tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84058389466698679792024-03-08T09:44:28.185-08:00Mini SermonsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11976699661725669790noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-60276802189440047422013-04-18T16:13:00.001-07:002013-04-23T20:08:44.509-07:00God wants a relationship <p dir="ltr">The vast majority of us use Facebook on a daily basis. Some of us use it on an hourly basis. And even more seem to be hooked up to the steady drop of the Facebook IV. If I were to ask what is the purpose of Facebook, why does it exist, how would you respond? Connection would be your likely answer. Connection to your friends, to your family and yo the outside world. Sports, news, weather, there is so much that just Facebook alone can deliver. Facebook allows you to see what your friends and family are doing even though they may be miles away. It allows you to watch your nieces and nephews grow up through picture and video uploads. More than ever before, we can remain connected to those we love through our computers, tablets and smartphones. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Why do we strive to be connected? Why has a simple idea like Facebook taken off so dramatically that billions of users across the globe find themselves returning there day after day, hour after hour? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Because we were built, at our core, to have relationships. We were not built to live on this earth alone. We were meant to commune. To love and be loved. Woven into the very foundation of our lives exists a desire to share our experiences at a level known only to man. We are driven, good or bad, by this desire. In fact, we often mistake another person's approval for a relationship and therefore strive to impress those around us by what we say, do and live. We long for relationships. This is why God instituted marriage. He knew that the intimacy that can only come between a married couple is unmatched in any other relationship. This is why children have parents. To model a loving and accepting relationship that shows them no matter what they are loved. </p>
<p dir="ltr">When a man breaks the law in our country and is convicted, he is sent to prison. However, when that man also breaks the law within the prison, he is then often sent to solitary. Being in prison is bad enough. However, if even worse punishment is required, we remove human contact as the ultimate punishment. Because we were built to be with others. Men describe solitary as the worst forum of punishment. Many men have even gone insane from too much time alone. We need interaction from other humans. </p>
<p dir="ltr">God made Adam, yet observed quickly that it was not good that he was alone, and so he made a mate for him, Eve. God understood this need for man to be in a community with others. He understood that need, because understood man. He built man that way, in his image, and God too desires a relationship. </p>
<p dir="ltr">God desires a relationship with us. With you, and with me. </p>
<p dir="ltr">God did not simply put humans on this earth to watch them play, fight, grow and then die. He did not make man and woman just for his amusement, although our antics must amuse him at times to be sure. He did not make man so that he could have slaves to do his every bidding, or to surround himself with 'yes-men'.</p>
<p dir="ltr">No, God desired man to commune with him, the creator.</p>
<p dir="ltr">However, after sin entered God's perfect world, it soon became evident that man would require rules and guidelines. Left to our own devices, our sinful natures would often get the better of us and we would find ourselves in situations that are not pleasing to our creator. We would find ourselves doing things that hurt our relationships. Both the relationships we had with those around us, as well as the relationship we had with God himself. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So rules were to be implemented. </p>
<p dir="ltr">In any situation where multiple humans are involved and you will find a rule book. Sports? Yep. Work? You bet. Home? Most definitely. On the road? For sure. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Rules are a part of life. Rules are required because most of is won't have the decency to think about anyone else but ourselves. Our sinful natures cause is to first look inward before we look outward. When put together with others also looking down at their own desires, there will be collisions, there will be conflict. So God realized, as man realizes in every culture and in every time period, that rules are a requirement if man is to have successful relationships with others. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Did you hear that? Rules are for relationships. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Many look at Christianity and say that there are just too many rules. Many Christians within our own circles think that there are too many rules.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Why do we think that way? Why are we focused on those rules and why are they so important? How many of us who were raised in the church had to memorize the ten commandments as a child? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Many church circles devote so much of their energy on expressing what we all should or should not be doing. We focus on how this person did this and that person did that and how wrong they were! We see someone come into the church with obvious, sinful baggage and we look down our noses. We tell them, clean up! Maybe not with our words, but all too often with our looks and our actions. We say that by grace we are saved, yet we evidence our belief that the grace extended to us is not quite enough. We show the world that by grace <i>and</i> by us following the rules we are saved. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Yet, that is not the message of the Bible. This is not the Jesus I see when I read the gospels. I do not see a Jesus standing and proclaiming a rule book. I do not see him barking out orders about how to live or how not to live, in order to receive the kingdom of God. I do not see a man stressing over anyone's sinful state as being a barrier to the life he offered. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I do, however, see him extending grace. I see him offering love and acceptance. I see him living life fully. I see him eating with sinners. I see him touching the sick. I see him feeding the hungry. I see him... building relationships. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Of course, Jesus was asked about his rule book. Yes, the rule book he put in place with Moses. The rule book that he gave, yet wasn't really focusing on during his time with the people. Jesus was asked, by a well meaning man who was very much like us, focused on the rules, which of the ten commandments was the most important. Of all the commandments, how on wreath could Jesus narrow it down to just one? There are so many important ones or there. They all are extremely important. So, was this a trick question? Narrowing down a single commandment add being the of the highest importance? </p>
<p dir="ltr">So how did Jesus respond? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Love God with all your heart. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Really? What about killing, stealing, committing adultery? Aren't those important rules? Is Jesus saying they don't matter? Are they not also important? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Important, yes. Most important, no. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Love your God. But Jesus doesn't end there. He goes on to say that of equal importance is that we love our neighbor as ourselves.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jesus didn't sweep any of the other commandments under the rug. He didn't negate the other commandments. But he did simplify what it takes to be sinless. With those two simple commands, the problems of the world disappear. The fighting, the wars, the killing and the stealing. Every other commandment ever given is unnecessary if we just abide by those two. Every other rule book is abolished. With those two, simple commands we are set free from the bondage of regulations. We can live life fully. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I want to be first in line, so my heart desires that I push my way front. But, wait, I love God and want to please him so I can't do that. Oh, and I also love my neighbor more than I love myself so I can't do that. In fact, with those two things in mind, I am happy to let others first. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Did you catch that? I'm happy. I'm happy because I put others first. I put the relationship in front of myself. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Why was Jesus so popular? Why did he have such large crowds that followed him everywhere? Jesus focused on relationships, not rules. Jesus focused on acceptance, not condemnation. He cared for those he touched. He loved those he interacted with, and he put them first. We love to feel special, we love to feel important. As such, we will gravitate towards this in our lives that make us feel this way. Jesus made people feel special because he cared, honestly cared, for each of them. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I realize that I'm treading some liberal waters here. I understand that I'm potentially blurring the line between acceptance of a sinner and acceptance of the sin itself. That is not my intention. Jesus never once accepted sin in anyone's life. But he chose grace and love first. However, he wouldn't shy away from any teachable moment where he could make someone realize the error of their ways. He maybe wouldn't come out and say "you're wrong". Instead, he would demonstrate what it meant to move upward towards God. The woman caught in adultery and about to be stoned? Go and sin no more. The rich man wanting to know what he needed to do in order to be saved? Sell all of of your possessions. The Pharisees trying to scam people in the temple? Rage at their injustice. Jesus knew how to get right to the point. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Consider the adulterous woman. She was about to be stoned for her sins, yet Jesus pointed out that they all were guilty. No one was righteous. And, instead of rebuking the woman, he was gentle and simply told her to move forward on a new, better path than the one she was currently on. Go and sin no more. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Consider the rich man. Jesus cuts right to the heart of the matter, knowing that his failing was his love of his riches and his possessions. This man walked away, knowing what he had to do but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Again, Jesus doesn't rebuke the man. He doesn't ridicule him for his selfish desires. He simply states what needs to be done. Sell everything you own and follow me. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Finally, consider his treatment of the Pharisees. He wasn't gentle, he was harsh. He wasn't timid, he was in their faces. He knew their hearts. He knew that they were about oppression. They oppressed the people with legalism. They oppressed the people by discouraging their relationship with God. The Pharisees did the exact opposite of what God's intention was for man. Instead of culturing a people of relationships, they demanded legalistic practices as a way of them earning their way into the kingdom. They made God out to be a demanding, fearful tyrant rather than a loving, caring father. So Jesus hit them hard to show them, and those around them, the error of their ways. You brood of vipers! </p>
<p dir="ltr">God wants a relationship with you. He doesn't care who you are or where you've been. He's not looking behind you at your sordid past. He's holding out his hand and looking forward. He's saying, come and sin no more. He's saying put aside everything you consider important and follow me. Drop whatever it is that is hindering your walk and grab his hand. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Accept the offer that is on front of you. There are no conditions to be met. There is no small type to read. There are no added clauses to contemplate.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It's open. It's free. It's why you are here. </p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-49512495879369903312013-01-06T19:09:00.001-08:002013-01-06T19:09:35.449-08:00Owning UpOwn up. Man up. Cowboy up! However you describe it, being able to stand up and take the blame for something you've done takes guts and courage. And it goes against everything in your nature.<br />
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I want to discuss the importance of owning up and accepting the consequences of our actions. In doing so, I want to look at three different examples that are set before us in scripture. A poor example, a pretty good example and then a great example. Examples of how men in the past have handled accepting the blame, that help us see how we should as well.<br />
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Anyone who has had kids, taught kids, worked with kids, or in any way interacted with kids in any sort of disciplinary manner has been introduced to the "Not Me" ghost. Who wrote on the wall? Not me! Who broke this plate? Not Me! Who spilled the milk? Not Me!<br />
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Kids show us that we learn how to cast the blame from a very young age. When kids fight, it was always the other one who started it (and therefore is to blame). When asked why did you hit your sister? The answer is rarely, because I am a sinner in need of grace... No, it is usually, because she hit me first!<br />
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We learn, without having to be taught, that when the heat turns up, pointing the finger often helps save our bacon. Of course, it doesn't work nearly as often or as well as we like to think it does. We nearly always end up causing ourselves more grief, pain and hardships. But, of course, then we can just try and point the finger again and try to lessen the blow, right?<br />
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There are a couple of commercials on the radio that I've been annoyed with lately. They are advertising for some debt counselling program. Now, the programs are necessary and I fully support them. However, the that they are conveying through these commercials I do not support. Basically, they are saying that they know your current debt situation is not your fault. They say that you are not in this mess because of anything you have done, but because life is simply unfair. This may be true in some cases. There are unexpected surprises that arise, and we can easily be caught unawares ad un-prepared. However, so many financial issues nowadays that we face are largely our own fault. We spent money we didn't have. We bought based on some future plan that never came about. We were careless. We didn't prepare and save when we should've, instead we spent frivolously, and now when we need the money we don't have it. So this commercial really bugs me. Because they are completely aligning themselves with our sinful nature. These companies are appealing to our desire to cast blame elsewhere. They stroke our egos, just so that they can garnish our business.</div>
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Why does this come so naturally to us? Why is it so easy for us to so quickly resort to this way of our nature? Because it is our nature. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2017:9&version=NLT" target="_blank">Jeremiah 17:9</a> says that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Our hearts, our nature, our sinful self, our old man. Whatever you want to call it, we're naturally inclined to act in a selfish way, such as casting blame.</div>
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There are many reasons why we try to cast blame elsewhere. We cast blame because we are prideful. We don't want to look incompentant, or stupid. So we throw the blame to someone else so that they look incompenent instead. Our human nature is naturally prideful. Humility plays second fiddle when our pride is at stake. Another reason is fear. As kids, we fear punishment for what we did. So we try and throw the blame on to someone else. As adults, we fear the same. We fear the consequences, we fear the retribution, we fear the shame. By casting the blame onto someone else, that other person is more likely to receive the brunt of the consequences of our actions. Most of the time, we justify casting the blame in this manner because the person we are blaming is often partly to blame. Maybe even more so than us. So we think it is OK that we throw all the responsibility onto them to save our own dignity. Other reasons revolve around easing the pain, as well as an attempt to make ourselves simply feel better. No one likes to mess up. No one enjoys failure. And being confronted with that failure, with our mistakes, our defense mechanisms kick in. We strive to protect our pride, to protect our sense of self worth. So we cast off the blame.</div>
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The first example I want to consider this morning is the first man who ever walked this earth, Adam. In <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3%3A11-13&version=NLT" target="_blank">Genesis 3:11-13</a>, we enter the story after Adam and Eve had just eaten from the one tree God told them not to eat. God walks into the garden, "Adam! Eve! Where are you guys?"<br />
"We're hiding, because we're naked." Adam states, as if that was a good enough explanation and hopefully God would just walk away now. But, of course, he doesn't, so he asks,<br />
"Who told you that you were naked? You didn't eat of the tree that I told you not to eat from, did you?"<br />
And Adam, the first man. Adam had never before been faced with an accusation. Eve had never even rebuked him for not taking out the garbage yet. Adam had perfection delivered to him on a platter. And yet, when faced with the reality of his first mistake he'd ever made, he responds,<br />
"It was that WOMAN! That Woman YOU gave me!"<br />
Wow. Not only is Adam's first response to sin to cast the blame, but he throws the blame at both his bride AND God! Not only is it Eve's fault for giving Adam the apple in the first place, but it is also God's fault for giving him Eve. So, God turns to Eve,<br />
"Eve, what did you do?" And Eve doesn't miss a beat,<br />
"It was the SERPENT!"<br />
Do we need any more evidence that this is in our nature? The first humans, and their first reaction to being accused of something they were fully responsible for was to cast the blame.</div>
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Another piece of scripture that I'd like to focus on for this sermon is found in the book of 2 Samuel chapter 12 verses 1-20 (read it <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2012:1-20,2%20Samuel%2012:13&version=NLT" target="_blank">here</a>). In this passage, we see a pretty good example of a man who owns up for his sin. The prophet Nathan takes his life in his hands as he approaches and actually rebukes the king. As king, David could've easily taken Nathan's life for his accusation. Being told that you messed up, that you were wrong, is never something someone wants to hear. And being a king, you could definitely shut the guy up easily enough. But, of course, David doesn't do this. He doesn't even consider the possibility. He instead hears what was said, and realizes he's been called out onto the carpet. And he realizes his sin. And he admits it. He doesn't cast the blame, he doesn't throw Nathan out, he mans up, and owns up to his actions.<br />
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What is required to actually man up to what we have done? When we are confronted with our failure, with our mistakes, when everything inside of us yearns to run, to cast blame, what do we need? We need equal doses of courage and humility.We are quick to take the credit. We are quick to accept congratulations when things go right. That is easy. It requires nothing but pride, really, and we tend of have that in spades. But to accept blame? To own up to what we have done? That takes a lot more. That takes courage and humility. Two things that most of us struggle with daily. Humility to allow our pride to be hurt. Humility to let others know that we're not as great as maybe want them to think we are. Humility to accept that we're not as great as we want to think we are. And courage. Courage to own up to our failures. Courage to face the consequences of our actions. Courage to stand up to what may come, because we made the choice that put us where are are. Courage to be humble.<br />
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Accepting the blame and standing tall when the accusation is rightfully placed at our feet is critical. Yet, doing this will not relieve us of the consequences of our actions. It is very important to understand that owning up to our mistakes is not the end. As kids, we still would get spanked or grounded, although maybe the punishment wasn't as severe as it could've been. As adults, we still have to work through the mess we are responsible for making. Actions have consequences. David still had to suffer through the death of his child. Yet, while he mourned the tragic path his choice had taken him, he also stood up, dusted himself off and accepted these consequences, praising God.<br />
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When I thought through the many examples laid out in the Bible of men that were gracious in front of blame, of course I quickly considered Jesus. Yet, he never did anything wrong. Therefore, he was never faced with an accusation.<br />
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Oh. Wait. Yes he was.<br />
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When accused of something we have done, we resort to blame. When accused of something we actually didn't do? We take every ounce of our power to ensure that the world is aware that we are being falsely accused.<br />
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Jesus displayed a nature that is completely contrary to how we react. We throw blame even when it is surely ours to bear. Yet Jesus spoke not a word, even though he was falsely accused. Jesus took the punishment, the consequences, of the actions of every human that ever had and ever would walk this earth. Jesus bore the pain, the humiliation, the torture when he deserved none of it. And not only did he not react, but the words he did speak were to ask God the Father to forgive those inflicting the pain. What courage that would require! To be the only one on earth to never sin, yet to sit quietly and accept the blame, the shame and the consequences of everyone's sins. What strength he showed us all when he held back. He could've easily displayed that he truly was the Son of God by striking everyone down with lightening. But he didn't. Jesus took the blame and the consequences that we rightfully deserved, and the only words he spoke were "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."<br />
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So, how can we have the courage to stand up and face the consequences of our actions? How do we graciously bear the blame that is truly ours? There are two crucial truths that we must remember when walking through these situations.<br />
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First of all, we read in Psalms 37:23-24 that "...the Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand."<br />
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We are not alone. David wasn't alone. Adam and Eve weren't alone. God is right there beside us as we walk through the consequences. Jesus is holding our hands, ensuring that even though we stumble, we won't fall. We all will stumble. But God will never let us go. It is easier to muster up the courage, to stand tall and brave to face the consequences of our actions when we know that God is standing right beside us, unwavering and strong. We can be brave knowing that regardless, God doesn't walk away. God doesn't leave us in our mess to clean up on our own. Instead, he's right beside us the entire time, expressing his love and forgiveness.<br />
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Which leads me to the second point.<br />
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Romans 8:1-2 says that "...there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death."<br />
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Not only will God not leave us when we fail, but he has forgiven us. As in the story we read of David, when he confessed his sin Nathan told him that God had forgiven him. Of course, this did not mean he didn't have to still face the consequences. However, David could face them with confidence, without shame, because he knew that he was forgiven. He knew that his sins were removed as far as the east was from the west. He stood confident, not in his own self, but in the forgiveness and grace that God granted him. And he proudly faced his future, because he refused to shamefully dwell on his past.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-8039935366597566312012-09-18T14:10:00.001-07:002012-09-18T14:10:01.853-07:00Remove the Thorn<div><p>I have a sermon on Paul's thorn here already. However, this weekend my pastor spoke on following Jesus and mentioned Paul and his thorn. Again, it struck me that Paul asked three times for the thorn to be removed and then accepted it. </p>
<p>Three times. </p>
<p>How many times have you asked for your thorn to be removed? Three times? Three hundred times? I know I'm hitting probably three thousand times since my thorn came around 4 years ago. </p>
<p>So can I accept my thorn? God's grace is made perfect in my weakness. And my thorn keeps me week. Can I accept that his grace is being made perfect in me? </p>
<p>My pastor also made a statement that we are never drawn closer to God than in our times of need. How true that is! If God removed all of my thorns, would I fall away from him? If I think back to the times my life didn't have these thorns, was I closer to God then or now? </p>
<p>I would have to say I'm closer now. </p>
<p>This isn't to say that God wants us to live a life of suffering. I don't believe that for a second. But it does mean that he allows us to go through these times in order to grow closer to him. We are ultimately here on this earth for his glory. And by going through sufferings and coming out the other side refined, God is glorified. </p>
<p>So, have I asked for a thorn to be removed three times or more? Yes. Has God yet removed it? No, not yet. Does that mean he never will? Nope. Does that mean I need to accept my situation and lean fully on him? 100% yes. </p>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-35030967425722633932012-09-17T12:54:00.001-07:002012-09-17T22:53:10.859-07:00How Great a Sacrifice <div><p>Sometimes we fail to realize the extent of the sacrifice that God willing went through to grant us all salvation. No, let me rephrase that. Most of the time. </p>
<p>I was listening to a sermon in our church recently and I started thinking about my situation I was currently in, and how great it would be of God just swooped in and took care of it all for me. Why wouldn't he do that? I wondered. Then the sermon continued, and made me think about something more important than my current work situation, or financial predicament that I had walked into this time. God do swoop in. God saved me. God sent his son to die on the cross for me. And you. And that guy I don't like so much. And that driver that cut me off this morning. Jesus died. But do I care?</p>
<p>I started thinking, why do I focus so much on the physical world around me? Why do I devote so much energy to worrying about what is happening, or worse, what might happen? Why does Jesus' sacrifice not hold a more prominent place in my heart, why isn't it the first thing I think of rather than just on Sundays when the pastor reminds me?</p>
<p>I thought again about whether or not God swooping in and rescuing me from my situation would <u>likely</u> teach me anything. Which would probably be a major reason why he doesn't do it. It made me think of a little analogy.</p>
<p>Let's say I take off Friday evening, head down to the closest casino, and join a poker game. Now, maybe things start turning south for me and I start losing money. So, to try and take one more stab at getting my money back, I put the family SUV, our only vehicle, on the line. And I lose...</p>
<p>Wow, what do I do now? How do I tell my wife? What a stupid thing I did! Remorse would flood in, tears pour out. Feelings of shame and regret overwhelm me, how could I ever have done such a thing?</p>
<p>Suddenly, I remember my rich uncle. I call him, explain my plight, and within a day, he swoops in, buys our family another SUV and all is well.</p>
<p>Great ending, right? Wrong.</p>
<p>Did my rich uncle sacrifice? Maybe a little, but in the end the little bit of cash it cost him to buy us a new vehicle didn't affect him at all. Did I learn anything? I would hope so, but my experience with human nature says likely not. In a a situation like this, I would likely go back and do it again. Depending on how great the feelings of pain and regret were, maybe I wouldn't do it again for a month. Maybe a year. But, likely, I would.</p>
<p>So let's rewind. Let's say I have an uncle, but he's not rich. He's single, but has only one vehicle and often struggles to make his bills each month. Of course, I don't ask him for a new truck, but he hears of what I've done and he gives us his only vehicle. Humiliated, yet grateful, I accept his offer because he won't have it any other way. This uncle sacrificed. This uncle gave up more than he could afford so that my family could move on past my mistake.</p>
<p>Would I learn from that? I would think most people would. I would think that the constant reminder of a relative walking to work, walking to the store, walking to the library would help in ensuring that I never put this vehicle up at risk like that again.</p>
