Shattered Dreams: Part 3

“When we want to be something other than the thing God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy.” ~ C. S. Lewis; The Problem of Pain

Very rarely do our lives turn out as planned. Most of the time life happens and we get pushed and shoved to places we did not want to go but have no chance of escaping. The life we dreamed of having slowly slips through our fingers as we are forced to deal with the reality of our lives.

Joseph was a man who understood what it means to have shattered dreams. So often when we talk about Joseph in a Biblical context we think about Joseph of the Old Testament. He was a person who experienced shattered dreams. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, accused of a crime he did not commit, and forced to live in prison for years. The dreams he had of becoming great seemed to constantly dwindle away. Though we know now that God used those painful experiences to prepare Joseph for the great task that was ahead of him Joseph lived his life totally unaware of the big picture.

While Joseph, the son of Jacob, could teach us many lessons about shattered dreams that is not the Joseph I want to focus on. I want us to focus on Joseph, the husband of Mary, and the earthly father of Jesus. With all the other characters involved in the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life Joseph is often overlooked, but I want to suggest to you that Joseph experienced the pain of shattered dreams only to discover God’s great dream for his life.

Matthew 1:19 reads: Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly (NIV). We are told that Joseph was a “righteous” man. This description is basically all we know about the character and faith of Joseph. Though it is simple it reveals a lot about who Joseph was.

We have our own ideas about what it means to be righteous. We think of someone who is moral and religious. We picture a good person who tries his/her best to live out their faith in their lives.

For the Jew of that time period to be considered righteous meant that you were a lover of the Law, or the Torah. Joseph was not a Pharisee or a disciple of some rabbi. He was an ordinary hard working Jew. That meant he lacked the extensive religious education of the religious leaders, but he was still trained in the Law and had been brought up to love it. For Joseph to be considered righteous meant that he showed passion in studying and following the Torah. He was on path to be respected by the people of the community and to set as an elder. It was the dream most males of that strict religious culture had.

Yet things did not turn out the way Joseph had dreamed they would go. Instead his young fiancé surprised him with her pregnancy. Joseph knows the child is not his and Mary makes the outlandish claim that no man is the father. I think even on this side of Jesus we can understand Joseph’s doubts about Mary’s explanation. The way Joseph sees things is that Mary is pregnant and the baby is not his. That leaves him with just one alternative: she has been unfaithful.

I want you to think about the implications this realization had for Joseph. What did the Torah say about unfaithfulness? Unfaithfulness was punishable by death. If Joseph was a lover of the Torah what would he demand be done? Laws are no good if the punishments are not carried out, and Joseph knew the punishment that Mary’s “sin” called for.

We have our own idea of what righteousness means and that is probably the reason the NIV uses the word “because” in verse 19. In the translators view it was because Joseph was a righteous man that he looked for an option so Mary would not have to go through he public disgrace of stoning. That lines up real well with our view or righteousness.

I would like to suggest that a better way to translate verse 19 is with the word “although.” It wasn’t because Joseph was righteous that he looked for a way to help Mary avoid stoning, but it was in spite of his righteousness that he sought to help Mary. The righteous part of Joseph wanted justice to be done. God had commanded that adulterers be stoned and so we see that this was a perfectly acceptable punishment in God’s eyes. Joseph would have been within his rights to see Mary punished.

Why didn’t he? I would assume that there was a force greater than righteousness working in the heart of Joseph. That force was love. Joseph loved Mary and he did not want to see anything bad happen to her, even though he thought she had betrayed him.

There is very little we know about Joseph and Mary’s relationship. We know that engagement for these ancient Jews was much more binding than our simple little promise and ring giving, but how well the two knew each other is uncertain. What I am confident about is on the day Joseph learned Mary would be his wife Joseph chose to love her and her alone. As he prepared the place in which they would live together he had fantasized about what life would be like. He thought about the family they would have and all the other things a man dreams about before getting married. Joseph loved Mary, and because of that he did not wish to see her public disgraced.

Who does this sound like? Doesn’t it sound like God? If what I am said is true then Joseph would have a God like quality about him. Remember God’s righteousness demands justice, our deaths, but His love seeks to save us from the horrors of being separated from God.

To divorce Mary quietly Joseph would be able to spare Mary’s life and he would admit her guilt. Joseph could still work on his dream of becoming a righteous man.

Why didn’t Joseph just marry Mary? To me the most noble and loving thing to do would be to still go though with the wedding in an attempt to save Mary from making more bad choices.

We have to understand that if Joseph went ahead and married Mary his reputation would be ruined and his chance at being an elder and a Lover of the Torah would be gone. In the small town of Nazareth everyone would find out about Mary and her illegitimate son. They would talk and Joseph would lose both business and his reputation because it would seem like he was accepting Mary’s sin. To marry Mary would demolish all of Joseph’s dreams.

After wrestling with what to do, God finally sends an angel to Joseph to explain to him what to do. God wants Joseph to do the very thing that will make it impossible for him to achieve his dreams.

Why does God wait? Why doesn’t he send Gabriel to Mary and Joseph on the same night? After all Gabriel is in the area it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Could it be that God wanted Joseph to really examine the price he was going to pay to take Mary as his wife? Joseph knew that to take Mary as his wife would cost him his reputation, his business, and standing in the community. Joseph needed to examine his life and come to an understanding about what he cared most about.

God’s dream for Joseph’s life was not about a life built on the reputation of being a lover of the Law. God’s dream for Joseph’s life was to be the primary teacher of the law and ethics to Jesus. Joseph raised the Messiah! While the people around him probably thought he was crazy Joseph knew that true righteousness is found in doing God’s Will and not being merely a student of His Law.

