Does Not Compute

Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters… Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” When my oldest son Kyan was about four or five, he used to love saying “I’m half Korean, half Chinese, half American and half Singaporean!” He could tell from our smiles that we enjoyed hearing him say it, so he repeated it over and over. We didn’t have the heart to tell him that being 200% of a person was a mathematical impossibility. When Jesus came to earth, he was fully God and fully man. If he had been only 100% God, that’d already stretch the realm of possibility and total awesomeness. But the fact that he was also 100% man brings his existence into the category of “does not compute.” Jesus chose to limit himself to give us an example of how we can live. He said “the son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his father doing.” But we now know that despite our limitations, when we have complete dependence on God, miracles happen. That’s why Jesus said we would do “even greater things than these.” Lord, thank you that all things are possible with you. It’s so much more fun serving a God of the impossible, than serving a God of the mundane. May your kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Royal Caribbean

Psalm 148:7 “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths.” Elaine and I have really come to enjoy taking cruises for our holidays. She loves packing in new experiences, so the ability to dock in a new city each day really scratches that itch. Well, we came on the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas the other day, and travel restrictions have forced us into a “cruise to nowhere.” My expectations were pretty low coming into it, but when we walked into our room I was totally blown away. Ends up that the ship is only at 10% capacity, so they upgraded us to the biggest room on board. I’ve never stayed in a cruise ship room that was much larger than the area of the bed. But by the grace of God, we landed on this 2 bedroom duplex that’s nicer than most houses I’ve lived in. The scale of this room kind of shocked me. But then upon reflection, this giant room is just a tiny fraction of a massive boat that sleeps 7,000 people. We went up on a ride on deck called the North Star and saw views that rival those of the Singapore flyer. But as we see giant ships (that appear as tiny specks) from afar we know that even the grandest vessels are just a tiny fraction of the vast oceans that God created. See often when we get worked up about our problems, it’s because we’ve forgotten the scale of our all-powerful father. Even life or death issues are no match for a God whose praises are screamed from great sea creatures and all the ocean depths. So if a room one twenty five millionths the size of the oceans can lift my spirits for a bit, then how much more can I rely on Him to place me in a position of his all-powerful perspective? Lord, thank you for reminding me who you are. Thank you for granting me access to the great expanse of your everlasting love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Abundant Time

Psalm 145:5 “I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.” Life has generally gotten more and more hectic as I’ve gotten older. I guess that’s natural and probably true for most of us. As God enables us with more capabilities, a broader range of friends and acquaintances, and more responsibilities, we have more demands on our time. Then when some exogenous shock hits, we have this idea that we don’t have enough bandwidth to deal with it all. Well today the family is heading out on a cruise to nowhere, and because I’m unsure about the quality of my connection at sea, I’ve cleared the entire schedule for a few days. I’m really looking forward to spending some quality time with the family, and some quality time with the big guy upstairs. There have been more things to take care of, and with dad’s condition progressing, I’ve found myself thinking that I just don’t have the bandwidth to deal with it all. I’ve struggled to keep up with messages, and time with God has suffered. But the reality is if I can clear my schedule for a few days at sea, I can definitely clear it to carve out time with God as well. “You don’t have time” is really a lie of the enemy. The truth is that I have all the time I need to do exactly what God wants me to be doing. I just might need to shift my idea of “what He wants me to be doing.” Lord, I put you first and only want what you want. I look forward to meditating on your majestic, glorious splendor and wonderful miracles over the next few days. You are not a God of scarcity, but of abundance. I have all the time I need. Thank you for loving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.