I am finally writing about a burden my heart has carried for some time now. I believe there is a missing element in the faith practiced by many believers these days. The missing element? An understanding of the holiness of God.
I find it best to think of God’s holiness in at least 3 ways.
“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” So Mark Twain quoted his friend, writer Charles Dudley Warner. With floods, hurricanes, and unseasonable heat, the weather has been the topic of conversation lately, but no one has offered any doable solutions. The weather remains in God’s hands (thankfully) and He continues to serve His purposes through it. In the meantime, we will probably keep talking a lot about it and continue doing nothing about it. Unfortunately, prayer is another topic that garners more TALKING than DOING.
We admit the ever-present need for prayer, we profess our belief in the power of prayer, and we talk about the potential of prayer to “change things,” but we continue to allow other things to distract us from the work of prayer. Yes, prayer is hard work, because when we stop to focus on prayer, our enemy throws everything in his arsenal at us to stop us. He, too, recognizes the potential power our prayers wield against him and he aims to stop us.
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Today, I will add to the talk – or in this case the writing – about prayer, but I do so in hopes that this will remind us of our need to talk less about praying and engage a consistent, intentional, and daily time of prayer. I want to share from the example of Jesus in Mark 3:7-12, when Jesus withdrew with His disciples from the crowd so they could give time to prayer.
If Jesus, the son of God, withdrew regularly to pray, how much more so do we need to establish the discipline for our lives? Let me suggest at least 3 reasons.
I planted a garden this year. Even though I am 53 years old, I still like to play in the dirt. I like to cultivate things. It’s not a large garden by any means, but it’s mine.
All of us try to grow something in our lives. For some, it’s our financial standing. They do everything with a view for how it will make more money for them.
Others grow popularity. They want to know and be known by the right people. They want other people to know who they are.
Many people try to cultivate possessions. They want the best house, car, clothes, or any other objects that the world values. Their life is a massive pursuit of more, better, and new.
You can probably think of a lot of other things that people you know try to grow in their lives.
I have read the verse countless times in my life. But when I read and studied Psalm 37:3 the other day, I saw something new for me.
I’m not sure where I first heard that quote, but it needs to circulate more widely these days. We live in the era of excuses. Most, if not all, of us succumb to its temptation at some time or another.
Teams would be undefeated if not for partial referees, adverse conditions, or cheating opponents.
Pastors would be more successful if their church members would fall in line.
Workers would do a better job of their bosses were nicer and co-workers not so incompetent.
You get the picture. Our shortcoming are always the result of someone else or something less than perfect. It’s NEVER us.
The problem with excuses is not whether or not they are legitimate. The problem is that they prevent us from ever improving. If the problem is always outside of us, then why would we ever evaluate ourselves.
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God encourages self-examination. Consider the following verses.
Seems like “Christmas” starts earlier every year.
I have seen more pre-Thanksgiving Christmas decorations and sales displays this year than ever before. I even have neighbors who already have decorations out.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not a Scrooge. I LOVE Christmas, but I also love Thanksgiving. This infringement on Thanksgiving concerns me. It seems we are more interested in getting more stuff than being thankful for the stuff we already have.
How seriously does God take thankfulness? Romans 1:18-32 provides a list of attitudes and actions that reveal hearts who’ve rejected God. There in the middle of the list we find this description (emphasis added):
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. – Romans 1:21-23
Sounds pretty serious to me.
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Let me encourage you to hold your horses on Christmas for 4 more days and spend this week in Thanksgiving. In fact, I challenge you to give thanks THREE WAYS this week.
Unless we are willing to divert our attention from the ordinary, we will miss God’s extraordinary.My mind often wanders, but sadly, it seldom wonders. It is amazing how seldom I am amazed.
I fear that slowly we are losing our capacity for amazement. A couple of reasons contribute to our wondering wandering.
First, we lead overly busy lives. We do not slow down enough to notice what is going on around us. Additionally, media – social and traditional – have over-exposed us to the sensational. Let’s face it. Nothing surprises us anymore.
The sad truth is that we miss so much of what God is doing around us. God is constantly revealing His glory through His activity around us and we are mostly oblivious.
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Mr. Potato Head has been around a long time.
I remember playing with one way back in my childhood. Mr. Potato Head could help illustrate a Bible verse that can help us overcome one of our gravest problems.
We have a problem today with division. Not the math kind, but the relationship kind. Families, churches, and in a greater sense all of society has difficulty solving division problems.
Family members remain at odds with one another because they refuse to take the difficult path to conflict resolution. Churches split and the cause of Christ suffers because members value their pride more than resolution. Myriad examples exist of the deep divisions in our society. Never before have I felt pulled in so many directions by others expecting me to “side” with their cause.
Whether a family squabble, church dissention, or societal division, I see a trend that people have lost their objectivity. Too many try to pull splinters out of the other side’s eye with a huge limb protruding from their own.
The BEST Math books provided in the back of the book answers to the the exercises at each chapter’s end. The answer to all of life’s division problems are not in the back of the book, but in the text. One particular Bible verse, with Mr. Potato Head’s expert illustrative assistance, can provides the answer we need.
I AM OFFENDED by so many people being offended!We throw the word “offended” around so much these days that we have obfuscated its meaning.
Some take “offense” with flags and statues that refer to a dark part of our actual national history. Others take “offense” with people exercising their displeasure with social injustices by choosing not to stand during the national anthem. Still others take “offense” with others who fail to see their point of view and take their side in any issues.
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In a biblical sense, “offenses” translates the word skandalon from which we get our English word “scandal.” The word has two basic meanings. On the one hand it refers to causing someone to stumble or sin. On the other hand it refers to considering someone (usually Jesus) or something (usually the Gospel) worthless or undesirable. Neither scenario was considered a good thing.
Today, however, we claim offense when something runs contrary to the way we think it should. We equate an offense with disagreement or dislike.
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Alternative truth. Fake news. Fact check. The political arena has added some new terms to our vocabulary over the last couple of years.
As I peruse the social media news feeds of fellow Christians, I see a lot of unchecked facts. We too quickly hit the share button on “news” of people, businesses, and organizations accused of offending our Christian sensitivities. Upon further review, many of those stories are not true.
Starbucks is one of the most common targets of fake news. They have been accused of refusing coffee to Marines and telling Christians they don’t want their money. Liberal politicians find themselves the subject of some pretty wild conspiracy theories. Many posts tout news that means the “end” for someone. Other posts purport to expose some nasty things found in the food at popular restaurants.
If only we shared the good news about Jesus as faithfully as we share the fake news about these non-stories.
“Do not disturb.”
You’ve seen the sign hanging on hotel room doors. The sign means that the occupants want themselves and/or their things left alone. Maybe the occupant needs to sleep in. Perhaps he or she has valuable items that they do not wish for others to see.
Whatever the case, the message is clear. Be quiet and stay on your side of the door!
How often have you wanted to display a Do Not Disturb sign prominently on your chest? We prefer an undisturbed life. We want our plans to succeed, our families to grow, our businesses to profit, and our health to stay strong. If we were to get our way, nothing bad would ever come our way. No one or nothing would ever cause us heartache or disappointment.
But that is an unrealistic expectation isn’t it? All of us experience some disturbances now and then. My good friend Bobby Simpson (Higher Ground Softball) reminded me that those disturbances are not necessarily bad things. In fact, we find our faith grows better in the fertile ground of challenges and trials. (See James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 1:6-7). Sometimes, as Bobby says, we need disturbing.
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