Getting Bent

I read Proverbs too much. Not fortune cookies and the like. The book of Proverbs. In my daily reading I include one chapter of Proverbs along with some other readings. From an early age God gave me a hunger for wisdom and I feed that flame in Proverbs.

I realized today I read it too much. Here's what I mean, I am unbalanced in my thinking about biblical, God given wisdom. See, Proverbs only presents roughly half of the wisdom given to us by God. The other half (roughly) is in Ecclesiastes, a book most likely written by King Solomon, son of the great King David, and wisest man who ever lived other than Christ. (1 Kings 3:1-15; Ecclesiastes 1:1) In this book he gives us the results of his examination of the various ways to live life. The result? Yep, it's all vanity. Yet, in that vanity (starting in chapter 7) he gives us incredible wisdom about what to do with life when your circumstances, emotions, and experience tells you it makes no sense.

Compare these verses; Proverbs 10:27

The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.

Ecclesiastes 7:15

In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.

Those are exact opposites. This is what I mean by reading Proverbs too much. I have not tempered the ideal with the anomaly. Proverbs presents us with the typical and even ideal truth of things. But the typical and ideal do not always happen. Often in life we experience the opposite. We experience the anomaly and enigma. We have situations happen which seem to be contrary to who God is and what He's said He would do.

To cover a lot of biblical ground in a short time, we must consider verses 16 & 17:

Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you be appalled? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

Here's what he's saying: don't live life wise in your own eyes because when calamity hits you (and it will) you will be appalled, horrified at what has happened. You will be like me, always in Proverbs and thinking God only allows the typical or ideal, forgetting that He has appointed a time for every season (Ecc.3:1-8). We also shouldn't chuck our faith to the wind and give in to sin which will bring us to death.

So what do we do? Well, we keep reading the book. Verse 18:

It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

Solomon's counsel - hold onto the caution in verses 16-17. Don't be self righteous, and don't be a fool. Live in the tension of life that faith creates and work to live in a right fear of the Lord (topic for another post). If we can do that, then verse 19 is our outcome:

Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Despite the insanity of our circumstance. Regardless of our emotions and experience. We go into the hard place in reverent humility and faith in the sovereign creator God and He will supply our strength. We will not know the why, keep reading Ecclesiastes, you'll see Solomon's reasons for that.

All of this is caught up back in chapter 7, verse 13:

Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked

Interesting phrasing don't you think? It doesn't say consider what God has made straight, but what he has bent. And that's what our good and holy sovereign God does. He comes into our lives and bends us. Praise our Lord Jesus.

Without further ado...

The newest issue of Lucid Magazine is up for your enjoyment. Some of the articles are listed as being written by 'Editor' but are indeed written by guest writers. We are working on getting all of the information up to date...

The site is still in its infancy, but this new format will help us to add new content on a more regular basis, and customize as the publication grows.

We welcome your feedback and insight...

Much Love,
Casey & Steph

Lucid is Live! Here's to New Beginnings!

Anytime I sit down to a meal with my long-time friend, mentor, and calling-coach, Rod Brace, I am simultaneously prepared and unprepared for what is about to hit me. Inevitably, our meetings challenge, change and bless me. However, this particular early-morning breakfast caught me off guard in a way that only happens when God is involved.

Before I dive into the ham and cheese omelet conversation, let me give you a few details about who I am and the circumstances surrounding my life at the time. My name is Casey Cease. I am the founder and Executive Director of Transform Ministries, a non-profit organization through which I travel across the United States speaking to students about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Transform is a faith-based organization, which means that I do not fund-raise, but rather trust that the Lord will provide all that I need to support the ministry and my family. This past summer, the Lord graciously gave way for my faith to increase, as our first daughter arrived and my wife Stephanie decided to say goodbye to teaching along with a steady $38,000 a year. Our safety net was gone, but our prayer closets were occupied, and Rod Brace continually pushed us towards faithful action. I would be lying if I said that we were never worried about how the money would come in, but at the same time we were excited to see the imagination of God at work. And indeed we did.

So over our first round of coffee, Rod was explaining to me his new idea for an online magazine and a print-on-demand publishing company. His plan really peaked my interest and I was looking forward to contributing to the magazine. I thought maybe I’d write and article every now and again and perhaps be on my way to my first book. He continued to share with me his passion for the concept and the direction his prayers were taking as he researched the ins and outs of the business. Questions like “Why am I so passionate about Lucid?” and “Why is this happening now?” filled his prayer journal.

As our breakfast was being served Rod explained how God had answered his questions. He said, “Casey, the more I poured my time, energy and passion into Lucid, the more I began to realize that this concept is for you and Steph. It is a gift, and Diana and I would like to help you get it off the ground. Needless to say, I was speechless, and humbled, and in awe of the creativity of God.

So here we begin. Transform Media Group (Lucid Magazine and Lucid Books) shows its face for the first time. It was born because the Lord gave Rod Brace a vision to provide an outlet for regular people to share what they have learned and created and heard and seen and lived. We invite you to join our online community in the expression of our discoveries and the pursuit of truth. We encourage you to not just read, but to participate in the exchange of thoughts. From thoughts to articles, from articles to books, from books to who knows where. We follow the example of our Father. He is the Creator, Artist, Poet. Let us reflect His character.

Life is happening all around us, join us in saying something about it. Perhaps something new will begin for you.

Casey & Steph Cease
www.lucidmagazine.com

To New Beginnings...

I am excited to announce the first issue of Lucid Magazine will be posted online early January 2007 at www.lucidmagazine.com.

This will be the blog for further discussion on articles presented...

Here's to new beginnings!

- Casey