Do You Think Your House in Order?
What a mess!! Right? Can you imagine someone coming into your house and completely trashing it? Can you imagine someone flipping tables over, ripping up your couch, and putting holes in your walls? Can you imagine someone taking your treasured photographs, gifts you received from your spouse, or awards for your achievements and tearing them up, mangling them, or smashing them to pieces? After all, why would anyone do that? Right? Well what if I told you God does this (in a manner of speaking)?
Well let’s take a look at some scripture:
1 Samuel 30:
1) Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2) and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3) And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4) Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5) David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6) And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters.
This passage of scripture has lots of Gospel implications. I will try to stay on point here. Here is David, man after God’s own heart, chosen to be king of Israel after Saul, a man who could have killed Saul a number of times in his sleep, but chose to walk in integrity, for all intents and purposes, a man doing the right things with God’s protection and favor on his life. David comes back home only to find his home burned to the ground and his wife and the families of his men taken into captivity, and to top it off, his men are about ready to kill him because of all this. Doesn’t sound like a good situation for David does it? Obviously there was a lot of criticism of the way David ran things, since David decided to leave the city and their families unprotected while they went off to fight elsewhere. People would probably say that he didn’t have his ducks in a row.
In most circles today, people would say that “the devil must really hate David to attack him like this”. Or he would have faced a lot of bad media press and calls for David to be replaced with a more competent leader. A lot of times we see tragedy, trials, and tribulations as attacks of Satan or just stupidity on our part (and these do happen and the devil is real), but rarely do we see the hand of the Potter moving in our lives.
I was praying one day and I saw the inside of my house. It looked like someone had come in and flipped tables over and moved things around a bit. It was a mess. It took me a while, but I managed to clean up the mess and get everything put back in place and it even looked better than before the “vandals” got in and messed things up. I was very happy with the way it looked and I thought “man, I would love for people and come over and check out how nice it all looks”. Well, I was brought back to the doorway of my house again, and when I opened the door expecting to see the house looking pristine and orderly, I was in for a shock. Not only was furniture flipped, but the couches were ripped open and the stuffing was all over, pictures were smashed and ripped, chairs were broken beyond repair, holes in the walls, just like the picture above. It was ruined beyond my ability to clean or repair.
It was then I heard God speak to me: He showed me that the things I have tried so hard to fix in my life were not necessarily the things He wanted me to fix (not that I had the power to do so in the first place). The more I arranged my house the way I thought it should look, the more dramatic the destruction would be when He comes in and does what He wants to do in my life. He showed me my lack of faith and trust in Him to bring me where He wants me to be, not where I think I should be.
God is not asking us to fix ourselves. What He is asking is that we trust Him. He is asking that we go when He says to go. He is asking us to rest under the shadow of His wing and take refuge and find our strength in Him. Change will come, but change that will last will never come by the work of our hands. Only through the finished work that Jesus Christ did on the cross will we ever find security, hope, and our destiny.
The Power of a Wastebasket
Image by London Permaculture via Flickr
I order supplies for my department at work. This time when I made my order, I ordered new wastebaskets for everyone. The ones everyone had were so bad that the garbage bag in the wastebasket was holding the wastebasket together! We got the wastebaskets in today and as I passing them out and taking the old one out, everyone is talking about wastebaskets and you could sense an air of excitement and happiness as a result of getting the new wastebasket.
It seems like such a simple thing, and most of the people didn’t think about the fact that their wastebasket falling apart, but were so happy to have the new one which only helped to show the dilapidated shape of the ones they had. It also gave people some hope, because we have had quite a few people laid off in our department and seeing that the company is still investing in our area gave some people hope that there is a future for them.
It’s kinda like what the gospel does. God takes the old life that we have made a mess of, that is falling apart, and barely holding together, and seems useless, and replaces it with something so much greater, and new and gives us focus and purpose for our lives. We don’t even realize how out of control and a mess we are until we get a grasp of the gospel and realize how lost we truly were without Him.
