Who IS God?

I am often amazed at how we try to tell God what to do. How "I" try to tell God how he should do things - what is acceptable and what is not.

Now we know that God knows much better than we do. That he knows the past, present and future. He sees the big picture. He has the power to step in and intervene in our lives - even in nature. Yet, somehow when we pray, we have our own minds. When God answers prayer the way we expect, he is a good God. But, should he respond differently than we expected - especially if it is contrary to what we think is beneficial to us - he somehow is no longer good. Go figure!

Jonah was such a typical person. Just like us.

¹ Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

³ Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. ⁴ Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ⁵ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

 ¹⁰ When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

- Jonah 3

As we read further we discover that Jonah was quite upset at God for not destroying Nineveh. God had the big picture in mind. Jonah had his own personal agenda.

Today, when I seek God - when I pray, what is my agenda? How will I treat God? Will I treat him as the Almighty God - where I worship and serve him? Or will I treat him like I am god and He is my servant? Will I only consider him good if he does things My Way?

Prayer

"Prayer reveals our true self before the living God."

Life for many of us, is relentless and crowds our minds and schedules. Who has time to pray? Strange how we can feel that way. There is so much to do, so many demands. Who can afford the luxury of sitting quiet talking to One whom we cannot even see? Of course, we would never admit to others that we feel and think this way. But if we are honest, is that not how our actions reveal our thoughts?

The truth is... prayer is essential as we walk the journey of Life with God. Prayer is vital as we develop our relationship with God. Prayer connects us to the Living God who desires to communicate with us and be our "very present help in time of need." Prayer is not a "luxury." It is at the very heart of our existence on earth which transcends the every day mundane.

⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us today our daily bread.
¹²And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one.’

¹⁴For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

- Matthew 6:7-15

The End or The Journey?

I was struck by the Lenten reading for today. Matthew 25:31-46 talks about a day in the future when everyone will come before Jesus and He will inform each one of of their future.

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."

This passage is all about the future, right? I confess that until today I always read this passage to indicate that I ought to live my life today so that in the end I will be found among those who will receive a positive reward rather then those who receive a negative reward.

But this morning it struck me. None of the people mentioned in the story had any particular concern about the future. They simply acted out their personal beliefs and focused on their own priorities. There were those who had obviously been impacted in their own personal lives to look beyond themselves and selflessly touch the lives of others. Then there were the others who simply lived for self - plain and simple.

I had to ask myself the question, Do I follow Christ today only because I can then be assured of my own personal well being for eternity? Or do I follow Christ today because He has paid for my freedom and He has changed me from the inside out? That change then WILL affect how I live - not simply for personal reward in eternity.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
⁴⁶“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

White as Snow

This morning I am looking outside at the freshly fallen snow. The ground is covered with a blanket of white. It looks so new, so clean, so pure. It makes it easy to forget that underneath is crusty, dirty snow and ice. Hidden beneath are all things that brown and rotting. Then I read the passages from the Bible for today...

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

- Isaiah 58:9-10

 ²⁷After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

- Luke 5:27-32

I am challenged to ask myself, What is the state of my inner soul? Am I spiritually healthy? Not so much, what does my life look like to others, but how am I doing in my relationship with God? Is there the cover-up of "white snow" on the outside, yet inside it is filthy? Is there only the appearance of being white as snow or have I deeply experienced Isaiah 1:18?

 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Authenticity

The reading for today is Isaiah 58:1-9. God is speaking to the people and talks about how they seek out God and desire His blessing.

"They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them."

But then the people complain and ask,

'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'

God gives them an answer they neither expected nor wanted.

"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself?

 Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?

 Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

It is so common and easy for us to behave just like the people of Isreal as described in Isaiah 58. We readily attend church services where we sing and "worship" God. Through our songs we declare our undying devotion to God. Then we leave "church" and essentially ignore God's desires and directives to us.

May my life be consistent with what I declare in the safety of the sanctuary.

Choose Life

¹⁶For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.... ¹⁹This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. - Deut. 30:15-20

²³Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? - Luke 9:23-25

Life is all about choices. Even though God has the power over all, He has given us the freedom to make choices. Choices that will affect us and our futures. Choices that will affect others - for good or bad. God has given us the choice to determine not only how we live our lives, but where we will spend eternity. Of course, He continually invites and draws us to HImself and pleads for us to choose Him - and to choose LIFE.

Ironically, for those who desire forever life, it means to give up one's life. To turn one's life over to Jesus Christ. To trust Him for complete forgiveness and restoration. To allow the Holy Spirit of God to control and empower one's life completely. To worship God the Father over anything else in or out of this world. In abandoning my life to God, I gain life that is far more fulfilling, purposeful and ever lasting.

Ash Wednesday

Today is the beginning of Lent. The observation of the season of Lent has not been a part of my spiritual heritage partly due to the fact that there is no Biblical instruction or even suggestion for such a thing as Lent. Of course, neither is there any indication that we should celebrate Christmas. Celebrating either of these can bring value if kept in perspective and bring us to focus on God, his work in the past, and His desire to work in us at present. It is my aim to follow guided reflections during Lent this year. I intend to journal some of my impressions in this blog.

Joel 2:12 - "Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weepeing and mourning."
2 Cor. 5:21 - "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteounses of God."
Matt. 6:1 - "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."
Rom. 5:1 - "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God thorugh our Lord Jesus Christ."

What an amazing privilege - we can have peace and complete forgiveness through Jesus Christ. So often we fall into the idea that we have to somehow strive to "pay" for our own sin. That was reality until Jesus Christ voluntarily gave his life the cross to pay the "once for all" price for our sin. As I come to Him, open my heart to him, place my life and trust completely on Him, I am forgiven! Now I desire to live my life as a living statement of gratitude to Him for what he has done in my life!