Judgment

As I was thinking about writing this I had to remind myself that I am not ashamed of the Gospel. We live in a time in which faith in Jesus, the one and only God and the only One worthy of our worship and praise is looked at as bigoted and narrow-minded. That's ok because the Gospel is the power of God to save. This begs the question, save from what? From the things that are opposed to God; from the things that are contrary to His character; from the things that oppose His created order; from anything that attempts to remove God from His throne.

The news over the last few weeks has been enlightening. Bruce Jenner has been in the headlines as he has transformed male body into a female body. This change has been celebrated by the masses in conversations, in schools, in the government, in the media, in almost every sector of American life. Our nation has celebrated a slap in the face of God's created order. Haven't you read that in the beginning God made them male and female? (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:2; Mark 10:6; Matthew 19:4) So, with Bruce Jenner, what are they celebrating? They are celebrating a man taking the identity that God has given him and blurring the lines between male and female. Mankind is celebrating itself trying to undo God's creative plan.

Make no mistake, we can all see God in creation. He has revealed Himself in such a way that all people can know Him. All people can see His creative order and all people must make a choice to follow Him or to follow self.

This brings us to today's landmark decision from the United States Supreme Court. People all over the nation are celebrating the fact that the SCOTUS has redefined marriage. Once again, there is celebrating the attempted undoing of God's created order (Mark 10:6; Matthew 19:4; Genesis 5:2). This is logical conclusion of where we have gone as a nation and is, in fact, the judgment of God on us. The wrath of God is revealed upon the godless and unrighteous who suppress the truth. This wrath is seen when God "gives them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves." Romans 1:24. God has given us, as a nation, what we have desired and we must now face the consequences.

What do we, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ do? We love. We continue to live life in a world that is not our own. For too long we have lived in this world as if this is our home and it is not. In fact, as we continue to live out our faith and God continues to give our nation over to its sinful desires we will be reminded that it is not our home. We belong to the heavenly Kingdom. As each day passes let us prepare ourselves, strengthen our resolve, and put on our armor, but not against flesh and blood because this fight is not against an enemy that we see but against the spiritual forces of the heavenly places. Let us be a light in the darkness (Ephesians 6). Paul sums up our society well in Romans 1:

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29
They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such
things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

God is Sovereign

A recent glance at the news was enough to get my anxiety up for a moment. The headlines of the stories would make anybody stop and pause. A severe drought in California, earthquakes and volcanoes, violence in Missouri, 100 teenagers randomly attacking people in a shopping center in Tennessee, the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, Russia and Ukraine, and the list goes on.

These are all situations that are out of our control (especially the ones caused by nature) and are enough to make anybody nervous. After my moment of anxiety ended my heart went into immediate praise of my Father in Heaven. No matter what is going on in the world, no matter what difficulties I face in this life, I know that my God reigns and in that I can rejoice.

One of the reasons that I love the Old Testament narrative is that we see God's sovereignty throughout. We see Egypt being raised up for the bondage of the Hebrews; we see God hardening pharaoh's heart so that the world will see His glory; we see the Assyrians being raised up to punish Israel and Babylon being raised up to punish Assyria and Judah; we see the Medes and the Persians being raised up to punish Babylon. We read in Daniel how God was going to raise up and bring down the nations. And then we see that God did exactly as He said. In essence, the Old Testament provides us with a behind the curtain look at the Divine involvement in world politics. The players do not know their eternal purpose - they are doing what they know how to do and what they think is best for them and for their kingdoms. But throughout we can see that God is directly involved in the world.

Fast forward to the New Testament. Paul tells us that God puts the leaders in their positions and therefore we must respect them and submit to their authority. We are not, however, given a behind the curtain look at what God is doing and how He is doing it. We are told how all things will end but not about the storyline getting there. This is where faith comes in. Is God any less sovereign because He hasn't told us what He is doing? Is God less trustworthy because we don't know the next nation God is going to raise up or tear down? By no means! God has shown Himself over and over again to be faithful and this is where an eternal perspective must be used. If my hope is in this world, in this country, or in this leader then I will be very disappointed. We can be patriotic; we can be involved in politics and we can vote but we, as followers of Jesus, cannot hope in this world. That is the glory of hoping in Christ - He wins! And He will always win. But, He may not go about winning in a way that we want. Jeremiah knew that God was going to win yet he was the weeping prophet. Habakkuk knew that God was raising up the Babylonians and it confounded him. It is ok to be concerned or to question God's way of doing things but let us use these questions and the answers to them as ways to bring us to our knee in worship. His ways are higher than our ways and let us rest in Him.

Run the Race

I have spent many hours contemplating where God is leading me and my family. God is a God of order and not of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33) and so surely He is leading us somewhere and it will be obvious...or so I thought.