Through his life Joseph was able to be an example to Jesus. I know that it sounds crazy that a mere human could be an example to the Son of God, but I think Joseph was an example. Think about the example Joseph was when he loved Mary, even though people whispered about her being an adulterer. Think about Joseph’s example when he accepted and loved Jesus, even though the town continually talked about Jesus not being Joseph’s son. Think about how Joseph struggled to find work because he was no longer seen as a righteous man in the eyes of the people of the community. Jesus’ family would have been treated as sinners, even though the sin people thought was committed never happened. Doing those important years of life Joseph would have been an example to Jesus about love and doing the right thing in spite of the negative consequences,

Joseph’s dreams were shattered when Mary came to him and announced that she was pregnant. His life was not made easier because he accepted God’s dream for his life, but it was made better. Joseph dreamed of having a reputation, but God dreamed of Joseph having an influence. The influence of Joseph on Jesus’ life, and thus on the world, will probably not be understood until heaven. Often the dreams God has for us we will not see in this life, but in the life to come.

Our dreams, even though they seem religious and good, only get in the way of what God wants to do through us. Only when we accept God’s call on our lives will we find the life we were created to live. Let go of your dreams and let them shatter so you can pick up God’s dream.

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The World

"What is this enemy that the Scripture calls 'the world'? Is it drinking and dancing and smoking? Is it going to the movies or playing cards? That is a shallow and ridiculous approach to holiness. It numbs us to the fact that good and evil are more more serious. The Scriptures never prohibit drinking alcohol, only drunkeness; dancing was a vital part of King David's live; and while there are some godly movies out there, there are also some very ungodly churches. No, 'the world' is not a place or a set of behaviors--it is any system built by our collective sin, all our false selves coming together to reward and destroy each other. Take all those posers out there, put them together in an office or a club or a church, and what you get is what the Scriptures mean by the world." ~ John Eldredge; Wild at Heart (pg. 149)

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A Story to Tell

{Galatians 1:11-24; NLT}

Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

  You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God's church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.

  But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him16 to reveal his Son to me* so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

  When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.

  Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord's brother. I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.

  After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn't know me personally. All they knew was that people were saying, "The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!" And they praised God because of me.

Each one of us has a story to tell. Because of our different experiences our stories of faith are unique to us. Our reasons for following Jesus vary from Christ Follower to Christ Follower, as are the Burning Heart Moments we experience as God reveals Himself to us more and more.

When we find ourselves in a community of Faith it is important that we tell each other these stories. While our story may not seem that spectacular to us (after all it is what we experienced) it has the power to encourage other Christ Followers to hang on and continue to trust in Jesus. These stories also have the power to remind us of the subtle ways God is at work in the world; changing the lives of people.

In the first chapter of Galatians the Apostle Paul quickly tells his story. He does so in order to establish his credibility with his audience. Paul has some important things he wants to tell them and he wants to make sure that they will trust what he has to say. As we think about how we should tell our story we should try and include some of these very same elements that Paul used in his story.

CHRIST REVEALED

Verses 11-12
The Apostle Paul had a very dramatic introduction to Jesus. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Church when a bright light blinded him and a voice spoke to him (Acts 9). Paul states that from this encounter with the risen Lord that lead to him changing the way he lived.

Our encounters with Jesus will probably be less dramatic, but just as life changing. For many of us we have that one moment when the Gospel of Jesus Christ became the ultimate reality in our lives. For me it was a dream. For you it could have been a song, an agonizing experience, a special relationship, or joyful and fun filled event. Whatever it was you realized that Jesus was calling to you and that you accepted His invitation to follow Him. Why did you decide to follow Jesus.

THE PAST RENOUNCED

Verses 13-14
There was a change that took place in Paul’s life. He was a zealot of Judaism, a Pharisee of the highest degree. It was because of his zealous life that he sought to destroy this new faith of following Jesus Christ. When Paul encountered Jesus Paul realized that a change needed to take place in his life and so he started the process of change.

We too were zealous in our former way of life. We were perhaps zealous for money, food, drugs, or even ourselves. Whatever the cases was our passions were focused on the wrong thing and the result is that we were leading a life that was leading to our destruction. While we were all enslaved by different sins we still had the same problem and we are all trying to overcome those sins and follow Jesus. How has your life changed since you started to follow Jesus?

THE MIND RENEWED

Verses 15-17
Paul’s thinking changed as began to trust Jesus. Before his encounter with Jesus Paul believed he was doing God’s will by persecuting the Church, but now he realized that God had actually called him to encourage and build up the Church. As Paul devoted his life to following Jesus he received a special revelation of the Gospel. It was this revelation that shaped the message he preached.

As we begin to devote more and more time to God’s Word and trusting Jesus more and more with our lives our attitudes, thoughts, and passions are transformed. We see the light of truth in the darkness of lies, we love others in a world of self-love, and we give ourselves away rather than pushing others aside in our attempt to get to the top. Our minds and hearts have been renewed. What change has occurred in our heart and mind since following Jesus?

BELIEVERS REJOICED

Verses 18-24
When Paul went to Jerusalem it was after three years of changing and following Jesus. He met briefly with Peter and James before going out to fulfill the call God had placed on his heart. Because of Paul’s transformation the Believers in Jerusalem praised God for all that had happened. It was a dramatic change.

As we live our lives we influence others, either intentionally or unintentionally. Through this influence we become models of the Christian life for other people. We should expect that our lives are making a difference in the world around us, and it is okay to talk about what God is doing through our lives to impact other people. How has God used your life to influence this world?

