A Goodie from the Devo-file: God is sovereign

“Because God is sovereign, I will joyfully submit to His Will.”–Bill Bright

God’s sovereignty is always a sticky point theologically. It also is an abrupt challenge to our “independence” as people. We in America particularly have a problem with this thinking: “What do you mean I can’t do whatever I want? Where’s the freedom in that?”

Romans 6 directly addresses this “free, but not free” lifestyle of Christianity. “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:16-18)

It is a strange life that we live. We never actually get to be free! Without venturing too far down the road of contemplation, consider that we are always under the influence and guidance of another. We are, metaphorically, soldiers under the command of one of two sides in a war. There is no neutral ground; there are none who can abstain. Jesus himself says, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30)

So how is that we talk about “freedom in Christ”? First of all, in Christ, we have the ability (read: freedom) to be who God intends us to be. We are, in a sense, restored to the state of Man before the Fall, again in communion with God. Second, we are freed from sin and its consequence, death. Being united in Christ through His forgiveness grants us eternal life. We then are forever freed from the punishment we deserve, but which He took upon Himself on the cross.

Now I’m about to get all mystical: How is it then that we offer ourselves into slavery (verse 16) if we are already slaves to one or the other? This is because obedience is the mark of who masters us. We who are redeemed are said to have two natures: the sinful flesh and the righteous spirit. Whichever voice we listen to and obey, that is the voice that controls us. Jesus spoke on this as well: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)

Your challenge from this lesson is to submit. Take a step back from your life. Look at what you do and why you do it. Are you obeying God or are you trying to do things on your own? Are you trying to “have your cake and eat it too”? Even the good that you do, is it because of God’s direction or is it because it’s “the right thing” or “what God wants me to do”? Sovereignty is not about force and control as it is about leadership and guidance. So who’s steering your boat today?

A Goodie from the Devo-file: God is omniscient

“Because God knows everything, I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns.”–Bill Bright

Some of us are working hard at summer employment. I have lived in Athens for about two years now and I am still finding that more money goes out of my bank account than seems to come in! Summer is especially hard since I have to stretch those last few dollars until the next installment comes in August. I’m not sharing this for sympathy, but if you feel like sending me a check, don’t resist!

Life is filled with difficulty and confusion. It seems like we are always lost in the fog, never sure of which way to turn. Psalm 121 gives us comfort in these times. (If you have ever seen “The Sound of Music” , the opening verse will be familiar.) “He will not let your foot slip.”–the image here is of a high mountain pass.

My brother spent the first weeks of August last year high in the Andes of Peru. The people group he worked with live in small houses built into the cliffs. Just off the paths, walked daily by these people, are drops of several thousand feet! Clouds may sweep in and obstruct the view of the path ahead.

This is how I think our lives should be considered. We can only see where the next few steps will be. God (in the cloud) sees the whole path. He doesn’t tell us every detail of the journey, only what we need to know right now. This is why prayer is so important.

Rote, memorized, formulaic prayer won’t cut it here. Reciting a long list of prayer requests and dried-up, token promises to do better won’t show us the way to go. They interrupt God and keep him from telling us what to do. Remember prayer is supposed to be a two-way conversation!

Fervent, conversational, daily prayer is how we ask God the small questions, how we burden Him with our little problems, how we find out where our next step should be.
God wants to hear about every detail of our lives–He already knows it, but He wants us to share it with Him. He wants us to admit we can’t handle it and to ask him to do something about it!

This week, seek a life of supplication. Ask God to help you deal with people you really can’t stand, with bad situations that aren’t helping, with the quagmire of sin you are trapped in. Ask Him, then shut your mouth and let Him speak. You will be amazed by the changes you’ll see.

A Goodie from the Devo-file: God is omnipresent

“Because God is ever-present, He is always with me.”–Bill Bright

When people look for comfort in the Bible, they often go to passages like Psalm 23 or Psalm 139. When we are afraid, we often want a “comfy, fuzzy” God that will wrap us up like a big blanket and protect us from our fears. Yet later, we feel stifled by His closeness and ever-attentiveness.

Ever since the Garden, we have been running from God while in our sin. We want Him around when WE want Him around, on our schedule. We almost think to ourselves, “No Jesus, this is my time. You can’t be here. Now is when I do what I want. Now is my night out, my day off!” Sounds silly when I say out loud?

