“Revelation Sense”

Good morning. Today is Tuesday, October 30, 2012. Today is “Mischief Night.” Interesting. I guess it’s in preparation for tomorrow night, which is, of course, Halloween. The “Hallmark Ultimate Holiday” app advises caution on “Mischief Night,” though, reminding us that the same people for whom we stir up trouble will be handing out the candy tomorrow night…

On this date in 1811, Sense and Sensibility was published. On September 1, 2009, Ben Winters added sea monsters.
On this date in 1845, Henry VII was crowned King of England.
On this date in 1922, Benito Mussolini was made Prime Minister of Italy.
On this date in 1925, John Logie Baird created the first television transmitter in Britain.
It was on this date in 1938 that Orson Welles caused nationwide panic as he narrated H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds on the radio.
On this date in 1945, the “color barrier” was broken in baseball, as Jackie Robinson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
On this date in 1961, the Soviet Union detonated a 50 megaton hydrogen bomb in a test over Novaya Zemlya. It was (and is to this day) the largest explosive device ever detonated.
It was on this date in 1991 that the legendary “perfect storm” hit the New England and Canadian coast. The fishing boat Andrea Gail and her six-member crew were lost in the storm, chronicled in the best-selling book and subsequent movie, The Perfect Storm.

Today’s birthdays include John Adams, second President of the U.S., 1735, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Admiral William Halsey, Jr., 1882, Ezra Pound, 1885, Charles Atlas, 1893, Bobby Bragan, 1917, Jim Perry, 1935, Grace Slick, 1939, Henry Winkler, 1945, Timothy B. Schmidt (Eagles), 1947, Harry Hamlin, 1951, Gavin Rossdale, 1965, Marco Scutaro, 1975.

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Yesterday was a challenging day, beginning and ending with trouble. The middle part was okay. I don’t think I handled the beginning part very well. Evidence of much work to be done. Christi finally got back to the gym with me last night. Stephanie didn’t go, as her stomach was “going round and round,” as she puts it. Christi says her leg is “okay” this morning. She thinks that the pain may not be as severe as it was a week or so ago. She says it’s “changing.” Hopefully, that’s good.

Today in baseball news…oh, wait. There is no baseball news today. Sigh. That’s probably not true. I’m sure theirs news of some kind. For example, they will be announcing gold glove winners today, I believe.

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Father, I pray for a glimpse of you this morning as I read your word. Take me deeper…

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Today, I’m reading Psalm 131. This “Song of Ascents” is a short one, speaking of a calm and quieted soul.

1 A Song of Ascents. Of David. O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.

Perhaps we should all take the attitude in verse 1 of not being occupied with things “too great and too marvelous.” The thought of having a “calmed and quieted” soul is very appealing.

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Today’s reading from My Utmost For His Highest is called “Faith.” The scripture reference is Hebrews 11:6, which says, And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Who didn’t see that coming? The beginning statement is interesting. “Faith in antagonism to common sense is fanaticism, and common sense in antagonism to faith is rationalism.” I like that. You’ll notice that Chambers doesn’t speak highly of what we call “common sense,” but only when it gets in the way of our faith. The truth is that a legitimate life of faith “brings the two into a right relation.” The words of Jesus weren’t “common sense,” they were, Chambers calls them, “revelation sense,” and they reach “the shores where common sense fails.” And here comes the key statement in today’s reading. “Faith must be tried before the reality of faith is actual.” Faith is a very personal thing, and God’s purpose is to see that it is “made real in His children.”

Faith is active and always strives to put Jesus Christ first. It is always a fight, though to turn “head faith into a personal possession.” Don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s about things. It’s not. It’s talking about possessing the faith in the soul, in the heart. Moving it from head knowledge to the possession of the heart is always a fight. I know what God can do because the Bible tells me. My head knows that God loves me with an everlasting love. Does my heart believe it? (Absolutely, it does!) Make no mistake, regardless of what other people may say. God most certainly engineers circumstances in our lives to “educate our faith.” The “nature of faith is to make its object real.” I like that statement quite a bit. In what (or whom) is my faith? My faith is in God; my faith is in Jesus Christ. But until I “know Jesus, God is a mere abstraction, [I] cannot have faith in Him.” Because, in the words of Jesus, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14:9) “Faith is the whole man rightly related to God by the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” That is an awesome statement!

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Father, you are majestic and powerful. Yet you are merciful and give us grace, daily. As I read about faith this morning, my first prayer is that my soul may be “calmed and quieted,” as the psalmist spoke about. Just reading that psalm this morning had that effect on me. Immediately I read that, my soul felt calmed and quieted by your Spirit. What a marvelous feeling, especially in our time, when, the moment we wake up each day, we begin to face troubles and stress. I pray that you teach us to live through the stress of each day with calmness and quietness in our souls.

Lord, teach me faith. I know. That’s probably the worst prayer we could ever pray, at least in terms of personal comfort. But, you see, I’m not interested in comfort. I’m interested in being rightly related to you. I’m interested in in having a prayer life that goes above and beyond anything I’ve ever seen, and that’s going to take some extreme faith. I desire to have that right relation between faith and common sense that Chambers speaks of. Let the words of Jesus bring that “revelation sense” to the shores of my life where common sense fails. Make my faith real and actual, Father. Make it something active in my life that puts Jesus Christ first. You are real in my life, but there are still areas where I struggle to turn that “head faith into a personal possession.” In the words of that famous father in the New Testament, “I do believe! Help my unbelief!” Show me how you have worked circumstances in my life to educate my faith. I look back at yesterday. I confess that my initial reaction to the beginning of my work day did not exhibit faith. It is challenging when the event that occurs is exactly the opposite of what I had prayed for! But that is the very thing that I’m talking about, isn’t it? My faith needs to be educated to the point that the initial reaction is one of, “Okay, let’s be calm and see how God is going to work this out.” I see that now. But I need to learn to see it in the midst of the trouble.

I pray for this day. I thank you that Christi says her leg is not hurting as bad today. I continue to pray for healing of her pain. I pray for her work day, that she might exhibit faith in the stress that comes her way today. Surround her with your love and with your Spirit as she has meetings today. May her soul be calmed and quieted. I pray the same for my day, that my soul will be calmed and quieted, regardless of the circumstances. I pray for Stephanie today, that her stomach will feel better, and that she will feel like going to lifehouse with us tonight. I pray that you would teach us together how to fear you and follow Jesus. Tonight, we will learn something more about your Holy Spirit. Teach us your ways, that we might walk in your truth, daily.

I lift an additional prayer this morning for all who live on the east coast, who have been affected by hurricane Sandy, over the last 24 hours. I pray for protection for them against the elements. I pray for the safety of all. I pray that power may be restored quickly for those who have lost power. I pray for comfort for those who have lost property or, even worse, loved ones.

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Do we dare ask God to try our faith? It’s a risky prayer, for sure. But we must grow to the point where it is real and active in our lives. I pray for “revelation sense.”

Grace and peace, friends.