I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8 ESV)
This world is broken and so are we. We live in a time where so many factors can shake our world. The news is covering so many things all over the world, mainly bad, that it is turning us into natural worriers. When we watch these events happen it makes us more paranoid about things in our own lives. The fact is a lot of these things have been happening for years & years but because of social media and the advance in technology, we hear about them more often. If you think about, the situations haven't changed but the coverage & knowledge about them have. Why should we live in a state of fear when we serve a God that was the same then & is the same now.
To be honest I rarely watch the news. Not because I don't care what's going on in the world but because I'm not going to change who God made me to be just because of events going on around the world. Of course I pray for people going through horrific events and people losing their lives for various I thing and I pray that God will be able to be seen somehow through it all but we cannot let that fear and worry derail our mission of bringing Gods Kingdom to this broken world. There are rarely any positive things in the news anymore so I would rather not fill my mind with fear and doubt. I will set the Lord before me and I will NOT be shaken. Some would say that I'm just living in a bubble of false reality. I would say that I serve a God that is my reality and He is bigger than all my fears, worries and doubts. Let us not be shaken but hold onto the Solid Rock and pursue Him with all we have no matter what the world tries to tell us.
Grace and Peace
Ben
Friday, October 10, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The Rock Won't Move
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:4 ESV)
We introduced a new song a few weeks ago at church called The Rock Won't Move by Vertical Church and it has some very solid truths. The chorus goes:
The Rock won't move and His word is strong.
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone,
The Rock of our salvation.
The first weekend I led that song, I pointed out 3 truths in that chorus.
1. The Rock Won't Move
That alone should be enough to give us confidence in our God, knowing that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He will not move. No amount of persuasion or pressure will make our God change his plan for the future. He is a firm foundation on which we can rely. That should give us hope and a trust when we have to have faith in situations we are unsure about. We can know that God has a plan that is best for our lives and He is not going to change no matter what! It's hard for us to think of someone being able to be there for us 100% of the time and know that no matter what circumstances are present, that person will do whatever they need to do to make sure that our life is better because of the end result. We can have that trust in The Rock, our God!
2. His Word is Strong
His word is Truth. We can know that all scripture is God breathed and we can go to His word to gain insight to the way God would have us act. I love that we have a solid system to check our lives and actions on because I know that on my own, my selfish desires and earthly wants will be the trump card every time. We don't have any guarantees in life but we do have God's Strong word that is a guarantee to guide us to a better way of living.
3. His LOVE can't be undone
We have a small concept of what Love is here on this earth. Even if you are in the best marriage, have the best friends and family, at some point, someone will let you down. There will come a time that you may not feel as loved as you once did. Love is not a guarantee on this earth but God's love can't be undone. There is nothing you can do that can separate you from the Love of God. We mess up and feel unworthy but God is still right there pursuing you with a reckless abandon. All you have to do is turn around and He is there to embrace you with open arms and forgiveness. That's not a normal reaction in our human minds but I am SO glad that our God is not normal, our God is perfection.
I will leave you with the rest of the words to the song:
When the ground beneath my feet gives way
And I hear the sound of crashing waves
All my world is washing out to sea
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves
Holding fast to the promise of the truth
That You are holding tighter still to me
The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock of our Salvation
My hope is in the promise of Your blood
My support within the raging flood
Even in the tempest, I can sing
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves
Holding fast to the promise of Your truth
That You are holding tighter still to me
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest in His unchanging grace
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move
Grace and Peace
Ben
We introduced a new song a few weeks ago at church called The Rock Won't Move by Vertical Church and it has some very solid truths. The chorus goes:
The Rock won't move and His word is strong.
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone,
The Rock of our salvation.
The first weekend I led that song, I pointed out 3 truths in that chorus.