<p>God sacrificed it all. Jesus gave up his life, so that I could live. Jesus suffered and died so that I could be saved.</p>
<p>So what do his sacrifice mean to me? How does it change my life? Do I think about it every time win, very time I fail? Am I grateful that he paid the price I never could've paid? </p>
<p>Lyrics from the song "Once Again": Jesus Christ, I think upon your sacrifice. You became nothing, poured out to death. Many times, I think about your gift of love, now I'm in that place once again. </p>
<p>Do you think upon his sacrifice? When you are tempted, do you look to the cross? Do you consider the price that he paid for you? Are you humbled? Are you grateful? </p>
<p>Let the cross change you. </p>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-47756296331955425612012-09-17T12:30:00.001-07:002012-09-17T12:30:18.344-07:00Get Moving<h5> </h5> <p>I'm sure you've all heard the statement that "you cannot steer a parked car". Pretty obvious statement, really. If a couple thousand pounds of steel and iron is sitting still, twisting a steering wheel in circles will do nothing. <p>I actually have this stupid habit while going through a drive thru where I simply slip our truck into neutral. I'm not sure why, maybe I'm just bored, maybe I'm afraid the truck knows better than I do about the junk food I'm about to ingest, so I'm just making sure it doesn't make a run for it. Whatever the case, I often do it. And yet, almost just as often, I tend to forget I just did it. So, we get the food, I release the brake and step on the gas and rev the engine nice and loud... As I roll backwards towards the guy behind me that was probably too close in the first place... <p>Steering a parked car or revving the engine while in neutral. Both actions get us nowhere. We have so much power and freedom within our grasp, but if we don't put the vehicle in drive and start moving, what good does it do for us? <p>One of the questions most Christians ask is, what is God's will for my life? Seeking God's will, for me, has never been easy. Every time I've come to a crossroads, people say "Pray about it." So I do. And yet rarely, in fact never, has God suddenly spoken out of the clouds and thundered "Go that way!". In this day and age, how do we know what to do? <p>Have you ever felt God speaking to you? Have you been moved to do something or to go somewhere, but you just don't know what or where? I believe that God has a purpose for each one of us. But, sometimes it seems that he could maybe be a little more liberal with the details, don't you think? <h5>Scripture Reading - Genesis 12:1-9</h5> <p>We all know the stories of Abraham. We likely have heard the story of him being asked by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac. But the story I want to focus on today is the start of his recorded journey as a man of great faith. When Abraham was 75 years old, he received a call from God. Let's read about it in Genesis 12:1-9: <p><b>The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.</b> <p><b> “I will make you into a great nation, <br> and I will bless you; <br>I will make your name great,<br> and you will be a blessing. <br> I will bless those who bless you,<br> and whoever curses you I will curse; <br>and all peoples on earth<br> will be blessed through you. ”</b> <p><b></b> <p><b>So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.</b> <p><b>Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land. ” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.</b> <p><b>From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.</b> <p><b>Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.</b> <p>What really strikes me about this passage is the lack of details that were given. Lets first examine the call. <h5> </h5> <p><b>The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.</b> <p>Go. Leave your country. Leave your people. Leave your home. Go. <p>If I was Abram, I think I would've had a few questions. At least one very specific question, which way? God doesn't specify any further details, not that we read here anyways. God simply says, Go. Pack up, say goodbye, and start walking. <p>Sounds like a pretty dangerous, open ended calling. Many of us wouldn't do as well as Abram did I'm sure. <p>There is a belief out there that if we cannot see, it is impossible for us to move in a straight line. In fact, we will actually move in circles instead. If you ever watch the show Mythbusters, you may have seen the episode where they took on this belief to find out if it was a myth or not. In the episode, they walked, swam and drove while blindfolded. In all the cases they tested, they were never able to move in a straight line. They attempted the same tests multiple times with the only consistency between the tests being that they didn't go straight. In one test they walked left, in the next right, in another they circled multiple times. <p>Jaime states that "Trying to walk in a straight line while being blindfolded is an exercise in futility because without any cues like vision or sounds... you're relying on purely mechanical means of determining your direction. But you're fluid, you're not like a machine. You can kind of meander and wander." <p>I find it very interesting that we, as humans, are so dependent on our sense of sight. Without vision, we go in circles. How true that is in life in general. Without vision, without a sense of direction, we either sit with our car in neutral, or we go in meaningless circles. <p>God didn't specify what direction Abram was to take, but it does say that when Abram left he "set out for the land of Caanan." How Abram knew to go in this direction, I'm not sure. Abram was in touch with God, and had a close enough relationship with Him, that while he didn't know exactly what God wanted, he seemed to have a rough idea. God only said that He would show him where to go. If we were to start walking blindfolded, left to our own devices we would walk in circles. But, as God stated here for Abram, we aren't on our own. God won't allow us to walk in circles. As blind as we may feel that we are, we need to rest assured that God will steer us ever so gently in the direction he wishes us to travel. <h5> </h5> <p>While God didn't give Abram specific details about the journey he was about to embark upon, he did give him some great assurances. <p><b> “I will make you into a great nation, <br> and I will bless you; <br>I will make your name great,<br> and you will be a blessing. <br> I will bless those who bless you,<br> and whoever curses you I will curse; <br>and all peoples on earth<br> will be blessed through you. ”</b> <p>God tells Abram that he will be made into a great nation, that his name will be great and that God's blessings will be upon him. God would bless those that blessed Abram, and even curse those that cursed him. <p>Abram didn't ask for these things. This was purely God's idea. This was entirely God's choosing. If Abram was seeking these things for his own purposes, I have a feeling that his journey wouldn't have ended up be nearly as successful. If he was setting out on his own to make name for himself, it likely wouldn't have happened. It surely wouldn't have happened to the degree of greatness that his name now still holds. <p>God's blessings and assurances likely put Abram at peace and at ease. Abram didn't have to sweat the details. He wasn't worried about going right or left, because he knew God was with him. <p>If we flash forward many years to the life of Joshua we see a man also of great faith, who also stood at the beginning of a great journey and needed God's assurances. <p>In the beginning of the book of Joshua, God encourages him three times to "be strong and very courageous". Joshua had the impossible task of leading a bunch of farmers into the Promised Land to take over walled cities fortified with stone and rock and protected by powerful armies. Pitchforks against swords, I suppose being encouraged to be courageous was likely quite necessary. <p>Let's read a portion of this passage, Joshua 1:5 and 6: <p><b>No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.</b> <p>God doesn't say "Joshua, you are a great man. You've exercised regularly, you are very fit and stronger than an ox. You can beat these guys". Not even close. God simply says, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you." Swords, spears and walls of rock don't stand a chance. <p>One of my favorite passages is found in Romans chapter 8, specifically verse 31: <p><b>What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?</b> <p>God maybe called Abram out on a very risky and unknown adventure. But he made sure that Abram realized that he wasn't alone. Was it unorthodox? Yes, for sure. In those days, families stuck together. Families lived in the same place, generation after generation. You didn't just pack up and leave your parents. Nowadays, we can't seem to get away fast enough. But in Abram's day, it was almost unheard of to do such a thing. Was it open ended? Most definitely. If any of us were to receive the same calling today, would we know what direction to go? Yet it was filled with assurances. Did it really matter which way Abram went? Maybe in the long run, but God was more concerned that he simply started moving. <h5> </h5> <p>And Abram did. The next verse says that at 75 years of age, Abram packed up his family and set out for Canaan. <p>I checked Google Maps. Of course, the highways didn't exist then that do now, and I'm not 100% sure of where Harran was exactly, nor where he ended up in Caanan. But, if the many maps that exist on the internet of this journey are to be believed, this journey was probably over 800 kilometers long! On foot. With donkeys, sheep and cattle. With kids, women and servants. Over desert lands. I'm not sure how far they could've walked in a day, but many assume maybe 20 kilometers with such a group. If that was true, that means they were out walking the desert for 40 days. Can you imagine? I wonder Abram had any doubts about his choice. Am I going in the right direction? Should I have gone south? Maybe east instead? <p>And it wasn't until he arrived at Caanan that God finally spoke and said "to your offspring I will give this land." <p>Finally, a word of confirmation from God. It wasn't the GPS voice saying "You have reached your destination". But it was confirming the direction Abram was going. His offspring would receive this land. Not necessarily he himself, but his kids or his grandkids. <p>What is most impressive to me about this entire story was Abram's obedience. God said 'Go' and Abram went. He didn't hesitate. He didn't question. He didn't ask for more directions, or for more information. He packed up his things, and he started moving. <p>There are a few examples of this type of faith and obedience throughout the scriptures. I would like to look at a couple of them this morning. <p>The first is the Israelites crossing the Jordan, found in Joshua 3:14-17. <p><b>So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.</b> <p>The faith that Joshua and these priests displayed is actually quite remarkable. God told them to go, and they went. However, God didn't say "Here, I stopped the river so you can cross. Get up and go across." No, the priests had to actually step into the water. Did they know that God was going to stop the water? Well, they may have had an idea that might happen due to many, many years ago when Moses led their fathers and grandfathers across in a similar manner. But, there were no signs this was going to happen again. In fact, the river was at flood stage! Remember just a few months ago when the rivers here were flooding our banks? If there were no bridges, and God told you to go to the other side, would you just walk into the river carrying the Ark of the Covenant, weighing hundreds of pounds, on your shoulder? I know if it was me, I would probably have the faith and the energy to head down to the edge, but once I got to the edge, and if nothing had happened, would I continue? The priests had to actually step into the edge before the waters parted. But the fact is, they did. They moved, believing that God would come through. They had faith that God would reveal the way. And He did. He stopped the waters, and piled them up a great distance away so that the entire people of Israel could walk across on dry ground. <p>The next example I want to discuss is Jesus himself. Let's read Matthew 14:15-21. <p><b>As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”</b> <p><b>Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”</b> <p><b>“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.</b> <p><b>“Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.</b> <p>This story happens immediately after Jesus had just heard the news that John the Baptist had been be-headed by King Herod. Jesus withdrew to get away from the crowds, yet the crowds followed him. First of all, the compassion Jesus has for us is incredible. Not too many of us would've been able to put up with that. In fact, the disciples knew what had happened, and I'm sure many of them were grieving too. In fact, that would likely explain their reaction to the crowd when they tried to convince Jesus to send the crowd away when it was time to eat. <p>But, Jesus doesn't. And, while his compassion here is incredible and likely a sermon in itself, what I want to focus on is his act of faith. The only food they had in this crowd of 5000 men, as well as women and children, was a basket containing two fish and five loaves of bread. Not even enough to feed Jesus and his disciples! Yet, Jesus commands his disciples to bring the food to him, and he directs everyone to sit and he gave thanks. At this point, again if it was me and I had passed the test of faith to this point, I probably would be saying grace with one eye closed, and one eye peaking at the basket, hoping it suddenly starting multiplying. If, after saying grace, there was still only 5 loaves and 2 fish, a lesser man would've likely hung his head and sent everyone away. I guess I was wrong. This wasn't what God was going to do, this must not be how he was going to act. Go home, see you all later. Yet, Jesus doesn't hesitate. He doesn't miss a beat. Instead, he breaks the bread, and starts passing it around. And it wasn't until this act that the miracle began. It wasn't until Jesus pushed passed the barriers of doubt that God acted. <p>And, then of course, we have the example we already read about this morning with Abram. God told him to go, and he went. And it wasn't until 40 some days later that Abram received confirmation that he was heading in the right direction. <p>Are you at a crossroads? Do you hear God calling, do you feel him leading? Are you moving? Or are you sitting quietly, awaiting further instructions? What if those are all the instructions you are going to get? What if God wants you to get your feet wet? What if he wants you to break the bread, and then start passing it around? <p>Does God want you to start a ministry to the poor? Does God want you to step out and go in a completely new direction? Has he laid someone, or something, on your heart yet you are just not quite sure what to do about it? <p>These examples we've read about this morning show us that just sitting and waiting is not the answer. We need to Go. We need to move. We need to kick that truck out of neutral and start rolling. <p>How do we apply this in real life? This sounds all well and good, but then Monday morning rolls around, reality bites again, and suddenly the clouds roll over and confusion reigns. How do we start moving when we don't know the direction, when we don't know how or when God will act? <p>The first thing is obviously to spend time in prayer and in His Word. Abram, the priests and, of course, Jesus were all men that were close with God. They worshipped God, they spent time in His presence. They knew they could trust Him, whatever the circumstances. <p>The second thing would be to consider what, or who, God has laid as a burden on your heart. And then start thinking of ways you could move in that direction. Has God laid a burden on your heart for homeless people? Then volunteer at the Coffee Cart Wednesday nights. Go down to and volunteer at the local soup kitchen or shelter. Or, maybe God has laid missions on your heart, yet you can't see how you could actually do that. So, plan a trip to the closest missions training center. Call and inquire about the many different organizations. Attend a Missions conference. <p>The point is, start moving. God doesn't expect you to put your truck into gear, and suddenly be going 100 miles an hour down the road. He just wants movement. <p>Maybe you don't know where God wants you. Maybe you don't really have a burden for missions, or the homeless. But you feel God wants you to serve. Then start serving. Start serving the homeless. Start serving your church. Start moving in a direction so that God can use that movement to steer you in the direction He wants you to go. <p>God is the master of the spontaneous. We love to plan and detail every aspect of our futures. We save for retirement, we save for our kids' educations. We plan out our trips, when will we visit family, when will we travel on vacation, when will we go to the beach. <p>God says in James chapter 4 verses 13-15: <p><b>Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”</b> <p>God wants us to move. God desires to show himself faithful. God wants us to trust Him, to rest in Him. God doesn't want us to solidify ourselves in our own securities of future planning and risk management strategies. <p>If God is calling you, get off that couch. Get off that chair. Put that truck into neutral and head towards Canaan. God will reveal himself to you. God will direct your paths, and make your ways straight. But first, you are required to step forward in obedience.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-82569205366217393922012-09-17T12:29:00.001-07:002012-09-17T12:29:09.572-07:00Too Much God… Really?<h4>My sister-in-law works at a Christian bookstore in Saskatoon. Recently she had a lady come in and ask, "Where are the books that help you when you are sad, or going through a tough time?" She answered her, pointing to a section of books she thought would be just what the woman was looking for, and then turned to walk away. But the lady called her back. "These are nice" she said, "but I was hoping for something a little less, well, with not so much God in them." She looked at her in brief bewilderment, then kindly let her know where the nearest Chapters bookstore was. "No," she said "I want some God, just not so much."</h4> <p>Really? Too much God? Surely we all know there is no such thing. We laugh at a storey like this, yet this lady voiced an opinion that seems to becoming more and more commonplace amongst us as Christians. Even among us here. While we may not voice them, the thoughts are that God can be overbearing, demanding, rather strict, and sometimes downright pushy sometimes tend to creep into our thinking or reasoning at times. I need him to be with me here, or to help me through my struggles there, but otherwise I would appreciate it if he would back off and give me my personal space. <p>I hope these sentiments don't ring true for anybody here. Well, at least I hope they don't ring true to the extreme that you would say it out loud to a Christian bookstore salesperson at least. However, if many of us stopped right now and truly dug deep, examining our hearts and our soul, we'd find a very similar line of thinking. We maybe don't express it, don't voice it, but it's there. We feel that there is a line of "too much God", and we tend to get uncomfortable when he crosses it. <p>This morning I want to read a passage that I actually read briefly last week. At the time, I hadn't planned to use this passage so I thought it would be OK to do so then. So, for those of you that were here, you were treated to a sneak peak of sorts I imagine. However, as I pondered the subject I wanted to discuss, this passage kept with me. I want to talk this morning about letting go of ourselves, and letting God be God in our lives. Many of us may have read the bumper sticker that "God is my co-pilot". What we will see this morning, is that God doesn't wish to be our co-pilot at all. He wishes to be our pilot, our leader, beyond question. <p>Matthew 16:24-27: <p><b>Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.</b> <p>In these verses, we read how Jesus describes three steps we are all to take in our Christian walk. <b>Turn</b> from our selfish ways, <b>take</b> up our cross, and <b>follow</b> him. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, if you are anything like that lady in the bookstore wishing for less God in Christian books, then this isn't simple at all. And, because we are all human and all have tendencies towards selfishness, I will venture a guess that most of us here, in varying degrees, have the same sentiments towards God in our lives at times. And, therefore, these three steps, as we will soon see, are not as simple as they sound. <h4>The first step is to turn from our selfish ways. It is a simple statement, yes. Yet it has a vast reaching impact. What are our selfish ways? Corrie and I have often discussed how pretty much everything that is wrong or off balance in today's society can be attributed to selfishness.</h4> <p>· Obvious cases such as robbery or assault I don't think anyone would disagree are due to the guilty party's selfishness <p>· However, have you ever thought about the high gas prices, or high prices for goods? Sellers are greedy and want to make more money to suit their selfish desires. When do prices go up? When demand rises and supply drops. Because the seller's know we need their product, so instead of thinking of others, they think of themselves and their selfish greed and jack up the price. <p>· Road rage? Many of us can easily relate to this one. Yet this is a prime example of selfishness. I'm too busy thinking of myself as better than the rest of you on the road to let you in my lane, or to simply pull in behind you instead of cutting you off, or to wait the extra few seconds rather than pull out in front of you. Road rage is a prime example. <p>· How about broken relationships? They didn't work because one or both of the parties involved couldn't think less of themselves and more of the other person. We refuse to accept when we've wronged someone because our selfishness doesn't allow it. But, we often refuse to forgive another when they have wronged us because we wish to hold that place of selfish power over them a little bit longer. <p>· Broken church families? Selfishness. The church wasn't meeting MY needs. I wasn't being fulfilled. I couldn't agree with the actions of this person, so instead of working it out between us, I just cut them off completely. <p>· Work stress? Bosses that won't pay a fair wage, yet expect a bend-over-backward sacrifice? Unions that strike for any given reason? Workers that refuse to take action because "that's not my job"? At the foundation, selfishness. A ME first attitude. <p>· What about parenting? Even good parents fall to selfish actions many times over. Frustration levelled at a child because they interrupted my precious ME time. <p>· Addictions are a great example of selfishness. Alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling are all caused by a selfish desire to get what I want, when I want it. <p>And the list could go on for a very long time. Our nature is selfish. We want to fulfill our own desires first, and when something gets in the way we meet it with frustration, anger, or other selfish actions to bully our way in front. <p>How many of you have a dream? Maybe it's a retirement plan. Maybe it's a house, a car, land, a perfect job or position in your company. Have you ever considered that maybe that dream is one of your selfish ways? I'm not saying that having a dream is wrong. I am saying, however, that many of us seek after that dream with such ambition and drive that we fail to "take an interest in others". We don't think of others as better than ourselves. In fact, we sometimes see others as objects in the way of our dream and act selfishly against them. When we allow ourselves to be so self-focused, we easily become frustrated. We become annoyed at those around us. Why can't Joe just do his job properly? Why can't my Boss appreciate the sacrifices I'm making? Why is this person taking so long in this lineup? Why can't that guy learn how to drive? Why is this clerk ringing up my groceries so slowly? All these frustrations that mount throughout a day are often caused by our selfish ways. <p>Paul stated in Philippians 2:3,4: <p><b>Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.</b> <p>I have to be honest, I struggle with this verse. I like impressing others, it feels good to make someone else take notice. And, think of others as better than me? Well, sometimes that's easy. There are so many people that are completely talented, there's no doubt they're better than me. I don't have to think that, I know it. But what about that person on the road that I know is going to try and take my lane? What about that man smoking in the entrance to the mall, causing me and my family to have to walk through his cloud to get inside? What about that woman pushing the shopping cart with all her belongings down to the soup kitchen? Thinking of everyone as better than myself can be a troublesome task to be sure. And then, take an interest in others. For some, this comes naturally. For example, look at Jesus and how he interacted with the people. <p>Many have said that Jesus was so popular and well-liked because of his charismatic personality. And while that is likely true, I tend to think it had a lot more to do with the fact that he was perfectly self-less, he took an interest in those around him. Think about those who you enjoy hanging around with the most. Are they the ones that are constantly talking about themselves, the one in the group that constantly has to "one up" the last story? Do they tend to argue with everything you say? Or are they the ones that take an interest in you, the ones that make you feel special, and pay attention to you as a person? Yes, the people you most likely enjoy are the ones who ask you about your day, take an interest in your life, and are more than willing to step in and help you in whatever way they can in your time of need. Jesus would've been amazing to hang around. And that is the example of what he wants us to be as we walk down the road of this life. <p>Jesus says to turn from our selfish ways. Wow, such a simple step, yet so hard to take. <p>· Are you trying to walk away from a job, a relationship, a church because you have been hurt or your needs aren't being met? Jesus says, not so quickly. First, turn from your selfish ways. If your reasons for doing so are in anyway selfish, Jesus says no go. <p>· Are you annoyed at someone else's incompetence that is hindering you in some way? Jesus says, cool down, take an interest in them personally, and turn from your selfish ways. <p>· Do you think you are better than that person on the bus who is dirty, smells and looks like they just eyed up your purse? Jesus says, but for the grace of God, consider them as better than yourself, and turn from your selfish ways. <p>Thinking of others as better than ourselves is one of the most difficult, contrary to popular thinking and backward things we can do. Yet Jesus says to do it. In every aspect of your life, turn from your selfish ways. <h4>Many of us have heard this phrase before. God gives to each of us what we can bear, and he wants us to take up our cross. What does this mean to you? Does this mean you will endure heartache, suffering, pain? Maybe. Does this mean you will be persecuted, bullied, abandoned? Maybe. Jesus doesn't elaborate here any further than simply "take up your cross". Remember, that this was before he was crucified. In the verses before these ones I read, Jesus predicts his death to his disciples. He tells them that he will be treated unfairly, beaten, abused and eventually killed by the elders. And in the same conversation, he tells his disciples that he expects them to do the same.</h4> <p>What exactly does it mean to take up our cross? We just spoke about turning from our selfish ways, and this is simply the next logical step. In Jesus' time, the cross was an ugly and horrific symbol. The Romans made the death-row criminals carry their own cross, the instrument of their pending execution, in front of everyone. As they did so, they were ridiculed, insulted and jeered at. This was the cross that Jesus challenged his disciples to carry. A willingness to endure persecution, ridicule and death. To die to self, to absolutely surrender to God. <p>One thing that always amazed me as I read through the stories of Jesus' life was how quickly the people turned from love for him, to hatred. How could these people suddenly switch gears like that? Near the end of his life, Jesus really challenged those around him to give up what they held most dear. And in that day, what every Jew held most dear was freedom from the Romans. They loved Jesus when they saw him as their Savior of the Roman oppression. Yet, once they began to realize that Jesus wasn't going to save them from their earthly troubles, they began to hate him. They could not give up their selfish ways, they could not take up their cross. They were so focused on the earthly comfort they desired, they couldn't see the eternal freedom Jesus was offering. Jesus said to them, what could be more valuable than your own soul? Yet, at the time they could only care about their physical well-being. <p>Are we so different? How easily we can focus on our earthly discomforts. Money is tight this month, Jesus why didn't you give us a miracle to help make ends meet? Sickness and pain runs rampant through your body, Jesus why can't you just heal me? These miracles are not at all wrong to pray for, but they are wrong to focus on as a requirement for you to have a closer walk with Jesus. Jesus had such loftier goals for those around him, yet they had their heads buried so deep in the sands of their earthly comfort that they couldn't see it. And instead, Jesus' actions and words caused them to boil over in anger. <p>Are you willing to take up your cross? Are you willing to die to yourself? These first two steps are extremely similar. Turn from yourself, and die to yourself. Jesus never promised a life of ease. In fact, in John 16:33 he states: <p><b>Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.