What is your story? I hope that I have encouraged you to think about your life and the story you have to tell. While it may seem boring or plain to you it maybe exactly what another person needs to hear so their confidence and trust can be renewed as they try to follow Jesus. Our stories are small parts of God’s grand story of love, salvation, and redemption. For that reason no one’s story is insignificant. Don’t be afraid to talk about what God is doing in and through your life.

Outline Adapted from Sermon Seeds.

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Shattered Dreams: Part 2

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ~ C.S. Lewis; The Problem of Pain

Shattered dreams hurt. It is painful to watch your marriage crumble. It hurts to know the job you love is no longer needed. It aches to have to move from the home you have grown to love. It stings to be rejected by a person you adore. When our dreams shatter we feel it in the very depths of our heart.

It is a great understatement to say that we hate pain. Pain makes our lives uncomfortable whether it is physical or emotional, because it constantly throbs reminding us of its presence. We might be able to find brief moments when we can get away from the pain, but it always seems to come back.

Life, we think, would be so much better if we didn’t have to feel pain. The reality is that pain is a necessity of life. Take for example Ashlyn Blocker. Ashlyn is a young kindergarten girl and she has CIPA (congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis); a rare genetic disorder that makes it impossible for her to feel pain. Her parents and teachers have to be constantly aware of what she is doing. She will eat hot food and not know it is burning her mouth. She can be cut and bleed and not realize she is hurt. Pain serves as a reminder that things are not what they should be. Pain tells us that something is wrong with our body. Without it we wouldn’t know something is wrong.

Our emotional pain serves the same kind of purpose. Emotional pain tells us things are not what they should be. The big reason for this is because we live in a fallen world and the reality of sin and death means pain is going to be our companion at least some of the time. Pain reminds us that we are not in Heaven yet and that things are not how they should be. God is able to use pain to get out attention to think about the deeper issues of life. Without pain most of us would never take the time to think about the reason for life. God wants us to live the life He has dreamed for us, but we will never find that life when we are so focused on our dreams. Painful circumstances are often what it takes to get us to focus our dreams on God.

We can understand that pain serves a purpose, but we still do not like it. We don’t understand how God can care for us so much, yet do nothing when excruciating pain is present in our lives. After all, if we saw a person we love in pain we would do whatever we could to make the pain go away. God can make the pain go away, but He doesn’t. Instead, in the midst of our pain, we hear nothing from God.

That is what makes the problem of pain so hard to understand. Is God ignorant of what pain feels like? Does He understand the feelings of sorrow, hurt, loneliness, and a host of other feelings that penetrate our hearts when our dreams shatter? God doesn’t seem to care about us the way we would care for our loved ones.

God is not ignorant of the feeling of pain! Jesus Christ is a testimony to the fact that God knows what pain is. Jesus, the Son of God, experienced the pain of rejection, physical beatings, and crucifixion. God experienced the emotional pain as the fellowship the Trinity was torn apart as Jesus took on our sin. Jesus, His life and death, reminds us that God knows all about pain.

When we experience pain it might seem like God does not care, but the testimony of Jesus tells us otherwise. God cares about us, and when we forget this the pain of shattered dreams will be unbearable. Knowing God loves us will help us bear enormous pain. The millions of Christians who have been persecuted and martyred are proof of what a person can endure when they are certain of God’s love.

The pain of shattered dreams doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. It is through this pain that God is able to show us the temporary nature of our dreams and how much better His dreams are for our lives. Pain is not proof that God doesn’t love us; rather it is proof that life is not what it should be.


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Creating Our Own Prison

"There has been perhaps no time in human history when individuals have had as much opportunity as most Americans do now to not only choose their own lives, but to personally design their own careers. But an overwhelming number of us feel trapped in the lives we've created. We find ourselves slaves to our jobs, the clock, and our debt. The irony is that we are the cruel tyrants who hold ourselves captive. But our self-imposed slavery goes far deeper than simply the ruts we have trapped ourselves in. The tragedy of our imprisonment reaches into the deepest caverns of our soul. Our passion to be free both ignites us and betrays us, and more often than not leads us to be consumed by an unforgiving fire. The very fire that burns within us can destroy us." ~ Erwin McManus; Uprising (pg. 10)

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Angry With God

The following question was found at Explore Faith.

Will I be punished if I am angry at God, because I feel miserable and alone?

This is a great question and I want to attempt to answer it in two parts. Each one of us has been angry with God for some reason or another. Perhaps He didn’t come through when we thought He should have or He allowed some terrible experience happen to us. God gets a lot of blame, even from those who claim not to believe in Him, for things that happen. I would bet there are a lot of people in the world who are angry at God.

First, I want to deal with the notion of punishment. When we make following Jesus mostly about sin management we become overly concerned with whether or not God will punish us for some misdeed. There are times in my life when every time something doesn’t quite go my way I think God is punishing me for some sin in my life. It is that same type of thinking that brought Job’s three friends to him with their encouragement to repent of the sin he had committed.

Here is the problem when we focus too much on punishment and sin management: we focus on what can’t do rather than on what we should do. The grace of God provides us with a safety net as we live life following Jesus. Are we going to sin? Most likely because we have been trained so well to do it, but God has already promised that our sins are forgiven. That means we are free to move forward with confidence as we put more and more trust in God.

The questioner is concerned about what he/she shouldn’t do and as a result is worried about being punished by God. The irony is that as long as he/she sees God as a judge waiting to punish our sins the more angry they will become with God. It is a never-ending cycle.

