Rhythm

This post is based on notes from a sermon by Matt Chandler:

Genesis 1 was written in Hebrew to read like a poem. It has rhythm to it:

“God created this, then He created this, and it was good….”

“God created this, then He created this, and it was good….”

“God created this, then He created this, and it was good….”

I believe it was written that way because it's describing how God has woven within the fabric of the universe this rhythm, this beat, this grove that is behind everything. It flows through everything. It is the rhythm that all of the universe operates in and under:

-every day turns into night
-every night turns into morning
-fall turns into winter
-the lifecycle of a plant
-the rotation of the earth
-it’s trip around the sun, etc.

So, there’s this rhythm (beat, grove, flow) going on all the time. In other words, God designed the universe and everything in it to work a certain way - including us.

Most people think that God is this cosmic killjoy who hates fun and wants to keep us from enjoying ourselves. But it’s the complete opposite! God created everything and said it was good, but He created it to work a certain way. And He created us to operate and live within it a certain way.

We’ve got to understand this, because all throughout the bible God is begging us to enter into this rhythm and design. In the book of Proverbs it's personified as wisdom in the form of a woman screaming in the streets saying something like, "How long are you going to keep trying to do this contrary to how this was designed to function. If you would just listen to me, I would show you how this is supposed to work in such a way that the joy that you are seeking would be found in it." (Proverbs 8; 16:25).

God is in no way glorified by our begrudging submission to Him. He doesn't want to snuff out our joy by forcing us to follow a bunch of rules. He wants to maximize our joy by leading us back in line with the way He created things to be.

Affection Addiction

I've been doing a lot of searching lately. Over the last two days I must have listened to at least a dozen sermons. I've been searching, but I really don't know exactly what I'm looking for. The best way to put it, I guess, is I've just been searching for...more. I want to go to a deeper, more self-shattering level with God. And lately I've encountered Truth in a surprisingly fresh way. I've been thinking a lot about things I've never given much thought to in the past; things like true beauty and what it means to live out God's dream for His bride.

This all started when I recently prayed that God would give me an injection of wisdom. I'm talking the kind of wisdom that's deep and fierce. The kind that when it hits you, it knocks you off your spiritual feet. I've prayed for this several times over the last 15 years or so, and each time it's like God gets me outright addicted to His word. I'm like a crackhead trying to get a fix. Every injection both satisfies me, yet leaves me wanting more.

God has stirred my affection for Him, and I am addicted to it. When I am addicted to knowing and loving Christ well, my life is richer, my relationships are deeper, and I have a vitality that is altogether uncommon. I want to hold on to it and never let go. Now, I am jealous for the things that stir my affections for God. My hope is that I can flood my life with Christ-exalting, worship-creating things and avoid anything that would rob me of the joy and vitality that I have when God is at the center of my affections.