</b> <p>Jesus states, in no uncertain terms, that we will have many trials and sorrows. But, he also doesn't dwell on that at all. Immediately he directs the focus upwards, saying "Hey, no worries! I've overcome the world." In other words, this is such a small part of what really matters. Take up your cross, yet realize that this world is merely a stepping stone to the lives for which we were made. <h4>The third step is to simply follow Jesus. Yet what does this mean? How can I follow Jesus? Physically, we can't see him. He's not leading us down a hiking trail through the woods on the weekend. So how do we follow him? Have you ever had to follow another person through a busy city? If you know the person, and know how they drive, you can follow them pretty well. If you don't, you tend to constantly be making split second decisions trying to keep up. You don't know they are going to change lanes until they've already done so. The better you know the person, the quicker you can predict their movements and the safer your decisions will be. Yet, even just knowing the person you are following isn't enough. If you don't have a clue where you are headed, then you can't be sure that they changed lanes simply to go around someone else, or that they are actually going to turn soon. The better you know the person, and the clearer of an idea of the destination that you have, the more relaxed and confident you can be in your decisions.</h4> <p>The same holds true for following Jesus. Jesus focused a lot on two areas during his ministry here on earth. First, he led by example. Jesus told us how to respond to those in need, and then did it himself. Jesus explained to us what faith was, and then demonstrated it time and time again. He described how we were to respond to those who may persecute us, then laid down his life. Jesus taught and led the life that he wishes we all would live. However, he also focused on another area. The kingdom of God. Jesus knew that followers blindly tagging along behind him would not last. They would make bad decisions, stumble, and eventually lose their way. If, instead, those followers also knew the destination, Jesus knew that they would be much better equipped for the journey. <p>Are you faced with a tough decision? Are you unsure of the next direction that you should take in life? I am. Jesus says, 'Follow me.' Yet, if we don't know him, how can we follow him? And if we don't know where he is going, how can we stay the course? <p>To know Jesus, we need to examine his life on this earth. How did he respond in situations? How did he treat others? How did he live out his faith? I will examine just a few ways that we can follow Jesus. <p>· <b>Love</b> - This means the person in front of me at the line up. This means the driver next to me on the highway. This means the guy at work who I just can't stand. Love him. Love her. Love them. Jesus treated those around himself with love, and if we are to follow him, we need to do the same <p>· <b>Help</b> - Look around you. Are there people in need? Help your neighbour by shovelling the snow from their driveway. If someone asks you for spare change, buy them a meal. Stick up for the helpless. Protect those who are in harm's way. Jesus stuck his neck out for many people that society had rejected, abused and cast out. And he expects us to do so as well <p>· <b>Live Modestly</b> - While Jesus doesn't ask all of us to live a life such as Mother Teresa did, he does expect us to keep our eyes on that which is eternal. Jesus understood the drag and distraction that worldly goods can cause and warned us about falling into the trap of idolizing our possessions, or lack of possessions! <p>And the list can go on and on. To know Jesus, we need to examine his life. Read his teachings, and then read them again. And again. Analyze his reactions. Question his decisions. Why did he do that? Why did he say that? What was his intentions for going there? Studying Jesus' life and ministry will cause you to know him more and more. Jesus isn't an idea to believe in, he's a living example to follow, to love. <h4>Is there such a thing as too much God? Of course not. Yet, many of us fall easily into the trap of living a life that only has enough room for "just a bit" of God. A story has been told of a professor that filled a jar with rocks, then pebbles, then sand. Each time, the jar was technically full, yet each time the smaller items were added, they filled the voids between the larger items. The professor explained that the rocks represented what was truly important, God, family, children. The pebbles represented the other parts of life, such as our jobs, houses. And the sand represented everything else, the small stuff. If we fill our jars first with sand, we have no room for the pebbles or rocks. Make room for God first. Clear out your jar of the sand and pebbles that so easily get in the way, and instead allow God to fill your life. Sundays should be a day that you rest in God, reflecting on the week where he was with you and leaning on him for the week that is to come and the strength that only he can give to make it through. Sundays should not simply be a day that you decided to fit God into your schedule!</h4> <p>Jesus says that we are to turn from our selfish ways, take up our cross, and follow him. For what is more important than our souls? What good will that $300,000 car do you when God calls your name? Jesus says that he will judge all people according to their deeds. Filling our lives with the small stuff first, and then "just a pinch of God" will never live up to this judgment. <p>This challenge is a life-long challenge for us all. We will all have to wrestle with turning from self, dying to self, and choosing to follow Christ daily. It is not something anybody will completely get a grip on while on this earth. However, praise be to God that Jesus has overcome this world. Our lives here on earth are such a tiny speck on the radar when compared to the everlasting life that lies before us. Enjoy the journey, have fun with your family, with the material blessings God has given you. But never let them be the sand that fills your jar first. Make sure you have "too much God" every day.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-41620625291120205522012-09-17T12:26:00.001-07:002012-09-17T12:26:47.155-07:00Perfection<p>Have you ever been happy with second best? Have you ever been excited just to make the top five of a competition? <p>This winter, Corrie played soccer with the indoor soccer league in Kamloops. They just finished a few weeks ago where they played through the playoffs and won the tournament. It was very exciting for the entire team, but as they were celebrating, I looked over at the team they had just beat. One of the players suddenly cheered and said, "Hey, we got second place!" and the team all cheered. <p>Has that ever been you? That pretty much describes me my whole life. At the many track and field events I was a part of during my school years, my brother would often come home with all sorts of first place ribbons. I came home with a few second and third place ribbons, and I was always excited about them. I was into mountain bike racing in high school, never got first place, but was always very happy with my second, third, or fourth place finishes. I was happy to be second best. I was satisfied just to say I'd beaten most of the field, rather than wishing I had made first place instead. <p>Of course, placing in the top five of a competition is always a great achievement to be sure. I will never be disappointed with a good finish, and I would never express disappointment if my kids did the same. <p>But have you ever been satisfied with second best? <p>There's an opposite extreme as well. How many of you would admit to being a perfectionist? Does it drive you completely mad when things are exactly like you think they should? Would a second place finish be considered a failure? I work with a perfectionist. It is exhausting and frustrating for both of us. For her, she's frustrated that we can release work that isn't completely perfect. For us, it's frustrating that she has to pick at every tiny detail and make a fuss out of something that isn't perfect, when it is workable. Some perfectionists go to an even greater extreme and become what we have learned to be Obsessive Compulsive. Ever seen the show Monk? Demanding such high levels of perfection from ourselves can lead us into a life that is full of disappointment and frustration. <p>When it comes to our everyday lives, we must learn a balance between striving for perfection, yet being satisfied with our best efforts if they don't yield the top results we were hoping for in the first place. There are areas in our lives where being satisfied with your best efforts is sufficient. Being happy that you simply placed second is a reason for celebration. But there is one area that second best is just not good enough. <p>Jesus commanded that we be perfect, just as his father in heaven was perfect. Let's read Matthew 5:48 <p><b><sup>48</sup></b><b> </b><b>Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.</b> <p>Pretty short. Pretty much to the point. A bit difficult to read between the lines on this one. Jesus commanded it, God expects it, we are to be perfect. <p>Well, I might as well quit right now! How could I possibly live up to such an expectation? I know, as we all do, that this is an impossible command. Only Jesus was able to live on this earth as a perfect human being. No one before, and no one after, could ever accomplish such a feat. I'm just happy if I make it through the first few hours of my day without falling. <p>However, before we throw in the towel, let's read a bit more of the context of this verse and see if we can figure out what triggered Jesus to utter such a seemingly unattainable command. <p>At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus starts with the beatitudes. God blesses those who are poor, those who realize their need for him, those who are humble, merciful, and so on. Jesus' sermon on the mount starts with a focus on those who would be viewed by others as coming in second place. Poor, mourning, persecuted. Jesus tells the people to be happy in persecution, for their reward is in heaven. The sermon moves on to comparing his followers to salt, or to a light. <p>But then Jesus moves onto discussing the law of Moses. If you took the time, and I encourage you all to do so, read through the commandments and regulations that were given to the Israelites in the Old Testament. The law was strict. The law was impossible for humans to follow completely. But the law was perfect, and it demanded perfection of those striving to follow it. Jesus states here that he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Let's read a section of chapter five, starting at verse 17. <p><b><i><sup>17 </sup></i></b><b><i>“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.</i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>18 </sup></i></b><b><i>I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.</i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>19 </sup></i></b><b><i>So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.</i></b><b><i></i></b> <p><b><i><sup>20 </sup></i></b><b><i>“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!</i></b><b><i></i></b> <p>Jesus shows that only a perfect person would have even a chance at entering heaven. When he stated this, do you not think there were a lot of very disappointed and discouraged listeners in the crowd? Really? Jesus expects me to be better than even the Pharisees? Fat chance that's going to happen. <p>Jesus continues with verse 21. <p><b><i><sup>21 </sup></i></b><b><i>“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23232d"><b><i><sup>d</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>22 </sup></i></b><b><i>But I say, if you are even angry with someone,</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23233e"><b><i><sup>e</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i>you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot,</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23233f"><b><i><sup>f</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i>you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone,</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23233g"><b><i><sup>g</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i>you are in danger of the fires of hell.</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23233h"><b><i><sup>h</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i></i></b> <p>Did Jesus really just compare murder to calling someone an idiot? Suddenly, Jesus is ramping up the expectation scale. The requirements that he is placing in front of the people are starting to become extremely steep. What next? Verse 27 is what. <p><b><i><sup>27 </sup></i></b><b><i>“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23238k"><b><i><sup>k</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>28 </sup></i></b><b><i>But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.</i></b><b><i></i></b> <p>I would imagine at this point the crowd would be getting pretty silent. Anyone hearing this sermon must've been thinking pretty hard about their own lives. I just called this guy an idiot, I'm as bad as a murderer. And now Jesus has just said that even thinking lustfully about another person is committing adultery in my heart. Wow. Can anyone stand? Can anyone live up to these rules? Even my own thoughts condemn us. <p>Jesus continues and talks about taking vows. <p><b><i><sup>33 </sup></i></b><b><i>“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the L</i></b><b><i>ord</i></b><b><i>.’</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23244o"><b><i><sup>o</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>34 </sup></i></b><b><i>But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne.</i></b><b><i><sup>35 </sup></i></b><b><i>And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.</i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>36 </sup></i></b><b><i>Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black.</i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>37 </sup></i></b><b><i>Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.</i></b><b><i></i></b> <p>Is this a bit of relief here? Jesus must realize that we cannot be perfect, because here he actually recommends that we don't make ANY vows. Why would he say this unless he indeed does realize that we're not perfect? Jesus shows here that a simple 'Yes, I will' or 'No, I won't' is all that is required. Do not vow what you cannot follow through on. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Yet, even in that simplicity, Jesus has still raised the perfection bar. For how many times have you made a promise that you had to break? How many times was your yes NOT yes, or your no NO no? <p>Finally, let's read the verses that lead up to Jesus' command of perfection, starting at verse 38. <p><b><i><sup>38 </sup></i></b><b><i>“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23249p"><b><i><sup>p</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> </i></b><b><i><sup>39 </sup></i></b><b><i>But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.</i></b><b><i><sup>40 </sup></i></b><b><i>If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. </i></b><b><i><sup>41 </sup></i></b><b><i>If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile,</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23252q"><b><i><sup>q</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> carry it two miles. </i></b><b><i><sup>42 </sup></i></b><b><i>Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.</i></b><b><i></i></b> <p><b><i><sup>43 </sup></i></b><b><i>“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23254r"><b><i><sup>r</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> and hate your enemy. </i></b><b><i><sup>44 </sup></i></b><b><i>But I say, love your enemies!</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23255s"><b><i><sup>s</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i>Pray for those who persecute you! </i></b><b><i><sup>45 </sup></i></b><b><i>In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. </i></b><b><i><sup>46 </sup></i></b><b><i>If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. </i></b><b><i><sup>47 </sup></i></b><b><i>If you are kind only to your friends,</i></b><b><i><sup>[</sup></i></b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23258t"><b><i><sup>t</sup></i></b></a><b><i><sup>]</sup></i></b><b><i> how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. </i></b><b><i><sup>48 </sup></i></b><b><i>But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.</i></b><b><i></i></b> <p>Jesus is demanding perfection in our walk with God. He knows our human nature. Human nature is to strike back when we've been hit, yet Jesus says to do the opposite, to turn the other cheek. Human nature is to appeal if we're in a situation where the courts rule against us. Yet Jesus says to not only give them what was demanded of us by the courts, but to go beyond and give them even more. But the final statement Jesus makes here was probably the hardest for the Jews to hear. During the time of Jesus, the Israelites were under daily oppression and persecution from the Roman soldiers. They were slaves, and treated like a lower life form. Soldiers would often make the Jews complete tasks for them whenever they made the demand. Jesus brings up this situation, saying that if a soldier demands that they stop what they're doing and carry his gear for a mile, they were to carry it for two miles instead. Do you work for someone that you can't stand? Jesus says that when they demand something of you, you are not only supposed to complete the task, but complete it twice as well as they are expecting. <p>Is Jesus demanding perfection here? Yes, he is. But he is demanding it in the lives of those committed to him. Jesus continues to show that going the "extra mile" is demonstrating a difference. It is a witness of God in us. God treats us all the same, letting the sun shine and the rain drop on both the "just and the unjust alike". Jesus makes a point to say that only loving those who love us, or being kind to only those who are kind to us is nothing special. Yet loving those who don't love us, or being kind to those who are unkind, are the expectations God has for us. By doing so, we will show that we are different because of Christ living through us. <p>We are to be perfect, as God is perfect and he lives through us. <p>Strive for perfection. Strive for that first place prize. Second place here is NOT good enough. <p>However, we must take caution here. The Pharisees strived for perfection, and we all know how Jesus saw them. He called them a brood of vipers! We can easily get caught up in trying to perfectly follow every detail of the law. Maybe you've met some Pharisees in your own lives? These people have no room for grace. They are all about the law. Jesus made it very clear here that if we were to live this way, we would have to follow the law 100%. Impossible. And for this, Jesus died. We could not, so he did. We fall short, so he stood tall. By grace we are saved. It is not by what we've done, but because of Jesus. <p>Because of grace, we can fall short of the requirements of the law and yet still stand before God's throne pure and holy. <p>Yet, Jesus demanded our perfection after he demanded that we love our enemies. Jesus knew that life without love was no life at all. Paul stated this in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. <p><b><i>If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.</i></b> <p>Perfection without love is just noise! <p>Does Jesus know we're not perfect? Of course. So why would he demand this from us? Because he knows that we must always be striving, always be trying, always be reaching for that goal. Is the goal unattainable? In this life, yes. Yet we are never to sit back, never be satisfied with the love that we have shown or demonstrated. We must be striving for that day when we can treat everyone with the love of Jesus. That means that demanding, unappreciative boss you work under. That means that husband that couldn't seem to care any less about you. That means the parents that may have abandoned you. Jesus says to love everyone, to walk that extra mile for those that are persecuting us, to turn the other cheek for those that strike us. This is the perfection Jesus demands. And this is the perfection we must strive to achieve. Benjamin Franklin once said that we should not fear mistakes, that we will all know failure, but we must continue to reach out. And that is what Jesus is demanding. He knows full well that we will fail, we will fall flat on our faces. Yet, he also knows that in striving to be perfect in demonstrating his love, we will shine like the city on the hill. Jesus demonstrated this love to all of us by praying for those that hung him on the cross and killed him. He never had thoughts of anger or revenge, but only love. And that is the goal we must aim for in our lives. Can we truly show love to all of those around us, regardless of how they may treat us? <p>Be perfect.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-8057011980759908102011-11-23T22:48:00.001-08:002011-11-23T22:48:08.849-08:00Not my sermon - Our relationship with God, progression of metaphors<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The following are the notes I took from a recent sermon while at the Evangelical Free Church in Kamloops. As they are notes, they are more shorthand than fill out sermon, but the point of the message I believe is still prevalent. It was a guest speaker, but I honestly don't remember his name or I would give him full credit! He's with Evangelical Free Church of Canada in some capacity... :-P <br/>
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Most of us understand metaphors. The scripture is full of metaphors.<br/>
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<b>1st Metaphor: Isaiah 64:8 - The potter andthe clay.</b><br/>
God is a great, perfect designer. His creation is as perfect and beautiful as was his intent. What we can get from this is that when we don't understand life, God does. God gets it. Rom. 9:21, does not the potter have the right to make some pots for noble purposes and others for common use? What right does a pot have to complain to the potter? <br/>
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<b>2nd Metaphor: Ezek. 34:12 - Shepherd and the sheep.</b><br/>
God's committed to us, to our well being. There's a sense of ongoing commitment. Sheep are pretty pathetic little animals. Without a shepherd, they will get into all sorts of dangers and troubles. There is a security here for us, as well as a reminder. Not only am I not capable of living without God, but I wasn't designed to do so! <br/>
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<b>4th Metaphor: Jer. 3:19 - Father and Sons.</b><br/>
Here's an even stronger commitment from God to us. We are not just sheep in his flock, we are his children. How gladly would I treat you as my children! We've all been children. We understand the relationship between a child and a parent. They need someone to make decisions for them, even ones they may not like. A child doesn't know everything that is going on, whereas a father does. Sometimes children need discipline, but that doesn't take anything away from this metaphor.<br/>
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<b>5th Metaphor: John 15:15 - Friends</b><br/>
Jesus called them friends, no longer servants to a master. There are things that a father and son won't share. But friends open up to each other, rely on each other. They trust each other. God wants to be our friend. And the good news is, he already knows everything that's going on in our life! God wants more from me. <br/>
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<b>6th Metaphor: Rev. 19:4 - Bride and bridegroom.</b><br/>
This final metaphor shows us how intimate God wants to be with us. Not just our creator, not just our protector, not just our Father, not even just our friend, but our bridegroom! <br/>
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Separately all these metaphors teach us many things about the relationship God wants with us. They also show a growing progression. The final metaphor he gives us is the most intimate. Where you are on this progression will define the relationship you are in right now. It's not what you know your mind about these metaphors that's important, it's what you believe that controls how you live and the choices you make. <br/>
God gave us these metaphors so that we would understand the relationship God want to have with us. Can we believe these with our hearts? <br/>
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If all we believe is that we are a pot, we will struggle with low self worth. What relationship does a pot have with its potter? <br/>
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If all we believe is that we are sheep, we can at least interact with God. But it's still a one way relationship. How meaningful relationship can a sheep have with its shepherd? <br/>
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But if you can believe he's your father, now there's communication. The same species, even. But there is still issues with this relationship. Many have poor examples of this relationship. But this is a good metaphor, a good step. <br/>
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But if you can get to the friendship metaphor, if you can believe this with your heart, then it is a really good thing. Having this type of relationship is worth gold. <br/>
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But the best relationship anyone can have us the bride and bridegroom. There is an intimacy there found nowhere else. <br/>
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There is always a gap between what I know this relationship could and should be and what it actually is. Why? Because I have built a fence, a wall. I've believed a lie from the enemy that getting too close isn't a good thing. God will demand to much from us. He will send us where we don't want to go, make us do what we don't want to do. <br/>
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Why do we believe the father of lies rather than the father or truth? God wants us to come to him, to have an intimate relationship with him. <br/>
Where are you in this progression? What step are you standing on? <br/>
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Move up. Move closer. <br/>
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God sends us his word to transform our lives. He wants us to come closer. Do not listen to the enemy who says he's someone to be feared. Don't be afraid. God loves us, he doesn't want to hurt us, he wants to protect us, to develop us. God is a patient God, and he doesn't force us into places. <br/>