In our attempts to minister to such a person is to help them see God, not as someone out to get them, but someone who desperately loves them. We need to attempt to lead them to a point where they can learn to trust God with their lives. It is only then that not only their angry with God begin to dissolve, but they will also no longer fear that God is out to get them.

Second, I want to deal with this idea about being angry with God. Is it okay to be angry with God? I don’t know if it is okay, but I do know that God allows. Psalms 6, 35, and 102 are a few examples of writings by people who were angry with God. Life wasn’t going as planned and God seemed not to care. When life gets rough it is easy to get angry with the Person who could have made things go differently.

God allows us to get angry with Him because of our lack of understanding. We have a limited view of how things are going, not only in our lives, but also through human history. Since we cannot see all ends and God does it only makes sense that we will get upset about things that we don’t understand, especially when those things seem so bad. But I also think there is a condition put on getting angry with God: that we pledge to trust Him no matter what.

I have written about doubt here and here.  We discover that doubt is more about whether or not we have placed full confidence in God than about how well we understand things. A person who gets angry with God because he/she is alone and refuses to worship God is in trouble. That person has not made up his/her mind to trust God in all circumstances. The person who gets angry with God because he/she is alone and is able to worship God will one day see his/her needs met. That person has made up his/her mind to trust God no matter what life may throw his/her way.

In many ways this is a deeply personal question for me. I have been angry with God because I was alone and refused to worship Him. The longer this went on the angrier I became and the more darkness ruled in my heart. I was convinced that there was no way out of the hopeless situation I found myself in.

My angry slowly gave way to love once I choose to worship God. I made that choice when I realized being single in this couple filled world was not a bad thing and that if I trusted God then perhaps one day I would experience companionship that very few people have ever experienced. I don’t know why I remain single, it is something I just don’t understand, and there are times when I still get angry with God about it because it seems so unfair. But in my heart I have committed to trusting God and following Jesus no matter what and when I set my focus there my angry flows away and I see the reality that life is good.

Being miserable and alone is not a punishment for being angry with God, but it is what happens when we fail to trust God like we should. When we are angry with God without the commitment to trust Him we, in a very real way, create our very one punishment because the more anger we have with God the darker our situation seems. When we commit to trust God we will discover a life worth living, even when we don't understand everything that happens in life.

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Shattered Dreams: Part 1

“I know, I know—we’ve been told that we matter to God. And part of us partly believes it. But life has a way of chipping away at that conviction, undermining our settled belief that he means us well. I mean, if that’s true, then why didn’t he ________________? Fill in the blank. Heal your mom. Save your marriage. Get you married. Help you more.

“Either (a) we’re blowing it, or (b) God is holding out on us. Or some combination of both, which is where most people land.” ~ John Eldredge; Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heat Fully Alive

Think for a moment about the different dreams you have had for your life. What were your dreams for a family, a job, friendships, a house, and whatever else you can think of? Isn’t true that we have these expectations for what life should be like? I would imagine for most of us the life we are living right now is not the life we dreamed we would have.

On the one hand this isn’t a terrible thing. The life we dreamed of when we were younger was filled with many unrealistic expectations. In fact if we achieved those dreams our lives may have turned out for the worse rather than the better. Think about the life of the sports or rock star. Would we be able to live a life which pleases God if we were surrounded by the temptations and pressures they face everyday? What if you married the first crush you ever had; would reality be like the fairy tale you dreamed? We recognize that it is not a horrible thing that all our dreams go unfulfilled.

Yet on the other hand we have dreams which we believe are essential to our happiness. The single person might begin to believe that the one thing which would make his/her life truly happy is to be married (while a married person might wish for the freedom of singleness). Or a person might believe a certain job or possession is essential for their happiness. When these things do not come our way or are taken away from us our dreams of a happy life are shattered. We shake our fist at God and shout; “Don’t You care about my happiness? I thought You loved me!” More often then not God’s answer to us is silence. We pray and pray and pray and God remains unresponsive.

God does care about us. 1 Peter 5:7 reads; Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you (NLT). So we are left with a dilemma. Either the Bible is lying and God doesn’t care about us (or doesn’t even exist) or God wants something different from our lives.

I am convinced that God has a wonderful life for us. The problem is that our dreams of what a wonderful life looks like and God's plan for our lives look nothing alike. We dream of being served, and God's dream has us serving. We dream of winning the lottery, and God's dream has us giving so much it hurts. We dream of being recognized for all the wonderful things we have done, and God's dream has us quietly working behind the scenes. The reality is that in order to discover His life for us God has to allow our dreams to shatter. God allows life to happen to us so that we might one day wake-up to discover His dream for our lives.

Until we realize the insignficance of our dreams we will always put more effort into achieving what we think will make us happy rather than on what will make us holy. That is the main difference between God's dream for our lives and our dreams. We dream about a happy life. God dreams about holy lives.

God has to allow our dreams to shatter so we will wake-up to the reality that He has a totally different life for us to live. If we never re-adjust our focus we will always live a life that is not in line with the best God has for us. Shattered Dreams are not the end of life, but are the beginning of the best life to come.

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Making Himself Known

Ask Questions for God
at the Blue Pyramid.

The person who asks this type of question is basically saying: "God if You would just reveal Yourself to me then I would believe in You." There lack of belief in God is not their problem, but God's problem because He has not given them enough evidence to believe. They trick themselves into believing that it is an intellectual barrier that keeps them from living a life of faith rather than seeing it as the heart issue that it truly is.

God has revealed Himself to us. The problem is that while some us see God everywhere others see God nowhere. For whatever reason they have talked themselves out of considering the evidence that exists while erecting intellectual barriers to keep themselves from living lives of faith.