1. The Rock Won't Move
That alone should be enough to give us confidence in our God, knowing that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He will not move. No amount of persuasion or pressure will make our God change his plan for the future. He is a firm foundation on which we can rely. That should give us hope and a trust when we have to have faith in situations we are unsure about. We can know that God has a plan that is best for our lives and He is not going to change no matter what! It's hard for us to think of someone being able to be there for us 100% of the time and know that no matter what circumstances are present, that person will do whatever they need to do to make sure that our life is better because of the end result. We can have that trust in The Rock, our God!
2. His Word is Strong
His word is Truth. We can know that all scripture is God breathed and we can go to His word to gain insight to the way God would have us act. I love that we have a solid system to check our lives and actions on because I know that on my own, my selfish desires and earthly wants will be the trump card every time. We don't have any guarantees in life but we do have God's Strong word that is a guarantee to guide us to a better way of living.
3. His LOVE can't be undone
We have a small concept of what Love is here on this earth. Even if you are in the best marriage, have the best friends and family, at some point, someone will let you down. There will come a time that you may not feel as loved as you once did. Love is not a guarantee on this earth but God's love can't be undone. There is nothing you can do that can separate you from the Love of God. We mess up and feel unworthy but God is still right there pursuing you with a reckless abandon. All you have to do is turn around and He is there to embrace you with open arms and forgiveness. That's not a normal reaction in our human minds but I am SO glad that our God is not normal, our God is perfection.
I will leave you with the rest of the words to the song:
When the ground beneath my feet gives way
And I hear the sound of crashing waves
All my world is washing out to sea
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves
Holding fast to the promise of the truth
That You are holding tighter still to me
The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock of our Salvation
My hope is in the promise of Your blood
My support within the raging flood
Even in the tempest, I can sing
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves
Holding fast to the promise of Your truth
That You are holding tighter still to me
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest in His unchanging grace
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move
Grace and Peace
Ben
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
A Distant God
The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29 ESV)
Growing up I always pictured God up in the clouds looking down on His people. Nothing in culture really tries to make that image incorrect. In fact, the majority of pictures, movies etc.. that depict God are those of a god in the sky, far away looming over the earth. When we pray we feel we have to have these powerful prayers so they can reach into the heavens and allow God to hear them.
As that verse says, we should not feel as if the Lord is far away. The wicked are the ones that feel God is far away or that there is no God. If we are pursuing a relationship with God, His presence should be always near. Prayers should be a conversation not a ritual. I think we can get caught up in our prayers and make it to much of a contest of how elegant we can pray or that we have to say the right things around certain people or they may see us as less holy.
It's simply a conversation, a relationship between two people.
God knows our prayers even before we speak them. He loves to have conversations with us like a child telling his father how his day was or what's been bothering him. We need to be purposed to make it a relationship not religion. Religion can become a system of a right and wrong way or that some prayers, if not spoken with enough theological truth, somehow become invalid or less of a prayer. When the though of religion comes into play, that can make God feel distant and unreachable & that's the opposite of God's purpose in prayer.
Let's try this week to have daily conversations with our Father. To have talks as if God is right beside you, because He is! I know this will be hard for some because of how we have been raised but try to do it without closing your eyes & bowing your head.
The Lord just wants to talk & He is closer than you think.
Grace and Peace
Ben
Growing up I always pictured God up in the clouds looking down on His people. Nothing in culture really tries to make that image incorrect. In fact, the majority of pictures, movies etc.. that depict God are those of a god in the sky, far away looming over the earth. When we pray we feel we have to have these powerful prayers so they can reach into the heavens and allow God to hear them.
As that verse says, we should not feel as if the Lord is far away. The wicked are the ones that feel God is far away or that there is no God. If we are pursuing a relationship with God, His presence should be always near. Prayers should be a conversation not a ritual. I think we can get caught up in our prayers and make it to much of a contest of how elegant we can pray or that we have to say the right things around certain people or they may see us as less holy.
It's simply a conversation, a relationship between two people.