We carry that power of hope within us by His Holy Spirit, and we have the opportunity to share that with others. If giving someone a wastebasket can bring some joy, imagine the joy of a person who hears the gospel and believes!
The power is yours, what will you do with it?
Kevin
Emptiness of Medicating Ourselves
Image by Susan NYC via Flickr
Lamentations 1:
18 “The LORD is in the right,
for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
and see my suffering;
my young women and my young men
have gone into captivity.
19“I called to my lovers,
but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
perished in the city,
while they sought food
to revive their strength.
20“Look, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my stomach churns;
my heart is wrung within me,
because I have been very rebellious.
In the street the sword bereaves;
in the house it is like death.
21“They heard my groaning,
yet there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
they are glad that you have done it.
You have brought the day you announced;
now let them be as I am.
Anytime we look for comfort, security, affirmation, peace, or joy aside from Christ, we will find ourselves sorely lacking and sorely disappointed.
Are you disappointed with God over something? Are you angry that He is not “changing you fast enough”? This is one that I have dealt with a lot. Are you disappointed that other people are being blessed and you are constantly in need or want? If yes is your answer to questions like these, you may be looking to “another lover” for something that only God can give, only God can fill or provide.
Is it tv you look for solace? Maybe it’s that big bowl of ice cream, or maybe it’s exercise, work, or even some sort of religious activity that gives you a sense of comfort or right standing with God. At some point, those lovers will fail to deliver, and you will be left scrambling for something else to find comfort in. It’s not until we become still and come to Him, not as a spoiled child who doesn’t like what they are having for dinner, but in true brokenness and humility. There’s something about true humility and brokenness that moves the heart of God. Medicating ourselves with things other than God fills us with pride that we “handled” the situation. Don’t be fooled. Only God can bring true, lasting change, joy, peace, and deliverence.
Will you continue to medicate the problem, or will you turn to Him in true repentance and humility?
Kevin
Emotions and Faith
Image by KOREphotos via Flickr
I was really challenged by this post by John Piper yesterday. The message is still ringing in my brain.
I was brought up in a Penecostal/Charismatic church background. Dancing, shouting, clapping were the norm. I saw a lot of people putting on a show to get attention, to get others to think they are “more spiritual”. LOTS of hype, lots of excess, lots of fakeness.
Now before you think I’m on a Charismatic bashfest, read on. In the past ten years I have seen the pendulum swing in the opposite direction for a lot of people who were a part of these churches who left for the reasons I raised a few sentences ago. Those who once exhibitted so much passion are now some of the most stoic, unemotional people I have seen. I raise this question:
Is there a disconnect between our emotion and our worship and walk with God?
My belief is yes. How do I know this?
When you sin, does it grieve you to the point of tears? Probably not. We have programmed ourselves to deflect that. Any negative emotion is bad, right? We work really hard to shut out sorrow and conviction. We are quick to label any negative emotion as condemnation and shut it out. What if, I mean really, what if we truly felt Godly sorrow that led to true repentance? What if we came together and repented of our sin because we have taken the sacrifice Christ made on the cross for granted?
Should we walk in condemnation? No, but if our sin does not break our heart because we are breaking the heart of God, then why change? Why bother? We spend a lot of time medicating ourselves with things (idols) to help us escape the stresses of life, but what if we are medicating ourselves at the cost of tuning the Holy Spirit out and tuning our emotions out so we don’t see that the stresses that we face are because we are walking in disobedience and God is trying to show us things in our lives that we need to repent of so we can walk in the joy God has for us?
When you disconnect emotion from repentance you have empty confessions of sin that you have no intention or conviction of doing anything about.
When you think of what God has delivered you from and how He has changed your life, does it truly fill your heart with thanksgiving? We know in our head that we should be grateful, but how do you exhibit that gratefulness? Let me ask, “how can you exhibit true gratefulness without emotion?”