It really isn't an intellectual problem most people have with God, but it is a heart issue. Take into consideration these two examples. First there is the nation of Israel who has been in slavery in Egypt for a very long time. They have witnessed God's ten plagues on the Egyptian people, the parting of the Red Sea, the miraculous provision of Guidance and food through the wilderness, and finally God revealing Himself to the entire nation at Mount Sinai. Moses goes up the mountain, but is gone for a long time (forty days and forty nights) and the people get antsy. They get some gold together and make a golden calf to worship, claiming this is the god who led them out of Egypt (Exodus 19 -32).

Second are Jesus' disciples. These men had heard Jesus teach, seen His miracles, and have seen Him off and on for forty days after He rose from the dead. As Jesus gets ready to ascend into heaven He takes these followers to a mountain in Galilee. Matthew 28:17 reads; When they saw him, they worshiped him--but some of them still doubted! (NLT) Amazing these people still doubted that Jesus was who He said He was. We tend to think if we were in their place and were able to see the risen Lord face to face that we would not doubt, but I don't think that would be the case.

Both groups had evidence that God existed and that God had chosen them. The Israelites, for whatever reason, decided to ignore what they knew to be true, exaggerated their fears and doubts, and turned to worship and idol. The disciples doubted, they didn't know what to think, but for whatever reason they decided to trust Jesus and God used them to change the world. It is ultimately a heart issue because we have to decide whether or not we are going to trust God based on the evidence He has given to us.

The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:20 wrote: For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities, —his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God (NLT). God has revealed Himself to us and He claims that this revelation is sufficient to lead everyone to seek Him. I think it should be pointed out that one of the best pieces of evidences for the existence of God are Christian people. That means it is very important that understand the message we are sending to others by the way we live our lives.

I want you to understand too that I believe in God and the Lord Jesus Christ not because of all the evidence that Christians take from books like Evidence that Demands a Verdict or The Case for Christ (remember since people's unbelief is the result of a heart condition and not an intellectual problem those pieces of evidence are of little use in trying to convince someone to believe). I believe because of the experience of God in my life. The change in my heart and mind, through no work on my own to change, the change I have seen come over other people's lives as they follow Jesus, and little everyday things where I can see God at work.

Having said all of that I still haven't answered the question. It is a valid question because we talk about God loving everyone and not wanting anyone to perish and so it would seem logical that God would make His presence obvious to everyone. In one of His parables Jesus dealt with this very issue:

27 "Then the rich man said, `Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father's home.28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don't end up in this place of torment.'
29 "But Abraham said, `Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.'
30 "The rich man replied, `No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.'
31 "But Abraham said, `If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead.'" (Luke 16:27-31; NLT)

God doesn't reveal Himself to us in what we would consider obvious ways because it would do no good. The very same people who have the evidence of nature, the Bible, and the Church for the existence of God and refuse to believe in Him would not believe even if they saw the risen Lord face to face. It is not about insufficient evidence, but it is about a refusal to trust God based on what we know to be true. It is not an intellectual problem, but it is a heart problem.

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Don't Be Fooled!

6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.* You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

8 Let God's curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

10 Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant. ~ Galatians 1:6-10; NLT

We have all been taken in by wrong information at one point in our lives. Consider the “frog in the kettle” illustration that has been passed around (George Barna even used it as a title for one of his books). It is said that if a frog is placed in a kettle of boiling water it will immediately jump out, but if you place a frog in a kettle of cold water and slowly bring the water to boil that the frog will swim around and be boiled to death. The reasoning for this is because frogs are cold-blooded animals so its temperature is the same as its surroundings.

The reality is that it is not true. According to Dr. Victor Hutchison, a Research Professor Emeritus from the University of Oklahoma's Department of Zoology:

The legend is entirely incorrect! The 'critical thermal maxima' of many species of frogs have been determined by several investigators. In this procedure, the water in which a frog is submerged is heated gradually at about 2 degrees Fahrenheit per minute. As the temperature of the water is gradually increased, the frog will eventually become more and more active in attempts to escape the heated water. If the container size and opening allow the frog to jump out, it will do so. (www.snopes.com; Frog Boil)

In this age of information it might even be easier to be misled than ever before. We have so much information coming at us, and many times it seems to be good information, that it becomes hard to discern the good from the bad and the truth from the lies. Sometimes believing wrong information is no big deal, but when it comes to our faith believing the wrong thing can takes us very far away from where we wanted to go.

Many of the books in the New Testament were written to combat false teaching. Peter in 2 Peter 2:1-3 wrote:

1 But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

Christ Followers have always been at risk to following for the lies and half-truths of false teaching. I think this is partially due to the fact that we generally see people, especially teachers, as trustworthy. We find it hard to believe that they would intentionally mislead us.

The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Galatians to combat false teaching that was taking place in the church of Galatia. Teacher had come into this fellowship of believers and claimed that Christians were still bound by many of the same Old Testament laws that the Jews were formally held to. Rules such as circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and clean and unclean foods. As a result many of the Christians in Galatia were trusting more in the law for their salvation than there were in Jesus.

Paul was absolutely amazed that people were deserting the faith. In Jesus they had discovered God’s law, His love, and His promise in eternal life. It was by grace through faith they had received these things, but now they were trying to keep a law and find righteousness by their own good works. They had traded in the Gospel for something that was not gospel at all.

