Category Archives: obedience

What Does God Think?

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Do you order stuff online?  If you do, you trust the process – you place your order and truly expect to see it on your doorstep in a few days.  If not, you probably have suspicions.  Maybe you started to place an order, got everything filled out online and then thought, “I don’t know about this…” and failed to push the “submit” button.  You didn’t trust it completely.  Consequently, nothing is left at your door.

The same principle is true when it comes to asking God what He thinks.  Maybe you are considering a new job.  Or, “Is this the guy for me?”  Should you volunteer for some cause?  Is that what God wants?  When you pray about it, essentially what you are asking is,”God, please tell me what You think.”  If you pray that question but don’t really expect God to answer, you won’t receive it if He does.  It’s kind of like not pushing the “submit” button.  Your request is tentative.  You are not sure the process will work.  But, if you are fully convinced God wants you to know what He thinks, and is eager to share it with you, then your request is wholeheartedly sent off with the full expectation of an answer.  God says, a prayer like that will get answered.  James, talking about getting wisdom in times of trial, shares the principle:

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.  (James 1:5-8)

Look carefully at what that says. The problem is not that God won’t tell you what He thinks.  It’s that you can’t be sure you have really heard from Him.  Your mind goes back and forth on it, wondering if what you heard was really from Him.  But when you are convinced God will show you, He does and you trust it.

Because God’s wisdom is frequently contrary to the ideas of the world, it takes real faith to hear what God thinks.  Hearing what God thinks requires setting aside the ways of the world, listening and trusting.  Do that, and when God speaks you will know.

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (Romans 12:2)

 

 

Old Wisdom

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In “When Nations Die,” Jim Nelson Black examined the common causes behind the fall of Carthage, Greece and Rome.  These powerful empires didn’t fail because they were attacked from outside; they rotted away from the inside with what Black calls “Social, Cultural and Moral Decay.”  Such decay results when the people abandon traditional wisdom and values.  People turn away from the mores and beliefs of the past and attempt to rewrite new ones, based on what they believe is new and more sophisticated thinking.   That’s what happened to Carthage.  The same process brought down the empire of Greece and then Rome.  We have seen similar attitudes and consequences in Europe and Not-so-Great-Anymore Britain.  And here.

You might think we would get the point.  That guy you just passed on the highway with his hood up?  He ignored his “Check Engine” light.  If we paid attention to history, we would see a bright, flashing “Check Engine” light on the dashboard of the United States.  But the prevailing attitude is to put tape over it and drive on.

This is more puzzling since we also see examples in history of nations that have returned to old wisdom and have prospered.  The Old Testament is full of such examples.  Rwanda is a present day demonstration of this truth.

But it’s not just any old wisdom that matters.  It’s not about hanging on to old superstitions and myths.  The old wisdom that is critical for national survival is grounded on a deep reverence for our Creator, God.  Standing in humble awe before the One for Whom quantum mechanics is two plus two.  Recognizing He just might know what works best.

1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:1-6

Firm in What?

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Wars and rumours of war aren’t indicators of Jesus’ return.  Neither are famines and earthquakes.  Jesus called those things “the beginning of birth pains.”  First labor pains ordinarily indicate the start of an unstoppable progression of events but not the imminent conclusion of them.  So what indicators did Jesus say would tip us off the time was drawing close?   Among other signs, Jesus included this troubling thought:

 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  (Matthew 24:12)

The more we encounter wickedness, the more  tempted we are to respond in kind.  The recent sniping murder of Dallas policemen is a sad case in point.  Somebody thought, “Enough is enough; I’m going to make someone pay.”  That’s an extreme example.  Maybe you would never go that far.  But Jesus taught us to actually respond in the opposite way:

27 “…Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”  (Luke 6:27b-28)

When most people find it too tough to respond to wickedness with love, that is a sign the end times are drawing to a close, that Jesus is coming soon.  What do you think?  Are we there yet?  Has the love of most grown cold?  If you had to make the call, based on your own attitudes, what would you say?  For me, that is a sobering question.

But don’t give up!  No matter what, don’t abandon love.  That first quote above is only the beginning of Jesus’ sentence.  Here’s the whole thing:

12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:12-13)

Stands firm in love.

Just One

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If you had to pick just one rule to live by, one rule to teach your kids, which one would you choose?  Jesus picked this one:

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.  (Matthew 22:37-38)

God is not emotionally needy; He is not hurt or impoverished by our failure to love Him.  So what’s the deal?  Why is this the most important one?  Let’s start with this: If we could truly wrap our minds around the reality that we have personally been created by an infinitely superior Being, Who designed and created the universe, Who knows us, cares for us and loves us, if we could hold that truth present in our consciousness, our natural response would be wholehearted love for Him.  Anything less would be petulant rebellion.  

Presumably, as we obey the command to love God with our all, it has the effect of bringing us closer to the full realization of Who He is and how He loves us.  Aligned with that truth, we are more in tune with the rest of His design.

But how would such love be expressed?  A Hallmark moment wouldn’t suffice. As we are drawn into a closer relationship of love with God, it spills over and is naturally expressed in our love for others.  That is why Jesus added this:

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”  (Matthew 22:39-40)

Simply put, if you could truly obey the first command, you would find yourself obeying the second, and would not need to worry about all the others.  