Imagine if you gave your spouse or child something that you knew they wanted more than anything and they looked at you straight faced, hands in their pockets and said “thank you, I am so grateful” in a completely monotone voice. Is that reaction worthy of such a fantastic gift? Can you really do that? If your answer is “no”, then why do we go into church on Sunday, stank-face, put our hands on the seat in front of us and refuse (and I do mean refuse) to take 15-20 minutes of your precious weekend to praise God who is worthy and has done so much for us, who are unworthy, with all of our might? We should leave church tired cause we worshipped our God with everything we have! We spend so much emotional energy on things that seek to drain us of our joy. Why not use that energy to praise our God with a heart of thanksgiving? How big will those problems be when we exalt the name of Jesus over those things?
When you disconnect emotion from your worship, you cannot have true worship.
God made us in His image. (Genesis 1:26-27) God has emotions. God loves (John 3:16) and God can be grieved (Genesis 6:6). Too often we connect our emotions to things other than God and it’s that desire for those things that make it so difficult for us to connect with God. Just like we can’t love our wife and a mistress we cannot set our affections and passions on other things and expect to have a passion for God and His kingdom. Until we identify these things we will struggle in our worship, struggle in our prayer life, struggle in sharing Christ with others.
Where our heart is, our emotions will follow. that is why we get upset when someone starts messing with our idols. That is why we are crabby when our luxuries and pleasures are removed from us. That’s why we grumble when we have Ramen to eat and you really want a steak. Our emotions are attached to things and people rather than the person of Christ. The things that would upset you most if they were taken away are normally the biggest idol in your life.
Emotions are a gift from God. We should use them to draw closer to Him. Let’s glorify our God with them. I pray that we would all truly repent of the things that are keeping us from worshipping Him the way He truly deserves.
Kevin
Paying the Price
Haggai 1
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2“Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” 3Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 8Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
I was looking at this passage today and it kinda hit hard.
I know a lot of folks use this passage to talk about giving. I think we are missing a lot when we take a scripture and apply a label to it.
Read the passage again. God is talking about rebuilding the temple of God. In a New Testament context, the building of stone and wood has been replaced by a temple of flesh and blood.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
God is talking about how we devote so much to what returns so little. We build our houses (look to satisfy our desires) while we neglect the temple (our spirit man). I used to wonder why we don’t see the kind of miracles and wonders of the bible in this present day. The fact is we don’t want to pay the price that is required to see God do those kind of things in and through us.
Matthew 20:20-23
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
Its really bad how we want to see revival, we want to see people healed and transformed by the gospel, we want God to do so many things, but we don’t want to pay the price to see those things happen. We want everything handed to us on a silver platter and no sweat off our brow. We don’t want to study, we don’t want to pray, we don’t want to fast, we don’t want to volunteer “too much of our time”,we don’t want to take too much focus off ourselves for too long to see God do anything significant in our lives, our church, our community, our city, state, country, or world. As long as we are good in our own little world, we are content. This my friends, is not the gospel.
Those who make the biggest difference make the biggest sacrifices. The gospel will not be manifest in our lives until we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. The “cup’ He would have us drink is not kool-aid folks. It is hard. It is a sacrifice. It is a lot of self-denial. I was just told by my doctor a week ago that my blood sugar is way too high. I have had to make some changes in what and how I eat. Many things that I enjoyed are now things that I can no longer enjoy. It is hard to give up things that you enjoy. It has been a struggle for me at times, but I understand that if I do not make those changes, I may die or have serious health issues when I get older. Same thing with our spirit lives. If we neglect what our spirit needs to grow and develop, we produce lives deficient of fruit the of the Spirit. Many times we struggle with the same things in our lives because we neglect our spirit man.
Do you want a closer relationship with God?
Do you want to see others come to know the grace that God shown to you?
Do you want to know what God says the situations you are facing in your life?
Do you want to be free from addiction?
Do you want to be able to worship God with passion and reckless abandon?
This will not happen doing the same ole thing you are used to doing. This will only happen when you step out of your comfort zone, deny yourself, volunteer to do something in your church, make time for His Word and prayer, and when you mess up, get up and keep going.
Will you pay the price?
Kevin
Just Being
Image by foshie via Flickr
One thing I enjoy very much is dates with my wife. I enjoy being with her. It’s not necessarily what we are doing, it’s just being together. It’s during these times that I get to remind myself how wonderful she is and why I fell in love with her.
