Love-Hate Relationship
Josiah was eight years old when he became king... He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 2 Kings 22:1a-2a
Josiah was a bright light among the kings of Jerusalem. He became king at eight years old. When Josiah was around 18 years old the book of the Law was found (2 Kings 22:8). After hearing the word of God, Josiah instituted reforms that lead the nation back to following God. But for ten years he lived for God, but without the wisdom of scripture. For ten years he allowed spiritualism, paganism and male prostitution to reside right next to Judaism (actually they resided inside the temple - 2 Kings 23:7). Though Josiah loved God, he did so without the word of God. And without the word, the country was spiritually destitute and actually living against the Lord.
When we deny the word of God, we do it to our own peril. In proverbs 29:18 it says that where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. Revelation always comes from the word of God. When God's word has not been stored in your heart and mind, blessings will be hard to come by. Without the word, it is impossible to know the will of the Father.
I feel sad for the people that say that they "follow God in their own way" or they say that they "no longer need the word of God because of grace". The truth is that these types of people are either too lazy or too arrogant to seek God in wisdom and in truth. They may love God, but they live as if they hate Him. There should be a balance to our claims of love and the choices in our lives. How can I love God and live against His word? I have a question for you... Is a love-hate relationship with God any relationship at all?
Friday, August 31, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
When evil looses
When evil looses
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 NIV
I was discussing Bible scripture with a co-worker. He made mention that he used to be a police officer. When on duty, he said he always wore a flack jacket. And embroidered on the jacket was Romans 12:21. Immediately I thought of how he faced evil all day long. I thought about how he faced anything from minor traffic violations to more serious crimes. And in all of those experiences he made every effort to avoid letting evil seep into his being. He faced evil and held on to good and onto at least to some sense of morality.
You know, it seems perfectly natural to fight fire with fire. Many people even quote the Bible and say that a lost eye should result in a lost eye and that a broken tooth deserves a broken tooth. In some sense, I think that evil deserves a taste of its own medicine... But we who follow Christ, we walk by the Spirit not by imitating the ways of this world
(2 Corinthians 5:7). We believers follow a path that is well hidden by the sin-riddled ways of this planet. And, I fear that very few dare to tread this narrow godly path. Human nature screams that we repay evil with bigger, harder-hitting evil. The supernatural says that we should return good for evil. That idea seems a bit odd, but it isn't anything that God hasn’t already done for us. God dealt with the evil in us by giving the best good that He had... Himself.
When we pay out good for the evil we receive, we are following in the footsteps of Christ. When we send out good as payment for evil, we become a pipeline of God’s love and power in a world that is filled with sin. Turning the other cheek steals the power of evil, and evil will loose. Store up God’s word in your heart and mind. That is how we keep a reserve of God’s good to prevail over evil.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 NIV
I was discussing Bible scripture with a co-worker. He made mention that he used to be a police officer. When on duty, he said he always wore a flack jacket. And embroidered on the jacket was Romans 12:21. Immediately I thought of how he faced evil all day long. I thought about how he faced anything from minor traffic violations to more serious crimes. And in all of those experiences he made every effort to avoid letting evil seep into his being. He faced evil and held on to good and onto at least to some sense of morality.
You know, it seems perfectly natural to fight fire with fire. Many people even quote the Bible and say that a lost eye should result in a lost eye and that a broken tooth deserves a broken tooth. In some sense, I think that evil deserves a taste of its own medicine... But we who follow Christ, we walk by the Spirit not by imitating the ways of this world
(2 Corinthians 5:7). We believers follow a path that is well hidden by the sin-riddled ways of this planet. And, I fear that very few dare to tread this narrow godly path. Human nature screams that we repay evil with bigger, harder-hitting evil. The supernatural says that we should return good for evil. That idea seems a bit odd, but it isn't anything that God hasn’t already done for us. God dealt with the evil in us by giving the best good that He had... Himself.
When we pay out good for the evil we receive, we are following in the footsteps of Christ. When we send out good as payment for evil, we become a pipeline of God’s love and power in a world that is filled with sin. Turning the other cheek steals the power of evil, and evil will loose. Store up God’s word in your heart and mind. That is how we keep a reserve of God’s good to prevail over evil.
Friday, August 17, 2012
When God Sings
When God Sings
The lord your God is with you, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17(a,b)
My wife has a preoccupation with lambs. She thinks they are cute. But when I see them I only think of lunch. Anyhow, Ursula gave me a birthday card one year. The cover displayed a cartoon of a lamb dancing at sunrise. On the inside the smiling lamb seemed to be hovering over the words, "The lord rejoices over you!" The first thought that came to mind was, "Nice sentiment, but I wish God would have really said that." I looked on the back of the card and it said Zephaniah 3:17.
Maybe you feel so low, so guilty that you figure God would never dance when He thinks of you. And if that is true, then like me, you would be wrong. The lord loves you without equivocation and indeed He celebrates when He thinks of you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you! No, I am not stuttering. I am repeating myself in the hope that you will believe me.
When we turn away from sin, it is cause for celebration in the heavens. And the lord is celebrating with a song, over you right now!
The lord your God is with you, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17(a,b)
My wife has a preoccupation with lambs. She thinks they are cute. But when I see them I only think of lunch. Anyhow, Ursula gave me a birthday card one year. The cover displayed a cartoon of a lamb dancing at sunrise. On the inside the smiling lamb seemed to be hovering over the words, "The lord rejoices over you!" The first thought that came to mind was, "Nice sentiment, but I wish God would have really said that." I looked on the back of the card and it said Zephaniah 3:17.