How have we traded in the Gospel for something different? We may not insist on the keeping the Old Jewish Law, but we have come up with a list of rules that every “Christian” should follow. “Don’t drink, smoke, cuss, and chew or go with girls who do.” We have to be careful that we don’t make our salvation dependant on what we have done, the rules we have kept, or the disciplines we have implemented into our lives, but rather we keep on trusting in Jesus and His sacrifice and resurrection.

Paul also denounced these false teachers and the apostasy they were causing. He writes: Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about (verse 8, NLT). Paul isn’t playing games. This is a serious matter because people’s eternity was at stake. He made it very clear that the foundation of their faith was the very basic gospel that he had first proclaimed to them. The message Paul preached was that through faith in Jesus Christ they could have eternal life in heaven with God. It was a Gospel of love and grace not of law.

We have the great responsibility of not believing everything we are taught. God doesn’t want us to simply believe everything a preacher or teacher says. Paul told the Galatians that they shouldn’t follow him if he began teaching a different message. They were told hold him accountable for what he taught. This requires us to have a firm foundation to our faith. It means we should question things that our teachers and preachers say. If we do not we will remain vulnerable to false teachings.

Finally Paul declared his allegiance. Paul wasn’t preaching to impress people or get rich. If he was then he would tell the people wanted they wanted to hear. Instead he was trying to please God and so he preached the truth as it was given to him by Christ Jesus.

One way to test the teachings of people is to examine their lives. When we are part of a local congregation and are taught by the same people or person on a regular basis it is important that we discover what their lives are like. How do the live? Can they be identified as Christ Followers away from the church? A person who has declared their allegiance to Jesus will do his or her best to teach and preach the Truth of God’s Word.

We are going to be fooled. There are going to be times when we just don’t have all the facts or the right information. While at times this can funny when it comes to our faith it is deadly serious. We need to be willing to study on our own so we can have a firm foundation on which to build our faith. We need to be willing to question things that our teachers and preachers say and check to see if the line up with the teaching of Scripture. We also need to see if the regular teachers we have in our lives bear the fruit of a life lived for Jesus. Doing these things will go a long way in helping us not to be fooled.

(Outline adapted from Sermons Seeds.org)

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The Parable of the Quest: Part 1

The Promise:
It was the third day into the journey when Justus realized that he was traveling in territory that he had never seen before. Three hours before the young man had passed the mark of the farthest east he had ever traveled, and then he had traveled with his mentor. Now he journeyed alone, or at least it appeared that he was alone. In his possession Justus had three gifts his mentor had given to him.

Justus had traveled the countryside with him for almost seven years. Great crowds believed he was some sort of good teacher, a traveling Wiseman, imparting a standard of morality and a philosophy by which people should live. While the great crowds loved him, the mentor’s enemies said that was evil. His miracles they claimed were the result of black magic and that he was in league with a demon from the very depths of hell. Rumors spread through out the country, but Justus was one of the few who were permitted to know the truth. The mentor was no ordinary man, but rather he was the Son of the King beyond the eastern horizon, the Prince of the Majestic Kingdom that no living eye has seen, and the Lord of all the kings of that world and this world. Justus didn’t know why he was chosen, along with his fellow companions, to know the truth, but he was glad that he was. It seemed quite odd to him that others did not recognize the Great Prince because to Justus the sings seemed to be quite obvious.

Four days ago was the last time Justus saw the Prince. One by one each of his followers were called, and each one went. What they were told or given Justus does not know, all he knows is what he was told and what he was given. Justus was the last follower to come before the Lord.

“Justus I have a task for you to complete.”

The young man sat at his Master’s feet and answered, “Lord, I am willing to do whatever You ask me to do.”

The Great Prince raised eyebrow, as if He was partly amused by the answer, and then He smiled a great toothy smile which conveyed both love and pride for the young man. “I know your heart is willing to go, that has never been in question, but your flesh may say something different. You must constantly be on guard against the demands of your flesh, do not let them crowd out the truth in your heart.”

Justus nodded, even after spending so much time with the Prince, Justus still did not understand everything that He said. There always seemed to be an element of mystery to His teachings.

“I want you to travel to Mount Alabaster, the great peak looking over the vast Eastern Ocean.”

“Lord, I want to do something amazing for you. Though it is a great distance it is an easy task if one is prepared.”

At these words the Lord smiled again. Oh, how He did love Justus’ heart, but He knew far too well the intentions of his flesh. Justus still had very much to learn.

“Justus, do not count something as easy before you have accomplished it. Something that may look easy on this side may indeed look very difficult on the other side. One cannot know all the trials, pitfall, and snares that await on such a long journey.”

Again Justus only nodded as he tried to make sense of what the Lord had said.

“Before you begin your journey I want you to travel to Leitha, the town of your birth. In the center of town stands a majestic old oak tree. On the north side of the tree is a hole, and buried in the hole is a box.”

“What is in the box my Lord?”

The Prince chuckled, “Patience, Justus, Patience. I was coming to that. The box is a gift I have specially prepared for you to take on your journey. Inside you will find three items, each one is designed to help you complete the task I have given to you.”

There was a strange excitement that welled up in Justus’ heart. He could hardly wait to go and find his box and discover the great gift his Lord had promised to him. Yet there was also a sadness that began to creep in as Justus began to realize that he was making this journey alone.

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

The Great Prince’s face fell. “No my son. I have other work that needs to be done. I have sent each of you out to complete a task, but you will not be going alone. The gift I am giving you contains My Spirit. My presence will be with you wherever you go as long as you hold on to the gift.”

Comforted, Justus stood up, walked over to the Prince, threw his arms around him and hugged him goodbye. The Great Prince, with tears in his eyes, hugged Justus back and whispered in his ear, “You are my servant, my friend, and my brother, and with you I am very pleased. Now you must go.”

