Dalziel St Andrew’s Parish Church

No doubt, pedants of the world will unite in wagging an accusatory finger at me, whilst pointing out my reckless use of the letter “Z” at the end of the title on this BLOG entry.  Hey-ho, no one can PLZ everyone (oh, sorry, wandered into text speak for a moment!).  I know that DREAMBOYZ sounds like a name for some wannabe boy band, manufactured by the X-Factor, but it’s actually my shorthand way of describing Jacob and Joseph in the Book of Genesis.  If you take time to reflect on their stories, you will realise that this father and son team had a great deal in common.  For example, both were the progeny of parents who played the dangerous game of favourites.  Remember how Isaac and Rebekah picked a twin each and poured their energies into raising them?  Sadly, Jacob repeated the pattern when singling Joseph out through the gift of a special robe!  Furthermore, both Jacob and Joseph knew what it was to struggle with sibling rivalry; though Joseph was a good deal more outnumbered (odds of 11-1) than Jacob.  My main observation, however, is that each one was a bit of a daydreamer.  At Bethel and Peniel, Jacob had profound experiences of the LORD’s presence and power, which led him to recognise his personal waywardness and to turn from it towards genuine faith in God.  Remarkably, in time, Jacob was reunited with his brother, Esau, after being the subject of murderous threats.  From an early age, Joseph also knew what it was to sense the leading of God via his dreams.  And, at key points in his life, the ability to listen to God in this way was of massive material and spiritual benefit to Joseph.  So, the letter “Z” also reminds us that the LORD is not limited to communicating with people in their waking hours.  It would appear that, even when we are sound asleep (Zzzzzzz), the mysterious purposes of God roll on unhindered.  Through the day or in the darkness of “the wee small hours,” God speaks and calls us to listen, learn and follow where He leads.  And, by the way, where the LORD leads, almost always involves a call to reconciliation with those who may have offended us – another common feature of the Jacob and Joseph narratives!  In the Kingdom of God, grace and forgiveness have the power to transform a nightmare scenario into a dream.

“I cannot defend the mistakes I have made, but I choose not to be defined by them.”  That is a message the LORD has been sowing deep in my heart of late, and it’s probably one you also need to hear.  It is too easy to be weighed down by guilt at the many ways in which we fail God each day.  However, the devil sometimes uses this approach to paralyse our Christian lives, rendering us all but worthless to God.  A phrase I read recently on Facebook suggested an alternative train of thought, which I found helpful – “Brokenness is not a sign that you are useless, just in need of repair.”  If, like me, you are re-reading some of the great stories in the Book of Genesis via the E100 notes, you will have noticed that this is a recurring theme.  The LORD calls and uses such flawed human beings as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to further His purposes.  Abraham was a liar.  Isaac was weak.  Jacob was a schemer.  Yet, each one of these was not regarded as useless and discarded by God in favour of a more righteous candidate.  No, the LORD chose to use the materials at His disposal to share His message and extend His Kingdom.  The same is true through New Testament days in the lives of Saul (persecutor of the church), Zachaeus (a cheating tax collector), and Simon Peter (an unschooled fisherman who had a tendency to be bullish).  In a book of less worth than the Bible, such characters and stories may well have been airbrushed out or, at the very least, considered to be errata – mistakes that ought to have separate notes against them offering a more correct alternative.  But, that is the beauty of Holy Writ; God sanctions no such sanitisation.  Instead, we have before us honest and straightforward narratives that paint a picture of God’s people, warts and all.  And, oh how very reassuring that is, for, all things considered, my life is such that, even at my best, I might be regarded by some folk as one of those errata.  Yet, like clay in the hands of a skilled potter, when I (and you) submit to the workings of God, my feeble efforts (and yours too) can be totally transformed into something beautiful and practical; a life that truly honours the LORD.  And so, I say with my whole heart, long live the lessons we can learn from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (et al), the errata of this world.  These are those whom God does not erase, but, through repentance and faith, He raises up for His glory and the good of His Kingdom!

“Many are cauld, but few are frozen,” is the old parody of a well-known phrase.  Folk tend to make fun of what they don’t understand!  And, certainly, when it comes to the claims of God speaking personally to an individual, it is often thought to be peculiar.  If my own experience is anything to go by, when people discover that I left a job teaching Chemistry in High School to train for the ministry of word and sacrament, there is usually one of three responses.  A few folk say, “Did ye no’ like weans?”  With others, the conversation stops abruptly, and they simply avoid me.  But, a third reaction is one of heightened curiosity.  It begins with statements like, “You don’t look like a minister, or talk like a minister, or dress like a minister!”  Thankfully, these peripheral matters often give way to a much deeper discussion on the nature of my call to serve God in the church.  But, I have to confess; it is not easy to explain that inner sense of compulsion, which I believe comes from the LORD.  Genesis 12 outlines God’s call to Abram – “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”  Notice that there’s a great deal of detail on what Abram is to leave behind, and precious little information on where he is going!  Both saying good-bye to the past, and hello to an uncertain future, is all done in faith by Abram.  And, a simple statement, reflecting his utter obedience, marks that major turning point in his life – “So Abram left, as the LORD had told him…” Would that we all heeded God’s voice so readily.  You see, you don’t have to be called to full-time service in the church to fulfil a vocation.  God has many tasks to be done in the business of building His Kingdom, and each one is no less important than the others.  Someone once said, “God doesn’t make cookie-cutter Christians.”  What I think is meant here, is that each believer is unique in his or her character, gifting and opportunities to serve the LORD.  We are not meant to compare ourselves with others, somehow thinking we are either superior or inferior to them in the service they offer God.  Instead, it is crucial that we seek God’s guidance and listen for His leading that we might fulfil His plan for our particular lives.  Abram heard and heeded the LORD’s particular and personal call to him (more about that in my next BLOG).  What about you?  How is God speaking to you?  What is He saying?