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God is inviting us to come closer, do we trust him?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-4475183432627307372011-10-16T09:27:00.001-07:002011-10-16T09:27:17.645-07:00Wrongfully Accused<p>Not fair!</p> <p>Two words I’m sure everyone of us has said at some time. Two words I’m sure all of us have thought, maybe even recently.</p> <p>If I pulled out a bucket full of cash and started handing it out, how would you like me to divide it between everyone? If I gave some of you fifty dollars, some of you twenty, and then a few got a hundred would you all be happy? Would those of you with twenty dollars feel ripped off that you didn’t get fifty? If you had fifty, would you be happy that at least you didn’t get twenty, or would you be miffed that someone else got a hundred?</p> <p>And if you got a hundred, would you even think about those that got only twenty? Or would you be happy that you were lucky enough to get the highest amount given?</p> <p>You see, we all want fairness. When we are treated what we feel to be unfairly, our first reaction is to jump up, scream and holler, and make the injustice known. If we receive less than what we deem to be our fair share, we let people know. It isn’t fair! I was wronged!</p> <p>I watched the Canucks game last night, and every player that got sent to the penalty box went there protesting the injustice. No one went peacefully. None of them said “Yes, Mr. Referee, I shouldn’t have hit him in the face with my stick, I will go serve my time.” Nope, instead the comments were more along the lines of “What on earth is wrong with you, Ref? His face got right in the way of where I needed to swing my stick! Not fair!” We all see fairness or injustices from our own selfish, tainted points of view. Most “injustices” we feel have occurred to us really actually aren’t injustices at all. If you’ve ever heard the saying “There’s always a faster gun.” (referring to the Old West gun slinging days), the same can be said that’s there’s also always a slower gun. But it’s just so easy to focus on the one that is better off than we are, and wish life was fair so that we had what they did, rather than think about the one that is worse off than us and be thankful that life isn’t fair so we don’t have what they do.</p> <p>In fact, you may have heard about this before, but it has been said that if we were to “be fair” and divide the world’s wealth equally among all of us, did you know that all of our yearly incomes would drop drastically? Even our homeless would be worse off than they are now.</p> <p>This morning I want to talk about injustices. I want to talk about being wrongfully accused. And I want to discuss how we react to these injustices. But, in doing so, I do want you all to consider the injustices you’ve suffered, or are suffering, and first of all consider whether or not they are injustices at all. The first step in dealing with an unfair world is to stop focusing on the how unfair it is to you that your brother just bought a new truck, or your neighbor could afford to install that amazing new deck. Instead, let’s weed out the perceived injustices so that we can deal with the ones that truly are unfair.</p> <p>To start, I would like to read from the Old Testament, 1 Samuel chapter 26. In case you are not aware of the history of this story, Saul is the King of Israel. He was anointed by God through Samuel. However, Saul quickly fell out of favour with God and so Samuel then anointed David as the next King of Israel to take over for Saul once Saul’s reign had ended. Obviously, a dictatorship like the reign of a King doesn’t end after he served his four year term like a President or Prime Minister. It ended with his death. So, as long as Saul lived, he was the reigning King of Israel. And Saul knew about David. Saul knew that his line of royalty would start and end with himself. His sons would never be royalty because of his actions. David and his line would take over, and this angered Saul. In fact, I’m sure he uttered the words “Not fair!” many times. So, Saul chased David for years, trying to kill him. Speak about being treated unfairly! Here is David, tending sheep when suddenly he’s told he’s going to be the next King. Before that even really gets to sink in, he’s running for his life hiding in the desert, always scrounging for shelter, food and water. What did he ever do to deserve this life?</p> <p>So, in I Samuel chapter 26, we read of a chance that David gets to change his life. This is actually the second opportunity that arises for David to take Saul’s life and end this absurd running through the desert.</p> <p><b>1 Samuel 26</b></p> <p>David shows great faith in his God. He has an opportunity to take the path of his life in a new and different direction, but instead he chooses to simply leave it in God’s hand and spares Saul’s life. David does, however, confront Saul about this injustice. He stands up against it and expresses his displeasure. But he does not cross the line of taking control out of God’s hands and into his own.</p> <p>Recently we had a neighbor call By-Law on us. Apparently, our dogs bark non-stop all day. Well, seeing as Corrie is home all day, we know this was not truthful. So it bothered us. It bothered us a lot. My reaction was to avenge the injustice. We have a good idea what neighbor it was. Anyways, I felt like marching over and giving them a piece of my mind. Or, I started thinking about how I could call By-Law on them for all the things they do that technically they shouldn’t. For a full day, thought after thought went through my mind of how I could stand up, speak out and try and right this injustice!</p> <p>In fact, the next day, they went out and their own dogs barked and howled inside their house for a few hours straight. Were they loud? No, they were indoors. Did they annoy me? No, I hardly could hear them. But, here I thought, here I have a great opportunity to set things right! Phone By-Law, complain about their dogs! But we didn’t. It’s kind of hard to take revenge when you are trying to write a sermon on how not to do so. But it wasn’t easy! It filled my thoughts for way too long.</p> <p>Human nature says “get revenge, get even”. God says “Sit back, turn the other cheek.” Human nature says “It’s not fair, I was wronged!” God says “It doesn’t matter, I’m in control.”</p> <p>Someone cuts you off on the highway, what is your reaction? You say something in a discussion that is misunderstood and you are wrongfully attacked, how do you respond? You work hard and long, and someone else gets the promotion, what is your attitude?</p> <p>Think about the message that Hollywood presents to all of us day in and day out. If you are wronged, fight back. If someone hurts you, hurt them back and make them pay. Solomon wrote in Proverbs chapter 15 verse 1 that <b><i>“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”</i></b></p> <p>Really? God wants us to be pansies? Where’s the movie theme in that?</p> <p>Nope. Read that again. A harsh word stirs up anger. Any fool can react. Any brainless idiot can jump into a war of words. It takes strength to stop, to take the hit and to respond in a way that will actually stop the altercation before it even begins.</p> <p>In Hollywood, when you get cheated, you react and the one who wronged you goes running away with his tail between his legs.</p> <p>In reality, you react only to find that he or she reacts to your reaction, meaning now you have to react to their reaction. Where does this end? Many of us know from our own, unfortunate experiences. It ends with hurtful words, broken relationships, and regretful actions that we wish we could undo.</p> <p>Instead, a gentle answer turns away wrath.</p> <p>But that’s hard to do. That requires inner strength. That requires resolve. That means I need to be OK with being wronged.</p> <p>And there’s nothing pansy about that.</p> <p>Let’s look at someone else who had inner strength beyond comprehension. Jesus Christ. We all know this story. Jesus stood in front of a crowd of his accusers. The very people he had just spent years with healing sicknesses, feeding and leading are now yelling at him, cursing him, and crying for the release of a criminal in exchange for his execution.</p> <p>If there ever was a moment for someone to stand up and yell about being unjustly treated, it was now.</p> <p>If there ever was someone with the power to do so in an amazing way, it was Jesus.</p> <p>And yet Jesus chose silence. Jesus chose to rest in his Father’s arms. Jesus gave up his desire for justice to allow God’s will to be done instead. If Jesus had done what we all likely would’ve done in this situation, none of us would be here having church this morning. There would be no hope, there would be no salvation. Because Jesus let the injustices overwhelm him with pain, suffering and even death, we can be treated “unfairly” and be allowed to come before a King clean and pure. Because Jesus didn’t seek vengeance, we now have life.</p> <p>Paul wrote about vengeance in Romans chapter 12. Let’s read through a few verses, starting on verse 12.</p> <p><b>Romans 12:12-21</b></p> <p>Bless those who curse you! Do not repay evil with evil. Do not take revenge.</p> <p>It is God’s to avenge.</p> <p>Did you get that? Revenge isn’t even in our job description. Our duties are to bless others, to mourn with them, to live peacefully with everyone. Nowhere in the list of job requirements does “Revenge” even appear. It’s God’s job!</p> <p>Instead, God says that we are to feed our enemies. If they are thirsty, we are to give them something to drink. We are not to be overcome by evil, but instead to overcome evil with good.</p> <p>One thing I find very interesting in this passage is the end of the part where Paul quotes Proverbs saying that by feeding and watering our enemies, we “heap burning coals over their heads”. Isn’t that kind of like getting your revenge? Isn’t that kind of the mentality that we’re supposed to avoid?</p> <p>But, in reality, by treating our enemies with kindness, Solomon is saying that our enemies will feel remorse over how they treated us. This is God’s wrath pouring down on them. If you consider Saul’s reaction to David when David confronts him, showing him he had a chance to avenge himself yet didn’t. Saul was remorseful. He apologized to David, and his life spiraled even further out of control. In fact, shortly after this, Saul actually enlists the help of a medium to summon the spirit of Samuel from the dead for advice rather than going to God.</p> <p>So the next time that someone wrongly accuses you, or treats you unfairly, remember that vengeance is God’s job. Bless them when they curse you. Feed them. Treat them with love and kindness.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-26487689255564091972011-10-16T09:25:00.001-07:002011-10-16T09:25:46.498-07:00The Thorn in Your Side<p>How many of you have ever been hiking? And on those hikes, how many times have you ever managed to get one of those annoying burrs stuck in your socks and shoes? And, this is the more related question this morning, how many times did you just leave that burr and continued on you hike limping away? Let’s read a passage from 2 Corinthians. <p><b>2 Corinthians 12:6-10</b> <p><b>Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.</b> <p>Today I would like to talk about the thorn. When we read, hear or even just think upon this verse, I believe that we all quickly realize our own thorns that exist, or have existed, in our lives. Whether it was an event past, or something you are going through now, we’ve all had to deal with these thorns or varying degrees. It could be a thorn of pain or suffering. Maybe a thorn of persecution. Or possibly even a thorn of that annoying neighbor. Whatever it might be, it is a constant source of irritation and discomfort. <p>While I don’t wish to make any of us to focus on these issues too much this morning, I would like you all to take a moment to think about your thorn. How have you dealt with it? I would assume you’ve prayed about it, so if so, how did you pray? Did you ask God to remove the thorn, as Paul did? Did God remove the thorn? If not, did you learn to deal with it? Did it make you grateful? Or did it make you bitter? <p>I’ve talked previously about our acreage we own in Edmonton. For three years, Corrie and I have prayed for God to sell this acreage. For three years, God has chosen not to do so. For three years, we have analyzed, researched and examined all of our decisions we made. Was this a wrong step here? Did we move incorrectly there? Where did we go wrong? Then, in a flash of brilliance, we had the answer. We were sure of it. This is the lesson God wanted us to learn! And still, the acreage remained unsold. And so we would start all over again. <p>Eventually, I became discouraged. I became confused. And then, I soon became simply distant. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I stopped praying about it, I stopped wondering about it. <p>And then, I had a still, quiet moment. I believe that God reached down and spoke to me. I’ve mentioned before that I ride my bike to work. Many mornings, if I can drag myself out of bed on time, I will leave early enough that I can stop on some great spots on the trail that overlook the Kamloops valleys. Here, I have a few quiet moments reading my bible and praying. Well, a few weeks ago I realized I hadn’t done this in a very long time. So, I got up early enough one morning and rode out to this spot. As soon as I started praying, I started with the same old, same old lines. “God, please sell this acreage…” Then, suddenly, I stopped. And it was then that I believe God gave me a realization. I began to think about the past three years. What has been the one thing that has driven me closer to God over the past few years? The acreage. What has been the one constant that has caused me to lean on God? The acreage. What one area in my life has made me consistently focus on God? The acreage! <p>Suddenly, I blurted out, “God, don’t sell the acreage!” <p>When life it going good, when there are no stresses, no cause for concern, no heartbreaks, what also tends to be missing in our lives? Our dependence on God. The more we have that life that everyone feels so compelled to achieve, the more we tend to lose our reliance on our heavenly Father. <p>And when I blurted out “God, don’t sell the acreage!”, I meant it. If it wasn’t for the acreage, would I be where I was today? If it wasn’t for the trials that having this extra burden in our lives brought, would I have what I have today? <p>That morning, I prayed that God would continue to help me grow. I asked for acceptance of the acreage. I asked for God to grant me peace about the burden. And I thanked God for it. And God told me, through the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians, “My grace is made perfect in your weakness.” <p>Are we willing to live with that thorn in our side? <p>Paul states “in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn”. We don’t know what this thorn was, although many have speculated and some seem to even have some enlightened truth that no one else received. However, what Paul’s thorn was is not important. What is important is, one, he had a thorn and, two, God did not remove it. <p>That second part is crucial. God did not remove it. <p>Are you ready for this? Think back again to your own thorn. Are you willing to live the rest of your life with it? <p>One thing that I’ve always struggled with as far as witnessing is the whole trials and tribulations of the Christian walk. How does that look good on our advertising pamphlets? Come, follow Christ and endure hardships! Come, walk with God and experience heart ache and trouble! <p>But God has started to give me a better understanding lately of what this means. What is our goal as Christians? We talked about this a few months ago. Our goal is to become Christ like. Why? To glorify God, our maker. As such, if going through trials brings me closer to that goal, then we should all, as Paul did, “boast all the more gladly in our weaknesses”. Paul said, “I <b>delight</b> in my weakness.” Delight! Rejoice! Really? <p>That same morning, after I continued on riding, I got to the bottom of the Peterson’s Creek valley. As I stood at the creek side, looking up at the hill in front of me, I realized a similarity between my ride and what God had just started to reveal to me about suffering. When I leave the house and get on that bike, I have two goals in mind. One, to get to work. But, if that was my only goal, then I could drive, take the bus, or even hitchhike. But, I also have a larger goal of getting more into shape. I stood beside the creek, thinking about how the following 30 minutes of riding were all uphill. 30 minutes of nothing but climbing. <p>So, I thought, what if I asked God to remove this hill? What if I prayed, “God, I don’t like this struggle, please take away these 30 minutes of climbing.” And, what if God did that? My goal, getting to work and getting more in shape, would leave with the removal of that hill. Sure, my next 30 minutes would be easy. I might even think I’m having a good time. But what a waste! If God moved that hill, He also would have to move my goal further away from me! And, if he did so, my next 30 minutes of riding on flat trails would be a complete waste of time and effort. <p>And, yet, how often do we focus our prayers on how we want God to remove our trials from us? How often do we find ourselves praying that God simply removes this thorn? And what if he did? <p>God never promises us a free ride. If you were to do a few quick flips through your Bible, you would find many, many references to trials and tribulations in our walk. <p><b>1 Peter 5:10</b>: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you <p><b>James 1:12</b>: Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. <p><b>Romans 12:12</b>: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. <p><b>Romans 5:3</b>: More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance <p><b>Romans 8:18</b>: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. <p><b>James 1:2</b>: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds <p>Should I continue? We could do this all day. And yet, we so easily fall into the human nature of desiring what is uncomfortable in our lives to be removed. Are you cold? Turn on the furnace. Are you hot? Turn on the Air Conditioning. Do you not sleep well? Buy a memory foam. Do your feet hurt? Buy fitted insoles. And the list goes on and on. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we all go home and sell our mattresses, shoes and air conditioners. But what I’m saying is the way of life that we have been privileged to live here in North America is one that focuses on removing discomforts. And the way of life that Jesus lays out before us is one that doesn’t avoid discomforts, but instead embraces them. <p>I’m not sure if any of you follow the Tour De France? It just ended just over a month ago I believe. If you don’t know anything about the Tour De France, let me fill you in. This tour is a bike race where the racers ride for 3 weeks covering a distance of around 3500 kms. These riders put on anywhere from a paltry 100 kms in a day to often over 200! They have some days riding in the flats, but the majority of the ride is through strenuous and painful climbs through France and neighboring countries. The ride has been compared to running a marathon several days a week for three weeks! They say the elevation of the climbs has often been compared to “three Mount Everests”. Well, I watched some of these stages and I have decided that I’m going to enter this race next year. <p>So, in preparation of this, I am going to go out and buy a $10,000 road bike. I will also put aside about $2000 to make sure I have the right fancy clothing. And, of course, I will subscribe to Bicycling magazine, Bike magazine, and any others I can find so I can read thoroughly about this sport and get a good understanding. I will dedicate at least 15 minutes each day to reading online about past races, winners and others involved in the race. And, for good measure, I will buy as many video footage of previous races that I can. <p>But I won’t ride a single mile on my new bike. <p>Nope, that’s painful stuff! Why would I put myself through such daily torture? Have any of you seen those guys riding their bikes up the Juniper hill? They’re in pain! Nope, not going to waste my time and put myself through such discomfort. <p>But, I think I’ll be ready for the Tour next summer. <p>So, maybe a bit of an exaggerated point, I know. But, really, this is how I feel that many of us, myself so often included, try to walk our walk with Christ. Lord, I’ll read my Bible at least 15 minutes a day. Oh, and I’ll be sure that I spend some good money on books from that local Christian bookstore to learn more about you. And, of course, I’ll go to church and even give my tithe. <p>And then God brings that thorn. <p>And then so many of us say, forget it, it’s too hard, God get rid of this thorn. Some of us wheel and deal. God, if you remove this thorn then I promise that I will… (fill in the blank). Some of us get upset… “God, why would you do this to me? Why would you allow this to happen to me?” But how many of us rejoice? <p>God says, count it as joy. Rejoice in your trials. Delight in your thorn. <p>However, I do not wish to end on this note. I do not want to focus on the suffering, or on our trials. God does not want us to be happy in the trial because of the pain. God wants us to be happy in the trial because of what that pain brings. God wishes us to rejoice in suffering because of how it brings us closer to our goal of becoming more Christ-like. As I ride my bike for 30 minutes going all up hill, I often do not think about it very joyfully. It would be a rare event for you to catch me smiling as I pedaled up those climbs. But at the end, I am happy. I feel good. I accomplished my goal, and that was satisfying. I got closer to my goal of getting into shape, and that is fulfilling. <p>We are never to seek out suffering on our own, we are never to wallow in our suffering, or to hold never ending pity parties. God does not want us to be focused on the suffering, he wants us to focus on the goal. God wants us to be happy with the trials He brings us because he wants us to realize that through them, we become stronger and more closer to Him. <p>As you leave this place today, think again about your thorn. Are you willing to live the rest of your life with this thorn? Are you willing to thank God for it? To praise and rejoice because of it? Are you willing to accept God’s supreme wisdom and rest on his understanding? <p>Remember, if God removes the mountain, he has to also remove your goal. <p><b>Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.</b></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-61787715163201087472011-06-14T06:34:00.001-07:002011-06-14T06:34:17.597-07:00Do You Know Your Goal?<p>Romans 8:5-39</p> <p>When Corrie and I were engaged, we used to go golfing a lot in Saskatchewan. We enjoyed it, but I wasn’t that great. I obviously hit enough nice balls to make me want to keep playing the game, but overall when you look at my records, they weren’t that impressive!</p> <p>But we did enjoy it. The lush, green fairways, the trees swaying in the breeze, and of course, me throwing my golf club farther than I actually managed to hit the ball itself.</p> <p>I just had a few minor problems with my game. One was my ball. It just refused to go the right way! Sometimes it would tease me and sail beautifully straight through the air, heading directly for the flag at the end. But then, suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, it would careen off to the side and disappear into the woods. Why this happened, I just never knew. Sometimes it wasn’t even nice enough to get up into the air at all. It would just bounce along the ground for a few meters and then die. All that effort, all those strange bodily contortions, all for naught. And then that crazy little white ball would sit there, taunting, laughing. Or may that was my fellow golfers, but nonetheless it was frustrating.</p> <p>My ball had a major problem. It just didn’t have a sense of direction at all. It had no idea where it was supposed to be going! It just went wherever the wind took it, or, worse, however my club happened to strike it at the time. And, more often than not, that was not accurate.</p> <p>Of course, you could try and tell me that it wasn’t my ball’s fault. That it had no choice in the matter. But I know better. That deviant little white ball simply had no idea what the goal was, and as such it was susceptible to any slight leaning or directional change.</p> <p>This example of the golf ball is actually pretty accurate for our lives. So many things in our life cause us to veer off track. Maybe the home you grew up in was tough. Your parents were hard on you, or maybe you grew up in a split home, or with a single parent, or maybe an absentee parent. Whatever the case, your family and your upbringing, aka the golf club, sent you, the ball, veering off your intended course. Right from the start, right off the tee, you seemingly didn’t stand a chance.</p> <p>Then, added to that misaligned beginning come the crosswinds of adversity. Maybe there were struggles in school growing up, hard times financially, a loss of a friend or family member. Life’s winds blew fast and harsh, causing what was already a rough start, or maybe even a start that seemed OK at first, veer wildly off course. And so you take a bad hook into the woods, not even close to the green and the flag at the end of the fairway.</p> <p>And you become disillusioned.</p> <p>As you sit in the woods, buried in the grass and brush, you become disillusioned with life. Questions begin forming in your head. Why are you here? What could possibly be the purpose of life? And, like everyone else, you try to get yourself out of those woods. You attend church. Maybe you go to Bible School, or lead Bible studies in your homes. But the fact still remains that you are lost and on your own. Every now and then the sun peaks through the trees to give you a ray of hope, but as soon as it comes, it is gone again.</p> <p>And you are stuck. Caught in the forest of your sins, your failures and your shortcomings. And, for many of us, we soon realize that we will never get out of this forest on our own.</p> <p>Let’s read through the passage today that I want to speak about.</p> <p><b>Romans 8</b></p> <p><b>Life through the Spirit</b></p> <blockquote> <p><em><strong><sup>5</sup> Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. <sup>6</sup> The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. <sup>7</sup> The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. <sup>8</sup> Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>9</sup> You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. <sup>10</sup> But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life<sup>[</sup></strong></em><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28127d"><sup><em><strong>d</strong></em></sup></a><em><strong><sup>]</sup> because of righteousness. <sup>11</sup> And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of<sup>[</sup></strong></em><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28128e"><sup><em><strong>e</strong></em></sup></a><em><strong><sup>]</sup> his Spirit who lives in you.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>12</sup> Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. <sup>13</sup> For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>14</sup> For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. <sup>15</sup> The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28132f">f</a>]</sup> And by him we cry, “Abba,<sup>[</sup></strong></em><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28132g"><sup><em><strong>g</strong></em></sup></a><em><strong><sup>]</sup> Father.” <sup>16</sup> The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. <sup>17</sup> Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Present Suffering and Future Glory</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>18</sup> I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. <sup>19</sup> For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. <sup>20</sup> For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope <sup>21</sup> that<sup>[</sup></strong></em><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28138h"><sup><em><strong>h</strong></em></sup></a><em><strong><sup>]</sup> the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>22</sup> We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. <sup>23</sup> Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. <sup>24</sup> For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? <sup>25</sup> But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>26</sup> In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. <sup>27</sup> And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>28</sup> And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28145i">i</a>]</sup> have been called according to his purpose. <sup>29</sup> For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. <sup>30</sup> And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>More Than Conquerors</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><sup>31</sup> What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? <sup>32</sup> He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? <sup>33</sup>Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. <sup>34</sup> Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. <sup>35</sup> Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? <sup>36</sup> As it is written:</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>   “For your sake we face death all day long;  <br />   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”<sup>[</sup></strong></em><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28153j"><sup><em><strong>j</strong></em></sup></a><sup><em><strong>]</strong></em></sup></p> <p><em><strong><sup>37</sup> No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. <sup>38</sup> For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28155k">k</a>]</sup> neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, <sup>39</sup> neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.</strong></em></p> </blockquote> <p>I’ve been reading a book about business lately (I know, sounds quite boring but I’m actually enjoying it to be honest). While I’m not going to go into details of the book itself, one part of it really stuck out to me. Of course, I think it’s the main point of the book so it should stick out to me. Anyways, one basic statement they made was that any action that leads a company closer to its goal is a productive action, whereas any action that leads a company away from its goal is counter-productive. Pretty basic, really. However, if a person doesn’t understand the goal then how does he or she know if what they’re doing is productive or counter-productive? The only way anyone can know this is by knowing the goal.</p> <p>As a Christian, as a son or daughter of God, do you know the goal that God has for you? Do you know whether your day-to-day activities are actually productive or counter-productive? If you don’t know the goal, you can’t know the answer to that question.</p> <p>The goal for all of us is largely the same. It is written throughout the scriptures, it is repeated by multiple authors. In verse 29 and chapter 8 of Romans we read that God predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.</p> <p>Throughout the New Testament we see similar mentions of this goal. In <b>2 Corinthians 3:18</b> we read that “<i>we all …are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.</i>” Paul also refers to the Galatians in <b>Galatians 4:9 </b>by stating “<i>My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…”</i> And also in <b>Ephesians 4:11-15</b> we read “<i>So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.</i>”</p> <p>You see, without a knowledge of this goal, without a true understanding of this purpose, we all end up lost and alone in the woods. Try as you might, you will never find your way out of the woods and onto the green.</p> <p>Worse than not knowing the goal, is knowing the goal but not knowing how it get there. You may know that you want to get to the green, to find that flag, but how do you get there? We see throughout scripture that God’s intention for our lives as his children is to become like Christ. But how?</p> <p>Romans 8 doesn’t just reveal God’s intention for us, but also the directions. And those directions are through the Holy Spirit. By living according to the Spirit. The Spirit is in our lives, God has built in a GPS directing us how to be more and more like Christ every day.</p> <p>God knew we would fail. So he sent his Son to die on this earth as a man so that we would be forgiven. But that wasn’t all. God also knew that after our failures, we would need help to find our way back, to become more Christ-like. And so he then gave us his Holy Spirit.</p> <p>So how do we tap into this resource? How do we use the Holy Spirit within us to develop ourselves to become more Christ-like? How do we turn on this GPS to give us our sorely needed directions?