God knows our prayers even before we speak them. He loves to have conversations with us like a child telling his father how his day was or what's been bothering him. We need to be purposed to make it a relationship not religion. Religion can become a system of a right and wrong way or that some prayers, if not spoken with enough theological truth, somehow become invalid or less of a prayer. When the though of religion comes into play, that can make God feel distant and unreachable & that's the opposite of God's purpose in prayer.
Let's try this week to have daily conversations with our Father. To have talks as if God is right beside you, because He is! I know this will be hard for some because of how we have been raised but try to do it without closing your eyes & bowing your head.
The Lord just wants to talk & He is closer than you think.
Grace and Peace
Ben
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Pray without ceasing
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12 ESV)
Out of those three, one is easy to do. We can easily rejoice in hope. But why is it so hard to be patient in tribulation and be in constant prayer?
Let's break these down individually.
REJOICE IN HOPE
Ever since we were little we have always been taught to celebrate the good things in life. We get excited for the good things we know are in our future. Even when things are not a guarantee we still rejoice and hope that the things will turn out the way we envisioned them. When things hoped for turn out for our good we can rejoice and be thankful. That's the easy part.
So what happens when things hoped for don't turn out the way we had envisioned them? What happens when we have been praying for a certain person or situation to turn out the way we want it to and God has another plan? Can you be patient and wait on Gods timing even if its a negative outcome (that is), negative in our human understanding?
BE PATIENT IN TRIBULATION
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)
When we put our hope in a God that know the plans He has for us, plans that are not for evil but plans for a future and a hope, we should use that to reassure ourselves that whatever life is throwing at us that God knew this would be a part of our journey. We need to find a supernatural comfort in knowing that He knew you would be going through this situation before you were even born. Does that make the situations easy to go through? Of course not, but we can find the comfort in knowing that whatever the outcome, it is for a better future and a refining of our hearts. The hardest part is allowing things to happen in God's timing. That is why we must be patient in tribulation and allow God to walk close with us. I love the words of the Steve Fee song, Arms That Hold The Universe. He sings:
And the arms that hold the universe
Are holding you tonight
You can rest inside
It's gonna be alright
And the voice that calmed the raging se
Is calling you His child
So be still and know He's in control
He will never let you go
We can rest in those worlds and know that God has the best plan for our lives but it must be in His timing, not ours.
If we continue to read the Jeremiah verse I referenced above, it says in verse 13 that "you will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart". None of this can be done without seeking God with all your heart, especially being patient in tribulation. The only way we can truly seek God is through our last topic.
BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER
I like to say pray without ceasing. Now some of you may be thinking that's impossible. You may be thinking, how can i walk around all day with my eyes closed, head bowed and hands clasped together. If that's the only way you think you can pray then I would not recommend doing this!
To me, prayer is anytime you are pointing things back to God, times of thanking God for all He has done. Finding God in the things in your everyday life from a sunset/sunrise to laughing with a friend to waking up and thanking God that He has given you another day to be in His light in this dark work. It could be singing out in worship when things are good and when things are bad. Prayer is more about God that it is about you. It can be exhausting when we constantly go to God like a genie wanting OUR prayers answered in OUR time the way WE want them answered. The funny thing is God already knows what your going to pray for. He wants to have an open and honest relationship with you. Instead we should pray and ask God that in whatever direction my life goes today that His name would be glorified and even though I may not like what the outcome is, I will still rejoice in His presence. I have always been a pretty positive person even in tough times but I know that its only because I am in a constant state of reassurance and thankfulness always finding the positive in situations. That only happens when we are in a constant posture of prayer.
I hope those of these views of these topics will help you put perspective on your situations.
Grace and Peace
Ben
Out of those three, one is easy to do. We can easily rejoice in hope. But why is it so hard to be patient in tribulation and be in constant prayer?
Let's break these down individually.
REJOICE IN HOPE
Ever since we were little we have always been taught to celebrate the good things in life. We get excited for the good things we know are in our future. Even when things are not a guarantee we still rejoice and hope that the things will turn out the way we envisioned them. When things hoped for turn out for our good we can rejoice and be thankful. That's the easy part.