Psalm 22 is familiar to us: Jesus quoted verse 1 while on the cross, yet strangely enough I find comfort in its words. Hebrew poetry has this beautiful richness to it, this tapestry of paradox and contradiction. David writes alternately of loneliness and being sustained, of helplessness and comfort, of feeling trapped, then feeling freed. Embrace the mystery of God’s presence.

Psalm 78:32-39 is still a remarkable commentary on our hamster wheel of obedience. Read the passage over and over; follow the cycle of sin and repentance.–Ouch! We know we shouldn’t, but we want to, so we do. Flip over to Romans 7:15-20 and commiserate with Paul for a moment.

Now I’m going to hit you with something shocking: God still loves you! My mother still says, “I may not like you, but I still love you.” It’s about time we start thinking of God as the coolest friend we have. We do all this stuff that makes Him angry. We don’t talk to Him, we lie to His face, and still He wants to hang out with us!! Okay, so He hangs around a little too much, like some overbearing older brother (trust me, I was one!), but He is always looking out for us, taking care of us.

Without getting “WWJD” crazy, I think we should “plan to hang with God” today. I will admit that I talk to God on a regular, almost hourly basis about everything: bad drivers, my aching feet, pretty sunsets, etc. Don’t be afraid to get real with the Man. Hey, He already knows what you’ve done and what you’re thinking. God desires intimacy with you: so let Him “in to me to see”!

We interrupt this blog to bring you my actual opinion on something…

I have noticed a trend recently of disrespect for the law and for those who make and enforce them. From politicians mudslinging each other (in the glorious festival of stupidity we call “election season”) to a general lack of empathy for people who we elect, but fail to support, I have become somewhat…no, change that, VERY disgusted with the juvenility of America today.

First of all, I don’t really care whether you think we should be in Iraq or not, whether you feel Islam is “a religion of peace” or not, or even if you are Republican/Democrat/whatever: President Bush is the PRESIDENT…and you are not. Give the man some respect! There are few jobs in America that have so much exposure and criticism associated with them…and I don’t exactly think that you are Mr./Mrs. Congeniality at your job either. Being a man of few years, I did not vote for the previous president…so I did not choose to voice my opinion about him. I found him to be less than qualified as a person to represent me and my family, much less this nation, but a majority of electoral voters, representing a majority of voters in their states, elected him…twice. Yet much less criticism fell on him for his extramarital affairs, his lack of response in the Rwanda genocide, his failure to respond to the growing crisis of terrorism worldwide, and his rather shady dealings with the elite of this nation. Where is the respect due to the office of Commander-in-Chief? You may not like Bush, you may not like me, but everyone (yes, EVERYONE) deserves the respect due him/her and their place of authority.

Second, every two years we ballyhoo about how Congress is corrupt and unresponsive to the needs of the people. Yet very few people take a few hours out of their day to go and vote (I know you have the time because you are reading this blog!). Again, I maintain that those who do not act ot change the government (vote, run for office, write a letter, make a phone call etc.) have no right to criticize or insult it. Since I was eighteen, I have voted in every November election and several of the primaries…I make my voice known. I have also written Congress on a issue I found important (African agriculture and continuing European condescension). What have you done with those flapping gums and general irritability you foist upon the blogosphere? (Apologies to those who do not foist.)

This leads me to my next point: we live in a civilized democracy — rule of the majority, protection of the minority. If you happen to be in the majority, you get to set policy. If you happen to be in the minority, you don’t, but you do have the protections of the Constitution to challenge the popular opinion and law. So if you do not agree with the policies in place or those proposed by popular referendum (I am speaking now about marriage amendments, but not exclusively to that issue.), you have three options:

1) Try to stir up support in your area to change the policy .

2) Challenge the legality or validity of the proposition or the policy in court.

3) Move to another area (read: nation) that shares your opinions

Given recent events and popular sentiment in most parts of America, I suggest option 3. Oh yeah, you can also run for Congress, but even there you need a majority to make changes…again option 3 is looking good.