Why would this not be the same with our relationship with God? Sometimes we need to “just be” with Him.
Psalm 16:11 (English Standard Version)
11You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
If there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, why would we not make the time to be with Him? What are we doing that is more important? There is a gospel balance in having relationship with Him and “serving Him”.
Matthew 7
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Jesus spoke some very important words here. He was explaining how important relationship is over works. The problem most of us run into is that we get so caught up trying to things for God, that we forget to “be with Him”. This passage shows that we can do things in His name and have God tell us that He never knew us. Most of us feel like if we are not doing something for Him, we are not loved by Him and it is because of our good deeds we are loved. The gospel teaches us that we ARE ALREADY LOVED and accepted by Him, before we knew Him,and it because of THAT love that we are free to love Him with no strings attached and no services we must render to deserve that love. So when I mess up with my wife or kids, or blow it some other way, HE LOVES ME NO LESS! His love is complete and unalterable, meaning it does not change, nor can it be changed!
That’s the gospel.
He’s waiting on you. Will you quiet the chaos that is your life for a little while and “just be” with Him? Enjoy His presence, and take the time to remember why you were drawn to Him in the first place. Find the joy that you have been looking for for so long. You will not miss whatever it is that you think is so much more inportant than spending time with Him.
Just Be
Kevin
Just a Glimpse of His Plan
Luke 5:16
17
On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.20 And when he saw their faith, he said, Man, your sins are forgiven you.21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, Why do you question in your hearts?23 Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise and walk?24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins–he said to the man who was paralyzed–I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, We have seen extraordinary things today.
This is a fascinating piece of scripture. I remember reading about this story many times as a child. As an adult, I caught a glimpse of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Many times we see the actions of Jesus, but fail to see the over-arching theme of God’s ultimate plan to redeem all creation. In this story, we find Jesus teaching in someone’s house and there is a great crowd in and around the house trying to hear the words Jesus is speaking. The story takes an unusual turn when 4 guys show up carrying a man who is paralyzed. The “selfless” people that were in the house obviously would not move to allow this man in the house to be healed by Jesus. This obviously did not deter the men that were carrying this paralyzed man.
When I think of this paralyzed man, I think of myself. I think of a man paralyzed, lost in sin. Someone just like you who has no more power to raise a wing on a gnat than to possibly save himself. A man that has tried everything, including religion to be, “saved” only to find myself in the same lost, desperately hopeless state. I also think of God’s grace that drew me and carried me back to Him when I was lost in my sin, just like the 4 men that carried the paralyzed man. We never hear anything about these men, or whether these men were followers of Christ or not, but they were agents who helped bring the paralyzed man, just like the Holy Spirit draws us to Himself.
The thing that blows me away is once the paralyzed man has been lowered through the roof before Jesus, anyone reading would have assumed that He would have just said be healed, end of story. No, Jesus said to this man: “Your sins are forgiven”. This was so much more powerful than Jesus simply healing the man. Through these 4 words we get a glimpse into God’s ultimate plan to restore all things unto Himself just like Paul mentions in Colossians:
Colossians 1:19-20
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Christ was revealing this in the case of this man. Christ came to reconcile to Himself all things to Himself. When Christ forgave this man, the same power that forgave this man of his sin not only restored this man’s spirit and soul, but also restored this man’s body! The power of reconciliation restored everything back to this man. This is the power of the gospel. A plan to not just save souls, but to restore all of fallen creation.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We have been given a great responsibility. That power of reconciliation has been imparted to us. The same power that restored this man’s soul, restored his spirit, and his also His body is ours!
What will we (me included) do with this information?
Kevin
What I Need
Image by stevendepolo via Flickr
Proverbs 30:7-9
7) Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
8) Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9) lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”
We are in need. Whether we realize it or not.
The irreligious, the unregenerate, the rebellious, are in need of God’s saving grace. They need to see their spiritual poverty and surrender to a loving, merciful, forgiving God.