Free to Believe

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ... (1st amendment to the Constitution – excerpt)

It is a rare and precious privilege to live in a country with that freedom.  Ask anyone who lives under Sharia law, or in a nation where religion is prohibited.  I fear Congress has begun to erode this freedom.  No law should prohibit anyone from conducting their business according to their sincere, religious beliefs.  What I believe guides everything I do, not just how I worship.

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 4:18-20

Let Go and Jump

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Here’s a riddle:

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.   (Matthew 16:25)

Jesus spoke that riddle as an explanation for an equally tough statement:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  (Matthew 16:24)

But what may seem unreasonable and harsh, is actually an invitation to wild adventure.  The thing about adventure, however, is it is unavailable to those afraid to leave the house.  You can’t experience adventure by watching it on TV.  You must leave the trappings of security behind and dare to trust your guide.

A monk named Brother Charles understood this best and wrote this prayer:

My God, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.  Whatever you may do, I thank you; I am ready for all, I accept all.  Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures – I wish no more than this, O Lord.  Into your hands I commend my soul; I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands, without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my God.

I get the image of a tandem skydive, holding on to Jesus.  You gotta jump…

Like Peter’s Mom

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And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. (Matthew 8:14-15)

I wonder if Peter’s mother instantly felt 100%.  Maybe, after Jesus healed her fever, she still had lingering side effects.  If so, maybe, taking Him at His word, she began to act with full assurance those lingering side effects would go away.  If that was the case, she is a model for us.

Since I trusted Jesus, even though I experience the amazing rush of new life, there are still lingering side effects of my old, dead style of existence.  You too?  Probably.  Jesus intends for us to imitate Peter’s mom, trusting Him for the full fix in due time. Get up and serve Him now.

Let it Flow

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Turned on the hot water for a shower and just a trickle came out.  Rats!  When I tried one of those new, low pressure shower heads but hardly a dribble came out.  Finally, I’d had enough. I shut off the main valve to the house and tore the shower control apart.  Surprisingly, everything seemed to be in good shape.

But then I discovered the problem.  Shining a light into the pipe, I discovered old deposits of groodah (that’s a term professionals use), clogging up the hot water pipe.  It wasn’t easy to remove that stuff; it had built up over time and was hardened onto the pipe.  Little by little, I loosened it up, but I’m sure there’s more to be done.  But now the shower works better.

When people sing and pray to be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” I suspect “filling” isn’t the problem.  After all, Jesus said:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  –  (John 14:16-17)

The apostle Peter reminded fellow believers, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life…”  (2 Peter 1:3a)

My shower problem was not caused by a lack of water pressure, but by old crusty deposits in my pipes.  It had lots of water and plenty of pressure, but didn’t let the water flow through.  We can be “filled” with the Spirit but still not work right.  The Spirit is given to us to flow through us, transforming how we act in the world.  Sometimes, instead of asking God to fill us, we might better spend some time scraping away the groodah inside our pipes.

Don’t Quit

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When I read a novel, I tend to skip those little quotes and  poem thingies at the beginning of the chapters.  Most of the time I don’t understand them; they leave me confused and feeling ignorant.  I want to say, “Enough with these inscrutable quotes! Let’s get on with the story, already.”  There are sections of the Bible that make me restless, too. In the final paragraphs of Colossians (Colossians 4:7 ff), Paul gives final greetings and instructions to specific people that don’t seem to mean much to me, 2000 years later. 

But this morning, as I read those verses, I was struck by how passionate and unstoppable Paul was.  His last few sentences are filled with words like “struggle,” “encourage,” “fellow workers,” sending,” etc.  The last verse reads:

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.  –  (Colossians 4:18)

Very likely, Paul dictated most of his letters because he had a physical handicap with his eyes.  Also, he was chained up as a prisoner. He had two good excuses to give it a rest.  But he was absolutely consumed with the urgency of telling people about Jesus.  As he wrote earlier in the letter,

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.  (Colossians 1:29)

What’s the deal?  Why was Paul so passionate?  My guess is it had a lot to do with his being personally visited by Jesus as he traveled to Damascus (see Acts 9:1 ff).  Jesus showed up, blew his mind and changed his whole outlook.  So Paul had first–hand proof Jesus knew where he was and what he was doing.

Well, so what?  What’s that have to do with us? There is a good chance that Jesus has personally visited you with proof of Who He is and has changed your whole outlook, too.  Maybe He didn’t blind you with intense light, but if you reflect on what He did do, the circumstances that led to your personal conversion, you will probably see they were arranged for you. Your Savior knew where you were and what you needed.  He still does.  He also knows what He has equipped you to do. Let the truth of that motivate you. Tell others how wonderful it is to know and follow Jesus.

But, maybe you have not experienced such a personal “visit” from Jesus.  If so, and if you are open to it, let down your defenses and pay close attention.  Jesus will show up in a way that will rock your world.  You can count on it because He knows you, loves you, and knows what you need.

Showing More than Pledging Allegiance

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Some called foul when the government took out Anwar Al-Awlaki with a drone.  They said, “It isn’t right for the US government to summarily execute one of its own citizens.  The thing is, when someone works against the interests of the country, as AAA did, inciting terrorist acts, he is no longer living as a citizen. He loses the right to the benefits of citizenship.

That’s the principle in play in this quote from Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

Phi 3:17 — Phi 3:21
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

In a perfect situation a citizen can expect his ‘country’ to watch his back, to send rescue. But it would be a mistake to feel entitled to such a rescue if your actions do not match your pledge of allegiance.