Justus gathered his things and headed west, into the setting sun towards his home.

Filled with excitement and with familiarity of the country Justus continued to walk into the night. It was in the early morning when just finally decided to make a little camp and sleep.

It had only been dawn a couple of hours when Justus woke up and began his westward journey home. About the time everyone was cleaning up their breakfast dishes Justus walked into town. Though he wanted to, Justus did not stop to visit his friends, or even his parents. He went straight to the old oak tree in the middle of town. Justus stopped and looked at the old tree for a moment. It had been there for as long as people could remember, it was rumored to be even older than the town, and yet it looked as strong as ever. The young man couldn’t help but marvel at such a creation.

Breaking free from his trance Justus walked to the north side of the tree. At first he could not see a hole because he was looking for a large hole in the ground, but there was none. After a few minutes of walking around the entire tree in search of a hole in the ground Justus finally found it. The hole was not in the ground, but rather it was about eye level on the north side of the tree trunk. Tentatively Justus reached up into the hole, a little nervous that a squirrel might be ready to attack his fingers, and pulled out a box.

The box was no bigger than a shoebox, but it was made out of beautifully carved wood. The lid was attached to the box by two little hinges. Justus lifted the lid and looked inside. There he saw a silver flute, something which looked like a compass except it had no markings on it, and a silver and gold ring which looked like a band of silver and a band of gold had been twisted together to make the most unusually design and color.

“What am I supposed to do with these?” Justus wondered.

God Risks

"In an attempt to secure the sovereignty of God, theologians have overstated their case and left us with a chess-player God playing both sides of the board, making all his moves and all ours too. But clearly, this is not so. God is a person who takes immense risks. No doubt the biggest risk of all was when he gave angels and men free will, including the freedom to reject him—not just once, but every single day.” ~ John Eldredge, Wild at Heart

Simply by stating that God took a risk in creating us with a free will I have opened myself up to the label of Open Theist, just as John Eldredge did. While there are parts of open theism that I find attractive, over all I don’t believe it is what the Bible teaches. Mainly because I believe God does know the future and He understands the consequences of each and every action that we take.

If I am not an Open Theist, why do I say God risks? What I believe Eldredge is saying, and what I believe, is that God risks because He created us, along with the angels, with a free will. It was a risk, not because God did not know what was going to happen, but because He allowed us the power to do what we wanted. By giving us the power of choice God willingly laid aside total control and gave us partial control of His creation.

Genesis is clear that when God created the Universe that it was good, and even more amazingly that His creation of man was VERY good. We can assume that God’s intention for His creation was for it to always be good, and that people would always be very good. Rather than stepping in and asserting His will to prevent sin from happening God allowed people to do what they thought was best, and what God intended quickly became a thing of the past.

Throughout history God has provided people with the opportunity to choose Him, to do the right thing, but over and over again the majority of people have chosen to do what they thought was best. The reason God risks is because He allowed us to have a choice that is opposite of His will. What would happen was not outside of His knowledge or outside of His power to prevent. It was a risk because rather than controlling us God let us be in control. It was a risk because God would be hurt along with all of His creation.

If it was such a risk why did God take it? God did this because He wanted us to love Him, and He could not force us to love Him. Love is only love if it is chosen. To have a choice to love God means that there is also the possibility to reject Him. It was a risk to create people with a free will.

The language of choice runs throughout the Bible:
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the LORD your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ~ Deuteronomy 30:19-20, NLT

“So honor the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. But if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” ~ Joshua 24:14-15; NLT

From then on, Jesus began to preach, “Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” ~ Matthew 4:17; NLT

Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval. ~ Romans 6:16; NLT

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. ~ Hebrews 11:24-25; NLT

So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. And you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. ~ 1 Peter 4:1-2, NLT

God risks, not because He is unaware of the outcome, but because He has allowed people to choose things outside of His will. God risks because He suffers the pain caused by rejection and the defiance of His will.

There is much about God I don’t understand. He, for the most part, remains a mystery to me. One thing I know is that God has a great desire for us to love Him. Not just a select few, but everyone. For us to love Him God had to set part of His sovereignty aside and give us the ability to choose, to determine for ourselves whether or not we will love Him. This in no way weakens God, but rather it shows how much He loves us, for this is a great gift.

Here is the awesome part, even though God gave us this freedom, even though creation is not what God intended it to be, in the end creation will accomplish everything God wants it to accomplish. He will have a people who love Him more than anything else and all of His Creation will glorify Him in the end. Not even our free will can ultimately keep God from seeing His will accomplished.

We have been given the freedom to choose. Every decision that we face will have at least two options, God’s way or the World’s way. It is up to us to decide. Remember God risked much to give us this privilege. Choose wisely.

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Human Nature

I was recently asked the following question: What is your basic view of "human nature?" Which got me thinking. You see how we view human nature will determine how we respond to other people. Mark Driscoll in his book Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out refers to Thomas Sowell’s book A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles. According to Driscoll social commentator Sowell explains that the political conflict between Republican and Democrat stems from vastly differing understandings of human nature.

Republicans view human nature as being selfish and sinful and places hope for the transformation of culture through restraining our sinful behavior by the use of laws and punishment. Democrats see human nature as basically good and loving and transformation of culture is the result of social programs, public education, and government services (page 107; Radical Reformission).

This issue of human nature is worth pondering because the answer we arrive at will determine how we treat those around us. Being Christian people if we see people as selfish and sinful we will demand that people follow God’s law and to shape up. On the other hand if we, as Christians, see people as loving and good then what we will want to do is guide them to Jesus (though we will emphasize Jesus' love and ignore His call to repentance) so they can know Who to follow.

