforts.

 

What good is a money bag if it’s wholly holey?

If it seems the valuables of life (like one’s mental health, marriage, family etc.) are slipping away, refocus on the relationship with God.   Haggai penned, “Consider your ways” and then repeated himself.  It is critical to consider the emphasis one gives their relationship with Jesus.

Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God (His lordship) and His righteousness (His moral standard), and all these things (food, clothing, etc) shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). 

When the Lord has first place in one’s life, holes are closed up.  He is our Keeper (Psalm 121:3).  The Holy takes care of the holey.  May we let Him.

Ready, Set, Go...

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” 

(Luke 1:38)

I like to prepare for a test.  Pop quizzes can catch a person completely off-guard.  I think Mary's encounter with Gabriel has to be one of the all-time greatest surprise tests.   Without warning, she meets an angel with a remarkable promise, and has the preparation of heart to completely accept it.  No push-back.  No resistance. No awkward unbelief.

Could I say in an instant, “I am the servant of the Lord?”  

Preparation

Jesus taught that one's response is a manifestation of the heart's condition.  “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34).  Abundance means we don't have to look far to find what we're seeking.  We all have an abundance of thoughts.  What kind are they? Mary's heart had an abundance of servant thoughts, thus when service was needed she could easily offer it.  On the throne of her heart sat God Himself.   He was Lord; she was His servant.  Is this phrase ready in me?   

What I think about prepares me for one result or its opposite.  Mary, because of the abundance of her thoughts was ready in faith.  Zechariah, her relative, met the same angel 6 months earlier and wasn't ready.  He was unbelieving when the angel announced Elizabeth his wife would become pregnant with John the Baptist.  He had stopped thinking God would give him a baby and started thinking God wouldn't.  When his moment came, he wasn't ready to answer with submission and faith. 

Cultivation

In working with people, I find paying attention to one's thinking will cultivate an abundance of fruitful thoughts.  Like an unattended garden, we all tend toward weedy thinking unless we cultivate the soil of our thoughts.  Meditate on Mary's statement to Gabriel as your own heart preparation for whatever you face.  

Try carrying her statement with you to whatever comes today and say, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.  Let it be to me according to your word."

The Power Of Praise

I've been thinking about the power of praise.  Let me share an experience.

Birds find nooks and crannies in your house...singing their songs in the place where we worship...
How blessed they are to live and sing there!  - Psalm 84:3-4 The Message

It was pre-dawn and dark as I took my morning prayer walk.  Fog lay across the neighborhood like a blanket of silence.  There was absolutely no noise as if creation had lost its voice in this double darkness.  As I walked up a hill, I saw a light pushing back both the darkness and the fog.  In a tree by the light, a single bird had thrown back its head and sang with full throat into the fog.  It was striking because it was literally THE only sound to be heard: a song of praise piercing the fog and darkness.

Pray as you walk through life.  Then even when you feel plunged in double darkness you'll discover a "light" and a song on a "hill."  Like that bird, praise the Lord no matter what the circumstances of life.

Alan Malchuk
SureCord Christian Counseling
(Originally written April 2005)
SureCord Christian Counseling

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No Sweat!

"They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat."

Ezekiel 44:18

This blessed me.  

Crazy, huh?

I was reminded of a teaching I heard one time about sweat. Interestingly, the priests of the Lord were not to wear garments that made them sweat. Why is that?  I think the answer is found in two gardens.

The word sweat only occurs three times in the Bible.  The first is in Eden at the fall of man.  In that garden, as man was cursed for his rebellion, God pronounced man’s “bread” (sustenance) would come by the sweat of his brow.  Sweat was part of the fall.  How true is that?  Isn’t work hard?  

Then in Ezekiel we learn the Lord’s priests were to dress so as not to sweat before Him in their labor.  Work before the Lord was to be without the curse of sweat.  How many of us serve the Lord without sweat?  How many of us work so hard at things for God like our efforts make the difference?

We come to the second garden and the final use in Luke 22:44.  Jesus sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane.  His sweat had blood in it, as in agony He pondered dying for us.  This is the sweat of God Himself!  This is God taking up the pain of our lives, our curse, our place. He sweat so that we need not.  God doesn’t want our sweat.  He wants our faith.  

Jesus shows us the way out of that burden. He taught us to pray (not sweat) for our daily bread.  Faith is resting in Christ's sweating. Instead of anxiety fretting and self-effort sweating, we rest in Christ's work for us. 

In another metaphor, Jesus taught that we are merely branches drawing from the vine everything that produces fruit.  May we rest like a branch in the garden of God’s planting.  Turn cares to prayers and the sweat will stop.

As I come to challenges, I’m learning to exercise faith in the One who sweat for me.

I’m learning to say, “No sweat!”  

Alan Malchuk

SureCord Christian Counseling

Cleansing Guilt with Inferiority?

Hebrews 10:11

"Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins."

As I reflected on this passage, I realized that if guilt and regret have repetitive pathways in our thinking then we can daily offer repentance and feelings of inferiority as sacrifices, but never achieve what we long for... a cleansed conscience.  Hebrews 9:14 says, "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! 

Mudpreacher.org

We are all invited to create space in our lives so that we can cooperate with Christ's perfect sacrifice and receive freedom from the repetitive burdens of guilt and regret.  We are invited to participate in new self talk such as: "Thank you Lord for your provision for my guilt, shame and regret, I choose to receive it and ask that your Holy Spirit would work it into my Spirit.  I invite my Spirit to come forth and lead my soul, where these repetitive pathways are rooted and still active. In Jesus Name, Amen."

Blessings on your journey as you cooperate and choose the freedom that Christ has purchased from all guilt, shame and regret.

Kelly Harris, MA, LPC

Is the Counselor a Cornerstone?

Oftentimes clients come to counseling in the midst of the storm or having recently walked through a storm. They are often looking to me for answers. I am able to provide confidential care and empathy but I have little to offer in myself, my personal insights and even my training that will provide for them a solid, sure foundation. But, I have the opportunity to point those to whom the Lord brings my way to Christ who is a solid and sure foundation.

Recently I discovered a song by Hillsong United entitled, “Cornerstone”, where they take the lyrics from the hymn “The Solid Rock” and add a chorus. The truths expressed in this song give me great confidence and hope as a Christian counselor. Consider the chorus below:

Christ alone, Cornerstone
Weak made strong, in the Savior's love
Through the storm

He is Lord, Lord of all

Counseling is not a value neutral endeavor. Every counselor and every client brings his or her worldview and presuppositions into the counseling office. The unique privilege and opportunity that I have as a Christian counselor is to be able to share the hope and rock-solid security that is available in Christ even in the midst of great adversity and suffering. I do not impose my values on clients but I openly share as clients are open to considering the anchor that holds through the fiercest of storms. This gives me great confidence as a clinician because there is nothing I can offer that provides the same level of security. Oftentimes the realities of life in a world that is prone to storms opens opportunities to share with those who do not stand on a solid foundation of the SureCord of hope that is available in the person and work of Jesus Christ. At SureCord we believe that Christ is in all our solutions. Life in a fallen world entails brokenness and pain. And yet, in Christ there is help and hope!

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  (Psalm 18:2 ESV)

Chad Cooke, PhD, LPC