</p> <p>Let’s read again the first part of the passage we read earlier (<b>read vs 5-17 again</b>).</p> <p>So, living by the Spirit means we put to death the misdeeds of the body. What are these misdeeds, then? And how do we learn about them, so we can put them to death?</p> <p>By learning more about Christ.</p> <p>If we are to live by the Spirit, and if we are to become Christ-like, if that is our goal then it would make sense that we need to focus on learning about Christ himself.</p> <p>Coming to Church is a great step. Attending Bible studies also helps us to learn. Daily devotions, constant prayer, spending time with God. As I said earlier, any action that leads you towards your goal is productive. Any action that takes you further away is counter-productive.</p> <p>Does this mean that doing things like soccer, work, home renovations or whatever is counter-productive? Only if those things take you further from your goal. If you play soccer or hockey or golf, and yet find yourself falling further from your goal of becoming more Christ-like, then playing in that sport is counter-productive and needs to be ‘put to death’. If renovating your house is putting a division between you and your family, if it is taking away time that you should be spending with God, then it is counter-productive.</p> <p>The Spirit convicts us. As you go about your daily activities, if the Spirit is convicting you of an action that is taking your further from your goal of becoming Christ-like, then stop. We should be ever working towards becoming more Christ-like, and no one has time in their lives to be doing anything but what brings us closer to that goal. Examine your life. What misdeeds are you doing that are taking you further from this goal?</p> <p>God wants to use the Holy Spirit as the club that guides us out of the forest and back onto the fairway.</p> <p>Are you confused as to what direction your life needs to take? Turn on the GPS within you that is the Holy Spirit. Let him convict you of your actions that are taking you further from his goal for our lives.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-9654769110634679882011-05-11T06:40:00.001-07:002011-05-11T06:40:10.558-07:00Mothers Shape the World<p>What do Steven Harper, Billy Graham and Ted Bundy all have in common? They all have or had a mother. That just might be a bit of an obvious statement, to be sure. But the fact is, each one of us here has, or had, a mother who helped us develop into who we are today.</p> <p>Some of us were shaped positively, some negatively. We grew up either under loving care, or under uncertain neglect. Some of us can look back at happy memories of our moms, while others look back and maybe mourn a loss. I was blessed enough to have a very loving and caring upbringing with both a Mother as well as a Father that cared, loved and helped shape me into a child of God. Not only that, but I was surrounded by friends, family, and many other positive “motherly” influences. Even now, I look at my wife and our friends and I see so many positive mothers influencing the next generation. But I’m not so naive to think that everyone has had the same experiences. And as such, I do understand that celebrating Mother’s day can be a bittersweet day for many. But the fact remains that regardless of whether a mother wants to or not, she is shaping the next generation one child at a time.</p> <p>Mothers have the power to shape the world. And a Christian mother has the ability to shape the world in a way beyond our imagination by her devotion to God.</p> <p>This morning I want to talk about a mother that is an example for us all, not just an example for mothers. The bible is full of great examples of mothers. From Eve to Mary and many others, we see many examples of strong, loving, and caring mothers. So why Hannah, you many ask? Here’s an example of a mother that really spent very little time actually being a mom, right? And yet she is an example for us to follow?</p> <p>Let’s dig a little deeper into who this woman of the Old Testament was, and what examples she lived out for us.</p> <p>When we first meet Hannah in I Samuel we meet a woman that is actually in pain. We find Hannah in tears, because she was barren. In those times, not being able to have children was a major deal, even considered a failure of a wife’s duties. To add to the situation Hannah was in, her husband had a second wife who was able to conceive and taunted Hannah about it.</p> <p><u>1 Samuel 1:1-8</u></p> <p><em><sup>1</sup> There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-7214a">a</a>]</sup> from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. <sup>2</sup> He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. </em></p> <p><em><sup>3</sup> Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. <sup>4</sup> Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. <sup>5</sup> But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. <sup>6</sup> Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. <sup>7</sup> This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. <sup>8</sup> Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”</em> </p> <p>Hannah’s troubles, however, produced in her a level of desperation that caused her to seek God’s help. As Christians, it is often during our struggles, during our hardest times that we are the most devoted to God. We find ourselves praying more frequently, reading the Word more faithfully and following God more fervently. Hannah was no different. As her troubles drove her to tears, they also drove her to God.</p> <p><u>1 Samuel 1:9-18</u></p> <p><em><sup>9</sup> Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s house. <sup>10</sup> In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. <sup>11</sup> And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” </em></p> <p><em><sup>12</sup> As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. <sup>13</sup> Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk <sup>14</sup> and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” </em></p> <p><em><sup>15</sup> “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. <sup>16</sup> Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” </em></p> <p><em><sup>17</sup> Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” </em></p> <p><em><sup>18</sup> She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.</em> </p> <p>Let’s look at Hannah’s prayer. She’s praying as she is weeping, and she pleads with God to “...look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son...” At this point, we are seeing a desperate and maybe even angry Hannah as she put her request before God. </p> <p>She had good reason to be discouraged and upset. She could not have children, she had to share her husband with another woman, a woman who laughed in her face and mocked her, her husband was unable to help her and even the high priest did not understand her motives. Yet instead of being bitter and resentful, she brought her problem before God hopeful that He would help her. Her prayer opened up the way for God to work.</p> <p>This prayer also shows us an example of a God who cares about us. Our purpose on this earth is to worship and glorify God. Not to have nice cars or a big house. Not to work. Not even to have children. And yet, God still sees us and cares about our desires and wishes. Hannah’s prayer doesn’t show any worship, praise or even adoration. At this point, she is simply beyond herself, and instead cries out for God’s mercy. In fact, she even bargains with God. She promises God that if He gives her a son, she would give that son right back to Him. But God still cares, and God listens.</p> <p>One key thing we can pick up here from Hannah’s prayer is that God wants to hear the desires of our hearts. He wants to hear our pain. Hannah expressed her true feelings with honesty, laying it all out before God. We should do the same. Yes, it is critical that we glorify and praise God. But, as imperfect humans living in a broken world, God knows that we will go through times that cause us to fall on our knees, pouring our hearts out to Him.</p> <p>But, let’s notice here not just Hannah’s desperate prayer. Notice also what she does afterwards. Hannah went away, ate something, and was in better spirits (her face was no longer downcast). She left her problems with God! She poured out her heart before her Saviour, and then left her problems with Him. She believed that God would take care of her, and she left upbeat and positive. So often, we find ourselves pouring our hearts out to God, laying our problems down before Him, only to gather them all up again and bring those same problems back out with us rather than leaving them in God’s capable hands.</p> <p><u>I Samuel 1:19-23</u></p> <p><em><sup>19</sup> Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. <sup>20</sup> So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-7233b">b</a>]</sup> saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.” </em></p> <em><sup>21</sup> When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, <sup>22</sup> Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-7235c">c</a>]</sup></em> <p><em><sup>23</sup> “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-7236d">d</a>]</sup> word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.</em></p> <p>God gave Hannah the desire of her heart! Hannah gave birth to a boy! One thing I would like to point out here is the dedication of this family to God. First of all, they made a yearly trip to Shiloh to worship God and offer sacrifices. Secondly, we find Hannah in desperation praying and pouring her heart out to God. And now, the next morning before they leave, they once again get up early and the first thing they do is they go and worship the Lord again before returning home. God does honour Hannah’s plea, but let’s not overlook the fact that Hannah and her family were dedicated in their worship and praise of the Lord as well. Hannah displayed full trust and devotion to her God throughout these hard times. Hannah understood that while she was in misery, in the end worship of the Lord was still of utmost importance.</p> <p>And God rewards her devotion by giving her a son.</p> <p>Let’s continue reading.</p> <p><u>I Samuel 1:24-28</u></p> <p><em><sup>24</sup> After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-7237e">e</a>]</sup> an ephah<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-7237f">f</a>]</sup> of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. <sup>25</sup> When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, <sup>26</sup> and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. <sup>27</sup> I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. <sup>28</sup> So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.</em></p> <p>This is the section of this story that is truly amazing. Many of us can relate to Hannah in her sorrow and desperation. Some of us can even relate to maybe even attempting to bargain with God. But very few of us can stand there beside Hannah and proudly say that we held up our end of the “bargain” that we made with God. Hannah does.</p> <p>Hannah raises Samuel until he was weaned. How old Samuel was, it doesn’t say here exactly in these chapters. The New Living Translation says that Hannah tells Eli the priest that she had stood before him several years before praying for a son. Regardless, whether he was 2 years old or 6 years old, the fact remains that he was a very small, young boy. And Hannah gave him to God.</p> <p>Can you imagine? How many of you here today are mothers? Even fathers? Can you imagine giving up your only child to the church? Can you imagine walking away from your son? I can’t. I have a hard enough time parting with my tithe sometimes... Do you remember the story of the rich man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to get to heaven? Jesus responded that he must give up everything he owned, which made the rich man sad because he knew he couldn’t do it. Yet Hanna gave up her son! Don’t you think if given the option, she would’ve gladly chosen her belongings over her son? Instead, Hannah entrusts her son to the Lord, not begrudgingly, but with joy.</p> <p>The key here is that she gave him to the Lord. She didn’t entrust him with Eli, the priest. In fact, if you are familiar with the story surrounding Eli and his sons at this time, you can be sure that Eli was not very good at raising children. Chapter 2 says that Eli’s two sons were “scoundrels” with “no regard for the Lord.” They manipulated the people, they stole food that the people of Israel would offer as sacrifices to the Lord. They treated God with contempt and disrespect, and yet they held a position of power over the people. If they did this in front of everyone, I can only imagine what life might have been like in the temple behind closed doors. This was no place for a child to be raised and taught about the Lord!</p> <p>Yet, this is not what Hannah saw. Hannah saw her God, and trusted in her God, not the priests. She rested in who she knew she served, not in the humans that were displaying such a poor example of what following God really was. These priests could’ve learned a lot just from Hannah!</p> <p>Hannah not only gives up her son, the child that she so desperately wanted, but she does so willingly and joyfully. They sacrificed to God, and worshipped him. Not once does it mention anything about Hannah feeling regret or remorse. This feeling of confidence can only come from one place, and that’s from God.</p> <p>How often have you entered into a situation that was out of your control? How often did life seem uncertain and by all logic, you had nothing to rely on? Take a lesson out of the life of Hannah. Don’t put your trust in what is untrustworthy. Put your trust in God. And you can face the uncertainties with joy.</p> <p>Let’s continue reading into the next chapter, the prayer of Hannah.</p> <p><u>I Samuel 2:1-10</u></p> <p><em><sup>1</sup> Then Hannah prayed and said: </em></p> <p><em>   “My heart rejoices in the LORD; <br />   in the LORD my horn<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-7242a">a</a>]</sup> is lifted high. <br />My mouth boasts over my enemies, <br />   for I delight in your deliverance. </em></p> <p><em><sup>2</sup> “There is no one holy like the LORD; <br />   there is no one besides you; <br />   there is no Rock like our God. </em></p> <p><em><sup>3</sup> “Do not keep talking so proudly <br />   or let your mouth speak such arrogance, <br />for the LORD is a God who knows, <br />   and by him deeds are weighed. </em></p> <p><em><sup>4</sup> “The bows of the warriors are broken, <br />   but those who stumbled are armed with strength. <br /><sup>5</sup> Those who were full hire themselves out for food, <br />   but those who were hungry are hungry no more. <br />She who was barren has borne seven children, <br />   but she who has had many sons pines away. </em></p> <p><em><sup>6</sup> “The LORD brings death and makes alive; <br />   he brings down to the grave and raises up. <br /><sup>7</sup> The LORD sends poverty and wealth; <br />   he humbles and he exalts. <br /><sup>8</sup> He raises the poor from the dust <br />   and lifts the needy from the ash heap; <br />he seats them with princes <br />   and has them inherit a throne of honor. </em></p> <p><em>   “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; <br />   on them he has set the world. <br /><sup>9</sup> He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, <br />   but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. </em></p> <p><em>   “It is not by strength that one prevails; <br /><sup>10</sup> those who oppose the LORD will be broken. <br />The Most High will thunder from heaven; <br />   the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. </em></p> <p><em>   “He will give strength to his king <br />   and exalt the horn of his anointed.”</em> </p> <p>For those of you out there who are moms, if you had just given up your only child at such a young age, would these be the words coming out of your mouth? How about the fathers in the room? This should’ve been a heart wrenching ordeal. And yet, Hannah’s confidence and satisfaction in God is simply amazing.</p> <p>So how does this story relate to Mother’s Day? Here’s a woman that didn’t have any children at first. Then, she has a son for a few years at the most, and yet gives him to the Lord. So how is Hannah a good example of a good mother? Hannah, through her devotion to God, influenced the direction of a nation. Had Hannah turned bitter towards God about being barren, had she resented Him, and not prayed her prayer of desperation, then who knows, but maybe God wouldn’t have used her! And yet, Samuel was born to Hannah, Samuel who became one of Israel’s greatest prophets. A leader who ushered in a great era. Samuel’s devotion to God was unequalled, and we can now see that he had an amazing example to follow in his own mother.</p> <p>Consider the impact Samuel had on Israel. The state of Israel at the time was fading. The priests were leading Israel along a dangerous path, and once Samuel took over, he began putting the country back on the right track and he led Israel in the way they should be, as nation of God. Samuel was also responsible for leading in the era of the Kings. First with King Saul, but then more importantly with King David.</p> <p>All of this wasn’t possible if it weren’t for Hannah’s dedication to God. Hannah’s willingness to serve God, no matter what, resulted in one of Israel’s most successful eras.</p> <p>And Hannah’s influence didn’t end once she walked away from her son. She made Samuel a new cloak every year that she and her husband came to Shiloh. She wasn’t heavily involved in his upbringing, but she still had input in his life. And you can rest assured that Hannah’s prayers turned from pleading with God for a child, to placing that child in God’s hands daily. As a mother, she would think of Samuel I’m sure on a daily basis, praying for him and placing him in God’s hands.</p> <p>To contrast this, I mentioned Ted Bundy earlier. I don’t want to even begin to discuss his life here this morning. But what I will mention is his upbringing. He was born to a single mother, and his father is an unknown. He was raised by his grandparents, of whom his grandfather was known to be abusive, and his grandmother was timid and depressed. Is it any surprise that Ted took such a negative and dark path in his life?</p> <p>Of course, your upbringing is no excuse for your actions today. Good people can come from bad upbringings, and bad people can come from good upbringings. But the vast majority of us end up positively or negatively largely based on the positive or negative influences of our lives. Our mothers are a huge part of those influences.</p> <p>Let’s consider more examples of a mother’s influence. First of all, Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary became pregnant with Jesus before she was married. Likely, the majority of those around her didn’t buy the whole “virgin birth” story. As such, Mary and Joseph most likely raised Jesus under a tainted reputation. People probably saw Mary as a “scandalous” woman. They most likely looked down upon her, probably even mocking her or avoiding her when they would see Mary on the streets.</p> <p>Later on, as Jesus begins his ministry, we also see that at some point Joseph is out of the picture, leaving Mary as a widow.</p> <p>And, during Jesus’ ministry, who were the two types of women that he showed most compassion to? Prostitutes and Widows. He knew what it was like to live life as a “scandal”, and he knew what it was like to live life as a child of a widow. Yet, Mary’s dedication and devotion to God is evident also in her ability to let Jesus go. She trusted in God, regardless of the circumstances of her own life.</p> <p>How about a more recent example of a mother’s influence? We all know President Obama. What maybe we all don’t know is his upbringing. His father left when he was 2 years old. His mother was a strong woman, and raised him on her own. Here are some quotes about Obama’s mother:</p> <p>· “...people who knew [his mother] well say they see her influence unmistakably in Mr. Obama.”</p> <p>· “He would not be where he is today, he has said, had it not been for her.”</p> <p>· “I think sometimes that had I known she would not survive her illness, I might have written a different book — less a meditation on the absent parent, more a celebration of the one who was the single constant in my life.” (Obama, in reference to his book he wrote about his Father)</p> <p>Whether positively or negatively, mothers influence and shape the world. People like Ted Bundy have shaped the world in a negative way, creating fear, sadness and hopelessness. People like Obama, regardless of your political views of him, have the power to shape the world in a way that will impact all for years to come. And people like Samuel did shape the nation of Israel, bringing them closer to God and demonstrating what it meant to be a follower of the Lord, dedicated and devoted.</p> <p>A mother’s influence is not something to take lightly. For those of us that can look back on our lives and recognize the positive influence our mother’s had, and how they shaped our lives, lets thank them. For those of us who are helping our wives be mothers to our children, let’s give them the support, love and encouragement that they need to be the positive influence in our children’s life. For those of us maybe on the sidelines, friends and family of a mother, let’s dedicate ourselves to helping these mothers continue to be a positive influence. Hannah had the support of a loving and caring husband to help her through. Let’s all work together to encourage those mothers around us.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-38726450559454893452011-05-06T20:02:00.001-07:002011-05-06T20:02:47.871-07:00Trusting in an Awesome God<p>This morning I want to talk about trust in God. But instead of discussing with you how we should trust in God, or even why we should do so as children of God. What I would rather focus on this morning is who God is, and after which we will hopefully discover more about how we are fools not to trust in Him. </p> <p>The other day Corrie and I took the kids down to the river bank. I was carrying Avery, who is our 1 year old youngest. I started walking along a log, over and into the water a bit. Avery was completely relaxed the entire time, showing no signs of worry or trepidation whatsoever. I thought about our older kids, and how they would most likely be gripping my neck tightly, maybe even whining as they consider the possibility of falling into the water. Avery, on the other hand, had no thought about what could happen. Instead, she was entirely trusting in my ability to keep her from harm. And it made me think about us, as children of God, as well. </p> <p>One of my favourite passages is Psalms 18. I think this is an excellent passage depicting a side of God that we rarely see, hear or even discuss. </p> <p><u>Vs 1-3: Glorifying God for his glorious works and blessings.</u> </p> <p><em><sup>1</sup>I love you, LORD, my strength. </em></p> <p><em><sup>2</sup> The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; <br />   my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, <br />   my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. </em></p> <p><em><sup>3</sup> I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, <br /></em>   and I have been saved from my enemies. </p> <p>This is what I want to talk about this morning. This is the direction I hope we can all start to head. I want this for my life, and I hope most or all of you do as well. That we can say, without hesitation or wavering, that God is our rock and fortress. That God is my protection. I find one of the most frustrating things in my life is converting head knowledge into heart knowledge. I mean, I know these things. I grew up as a missionary kid, so these sort of “clichés” were engrained in my head from a very young age. But turning this more into heart knowledge has become increasingly difficult. This morning, by diving deeper into who God is and exploring his awesome power I hope that we can all begin to focus more on transferring this sort of reliance on God from something we say with our lips, to something we live with our hearts. He is a ROCK that cannot be moved by any who would harm us. He is a FORTRESS or place of safety where the enemy cannot follow and a SHEILD that comes between us and harm. He is the POWER that saves and a PLACE OF SAFETY high above our enemies. So how can we begin truly believing these statements, how can we begin to live a life that reflects these truths? </p> <p><u>Vs 4-6: God saves us from our worst entanglements and His protection is limitless for His people.</u> </p> <p><em><sup>4</sup> The cords of death entangled me; <br />   the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. <br /><sup>5</sup> The cords of the grave coiled around me; <br />   the snares of death confronted me. </em></p> <p><em><sup>6</sup> In my distress I called to the LORD; <br />   I cried to my God for help. <br />From his temple he heard my voice; <br />   my cry came before him, into his ears.</em> </p> <p>We have all faced hard times. We have all had to live through struggles, through rough circumstances. David here speaks words of utter despair. Death entangles him. Floods of destruction surround him. Grave wraps its ropes around him. David is expressing a feeling of utmost helplessness. I read these words, and in a small way I feel that I can relate. I may not have experienced extreme pain and loss, but I feel like I have gone through (and still am going through) situations in my life and walk that have caused me to feel like throwing in the towel. And at times, I think I actually have thrown in the towel. Depression, anger and frustration have caused me to lose my focus, to stray from the path I know I should follow. I really like the New Living Translation’s version of these verses, because the 6th verse starts with ‘BUT’… David hit’s the brakes on his downward spiral with a sudden ‘BUT!’ In his distress, in his state of hopelessness, David called out to God for help. He prayed, and God heard. He cried, and God listened. </p> <p>Do we truly understand this? How many times have we wrongly accused God, whether out loud or in our thoughts, of ignoring us? How many times have we assumed that God simply has something better or bigger to do, and therefore has left us hanging? These verses give us no indication of time. They say nothing about how many times David prayed, just that David cried out to God. David reached out and God heard. God hears. God listens. And God responds. And in this case, does he ever respond. </p> <p><u>Vs 7-15: A description of God’s power and strength.</u> </p> <p><em><sup>7</sup> The earth trembled and quaked, <br />   and the foundations of the mountains shook; <br />   they trembled because he was angry. <br /><sup>8</sup> Smoke rose from his nostrils; <br />   consuming fire came from his mouth, <br />   burning coals blazed out of it. <br /><sup>9</sup> He parted the heavens and came down; <br />   dark clouds were under his feet. <br /><sup>10</sup> He mounted the cherubim and flew; <br />   he soared on the wings of the wind. <br /><sup>11</sup> He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— <br />   the dark rain clouds of the sky. <br /><sup>12</sup> Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, <br />   with hailstones and bolts of lightning. <br /><sup>13</sup> The LORD thundered from heaven; <br />   the voice of the Most High resounded.<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-14132d">d</a>]</sup> <br /><sup>14</sup> He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, <br />   with great bolts of lightning he routed them. <br /><sup>15</sup> The valleys of the sea were exposed <br />   and the foundations of the earth laid bare <br />at your rebuke, LORD, <br />   at the blast of breath from your nostrils.