The Pleasure of God

Haggai 1:8 "Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified", says the Lord.

Prior to saying this God said to the people you eat and are still hungry, you drink and are still thirsty, you live in your homes and are unsatisfied. Have you even wondered why? At this point the people had returned to their homeland after being in captivity for 70 years. They had started working on the temple, but had become discouraged and quit and went about concentrating on rebuilding their homes and reclaiming their lives. In a sense, they had quit worshipping God and then they came to find they did not have the joy they expected they would have upon returning home. So God says to them that he takes pleasure in what we do for him. 

Think about that, we as people can bring pleasure into God! He created the world and we are but small specks on it. He created the stars and the world itself is a small speck compared to them and yet we can bring pleasure to God? The temple cannot hold our creator, but when we build a structure for God and set it apart as special to us we touch him and when we bring pleasure to him we find satisfaction and peace in our lives as a result.

In Philippians 4:8-9 Paul tells us to meditate on whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, or praiseworthy and in doing so we will find God. So God takes pleasure in what we do for him and he surrounds us with things that show he is here. If we want to be in his presence then we need to stop and notice those things around us that reveal him. When we recognize we are in the presence of God, we will only want to worship him and in our worship we will bring him pleasure and then we will have satisfaction within our lives.

A Psalm from a Week in my Journey

12/07/14

Oh my God, why am I abandoned?
I tried to reach out and explain, but she despised me.
I asked a brother to come, please hear me. No! She forbids me to talk to you.
A sheriff is in my home as though I am a criminal.
She and her dad drive away without a single word or comment.
I am alone and abandoned; not worthy of help or care from either of them.
I lay on my bed with eyes wide open. There is no refuge even through sleep.

12/08/14

Oh my God; I am drained and exhausted.
I am alone now even at work.
I ask my supervisor for a few minutes of time and wait. There is no response.
Thirty minutes later I walk to his desk and ask again. “Oh sure.”
No one cares. I am despised by all.
Home is now a dark, empty prison. The silence is overbearing and fearful.
I am tired yet sleep eludes me another night.

12/09/14

I remain utterly alone and despised. No contact, no word, dreadful silence.
I have been abandoned to rot and decay.
Where are you God? Are you aware of this deep pain?
Do you care? Is this ache to remain in my stomach forever?
I go through motions. Anything to urge time onward.
My desire is for a single word. Yet she utters none.
Sleep is now an enemy for it too has abandoned me.

12/10/14

My soul, my heart, my body is exhausted and faint.
Even food brings no joy or strength. Only a bitter taste.
There is no joy in the world. Nor concern or care.
I called brothers from my past; confessing, sharing, seeking help.
They have not called back to check on my heart or on me.
Yes, I am completely abandoned,
My enemies they increase in number and now include those who I once spoke to face to face.

12/11/14

Physically I am sick. I am drained. I am sleepless.
A new brother invites me to his house. I find light in his company.
He shares words of hope, words of instruction, words of prayer. Indeed words from God.
Comfort is fleeting, but a life line has been thrown.
Oh my God. Five nights! I have prayed to you. Help! Heal! Comfort! Give me sleep!
Am I being heard? Am I worthy to be heard?
God, rescue me from total abandonment.

12/12/14

Another morning as bitter as the five preceding it.
I begin another day replicating my mechanical movements doing nothing.
There is a knock. I open the door and see the most beautiful face of all!
I am stunned, shocked. I collapse in sobs. Her hands reach, touch, and bring comfort.
Oh my God. You heard! You cared! You did not abandon me!
You spoke to her heart through a deep sadness,
and brought her to our door and the road home.
God; you are amazing and great. I will sing of your rescue with all my heart.
I will tell others of your grace and love for your fallen, broken children.

I Care for Bill Maher

Lately, I've been listening to many of Bill Maher's dialogues that have been uploaded to YouTube. I agree with much of what he says concerning the nastiness of many conservatives and I think he is spot on many times. However, as an adopted son of God I find him tragically wrong on his thoughts and opinions about my creator and father. In his dialogue about Noah he calls God a murderer of babies. He argues that those babies did nothing wrong, yet God wiped them out along with their parents during the flood. He is correct that any babies born right before the flood perished along with their parents, but his arguments about how this action destroys the character of God are not correct. I have been pondering how would one try to talk with Mr. Maher about this and two examples came to mind.

The first example I remembered occurred in the 1990's near Lubbock, Texas. A young couple with a new born were wiped out when an 18 wheeler plowed into them late at night while they were parked on the shoulder of highway 84 near Lubbock. That particular night the West Texas wind was howling making it difficult for the driver to keep the truck on the highway. The young father in this case did not want to spend money on a hotel, and decided to pull over on the shoulder and sleep for a bit. About two miles past where he had just driven was a picnic area that he could have pulled into which would have kept them even further from the highway, but he drove past that and pulled over where his young family were met with tragic results. It can be said he placed a higher priority on saving $90 a hotel room would have cost than his young wife and newborn son.  The innocent child perished with his parents not because God murdered him but because a poor choice put him in harm's way.

My second example happened as Hurricane Ike was approaching the Texas coast. The authorities in Galveston practically begged and pleaded with the population to get off the island. One of the news crews showed two young children standing with their parents at the sea wall watching the waves crash over it. The parents were acting like this was going to be a party and so much fun as they laughed along with their children at the waves. As the hurricane moved inland, the authorities began getting calls from those who foolishly chose to stay begging for help. All the authorities could say was we cannot help you, give us your information and we will respond when the storm is over. In one example, a woman began texting her friends sharing how bad it is getting. In one of her final texts she admitted, "I think I made a mistake by staying." Tragically she was correct and her body was found in the swampy marshes later. Her house having been completely destroyed she was washed inland by the surge. I do not know the outcome of the two young children and their parents. Those two innocent children may have perished as well, but not because God murdered them but because the two who were given responsibility to protect them made a foolish decision to stay like the lady above.

I don't believe Mr. Maher will be willing to listen to my examples. But like the babies during Noah's time they perished because their parents chose not to get on the ark for whatever reason and in my examples there is a rough correlation to the example of Noah. God is the controller of the West Texas wind and hurricane winds and he could have made the winds cease I suppose. Yet, the parents in both cases made a decision to stay in harm's way and in one case a newborn died, but not because God murdered him but because a tragic choice was made.