More Than Bread

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You may not be aware of this, but in the Old Testament, the one true name of God (sometimes pronounced Jehovah and spelled YHWH), the one true name of God was too holy for people to speak out loud.  But even though they would not say the one true name of God, they did call him by other names. They usually gave God a name when they had an intense, very real encounter with God.  Or they would give him a name that described how He was at work in their lives.  For example, The All-Sufficient God, The God Who Heals, God Almighty, and The God Who Provides were some favorite names of God. 

I grew up on a farm in South Dakota, one of our favorite names for God was Lord of the Harvest. What is your name for God? Listen in as I share how that matters when it comes to generosity. 

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One way evangelicals, love to describe our faith is that we say "We have a "personal relationship with God. Do you have a personal relationship with God?"
Those four words slip off our tongues with ease; personal relationship with God.  It's not about religion, we proclaim, it's about relationship, a personal relationship with God.  Becoming a Christian is all about having a personal relationship with God. To be honest I like the description.  We were made for community and we were made for God. Both of those come together in an amazing way in a "personal relationship with God."

But have you ever stopped to consider how odd that phrase, that invitation  sounds to someone outside of faith?  So what do we mean when we talk about a personal relationship with God?  Well there are different levels of relationship right? But when we talk about a personal relationship with God, it's a relationship that is more and brings more than we can imagine. That's what Psalm 139 is all about!

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Generosity is not about what God wants from us, it's about what God wants for us. He wants to pour out uncontainable blessings upon us. And there is no greater blessing than His presence. When the presence of God is inescapable, the blessings of God are unrelenting. 

And it all starts by giving Him my heart!

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Just take a moment and imagine walking with Jesus out to the middle of nowhere, wherever you live. For me it's central PA, maybe climbing Mt. Nittany, walking to the middle of your town, or campus, or workplace and He begins to paint a picture. He begins to dream a dream with you of what could be, or maybe even of what will be. And then He says, I want you to join me. It's gonna cost you, but it'll be worth it. Will you join me? 

There is a dream on the heart of God to open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that it can't be contained in our lives. Malachi 3 is like God's painting this vision of what could be, walking beside us whispering, "Just imagine the dream on your heart coming true. I want you to join me." What would you do? Better yet, He is inviting you, so what will you do?

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Here's where it starts. Overflowing life starts with Jesus offer to anyone. He said, "Anyone who is thirsty can come." That's Jesus' offer, anyone. And don't miss who  is hearing his words. In John 7 the crowd is filled with doubters and deniers, rule following religious leaders who want to kill him. It’s filled with the confused and uncertain, the oppressed and discouraged, the fearfully hopeful, and even  unbelieving family members. And he says anyone, let anyone who is thirsty come.
Anyone. Is there anyone who is left out of anyone?

Anyone listening then or now. Anyone who is thirsty for something more. And willing to come to Christ. We come to Christ for Christ. He doesn't have what we need to satisfy our thirst.  He is who we need to satisfy our thirst. And when we believe in Him, we become life-giving stations for thirsty souls.

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So we are doing a macro series on four spiritual practices that put us in a life that is characterized by God's gracious hand being upon us. We've looked at the spiritual practice of scripture, the practice of sabbath keeping and this mini-series is on generosity. I'm calling it Overflow. Because in the Kingdom of God, that’s really what generosity is all about. Of course it involves sacrifice, but at it’s heart it’s about letting the love and life of Jesus overflow into the lives of those around us. In this episode and the next few, we will set the stage with some descriptions of the overflowing life. 

And it starts in John 7 with a moment in the life of Jesus where he promised that our lives can become so full that we can't help but be generous with the life inside of us. It's what we call "living in the overflow!"

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Psalm 121 is one of the first of a small group (14) of psalms called the "Psalms of Ascent." They were songs for pilgrims on a journey to the holy place, the presence of God. It's a re-do. I first recorded it about 3 years ago during my top 40 Psalms series. But it's a great Psalm to bridge our series on practicing the sabbath and our upcoming series on generosity.

Psalm 121 begins with a question and an answer that should direct and motivate both practices.  The question is "Where does my help come from?" And the answer is, "My help comes from the Lord." Who can I trust for help? My help comes from the Lord. Where do I go when I need help? My help comes from the Lord. In this episode we will hang out for a bit with this question and answer.  Where does my help come from? The Lord. My help comes from the Lord!

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One more moment to press pause and think about this one day a week that is meant to be a taste of heaven on earth. And I’m going to go at it in a little bit different way. I want to share a story of a moment in the life of Jesus. It doesn’t mention the sabbath at all, but it really reinforces why the sabbath is important. The story is of a man we only know as "the rich young ruler." 

It's a story of the one thing we may lack, that is required for a life that truly thrives.

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The good life does not start with activity. It starts with rest. We don't rest from our work, we rest into our work. The order is significant. We've turned the concept of the Sabbath into a day off, a much needed rest from our busyness, but the Sabbath was not meant to be a passive resting; it was always an active turning from work to God. 

Basically, God has said, "Once a week I'm going to carve out a day for you. I'm going to remove it from the curse; call it holy so that Satan can't mess with it and I'm going to fill it with blessings. Primarily the blessing of me. And I'm good, so good; you won't regret this day. It'll be like the old days, back in the garden, a
day to remind you that I actually want to spend time with you."

See Sabbath is one day a week to taste-test heaven!

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We are strivers. Rather than finding our identity in who we are, we find it in what  we do. At one time work was just a way that we got our family ahead, but now it's the way in which we find our value, determine our worth. We're a society that determines value by achievement. This is even shaping the way we parent. Our kids have to go to the best schools, be trained by the best people and be involved
in all the best activities so they can become the best achievers. Because what really matters is what we do, not who we are. And yet all of our doing does not seem to fill the holes in our souls. In spite of all our doing...something is lacking in our being. Even when I win this rat race, I wake up in the morning to find that I'm
still a rat. But the writer of Hebrews says, there is still hope. 

But somehow we have to stop striving, so we can gain the gift!