So what happens when things hoped for don't turn out the way we had envisioned them? What happens when we have been praying for a certain person or situation to turn out the way we want it to and God has another plan? Can you be patient and wait on Gods timing even if its a negative outcome (that is), negative in our human understanding?
BE PATIENT IN TRIBULATION
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)
When we put our hope in a God that know the plans He has for us, plans that are not for evil but plans for a future and a hope, we should use that to reassure ourselves that whatever life is throwing at us that God knew this would be a part of our journey. We need to find a supernatural comfort in knowing that He knew you would be going through this situation before you were even born. Does that make the situations easy to go through? Of course not, but we can find the comfort in knowing that whatever the outcome, it is for a better future and a refining of our hearts. The hardest part is allowing things to happen in God's timing. That is why we must be patient in tribulation and allow God to walk close with us. I love the words of the Steve Fee song, Arms That Hold The Universe. He sings:
And the arms that hold the universe
Are holding you tonight
You can rest inside
It's gonna be alright
And the voice that calmed the raging se
Is calling you His child
So be still and know He's in control
He will never let you go
We can rest in those worlds and know that God has the best plan for our lives but it must be in His timing, not ours.
If we continue to read the Jeremiah verse I referenced above, it says in verse 13 that "you will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart". None of this can be done without seeking God with all your heart, especially being patient in tribulation. The only way we can truly seek God is through our last topic.
BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER
I like to say pray without ceasing. Now some of you may be thinking that's impossible. You may be thinking, how can i walk around all day with my eyes closed, head bowed and hands clasped together. If that's the only way you think you can pray then I would not recommend doing this!
To me, prayer is anytime you are pointing things back to God, times of thanking God for all He has done. Finding God in the things in your everyday life from a sunset/sunrise to laughing with a friend to waking up and thanking God that He has given you another day to be in His light in this dark work. It could be singing out in worship when things are good and when things are bad. Prayer is more about God that it is about you. It can be exhausting when we constantly go to God like a genie wanting OUR prayers answered in OUR time the way WE want them answered. The funny thing is God already knows what your going to pray for. He wants to have an open and honest relationship with you. Instead we should pray and ask God that in whatever direction my life goes today that His name would be glorified and even though I may not like what the outcome is, I will still rejoice in His presence. I have always been a pretty positive person even in tough times but I know that its only because I am in a constant state of reassurance and thankfulness always finding the positive in situations. That only happens when we are in a constant posture of prayer.
I hope those of these views of these topics will help you put perspective on your situations.
Grace and Peace
Ben
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
We are all on the same team!
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of
you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in
the same mind and the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV)
Sometimes it upsets me when churches can't work together. I just want to scream "WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM!!" We think that if someone doesn't carry the same name: Methodist, Lutheran, Non Denominational, Baptist, Nazarene, you name it, that somehow we can't join together for a common goal. To win people to Christ. That's what our goal is here on earth isn't it? To build God's Kingdom here and show love to the lost and broken.
When you really strip things down, the majority of issues are based on preference not biblical truth or salvation. From the music to the building to the traditions to the length of service to hands raised or not raised to is there an organ or loud drums and guitars. The list could go on and on. None of that effects our salvation. Some churches will interpret verses different than others. The truth is that every church must read the verse, search their heart and hear from God as to what the verse is trying to show us. There is no one who can say that their way of interpreting the bible is THE RIGHT WAY. That persons way of thinking has come from someone else or some other influence. Even in bible colleges, the professor may tell the students to think for their own but the professor has been influenced by someone in their past and that person was influenced by someone else and that influence will more than likely effect the students views. The fact is no one is original. It may be hard to accept but it's the truth. Only the creator of the universe is The Original. It’s a cycle that will continue to go on and on. It all goes back to seeking God and His truth. But we do have one common truth: Jesus Christ is Lord. He died for our sins, He rose from the grace and if we put our trust in Him and follow Him daily we will be saved. When you have that foundation and are truly, hear me, truly seeking God, His truths will be made clear to you through His word!