The religious, self-righteous, ”the redeemed” need to see their good deeds and works and all the things they think win God’s approval are nothing more than filthy rags before a God who is righteousness incarnate.
Whatever end of the spectrum we are on (and you can claim to be saved and still be irreligious) we need God’s grace..
We don’t need another party, or medication, or sexual partner, or bible study, or podcast, or the newest trendiest book on how to get God to do what you want Him to do. We need an encounter with a life changing, heart pursuing God.
What I Need
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Not what is comfortable or easy to swallow, I don’t need my butt patted.
“Feed me with food that is needful for me”.
Conviction to grieve my self righteous, idol worshipping heart.
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Forgiveness for the places in my heart that my brain wants to think You could ever love or forgive.
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Joy in the mundane things of life and the understanding that Your love and grace doesn’t depend on my actions.
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Grace to see others and myself through Your eyes God.
Kevin
No Matter What it Takes
Image by Werner Kunz (werkunz1) via Flickr
I’ve used the above line before.
I’ve meant it when I said it.
At least I thought I did at the time.
It is funny how the gospel will redefine and change every aspect of your life. It not only refines your character, it redefines your life too. What I mean by redefine is that it will change everything. including the very meaning of your words and what they apply to your life from a gospel-centered perspective.
Ten months ago, I thought I would do anything for God and I truly thought I was. During this time, God exposed my heart and showed me how much I hold back from Him. He showed me that I would do whatever it takes for His kingdom ”except”…….. I had a few (and who knows what God will reveal in the future), but I’m sure you could come up with a few yourself.
What I’m finding is that as God works in my life and yours, “No Matter What it Takes” takes on a new meaning. “Worship” takes on a whole new meaning. “Giving”, ”Community”, ‘Love”, “Forgiveness”; all these things mean something so much greater and deeper than they used to. They are redefined in the light of the gospel and will continue to change as the Holy Spirit continues to open our eyes to what the gospel means in our lives.
“No Matter What it Takes” Jesus, let the light of your face shine into the darkness and reveal those things that are hidden from our understanding, so we can serve you, and love You more and more that we can do whatever it takes to see Your kingdom come and will be done on this Earth as it is in heaven.
Kevin
Lessons From the Philippines II
Image via Wikipedia
I don’t like to fly.
Yes, I will fly and I have flown, and will fly again but it doesn’t mean I like it.
Let me take it to another level: There are a lot of times I don’t even like to be a passenger in a car!
While in the midst of a pretty turbulent flight, I really came to realize how much I hate not being in control. It’s kind of stupid cause I don’t know how to fly a plane, but I would have loved to be in the cockpit with those experienced pilots so I could see the calm on their faces, or even hear the pilots come on the PA system and say “It’s going to be alright. It will be over soon.”
Sometimes we are in the midst of the trials of life, there is noone who is going to say “it’s going to be alright”. There are a lot of times we feel like we are not in control and it seems we are battered around by the things of life. Many times we fight for control of the very things that God wants to be in control of in our lives. Sometimes He wants us to be still and trust. When we are in the midst of the turbulence that can be hard. On a flight of about 16 hours, I probably only slept 3 hours. By the time I got to the Philippines, I was totally exhausted.
Our fears and anxieties and worries will sap the life out of us if we let it. God never meant for us to live life exhausted and drained. He should be our source of life, peace, and joy, yet we choose to hold onto the armrests of our seat on the plane of life with a death grip. We think if we can just “hold on” we will make it. The whole time we need to let go.
I wish I could say I was courageous and bold the whole time I was flying. I wish I had 3 points to overcoming fear and anxiety. I wish I could write the book, and create a 5 DVD set on how to live completely free from fears. I would make millions. I am a work-in-progress, just like you.
God gave us His Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us, to comfort us, to change us into the image of His Son. Our answers reside in His Word, if we will simply ask and believe. I don’t know how long the process will take, but if we will be allowed to be guided by His Word and His Spirit, we will experience true freedom. He will give us the strength to let go and trust a God that loves us more than we can ever comprehend.