As I have struggled knowing and understanding what God is doing in my life and in my family there have been disappointments (we started an adoption process but that went nowhere in 1 1/2 years), there have been changes (3 jobs in 2 years + 8 months of unemployment), there have been ups and downs and successes and apparent failures. What there has not been is much clarity. But if God is a God of order and not of confusion then why am I so confused? If God's Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105) then why do I not know where we are going?

The answer lies in Hebrews 12:2. Yes, Jesus sets our course and we are to run it (Hebrews 12:1; Proverbs 3:6; II Timothy 4:7). However, Hebrews 12:2 does not tell me to look at the course I am running; it does not tell me to look for the turns or to plot the best approach to the course. Indeed it is true that we are to train our spirit for the race that is set before us (I Timothy 4:8), but this is not done by analyzing the best approach to the challenges ahead or to know the places where I can take it easy. My problem has not been that God has been a God of confusion or that God has not set out a course before me. My problem has been that I have been too worried about the course and wondering if I am even on the right course and I have not been setting my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. As we set our eyes on Jesus we know just where to go - the cross. As we set our eyes on Jesus we will know that we are running the race and like Paul we will be able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing."

Jehovah Jireh - The Lord who Provides

It has been over 6 months since I have been gainfully employed. This is not due to a lack of looking, applying, contacting, etc, but rather due to some reason that I do not know or understand. I have applied for jobs that I am very qualified to fill; jobs for which my experience matches up perfectly; jobs for which my skill sets and experiences would be an ideal fit. For the great majority of these jobs I have received nothing in response. I have had a friend who was a recruiter look at my resume to make sure that it was good. He made a few recommendations (which I did) but overall it was a good resume. Needless to say, my current state of employment has not made much sense to me. I have looked into going out on my own. I have put this off because I don't really want to do it and there is an upfront cost that I don't want to spend unless I am in it for the long run. So, as of right now, I am looking for employment and also beginning the process of going out on my own.

These past 6 months have been an amazing experience for me and my family. I remember thinking in March that if I didn't have a job by the end of March I would be nervous. March came and went with no job and no nervousness. Then I started thinking the same thing about April and May. Both of those months ended with no job and no nerves. Why no nerves? I have been able to see God provide in magnificent ways in my life and in my family. Somebody paid for our kids' tuition for the final 3 months of school. I have no idea who this person is but I know that God used them to give us the desires of our hearts. By the way, somebody also covered the tuition for September as well. Now we have a voucher and God continues to provide.

I could go on and on about how God has used the people in His Body, the church, to cover our financial needs. And while I have been amazed to see how God uses others to provide, this has not been the best part of my unemployment. God has done a transforming work in my life. I have learned during this time the importance of investing our lives into others' lives, those inside and outside of the church. He has shown me that we need to take the time that we have given and use it to make disciples of all nations. I have learned that when life gets busy we often put aside the Great Commission and claim that we are too busy to live the life that God has commanded. God has used this time to show me that my first and main obligation is to Him and living out the commands that He has given. I have learned that we do have the time to do these things if we will just listen to the commands that we have been given and the promises that go along with them. We must encourage each other to be the light on a hill to the world around us. We must and we can.

God has taken my distractions away from me and has shown me what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Remember Andrew and Peter, James and John? Remember how they left their work and followed Him? We must be willing to do the same. Jesus commands it and He deserves it.

Bought with a Price

I Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

James 2:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
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.'

We were bought with a price. We call him Lord but do we do what he says? We say that we have faith and that the works are meant for somebody else. Are we recognized by the fruit of our works? On that day when we say "Lord, Lord" will he know us or will he cast us out and say that he never knew us? Are we the people that James was talking about when he said "But someone will say..."? Is that me? Is that you? Are we living the life that we were called to live? Are we living like we were bought with a price - that price being the Cross? Are we chasing the comforts of this life or our we living for the life to come?

If you claim to be a Christian these are questions that you must ask. The Bible is full of warnings about people who claim that they have faith, that they are "Christians" but they do not do the things that the Bible commands them to do. And the warnings are severe. Imagine living your life, thinking that you are safe because you prayed a prayer. Imagine entering into eternity thinking that all is well because you raised your hand one Sunday morning. This is not a works based salvation. I am not saying that you must earn your salvation - the Bible is clear about that. But, what is required is repentance. Repentance. If it were possible to have faith without having that faith impact your life then why does the Bible give all of those warnings? If it is possible to have faith without truly changing your life then why the caution from Jesus himself? Faith without works is dead. Matthew 25:31-46 is another story of people who thought that they were ok when then entered into eternity.

Remember, we were bought with a price - let's live like it.

