Times Have Changed

Ever wonder what God is like?

If you lived in 2000 B.C., you and I could look up at Mount Sinai at the fire and smoke and say, 'God is like that...' And we would be fearful of touching the mountain, thinking if we did we would die.

If you and I lived in 29 AD, we would hear a man making Messianic claims.We would see a man would could feed thousands with very little, heal the sick and think to ourselves, 'Somehow, God is just like that man over there...'

But you and I live in the 21st Century; God is neither confined to a mountain top nor does Jesus walk our streets.  And yet, many times when I stand before the church, I wonder what the people in the pew think God is like right now.

The New Testament tells us that God is like those very people in the pews; as God was within Christ, He is also within each person who has trusted Him by faith. 
Like with Christ, there is an indwelling which takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Together, we are the Body of Christ - a new species in which God lives, extending His work and His hands through our lives to touch those in the need of a hand from God.
And as we read the New Testament, the Apostle Paul writes as if that was God's plan all along and we are only now catching on.
In fact, Paul claimed that God had moved from a Temple in Jerusalem to human temples; those who believe.

As the church, we carry the image of God; we should also carry the practice of God.
For example, when there was a famine in Israel, Paul went to churches he had started on the mission field and led in fund raising to aid in their relief.
Paul brought the Church money, but through his work, God was meeting His children's need just as much as if He had sent manna from heaven. 

As the Church and the Body of Christ, we are to meet similar needs of others in our time.

One thing we often fail to realize is that in the New Testament, there is no distinction between God and His Church. You may have never heard that before, but it is true.
When Saul was on the Damascus road headed out to arrest Christians as he had done previously, the Risen Christ appeared, knocked him to his knees, shining so bright that it would temporarily blind Saul, and asked, 'Saul, why are you persecuting ME?'
He didn't ask why Saul was persecuting His believers or followers, but why Saul was persecuting Jesus personally. 

In his mind, Saul was after heretics, not Jesus Himself. 
To him, Jesus had already been crucified and was dead; there was some suspicion as to who stole His body but Saul believed Him to be dead.
But just as Jesus was alive and the Spirit indwelling in those who believed, those people were in fact His own body.
In essence, whatever hurts us, hurts the Lord.

Do you want to know what God is like? Look no further than in the pews.
Do you want to see God? Then look to the people who belong to Him.
Quite frankly, it ought to be that simple.

You see, nonbelievers do not know names like William Carey, Mother Teresa or John Calvin; why would they? 
But the lost do know me.
Many will only see me....and you.

A watching world judges God and Christianity by those who carry the name of Christ.
Let's strive to live up to the name 'Christian.'

Until next time, try to win one for the good guys!

Jesus, On His Terms

Condescended - It means 'to descend to be with.' 
It's a unique word to describe what God did in the incarnation; how God chose to speak to us through Christ. He 'descended to be with' us.

Whether people realize it or not - God is fairly creative in how He has spoken to humanity.
To Abraham, He appeared at the door of a tent as a traveler. 
To Moses, He appeared on a hill side as the Burning Bush.
To Joshua, He appeared before Jericho as a soldier.
To Hagar, in the wilderness as a friend.
He spoke each time with words they needed to carry out the will of God. 
And when God chose to speak to the Nation - He used prophets.

But none of these matched the Son of God becoming a man in the person of Jesus Christ through the incarnation. After 400 years of silence, God chose to speak in authority and finality through His Son. 
And even today, the words He spoke still linger

The first words God spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Hagar were 'Fear Not.'
The angels as messengers of God, speaking to Gideon, Daniel, Mary and the Shepherds was 'Fear Not.'
As you read the Bible, you sort of get the feeling that 'Fear Not' was a divine 'Howdy.'
But what it tells us is that the appearance of God always struck fear in the hearts of man.
Yet, when God to speak in finality, He came in the most unassuming and least threatening way He possibly could - God became a new born baby.
And unless you have a volcanic diaper to change - babies just aren't scary.

But even though God came in a manner which would not frighten, people were disappointed with the Messiah. 
In truth, not much has changed. 
Millions upon millions of Christians are disappointed with the Lord for one reason or another. Maybe it is because of a lost love or a lost child; disease may have ravaged a person you deeply care about; rejection from others - all in all, there are thousands of reasons we may feel that God has disappointed us.
Like the ancients, Jesus wasn't what they expected at all - nor is He often what we expect in our lives.
What we need to learn is to not make Him into the Jesus we want Him to be, but allow Him to be the Jesus Christ He is - the Lord of All.
That is the place where our desire ends, His begins and worship in our hearts starts to praise our Everlasting Father.

Think About It:

When we have difficult times even tragic times, many Christians will demand that God speak from the heavens and decree a change in our situation.
We want a voice that tells us His will and way for our lives; we believe if this happens we will listen with obedient hearts and follow Him with strict adherence to all He desires. 
But truthfully, does that really sound like something we would do?

