May 16-The Wonder of the One Who Woos, Wins, and Wows

I'm always surprised when I find evidence that God loves me and wants me no matter what I do, but I shouldn't be.  It's everywhere I read in my Bible:  1 Samuel 18-19, John 8:48-59, Psalm 112, and Proverbs 15:12-14.

Click here for the written post of today's episode.

Eve reads her Bible journal aloud on this episode.

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Transcript

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May 16 The wonder of the one who woos, wins, and wows. I won't be reading the scripture references. For those, please check the written post. I met Ernest at the hospital where he was recovering from a brain bleed. His head was wrapped up in a turban of sorts with wires coming out that connected to monitors. His room was dark as light from the window and overhead glare bothered him, but he was full of light himself. Hello, I'm Eve, I said as I showed him my badge. I'm a volunteer. Can I get you anything? Another blanket or something to eat or drink? Oh no, I'm fine. Tell me why you volunteer. That was surprising. Most people I visit don't ask about me. They want to tell me about themselves and why they're in the hospital. Ernest was different. My husband had a stroke two years ago. We learned what it's like to be stuck in the hospital, afraid of what's happening, unable to do anything about it. He was in an excellent hospital with a staff that treated us like family. I think it's a lot of why he had a complete recovery. I want to pass along what they gave us to other stroke patients. You want to love them in their suffering. Is that it? Was that what I said? I hadn't thought about it like that. Well, yeah, I said, not knowing where to look. But Ernest wasn't embarrassed like I was. He kept talking. And you want to lift their spirits and give them hope. You want them to know they're not forgotten. Was that it? Ernest was pulling things out of my heart, with words I hadn't thought much less said to anyone, and certainly not to the hospital's volunteer coordinator who asked me if I'd like to work in the gift shop. Wasn't Ernest giving me too much credit? But didn't I want what he said to be true? I didn't know how to respond. So what's brought you to the hospital? I asked. He told me about the brain bleed, and while it was unexpected, something like this was bound to happen. He was ninety three after all. I was stunned. He looked to be mid seventies. I thought of the verse about the righteous being fresh and green, even in old age. Was he a Christian? Ernest, I'd like to pray with you before I go. I want to ask God to clear up that bleed and give you many more healthy years on this earth to bless everyone you meet, like you've just blessed me. May I? He took my hand and closed his eyes. Before I could speak he prayed the most loving prayer I've ever had prayed over me. I was undone. Tears fell, my nose ran. As I prayed for him, my heart squeezed and swelled for this kind old man whose grace had made a mess of me. When the God of power and glory gets hold of your life, he makes you like himself. I didn't have to ask Ernest if he knew him. It was obvious. The wonder of God's wooing, winning, and wowing was all over him.

1 Samuel 18-19

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Today's passages say more about the one who wants to get all over you and me too. The Old Testament chapters are first Samuel eighteen to nineteen. Wounded pride and anger, blind fear, deep dark depression, hidden deceit, harbored hatred, an active desire to murder. The progression of Saul's sin regarding David is easy to follow, and Saul seems helpless to stop it. And maybe he's unable. After all, the dark moods he suffers were sent by God. Some translations say they were caused by an evil spirit that God sent to torment him. Yikes, why would God do this? Because God's not done with Saul yet. His plan since Eden has been to save sinners, and he's gunning for Saul. Even though he's already told Saul through Samuel that the kingdom will be taken from him, God is still actively pursuing Saul's heart, afflicting him with misery so that he'll repent and turn to him. Saul has been on the fringe of faith all his kingship, but God wants Saul's life to be centered in faith. What's more he wants to be invited into the center of Saul himself. But Saul's response to the goads from God to repent are to spurn him and settle for jealousy and hatred, for rage, for the desire to harm David and eventually to actively seek to murder him. Saul grows more and more wicked in response to God rather than turns to him in repentance, asking for help. When Saul learns that David has gone to Rama to see Samuel, he sends three separate parties of soldiers to arrest him. In what seems like a last ditch effort to get Saul's attention, God has the men in each of these groups prophesying when they meet up with Samuel and not arresting David as directed. They can't help themselves. Disgusted, Saul himself goes to get David, and when he finds Samuel, the same thing happens to him. He prophesies too, and to such an extent that he's undone, and even held captive by it. He strips down and lies on the ground, prophesying naked before Samuel for a whole day and a half. I laughed out loud when I read it. It's kind of hilarious. For all of Saul's dastardliness with regard to David, two things are clear. For one, God protects David and will use whatever means necessary, and two, Saul can't thwart God's good plans for David, no matter how hard he tries to stop them. God Almighty is on the real throne of Israel, and what he says goes. In the case of the soldiers turned prophets, good overcomes evil, and to such an extent that even Saul himself is humiliated and helpless before it. I love God's sense of humor. I love how Saul can't stop the invasion of God's spirit even for all his nastiness. No matter how much darkness Saul lives with, God's undaunted, his light and his word streams right on through the king who won't surrender to him. And this is encouraging, because no matter the plans, passions, or paths of the wicked, God has power over everyone and everything, everywhere, and this is good news when I think about the dark forces we face, both within and without. This is God's world. He's alive and well in it. I don't have to live in fear of what others say and do because God is in control and his goodness overcomes. He wants his people to partner with him, to bring his goodness wherever they are. I've seen good overcoming evil in the trenches. I've spoken against it and to it when I've felt its presence in the wee hours. I've shouted in the middle of a rage, this one's mine, and you can't have them. I command you to leave in Jesus' name. And the raging blew itself out that same moment. There are deeds we're to expose in love, and deeds we're told to cover in love. It takes walking with God's spirit to know when and how to do it. It helps to know I don't walk this life alone. I'm on God's side because He's won me over, and I have His armor protecting me and His light guiding, and while I keep falling down, I keep getting back up. It also helps to know the story of Saul who refused to surrender to God and suffered for it, and it helps to watch God give him chance after chance to repent. God never shuts Saul out. Saul shuts God out. At the end of his life, Saul was still more concerned about appearances than about appearing before the God who kept coming after him. He told his armor bearer to run him through so they didn't have to face a disgraceful death by his enemies. You'd think at this point he'd forget about them and fall on his face before God and give up, but he doesn't. And that's the thing about this God who keeps wooing us, we can refuse him. While he may visit us by his spirit, like he did that day with Saul and his soldiers and have us babbling the good news, he doesn't force us to believe it. He brings us every reason on earth to choose him, and still he leaves the decision to us. The glorious wonder of God is that he set his heart on big fat sinners like Saul and you and me. He continues to woo and win and wow us regardless of who we are and how we respond. How will you respond to him? The New Testament passage is John eight forty eight to fifty nine. The core of the Pharisees' issue with Jesus is this

