God is Sovereign

 I have noticed a trend as I have observed the people of God in my role as pastor.  The trend is this - when things go our way we are quick to thank God for His sovereignty, but when things do not go our way, we are very hesitant to mention the sovereignty of God.  For instance.  We in the US had an election recently.  Those who voted for Trump were quick to praise God for His sovereignty over all things.  I would imagine that those that did not (in our neck of the woods a minority) are not in this moment praising God for His sovereignty.  In my own life I notice that when test results came back good I was quick to praise God but when they came back poorly, or even inconclusively, I was much slower to praise God.  I wonder what this reveals about us.  Perhaps it is that we really think we are in charge and we are telling God what He can use His power to do.  When He does what we want - we praise.  When He does that which we did not want - we withhold our praise.  This says much more about us than it does about God.

The Scriptures are clear.  God is in control of all things.  He does all things for His own good pleasure, glory, and will.  And we are here to recognize the benefit for us in all that He does.  No matter our perspective on it - God is good.  We need to praise Him without regard for how we feel about what He has done.  May God help us to praise Him in all things, at all times and for all the things He has done.

An absence of disputable matters

 I was reminded recently that sometimes we place way too much emphasis on any one particular area - an area that is not clearly defined in the Bible - and we demand that all those around us comply.  Some examples of this (and I will probably get in trouble for some of these) are:

King James only, or any Bible translation only discussion

Music discussions

End times discussions

Church carpet color discussions

What programs a church should have discussions

etc.

Now for each of these categories (and all those like it) there are people who come down on different sides and there is no clear direction in the Bible that answers all of the questions on the various sides.  Of course the Bible speaks in principles to all of the discussions, but it does not clearly define right and wrong.  But try telling that to the people on the various sides of the debates.  Take the "wrong" side (depending on who you are talking to) and it is like you are questioning the virgin birth or substitutionary atonement (both of which the Bible DOES speak clearly on).  It is as if in our own minds there are not actually any disputable matters.  

We should be reminded that if we are dogmatic in everything to the same degree then realistically we have made ourselves the standard of judgment and not the Word of God.  And any time that happens we are in grave danger.  May God help us to hold to the Truth of His Word and give us the grace to allow others to hold different views in the areas where God allows different views and may He give us the wisdom to know what goes where!

Authority and Obedience

 There are a lot of things that can be said, have been said, and are being said about the world in which we live.  There are a lot of ways to consider and look at how people are thinking and what ideas are important for the church in the midst of a world like ours.  I think sometimes it is good to get back to the basics.  There are two concepts that are really two sides of the same concept that are critical for us to understand.  

The first side of the coin is authority.  God has authority over our lives.  He has this authority for a number of reasons.  He created us - therefore He has the right to do with us as He pleases.  His character - his goodness and grace and justice and holiness and the all the rest earn Him our respect and confirm His authority.  He demands it - He calls us to recognize who He is and acknowledge Him as the one in charge.  God is our authority. 

The second side of the coin is obedience.  This is the demanded response of the creation to the authority of God.  Creation is to obey God.  God's character demands our obedience.  His law demands our obedience.  We obey God because we recognize that God is the authority and we are to follow Him.  

The trouble in our world is that we have made ourselves the authority.  This totally upends the plan and purposes of God in our lives.  We were made to obey, not to be in charge.  And so when we do what we want to do we are missing the point of what we were created for.  We need to bring back these two concepts in our every day lives.  We need to recognize the authority of God and we need to obey this God who created us.

Patience

 I must confess that I am not very good at patience.  I do not really know anyone who is.  Some are of course better than others - people who are more patient in certain areas, but I think most people I have met have at least one area where we want things now.  One of the most common areas where people find it hard to have patience with is when something goes wrong with our health and we have to wait for test results.  A friend of mine recently went through this.  A test on Friday and then no results until the middle of the following week.  I recently went through this multiple times during a summer fight with cancer and chemo.  And waiting under stress is a terrible feeling.  

And yet patience is more than a virtue, it is a fruit of the Spirit of God.  So as we grow in Christ, God is going to cultivate this quality in us.  And unfortunately the only way it seems to grow in patience is to have it tested.  Not a fun experience.  But when it is being tested, we have the ability to properly focus and praise God for the fact that He is growing us into the likeness of His Son!  And so take heart and have patience.  God is at work in you for your good and His glory!

Priorities

 This morning I preached on Haggai chapter 1.  Haggai is a book that actually has a great story and an even better end to chapter 1 - the people obey God and God promises His presence with them because they align their priorities to what they should be - obedience to God.

I wonder if we will take a moment to align our priorities in the same way.  God calls us to seek first His kingdom.  He calls us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice.  He calls for us to obey over and over and over again.  And yet we so often forget to align ourselves with His will for our lives and instead look to align His plan with our will.  We want to tell God what He ought to do and what He ought to expect of us.  We have no business or ability to address God in this way.  We ought to recognize that we are completely and totally dependent upon Him and that any obedience offered is one directional - vertical and starting from our place on earth in humility and moving upward to the God who created us.  

In other words, we need to consider how well we are obeying God.  Look at your life and ask how much of it is lived in obedience to the commands of God.  If you see a part that is out of line, align it and prioritize obedience of God as top priority!

Idols

 I think that far too often our money and time reveal who and what is really God to us.  I think that this could be demonstrated through a number of different idols.  If my idol is myself, my time and money will all go to all of the things that I want.  If my idol is my happiness I will spend my time and money on the things that make me happy.  If my idol is my car, I will spend my time and money on my car.  If my idol is the approval of other I will spend my time and my money on seeking the approval of others.  If my idol is status. . . well you get the idea.

I think that we often think about things backward.  So often we think about idols and assume that since we do not have any little figurines in our homes we do not have to worry about it.  The reality is that we need to think a lot more about how we spend our resources, and what they reveal about our priorities and what things we really think are the most important.  

So what are your idols?

A long journey

 Sometimes you plan on a long trip.  Many special vacations are like that.  You sit down and decide what you want to do and you make a plan and you set aside the money to be able to pay for the things that you are going to need and you plan a decision to go.  Most of the long journeys that I have been on are this kind of journey.  Of course there is fun in spontaneity, but it does not usually seem like spontaneous trips last as long as these kind of well planned out journeys.  In some respects in order for the journey to be long, it almost has to be planned out.  

And then there are the kinds of long journeys that you don't plan on.  These kinds of journeys are not the fun vacation kind, but the slow life-changing events that happen in your life and you really have no control over them at all.  Cancer happens.  And goes on and on.  Pain happens.  And drags itself out and lasts.  Death happens to someone you love and the grief carries and continues.  These kinds of journeys are never fun in the same sense as a vacation.  They hurt.  And they last.  And it calls for a special kind of response that the Bible refers to as "endurance."  We are to endure.  When we go through this kind of long and painful journey we are to endure.  Paul tells it to Timothy - "Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."  (2 Tim. 2:3-4, NASB)  Or the author of Hebrews reminds us that, "It is for discipline that you endure. . ."  (Hebrews 12:7, NASB).  This kind of endurance is not something that most of us want to develop or even would ask for, and yet it is so critical for our growth and maturity in Christ.  It is something that God calls us to do and something that Christ exemplified for us.  So in the midst of your long journey (the kind that is not a vacation at all) today, endure hardship with me for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!