Will you join me on the plane?
Kevin
The Escapism Mentality
escapism 1. the state of having wandering and imaginative thoughts in order to escape from reality. — escapist, n., adj.
2. the practice of engaging in activities that enable one to avoid having to deal with reality, as the persistent attendance at science-fiction films, reading of fantasy literature, etc.
Life can be tough sometimes. No doubt.
Life can be unfair. Yes, this is true.
Sometimes we need a break, a sabbath time of rest from our labors where we can recharge our mental, physical, and spiritual batteries.
People have come up with a myriad of ways to escape from the constant stresses and struggles of everyday life. Some folks go mountain biking, some play games online, some veg out in front of the tv. Everyone has their “thing”. All these things can be beneficial when done in moderation.
This is not the kind of escapism I want to talk about today. I’m not even talking about the excesses that many indulge in today. The kind of escapism I am talking about is one of a different kind. A “spiritual” kind. This one can be just as dangerous as any other excess that people are involved in.
Please follow me closely, cause I do not want to misunderstood here.
In times of trouble, (hopefully when things are good too) we draw closer to God. As God’s children, we should draw near to Him because we want relationship with Him. This is good.
The problem is when we get ourselves in a bad situation and we have the escapism mentality that God will pull our butts out of the fire.
I know the scriptures you may quote at me about God delivering people out of various situations in the Bible. I believe He still delivers us out of situations of our own making. The problem is when we expect there to be no consequences for our actions. We treat God like our “get out of jail free” card in the board game Monopoly. We throw down the “god” card and everything will be ok. We coat some Jesus over our problems and act like they don’t exist. This is escapism at it’s most dangerous.
God set forth the law of sowing and reaping ( Galatians 6:3-10). If you sow kindness, you will reap kindness. If you sow seeds of unforgiveness, you will reap bitterness. If you give, it will be given back to you. So on and so forth.
I have reaped the fruit of a lot of bad decisions in my life. He has delivered me from some situations that seemed impossible, but certainly not all of them. Does that make God bad? Heck no!! Does it mean He doesn’t love me? If you think that way, then you don’t know God at all and you need to read your Bible.
Did God heal David and Bath-Sheba’s baby even though David repented of adultery? No. Did Moses get to enter the promised land even though he did everything right except one act of disobedience? No, he didn’t get to enter. Was this harsh of God to act in this way? No. This was the law of sowing and reaping. When you sow seeds of sin or folly, they will return to you.
God may not deliver you so you are forced to make changes that you never would have made if God bailed you out.
Whether God delivers you or not, our hearts should constantly be drawn to Him. Not because we want God to help us, but so we might have the grace and strength to face whatever life throws at us, or we throw at ourselves because of our bad choices. He is always good. Always.
Kevin
Jonah
I am studying the book of Jonah right now. I wasn’t sure what I would learn in a book that is centered around a guy who disobeyed God, got swallowed by a fish, and got spit out on the beach, and then decided to obey Him. What I have found is a book that is extremely relevant to our lives, both individually and as the body of Christ. A story that reflects Jesus Christ’s plan to save us through types and shadows. A story of the Great Commission.
Let’s dig in shall we?
Jonah 1:1
1Now the word of the LORD came to(A) Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
You may ask “why did you stop there?” God’s Word must be meditated on verse by verse. Line by line. We will probably look at multiple scriptures later, but let’s not miss what is happening here.
”the word of the Lord came to Jonah” This is powerful. The phrase “and the word of the Lord came” is used 109 times in the Bible!
Let’s break this down further, “the word of the Lord”. Let’s look at John Chapter 1:
1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2)He was in the beginning with God. 3) All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4) In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Skipping down a little:
14)And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus was the Word, the word of the Lord came to Jonah. Jesus, who was the Word, came to Jonah! That’s powerful! The next word that comes after that phrase is even more exciting!
“came” this word comes from a Hebrew word “hayah”: to become, come to pass. It also means to abide, remain, continue.
