Tis The Season

Psalm 73

It's the Christmas season again. Seems to come faster every year.

It's usually this time of year that unbelievers seem to go out of their way more than usual to offend Christians.

It has been a source of frustration for me that would at times drive me to anger. Until recently, that is.

I've been pondering a Psalm by Asaph. He wrote Psalm 73. Asaph said something in Psalm 73 that caught my imagination. Maybe the Holy Spirit has been teaching me something about the Christmas spirit.

Asaph had been talking about the wicked and how they always seem to prosper without any consequences for their actions. In Psalm 73:16-17, God taught him a profound lesson.

The more I pondered what Asaph wrote, the less offended I felt at the unbelievers and the more sorry I felt for them. Unless they turn to Christ Jesus, they will move toward a fate that I wouldn't wish on anyone (Job 27:8).

Those who refuse to believe and openly curse God and His Christ have horrible things waiting for them (Jeremiah 23:12). Christ Jesus holds out hope to them and we are the ones who are supposed to be pointing the way to His outstretched hand.

Some will angrily slap His hand away. They will refuse to turn to Him. I feel afraid for them (1 Thessalonians 5:3 and 2 Thessalonians 1:9).

God showed Asaph their end, and it made him shutter when he understood (Psalm 73:21-22).

Thank You, Father, for teaching that I should love my enemies and bless those who curse me. Thank You for showing me why.

God is AWESOME!

With This Ring...

Ephesians 5:22-33

I wear a wedding ring because I am married. The ring does not simply signify that I have a wife. My ring represents my wife. In wearing my ring, I am declaring that I am only one half of a greater whole. It is a celebration of my wife and my love for her.

Ephesians chapter 5 has some controversial ideas for our current culture. It is often taken out of context. The teaching about wives submitting to their husbands is often misrepresented and misused, which is a big no-no (Exodus 20:7). In the context of Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul is teaching about how God's people should conduct themselves. The title of his lesson could be in Ephesians 5:1 and the summation of the lesson can be found in Ephesians 5:32.

In His genius, God instituted marriage. As the Apostle Paul points out in Ephesians 5:32, it refers to Christ and the church. The act of submitting cannot be viewed as weakness. Humility before God and in obedience to God is, in the eyes of Christ Jesus, strength (Mark 9:35). The wives are not the only ones being called upon to submit. We are all to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:17-21).

So, in my rambling, I'm trying to make the point that marriage is a representation of our relationship with our God. A relationship that should be treated with the utmost respect and humility toward one another. A relationship that should be taken seriously, that should be approached with reverence and a thankful heart. A relationship that should be celebrated with a joyful heart.

When I look at my wedding ring, I see everything that is good in my life. I see my wife and I smile.

God is AWESOME!

Alternative Lifestyle

John15:5 and Colossians 3:2-3

My pastor said something a few years ago that has stuck with me. We were studying the teaching of the Vine in John 15. Jesus used the term abide in Me repeatedly. My pastor said that abiding in Christ could be viewed as a lifestyle.

I was thinking about abiding in Christ as a lifestyle today. Then a thought occurred to me. There are those in the world who call the way they live their lives alternative lifestyles. But really, they are living as fallen creatures in a fallen world. That is nothing new or alternative. They are simply people who are groping in the darkness (Isaiah 59:10) who have rejected the Light of Truth.

We as the Church, the called out ones (1st Peter 2:9), have been set apart. According to Titus 2, we are the ones in this world living alternative lifestyles.

We live a lifestyle that seems completely foreign and strange to unbelievers. A lifestyle of abiding in Christ is an alternative lifestyle in a fallen world.

God is AWESOME!

A Reason For Everything

My wife and I watched the last Presidential debate. When it ended, Governor Romney's family came out on stage. We both commented on how much the Governor's sons looked like him. My wife said, "There is no question about who their daddy is."

A thought occurred to me that kind of gave me chills (the good kind). God designed in our DNA the family resemblance for a reason. Children look like their parents for a reason.

God is our Father. The family resemblance is there to remind us that there should be no mistake about to whom we belong. We should look just like our Father.

God is AWESOME!

Broken Hearts

Isaiah 61:1-3

My thoughts sometimes wander to some dark places. Places that make it hard to breathe. Places that make it hard to see hope.

