Spring Flowers

 As the adage goes, "April showers bring May flowers."  Its interesting how often things like this affect our view of the world and even of God.  For instance - the adage seems to indicate that there is a natural cause and effect.  It rains in April is the cause and the effect is that flowers bloom in May.  Therefore, there is no need for God in this pictures because one produces the other.  Unfortunately, the Bible does not agree with this naturalistic explanation for flower growth.  For instance, Zechariah 10:1 indicates that we are to ask the Lord for the spring rain because it is he who makes the clouds and he who gives the rain.  Luke 12:27-28 indicate that it is God who causes the flowers to grow, and clothes them with beauty.  So the cause behind the effect of flowers, and the cause behind the effect of rain is fundamentally the same - God.  And so it is no natural happening that occurs, but a gift of grace from the giver of all good gifts.  God causes the rain and God causes the grass to grow.  

In your life, do you attribute to God the glory that he is due or do you assign his works to simply natural phenomenon?  All glory be to God alone!

Is the Gospel of 1st importance?

 In 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 Paul writes, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve."  As I reflected on this, I thought of Paul's defense of the gospel and the resurrection in this chapter and found it interesting his use of the term "first importance."  

Is the gospel of first importance in your life?  Is it the thing that you talk about and pass on to those who will listen?  Would you be able to defend the core of the gospel by saying that you talk about what is of first importance.  I know that this is a hard question to ask and we all fall short of the standards that we and others may set for us.  It is not my intention here to simply create an unattainable standard.  I know that Paul talked about more things with this church than simply the core of the gospel - these verses come in chapter 15, not in chapter 1.  However, I cannot help but notice that all of Paul's writing center on the gospel.  Is our dialogue centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Are our lives centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ?

I think that for all of us, myself included, there are many parts of our lives that are not gospel centered.  Do I see each activity I engage in as an opportunity for the gospel, or to refresh myself for the work of the gospel?  Do the things I do point me to God or away from Him.  I think it is fair to say that if the gospel is of first importance, it ought to have a preeminent place in what I think and say and do.  May God help me be more gospel-centered.

Repetition

 We have been working in our sermon series through the book of Jeremiah.  I am amazed at the repetition in this book.  Jeremiah is told by God to tell God's people essentially the same thing over and over and over again.  It is almost as if they are so hard headed God gives them the message at least 25-30 times and knows that they will not get it even after all of those times.

We have been working through a Bible Study in our Men's Group on the book of John and I notice the same thing there.  Jesus tells the disciples the same things numerous times and they just don't seem to get it.  

It would seem that this is a part of what it means to be human.  We are dense.  We are unwilling to listen - even when what we are listening to is clearly revealed truth.  We do not want to hear it once, and so we need to hear it over and over again.  

God is so very gracious to give us this repetition.  He does it in His Word many times.  Telling us the same things again and again so that by His grace and in His time we will grasp the truths that we so desperately need to hear!

Praise Him today for His willingness to repeat Himself!

The importance of living on mission

 Yesterday was the first of our two Missions Emphasis Sunday's.  Twice a year we as a church take a moment to remind ourselves of the need we have to live within the confines of the mission of God.  Often times we forget that those who are called by Christ are given a mission.  I was so thankful for Tim Blazer's reminder of who we were, and who we are in Christ, and that in Christ we are created as God's masterpiece - to do things that bring honor and glory to the name of Christ.  We are to do all that we do to the honor and glory of Christ.  

May God help us all to find each day our need to conform to what He would have us do - and then do it!

Its not in our control

 I have often been amazed how much I can delude myself into thinking that I am in control of things that I have absolutely zero control over.  I have made just a short list:

    I am not in control of how other people respond to me.

    I am not in control of what other people think and feel.

    I am not in control of what happens on any given day.

    I am not in control of what my circumstances are or will be.

    I am not in control of what trials God chooses to send my way.

    I am not in control of what blessings God chooses to send my way.

    I am not in control over the choices of others.

And the list could go on.  I find it is helpful to remind myself of these things because if I do not it might affect how I think and feel about any of these items.  But realistically I have no control over them and so I should not stress about avoiding, preventing or causing any of them.  But I do have some semblance of control over how I respond to these things.  In fact, God calls me to respond in particular ways to these events and I am responsible to follow His will for me as I engage this world - even if I do not have as much control as I think I do.

A brief comment on love

 This Friday is Valentine's Day.  I do not know if you celebrate this particular day, but it is a day when the thoughts of most people go to love.  I think that in some respects, no one ever grows out of the phase of life where we share little candy heart messages that are supposed to express our "feelings" toward each other.  At the end of the day the whole idea of love that our culture preaches to us is a message that begins and ends with the self.  I am supposed to love myself, make sure that those I love love me in return.  It is all about me and what makes me happy.  

This is not the biblical picture of what love is.  A biblical love is not self focused, but focused upward and outward.  First love is to be directed upward to God.  Then it is to be directed outward toward others.  And only when you do those things properly will you find true joy.  

So the challenge this time of year is to focus our loves rightly.  To direct our feelings into action upward and outward!

Strength and Weakness

 I think that one of the areas in which we reveal if we are following culture or the Word of God is the area of strength and weakness.  The world around us is designed to point us to building strength and minimizing weakness.  We are told that we are supposed to emphasize the strong points.  Like we are building our resume, every time we talk to someone we emphasize the things we are good at and minimize the struggles.  Interestingly, the Bible says the opposite.  It says that God's strength is manifested when we are weak.  It tells us that when we are weak, then we are strong.  It emphasizes that we are to deny self and die to self and instead build up others.  What an interesting contrast.  So the next time you are feeling particularly helpless, perhaps remember that God will get the glory when you acknowledge that you cannot do it apart from His help!