I confess that I hadn’t come across the term, “Epic Fail,” until I read it for the first time on someone’s Facebook page.  Obviously, I’m not quite as “down with the kids” as I thought! According to the number one definition on www.urbandictionary.com, it means, “Complete and total failure when success should have been reasonably easy to attain.”  Often it’s used when someone owns up to making a daft decision, and normally it elicits a one-word response, regularly on the lips of Homer Simpson, – “DOH!”  It seems to me that, in the phrase “Epic Fail,” this present generation have hit upon an apt description of the scene we read about in in Genesis chapters 2 & 3.  The LORD God provided Adam and Eve with every blessing you could imagine under the sun (literally!).  They had free reign over all they could see, hear, touch, taste and smell, with only one proviso; that they should not eat from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (2:17) Now, we could go back and forward all day and half the night debating why that was the one forbidden thing.  However, if you’ll excuse my being “punny” for a moment, I would say that such a quest is an utterly fruitless exercise.  The fact of the matter is that God didn’t just advise Adam to steer clear of this particular tree, He “commanded the man” to do so (2:16).  But, you know the story (and, if you don’t, then you ought to read it).  Adam and Eve were both duped into trusting a serpent, and ate some of the fruit (by the way, notice that it doesn’t say apple, but “fruit” – Steve Jobs wasn’t around at the time!).  What an epic fail; everyone knows that snakes speak with a forked tongue!  It is important to understand that satan always exploits our weak points.  That is why he approached Eve directly, and not Adam.  Whoa – before you run away with the idea that I am outing the “fairer sex” as the “weaker sex,” you need to hear me out.  Re-read the story slowly and you will learn that Eve was not created from Adam’s rib until after God gave His commandment about the tree.  So, in a sense, she was going on second-hand information when trying to fend off temptation.  Maybe that’s why she got it so wrong when she responded to the serpent, “…God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden (CORRECT!), and you must not touch it (INCORRECT!), or you will die.’” (CORRECT!)  It’s an interesting exercise to compare what God actually said to Adam (2:17) with what Eve said that God said (3:3).  Stretching the truth is the start of a slippery slope and leads to other things.  Satan latches on to this and begins to sow seeds of doubt (sorry, another pun!) in her mind and heart.  The deceiver then uses her to talk her husband round to sharing in the sin she has committed.  In turn, they tried to hide behind an episode of blame shifting (3:12-13).  Not surprisingly, this was even less effective in preventing their exposure than were the fig leaves they sewed together to conceal their physical nakedness.  As I said at the outset – EPIC FAIL!  All of this rotten mess was so avoidable if they had just listened carefully to the LORD God and followed to the letter everything He commanded.  Now, take a moment to compare this story with that of Noah and his family (Genesis chapters 6-9).  Whilst Noah was far from perfect (9:20), he began well.  In a dry and dusty land, miles from the sea and at the tender age of 500 years, Noah obeyed God when commanded to build an Ark.  His faithfulness was rewarded with safety when the rain started to fall and the floods rose up.  And, the first thing Noah did, when emerging from that deluge, was to build an altar and worship the LORD (8:20).  The LORD God responds by setting a rainbow of seven colours in the sky – the perfect number. This symbolises His unconditional love for mankind.  Also, have you ever tried to reach that “pot of gold” at the rainbow’s end – impossible, isn’t it?  That’s because the forgiveness God graciously offers us in Christ, is never-ending.  Now, that truly is EPIC!

When you start to think about some of the great things Genesis chapter 1 has to say about God, you get a glimpse of the One to Whom we pray.  And, if we know something of His character, it ought to be a great help in the way we bring situations before Him.  In a real sense, what I am recommending is that the best way to communicate with God is to adopt His own way of speaking about Himself and the world He created.  Permit me to offer an example.  Clearly, the picture painted of the LORD in Genesis is One Who is all-powerful (the theological word is omnipotent!).  Unfortunately, many of us get too hung-up on anthropomorphisms (okey dokey – Google it!).  In other words, we recreate God in our own image, but just a bit bigger and stronger.  That is neither accurate, nor good enough.  God is not some kind of celestial Superman.  In fact, He is more powerful than hundreds of supermen put together.  Listen, the Creation narratives tell us that He didn’t even lift a finger to achieve all that He did.  How did He do it?  He spoke!  Repeatedly, the phrase, “And God said…” appears in the text.  So, I ask you, if He can “speak” a world with all that beauty, splendour and variety, into being, what is too difficult for Him.  Therefore, when you lay your prayers before His throne, remember that awesome power.  Furthermore, when we look again at the story, it is clear that another phrase raises its head more than once – “God saw that it was good…”  The LORD had a deep appreciation (if you like, a feeling for) the work of His hands – He enjoyed what He created.  This thought should overcome any fear we may have of bringing seemingly small matters to Him in prayer.  Taking time over the details of creation indicates that nothing is insignificant in God’s sight.  Again, what an invitation to share every thing that threatens the order and peace of your existence, or your ongoing relationship with Him.  Of course, as the story unfolds, the wilful sin of mankind and the wily, scheming ways of satan threaten to shatter the perfect world God created.  Let me leave you with this thought – no matter how loudly the serpent hisses, he will never match the roar of the Lion of Judah.