According to Hebrews 11:6 . . .

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

One lesson we draw from that marvelous verse is this: God loves to be trusted.

He really does.

In fact, I believe that he loves to be trusted so much he will put us in situations where we have no other options BUT to trust him.

God loves to be trusted with your troubled marriage.

God loves to be trusted with your wayward children.

God loves to be trusted with your upside down finances.

God loves to be trusted with your compuslive behavior.

God loves to be trusted with your struggling church.

God loves to be trusted with your out-of-control temper.

Will you give God something to love today?

In the "Books I Like" section on the left, you'll note that I've recently read "The Story Of Asbury Theological Seminary."

I loved it.

But I'm weird. And a devoted alum.

Anyway, I read that Henry Clay Morrison, the founding president of the school, once said that he "would not settle for mediocre in [his] relationship with God."

Man.

What are the ways I've settled for mediocrity in my relationship with God? My prayers? My Scripture reading? My level of trust in crisis?

How about you? Do you settle for mediocrity or pursue intimacy?

I can think of no better way to prepare for Good Friday and Easter than to discard mediocrity and run after intimacy in our relationship with God.

I've always loved Acts 5:41:

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

Suffering for the faith, then, is a privilege. A reward for faithfulness in the midst of persecution.

Frankly, most of the "suffering" that North American pastors and Christians endure is at the hands of other Christians.

It's also the kind of suffering we dish out.

Perhaps if we spent more time in the world and less time in our Christian cocoons, we'd have more opportunities for redemptive suffering.

While in the middle of some leadership development yesterday, our leadership developer gave us this gem:

The difference between a proverb and a slogan is that a proverb stays with you all your life.

Hmmm.

Christianity all too often gets reduced to mere slogans, usually those that fit on a bumper sticker:

In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned.

God is my co-pilot.

Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.

Contrast those with the enduring wisdom from this collection of not just any proverbs, but THE Proverbs:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowdledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7

Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Think of him in all your ways and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke. Proverbs 13:1

I believe I'll stake my life and faith on the Proverbs of yesterday rather than the slogans of today. Will you?

The Old Testament book of Nahum is an unlikely place for devotional reading.

It consists primarily of warnings towards and judgments against the city of Nineveh, a locale we know mostly through the OT book of Jonah.

And let's face it: Jonah is on the Hebrew best seller list while Nahum barely makes a blip on Amazon.com

Nevertheless, there are two consecutive verses tucked away in Nahum's first chapter that defy our preaching extremes of relentless judgmentalism on the one hand and permissive universalism on the other. It's Nahum 1:6-7:

Who can withstand [God's] indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.

The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him.

Both judgment and salvation. Wrath and love. Held in balance and constant tension in a way that foreshadows Paul's masterful line Romans 11:22: behold the kindness and severity of God.

Indeed.