John 8:48-59

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He's not simply a new fangled teacher or a prophet with a new angle. He's claiming to be the Messiah they've been waiting for, the Son of God who sits at God's right hand, but more he's claiming to be God Himself, which is a scandalous thing to claim, unless of course it's true. But they can't see the forest for the trees. Jesus is from Nazareth in Galilee, and this isn't where the scriptures say the Messiah will come from. They just can't get past it, and they're indignant about it. They've missed the obvious sign of his birth in Bethlehem and his time in Egypt as a baby, all of which were prophesied. They stumbled over the stumbling block and laid sprawling. I can identify with their aversion to Jesus because genuine faith is so darn humbling. At first it feels downright awful. Wait, I need a savior? I, the teacher, the expert, the leader, the elder, the preacher, the holy role model, the average Joe believer, need saving? Are you kidding? I've been telling others to repent and follow Jesus for years. I've been keeping all the rules. I've been very, very good. Yep, you and me too. The gospel of Jesus is offensive to everybody. It says that every single person must get on their knees and admit the truth about themselves that they can't be good enough to earn a spot in eternity. They need a Savior to be good enough for them, and they have to put their faith in Jesus to clean them up, just like the addict, the pimp, the molester, and the criminal must. It's been said, quote, the ground is level at the foot of the cross, end quote, meaning no one is above anybody else when we come to Jesus. All have sinned and fallen short, every one of us, no matter how clean we think we are. Jesus makes a claim in our very core. He doesn't accept lame excuses or shiny resumes or blame shifting. He says come as you are and bow before him, who is the great I am. Jesus isn't an add on to the good life you're already living, he upends your good life and establishes a whole new kingdom, and this is unsettling. After all, being humbled is downright painful, but it's absolutely necessary. However, he brings peace and joy when he invades us, along

Psalm 112, Prayer, Proverbs 15:12-14

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with all the other fruit his spirit produces, and who doesn't want these? The wonder of the one who woos, wins, and wows you is that he's humbled himself, paid your debt, and ask you to come to him humble too. From Psalm one twelve All they'll experience of it will be to press their noses against the glass. This is the lot of the wicked who envy the life of the righteous. The righteous fear God and quote cherish and relish his commandments in quote, and as a result they experience an honored life, a beautiful life, while the wicked gnash their teeth over it, that is, when they're not nose pressing. The life of the God fearer looks like this. They have healthy children, thriving homes, a habit of generosity, light and darkness, grace, mercy, and justice, a responsive heart to God, a solid reputation, and they spurn gossip, are steady and at peace, aren't afraid of enemies, are mindful of the poor. All these goodies in return for fearing God, which means claiming Him as your God and having an ongoing relationship. It's a relationship that includes surrendering and worshiping, confessing and believing, relishing his words in the Bible and doing them. This good life the Psalmist describes is for every person who takes God up on it. His words in this Psalm promise it, and God doesn't make empty promises. The wonder of the one who woos and wins and wows is that he rewards us beyond our imagining for simply surrendering. Prayer. God, your words dazzle me this morning, and so do you. In Jesus' name, so be it. From Proverbs fifteen, twelve to fourteen. I know it all won't listen, but a wise heart is always learning. A cheerful heart will power your day. What's powering yours? The passages in 1 Samuel, John, Psalms, and Proverbs are selected for today in the yearly Bible. This is Eve de Bartelaban, Roebuck.