Okay, I’m done now. Sorry if that was too vitrolic…I hope that we as a nation can act civilly and decently toward each other, but that remains to be seen…

A Goodie from the Devo-mail Files: God is omnipotent

“Because God is all-powerful, He can help me with anything.”–Bill Bright

Omnipotence: philosophers and mystics have debated for centuries about the extent and the expanse of God’s power over the universe. However, such lofty speaking is long overdue for a dose of the back of God’s all-reaching hand! If ever someone feels proud of their accomplishments or success, I would suggest that they peruse Job 38-42 before they speak again. It is somewhat hard to be haughty and self-important after the tongue-lashing that the Lord Almighty gives us in this passage. “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2)

Now I’m not saying that we should not be proud of the gifts and opportunities God has given us. Instead I think we should view all that we have as not really ours to be proud of. Americans are known worldwide as having a very narrow view of the world, of thinking that everyone has a TV, a VCR, and an SUV. I often wonder if the Lord in his foreknowledge wrote so many passages in the Bible about humility just for us!

Also, we don’t need to go around our lives wailing and mourning in false contrition. So many Christians these days live in guilt for being successful or well-off. They don’t want to speak out or do anything noticable for fear that people will talk about their “nerve”. They don’t want to drop the big check into the offering plate for fear of “showing off”. Second Corinthians 8 teaches the lesson that some are giuven much so that they can then give much. Some are given vacation time and retirement and summer break so that they can go and do. Some are given light class schedules so that they can serve and share.

Stop being afraid! Stop it right now!! Stop worrying about what people think and do God’s Will, this summer and next year. This is a hard lesson, even for me, and I am struggling with myself on this issue as well. But I am “being confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 1:6) We who are young often look for the approval of others and of society. We think that being unpopular is the end of the world. To that, I say, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake at their surging, we will not fear.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

A Goodie from the Devo-mail Files:

Hello friends:

I first sent this out over the ‘net a few years ago as a part of an email-based devotional series. I re-present it because of how much I benefitted from writing it and others from reading it. Please peruse and be inspired by the Spirit, not my waggling fingers!

Comments on “The Attributes of God” (Dr. Bill Bright)

1) God is personal

“Because God is a personal Spirit, I will seek intimate fellowship with Him.”–Bill Bright

How remarkable it is that God in all of His infinite majesty and glory desires to talk with us personally! The Bible is filled with many examples of such longing for closeness, but the most poignant, I think, is Matthew 23:37–”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” The agony that must have accompanied these words!

Up to this point, Matthew 23 is filled with proclamations of hypocrisy and woes against the Pharisees, filled with condemnation for their distortion of God’s truth. Yet, Jesus closes this section with a petition for them to return to Him still–the love and overwhelming compassion that represents!

The irony of “Jerusalem”, the city of peace and site of the Temple, juxtaposed beside “you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you” should not be lost on us. Even to this day, the church continues to be guilty of shutting our ears to the truth God reveals in His Word and through His messengers. When we seek to modernize or modify the Gospel to fit our society or our opinions, we destroy any claim to truth and any testimony we have. In the words of Paul, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called–one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6)

“how often I have longed to gather your children together”: Fellowship in the Body of Christ is essential in our quest to bring Him glory. We each have our personal views and interpretations; we each have our personal call and purpose. However, we are also called to support one another. The resounding gong and clanging cymbal of I Corinthians 13 applies to the lack of love for those we minister TO as well as those we minister WITH. Unity is not unanimity: We do not have to agree, but we do have to stick together!

“as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”: This is an interesting image of God. In all other references and analogies, God is Father, but here He shows Himself to also be Mother. The love of a mother is different than that of a father, at least in our human minds. From the moment of conception, our mothers have protected us, nourished us, and “been there” for us. God desires, He groans for, that kind of closeness and trust with Him. He, of all persons, knows us better than even our mother. I challenge you to draw closer to Him daily and spend time resting beneath His wings.

“but you were not willing.”: Whether you hold to predestination or not, God never forces us to love Him. He never makes us trust Him. He gently, but firmly, calls us. Yet so often we ignore Him and His promise of peace and rest in search of greener pastures and more exciting experiences. Over the course of this summer, now that you have time to focus on things other than school, I urge you to make yourself willing, to listen to God’s messages to you, to seek Him and keep seeking Him for the remaining days He gives you.

First post at the new blog site!

Hello friends (and new acquiantances)!

I have now migrated to WordPress for my blog home!

In the next few days, I plan to post so wait expectantly!