I was on my way home from work today, and my mind wandered. I started thinking about some of the people Jesus would associate Himself with that got Him in trouble with the religious leaders of His day (Mark 2:16-17).

There are people out there who are in desperate need of hope. People who have been caught in the jaws of the enemy (1 Peter 5:8). Their dreams have died and their hearts are broken. Now they simply try to survive in a hard, cruel world devoid of hope.

They need to know that there is hope. That this isn't all there is. That Christ Jesus holds out hope to them. Not just hope. Life. Real, fulfilling, joyful, abundant life! (Luke 19:10, John 10:10)

We don't have to go beat people over the head with Jesus. We share the gospel and guard closely our testimony in the way we talk and live our lives. We don't judge or pretend that we are somehow better (which is a ridiculous notion - Romans 3:23).

The reality is that it is a cold, hard world. And bad things happen. But that doesn't mean hope has to die. We know the Way and have the Truth and the Life. He isn't a bureaucratic system, He is a living breathing man (John 16:33).

Thank You for the hope that You hold out. Help us to simply point to You so others can see.

God is AWESOME!

A Familiar Face

Romans 8:1

I went to the mall after I got off work today. It's a Saturday, so the mall was pretty crowded. I feel uncomfortable in crowds. I wouldn't have gone, but I had to pick up a new sport coat that had to have alterations on the sleeve length.

I was ill at ease when I went into the store at the mall. Another way that I'm kind of a weirdo is that I don't like being touched, which is why I don't like crowds. I did my best to make a bee line to the part of the store where I had to pick up my new jacket. I wanted to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. I had to dodge quite a few people. I got my jacket, thanked the man at the desk and left. I was making my way out when I started to feel a little bit of anxiety. So many people. I looked around at all the strangers there and felt even more ill at ease. I wanted to be home so bad.

As I walked toward the exit, feeling more and more desperate to leave, I saw a familiar face. An old friend that I hadn't seen in years. Relief washed over me. It was good to see my friend. I stopped and talked to him for a few minutes and all anxiety melted away. A miracle, I thought as I bid my friend goodbye.

As I made my way to my truck, anxiety free, I was no longer focused on the crowd, but thinking how nice it was to see my friend.

I wondered if that is what it will be like when we get to heaven. Judgement taking place, and in our limited understanding, we start to feel anxiety. Then, there He is. Our Beautiful Savior. The Familiar Face. All fear, all doubt, all anxiety, all questions....gone. Only our Glorious King, who is happy to see us, and we standing in His presence with great joy (Jude 1:24).

Thank You, Father, that we will one day stand before You under the representation of Christ Jesus...innocent.

God is AWESOME!

Simmer Down Now

Psalm 46:10

"Don't worry about it." "Just trust God." Don't you hate it when this is the advice you get when everything around you seems to be falling apart? Then there are the well meaning people try to give you a spiritual pep rally. Boy isn't that just the best. I like the way Job's friends handled things (Job 2:13).

When life becomes one giant struggle after another, it is very difficult to focus on anything other than what is happening right now. Everything is so...loud. The noise of the struggle is deafening.

There are some trials that you just can't prepare for. We are blindsided by things. A spouse leaves the marriage for someone else, a child dies in an auto accident, a job is unexpectedly lost, a house burns down, an economy collapses suddenly...

The truth is that in these situations, once the initial shock (that time that you feel like what is happening can't be real, it has to be a dream) has passed, it's time to deal with it. Time to calm down and remember. Remember that we are in fact children of God. Remember that He is there and (even though it doesn't seem possible at the moment) is in control. Time to remember His promises to us. Remember that He is our Wise Father.

Philippians 4:4-7, John 14:27, John 16:33, The book of Job, 1 Peter 5:6-7. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but just a few that helped me through some rough times. As I said before, we can never prepare for some things, but with a solid foundation in Christ Jesus, we will be able to withstand the blow (Ephesians 6:13-17).

Thank You, Father, for adopting me. For loving me and providing me with the tools necessary for coping with bad situations. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit and the comfort and understanding that He gives. Thank You for giving us an "other side" of things, and the ability to say at the end, as Job did, "Before I had only heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You."

God is AWESOME!