</em> </p> <p>God responds to David’s cry. The picture David paints here of God is one that we so rarely seem to focus on in our church circles today. God’s awesome on display! It seems easy for us to focus on God’s patience. It seems quick for us to spend time discussing his meekness, and his humbleness. And while these are all good and true, this passage focuses on a God that is so much more than that. Our God is an awesome God, with wisdom, power and strength! The mountains shook! The earth quaked! Smoke poured from his nostrils, flames leaped from his mouth... God comes to David’s rescue in a thunderous way. There was no mistaking this, God was on a mission. Someone had picked on the wrong child that day. </p> <p>I’d like to share a storey with you of my childhood. I don’t remember a lot of the details, but when I was young (I think maybe in 3<sup>rd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup> grade) I remember playing baseball in elementary school with the big kids that were a few grades older than me. It was our team’s turn to play field, so I ran out to play base. One of the older kids decided he wanted to play base, so he simply ran over and shoved me off of the base. While I don’t remember all of the details, I do remember that my older brother saw this, ran across the field and fought this other kid. He came to my aid, he risked his safety for my own. How many of you have been in a similar situation? Parents here today could easily relate to this feeling. If your child was being harmed, you probably wouldn’t hesitate to rush in and protect them, to come to their rescue. Not only that, but you would come in with authority. </p> <p>God comes to us with authority. He sees us in pain, he hears our cry, and he comes to our rescue with authority, scattering our enemies. And God’s authority is awesome. His voice thunders the skies. His breath clears the seas and lays the foundations of the earth bare. </p> <p>Do you know this God? Do you recognize this God? Do you believe in this God? </p> <p>How many times have you prayed, but doubted in your hearts? How many times have you cried out to God, but then when you finished that prayer you decided that you’d just try and take care of the problem yourself because God probably wouldn’t do anything? Do you know this God? </p> <p>God is all powerful, we struggle to get out of bed some days. </p> <p>God can cause the mountains to shake and the earth to tremble! </p> <p>God can rain hail and fire! </p> <p>I ask you again, do you truly know this God? </p> <p>I think most of us would have to honestly answer that we don’t. We know the God of love. We maybe even know the God of correction. But the awesome protector that would blast the earth aside with his breath just to save us when we cry out him? Not so much. I believe that we stop short of this God. And yet this is the same God! This is the God that we live for, that we praise with our lips during singing. So why do we not truly come to realize his awesome power? Why do we fail to recognize that our pain is his pain, and that if we would just ask and believe, he would come with fire breathing from his mouth to scatter our enemies? Do we think we don’t deserve it? Let’s continue reading this passage, as David quickly changes the feeling of the passage. Suddenly, in verse 16, the storm is subdued, and the clouds part and the earth is still. </p> <p><u>Vs 16-29: God Rescues</u> </p> <p><em><sup>16</sup> He reached down from on high and took hold of me; <br />   he drew me out of deep waters. <br /><sup>17</sup> He rescued me from my powerful enemy, <br />   from my foes, who were too strong for me. <br /><sup>18</sup> They confronted me in the day of my disaster, <br />   but the LORD was my support. <br /><sup>19</sup> He brought me out into a spacious place; <br />   he rescued me because he delighted in me. </em></p> <p><em><sup>20</sup> The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; <br />   according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. <br /><sup>21</sup> For I have kept the ways of the LORD; <br />   I am not guilty of turning from my God. <br /><sup>22</sup> All his laws are before me; <br />   I have not turned away from his decrees. <br /><sup>23</sup> I have been blameless before him <br />   and have kept myself from sin. <br /><sup>24</sup> The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, <br />   according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. </em></p> <p><em><sup>25</sup> To the faithful you show yourself faithful, <br />   to the blameless you show yourself blameless, <br /><sup>26</sup> to the pure you show yourself pure, <br />   but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. <br /><sup>27</sup> You save the humble <br />   but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. <br /><sup>28</sup> You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; <br />   my God turns my darkness into light. <br /><sup>29</sup> With your help I can advance against a troop<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-14148e">e</a>]</sup>; <br />   with my God I can scale a wall.</em> </p> <p>God reaches down and rescues David. God supports him, and leads him into protection. God longs to protect us. God longs to save us from our troubles. But at the same time, God wants us to call to him. God wants us to first reach out to him. God wants us to come to that place in our hearts where we realize that it’s not me, it’s you, God! </p> <p>Of course, God does not always deliver us from our problems swiftly. Some problems we are meant to go through with God as our support. These are things that build us up, make us better and more equipped for His work. We probably all know about the “thorn in Paul’s side” that he so often talked about in the New Testament. We don’t know what that thorn was, but we do know that Paul prayed often for God to remove it, but God chose not to do so. Paul recognized that in his weakness, God was made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). However, that still doesn’t mean that God doesn’t come with thunderous authority to support us. God does come, God does respond to our cries, and God does listen. </p> <p>Some people also think that God is a crutch that “weak” people use because they are not strong enough to make it on their own. This line of thinking, in reality, is the actual crutch. This thinking is man’s feable attempt at trying to remove God from the picture. We often see reliance on others as a weakness. Take the typical male for example. People joke that men won’t see out help, won’t ask for directions, won’t read instructions, and the like. And it is so often true. Why? A big reason is that men often see reliance on others as being a sign of weakness. We all know the truth, we all realize that we could never make it through life purely on our own, we need others. We need friends, family, spouses. We need each other. And yet, so many people see that those who need God as being a ‘crutch’. I say this is so far from the truth, we don’t need God as a crutch, we need God as a complete hospital bed! We are entirely and completely at a loss without God. We are not merely leaning on God to give us support for a sprained ankle. We’re completely sunk in his arms asking him to carry us through. And it doesn’t mean that we need to be dealing with some extreme sorrow or pain for us to rely on God this way, either. Whatever your ‘thorn’ is that is in your side, God wants it to cause us to completely trust and rely on him. David states in verse 27 that God will rescue the humble, but humiliate the proud. The humble person is the one willing to crawl onto that hospital bed. The proud person is the one that says he doesn’t even need a crutch! </p> <p><u>Vs 30-36: God prepares us for life</u> </p> <p><em><sup>30</sup> As for God, his way is perfect: <br />   The LORD’s word is flawless; <br />   he shields all who take refuge in him. <br /><sup>31</sup> For who is God besides the LORD? <br />   And who is the Rock except our God? <br /><sup>32</sup> It is God who arms me with strength <br />   and keeps my way secure. <br /><sup>33</sup> He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; <br />   he causes me to stand on the heights. <br /><sup>34</sup> He trains my hands for battle; <br />   my arms can bend a bow of bronze. <br /><sup>35</sup> You make your saving help my shield, <br />   and your right hand sustains me; <br />   your help has made me great. <br /><sup>36</sup> You provide a broad path for my feet, <br />   so that my ankles do not give way.</em> </p> <p>God does not promise to eliminate all challenges, but instead He gives us strength to make it through them all. He never leaves us alone to face any challenges, but instead is always beside us teaching, learning and strengthening us. God arms us with strength. </p> <p>Let’s return to that story of the hospital bed again. It was 2 years ago today that Corrie broke her ankle in a game of soccer. Had she simply said “Doctor’s are just a crutch for weaker people, I’m fine!” and tried walking away, she would’ve collapsed in a heap. Instead, she was taken to the hospital where she laid in a bed for days while they took care of her. They fixed her ankle, put it in a cast, and gave her medicine and food to help get her strength up. When she left, she still couldn’t walk, but with help from those who understood what was necessary, she was on the road to recovery. After a month or so later, she was able to once again walk and now is playing soccer again and enjoying her freedom. What if she had refused treatment? What if she had turned the ambulance away? She would be a hobbling mess still. The ankle would never have healed properly, and it would be causing her pain and suffering still to this day. We read this passage here and we see a God that wants to fix what is broken in our lives. By turning to God, by completely resting in his arms, God makes us strong. He trains us for battle, his right hand supports us, and he gives us a shield for victory. </p> <p>God doesn’t just rescue us, he trains us. God doesn’t just pull us from the pit, he strengthens us and teaches us so that we can better avoid that pit again next time. Crying out to God isn’t just so that he can come and pull us out so that we can go on living our same life! When we are rescued, we are to be changed! We are to be transformed! The God that poured smoke from his nostrils as he came thundering out of heaven wants to teach us, he wants to strengthen us! </p> <p>I honestly believe that many areas in my life that I feel God has left me alone or ignored me is simply because he knows that the only reason I’m calling on him is for a quick rescue mission. God, pull me out of this pit and then leave me alone! Have you ever been guilty of treating God like a genie in a bottle? Please, Lord, just grant me these three wishes and then I’ll leave you alone, if you leave me alone. That couldn’t be any further from what God truly wants from us! God desires us to grow. God desires us to become stronger. God wants us to repair us, and then get us right back out into the battle stronger than ever. But He can’t do that if all we want is the quick repair. </p> <p><u>Vs 37-45: The counter attack</u> </p> <p><em><sup>37</sup> I pursued my enemies and overtook them; <br />   I did not turn back till they were destroyed. <br /><sup>38</sup> I crushed them so that they could not rise; <br />   they fell beneath my feet. <br /><sup>39</sup> You armed me with strength for battle; <br />   you humbled my adversaries before me. <br /><sup>40</sup> You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, <br />   and I destroyed my foes. <br /><sup>41</sup> They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— <br />   to the LORD, but he did not answer. <br /><sup>42</sup> I beat them as fine as windblown dust; <br />   I trampled them<sup>[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NIV-14161f">f</a>]</sup> like mud in the streets. <br /><sup>43</sup> You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; <br />   you have made me the head of nations. <br />People I did not know now serve me, <br /><sup>44</sup> foreigners cower before me; <br />   as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. <br /><sup>45</sup> They all lose heart; <br />   they come trembling from their strongholds.</em> </p> <p>Here David describes what I see as a counter attack. He opened with hopelessness and a cry to God. We witnessed God’s awesome power and his unsurpassed protection. We then saw God training and strengthening the fallen David. And now we see David’s counter attack. </p> <p>David describes a great victory. He crushes his enemies. He pushes them back. David becomes a feared man, a man to avoid, a man to leave alone and not one to mess with any longer. You see, in my story earlier where my brother came to my rescue, what did I learn from that? I learned that my brother would stick up for me when I was in danger. That was a great thing! But if I were to spend my life waiting for my brother to bail me out during every difficulty, I think we can all imagine what an annoying person I would be! God on the other hand trained David, strengthened him and then supported him. With God at his side, David conquered his enemy. With God, David achieved victory! </p> <p>And so can we. God wants us to rely on him. God wants us to believe in him. Believe in his awesome power. Believe that he can and will rescue us from our pits of despair. But understand that he will not stop there. God will transform our hearts. God wants to change our spirits. He wants to strengthen us, so we can turn around and defeat the very enemy that had us running with our tails between our legs. God wants us to achieve victory. </p> <p><u>Vs 46-50: Praise be to God!</u> </p> <p><em><sup>46</sup> The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! <br />   Exalted be God my Savior! <br /><sup>47</sup> He is the God who avenges me, <br />   who subdues nations under me, <br /><sup>48</sup> who saves me from my enemies. <br />You exalted me above my foes; <br />   from a violent man you rescued me. <br /><sup>49</sup> Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; <br />   I will sing the praises of your name. </em></p> <p><em><sup>50</sup> He gives his king great victories; <br />   he shows unfailing love to his anointed, <br />   to David and to his descendants forever.</em> </p> <p>Finally, David concludes with praise to God. He lifts God’s name, He recognizes that his victory was because of God’s intervention. He does not take any credit for his victory, but instead directs all glory to God. </p> <p>This is such an easily overlooked step! When Jesus was on this earth, he healed 10 men of leprosy, but only one turned back to thank him. Why? Because when the chips are down, and when all hope is lost, we find it easy to turn to God. But when God rescues us and helps us defeat our enemy, it is so easy to suddenly forget and to run off ahead. </p> <p>David doesn’t forget. David knows full well what happened, and he gives the glory to God. </p> <p>Have you forgotten God? Have you enjoyed his rescue, his healing, and his training only to forget him after the victory? All praise and honour to God!</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-56479383293616880522011-03-21T08:49:00.000-07:002011-03-21T08:49:37.643-07:00What Would You Take in 15 Minutes?<em>The following is a sermon I was given the opportunity to deliver to the Pritchard Evangelical Free Church on Sunday, March the 20th, 2011.</em><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My brother and his wife and new baby live in Fort McMurray Alberta. They just moved there last summer as my brother, Rob, took a counselling job there. They found a little condo to rent while they looked for a place to live. If you know anything about that town, you know that the cost of living there, with house prices and even rent, is quite unreasonable. A week ago Friday, they received a knock on the door telling them to get out of the building within a few hours. Not knowing any details, they quickly packed, found a hotel and moved out for the night. They soon learned that the building<br />
they were in was built shoddy and a new engineering report showed some recent failure of structural components, meaning the building could shift at any moment, rupturing gas lines and causing potential fires and explosions. They also learned that they may never be let back into their home! After a few days, they were told they would at least get a 15 minute window to get in, get as much as they could and then get out. To make matters worse, tenants could only go in one household at a time, and out of the 300 or so people in the building, Rob and Amanda drew last place! If that wasn’t bad enough, though, they were also informed that if a tenant took more than 15 minutes, that would take away from the next tenant’s 15 minutes and so on down the line. In other words, the chances that there would be any time available at all once Rob and Amanda’s time slot came were very slim.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Suddenly, because of one company’s drive to make an easy buck by cutting corners, Rob and Amanda, along with a few hundred others had suddenly not only lost their homes, but everything they owned! They had nothing but the clothes on their backs, and a few belongings they had packed quickly that fateful night. Things looked very bleak. Photo albums, family heirlooms, irreplaceable items were all at the brink of being destroyed along with the poorly constructed building.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would imagine that we can all relate to this experience at least on some level. While they are all only “things”, most are “things” that have grown near and dear to our hearts. Some are items we received as gifts, souvenirs from travels, etc. Sure, insurance will replace the TV’s, most of the<br />
furniture. But we all know it wouldn’t be the same. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Who among us hasn’t experienced some sort of life changing situation? It may have been a personal tragedy, a loss of someone, or something, a pet even. Many of us can relate, if even a little, to a feeling of hopelessness, to have our life be turned “upside down”. During that time, what did you do? Where did you turn?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This morning I want to talk about our focus. Where is your focus? Who is your focus, or better yet, <i>what </i>is your focus? There are two areas I want to discuss this morning where our focus comes into question. The first is during victory. The second is during tragedy and hardships.</span></div><h1 style="margin: 24pt 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #365f91;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Focus During Victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h1><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How many of you have watched an award ceremony? Think back to the last time you watched the Oscars, or the Juno Awards. Or maybe the end of a championship game, even the Stanley cup. What do the victor’s all seem to have in common? The ‘thank you’ speeches. It’s the same thing every time, no matter what the occasion. I want to thank my producer... fans... family... even God. I can’t think of a single time a victor has said something to the effect of “I deserve this award, I worked the hardest and I was the most skilled and it only made sense that I got the award anyways.” No, while that attitude may be present, everyone understands that at a time like this, due diligence must<br />
be done to ensure those who helped are thanked and appreciated. The victor’s focus is often directed towards others. Often, I think their focus is inward, as the thank-you speeches are often seemingly forced, well rehearsed, and just downright boring. I also wonder after the ceremony, what happens then? Does the victor’s focus suddenly shift from the “high” they experienced while receiving the award, to a sudden selfish and inward focus? Do they wake up the next morning feeling fulfilled, or feeling the same as the day before? </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In life’s victories, or more importantly, after life’s<br />
victories, where is your focus? Is it on yourself? Is it on those who helped you achieved the victory? Is it on God?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In I Kings, we have a perfect example of a man of God with amazing “God-focus” seeing a great victory, but then shortly afterwards immediately losing that focus. Let’s read 1 Kings, chapter 18, verses 20 to 40. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">God showed himself in a miraculous way, Elijah had a great victory! He must’ve been pumped! Let’s keep reading. (I Kings 19:1-5) </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What happened here? Where did the Elijah go that we read about in chapter 18? Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let anyone get away! He was on fire. And now in the next chapter, he suddenly wants to die. What changed? God didn’t change. Ahab and Jezebel didn’t change, other than the fact that they were obviously more upset with Elijah than usual. But something changed with Elijah himself. His focus changed. His life was threatened, and he<br />
was on the run, he was on his own and his focus shifted from being on God to now being on himself. All he could see was his immediate situation. He was tired, hungry. God lets him rest, even provides sustenance for him, and after a few days He asks Elijah what was wrong. In chapter 19, verse 10, Elijah answers “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Where is his focus? <b>I </b>have been zealous... <b>I</b> am left... they are trying to kill <b>me</b>. Elijah’s focus is inward. On himself. And God recognizes that he needs a ‘focus-lift’. God doesn’t berate him, instead, he reveals himself to him. Let’s read further in chapter 19 (I Kings 19:11-18). God reveals himself to Elijah and helps him to refocus. He gives Elijah mission for success and also informs him that there are 7000 more believers out there and that Elijah isn’t alone. God helps Elijah refocus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How many times have your greatest victories been followed with a similar focus failure? After victory, it is so easy for us to lose our focus and start to look inward. And yet it is after our victories that we need to retain our God-focus more than ever. After the high, inevitably comes the crash. After a spiritual victory, God expects us to continue our journey rather than sit back and rest on what we may see as our own accomplishments. He had Elijah follow up his Mt. Carmel victory by anointing others to further his work. However, often as humans we tend to try and follow up victories with rest<br />
and relaxation. We try to “rest on our laurels” as the saying goes. If you look that saying up online, one of the definitions is to “to be so satisfied with your own achievements that you make no effort to improve.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Turning our focus inward can only lead to a spiritual ‘crash’. Ultimately, we are all aiming for a much greater prize, a much larger victory. We need to continue keeping our focus on the bigger prize, on God. Enjoy the victories that God brings, but never relax in them. Never sit back on them. Keep pushing forward. As long as we have breath in these lungs, our work here is not done!</span></div><h1 style="margin: 24pt 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #365f91;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Focus During Tragedy<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h1><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another common area in our lives where we tend to lose focus is during tragedy or hardships. Something comes into our life that causes us to stop looking upwards, and, once again, start focusing inwards.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jesus’ disciples experienced this after Jesus was crucified. Three days after Jesus was crucified and buried, the disciples were huddled together, behind locked doors, in fear for their life and saddened about the week’s events. Where was their focus? Inward. On themselves. They were focused on how they were feeling, and about the tragedy that had turned their lives upside down.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another example of this inward focus after hardship can be found in the writings of David. He was banished. His king had a death warrant out for him, his wife couldn’t be trusted and his best friend couldn’t help him. David had nowhere to turn, and was found hiding in a cave, focusing on himself and his troubles. Just a short while before, he’d been happily tending his sheep. Now his life was threatened at every turn and he was a castaway in the desert. In fact, David’s focus turns inward enough to where he resorts to lies and deceit in order to get bread and a sword from the priest Ahimelech at Nob. He also fled to his enemy city where he has to pretend to be crazy just to get out alive. David was desperate and at the end of his rope. The key there being that it was <i>his</i> rope, not<br />
God’s.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How did God restore focus to his disciples? How did he turn David’s focus upwards? In both cases, God returns his people to a higher calling. With the disciples, Jesus returns to them, and gives them a mission, a directive, to preach the gospel. He also gives them the Holy Spirit. With David, God brings along family and friends to console him and strengthen him. Eventually, others from all over start coming to David for help. People who were discontent, or in distress, began flocking to David because they trusted in his valour and wisdom. Now David had a mission again. He had a purpose, a<br />
higher calling greater than himself. God lifted David’s focus off of himself and turned it upwards. David began commanding these men and in fact formed a small outlaw band and began fighting for those who were persecuted, protected those in need of protection. David started to become the man God wanted him to be, the man who would one day become Israel’s greatest King.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">God wants our focus to be upward, not inward. He wants our eyes to be on Him, on the greatest prize, instead of ourselves and our situations. God knows that as soon as we look down at ourselves, or at our own situation, we start to crumble. Like the apostle Peter so vividly experienced as he stepped out of his boat, focused on Jesus, and began walking across the water! But as soon as he looked down, and shifted his focus to his own two feet and the water beneath them and suddenly he began to sink. We are no different, except for the fact that many of us never even step out of the boat in the first place!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want to return to the story of my brother and his wife in Fort McMurray. Here are some of the Facebook posts from them during this time.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Amanda, a week ago Saturday</b>: ...<i>is<br />
feeling very misplaced and confused.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Amanda, Tuesday</b>: <i>...completely<br />
leaning on God right now ‘cause I have no strength left. How did my life turn<br />
so upside down? I am so thankful for Rob and Sam.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Rob, Tuesday: </b><i>...Well we get<br />
access to our condo on Friday, 8:00pm, for 15 minutes. Anything left will be<br />
part of the insurance claim that at this point looks like it will be denied,<br />
find out more about that in the am. So, we're thankful for 15 minutes.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Amanda, Friday</b>: ...<i>believes a<br />
miracle will happen at 8pm tonight. I can feel the love and prayer! It feels<br />
overwhelmingly awesome! We are going to have steady, grippy, fast hands;<br />
amazingly strong arms & backs; very fast, secure feet; sharp eyes; and<br />
calm, logical heads.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wanted to bring their situation up here to show their focus. When things were bleak and looking bleaker, their focus was continuously upwards. Amanda, “completely leaning on God” and “I am so thankful for Rob and Sam”. Rob says “we’re thankful for 15 minutes”. Instead of “why is this happening to us?” or “I can’t believe we only get 15 minutes”, there was a sense of gratefulness. Amanda found their son Sam’s baby book that had somehow managed to find its way into their stuff when they left that Friday night. She was understandably so thankful to have brought it, even if it was by accident. Rob mentioned at one point that he thought it would be a good idea to hang around the condo while others were packing their stuff to see if they could help. Their focus was always upward, and never inward.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A while ago, I had Corrie paint the words “Holy is the Lord” on my bike’s handlebars, which I ride every day to work. The goal was to keep my focus upward. God is Holy, no matter what my situation. God is holy, no matter what happens to those around me. God is holy. How many of you have tried<br />
to contemplate eternity? It is an unfathomable thought for our human minds to comprehend. And yet, from what we read in the Word, we will be spending eternity praising God and his holiness. God is holy! No matter what is going on, He never changes. His holiness is no less today in sorrow than it was yesterday in victory. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you have financial problems that seem insurmountable?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holy is the Lord.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is your relationship with your spouse is on the rocks, and<br />
seem irreparable?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holy is the Lord.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Are you sick and are asking for healing?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holy is the Lord.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Are you hurting?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holy is the Lord. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not saying that these issues shouldn’t be brought to our Saviour’s feet. Quite the contrary. We should immediately bring these to His feet. We probably need to lay these issues at His feet daily! But then, we must acknowledge who God is. Holy is the Lord! Regardless of what I’m going through right now, holy is the Lord! When we are done with our time here on this earth, when all withers away and “dissolves as snow”, one thing will remain. God! Holy is the Lord!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rob and Amanda demonstrated to all those around them that their focus was upward during their time of uncertainty. They kept reminding themselves that it was only “stuff” and that many don’t get the 15 minute window opportunity. Friday night came, and many family, friends and even co-workers came to help.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rob said “(Amanda’s Mom) was pretty amazing in the kitchen, she can move like a little tornado. She got the whole kitchen packed in boxes and even plastic bags, which now we have to go organize but at least we have access to it. (Amanda’s Dad) got my whole library in...two bins by himself, one of our helpers who wasn't supposed to be inside (he was the 5th of the allowed 4) got out a bunch of big stuff, the young guy that my coworker brought was indispensible, and our little army outside got it all in the trailer, the trucks and all over the tarps :) It was a pretty fun, bonding experience actually. (Another couple) organized all the random stuff, and (yet another couple) packed and sorted and grabbed stuff coming out the windows. It was pretty awesome.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the end, and I’m assuming that this was because they were last, but those in charge of the situation ended up giving Rob and Amanda an entire 50 minutes, instead of the originally allotted 15! The group was able to clear out the entire apartment minus their couch, bed and a bookshelf. But<br />
