Plans for the Summer

Just so you know, I actually began writing this on May 6th, but once again busyness got in the way. For those of you who don’t know, I have a new job as the State Director of the Iowa Food Bank Association. So far it has been an exciting change, and I look forward to seeing how God can use me to serve those in need in Iowa.


I want to give everyone a glimpse into my plans for this summer. Well, not all of my plans, but the ones that will affect this blog. I always enjoy the summers when I don’t have class, because I can actually read what I want. This year I am deciding what to read through a slightly different method than normal. I have asked two of the teachers at my church, who have had a large influence on my faith journey recently, to share their top 10 favorite books with me. They graciously gave me there list, and there looks to be some great summer reading ahead. I am basically deciding the order of reading by when I get the book. I order some every once in awhile on Amazon, and then number them in the order they come. As I read, I am confident that God will bring to light ideas in my head about Him and His Word that I hope to share with you all. I know that if I seek Him in any book that I read, whether it is C.S. Lewis or Steven King, I will find Him and want to seek Him more.

The first on my list is Knowing God by J.I. Packer. I am over half way in, and it has already challenged me. I can’t say as I agree 100% with every word written, but that is the glory of God’s word. He allows us free will to interpret His word, and I do not think that was a mistake. In our own interpretations come our own opinions, and through discussing these differences in opinions we are forced to strengthen our knowledge in His Word. We get in to trouble when we dismiss others opinions because they are not our own. Instead, we should listen and research other’s opinions. We should find the verses that make these opinions real to them, and really think about how those verses affect our own interpretation of His Word. If something drives you to looking deeper at God’s Word, it cannot be a bad thing. So, if you disagree with me PLEASE share. I would love to look in to your opinion, and be forced to know the Word of God more.

The Basis of Packer’s book is obviously knowing God, and he does a great job at using scripture to share with the reader a comprehensive view of what God shared about Himself in His word. Once we know God, we cannot help but want to know more about Him and desire to be closer to His presence. One of favorite concepts of Packer is what I will term our degree of celebrity status given to God, or how we see ourselves in relationship to God.

It is no secret that the majority of American’s are celebrity crazed. Whether it is actors, musicians, athletes, or politicians, we are obsessed with every part of their lives. There are books, magazines, movies and television show chronicling the lives of these individuals, and millions of dollars are spent just trying to be informed on what celebrity is dating, marrying or divorcing another celebrity. So, imagine a time when you were going to meet a celebrity. For this example, let’s use the current or past President of the United States, depending on which one you would be more excited to meet. You would probably try your hardest to make a big impression, and hope that for some reason this person who you feel is “above” you would take an interest in you. If he decided to only say hello and ask minimal niceties, you may be disappointed but would understand that the President has no responsibility to be your best friend. However, imagine if the President took and instant interest in your knowledge and ideas, and continued from the first meeting to ask you to be available to continue to share ideas in the future. You may feel like your life has made a turn. You would want to tell all of your friends and family of the new friendship you have made with the President, and may feel like you have “arrived.”

If this is how we would feel about coming into a friendship with the President of the United States, how should we react to being asked to come into a relationship with the God of every living thing, the God who can crush all nations with the snap of his finger, the God who created all? 1 Corinthians 3:9 says, “For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.” God has asked us to be his partner. He has asked us to do His work, and to be His co-worker. He doesn’t need to even bother with the niceties because He knows us to the core. However, instead of treating God with the nervous anxiety and constant desire to impress that we would treat a celebrity, we take His desire to be in relationship with us for granted. We want Him to know us from the inside out so that He can answer our prayers and support our desires for life, but we stop short of a reciprocal relationship. We make excuses for why we don’t know Him. We assume that His words are hidden from us because we are confused by certain scripture; we can’t find the time in our busy lives to read His word and search for Him in our lives, or we just think that the creator should be more concerned with His creation than we are concerned with Him.

Jeremiah 9:23-34 says, “This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. “

I know it is hard to believe, but celebrities mean nothing in God’s eyes. Their riches, fame or political power are worthless compared to knowledge of God. The best thing about it is that you don’t have to be in the right place at the right time, go to an Ivy League school or be born in to money to have knowledge of God that is worth more that all the money in the world. The knowledge is offered to everyone who searches. The power of God is available to all of those who ask. God, the most famous entity to ever exist, want you to be His partner, His coworker, His friend, His child. Please don’t take advantage of this offer, please don’t expect everything from Him but offer nothing of yourself, please begin to seek Him. Your knowledge of Him will give you more happiness than any celebrity tabloid I have heard of, I promise.

-P.S. – The running season is here, and the Des Moines Marathon is on my horizon. Be prepared for the next blog to have more details about the amazing opportunity you have to help us build a school in a community in Mozambique, Africa.