So much separation has happened in the church because we fight amongst ourselves on things that don't effect our salvation!! Kind of counter productive wouldn't you say?
Here are some examples I can think of that I have heard people arguing over.
- Did God create the earth in 7 literal days?
- Is it predestination or free will?
- Can you lose your salvation?
- Can pastors only be men?
- Can you drink alcohol?
- Is it once saved always saved?
- Are spiritual gifts still active today?
The list could probably go on and on. What I am trying to get at is, it’s not a problem to have a preference, just don't use that as a reason or excuse not to join up with other Christ Followers to unite in a common mission to advance God’s Kingdom here on Earth. After saying that, I will say that there are some churches that teach things I do think effect your salvation but that is for another topic. Probably not a topic I would want to tackle anyway!!
Just because you join up with another church that is from a different denomination doesn't mean that you will somehow be required to take on their ways of doing things. It’s like somehow, if we get involved with another church that does communion with real wine and not grape juice that next Sunday our grape juice will be turned to wine. I know it sounds funny but I am sure that is the way some people think. We are all on the same team people!
So the next time you find yourself wanting to argue over biblical topics, put your preference aside and ask yourself, does this effect my salvation? If it doesn't, let that be something you don't see eye to eye on and unite under the only true foundation, Christ. We need different styles of churches, worship and teaching to reach different people's preferences but let us NOT be the division that people see from the outside that makes then question what being a Christ Follower is all about.
Let’s all put our hands in together and unite as one body to bring Christ’s love to the world!
Grace and Peace
Ben
Sometimes it upsets me when churches can't work together. I just want to scream "WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM!!" We think that if someone doesn't carry the same name: Methodist, Lutheran, Non Denominational, Baptist, Nazarene, you name it, that somehow we can't join together for a common goal. To win people to Christ. That's what our goal is here on earth isn't it? To build God's Kingdom here and show love to the lost and broken.
When you really strip things down, the majority of issues are based on preference not biblical truth or salvation. From the music to the building to the traditions to the length of service to hands raised or not raised to is there an organ or loud drums and guitars. The list could go on and on. None of that effects our salvation. Some churches will interpret verses different than others. The truth is that every church must read the verse, search their heart and hear from God as to what the verse is trying to show us. There is no one who can say that their way of interpreting the bible is THE RIGHT WAY. That persons way of thinking has come from someone else or some other influence. Even in bible colleges, the professor may tell the students to think for their own but the professor has been influenced by someone in their past and that person was influenced by someone else and that influence will more than likely effect the students views. The fact is no one is original. It may be hard to accept but it's the truth. Only the creator of the universe is The Original. It’s a cycle that will continue to go on and on. It all goes back to seeking God and His truth. But we do have one common truth: Jesus Christ is Lord. He died for our sins, He rose from the grace and if we put our trust in Him and follow Him daily we will be saved. When you have that foundation and are truly, hear me, truly seeking God, His truths will be made clear to you through His word!
So much separation has happened in the church because we fight amongst ourselves on things that don't effect our salvation!! Kind of counter productive wouldn't you say?
Here are some examples I can think of that I have heard people arguing over.
- Did God create the earth in 7 literal days?
- Is it predestination or free will?
- Can you lose your salvation?
- Can pastors only be men?
- Can you drink alcohol?
- Is it once saved always saved?
- Are spiritual gifts still active today?
The list could probably go on and on. What I am trying to get at is, it’s not a problem to have a preference, just don't use that as a reason or excuse not to join up with other Christ Followers to unite in a common mission to advance God’s Kingdom here on Earth. After saying that, I will say that there are some churches that teach things I do think effect your salvation but that is for another topic. Probably not a topic I would want to tackle anyway!!