other than that, they got EVERYTHING out!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is the post from Amanda after the fact: “I got my miracle!!!! All that's left is the couch, loveseat, a bookshelf and bed. Plus we may be able to get the rest in a couple weeks. :) Our 15 minutes turned into about 1 hour!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Holy is the Lord! When life gets turned “upside down”, and you are given 15 minutes to get what you can and get out, where will your focus be? What will your attitude be? Will you be inward focused, selfishly wondering “why me?” Or will you be upward focused, thankful and praising God that He is the same yesterday, today and forever?</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-26187105693146513182011-01-26T06:49:00.001-08:002011-01-26T06:49:14.114-08:00Giving Back–To tithe or not to tithe is really not a question<p>I’m going to address an issue that has caused me much torment especially as of late. Giving. Tithing. Whatever you want to call it. Are we required to give? How much do we have to give? Why do we give? Who do we give to and how often? Before we go any further, let me first state that if you are looking for answers to questions like those simply so you can “pay your tax”, this is not where you are going to find them. Instead, I want to dig deeper into the subject of giving. I want to dig more into the attitude of giving, the heart condition, and the expectations of both us and God. This is a subject that I’ve started to focus on recently, and I really don’t have any answers. So, instead, this “mini sermon” will be more like a “what if” sermon. What if I gave more than I can afford? What if my heart attitude was changed? What if my focus was more on being grateful than on how much I’m putting into that plate each Sunday? How might my life be transformed if I truly learn the right attitude about giving? That is what I’m trying to learn here this time.</p> <p>First of all, I am learning that when I can’t afford to tithe, I really can’t afford <em>not</em> to tithe. When money is tight and we’re staring down the barrel of a loaded disconnection notice or two, tithing must be our first priority. Why? Because God has proven to us that He blesses us when our hearts and minds are more focused on Him rather than on our situation. We have seen month after month when we’ve made ends meet financially, even though it didn’t seem possible at first. One of my fall-back verses in the Bible on this area has always been Malachi 3:10 where God speaks to the Israelites and tells them to <strong>“…”Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “And see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”…”</strong> (NIV). God challenges the Israelites to <em>test Him! </em>Now, I do understand that many people seem to get edgy whenever we try to apply an Old Testament statement or verse to our walk, saying that the old covenant was replaced by the new covenant when Jesus came to die. That we no longer need to follow the same laws and traditions that the Israelites did before Christ. And that is true. However, what I see from this verse is not so much a tradition or “rule” that I am being asked to follow. Instead, I see a portion of the character of God being revealed to us and <em>that</em> never has changed nor will ever change. God yearned for the Israelites to test him in their tithes so He could prove to them that He truly did have control over their provisions and blessings. God longed to prove to them that He could indeed take care of them.</p> <p>And He still longs for us to understand this about Him today.</p> <p>I witnessed a great example of such “testing” earlier this year. At church, we had a young missionary couple come and speak about their work. They spoke mostly of the local missionaries that were being raised up and trained in the area where they served. They spoke about how hard it was for these locals to raise any funding at all to support their work. When asked what we as a church could do for this couple, they said that they didn’t want anything. Instead, they would rather that if anything were to be given, that it be given to the local missionaries they were training. Our pastor stepped out in a great display of faith and declared that that morning’s offering would be given entirely to these local missionaries through this couple. This meant that our church just gave up a quarter of their monthly income! Now, I’m sure there are many out there that would be scolding our pastor right now, saying he should never make such a decision without discussing it with the board and so on. I’m sure your right. But this step of faith was huge. I suddenly looked at my own life. Could I do that? Would I ever be able to suddenly give 1/4 of my monthly income away? 25%!!! I don’t think I could. And yet, God says, “test me”. Would this not be considered a test of God’s faithfulness if I was able to do something like this?</p> <p>As I said earlier, so often we view tithe as a “tax”. In fact, if you search online or follow many sermons out there today on tithing, you will find many very inflexible views. Views that state how much you have to tithe. Views that proclaim how often you have to tithe. I am going to step out on a rather risky limb here and say that I find very little in the New Testament where God has laid out such rules and boundaries when it comes to tithing. In fact, the one verse I often think about whenever the discussion about tithing comes up is found in 2 Corinthians 9:7 where Paul states that <strong>“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful give”</strong> (NIV) Paul does not state here that we must give 10% of our gross income. Instead, he says that we should give what we have decided in our <em>hearts</em> to give. And that we are not to give out of reluctance or compulsion, but cheerfully! I think many of us have been beaten by leaders today and growing up that giving was something we were commanded to do. And for most, it is an act out of compulsion, not an act of their hearts.</p> <p>Note verse 8 of chapter 9 of 2nd Corinthians. Paul just finished saying that “…God loves a cheerful giver…”, and then goes on to say that <strong>“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”</strong> (NIV) God is able to bless you abundantly! Again, I see an echo of what God stated to the Israelites some 500 years earlier. If we give cheerfully, God is able to bless us <em>abundantly</em>.</p> <p>I will have to say, though, that herein lies a conflict of interests for us as I’m sure most of you would agree. We are not supposed to give grudgingly, nor under compulsion. Instead, we are to give cheerfully. However, if we give because we are looking for these blessings, is that not a poor heart attitude? And yet, if we go off of these two passages that I’ve just brought up here, is that not a driving, motivating factor in our giving? Yes, it can be. So how do we follow these scriptures, yet avoid such a motivation in our giving?</p> <p>I’m sure many of us have gone through the following situation. It’s Christmas, and you have bought a gift for a good friend, at least someone you think is a good friend. You have anticipated that they, too, will be giving you a pretty nice gift so you make sure that your purchase is top notch. However, during the exchange, things get awkward as the parity of gifts between you is not there. What you get in return is cheap, un-thoughtful and not at all what you expected. What went wrong? Well, first of all, the expectations you set were wrong. The whole point of giving a gift is the giving part, not what you may or may not receive in return. By setting up the expectations that “if I give him/her this gift, I’m sure they’ll give me one similar in return” is a setup for failure and shows a wrong heart attitude. If there had been more focus on the giving itself, for the simple reason to see joy on their faces, it wouldn’t matter if nothing was received in return. The point of the gift was for them.</p> <p>And a similar attitude is required when giving to God. In the case with giving to God, we are not giving a “gift”, but instead we are acknowledging His provision and His faithfulness in our lives. Because of scripture like we read earlier, however, we do have some expectations in getting blessings in return. However, that is where our expectations should cease. As soon as we start assuming we know <em>what</em> those blessings might be, our heart attitude becomes derailed once again. Often we think that if we give monetarily, then our blessings will be in the same form in return. Sort of like an investment, right? Wrong! In my limited experience, I have seen God bless us by providing for us in areas we never would’ve imagined. God has yet to drop an envelope of cash on our door steps, in spite of my expectations for Him to do so! However, we often have looked back at the end of a month and realized that we made it through, paid our bills, and kept food on the table, when by all rights we were dead in the water. Other times, God has blessed us with material possessions. Still more, God has blessed us with groceries, even Christmas gifts for the children one year!</p> <p>How God may choose to bless you for giving with a right heart attitude is unknown. For us to focus on these blessings and try to determine what they may or may not be during our giving is wrong. But, we can rest assured that God <em>will</em> bless our giving.</p> <p>This brings me to my final point. We’ve talked about the heart attitude. Now I want to talk about what we give. Giving is not just of our income. It is also giving of our time, our possessions, our food. Whatever God has blessed us with, I feel that we are to give in return. And yet, this is not something to take lightly. What we give is just as important as how we give it. I’m referring here to the quality of your tithe. Let’s go back to Malachi and look at the first couple of passages, before God challenged the Israelites to test him.</p> <p>The Israelites offered defiled sacrifices: <strong>“It is you priests who show contempt for my name. But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ By offering defiled food on my altar.”</strong> Malachi 1:6,7 (NIV). They even offered lame sacrifices: <strong>“’When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?’ says the LORD Almighty.”</strong> Malachi 1:8 (NIV) And, not only that, but the Israelites treated their sacrificing acts with contempt: <strong>“’And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously, says the LORD Almighty.’”</strong> Malachi 1:13 (NIV) <p>God has had enough of the sacrifices that the Israelites are bringing to Him. He’s had enough with their poor attitude towards sacrificing. Let’s take a minute now to see the response God has towards the Israelites. God would rather no sacrifices at all, and He states that he will accept nothing from them. <strong>“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.”</strong> Malachi 1:10 (NIV). In fact, God admonishes the priests saying that <strong>“I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices.”</strong> Malachi 2:3 (NIV). <p>Later on, just before Malachi 3:10 as we read at the beginning of this message, God states that they have robbed him (Malachi 3:6-9). He states that the whole nation is under a curse because they have robbed Him in their tithes and offerings, their sacrifices. God doesn’t take our offerings lightly. What are you offering to Him? <p>Are you giving God the first 10 minutes of your morning, when you’re half asleep and can hardly keep your eyes open? Do you tithe based on what you have left over once the bills are paid? Are you robbing God? Have you scheduled your devotion time in such a way that if you’re running late, your devotions get shorted? There are so many ways that we can essentially “rob God” by our giving (or lack thereof). I’m not familiar with all the details of the story, but growing up as a missionary kid I remember hearing a story in our circles of a missionary family that received <em>used tea bags </em>from their supporters! Another more humbling story was a report recently that the pastor of our local church described during a sermon about the giving within our church. I don’t remember all the details, but what I do remember is that the majority of the church, I believe it was about 80%, generally tithed an average of <em>$1000 a year</em>. If we figure out based on the average 10% of giving that most people try to give, that would mean that 80% of the church only makes $10,000 a year? Obviously, that is not the case. Yes, there may very well be a couple of people in that range of $10,000 – $20,000 for a yearly salary. But NOT 80% of the attendees. This is a very discouraging report on the state of giving within our Christian circles. Tithing is becoming more and more of a passing thought than something at the forefront of our walk with God.</p> <p>How are you robbing God? Left over possessions? Left over time? Left over money? God asked for the “first fruits” from the Israelites. Not their leftovers. It takes more faith to give to God what we long to keep for ourselves then to give just Him our “leftovers”. Giving God our “first fruits” is a bold demonstration that we understand that our possessions, our time, our money all come from God in the first place. We acknowledge that God is our provider, and that He will continue to provide.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-40173665147550831372011-01-19T06:44:00.000-08:002011-01-19T06:44:12.154-08:00Jonah–Not just a Sunday School StoryRecently, the pastor of our church here in Kamloops did a four part sermon on the story of Jonah. As such, I began reading more into the story of Jonah and started having a much greater appreciation for what Jonah went through. A question that my pastor asked during the first part of his series was “Why did Jonah have to stay in the belly of the fish for 3 days?” While there are many ideas as to why, it wasn’t so much the question that got me to thinking, but the reality of the situation. 3 days inside a fish! How on earth was this even possible?<br />
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I did a brief internet search on the possibilities of being swallowed by a whale. There is actually a story about a man being swallowed by a whale and surviving back in the late 1800’s name <a href="http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2294/have-any-real-life-jonahs-been-swallowed-by-whales-and-lived" target="_blank">James Bartley</a>. While the story can’t necessarily be proven, it can’t be dis-proven either. Check out this part of the story where Bartley accounts what it was like:<br />
<blockquote>Bartley recalled being swallowed by a great darkness, then slipping along a smooth passage until he came to a larger space. He felt slimy stuff around him and realized he’d been swallowed by a whale. He could breath, but the heat sucked the energy out of him and eventually he pass out. The only lasting effect of the incident was that the skin of his face, neck and hands was bleached to the color of parchment by the whale’</blockquote>Consider this for a while. I’m not going to say this story is true, but this is a whole lot worse of a situation than the tale we watched in Pinocchio when Geppetto gets swallowed by a whale. The reality of something like this is mind boggling. How did he breathe? How did the heat not suffocate him? Think about how the acids from the whale’s system must've eaten away at his body, causing unbearable pain. Think about the darkness, the stench, the suffocating…<br />
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Suddenly three days seems like an eternity. Now, I don’t want to spend too much time trying to know the “how’s” of God’s miracles, instead I would rather dig into the “why’s”. Why did God choose this rather elaborate method of getting Jonah’s attention? And why did He leave Jonah in the whale for 3 whole days and nights? Imagine a moment if you were Jonah, how long inside that whale do you think it would've taken you until you repented? I am going to assume here that after 2 minutes of being inside the whale, Jonah was most likely begging God to let him back out. In fact, I would assume that most of us would be promising God instantly that we would change, that we would obey, that we would never run away again. Maybe Jonah did, maybe he didn't, I don't know and the Bible doesn't say. What it does say, is that it took <i>3 days</i> until Jonah finally offered up his sincere prayer of repentance and God rescued him from the whale. 3 days!!!<br />
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This got me to thinking about the Christian walk, and my own life specifically. As I look at my own experiences, as soon as I realize I'm in a bad situation, I call to God to help pretty much immediately. Sometimes it's sincere, sometimes it's half hearted. However, many times God does not instantly rescue me from the situation in which I find myself. Many times, instead, God works with me through it. Right now, we're going through a situation with a property that my wife and I own that we are unable to sell. It is costing us each and every month, forcing us to live pay cheque by pay cheque (what else is new?). We have no savings, no back up plans, and many months bills go unpaid due to lack of funds. My wife has taken on an evening job just to help make ends meet. We pray about this situation a lot. And yet, God chooses not to sell the property yet. It has been 2-1/2 years now of this type of living. Why won't He sell this property?<br />
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At first, we went through a stage of "where did we go wrong?" We analyzed our steps, scrutinized our decisions. We decided where we went wrong, and we prayed for forgiveness. And yet still the property remained unsold. So we did it again, and again. Each time, trying to be more and more sincere in our repentance. Maybe I haven't repented enough. Maybe I wasn't truly repentant. Maybe I wasn't repentant of the right sin. We gave our best, most sincere efforts and yet still the property remained unsold.<br />
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Of course, everyone always seems to go through the "why" stage in situations like this. Why will the property not sell? Why has this gone on so long? Why does God seem so quiet about the whole thing? Why did we do what we did? For us, it wasn't so much a "why don't you help, God" but more of a "why are we in this mess?" and "why haven't we been able to get rid or this property sooner?". So many questions started coming through our minds. We started re-evaluating every decision we had made for the past 2-1/2 years. Decisions we had thought were solid were now in "court" defending their case.<br />
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Lately, we have started to move towards a personal faith stretching revelation. Maybe God was trying to grow us in an area of faith. Maybe He wanted us to learn new aspects of our faith. So we focused on that, what did God want us to learn from this? So we tried to focus on our relationship with Him, where can we grow? Where can we learn?<br />
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Notice I said "we have started to move..." Yes, we are still in this predicament as I am writing this. I don't know the answer, and I may never know. God might choose to sell this acreage tomorrow. He may choose to never sell it. This is where Jonah comes back into the picture.<br />
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Do you not think that he probably went through some very similar stages while in the whale's belly? He most likely did cry out immediately for deliverance. Chances are probably pretty good that he then went into an analytical stage, and maybe even repentance for where he went wrong (don't get me wrong, this is a very important stage and we all must go through it thoroughly). When that didn't seem to work, I wonder if he did start the "why?" stage. Did he start asking God why he was in the belly for so long? After 3 days, I'm sure he was in a lot of pain, and very miserable. Listen to the way Jonah describes his experience. "<i>Deep in the realm of the dead...</i>" (Jonah 2:1, NIV), "<i>...I have been banished from your sight...</i>" (Jonah 2:4, NIV), "<i>...seaweed was wrapped around my head...</i>" (Jonah 2:5, NIV), ".<i>..To the roots of the mountains I sank down, the earth barred me in forever.</i>" (Jonah 2:6, NIV). These aren't light choice of words used by Jonah. He was in despair. He was beyond hope. I'm sure he hoped and prayed for a miracle, but logistically do you think he really saw a way out of his situation? It would probably not be too far off to assume that Jonah had begun to accept that this was the end of his earthly existence even.<br />
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However, something in Jonah's prayer seemed to trigger God's action of redemption. Through Jonah's prayer, he seems to shift from desperation to praise. I can't say what it was about Jonah's prayer or where his attitude was transformed exactly, but I did notice a couple of things that made me think about my own attitude.<br />
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First, he has a transformation of focus. Jonah begins focusing God and his holiness. "...<i>yet <b>I will look</b> again <b>toward your holy temple</b>.</i>" (Jonah 2:4, NIV). And a little bit later on he says "<i>...I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, <b>to your holy temple</b>.</i>" (Jonah 2:7, NIV).<br />
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Secondly, he is grateful for his experience and in the following two verses he says "<i>Those who cling to worthless idols <b>turn away from God's love for them</b>. But I, w<b>ith shouts of grateful praise</b>, will sacrifice to you.</i>" (Jonah 2:8,9, NIV).<br />
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"<i><b>And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.</b></i>" (Jonah 2:10, NIV).<br />
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What was it about Jonah's prayer that signaled God's action to rescue him from the whale? While I don't want to venture to know God's intentions, I do notice here Jonah's focus on God's holiness and his grateful heart <i>while still in the belly of that whale</i> seemed to trigger his redemption.<br />
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Where is my focus? Is my focus on God's holiness? Do I have a grateful heart? It's not that I have forgotten my plight, or that it isn't important to me anymore. It's that I am more focused on who God is than where I am. Jonah had his issues. In fact, even after he was rescued and he delivered the message he still struggled with his own agenda versus God's. And yet in those 3 days he learned how to focus on God and not his situation. He learned to be grateful, to praise God in spite of what was going on, and to me that seems to be what God truly wants us all to learn while we battle our own "whales".<br />
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Look at your life. Look at all that you have to be grateful for and all that God has blessed you with day in and day out and praise God for it all. Can you focus on being grateful? Can you focus on God's holiness? I'm not saying that once you do that God will rescue you from your "whale", but I am saying that your "whale" will suddenly be a lot less worrisome. And don't forget, I'm learning and discovering this as I write this post, so I can't begin to pretend I have all the answers. Only that this is something I can pull out of what used to be a simple Sunday School story to me. God hasn't forgotten us while in our current situation. He isn't ignoring us either. Instead, I believe He simply wants us to lift our heads up. To take our focus off of where we are and to shift it up to who He is. And be grateful.<br />
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I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-21599329001474241182010-05-31T11:30:00.001-07:002010-05-31T11:30:08.686-07:00Holy Is the Lord<div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal>We are selfish.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>I don’t think I really need to embellish that thought, I would assume that almost anyone reading that would probably agree. We, by our human nature, are selfish. My wife was saying just the other day how so much of what is wrong with our world can be broken down to a simple case of the “Me Me Me’s”. Do you disagree with that statement?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Take the seemingly increasing cases of road rage on most of the world’s streets and highways, can these cases be attributed to selfishness? Sure they can. I need to be first. I need that lane. I need to get out ahead of you. I need... I need...<br> <br> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Or, how about something simple such as the cost of living skyrocketing? Well, can this be attributed to selfishness? Sure it can. I want to make more money, so I need to increase the price of my products. I want more “stuff”, I want a bigger house, I want this I want that. Therefore, I need to increase the price of what I am selling to achieve this. No thought to maybe making the product better so it sells more. No thought to maybe just working harder. No, it is generally raise the price to make more profits. Cut spending on things that actually matter to make more profits.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>How about obesity? Yes, I’m a bit hesitant to include this in here, and I do understand that there are many cases of obesity out there that are medically caused and cannot be helped. However, there are many, many more cases where obesity, even in its slightest form, can be attributed to selfishness. I can personally attest to this. I don’t want to exercise, it’s too much work. I want something to eat now, so I buy a burger and fries. I’m thirsty, but instead of water I drink a pop or a milkshake because I like it better. Yes, obesity can be blamed on selfishness.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>I think most of our problems can be blamed on selfishness.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>And as such, I believe God is trying to reveal to me my selfish ways. This weekend, during the praise and worship singing at church, I realized how much focus I put on my life and my problems and how little focus I put on God and who He is. I started to realize how selfish I truly am. I’ve always thought of myself as selfish, but to what degree?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>The situation my family is going through right now I know we’re in it because of my selfishness. I saw something I wanted, and I wanted it now, so I took it. I have recognized my failure in this area, and repented of it, and yet God still has not relieved me from this situation. So I started to go through the “why” stage. Why haven’t you helped us out of this yet, Lord? Why haven’t you moved this mountain? And God seemed to tell me that the mountain He’s trying to move is me. The mountain is my selfishness. My focus on “me”.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Throughout this whole ordeal, I’ve been so focused on our situation. God, help us do this. Help us do that. Please remove this burden, please relieve this struggle. While that’s all fine and well in moderation, I feel that my focus on the situation is the exact opposite of where God truly wants me to focus. Yes, God wants to hear about our struggles, he desires to hear our desires. But he truly wishes for us to focus on Him, not on the problems we’re trying to leave at His feet. So often, I lug an armful of problems with me before God, tell Him about them and why I need them to be taken care of for me, and then I gather them all back up and walk back out with them still. My focus is so often on my problems, that I simply seem to “forget” to leave them behind!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>On Sunday, we sang a song that we’ve sung a hundred times, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. So much so that my voice was actually cracking while I was trying to sing it. You probably all know it pretty well.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><i>Alleluia, Alleluia.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><i>For the Lord God Almighty reigns.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><i>Alleluia, Alleluia!<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><i>Holy! Holy! Are you Lord God, Almighty!<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><i>Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><i>You are Holy.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Pretty basic lyrics, and yet what they meant to me this Sunday was astronomical. God is Holy, worthy is the Lamb. What does my earthly problem matter in the grand scheme of things? When I meet God, will we talk about these issues? Will we debate them, will I demand an explanation as to why I had to go through these times? No! I am certain that at that time, I will become so aware of God’s holiness and my utter unworthiness, all I will be able to think about is <i>what an awesome God!</i> We, as Christians, will spend <i>eternity</i> worshipping God! <i>Eternity! </i>If that doesn’t even lend itself a little bit to the fact that God’s majestic holiness is so vast and so great that we will never fully comprehend it I don’t know what will.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Yesterday, I had my wife paint “Holy Is The Lord” on the handlebar of my mountain bike. I will now see that phrase for a full hour each morning and another full hour in the afternoon as I ride to and from work. Holy is the Lord.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Maybe you have financial problems that seem insurmountable.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><b><i>Holy is the Lord.<o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Maybe your relationship with your spouse is on the rocks, and seems irreparable.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><b><i>Holy is the Lord.<o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Are you sick and are asking for healing?