Morning Meditation, August 10th, 2015
Psalm 119:32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
I am writing to you, the one who feels crushed under the requirements of God’s commands. You, who craves to be filled, who longs to lose yourself in the pleasures within your reach, no matter if they are good for you or the people around you. You know the path of obedience but it has grown tired to you. Stale as beige. The right way feels like the path of suffocation and the wrong way—which you’ve debated may not actually be so bad after all—appears positively pumping with life.
You are on my heart: the one who knows what to do but doesn’t want to do it anymore. The one who knows where to go but is on the brink of slipping away to somewhere else.
I recently returned from a small town in Maine. One of the local shops was selling t-shirts that said, What happens in Winter Harbor stays in Winter Harbor…but hardly anything ever happens here. This was my former view of what the Christian life with its all its commands and rules had to offer. A life that boasted all the freedom you wanted except nothing was really going on there. The party was always someplace else. But believing that unbridled indulgence leads to freedom is a mindset immutably cracked and costly. There is a way that leads to heartsickness but God’s ways cannot lead to anything other than life.
I am writing to you because at moments I wasn’t sure if I really believed this. I have deliberated at the fork of passionless obedience versus exhilarating sin, and I have never been more grateful for being on this side of obedience. Because in all our frustration and confusion and desire to fly off the trail a psalmist is moving past us like a gazelle, full of breath and endurance, light as a dandelion puff on the air.
And he is running.
If we’re honest he is on a most peculiar path. We’re surprised to see him so unharnessed, so unencumbered loping down the trail that winds and leads at the contours of God’s commands. To our modern ears this feels a bit embellished. We have heard from the corners of culture that obedience to God is narrow and close-minded. That if we follow the bible’s truth we will, best case scenario, miss out on all life has to offer. Why, if you could soar down any road of your choice, would you choose the one whose defining attraction is God’s commands?
The runner gives an answer.
God has set his heart free and God’s commands are the fulcrum of that freedom.
The Hebrew verb ‘to set free’ here is rachab and it means to widen, enlarge, broaden, make room. When we run according to God’s commands wide-open spaces become our surroundings. We run without guilt or regret crashing against our conscience. We no longer stumble through relational entanglements nor are we haunted by past choices, which is the landscape of every other road. Peace and contentment is our strength.
I am writing to you because the psalmist reminds us that God’s commands are not His way of capriciously holding out on you. The One who frees you loves you. The One who loves you wants you to run uninhibited on the path that boasts holy parameters yet paradoxically has no end. The psalmist knew that to cleave to God’s Word and ways was the only way to be free. And once he’d tasted that freedom he couldn’t help but run.
2010 Thoughts
Okay, I cannot lie. Monday, January 4th, 2010 was a huge downer for me… Since there was actually no catastrophe I should should probably back that up a bit-I was a bit bummed. I found it surprisingly difficult to get back into the swing of things, mostly because I had the most amazing time off. Lots of relaxing days with dear friends, family, great food, a lot of snow, too much shopping and football watching, lingering time with God, deep conversations, much needed rest – just an overall amazing break. Strange how this past Monday loomed over me simply because of one small word. Work. (click the title to keep reading)
The Next Door
<img class="size-medium wp-image-379" title="_MG_6226" src="https://kellyminter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/MG_6226-300×199.jpg"
Meet some of my favorite girls from The Next Door in Nashville, TN. My friend Mary Katharine (far right) and I have been teaching a Bible study here this semester to four amazing women who are overcoming addiction (one is not pictured). We are having the best time! And two of our other friends April and Paige have their own group as well so it's a mid-week party really!
God really spoke to me in the summer of '08 to start engaging in my local community. I had heard The Next Door was a Christian organization for women who had recently gotten out of prison and were working diligently to enter back into free society. The director told me she needed someone to teach on Wed nights so I figured I'd have the roughly 60 women who live there in my class. When I got the list there were only FOUR names! I have to be painfully honest in admitting that this didn't seem like the best use of my time (again, this is a shameful thing to admit, but if a blog isn't about honesty, what would be the point really). [Click the title to read more…]
The Lord Has Done This For Me!
I just finished my last official dates of the year with Christmas events: hitting Phoenix, Sacramento and finally Houston! After an incredibly amazing and busy year, I am happy to report that I am now sitting on my couch across from my fireplace mostly staring… While taking intermittent breaks from staring I’ve ‘toggled’ between my systematic theology book, Bible, Facebook and SI.com for most of the morning. You would be amazed at how seamlessly Wayne Grudem’s doctrine of miracles goes along with the article on Alabama heading to Pasadina for the national championship.
At any rate, I am hoping some of you have the opportunity to rest during this season. I am committed to it this year. The Lord has been speaking to me out of both the Old and New Testaments about rest. Sabbath rest. There is something exceptionally rich about getting to linger with the Lord; something I have really longed for these past few months.
New Ruth Study and CD Finally Here
There is much joy in my heart as I type this header because – at least for a few minutes – I can take a breath. A few women came up to me at the LifeWay Women’s Forum this past weekend and asked what my next study is going to be on. I looked at them with glazed, almost twitching eyes. I wish I could have come up with something profound like, say, a study on Lamentations or the personality traits of Job’s friends, but alas, I am fresh out of ideas at the moment. At least for a few months I would like to enjoy the things I am still – and will continue – learning about the book of Ruth. In fact, one such nugget hit me just the other day and I found myself thinking, “How did I miss that?” I’ll save that thought for my next blog since I don’t seem to be one of those exceptional bloggers who can write about her couch with an audience of 20,000 pining for what she will write next (wish I was better at this).
New Study and CD COMING SOON!
Just wanted to let you know that I’ve put the...