Maybe you feel so low, so guilty that you figure God would never dance when He thinks of you. And if that is true, then like me, you would be wrong. The lord loves you without equivocation and indeed He celebrates when He thinks of you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you. The lord loves you! No, I am not stuttering. I am repeating myself in the hope that you will believe me.
When we turn away from sin, it is cause for celebration in the heavens. And the lord is celebrating with a song, over you right now!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Imitation is the best form of flattery
Imitation is the best form of flattery
You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Psalms 139:13 NIV
I recently read that IBM has created an experimental computer chip. It is designed to imitate the structural and synaptic functions of the brain. They say that these new cognitive (thinking) computers would learn through experience, find correlations, create hypotheses, and remember the outcomes. Think of it this way, eventually your car will know how to drive you to work. Or maybe your television will know what your favorite shows are and record them for you. Imagine that your computer can do your taxes or act as a tutor for students. Maybe we are on the cusp of robotic helpers for the elderly and those with physical disabilities?
When scientists couldn't make a better computer chip, they turned to God's design. And what they have found in the master engineer's design is radically beyond their wildest imaginations. Their imitation of the brain seems to me the best form of flattery. In a way, it is an acknowledgment that God has created something brilliant, timeless and profound.
Now consider this, you are God’s brilliant design. You are leaps and bounds beyond the wildest of our imaginations. You are God's great idea! You are a radical design because you were created in His image (Genesis 1:27). We are His masterpiece! We were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). When we live our lives according to God’s design and when we do the work He has planned for us, I think we pay the greatest compliment to the Lord.
You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Psalms 139:13 NIV
I recently read that IBM has created an experimental computer chip. It is designed to imitate the structural and synaptic functions of the brain. They say that these new cognitive (thinking) computers would learn through experience, find correlations, create hypotheses, and remember the outcomes. Think of it this way, eventually your car will know how to drive you to work. Or maybe your television will know what your favorite shows are and record them for you. Imagine that your computer can do your taxes or act as a tutor for students. Maybe we are on the cusp of robotic helpers for the elderly and those with physical disabilities?
When scientists couldn't make a better computer chip, they turned to God's design. And what they have found in the master engineer's design is radically beyond their wildest imaginations. Their imitation of the brain seems to me the best form of flattery. In a way, it is an acknowledgment that God has created something brilliant, timeless and profound.
Now consider this, you are God’s brilliant design. You are leaps and bounds beyond the wildest of our imaginations. You are God's great idea! You are a radical design because you were created in His image (Genesis 1:27). We are His masterpiece! We were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). When we live our lives according to God’s design and when we do the work He has planned for us, I think we pay the greatest compliment to the Lord.
Friday, August 3, 2012
I’ll keep this one
I’ll keep this one
All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. John 6:37 NIV
Sometimes I wonder how many more of my shenanigans God will endure. I seem to always be up to something. If it isn’t teasing and joking with friends, it is a phone prank or something worse.
I remember perfecting a voice impersonation of my grandmother. I did a test run on my brother Curtis. When I called, I was so convincing that all of my nieces and nephews took turns getting on the phone to say hello to grandma. When Curtis finally got to the phone it was all I could do to keep from laughing. We exchanged a few words and finally Curt asked, “Grandma, you sound like you have a cold?” I couldn’t hold the laughter in anymore. Curtis told me to never call his house again.
But then there are other things I have gotten myself into that weren’t so humorous. Decades ago I vandalized a car to “pay back” some people for causing my father some trouble. They paid me back by burning down my parent’s garage. By now you think that God may have finally tired of me. By now you would think that after a burned out garage, a torched car in that same fire and not being able to call my brother would be enough to calm me down…
Here’s the thing… we are all still under construction. Or as people in an old church I attended used to say, “God is not through with me yet.” As long as you want to stay with God, He won’t be getting rid of you any time soon. As long as you want to stay, even if you can’t call your brother or your car is a charred crisp, He will never push you away.
All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. John 6:37 NIV
Sometimes I wonder how many more of my shenanigans God will endure. I seem to always be up to something. If it isn’t teasing and joking with friends, it is a phone prank or something worse.
I remember perfecting a voice impersonation of my grandmother. I did a test run on my brother Curtis. When I called, I was so convincing that all of my nieces and nephews took turns getting on the phone to say hello to grandma. When Curtis finally got to the phone it was all I could do to keep from laughing. We exchanged a few words and finally Curt asked, “Grandma, you sound like you have a cold?” I couldn’t hold the laughter in anymore. Curtis told me to never call his house again.
But then there are other things I have gotten myself into that weren’t so humorous. Decades ago I vandalized a car to “pay back” some people for causing my father some trouble. They paid me back by burning down my parent’s garage. By now you think that God may have finally tired of me. By now you would think that after a burned out garage, a torched car in that same fire and not being able to call my brother would be enough to calm me down…
Here’s the thing… we are all still under construction. Or as people in an old church I attended used to say, “God is not through with me yet.” As long as you want to stay with God, He won’t be getting rid of you any time soon. As long as you want to stay, even if you can’t call your brother or your car is a charred crisp, He will never push you away.
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