Here is my simple answer to the question: our nature is neither good nor bad, but we become whatever we have been trained to be. I don’t buy the doctrines of the “sinful nature” and “total depravity.” One reason is because I don’t think that is what the Bible teaches (though I know many people believe it does). A second reason is it has not been my experience. I know too many “Christians” who have done terrible things and I know too many non-Christians who have done some wonderful things.

Ultimately it comes down to choices. Each one of us decides how we are going to live. These decisions are based on what we have been taught and believe. If our nature is neither good nor bad how should we respond to people? By presenting them with a choice. That is what Jesus did. “Come follow me,” he would say and people would either choose to follow or remain behind. Sure there is teaching and loving which goes along with this, but doing those things simply provides people with enough evidence to make a choice. Our choices determine our character and our character defines the essence of who we are.

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Praise God

1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

2 All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen (Galatians 1:1-5; NLT).

In this evil world in which we live it is hard to lose our focus. Bad things happen to us or people we care about and we wonder where God is in all of it. Tragedy hits our nation and we wonder why God didn’t protect us. When we are honest with ourselves we realize that there are times in our lives that it is just plain hard to worship God.

I have been there. In trying to understand what God wanted me to do with my life I began questioning Him about every little thing that came along. I was frustrated because God continually seemed to set Himself against me and prevent me from doing what I wanted to do. During this time praising God was the last thing on my mind. Instead I was giving Him the silent treatment.

Have you been to a similar place? Perhaps you are still loyal to God and you fulfill your commitments to the church, but you don’t praise God like you should. You go through the motions because you know it is the right thing to do, but you sure don’t feel like praise God because He seems to be, at the best the source your trouble and at worst apathetic about your condition. During these tough and dark times of life we need a reason to praise God.

The Apostle Paul gives us one good reason why we should praise God no matter what else happens in our lives. Our faith is exposed in how we respond to God in the bad and tough times in life. It is easy to praise God when everything is going our way because it seems like God is right there beside us blessing us each step of the way. When trials come we have a tendency to blame God because He didn’t protect us like He should.

Why should we praise God no matter what? We should praise God because Jesus gave His life for our sins. This was God’s plan from the very beginning. God planned to show us His love through the sacrifice of Jesus. Not only does Jesus’ sacrifice show us God’s love, but it also rescues us from this evil world in which we live.

True we still feel the effects of this evil world, but the difference is that now we have hope. Hope that one day all this will be destroyed and God will come and make all things new. Things will be how they were intended to be.

If God never gave us another blessing He would still deserve our endless praise because of this fact. Not only did God create us, which is another reason we should praise Him, but He did what was necessary so we could be saved from evil and find life in Him. Glory be to God forever.

I know that during those tough times in life this reality is very far from our minds. That is why we need to have some spiritual disciplines in our lives. Disciplines that help us get a proper perspective on things. Let’s face it, the reason we don’t praise God is because we are focused on the wrong thing or person. To often we focus in on our lives and circumstances and we lose sight of God and what He has done for us. Spiritual Disciplines are designed to reorient our thinking so we will have the right perspective on things.

If you feel like praising God take some time and thank Him in word or song for all the blessings He has given to you. If you don’t feel like praising God, even though you know you should, get to a quiet place and think. What has God done for you? Why have you praised God in the past? What hope do you have for the future? Make a list of all those blessings and just praise God. Just do it. Sometimes we have to tell our feels to shove off and just do what needs to be done. We won’t always feel like praise God, but we do know that He deserves it. So do it.

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Growing is Tough

I don’t know about you, but I wish growth wasn’t so painful. Why couldn’t it be like gaining weight? That is relatively easy and most of the time enjoyable, and in a way it is growth. If I wanted to gain weight all I would have to do is eat a lot of the food that I enjoy. It is no secret that I love fast food hamburgers and French fries. Those things are great. Imagine the pounds I could pack on by eating a steady diet of that stuff.

Growth, especially when it involves our faith, is not so easy. I will not grow by a steady diet of doctrine and Bible teaching. What?! I know I almost feel like a heretic writing it, but it is true. We do not grow by knowledge alone. Knowledge is useful because it is the foundation for out lives, but it is how we apply that knowledge to our lives that really matter. That is what produces growth.

James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote:

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing (James 1:2-4; NLT).

James tells us that growth happens through our experiences in life. It is when the rubber meets the road, when reality meets theory, that we really have a chance to grow into the people God wants us to be. The experience with the greatest potential for growth, according to James, is trial. When bad times hit and our dreams shatter how we respond will either benefit our development or will hold us back. During this dark times when we live as if God’s promises are true, even if they don’t seem real at the moment, will put us on the path of spiritual development.

What does this mean for you and me? It means we should spend far less time trying to set up a safe and secure life, because a truly safe and secure life is a myth, and spend more time engaging the evil of this world. If we are truly interested in growth we won’t find another Bible study to attend or another book to read, but we will live out what God has already told us to do, regardless of the consequences.

We are to have joy in the midst of trouble, not because we like pain, but because we know that preserving through it will make us a little more like Jesus. We will grow a little more mature and have a closer relationship with God. Those are reasons to be joyful.

Growing is hard. Change is hard. It will not happen simply by reading a book or attending Sunday morning worship. It requires difficult choices and hard times. It is by far easier to read a book, but the rewards are so much greater to display endurance through dark times. Growth is the result of coming through trials and tribulations with our faith intact.

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