Just because you join up with another church that is from a different denomination doesn't mean that you will somehow be required to take on their ways of doing things. It’s like somehow, if we get involved with another church that does communion with real wine and not grape juice that next Sunday our grape juice will be turned to wine. I know it sounds funny but I am sure that is the way some people think. We are all on the same team people!
So the next time you find yourself wanting to argue over biblical topics, put your preference aside and ask yourself, does this effect my salvation? If it doesn't, let that be something you don't see eye to eye on and unite under the only true foundation, Christ. We need different styles of churches, worship and teaching to reach different people's preferences but let us NOT be the division that people see from the outside that makes then question what being a Christ Follower is all about.
Let’s all put our hands in together and unite as one body to bring Christ’s love to the world!
Grace and Peace
Ben
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
News Flash, it's not about you!
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-2 ESV)
We are culture of ME. Our natural bent in life it to make sure all our needs, wants & desires are met. Its very counter intuitive to put someone else's needs before yours. Even in our prayer life, we tend to pray for things for us, things we want to happen or for our situations to improve. Sometimes we are so focused on ourselves that we forget why Jesus came. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to be the perfect example of a loving sacrifice. A perfect example of how to die to yourselves daily so others may be lifted up and encouraged. When we put others needs ahead of ours, we gain perspective on how God created us to operate.
A perfect example is marriage. God made marriage for us to draw closer to Him. When we draw closer to Him the natural outpouring is sacrificial love. He designed marriage to be a way to show the traits of God to your spouse and to die to each other daily and with all you have, serve the other unconditionally. Sounds hard doesn't it? Well it is, on our own. When we allow our earthly desires and wants to be our driving force, we will naturally only focus on ourselves and in turn, degrade the other person without even knowing it.
When we start with God and allow Him to be the center of our marriage, we will naturally elevate the other's needs and wants above our own. I know that I don't want to leave my marriage up to my own desires because my desires will always become expectations. We need to make it a habit to always pray for your spouse. To base every decision on how it will effect your spouse and always show unconditional love even when you don't want to. Like the last part of the verse says "that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." I know I want my marriage to be peaceful, quiet (without arguments), godly & dignified in every way.
My prayer is that you can always elevate your spouse and show them how much you care and most of all how much God loves and cares for them
Grace and Peace
Ben
We are culture of ME. Our natural bent in life it to make sure all our needs, wants & desires are met. Its very counter intuitive to put someone else's needs before yours. Even in our prayer life, we tend to pray for things for us, things we want to happen or for our situations to improve. Sometimes we are so focused on ourselves that we forget why Jesus came. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to be the perfect example of a loving sacrifice. A perfect example of how to die to yourselves daily so others may be lifted up and encouraged. When we put others needs ahead of ours, we gain perspective on how God created us to operate.
A perfect example is marriage. God made marriage for us to draw closer to Him. When we draw closer to Him the natural outpouring is sacrificial love. He designed marriage to be a way to show the traits of God to your spouse and to die to each other daily and with all you have, serve the other unconditionally. Sounds hard doesn't it? Well it is, on our own. When we allow our earthly desires and wants to be our driving force, we will naturally only focus on ourselves and in turn, degrade the other person without even knowing it.
When we start with God and allow Him to be the center of our marriage, we will naturally elevate the other's needs and wants above our own. I know that I don't want to leave my marriage up to my own desires because my desires will always become expectations. We need to make it a habit to always pray for your spouse. To base every decision on how it will effect your spouse and always show unconditional love even when you don't want to. Like the last part of the verse says "that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." I know I want my marriage to be peaceful, quiet (without arguments), godly & dignified in every way.
My prayer is that you can always elevate your spouse and show them how much you care and most of all how much God loves and cares for them
Grace and Peace
Ben
Monday, September 29, 2014
Hide or Seek
Today's verse is:
“Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:2-3 ESV)
We live in a culture where things are too easily obtained. We don't have to look very far or very hard to find ways to get things that we didn't work hard for. Most of the time it's because we are in a culture of "I need it now". Gone are the days of saving up & working hard to buy something then realizing after we have worked hard enough & saved enough we realize we didn't really need it anyway.