You see, Jesus came and made God's will absolutely clear, and it was rejected.
As He spoke, "Follow Me," or "This is how you should pray...." people tended not to listen and many times they didn't like what He had to say.
The fact is, many still didn't follow Him across the street much less to the Cross; and as far as praying goes - we have the example and the knowledge, but even today we still don't pray.

Instead of instant and absolute obedience to His voice, Jesus received what He receives now - open questions. Anybody can debate what God "really" wants, but only the Holy Spirit can communicate to us exactly what God demands of us in our obedience.
He was not silent, nor is He silent today.

Also when in a hard time, we want God to show Himself and prove that our faith is not in vain and that we haven't been wasting our time in serving Him. 
Well, God isn't hidden today - He's seen through His people; but in the first century they actually saw God in flesh. He took shape in the world.
God showed up with a name, a face and an address in Nazareth. His message about seeing God: 'Anyone who has seen Me, has seen the Father.'
It was blunt, but true; and the people just couldn't accept it.

Jesus' visibility and bold claims about being God in flesh brought on a new problem: Where was the smoke and fire from the Old Testament experiences with God?
Where was the lightening and the striking dead of evil people?
Jesus as a person just didn't match up to what people thought God should be.

Jesus was Mary's boy; even His brothers thought He was nuts (that's a clinical term we use for psychologically challenged). He was ordinary. 
The truth is that Jesus' skin got in the way.
Our problem today is not that God does not show Himself, it's that we so often reject Him because we will reject His body which comes in the form of fallen men and women in the world. 

Then we have another problem - when we go through a trial, we question the 'fairness' of God. You know, like Job - going through something that he didn't deserve and wondering why.
We go through things like this as well in our lives and we still wonder why God is being so unfair to us.

In Jesus' time, all people believed the Messiah would come and set things right just as we all believe about God's involvement in our lives. He is going to come in our lives, kick around the evil doers and set things right. If I was mistreated wrongly, He will vindicate me.
Isn't that what we believe?

The prophets even promised as much when they claimed the Messiah would swallow up death and wipe tears away from all faces.
When the Messiah did come it is true that He did heal many but it is also true that Jesus left many more not healed. Lazarus was raised from the grave but thousands more died during His life and they remain dead today.

Now, this problem of God supposedly being unfair bothers many Christians today and it can be disturbing. But the problem is not 'is God fair?'
We tend to confuse God with life.
Life is not fair, but God is fair; this tension in the world sometimes causes doubt because we cannot fully grasp it in our minds.
For example, Jesus said of John the Baptist, 'of woman, no greater man has been born.' Yet, in a jail cell and in the process of losing his head, John the Baptist voiced doubt - 'Should we look for another?'
Was life unfair to John? Yes.
Was God unfair to John? No.
For in the life and death of John the Baptist, Jesus was glorified; and this is the ultimate end to our lives as Christians - to glorify God through His Holy Son.

If we were to accept Jesus for who He is and not who we want Him to be for us personally, a lot of things would instantly change.
Jesus prayed about our faith, forgiveness and about our ability to resist the devil in the world. 
The physical world wants answers to end poverty, sicknesses and oppression.

In His time, Jesus failed to measure up to what the world thought a King should be.
As sad as it is to say, nothing has changed today.
Today, people want to focus on health and prosperity; instead the real, persistent problems for the Church are problems of pride, hypocrisy and legalism.

The reason Jesus prayed about faith, forgiveness and resisting evil is because these things in our walk with the Lord are the very attributes which overcome the world and glorifies Him through our lives.
Don't lose heart in times of struggle - allow Him to make you into a mighty weapon in the Lord's Army.

Until next time, go win one for the Good Guys.

God & Silence

Recently, I read once again the story of Jesus Christ's temptation in the wilderness after His baptism by John the Baptist. 
What Satan was tempting Christ with isn't really that much different from today's questions concerning God. That may be why they are so interesting.

Satan challenged Jesus' ability to provide; His response though on a 40 day fast was, 'Man shall not live on bread alone...'
When He was tempted with the seduction of earthly glory, thereby taking a short cut around His ultimate mission, Jesus responded, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'
In the last temptation, He was challenged concerning His ability of protection. Jesus would not throw Himself off the Temple, nor challenge God's ability. He simply answered, 'You shall not put the Lord you God to the test.'

In our times of trial and tragedy, these are the very things we seek from God.
We want to see His power in our lives. We desire to see His protection. And we want to see Him glorified in what He can do in our bodies or families when we are physically ailing - we usually expect this from some type of healing power.
Unlike Satan, we do not taunt God; instead, we ask sincerely and we often hope frantically.
And it is in those times, when God does not answer, that we experience a time much like Jesus experienced in the last few hours of His life on earth.