Let me unpack this cause I don’t want you to miss this! The word of the Lord, who is Christ, came to Jonah, not only to speak to Jonah but to abide and remain with Jonah! This is a shadow of what Christ does in our lives! He chooses us, His Word (Jesus) comes and abides in our hearts, where He remains forever with us!
Within the very first scripture of this book, the Lord has already revealed his plan of salvation!! How deeply rich His Word is! How great is His love is for us! He sent His Word to us, Jesus Christ, who came and died and rose again, and sent us His Spirit that we may continually have relationship and abide with Him!
It’s amazing how much we miss when we pass over a simple scripture isn’t it?
More to come, thank you for reading.
Kevin
How Theology Has Helped Me
I just wanted to share some ways that theology has actually helped me.
You may think “how does theology help anyone?” This is a question I used to ask myself for a long time. I think many hear the word “theology” and it causes people to go into seizures and seek the nearest window to jump out of. To some, it reminds them of years of dead, lifeless, sermons they heard in church. Some see theology as a problem because they believe that how to live the Christian life is just based on your life experiences and not on the Holy Word of God.
I used to think theology was just a conglomeration of what we believe as Christians, but it’s so much more than that! When right doctrine and theology is mixed with the power of the Holy Spirit, it can empower a believer and bring understanding to a great many questions. Theology and doctrine apart from the Holy Spirit is dangerous in that it only brings knowledge. Knowledge without a heart humbled by the Holy Spirit is a heart full of pride and self-exaltation.
Luke 18:
18) And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19)And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20)You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21)And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22)When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23) But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24)Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25)For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26)Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27)But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
Here’s an example of a young man who knew the scriptures but they were in his head, but not in his heart. This young ruler was an example of knowledge without the power of the Holy Spirit. He was rich and educated in the scriptures, but that knowledge. Many times these are the hardest folks to convince they need an encounter with God. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to help these people cause they know everything but they know nothing.
For many years I knew a lot of things, but looking back, I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. I had to go through a very painful process over many years to get that thinking out of my head. I am so thankful that God didn’t give up on me, despite how prideful and arrogant I was!
The Holy Spirit is essential in any study of theology. He helps us to apply theology in a practical way so we have understanding beyond being able to quote some scriptures. I have been able to encourage others and be encouraged in my own life cause He has allowed me to take what I am learning and use it in different situations I have been faced with. Theology is so much more powerful when you can apply it in your daily life.
Kevin
Sunday Reflections
Man! Today at Journey was off the chain! God is messing some folks up! For the more refined, churchy folk, that means we had a great time introspection and reflection! I’d rather say the former. Pastor Michael is taking Journey to a new level!
Pastor challenged me with sharing during communion during the first service. God gave me a word to share and He flat messed me up as I began to share! I was about to read a scripture from Revelation and He hit me like a freight train! I mean, we have the words we want to use when we communicate, and then God has the words He wants us to share. In Revelation 2 Jesus is speaking to one of His churches telling them that they lost the love they had at first and I went to read and my eyes could not find the scriptures on the page! I knew where it was, but I could not find it! I closed my Bible and began to share what the scripture was saying. There are times that things come out of my mouth and then later I say “did I just say that?” and I know it’s God! That’s what happened! There are also times when we can connect with God in such a way that we “feel” what He is feeling. I began to share and my heart became so overwhelmed by His love that I began to weep and I could feel how much He wanted to have relationship with everyone there! It was extremely powerful moment. One I will never forget.
We know that He loves us in our heads. We read John 3:16 enough, but to feeeeel John 3:16 is a whole nutha affair! We see the Passion of the Christ and it moves us to tears, but to feel a moment of His love will forever change your life! It just reminded me of a song I heard many years ago:
Just one glimpse of His glory,
Just one touch of His hand,
and I will never be the same,
cause God’s Spirit is flowing through my veins…..
I’m getting a little choked up again….These words were never truer to me than now….
Just one touch from Jesus will change your life. One touch from Jesus you will never be the same. If you think you are far away, you are not. He is waiting for you to come to Him. Call on Him now. Your life will never be the same.
Gotta get some Kleenex. Later
Kevin