We are an instant gratification culture & I think that bleeds over to our walk with God. We think that just because we pray every once in awhile & open our bible after a convicting message that our prayers should always be answered. That our lives should be easy going & that we should be able to live a care free life. I mean come on, I'm saved right. Why shouldn't my life have all those things.
Look at the second part of that verse,
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."
Hearing Gods voice doesn't come with an occasional prayer or reading a verse every once in awhile. Can God speak whenever he wants? Of course he's God but it takes a persistent prayer life, taking time to be still and listen & digging into the word daily to draw near to God. We can have an easy going life when we can refer to scriptures that say things like:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:34 ESV)
Or
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)
& countless more. When you know the word you can pull from them to give you to comfort and a knowledge that everything will be ok. Many people have "drive-through Christianity" where you just get what you want and move on until your hungry again and the process repeats. Or people who call the bible "the owners manual". I know people have their reasons for that phrase but the only reason I don't like referring to the bible as an "owners manual" is that I don't sit down every night & pull out my Kitchen Aide Mixer manual and have an enjoyable read and really learn my mixer. I only pull it out when there is something wrong that I have tried to fix on my own & couldn't so I had to refer to my owners manual.
The bible shouldn't be a supplement to our life, it should be the foundation. The same with prayer & quiet time. We need to start our day with God putting all our trust in him & know that he can work all things for good for those who love him & are called. We also need to be still. Be still & know that he is God. Be still & listen. Sometimes we focus to much on asking for stuff, we forget to listen to God telling us we don't really need those things to be happy.
I pray that we seek God daily & are praying without ceasing. I believe that is the only way we will be able to learn about the great and hidden things that we have not known that God is trying to tell us.
Grace & Peace
Ben
“Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:2-3 ESV)
We live in a culture where things are too easily obtained. We don't have to look very far or very hard to find ways to get things that we didn't work hard for. Most of the time it's because we are in a culture of "I need it now". Gone are the days of saving up & working hard to buy something then realizing after we have worked hard enough & saved enough we realize we didn't really need it anyway.
We are an instant gratification culture & I think that bleeds over to our walk with God. We think that just because we pray every once in awhile & open our bible after a convicting message that our prayers should always be answered. That our lives should be easy going & that we should be able to live a care free life. I mean come on, I'm saved right. Why shouldn't my life have all those things.
Look at the second part of that verse,
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."
Hearing Gods voice doesn't come with an occasional prayer or reading a verse every once in awhile. Can God speak whenever he wants? Of course he's God but it takes a persistent prayer life, taking time to be still and listen & digging into the word daily to draw near to God. We can have an easy going life when we can refer to scriptures that say things like:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:34 ESV)
Or
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)
& countless more. When you know the word you can pull from them to give you to comfort and a knowledge that everything will be ok. Many people have "drive-through Christianity" where you just get what you want and move on until your hungry again and the process repeats. Or people who call the bible "the owners manual". I know people have their reasons for that phrase but the only reason I don't like referring to the bible as an "owners manual" is that I don't sit down every night & pull out my Kitchen Aide Mixer manual and have an enjoyable read and really learn my mixer. I only pull it out when there is something wrong that I have tried to fix on my own & couldn't so I had to refer to my owners manual.
The bible shouldn't be a supplement to our life, it should be the foundation. The same with prayer & quiet time. We need to start our day with God putting all our trust in him & know that he can work all things for good for those who love him & are called. We also need to be still. Be still & know that he is God. Be still & listen. Sometimes we focus to much on asking for stuff, we forget to listen to God telling us we don't really need those things to be happy.
I pray that we seek God daily & are praying without ceasing. I believe that is the only way we will be able to learn about the great and hidden things that we have not known that God is trying to tell us.
Grace & Peace
Ben
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