When Charlemagne, King of the Franks and the First Holy Roman Emperor, heard the account of Christ's betrayal, arrest and execution, he exploded into a rage. Shaking his sword, Charlemagne exclaimed, 'Oh, if only I had been there; I would have slain them all with my legions.'
Well, Charlemagne's courage is gallant - but he was not there for he was about 8 centuries later on the world stage. 
But I will tell you who was there - God Himself.

One of the darkest and saddest things that is known from the death of Christ is the fact that God was present, Jesus His Son called out to Him; yet, God the Father did not lift a finger to help Him.

In Gethsemane, Jesus said to His disciples of the inner circle that He was 'grieved to the point of death.'
As Judas was leading the Temple police and Sanhedrin to the olive grove, Jesus was praying for another way. He was praying for a way out so that the Cup of God's Wrath would not fall on Him.
And yet, even as Judas arrived, God remained silent.

Many Christians have been in a place during their lives just like Jesus was in those last hours where they felt God was ignoring them, turning a deaf ear to them or even forsaking them. 
No - God hurts when we hurt and loves us dearly; but sometimes He is silent.

Like Jesus, all that is wrong with the world sometimes seems to be triumphing over all that is right. 
When it happened to Christ, he was beaten before Pilate, ridiculed before Herod and slapped around by the Sanhedrin. 
Even as we read in horror today of the event, we know that there was no rescue.
While they clamored for a miracle, there was no miracle; only pain and suffering.

As Jesus took His last breath on the Cross and died, do you know what the response was?
Nature convulsed.

The death of the Son of God was so irrational and so out of place, nature itself could not remain silent.
Sometimes it is similar in our lives as believers, things are so out of whack - and our world convulses as we hurt.
But rest assured, God has not turned a deaf ear nor has He stopped loving us. 
His intervention may simply be delayed for a greater reason in your life.

Do you realize of all the events that happened to Jesus just prior to the crucifixion and immediately afterwards, only Calvary was open to the public?
Everything else, took place privately or a semi-private location.
After He was raised, Jesus also only appeared to those who believed in Him previously.
As far as we know, He never appeared to one nonbeliever.
Because of what He endured on the Cross, we may have eternal life.

That time of suffering and silence of God enables us today to obtain eternal happiness and joy.
While it was taking place Jesus voiced His disappointment with God: 'My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?'
But today, that silence can be seen as necessary because it was through Jesus' sacrifice and God not rescuing Him that He may save us from our sins and rescue us today through the power of the Gospel.

Remember that the next time you hurt and it seems God is silent; He may very well be planning a greater day ahead with future deliverance.

Until next time, try to win one for the Good Guys.

Can God Be Trusted?

I had an interesting experience today with two friends; both are older than me and both are battling severe sickness. 
Together, they illustrate the extreme emotions on suffering.
One, whom I've grown to love over the years, lies in a rehab facility - trying to recover from surgery. He continues to lose weight and have problems eating.
Today I learned he has lost another 12 pounds and is getting dangerously close to double digits on the scale. He is weak. He is tired. He is fighting to return home.
Although he expressed a disappointment with God in His situation, we prayed together for strength and recovery.

The second was much more hopeful - a woman who received excellent news. She has struggled with cancer and with tumors. 
Today we received news that the PET scans were good; the outlook hopeful and therefore, the praises solid to the Lord for what He has done.
With her - we rejoice together, not only now but also in the days to come; for if the tumors return, we are steadfast in our faith in the Lord's hand with this matter.

Now - these are two situations that are strikingly similar, but also very different. 
How can you explain why a person should place their faith in Almighty God when it seems there is no rhyme or reason as to who He heals and who He allows to suffer?
Is God capricious?
Does God love one more than the other?
How does God receive Glory from these situations and how are we to understand it?

These are not easy questions to answer.
But I believe I can boil it down to one question with one answer - Can We Trust God?

As Christians, we often pray to God that if God will descend or do something extraordinary when we are sick, when we need assurance, or when we are in trouble that we will believe and follow without question.
If I contract a disease and God certainly heals me, then we think we will follow God as a puppy dog follows his master.
Yet, when we turn to the Bible, history proves otherwise.

When we examine Israel, they had everything provided by God while in the wilderness - riches given by Egypt, food in the morning and evening, water from rocks, leadership by Moses, the will of God revealed by a cloud and the presence of God revealed in the Tabernacle.
But the first time Moses goes up to the mountain for an extended period of time - they gather around a gold calf and worship it as if it were God.
Throughout Israel's history, the more God attempted to draw near, the more they seemed to push Him away.