Financial Responsibility

"We have an obligation to be responsible with our money." "The Bible says that we should be good stewards with our money." The list goes on and on for reasons why we don't give more to the poor; why we make all we can and can all we make. I have read the Bible and I cannot find any evidence, any passage where we are commanded to live responsibly. Imagine the conversation with the Rich Young Ruler: "One thing you lack, go, sell all that you have and give to the poor." "But Jesus, the Bible says that I should be a good steward and be responsible with my money. What you are asking me to do is not responsible." "Oh, you're right, sorry." Or imagine the parable of the man who built bigger barns going like this: "There was a man who had great wealth and instead of building bigger barns so that he could live responsibly, he gave away all of his money. Woe to him." Mark that in the list of things that Jesus will never say.


We are commanded to live a life that is contrary to human wisdom. We are called to rely and trust in God. After all, God takes care of the sparrows and the lilies of the field and so will he not take care of me? Think about those 2 stories - Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all that he has and to give to the poor; he condemned the rich guy for tearing down his barns so that he could save more stuff. Somehow, in spite of these stories and the fact that the Son of Man had no place to lay his head, there are many who believe that it is foolish to not save more money.


If you don't save money and you die who will take care of your wife and children? If you don't have life insurance and you die, how will your family survive? You have an obligation to insure that your family is taken care of in case you die. At least, those are the things that I am told. Yet, in reading the Bible, I see no such commands. I have not read anything in the Bible that tells me I am the provider of my family, that I need to protect them against my death. What I do see is a God who commands radical obedience. I see a God who asks us to trust Him every step of the way. This will look different for every person because God has a different calling on each of our lives. However, something else that goes onto the list of things Jesus will never say is "You should have stored more money for yourself" or "Instead of giving money to the poor, to the orphans and widows, you should have bought life insurance so that if you died your family would be taken care of."


I am not calling for wasteful use of money. We should not spend all of our money on Browns tickets or TVs or technology or anything that moth or rust will destroy instead of saving - if you are going to waste it then by all means, save it. However, what if the Body of Christ actually believed God's promises that He will supply our needs and so that we give to the poor and the needy? What would the world look like if the Body of Christ actually gave its money away to those in need rather than putting it into a 401k or onto a life insurance policy? Imagine the impact that we would have. Jesus assures us that what we do for the least of these we do for Him. And what we don't do for the least of these we don't do for Him. Do we believe it? If so, do we live it?

Go

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you" - Genesis 12:1 I often wonder what went through Abraham's mind as he went. "God, are we there yet?" "Where are we going?" "Seriously, we're not there yet?" We aren't told what Abraham was thinking but we are told that Abraham did not know where he was going, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." Hebrews 11:8 So many times we think that following God should be easy. If God has called me to do something then obviously I will want to do it and I will be happy in doing it. Yet, if we think about human nature that isn't always the case. For if that idea is true then where would faith be? If our desires always matched with God's desires for us then how would we ever be refined and/or stretched? As Abraham went I imagine that he had plenty of questions. Was he sure that he was doing what God wanted him to do? Was he sure that he was going in the right direction? Did he ever want to go home to where it was comfortable? I often think that Abraham had it easy - God told him what to do so obviously he knew exactly what he was supposed to do - all he had to do was follow. But if we take this idea and apply it to the Hebrews as they left Egypt we get a much different picture. God gave them signs and blessings throughout their journey: water from the rock, bitter springs turned sweet, the Red Sea becoming dry land so that they could cross, manna, Aaron's staff that budded, etc. Plus, God was in their midst in the Shechinah glory. Through all of this, the people doubted. They grumbled for the "easy" life of abuse and slavery in Egypt. At least there they knew where they were going and what they were doing. Even though God was in their midst, they were clueless as to what was going on. How true of us. How true of me. It is so easy to become one of the "stiff-necked people" that God wanted to wipe off of the face of the earth. Sometimes following in faith is just that - faith. There is no map. There is no way to see what lies ahead. We walk through life and we take the next step. And we walk. We do this by faith. The sermon on Sunday by Pastor Doug Ley was a powerful message to me. When we left church I told Melissa that God could not have spoken louder to me if He spoke audibly to me. Yet, as I get discouraged of the unsure path that God has laid out before me I think that Abraham had it easy - God spoke to him. The Hebrews had it easy - God led them. My hypocrisy knows no bounds. We walk by faith. Sometimes that means that we go places that we don't necessarily want to go yet we know that God will give us the strength to get there. He will give us the grace to make it. As His Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path I take the next step and I pray for the grace to make it through that step. One at a time. How? The Great I Am is with me. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of David and the kings; the God of Daniel and the prophets; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is with me. I see my struggles and I know that He gave all of those men strength to make it through and He brought them to where He wanted them to be. What an encouragement. What peace.