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><b><i>Holy is the Lord.</i><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Are you hurting?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><b><i>Holy is the Lord.</i><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>I’m not saying that these issues shouldn’t be brought to our Saviour’s feet. Quite the contrary. We should immediately bring these to His feet. We probably need to lay these issues at His feet <i>daily! </i> But then, we must acknowledge who God is. <i>Holy is the Lord! </i>Regardless of what I’m going through right now, <i>holy is the Lord!</i> When we are done with our time here on this earth, when all withers away and “dissolves as snow”, one thing will remain. God! <i>Holy is the Lord!</i><o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Who is God to you? Do you tend to focus more on your problems, your issues, or on God? We are selfish by nature, so it is natural for us to focus on us, on our problems. We selfishly expect God to wipe away our problems, to give us a more comfortable life, a life of freedom! Freedom from financial constraints, freedom from pain, freedom from arguments or harsh words between loved ones. But when did God ever promise that? Why are we here on this earth? For ourselves? Far from it! We are here for God, to worship God, to adore God! <i>HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!</i><o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Less focus on inward and downward things. More focus on upward and outward things. Who is God? Who is the Lord? He is Holy. Worship Him. He is worthy. Adore Him. Bring your problems to His feet, leave them there, and worship Him.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Holy is the Lord.<span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-84490367852822038272010-04-26T10:15:00.001-07:002010-04-26T10:15:25.405-07:00Persistence and Faith<div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal>Well, I don’t really have much of a ‘sermon’ today as this is something I’ve just been working through as of yesterday and today. This is not a spiritual truth that I have mastered or completed, but one that was revealed to me yesterday and one that I am trying to know and apply. The sermon yesterday was on persistence and faith, using Luke 18-18 as the passage, which reads as follows:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><i><span style='color:#17365D'>“1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:36.0pt'><i><span style='color:#17365D'> 4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:36.0pt'><i><span style='color:#17365D'> 6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"” (Luke 18:1-8, NIV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal>So what does this mean to me? How can I be persistent, basically “pester” God about our current situation?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Right now, we have two properties. I know, in a time where many of this nation and the USA are struggling to find work in order to pay their bills, my problem is that I’m stuck with two mortgages. Things could be worse I know. But, as it is, we absolutely cannot afford both of these properties. To make a long story short, we moved out to BC about 2 years ago and thought we had sold our property back in Alberta. Unfortunately, after about 1-1/2 years of extensions and what have you, the sale in Alberta was cancelled. So now we’re stuck with two mortgages.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Well, we’re trying to sell the property in Alberta again from a distance (everyone knows that long-distance relationships are very hard to do). We can’t afford to drive out to the property to show it, to clean it, or even to meet with a Realtor. We can’t afford this, because we’re already about $400 short every month due to having this property in the first place! It’s a nasty catch-22 if I’ve ever seen one.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>So, interested and potential buyers have gone out to view the acreage, but nobody has called or emailed back after seeing it. Why not? We prayed about it, but not “persistently”. Rather, it was more of a time-of-the-month prayer, when we realized that the finances for that month were short again, then we’d pray about everything.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Now we had someone view the property this weekend, and he at least called back. Not to say he was interested, but to say that they were going to walk away due to some damage on the house. This was news to us. What damage? Apparently, he stated that one of the foundation piles was sinking and had caused the house to be sitting off level. On top of this, there was now a crack in the ceiling drywall that ran from one end of the house to the other, with water damage seeping through.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Needless to say, we were less than pleased to hear this. While we have yet to confirm his statements from a friend of ours, this news is devastating. Basically, if this is true, then chances are we can only sell this for land value. Which isn’t even as much as our mortgage is due.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>How can things possibly go from what was seemingly the bottom of the barrel to even lower?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>And yet the sermon on Sunday was about persistence. It was about coming to God day and night with our pleas, begging Him to intervene. Not sporadically when I feel like it, but ALL DAY. And not just “pester” God, but bringing our problems before Him with the belief that He WILL step in. Having the faith to know that He will NOT leave us stranded.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>I have no idea what might happen. I have no idea if God will have us sell our BC home and move back to Alberta. I have no idea if God will provide a buyer “as-is”. I have no idea if He will provide the funds to just fix the place. I really do not know what He will do. But the key to this, I’m thinking, is that I believe he WILL. I don’t know what, but I know He WILL.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>And so I keep presenting my case.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Every time I think about this, I pray “God, help us. Help us through this.” I don’t even know <i>what </i>to ask for anymore! But I do know we need help, and for that I am begging. I am pleading. God, help. And I will not stop asking until this is worked through.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>I realized that God has allowed us into this situation for reasons beyond this world. I also realize that I may never actually know why. But I do know that when God is finished, we will be closer to Him. We will come out of this with a stronger heart for Him, with a faith that will guide us through such circumstances. With man, this is impossible. But with God, <i>all things are possible</i>.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-10174343295625264712010-04-20T15:55:00.001-07:002010-04-20T15:56:29.268-07:00Pride, cockiness and confidence<div class="Section1"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It was my freshmen year of Bible College in a northern Saskatchewan town called Nipawin. I was the missionary kid from Mexico. I was the one that not only didn’t know what a block heater was, I didn’t even have one in my ’85 Volkswagen Jetta! But I had lived in Mexico, so regardless of my other eccentricities, there were expectations on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Expectations that I knew how to play soccer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I did play soccer. I played defense. A no-frills, solid type of defensemen. I was tall, so I couldn’t run as fast as that little guy with all the fancy moves, so my only hope was to stay on my man and let him make the mistake. Let him twist and jump and twirl, but I would still be there waiting when he was finished, ready to knock his shot away. Try and shove me aside, you’ll soon be looking up at me as your sitting on your backside. Get around me? Possibly, but not likely. Get through me? Not a chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And if I had the ball? Well, look out, cause my shot is going to knock your skinny little shorts right off. I’ll score on you from my half of the court just to save the time of having to bring the ball all the way down to your end.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And if you believe all that, I have some ocean front property in Nipawin, Saskatchewan to sell you…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That’s me being cocky. I was an average soccer player, nothing more, nothing less. Sure, I made some great plays, scored some clutch goals, and stopped some great players. But I was average. I made some stupid mistakes. I let shots through and passes go by that I should’ve had. As great as I want to make myself sound, I was <i>just an average player</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I don’t know when it was, or which tournament we were playing in, but I was part of the Nipawin Bible Institute’s A-team, proudly playing defense. The competition was always fierce in these tournaments, as schools from other Saskatchewan Bible colleges would come as well as a team from the big, secular college called SIAST Kelsey in Saskatoon. There were no easy games in these tournaments, and due to the shortness of them, each game was life or death for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I remember we were resting in between games. I can’t remember what the outcome was of the game we had just played, but I know that I hadn’t played a very good game. Guys ran around me like I was a pillar holding up the gym ceiling. I was sitting in the bleachers in a pool of self-pity, wondering if I should play the next game when my brother came up. He was in his third and final year, one of the surly ‘veterans’ of the team. He knew I’d just had a horrible game, and I figured he was going to come up and tell me that I did Ok, and I shouldn’t be so hard on myself and it’s just a game. You know, useless but comforting words.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But he was my brother. Why would he say that?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He made no excuses for my play, didn’t even acknowledge my bad game. He just sat beside me and said, “You’ve gotta play cocky, Scott”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I looked at him questioningly, “What?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He said, “You play your best game when you’re cocky. You can play better than that. When you play cocky, nobody’s getting around you.” And that was it. No “It’s Ok” speech, no “You did good, no really you did!” line out of the side of his mouth. Just a quick little piece of advice that I have remembered to this day. He knew I had the skill in me, but he also knew that I wouldn’t play up to my potential unless I played with confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ya gotta play cocky.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So I did. I still don’t actually remember the outcome of the tournament, but I do know that I had some of my best games after that. No, I wasn’t perfect, but I played hard and I played cocky, in other words, confidently.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So what am I trying to say from all of this? How does my confidence in soccer translate to your spiritual journey? I want to focus this book around a couple chapters that Paul wrote in the book of Romans. First of all, let me quote Paul in chapter 8 where he tells us to “play cocky”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: none;"><i><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Therefore, there is now no condemnation<sup> </sup>for those who are in Christ Jesus,<sup> </sup>because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life<sup> </sup>set me free<sup> </sup>from the law of sin<sup> </sup>and death. For what the law was powerless<sup> </sup>to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,<sup> </sup>God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man<sup> </sup>to be a sin offering.<sup> </sup>And so he condemned sin in sinful man…The</span></i><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>mind of sinful man<sup> </sup>is death,<sup> </sup>but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life<sup> </sup>and peace; the sinful mind<sup> </sup>is hostile to God.<sup> </sup>It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: none;"><i><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Those controlled by the sinful nature<sup> </sup>cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature<sup> </sup>but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.<sup> </sup>And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,<sup> </sup>he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you,<sup> </sup>your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead<sup> </sup>is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies<sup> </sup>through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: none;"><i><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die;<sup> </sup>but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God<sup> </sup>are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit<sup> </sup>that makes you a slave again to fear,<sup> </sup>but you received the Spirit of sonship.<sup> </sup>And by him we cry, “Abba,<sup> </sup>Father.”<sup> </sup>The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit<sup> </sup>that we are God’s children.<sup> </sup>Now if we are children, then we are heirs<sup> </sup>—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings<sup> </sup>in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom 8:1-17)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Paul says to be cocky! There is NO condemnation! Jesus set me free from the law of sin and death. I am NOT controlled by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit! My body is dead, but my spirit is alive! I have an obligation to God, because I was NOT given a spirit that makes me a slave to fear, but the spirit of SONSHIP. I am an heir of God. If that’s not enough to make you spiritually cocky, I don’t know what is! We have the power within us to be confident through Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But confidence has to be properly placed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When I was in grade 10 or so in Mexico, I got a mountain bike. At first, my buddy Shawn and I just rode our bikes around the city and through the mountain trails just outside of the city limits. We had a lot of fun, but it was just casual weekend rides. That’s when we started thinking about racing. Mountain biking was just catching on in the city of Chihuahua, and they were starting to hold races in various locations near the city. We decided to enter our first race which was held in a national park called “Majalca” about two hours north west of the city. We trained diligently, and even went out to Majalca a day early to learn the course (which, if you know anything about Mexican culture, was a mistake as the race officials themselves hadn’t even figured that out yet!). Come race day, Shawn and I told each other that we were just here to have fun and whatever happens would happen. We crammed in near the starting line and bang! We were off! In a matter of seconds, Shawn and I both were near the front of the pack. Before even 20 minutes, the pack had thinned out and I was pretty sure that I was actually in 2<sup>nd</sup> place! After 3 hours of riding hard through the trails, pulling stunts I’d never even dreamed of before, I saw the finish line coming. I stood up and pushed as hard as I could, flying through the finish! I had placed 2<sup>nd</sup> in my very first race! I was so excited! Not only that, but shortly thereafter, Shawn came barrelling through placing 3<sup>rd</sup>! We were hooked on racing, and soon started to sign up as much as we could. I raced a couple other races, placing 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> in both of those. Then, one day, there was a race being held right in our city, on the same trails that Shawn and I had biked on for years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I didn’t even spend 20 minutes training, not even one lap as I was so positive that I knew this course so well. We lined up, and bang! We were off again, but this time I wasn’t as fast as I thought I should be. I felt like there was a 200lb weight dragging behind me. I pushed as hard as I could, but the guys in front kept pulling away. Not only that, but a couple guys passed me, including Shawn! I panted and wheezed as I climbed the hills, bounced like a pop-can behind a newlywed’s car down the hills. I finished my first lap sure I was in 20<sup>th</sup> place, and I had two laps to go! How did I get this out of shape? Soon, I coughed and wheezed my way up a hill and around a corner when I saw my buddy Shawn up the trail ahead, standing beside his bike. His chain had broken. I pulled up beside him, hardly alive, to see what had happened. He was still doing well physically, but his bike would not allow him to finish the race. Doing what I tried to convince myself was the noble thing, I gave Shawn my bike and let him finish the race on it, as I walked his bike back to the start. Was I sacrificing for a friend? Not really! I was so exhausted; I didn’t believe I could actually finish the race, so I simply withdrew.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I quit the race, I didn’t even place!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What happened to being cocky? I was so sure of myself, so proud that I could place in the top 5 without even trying, without even taking a practice lap the day before! And boy did I fall. I fell hard. It was embarrassing to walk across the finish line and admit defeat in front of all the spectators. It was embarrassing to let everyone know that I had been beaten by the course. It was embarrassing to know that had I tried, had I trained, I could’ve still placed in my top 5. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Do you think the rest of those top 5 finishers sat around before race day? No, they were there because they had trained. They didn’t take the race for granted, they wanted to win. If you’ll notice, I was sliding before the race I quit. I took 3<sup>rd</sup>, then 4<sup>th</sup>, then nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Was I getting worse? No, the rest were getting better because they worked for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They were training, they weren’t happy with 5<sup>th</sup> place, or 3<sup>rd</sup> place, they wanted first! Me on the other hand, I was satisfied with 2<sup>nd</sup>, and figured I could easily place 2<sup>nd</sup> whenever I wanted too but I was greatly mistaken.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Oh how the mighty have fallen!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Empty pride and and mis-placed cockiness can only lead to one thing: A fall.</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">King Solomon said in Proverbs 16:18 that <i>“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” </i>He also states a few chapters back in chapter 11 verse 2 that <i>“When Pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When it comes down to confidence, we have to be very careful where we place it. I am referring to the confidence that we can have in Christ, not in ourselves. Confidence in yourself can only go so far, as you can only be as confident as you are skilful or you are headed for a nasty fall. However, confidence in God’s power through you is limitless.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We are sinful creatures. By nature, we are sinners. Jeremiah said <i>“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9) </i>In chapter 7 of Romans, Paul says <i>“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” (vs. 18a)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We can do nothing in and of ourselves to please God. We deserve death. Try as hard as we might, we will never make ourselves worthy of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What a wretched people we are.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In and of ourselves, we cannot be cocky because we have nothing of which to be cocky! But, with the Holy Spirit within us, we have unlimited amounts of confidence that we can draw from in our daily battles. Sure, by myself, I can never defeat Satan. I couldn’t even defeat one of Satan’s measly little minions! But with Christ, Satan and his whole army has already been defeated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As a child, I’m sure most of us experienced the “my dad is bigger than your dad” phase, or something similar.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My Dad could swing that big sledge hammer when I couldn’t even lift it off the ground. He drove a big Mack® Truck, and I could hardly see over the dash of our Citation sedan. One of his arms was bigger than both my legs put together, and there wasn’t anything that he could not do. He was my Dad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I, on the other hand, was lucky if I was able to drive my wagon successfully to the bottom of the hill without killing myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In and of myself, I didn’t have much ability to do anything. I could play, I could hang out with my friends, I could ride my bike. But life things? I was pretty helpless. I couldn’t bring food to the table, pay the bills, or defend our home against an intruder. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Did I worry about these things? Not in a million years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I didn’t worry about those things because my Dad could take care of it. I was confident in his abilities to take care of us, his family, so I could live my life as a child should. I was confident, not in what I could do, but in what my Dad could do.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Confidence in our own abilities can only lead to failure in our spiritual journeys. However, confidence in God, our Father, will lead us to victory.</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-65920459984563368142010-04-20T13:01:00.001-07:002010-04-20T13:01:36.395-07:00He that knows not<div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal>A neat proverb I came across today:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#17365D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#17365D'>"He that knows not, and knows not that he knows not is a fool.<br> Shun him<br> <br> He that knows not, and knows that he knows not is a pupil.<br> Teach him.<br> <br> He that knows, and knows not that he knows is asleep<br> Wake him.<br> <br> He that knows, and knows that he knows is a teacher.<br> Follow him."<br> <br> - Arabic proverb</span></i><span style='color:#17365D'><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>What category do I fall into? Hopefully mostly the pupil. Sometimes maybe the teacher. But too often the fool. How can I remain more a pupil than a fool?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-44565417196879101042010-04-13T09:26:00.000-07:002010-04-13T09:26:28.209-07:00But this is JERICHO!The Israelites must have really annoyed God. I mean, how many miracles needed to be done in order for them to finally stop complaining and worrying and just to trust and believe?<br />
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There was no chance that they would ever get out of Egypt. But God worked, and they were released. But then, Pharaoh changed his mind and now the Israelites were trapped between his army and the Red Sea! Jeepers, they all thought, why didn't we just stay put? <i>At least we were alive in Egypt, better than dead in the desert!</i><br />
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Wait, what??? So, God performs all sorts of miracles that basically proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is in control, he gets them released from slavery, and just a few days later they have all forgotten and want to go back! But, God in his infinite patience and wisdom, parts the Red Sea, lets the Israelites cross on dry land, and then drowns Pharaoh's army. Wow! Ok, if you didn't believe before, you sure would now, right? Right?<br />
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Well, fast forward a few years, decades even. Now the Israelites are standing at the door to the Promise Land, Jericho. And what do they do? They whine and complain, we cannot defeat these people! We should've stayed in Egypt! <i>At least we were alive in Egypt, better than dead in the desert!</i><br />
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Wow, these people were so thick headed! How on earth could they forget the countless miracles that God gave them? How could they forget the daily and nightly provisions God gave them for sustenance? How could they forget?<br />
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How on earth can we forget?<br />
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Are we really all that different from those Israelites? Are we really any different at all? You're broke and can't afford food, has God never provided for you before? Your child is in sick in the hospital, has God never taken care of you and yours before? Your vehicle has broken down <i>again</i> and you just do not have the time or money to get it fixed, so how on earth will you get to work? Has God never stepped in before?<br />
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Why do we forget? Type that phrase into your favorite search engine online and see what comes up. You get link after link of studies and research and ways to improve your memory. Better organization, more imagination, less this more that... But, regardless of this data, we still forget.<br />
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Anyone who has lost a loved one, or even a pet, can attest to the fact that once that person or pet is gone, you quickly start to forget the headaches and annoyances they had, but you hold fast to the good traits, the joy they brought, the happy experiences. Things never seem as bad as they really were.<br />
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Why does the brain do this? Well, I'm no scientist or surgeon, so I won't even attempt to give you a grand and well researched solution. However, in my limited 32 years of experience on this earth, I will say that something that is good will be remembered simply because we tend to "replay" that event more in our minds afterwards. Something that is bad, we will often try to stop thinking about it. Who wants to dwell on bad and negative events?<br />
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So what does all of this have to do with the Israelites? Well, every event they went through, and that we go through, seems insurmountable at the time. It is as if it is the biggest mountain we've seen yet. It is not necessarily the biggest mountain, but it seems that way. Why? Well, partly because we have forgotten how big the last struggle was, and really only recall the good times afterwards. The struggles we had quickly fade, and any new struggle that comes up seems so much bigger.<br />
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If God can free the Israelites from Egypt, is the Red Sea really that much harder? No. How about Jericho? God defeated Pharaoh's army, a world power. What is Jericho? But, when faced with the imminent danger that was Jericho, the people saw it as their biggest hurdle yet.<br />
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Just like the struggles you are facing now seem to you to be the biggest yet. Sure, God helped you through your own 'Red Sea' a few months or years ago, but this is different. This is worse. God was good then, but can he still be good today, in something much worse?<br />
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How annoying we are! Is it really that much worse? Even if it is, is God really that helpless that he can only help out in one situation, but not another because it is far worse? Are we really that faithless that we can even think of such a thing?<br />
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God is the same today, yesterday and forever. We say that, we hear it in church, but do we believe it? The <i>same</i> God that parted the Red Sea, the <i>same</i> God that freed the Israelites time and time again, the <i>same</i> God that brought down the walls of Jericho, that <i>same</i> God is watching over you and me right now. That <i>same</i> God knows of our situation.<br />
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Hebrews 11:6 says "...without faith, it is <i>impossible</i> to please God." (emphasis mine) Impossible. If we do not trust, if we cannot have faith in <i>every</i> circumstance, we have absolutely <i>no</i> hope of pleasing God.<br />
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The situation could be 100 Jericho's in our path. <i>With</i> faith, <i>anything</i> is possible. Stand firm and remember what God has done and believe in what God will do.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405838946669867979.post-3795539880838104822010-04-13T08:39:00.000-07:002010-04-14T12:06:13.884-07:00IntroductionSo, in the spirit of blogging, I'm going to start blogging about my spiritual experiences and insights. I have started writing a book, but I'm so bad at staying on track with something for this long right now that I thought maybe I'd instead blog about different things and then someday I might compile them into a book? Whatever happens, I would just like to start putting my thoughts, lessons and questions down and start working them out with everyone and anyone who cares to listen/read.<br />
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So, please enjoy these. Feel free to comment. If you disagree with anything I put down, let me know.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0