Later, when Solomon was king, Israel as well as the king had everything they could want.
David had brought peace to the land, expanded the borders and gathered materials for the Temple.
Solomon inherited it all - building the Temple while also acquiring unfathomable wisdom and a ridiculous number of wives.
Yet, but the end of Solomon's reign, Israel looked like the Egypt they had left years before; slave labor and idolatry permeated throughout the land.
From David to Solomon, less than a generation, Israel had descended and fallen away. To be sure, they enjoyed the gifts, but forget less and less about the Gracious Giver.
And many times we will do the same - rejoicing in the gifts and blessings of God while soon discarding the One who has blessed us.

At the situation in the land, as the Kingdom became divided, the people wondered about trusting God.
The prophets then rose in Israel, for the Kings who were to lead the nation in His will, with a few exceptions, became increasingly wicked.

The prophets spoke and in their words we can read what can be described as nothing less than sheer disappointment with God.
They, like all the people, had been raised on the victory stories of God reaching its zenith in the Temple, but now the People of God were being carted off to Babylon.
To them it was as confusing as a solid Christian having cancer and slowly wasting away in pain as they await death. 
It seems to make no sense as we struggle with our heavenly trust issues with the Lord.

Yet, like in modern times, back then the Lord did speak to His people - He spoke to and the through the Prophets.
As we read in the Old Testament, we see God challenging wickedness on Mount Carmel with a flash of Divine Power and we hold instances like this in our minds to be more important and convincing than a depressing sermon from Jeremiah.
But the truth is, those Divine Power Displays did very little to nurture long term faithfulness of the people.

As the people questioned God's honor in the sense of His concern for them, God continued to speak.
The ironic thing of the situation was that God would point to the people questioning His concern as evidence of His concern.
And the reality of it was that if God didn't care, He wouldn't have listened at all.
Therefore, we can conclude since God loves us and cares for us today - He does indeed hear our cries of anguish and our prayers filled with pain.

The prophets of old teach us one more thing.
In their writings, they are not concerned with intellectual questions about the suffering of the people in relationship to the love of God.
Instead, they are far more interested in God's passion towards His people.
Whether it was the Kingdom in a Civil War after Solomon died or the final kings being drug off to a foreign land - the people struggled with hearing the promises of God in victory while seeing their defeat and reduction at the hands of wicked, pagan men.

Again, the issue for us in sickness and trials is the same as the ancients had in their lives - Can God be Trusted? 
The answer is both 'Yes' and 'No.'

God can be trusted to respond as God and according to His attributes; but God can not be trusted to respond to situations and sickness in our lives as we think He ought to respond.

If we look to Jonah, the crux of his complaint and faithlessness was that he did not trust God enough to be harsh on the hated people of Nineveh. 
He did not trust God to do what he wanted Him to do, which was destroy Nineveh and its people. 
Jonah knew, as God has prove countless time, that He is a merciful Lord when people repent of their sins; which is exactly what happened in Jonah's case.
Nineveh was spared and Jonah was right - God acted like God; He did not act like Jonah wanted Him to act.

Another example of how God views humans and His love toward them can be seen in how we act with our own children; especially when it comes to new parents.
A new parent will spend hundreds of dollars on video equipment to record a child babbling and the child rolling over, crawling and then walking.

Even though nearly 5 billion people on earth have already accomplished the feat of talking and walking, new parents take pride and joy in these first acts of the new child.
God desires that type of relationship with us; a return to a relationship of child-like love and trust, similar to the trust a new child has in his parents through each of those cautious steps of learning early in life.

The Prophet Hosea demonstrated in a visible way God's treatment and love toward His people.
Hosea's life could double as a Soap Opera or the characters could have been found on a daytime TV talk show.
Hosea had the ominous task of demonstrating to the people how God felt towards them.
Therefore, Hosea was commanded to marry a prostitute. When his wife betrayed him, he offered to whisk her away to the wilderness to heal and be restored.
There was no condemnation, although there was disappointment; yet, healing and restoration was offered in love and mercy.
And this is what God offers to us.

You see, the Prophets do not end in universal, final defeat for the people of God. 
Instead, the prophets speak of a final joy.
They speak of an impending hope.
At the beginning of God's Word we see Eden, a Paradise. At the end, we read of a New Heaven, also a Paradise. Everything else is human history and means we are in a time of transition.
But excluding those two time periods, we live in that transition - so, what about now?
Can God be trusted NOW?

The unequivocal answer is 'Absolutely.' 
God can indeed be trusted with our hearts, souls and lives.
But remember - God cannot be trusted to do what we think He ought to do; that's not trusting God, that is an expectation of God conforming to what we desire.
I can tell you from experience - that isn't going to happen and you really don't want that to happen.
However, God can be trusted to respond to our problems, our issues, our illnesses and our crisis as God in His holiness and all other attributes.

But before you can trust God in all of who He is with all of your situations in life, you must first trust Him with your soul in forgiveness and mercy.
You can make that happen by receiving Christ as Lord.

Until next time, go win one for the good guys.